Revelation 6
OGCRevelation 6:1-2
Strauss-’ Comments SECTION 15
Text: Revelation 6:1-2
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I Heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come. 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon has a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.
Initial Questions Revelation 6:1-2
After the Lamb opened one of the seals John was commanded to come and then he saw what - Revelation 6:2?
What does the crown symbolize?
Who is the he came forth conquering, and to conquer - Revelation 6:2?
The Opening of The First Six Seals
Chp. Revelation 6:1-17
First Part of the Vision Chp. Revelation 6:1-2
All that has gone before was preparatory for this moment of the breaking of the seven seals. We should note the outline that John follows through the next six Chapter s. The first four seals will be broken at once, and will together form one picture. Then the 5th and 6th seals will be broken, together structuring one complete picture. Then there will be some intermediate material leading finally into the breaking of the 7th Seal. The 7th Seal, in turn, is the introduction to the 7 trumpets that follow. The same general outline is followed concerning the seven trumpets. This structure is the product of the Semitic mind, which runs through the same picture again and again. Therefore, we must not apply the logical canons of Western thought of this book. After the seal had been opened, John heard one of the four living creatures saying - Come (erchon - present imperative - a command to come). The symbolism of the horse is related to the first four seals (see Zechariah 1:8 ff; Zechariah 6:1 ff) as the symbol of the horse is used in the scripture, it is always connected war, conquest, strength, etc. (See also Revelation 9:7; Revelation 14:20; Revelation 18:13; Revelation 19:11.)
Though we would not be dogmatic about the identification of the rider on the white horse, we do not concur with Lenski (interpretation of St. John’s Revelation, Wartburg Press, Columbus, Ohio, 1935; an excellent commentary by late conservative Lutheran), and W. Hendriksen (More Than Conquerors, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids 6, Michigan, 1952 - a fine popular statement by excellent conservative Presbyterian Scholars), that the rider on the white horse is Christ. Oscar Cullmann is also mistaken in this identification (see his Christ and Time, pp. 169ff). It is improbable that the rider on the white horse in chp. Revelation 6:2 is the same person as the rider on a white horse in chp. Revelation 19:11 ff. From a mere consideration of the symbol one could draw the conclusion that the two riders are the same, but in view of the context the identification of the two riders with the Christ seems to this author to be highly unlikely. (See Swete, op cit., p. 86.)
A. T. Robertson (See N.T. World Studies) is probably right in identifying the rider on the white horse with the white horses of Persian Kings and Roman conquerors in their processions of victory. This particular identification would certainly be understood by John’s readers, and in the light what follows it can stand as an undogmatic interpretation. The rider is prepared for conflict. This rider carried a heavy war bow. And the one sitting on it having a bow and was given to him a crown, (stephanos - victors crown see Revelation 4:10) and he went forth overcoming (nikon - present participle - constantly overcoming) and in order that (hina - clause or purpose clause) or for the purpose that he might overcome (nikçsç - 1 aor. subjunctive).
In view of this one conquering we can do no better than to remind ourselves of Paul’s words to the Church at Rome. We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (Romans 8:37)
Review Questions
See Revelation 6:12-17.
Revelation 6:1-17
**Tomlinson’s Comments
CHAPTER VI THE OPENING OF THE SEALS**
Text (Revelation 6:1-17)
**INTRODUCTION
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come. 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. 3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. 4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not. 7 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. 8 And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth. 9 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course. 12 And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; 13 and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. 14 And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?**
In this chapter it is given to us to see how the Redeemer proceeds to exercise the power or authority bestowed upon Him. He opens six seals in succession, after which the dramatic action is interrupted by a separate vision of the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth (Revelation 7:1). The seventh seal is not described until the eight chapter is reached.
Since this book was in scroll form, which was a long strip of parchment rolled up and sealed with seven seals, our understanding is that Christ breaks the first seal, thus revealing the words written in the scroll as far as the second seal. He then opens the second seal and further unrolls the scroll. This He continues until the scroll is completely unrolled. The unrolling of the scroll has these effects: First, it uncovers to view the hidden purposes of God, and second, it reveals the successive events whereby His purposes are accomplished. We must constantly keep in mind the scope of Revelation, that it is limited. It does not attempt to reveal the future history of all nations, but deals with future history of the church and those opposing powers that affected the fortunes of the Bride of Christ. Since the church, at the starting point of this visionthe enthronement of Christ at the right hand of Godis wholly within the confines of the vast persecuting empire of pagan Rome, we logically and rightfully understand the events of these seals begin in the Roman empire nearest to the starting point of time and continue through the seventh seal where the remotest events are chronicled. We must ever remember there was being revealed things which shortly must come to pass. Therefore, the events of this vision do not refer to things somewhere in the distant future. Also John was to write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. And these things are recorded in the Book of Revelationa book which is written in the language of signs. He sent and signified itSign-i-fied it, that is communicated it by signs to His servant John.
Thus we must move slowly in the uncovering of the symbols contained in the seven seals. In determining the meaning of this series of prophetic symbols, portraying events which follow successively, it is of supreme importance to correctly interpret the first seal. A wrong start will lead us astray throughout the unrolling of this scroll. Certainly we are not to spiritualize these visions because John, as we have seen already, was to write the things he had seen, the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter. If language means any thing, then these are actual, historical events.
These seals uncover a series of events affecting the fortunes of the church, but also immediately connected with the vast Roman empire in whose confines the church lived and moved and had her being. These are visions of peace and war, of famine and death, of the persecution of the church and the judgments with which this age will end.
*The First Seal
Revelation 6:1-2* As this first seal is broken, John heard the voice of one of the four living creatures saying with a voice of thunder, Come and see.
Beginning with the breaking of this first seal we note that the first living creature speaks, and with the opening of each succeeding seal another one of the four living creatures speak. With the opening of this first seal, as well as the next three seals, the contents of the book are not read, but its messages are translated into action. In response to the invitation to come and see, immediately John beholds a white horse and he that sat thereon had a bow, and a crown was given him and he went forth conquering and to conquer. There are a number of features to this vision.
First, our attention is called to a horse. We are to remember that this is a symbol and the Bible must be consulted to interpret its meaning. The horse is a symbol of war. He was never used by either the Jews or the Orientals as a beast of burden; the ox and the ass were used for that purpose. The horse was always reserved for war.
Shall we turn to the Old Testament for our interpretation of this symbol, for the horse is not mentioned in the New Testament, except in Revelation. We discover that the horse is first of all the symbol of strength of a certain kind; not strength for labor like the ox, or for the mastery of enemies, like the lion, but a symbol of might or conquest. Especially does it typify strength and courage for conflict.
In (Job 39:19-23) the description of a horse pertains to qualities that have to do with war. God in addressing Job said, Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley and rejoiceth in his strength. He goeth on to meet the armed men. neither turneth he back from the sword.
In the 25th verse of this same chapter we read, He saith among the trumpets Ha, Ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of his captains, and the shouting.
In the song of Moses on the far side of the Red Sea, we read, I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. (Exodus 15:1)
From this we learn that the horse represents the progress of some great force or cause backed by strong military power. Bearing in mind the significance of the horse as a Bible symbol, this first horse, as well as the remaining three are prophetic pictures of mighty military forces and campaigns beginning with the time of the enthroning of Christ on the right hand of God and continuing one after the other.
Second, A white horse. Since there are three more horses in the three remaining seals, each of different colors, each color must hold some very significant meaning.
The white horse here must have an altogether different signification from the red, black or pale colorations. White was, then in the arena of war a symbol of victory, prosperity and joy. It was a symbol of triumphant war. When a Roman general returned from victorious campaigns in the far-flung frontiers of the empire he halted with out the city walls of Rome until the senate voted the manner of his entry. If that body voted that the general was entitled to a triumphantal entry, snowy white horses were hitched to his chariot and drawn through the streets of the imperial city, followed by a long line of captive generals, slaves and spoils of war.
Third, the armed warrior. We know this was a military figure because he carried a bow, a weapon of war. The symbolism here points to a period of triumphant war.
Fourth, the bow. There were bowmen in all ancient armies, but the prominence given the bow here would seem to point to a particular race of people.
Fifth, A crown was given Him. The crown upon this rider indicates that he shall be a crowned monarch. And note carefully that he is not crowned because of his conquests, but it was given him before these victories.
Sixth, His mission. He went forth conquering and to conquer.
Having now determined the meaning of these symbols it now is our task to discover if shortly after John wrote, history records events which correspond to these symbols. At the time John penned this uncovering of things he had seen, which are, and which are to come to pass shortly, a great Roman general was successfully extending the borders of the empire to its greatest bounds. He truly went forth conquering, and to conquer. Hear Myers on this:
To Trajan belongs the distinction of having extended the boundaries to the most distant points to which Roman ambition and prowess were ever able to push them.Myers Ancient HistoryPage 506.
A grateful emperor erected a memorial to Trajan’s achievements in what came to be known as Trajan’s Forum, a splendid marble shaft called Trajan’s Column. The stately pillar is almost as perfect today as when reared nineteen centuries ago. Trajan’s reign marked not only an age of conquest and victory, symbolized by the white horse and his rider, but also an age of internal peace and prosperity. I have before me Volume I of Gibbon’s Rome edited by Milman. On Pages 95, 96 we read:
If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus. The vast extent of the Roman empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of virtue and wisdom. The armies were restrained by the firm but gentle hand of four successive emperors, whose characters and authority commanded involuntary respect. The forms of civil administration were carefully preserved by Nerva, Tragan, Hadrian, and the Antonines, who delighted in the image of liberty.
Of these four, Trajan, who ascended the throne four years after the death of Domitian, is the most outstanding. The symbols of this first seal are strikingly fulfilled in this epoch of Roman history, It furnished one of the greatest conquerors of the Roman Empire, and, at a time which fits into this vision on Patmos. Trajan was a crowned conqueror, as revealed in this vision and went forth conquering and to conquer. Since the scope of John’s prophecy falls within the Roman empire, all events of this epoch correspond to the divine revelation. Particularly, one feature of this vision is significantly fitting. The rider of this white horsethe symbol of military conquestwas armed with a BOW! At first this would seem contradictory evidence, for the bow was not a Roman weapon. Rome ever conquered with the sword, carrying into battle the javelin for longer range fighting, but the sword to be used in close quarters. There were bowmen in the Roman legions, but they were not Romans. The use of the bow as a symbol is quite enlightening.
There were two nations on the earth at the time of this revelation who were renowned as users of the bow. The bow was the military weapon of the Parthians beyond the Euphrates, and of the Cretans, dwellers of the island of Crete. Cretan bowmen were constantly featured in Grecian history. So the bow, the weapon carried by this first rider, must signify some one whose ancestry was rooted in Crete. How amazingly accurate this symbol is to history! If a Roman had been symbolized in this rider, he would not be represented armed with a bow. The bow points us to some one of another nation rather than that of Rome. And history supplies us with the answer. Beginning with Julius Caesar, the twelve Caesars who reigned over the Roman empire were all of pure Roman blood. Domitian, the one who exiled John to Patmos, was the last of the twelve Caesars. He was followed on the throne by Nerva, the founder of a line that supplied five Caesars in succession. The five good emperors as they came to be known, were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian and the two AntoninesAurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius. They reigned from A.D. 96 to A.D. 180. Nerva, the first of this new line of emperors was not of Roman blood. Cassius, a historian of that day declares that Nerva was a Greek and Aurelius Victor, another Roman Historian says that Nerva’s family came from the Grecian island of Crete. Already we know that the national weapon of the Cretans was the bow. The Cretans were as famous for their skill with the bow as the Rhodians were for their use of the sling, or the Romans with the javelin and short sword.
We cannot note to carefully that the founder of this new family of emperors, was an alienthe first to ever rule Rome. His family was of Cretan blood and the national weapon of the islanders of Crete was the *bow!
The Second Seal
Revelation 6:3-4* And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, come and see The second cherubim repeats the command of the first living creature, Come and see.
Revelation 6:4 At once the first vision makes way for a second, And there went out another horse that was red. This horse, also representing some great military force, naturally symbolizes, chronologically, the next series of events following those of the first seal.
But the horse is no longer white, but red. The horse is the symbol of war, but the changed color points to the fact that the conditions of war are entirely changed. It would seem to indicate that now the stage of the conflict has brought blood shed within the empire. Whereas the white horse symbolized peace, prosperity and victory within the Roman empire, now blood shed invades her borders. It is a fact in history that during the period of the first sealthrough the reigns of the five good emperorsthe Roman Empire never saw the forces of an invading army. All conquests were waged in the countries of her enemies, for Rome was going forth conquering and to conquer.
Under the strong but mild rule of Trajan, Hadrian and the Antonies, every man dwelled safely under his own vine and fig tree. No hostile invasion or internal upheavals ever troubled the tiller of the soil or the artisan of trade. The first seal was a period of triumphant war, but of internal peace. The second seal indicates from its very opening the continued existence of war. Internal peace has vanished. The first and second horsemen are strikingly contrasted. The first horsemen represents peace though there was outside war, but the second horse symbolizes civil war and bloodshed. This is all the more emphasized because this is a blood-red horse. And power was given unto him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth. The earth spoken of by John would be the Roman Empire, for the empire was the last great world empire as seen by Daniel, and the scope of Revelation always contemplates this world power. In this epoch, peace is taken from the empire and we know this peace has been lost through civil war by the phrase, That they should kill one another. This is in as plain language as symbolism can speak. As the first seal of peace was substantiated by corroborating history, so we may expect to find further events of history corresponding to the symbolism of this second seal. This we find to be abundantly true. At the close of the reign of Commodus we find the end of peace in the Roman empire. Commodus was slain. As son of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the Antonines, he proved to be a most unworthy successor of his illustrious father. For three years he reigned well, but an unsuccessful attempt against his life, three years after his ascension to the throne seemed suddenly to kindle all the dormant passions of a Nero. The remaining ten years of his reign were marked by the perpetration of all manner of cruelties and the staining of the imperial purple with the most detestable debaucheries and crimes. The empire was finally relieved of this insane tyrant by some members of the royal household who put him to death. This began a reign of civil war. Hear Myers on this:
For nearly a century after the death of Commodus (192 to 284 A.D.) the emperors were elected by the army, and hence the rulers of this period have been called, The Barrack Emperors. Upon the death of Commodus, Pertinax, a distinguished senator, was placed on the throne; but his efforts to enforce discipline among the praetorians aroused their anger, and he was slain by them after a short reign of only three months. The soldiers then gave out notice that they would sell the empire to the highest bidder. It was accordingly set up for sale at the praetorian camp and struck off to Didius Julianius, a wealthy senator, who promised twenty-five thousand sesterces to each of the twelve thousand soldiers at this time composing the guard. So the price of the empire was three hundred million sesterces (about $12,000,000).Myers Ancient history P. 515.
This gives us a preview of what lay in store for the empire. During this period of the national history thirty-two emperors, and twenty-seven pretenders alternately hurled each other from the throne. Hear Sismondi:
With Commodus commenced the third and most calamitous period. It lasted ninety-two years, from 192 to 284. During that period thirty-two emperors, and twenty-seven pretenders alternately hurled each other from the throne by incessant civil warfare. Ninety-two years of almost incessant civil warfare taught the world on what a frail foundation the virtue of the Antonines had placed the felicity of the empire.Sismondi’s Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 1,P. 36.
Gibbon in the first volume of his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire devotes two hundred pages to the description of this Red Horse period of civil strife and rapine. Of these thirty-two emperors, besides the pretenders only two died natural deaths; Severus, who died 211 A.D. and Volusion who died 253 A.D. All others died violent deaths. What could more fittingly represent a period of fratricidal bloodshed and rapine, of constant civil war, than a red horse and its rider to whom was given a great sword, and the power to take away peace, that men should kill one another?
We wish to further consider the giving of that great sword. The bow is gone now, which was the emblem of an alien, and a sword, the national weapon of Rome, replaces it. This sword marks some special feature of the fulfillment of the events of the seal. It points to an epoch when the jealous ambitions of men of the sword drove them to brutality and murder. There were stationed at Rome an army corps which outranked all others. We have already referred to them as the Praetorian guards and recounted their sale of the empire to Didius Julianius. It was an order in which the Praetorian Perfect was inducted into office by the public investment with a sword. It was the Praelorian Perfect and his guard that inaugurated this century of bloodshed.
What could more fittingly describe such a period, as portrayed under the second seal, than the giving of a great sword, the military emblem, to the figure that rides the red horse of John’s prophecy?
*The Third Seal
Revelation 6:5-6* Famine always follows war, and particularly civil war with its internal devastation of men, materials, industry and food production.
Therefore, it is only natural that we should read when the third seal was opened: I heard the third living creature say, come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say, a measure of wheat for a penny: and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. How natural that the period of civil war, indicated by the red horse, a period of bloodshed and anarchy should produce events symbolized by a black horse.
The horse, whatever his color, is a symbol of war, the change in color only signifies a changed aspect of that war. Black would indicate that the empire is still torn by calamitous war, but war that brought mourning and despair. Black has ever been the color of mourning in Scriptural usage. Jeremiah said: Because of the drought Judah mourneth, and the gate thereof languish; they are in deep mourning (literally black) for the land. (Jeremiah 14:2)
After noting the color of the horse, recognition is given to the fact that he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. If the balances were presented alone, we might see in them a symbol of justice, but in the hands of the rider of the black horse, and in connection with the weighing of grain that follows, they undoubtedly indicate a period characterized by scarcity of food. The significance of balances in relation to food is made clear in the Scriptures. And when I have broken the staff of your bread, the women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weights and ye shall eat and not be satisfied (Leviticus 26:26)
Moreover he said unto me, son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure and with astonishment: That they may want bread and water and be astonished with one another, and consume away for their iniquity. (Ezekiel 4:16-17)
The prices quoted here for wheat and barley are famine prices. The measure spoken of here was, roughly speaking, the equivalent of our quart, and the word rendered penny is the Greek denarius, which equals about fourteen cents in our money. A bushel of wheat, at the price designated would be nearly five dollars, and a bushel of barley one dollar and fifty cents. A denarius was the usual rate for one day’s labor. In our money, considering the rate of exchange, that would mean a bushel of wheat cost about twenty dollars and a bushel of barley shows that rich and poor alike were affected, because wheat was the grain of the rich and barley the staff of the poor. Since oil and wine were common articles of food for the people, the prohibition of their use, taken in connection with the context would seem to imply that at this time these items were no longer used by the common people. But balances were also, in that day, employed in taxation. A portion of the production of the land was a part of the taxes extorted by the Roman empire. The balances then would symbolize a period of excessive taxation, as well as scarcity. This heavy taxation began even in the days of the second seal period when Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to multitudes in his empire in order to tax the more persons.
Caracalla’s sole political act of real importance was the bestowal of citizenship upon all the free inhabitants of the empire; and this he did, not to give them a just privilege, but that he might collect from them certain special taxes which only Roman citizens had to pay.Myers Ancient History P. 517
But with the death of the last emperor of the third seal period, Carinus in 284, a new type of government was inaugurated by Diocletain. The change was marked by Diocletian’s assumption of the titles of Asiatic royalty and court ceremonials. Ostentation and extravagance marked all the appointments of the palace. He also inaugurated a new administrative system.
The century of anarchy which preceded the ascension of Diocletian; had made manifest the need of a system which would discourage assassination and provide a regular mode of succession to the throne. Diocletian devised a system the aim of which was to compass both ends. First, he chose as a colleague a companion ruler, Maximian, who, like himself, bore the title of Augustus. Then each of the co-emperors associated with himself an assistant, who took the title of Caesar and was considered the son of the Emperor. There were thus two Augusti and two Caesars. (From the number of rulers, this government has received the name of Tetrarchy). a most serious drawback to this system was the heavy expense involved in the maintenance of four courts with their endless retinue of officers and dependents. It was complained that the number of those who received the revenues of the state was greater than those that contributed to them. The burden of taxation grew unendurable. Husbandry in some regions ceased and great numbers were reduced to beggary or driven into brigandage. it was this vicious system of taxation which more than any other one cause, after slavery, contributed to the depopulation, improverishment and final downfall of the nation. Myers-’ Ancient History Pages 521, 522.
This feature of taxation is peculiar to the third seal. A quotation or two will suffice. This taxation began even in the second seal, but reached such ruinous proportions in the third seal as to render it an outstanding feature of that epoch. Gibbon speaks of the beginning of such taxation under Caracalla. (A.D. 211-217)
Nor was the rapacious son of Severus (Caracalla) contented with such a measure of taxation as had appeared sufficient to his moderate predecessors. Instead of a twentieth, he exacted a tenth of all legacies and inheritances, and during his reign he crushed alike every part of the empire under the weight of his iron scepter.Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of Rome Vol., P. 95.
Lactantius, an historian of the fourth century recorded:
Swarms of exactors sent into the provinces, filled them with agitation and terror, as though a conquering enemy were leading them into captivity. The fields were separately measured, the trees and vines, the flocks and herds were numbered, and an examination made of men. the sick and the weak were borne to the place of inscription, a reckoning was made of the age of each, years were added to the young and subtracted from the old, in order to subject them to the higher taxation the law imposed. The whole scene was filled with *wailing and sadness.*Lactantius.
Surely, no more impressive or expressive symbol, than a black horse, indicating mourning, and its rider holding a pair of balances in his hand, indicative of famine, could have properly described the epoch covered by the third seal.
*The Fourth Seal
Revelation 6:7-8* And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say. Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with beasts of the earth.
The conditions under the fourth seal reach the worst. The color of the fourth horse is pale. Remembering the horse is ever a symbol of war, whatever its color, we are by the continued use of the symbol of the horse reminded that it is still a time of war. The color of the horse now being palethe bloodless color of deathpictures such conditions that the rider of this pale horse appropriately is called Death. Behind him Hades, the abode of the dead, follows close upon Death’s heels, to swallow up the dead in his awful maws. Death and Hades accomplish their task by the employment of four familiar and fearful instruments:
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The sword, or war. 2. Hunger, or famine. 3. Death, or pestilence, for the word here used is often so translated, and such is its signification here, and 4. Finally, destruction caused by wild beasts. The conditions described under the fourth seal are the logical result of the events which transpired under the three preceding seals. When we recall that thirty-two military governors, and twenty-seven pretenders alternately hurled each other from the throne in a period of ninety-two years, and that of the thirty-two military governors all died violent deaths but two, we can better understand how Death and Hades took such a toll of human life by civil war, famine, pestilence and wild beasts which would increase as the provinces became depopulated. Shall we turn to the most authentic Roman historian which we have, even Gibbon: But a long and general famine was a calamity of a more serious kind. It was the inevitable consequence of rapine and oppression, which extirpated the produce of the present, and the future harvests. Famine is almost always followed by epidemical diseases, the effect of scanty and unwholesome food. Other causes must, however, have contributed to the furious plague, which, from the years two-hundred fifty to the year two-hundred sixty-five, raged without interruption in every province, every city, and almost every family of the Roman Empire. During some time five thousand persons died daily in Rome; and many towns, that had escaped the hands of the barbarians, were entirely depopulated. about half the people of Alexandria perished. Volume 1, pages 328, 329. No wonder it was said that power was given Death and Hades to destroy one fourth part of the earth. Summarizing, we have found that:
The first seal was the seal of conquest.
The second seal was the seal of civil war.
The third seal was the seal of want or famine.
The fourth seal was the seal of Death.
The seals on the one hand collectively, say, Here is the future in symbolism. History, on the other hand, says, Here is the fulfillment. How faithfully they agree! At the mouth of two or three witnesses a thing is established.
*The Fifth Seal
Revelation 6:9-11* With the opening of the fifth seal the scene changes completely. It is obvious, from the radical change of imagery, that the subject of the prophetic vision is completely different. No longer is the horse, the symbol of war, present. With the passing of the horses, the armed riders are gone. The fifth seal gives us a vision of the suffering saints.
The vision implies the peril and persecution of the church on earth. This is to be expected when we consider that Revelation is the uncovering of the future as it relates to the church, or the Israel of God under the Gospel Dispensation. And when he had opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Since this calls our attention to something happening under the altar, which was a piece of furniture in the temple, it would indicate that this vision refers to the martyrs of the church. This is not an oratorio of praise, but a chant of suffering, coming from the souls of those who had been slain. The fifth seal is the Seal of Persecution and it evidently refers to some period in the history of the church when a war of extermination was waged against the early Christians.
Since the first four seals cover conditions through the terrible events from Pentecost to nearly the close of the third century, we naturally look to see if conditions following these seals correspond to the symbolism of the fifth seal. At the death of Commodus, a very notable, but cruel ruler came to the throne of the Roman Empire. He was Diocletian, who reigned from 284 A.D., to 305 A.D. Myers says:
The ascension of Diocletian marks an important era in the history of the Roman Empire. The two matters of chief importance connected with his reign are the changes he effected in the government and his persecution of the Christians.
Myers Ancient History P. 520.
While the church had suffered persecution before, beginning with that perpetrated by the Jews of the Apostles-’ day, and with the beginning of Gentile persecution under Nero, no persecution had ever before been so universal, so long continued and so brutal. Diocletian determined to wipe the name Christian from the earth. Says Myers:
Toward the end of his reign, Diocletian inaugurated against the Christians a persecution which continued long after his abdication, and which was the severest, as it was the last, waged against the church by the pagan emperors. The imperial decrees ordered that their churches be torn down; that the property of the new societies should be confiscated; that the writings of the sect should be burned; and that the Christians themselves, unless they should join in the sacrifices to the gods of the state, should be pursued to death as outlaw. For ten years, which, however were broken by short periods of respite, the Christians were subjected to the fierce flames of persecution.. It was during this and various other persecutions that vexed the church in the second and third centuries that the Christians sought refuge in the Catacombs, those vast subterranean galleries and chambers under the city of Rome.Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of Rome, pages 522, 523.
To Myers we add that of the ancient historian Gibbon. He writes of the persecution inaugurated by Diocletian as follows:
The resentment, or the fears of Diocletian, at length transported him beyond all bounds of moderation, which he had hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of cruel edicts, his intention of abolishing the Christian name. By the first of these edicts, the governors of the provinces were directed to apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the prisons, destined for the vilest criminals, were soon filled with a multitude of bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers and exhortists. By a second edict, the magistrates were commanded to employ every method of severity, which might reclaim them from their odious superstition, and oblige them to return to the established worship of gods. This rigorous order was extended, by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Christians, who were exposed to a violent and general persecution.Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 11, page 69.
Diocletian’s persecution certainly would inaugurate conditions as symbolized under the fifth seal. Other persecutions had been local, this was general. Others were for a little season, Diocletian’s persecution raged for ten years; others were designed to stay the progress of Christianity, the prime purpose of this was to abolish the Christian name from the earth. No wonder the bleeding, mangled church cried, -O Lord, how long dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? These martyred Christians called for judgment and retribution. The answer to this cry is worthy of our notice. Three things are featured.
First, it is said that they must await the great judgment, which would not occur until another distinct group of martyrs should be slain. The group of the fifth seal had been slain by pagan Rome, the second group referred to evidently were to be those martyred by Papal Rome, which succeeded the pagan empire.
Second, they must wait a little season. Of course such a season must be measured by God’s standard of measurement, to whom one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3:8)
Third, they were to be given white robes. White robes are a symbol of justification and victory. In the marriage of the Lamb, to his wife is to be granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (Revelation 19:7-8)
Another startling factor in this promise to the martyrs is this: These souls were not in the Holy of Holies, a type of heaven itself (Hebrews 9:24) but under the altar of the outer courta type of the world.
These white robessymbols of justification and victorythen imply the justification and triumph of the church on earth. And thus everything did come to pass.
At the close of this persecution symbolized in the fifth seal, Constantine, by a decree issued at Milan A.D. 313, the year of the Battle at the Milvian Bridge, declared, and here are the words of that decree:
We grant to Christians and to all others full liberty of following that religion which each may choose.
*The Sixth Seal
Revelation 6:12-17* The opening of the sixth seal is described in six verses of rare majesty and power. The scenes portrayed are calculated to fill the heart with awe and consternation.
The earth with mighty convulsions reels with a terrific earthquake that shakes mountains and islands from their places. There are also heavenly demonstrations. The sun becomes black as sackcloth; the moon turns red as blood, stars fall and the heavens themselves are rolled away as a scroll. The inhabitants of earth are so terror stricken at the sight they call for the mountains to fall upon them. The imagery here is very striking, but we must remember that these are not literal earthquakes, falling stars, moving islands or mountains. These are symbols, so we look not for literal fulfillment of such physical phenomenon, but for historical events which correspond to these symbolical pictures.
Before, we search out the fulfillment in historical events, we must first ascertain the meaning of these symbols which are used. These symbols are borrowed from the mightiest agencies and powers in nature.
*A Study of these Symbols
First,* we take up the meaning of an earthquake when used symbolically. As John’s earth constantly refers to the Roman Empire, this earthquake refers to political and religious upheavals within its borders. The earthquake is used by the prophets of the old Testament as a symbol of political and religious agitation. In Haggai 2:6-7, we read:
Yet once, it is a little time, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land, and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.
Second, the sun, moon and stars are used in the Scriptures to represent earthly potentates and dignitaries and great lights in political and religious realms. To illustrate: In the dream of Joseph which turned his brothers against him, these physical symbols were employed to represent people.
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon, and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? (Genesis 37:9-10)
Orientals often referred to the king as a sun, and princes and lesser rulers to stars. In Daniel, as he describes the world kingdoms we read:
And it (the little horn) waxed great, even to the host of heaven: and it cast down some of the host of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them. (Daniel 8:10)
Again in Ezekiel 32:1-15 we have a prophecy which will help us in the imagery of divine symbolism of the sixth seal. The prophet is predicting the violent overthrow of Egypt at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. This national overthrow is described in the following symbols:
And when I shall put thee out (or extinguish thee), I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. (Ezekiel 32:7)
Again in Joe 3:15, we read:
The sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake.
In the above quoted passages we see that the overthrowing of a nation was described in the imagery of the sun being blackened, the stars becoming dark and the earth being shaken. Isaiah, also, furnishes us with a passage which is closely related in thought and verbiage to that of the sixth seal. The prophet is speaking of the time when the indignation of the Lord shall be upon the nations.
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. (Isaiah 34:2-4)
How similar this language to Johns-’ who said, The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs. We are not studying physical astronomy in the Book of Revelation. That is where so many folk have been in error. They have tried to associate these symbols with actual physical earthquakes, falling material stars and darkening of the sun. We are studying spiritual astronomy here and these symbols portray human events in the which great dignitaries in the political arena are said to fall and governmental systems are shaken.
Third, the mountain and island are used to denote earthly kingdoms. Mountains in the scriptures stand for conspicuous nationalities. In Jeremiah’s prophecy against Babylon, he says:
Behold, I am against thee, O Destroying Mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyeth all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. (Jeremiah 51:25)
The island symbolizes lesser powers. In his prophecy of Christ, he said, He (that is Christ) shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. (Isaiah 42:4)
This imagery is most appropriate to express a complete breaking up and removal of the whole system of human government. With this clarification of the symbols, it is not difficult to discover that the sixth seal is a period of great and startling revolutions, not in the heavens, but upon the earth. All this symbolism foreshadows a violent, bloody upheaval of governmental systems, rulers and the establishment of a new order on the earth. And since earth to the mind of John is the Roman Empire, it naturally is within its boundaries that we must search for the fulfillment. We shall look for events in political, social and religious spheres, which are pictured here in terms of physical things. There are some stirring convulsions in history immediately following the persecution under the fifth seal. As the fifth seal was the seal of Persecution, the sixth seal can be designated, the seal of Revolution.
Having considered the meaning of the symbols, we are now ready to search out the time of this seal.
The Time of this Seal
We found that the fifth seal closed with the Edict of Toleration issued by Constantine in A. D. 313, so then these events naturally follow that epoch.
We note that one of the characteristics of this sixth seal is that the time will be one of mourning. The mourners now are not the souls under the altar, but the falling stars, or great of earth, who opposed the One who sat on His Throne. They cry out and say to the mountains: Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. (Revelation 6:16)
Then taking a brief look forward to the next Chapter the seventhwe observe there follows a period of great joy and prosperity experienced by the people of God. Holding this sixth seal and its symbolism in one hand and a book of history in the other, do we find a time in which the unbelieving world on the one hand is in mourning, and the church, on the other hand enjoying a time of victory and prosperity? Hear Myers on this:
Galerius and Constantine, who became Augusti on the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, had reigned together only one year when the latter died at York, in Britain. His soldiers, disregarding the rule of succession is determined by the system of Diocletian, proclaimed his son Constantine emperor. Six competitors for the throne arose in different quarters. For eighteen years Constantine fought to gain the supremacy.Myer’s Ancient History, page 524.
Also hear Gibbon on this matter:
The abdication of Diocletian and Maximian was succeeded by eighteen years of discord and confusion. The empire was afflicted by five civil wars; and the remainder of the time was not so much a state of tranquility as a suspension of arms between several hostile monarchs, who viewing each other with an eye of fear and hatred, strove to increase their respective forces at the expense of their subjects.Gibbons Decline and Fall of Rome, page 451.
In passing we may say that Gibbon devoted fifty pages (small print) to the description of the evils of this time. Surely, we have here a time of death and mourning when kings and pretenders fell like stars and great mourning resulted from one civil war following after a preceding one. This was a time when kingdoms, indicated by mountains and islands, were moved out of their places. The forces of paganism had rolled around the enemies of Constantine. When he was crowned in triumph upon the wreck of six imperial thrones and their royal claimants, there was great mourning on the part of the enemies of the Lamb and the cross. For when Constantine, after the battle of Milvian Bridge, granted amnesity to all Christians, paganism went into deep mourning. Shall we enumerate a few of the outstanding earth-shaking, heaven-removed-as-a-scroll, results of all this change. Not only was paganism shaken but Christianity waited with bated breath. The church watched Constantine progress with singular interest. While Constantine had not embraced Christianity before Milvian Bridge, yet his mother, Helena, was a Christian and it was generally believed he was friendly toward his mother’s faith. After his embracing of the Christian faith these earthquake like results followed:
In 313 A.D. Constantine issued the decree at Milan placing Christianity on an equal footing with the other religions of the empire.
In 319 A.D. he decreed his mother’s religion should be the acknowledged faith of the empire.
In 321 A.D. he decreed that Sunday, the day of worship of Christians, since Pentecost, should be observed in all the cities by a cessation of labor.
In 325 A.D. he abolished by royal decree the bloody gladiatorial combats, against which the Christians had objected. The far reaching impact of this can better be grasped when we remember this Roman institution had existed for one whole millennium.
In 325 A.D. he called the first general council of the church at Nicea, a town in Asia Minor, Arianism was denounced, and a formula of Christian faith adopted, which became known as the Nicene creedthe mother of all human creeds.
In 331 A.D. he decreed that the pagan religion should no longer exist and ordered the destruction of all heathen temples.
He completely reorganized the government by laying out the empire into four divisions called perfectures, which were subdivided into thirteen dioceses, and there again into one hundred and sixteen provinces. Truly, the old heavens were being moved away as a school and the Roman earth was being shaken like a mighty earthquake.
But the greatest earth-shaking change is yet to be described. Constantine did not seem to be satisfied with the destroying pagan faith, changing Roman customs and laws, he aimed his greatest blow at the imperial city itself. For over one thousand years Rome had been the seat of the empire, growing from a tiny village to the capitol of the world. In 330 he determined to shake the Roman world from center to circumference, by removing the capitol from Italy to a new city on the banks of the Hellespont, and to call it after his own nameConstantine. Surely, the mighty mountain of the west was moved from its place.
Hear Myers on this:
After the recognition of Christianity, the most important act of Constantine was the selection of Byzantium on the Bosporus, as the new capitol of the empire. There were many and weighty reasons urging Constantine to establish a new capitol in the east. First, there were urgent military reasons for making the change. The most dangerous enemies of the empire now were the barbarians behind the Danube and the kings of the recently restored Persian monarchy. This condition of things rendered almost necessary the establishment in the east of a new and permanent basis for military operations. Second, there were also commercial reasons for the transfer of the capitol. Rome had long before this ceased to be in any sense the commercial center of the state, as it was in early times. Through the Roman conquest of Greece and Asia, the center of the population, wealth and commerce of the empire had shifted eastward. Now of all the cities in the east, Byzantium was the one most favorably situated to become the commercial metropolis of the enlarged state. Third, there were religious motives. The priests of the pagan shrines particularly resented the action of Constantine in espousing the new and rated religion, and regarded him as an apostate. It was the existence of these sentiments and feelings among the inhabitants of Rome, which, for one thing, led Constantine to seek elsewhere a new center and seat of his court and government. But far outweighing all other reasons for the removal of the capitol were the political motives. Constantine, like Diocletian, wished to establish a system of government modeled upon the despotic monarchy of the east. In honor of the emperor the name was changed to Constantinople, the city of Constantine.Myers Ancient History, pages 527, 528.
These historical events, forming the most remarkable revolution that the world has ever seen, constitute an exact fulfilment of the symbolism of the sixth seal. Sun and moon are darkened and stars fall, mountains and islands are removed out of their places. With the blasting of pagan hopes by the victories of Constantine and his subsequent embracing of Christianity, accompanied by his decree to destroy all heathen temples, more than one imperial champion of paganism called out in distress. Some of the pagan writers almost used the very language of Revelation in their description of this particular period of history: As a dreadful and amazing prodigy, which covered the earth with darkness, and restored the ancient dominion of chaos and night. We have styled the sixth seal as the seal of Revolution, both in the political and religious realms.
Revelation 6:3-4
Strauss-’ Comments SECTION 16
Text: Revelation 6:3-4
3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. 4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Initial Questions Revelation 6:3-4
The opening of the second seal revealed what - Revelation 6:4?
Who gave the rider permission to take peace from the earth - Revelation 6:4?
What does the great sword symbolize?
The second seal was opened and the second living creature commanded that John come in order to see the content of the second seal.
War is the content of this seal. And another horse went forth, a red horse (horse implied but not in text - the horse was flame colored - purros from pur - fire) and to the one sitting on it was given (edothç - 1 aor. ind. pass. the pass. voice - means that someone else give or permitted him to take peace from the earth, and the aor. tense means that this power was given in a single act) to him to take peace out of (ek) the earth and in order that, (or for the purpose thatanother hina clause) they shall slay one another - (reciprocal killingeach other), and a great sword was given (passive voice) to him. The word translated sword (machaira) is used in the Septuagint for the sacrificial knife used by Abraham (see Genesis 22:6; Genesis 22:10).
This condition of war is probably a precursor to Harmagedon (chp. 16). Jesus-’ great discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world in Matthew 24:1-51 will provide much insight for this section of The Revelation. James speaks of the ultimate source of war (chp. Revelation 5:1 ff). Ours is an age when war has become normal. What does this say of the spiritual foundations of western civilization? Who is involved in this war mentioned in this verse - Church against world, or nation against nation?
Note: War and Peace are two dominate themes in 20th century thought. The prophet of Israel taunted You cry Peace - Peace, when there is no Peace. Men still cry peace, and we are participating in a most precarious peace. Shall evil or righteousness prevail? The Revelation was written to give the answer that righteousness shall prevail over persecution, pain, and war, because God in Christ won the victory over darkness. This is one of the central reasons for the resurgent relevance of The Revelation in our day. It is a book for times of crisis. (See Pedersen’s monumental work on Israel, Oxford University Press for an excellent analysis of the concept of peace in the O.T.)
Christ is the righteousness of God! The root of the Hebrew term for righteousness means three things: (1) righteous one; (2) innocent one; (3) victorious one. Christ’s victory stands in marked contrast to the grotesque, barbaric Greek understanding of victory. There shall be no Peace upon the face of the earth until the Prince of Peace reigns in every mortal heart. Peace cannot be brought about by a One World Government! If men want ultimate Peace, it is to be found in the wholeness of the holiness of God in Christ.
Review Questions
See Revelation 6:12-17.
Revelation 6:5-6
Strauss-’ Comments SECTION 17
Text Revelation 6:5-6
5 And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse: and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.
Initial Questions Revelation 6:5-6
What does the balance symbolize - Revelation 6:5?
Wheat and Barley is very scarce and expensive - Revelation 6:6. What does this imply?
Where in the Old Testament does this symbolism of the scarcity and expensiveness of basic food stuffs originate? (See Ezekiel 4:16; Ezekiel 5:16 f.)
Why the command not to hurt the oil and wine?
The third seal revealed a black horse, and the one sitting on it having a balance in his hand. Black signifies famine and weeping (see Jeremiah 4:28; Jeremiah 8:21; Malachi 3:14 - where mourning is literally in black.) The rider on the black horse carried a pair of scales (zugon). What was the purpose of this scale or balance? John hurries to inform us!
John heard one of the four living creatures saying: a choenix (a measure of some kind) of wheat for a denarius (about a penny), and three measures of barley for a denarius; and the oil and the wine do not harm. Famine is the key to this imagery. Food was scarce, and what was available had an exorbitant price tag on it. Though our present day inflation would make the prices vary considerably, we can see the picture from I. T. Beckwith’S, (The Apocalypse of John, MacMillan, N. Y. 1919, p. 520 - excellent, a must for advanced study.) statement that grain sold at twelve times its regular cost. We can see the picture better when we know that a denarius was a day’s wages. Here we clearly see the results of war. Wheat, barley, oil, and wine were the staple foods in Asia Minor and Palestine in the first century. Luxuries were unavailable, and even the staples were not abundantly available. Only those who survived with enough money could purchase the scarce food items. What does this imply for those who could not afford the high cost of famine and suffering? Scarcity is the ultimate cost of human conflicts (See Leviticus 26:26 and Ezekiel 4:16.)
Review Questions
See Revelation 6:12-17.
Revelation 6:7-8
Strauss-’ Comments SECTION 18
Text Revelation 6:7-8
7 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. 8 And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts the earth.
Initial Questions Revelation 6:7-8
Who was the rider of the pale horse - Revelation 6:8?
Who followed behind this rider?
How extensive were his powers and how great his authority - Revelation 6:8?
How is the devastation spoken of in Revelation 6:8 - related to the will and purpose of God?
John was again commanded to come and see the content of the seal.
He saw - A pale green horse, and the one sitting upon it, his name (was) Death, and hades (transcribed from the Greek term hadçs - this is not a translation of the term) followed with him,.. The name of this rider, following the Semitic pattern was called by his chief characteristic. Semitic names were always descriptive of a major attribute of the bearer. What follows war and famine? Plagues and pestilence are always hard on the heels of war and scarcity. This rider is described as pale, livid, corpse-like. The imagery is ghastly! And was given (pass. Voice someone else gave them this authority - it was not an intrinsic characteristic,) to them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (hupo instead of en indicating actual agents) See Ezekiel 14:21 and the judgments discussed there). John reveals this terrible situation which comes upon the Christian and unChristian alike. Does faith in Jesus Christ make any difference when intense evil is inflicted upon the earth? Our Faith must be the victory! The third verse of that grand old hymn is very much to the point.
Faith Is the Victory!
To him that overcomes the foe - white raiment shall be giv-’n; Before the angels he shall know His name confessed in heav-’n; Then onward from the hills of light, Our hearts with love aflame; We-’ll vanquish all the hosts of night, In Jesus-’ conqu-‘ring name.
Faith is the Victory—-Faith is the Victory—- Faith is the Victory that overcomes the world.
Review Questions
See Revelation 6:12-17.
Revelation 6:9-11
Strauss-’ Comments SECTION 16
Text Revelation 6:9-11
9 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should have fulfilled their course.
Initial Questions Revelation 6:9-11
Where were the souls of the slain found - Revelation 6:9?
Why were they slain - Revelation 6:9?
Does Revelation 6:10 relate the cry of those impatient for justice? (Note Habakkuk’s cry in the Old Testament.)
What does the white robes of Rev 6:11 signify? Who received them?
The fifth and sixth seals go together. When the fifth seal is opened, the martyrs are standing under God’s altar, crying for vengeance. They are told that they must wait for God’s appointed time. The altar imagery is taken directly from the tabernacle (Exodus 39:39; Exodus 40:29). This is the altar of sacrifice (thusiastçriou). This is the term used in Acts 17:23 (an altar to an unknown god). We must not lose sight of the imagery that the souls were underneath or covered over by the place where the sacrifice for sin was made. John saw the souls of the ones having been slain (esphagmenôn - passive perfect participle - the term has a sacrificial significance, and implies violence) because of (or on account of - dia with the accusative has causal force) the Word of God, and because of (same structure as previous phrase) the witness which they had. The reasons for their being slain were the same for John being banded to Patmos.
The martyrs cried for vengeance! The O.T. prophet Habakkuk asked God the same thing regarding the apparent victory and prosperity of the wickedHow long? Abraham asked the Lord of Heaven - will not the judge of the whole earth be righteous (or do righteously?) Why do the martyred saints cry for vengeance? How does this passage fit in with the contemporary resurgence of the heresy of universalism (that everyone is going to be saved ultimately)? With great volume they cried saying: until when (how long), master, the holy and true, judgest thou not and avengest blood on them dwelling on the earth? The word translated master here is despotçs. The word despotçs is used in Jude 1:4: and 2 Peter 2:11 referring to Christ. In our language the word despot carries a bad connotation. Why did the Spirit choose this term? A despot is one who controls everything (note this term in Acts 4:24 - in times of persecution). There is not much hope left, unless God is all powerful, and that His will and purpose will ultimately prevail.
(Note how often the passive voice - was given is used in this section of scripture. This means that God allows certain things to occur but He is still in command of the reigns of the universe. The martyrs received a white robe. A stolç (robe) was a long festive dress. It was for special occasions only. And it was said to them in order that (hina clause - for the purpose that) they should rest (stop drying and also rest in spiritual peace) yet a little season until should be fulfilled also the fellow slaves of them and the brothers of them the ones being about (mellontes - about to occur) to be killed as also they. God told the saints to rest, because others would also be martyred for their faith in Christ. Things will grow worse on the earth, not better and better in every way.
Revelation 6:12-17
Strauss-’ Comments SECTION 20
Text: Revelation 6:12-17
12 And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; 13 and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. 14 And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?
Initial Questions Revelation 6:12-17
What is the O.T. source of the imagery of the sixth seal - Revelation 6:12? (See Joel chp. Revelation 2:1 ff)
The devastation was so terrible that the habitants of the earth did what - Revelation 6:15?
Is there a hiding place from God?
Is it paradoxical to speak of the wrath of the Lamb - Revelation 6:16?
Who will be able to stand in the day of God’s wrath - Revelation 6:17?
The sixth seal is the revelation of God’s day of wrath (Revelation 6:12-17). The imagery in this section of scripture is taken almost verbally from the biblical sources. The earthquake comes from Matthew 24 :, the sun black and the moon turned to blood (Joe 2:31 - note Joel chap Revelation 2:28 f was quoted by Peter on the Day of Pentecost), the star fallen from heaven like figs from a fig tree (Isaiah 34:4), the sky rolled up like a scroll (Isaiah 34:4), the rulers of the earth hiding (Isaiah 2:10), calling for the rocks and mountains to fall upon them (Hosea 10:8), are all familiar images to signify the end of the present world order.
The relationship of the structure of The Revelation to the great eschatological discourse of our Lord (Matthew 24:4; Matthew 25:1 ff; Mark 13:5-37; Luke 21:8-36 - see also Luke 17:20-37) is acknowledged by every competent scholar.
Note: We now have a paradigm of conservative, scholarly research in the work of Herman Ridderbos, a brilliant Dutch Calvinist. The Coming of the Kingdom, Presbyterian Reformed Pub. Co., 1962, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - this is a must for all concerned with the eschatology of The Synoptic Gospels and specifically with the passages mentioned above on our Lord’s discourse on the last things. Dr. Ridderbos is acutely aware of all top level critical scholarship as he enters the arena with C. H. Dodd’s realized eschatology (no ultimate wrath, judgment, nor hell), Oscar Cullmann, a mediating Lutheran scholar of the first rank, R. Bultmann, the father of contemporary theology which utilizes the categories of Existential anthropology to reinterpret the scriptures, and K. Barth, the architect of the greatest systematic presentation of a theology since Calvin. Thank God for a man that is committed to the Word, and is also alert to every scholarly work in the field!
Then these things begin to occur - they say to the mountains and to the rocks: Fall ye (pesete - 2 aor. imper. - the rocks were commanded to fall - do it now) on us and hide (krupsate - 1st aor. imper. they also commanded that the rocks hide them - tense of urgency) us from the face (the presence of - a Semitic manner of speaking) of the one sitting on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. The judgments of God are so severe that the rich and poor, the strong and the weak, strive to hide, but there is no hiding place. Why?
because the great day of their wrath came (elthen - 2 aor. ind. - it came in a moment - there was no time to prepare for it - now!) and who is able (can) stand - (stathenai - 1st. aor. inf. passive voice) who will be permitted to stand?) For the great day (hç hemera hç megalç) see Joe 2:11; Zephaniah 1:14; Jude 1:6). This powerful vision was presented to us with the paradoxical elements of the wrath of a lamb. Lambs are not full of wrath, but the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world is full of wrath for those who deny His vicarious atonement for sin.
Swete answers the concluding question who is able to stand? with the words of Christ found in Luke 21:36. But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (1901 - R.V.)
This scene speaks eloquently against the hideous heresy of universalism, which is rearing its ugly head again - in high and low places. (See the brief discussion in appendix after this chapter.) Note: Sermon Suggestion - No Place to Hide!
Introduction: David Bradley reported his experiences in the bomber which dropped the first nuclear weapon on Japan. He wrote a book entitled - No Place to Hide. This is even more true of the one sitting on the throne and wrath of the Lamb. No one will be able to stand!
I. Men seek Security today as never before, but will not find human forms of security adequate for that hour.
II. Men are alienated today as never before. They try to hide in the escape mechanisms of this world, but even the sea and the graves cannot hide us from the wrath of the Lamb.
III. Men are seeking prestige by attaining the status symbols of our day. We try to hide from our real selves. Before we can respond to the Gospel we must know who we are before God, in order to become what we ought to as followers of Christ. Rollo May says, in his The Meaning of Anxiety, that man’s ultimate concern today is to know the answer to the question - Who am I and what is the meaning of my existence?
Conclusion: What is Your answer to the question Who Can Stand? While those outside of Christ cry for the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them, those of us in Christ have a rock that is cleft for our hiding place.
Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages, cleft for me; Let me hide myself in thee; Not the labor of my hands can fulfill the law’s demands; Nothing in my hand I bring: Simply to thy cross I cling:
Note: We are under obligation to Leon Morris for his excellent survey study of The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment. Tyndale Press, London, 1960. Now in hard back and handled by Eerdman’S, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Many people deny the objective wrath of God, ultimate judgment, an ultimate Hell, but there are many different reasons given for rejecting these doctrines. The unitarian-Universalist coalition deny the validity of Hell, because the nature of God (they say) necessitates that everyone be ultimately saved. The Jehovahs Witnesses deny the reality of Hell, but for a different reason; they say that Hell is not a biblical doctrine. The vast majority of contemporary theologians deny the existence of Hell, because of their new views of revelation.
Dr. Morris-’ book is divided into four Chapter s:
Judgment in the O.T. Shaphat.
Judgment in the O.T.; other words than Shaphat.
Judgment in the N.T.; A Present Reality.
Judgment in the N.T.; A future Certainty.
Dr. Morris deals sagaciously with the best critical literature which strives, but vainly, to show that the Bible does not speak of an eschatological wrath, and ultimate judgment. Morris brilliantly, but simply, shows the fallacious reasoning of those who would empty the biblical declarations of their ultimate truth.
Review Questions for the Entire Chapter 6
What is a possible identification of the rider on the white horse - Revelation 6:1?
What does the symbol of the red horse mean - Revelation 6:4?
Discuss some of the spiritual factors involved in War - Revelation 6:4.
In our World does it look like evil or righteousness shall prevail - see Revelation 6:4?
What is the purpose of the third seal - Revelation 6:5?
Discuss the inter-relationship of war and scarcity as it is a present reality in our world.
How meaningful is our Christian Faith in times of crisis - Revelation 6:8?
What were the reasons given for the saints being slain - Revelation 6:9?
Discuss the problem of evil with respect to God’s justice, righteousness, and power - Revelation 6:10.
Why were the saints told to rest - Revelation 6:11?
Discuss the inter-relationship of Mat 24:1 ff, and this section of The Revelation - Revelation 6:12/
Who does their wrath refer to in Revelation 6:17?
Special Study
The Gospel, The Gulf of Guilt, and Resurgent Universalism!
Scripture: Luke 13:22-30
- And he went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem. 23. And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved?
Text: Romans 3:26
I say of his righteousness at this present season that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus. On April 11, 1961, another trial began in the city of Jerusalem, Palestine, which, like another trial in that city 1,929 years ago, was concerned with Justice, Righteousness, Guilt, and Forgiveness. The Jewish Court today, as during the trial of Jesus, sought only justice. What is Justice?
Adolf Eichmann, chief of the Gestapo of Jewish Affairs, was responsible for the liquidation of six million Jews! There is no punishment fit for the crime; a crime primarily committed on a little farm in Eastern Poland - Auschwitz! He was set out for all to see, as was Jesus. The world waited for the day when Eichmann would take the stand - what would he say? What could he say? When the bench gave him permission to take the stand, his first words were - Ich bin unschuldig!(I am not guilty). Eichmann’s reply raised the fundamental problem of the gulf guilt, and how this gulf is to be bridged - if at all. Nothing less than the Christian Gospel is at stake!
The Church of Jesus Christ is on trial again! It has been summoned by mankind to justify its existence. How can the cause of Christ face up to the phenomenon of a dynamic, resurgent universalism? In fact universalism is advancing at such alarming rate that the Evangelical fortnightly, Christianity Today is sponsoring a call and challenge to Bible believing preachers all over the world to reply to the cancerous heresy by a higher level proclamation of the Word. Yes, indeed the Church is on trial as never before in her history; so also is the Christian view of the need of fallen men, and his inability to meet his own need. This Twentieth Century trial, as did a first century Jerusalem trial, exemplifies three crucial matters, from a biblical perspective. Something is radically wrong with man; (1) The Offense is Sin; (2) The Offender is Man; and (3) The Offended is God! How can reconciliation be brought about? How can the injured grant peace of forgiveness to the injuror? What makes forgiveness possible?
There is an insidious disease which has reached epidemic proportions and is paralizing the spiritual and evangelistic life of the Church; its name is universalism. This strange forboding term and its implications for biblically oriented Christians must be diagnosed, and prognosis given - immediately - if a revitalized and commission-bearing church is to speak prophetically, and live redemptively before our generation - on behalf of God in Christ. We can plan our spiritual counter-attach better after we have a more intelligent understanding of the high strategy of hell. The demoniac strategists of the realm of darkness are heralding to contemporary man - that all men are already saved. A most consoling message! The sole purpose for the community of the committed to fulfill is to announce that factfar and wide. Universalism is that doctrine that declares a complete restoration of all men to a redeemed relationship with the living God (the theological term is apokatastosis panton). There are so many adherents of this doctrine today that as intelligent, concerned Christians we must be brought to the realization that this position cuts the spiritual nerve center of the Christian faith, and the possibility of Evangelizing the world in fulfillment of Christ’s final commission Go into all the World.
Possibly, we can have a clearer vision of this position which is held by both theological giants, and many pew padders alike; the doctrine of universalism asserts that the gulf is bridged solely because the nature of God is love and holy love cannot indict sinful man with eternal condemnation. This position implies that God’s wrath and judgment are solely corrective and restorative. This deceptive error is that punishment is curative or deterrent, and not as deserved! Contemporary Universalism asserts three things; (1) The omnipotence of God necessitates the universal salvation of man; (2) The sovereign Lordship of God in Christ is meaningful only if this Lordship necessarily entails the redemption of all men; (3) The irresistibility of the Word of God necessarily means the redemption of all non-Christians, Satan, and his angels of darkness. As early as Origen the doctrine of restorationism was being spread abroad. He hoped that all men would be redeemed; he also thought that Satan and fallen angels would be stored. Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, and Theodore of Mopsuesta also held that the purpose of punishment is to reform and not condemn. Augustine’s repudiation of this doctrine sowed the process of its dissemination. During the 18th and 19th centuries revival brought this wretched heresy into sharper focus than before. This theological aberration gave birth to the philosophical mutation - transcendentalism. The pantheistic tendencies of the period spawned a new breed of preachers. These went far and wide repudiating future punishment or hell. Their words were soothing - as even the unpenitent, belligerent sceptic was informed that the holy God would not be thwarted even by their overt animosity to all things holy. Those who maintain universalism today, do so but at the expense of the Bible as the Word of God. The new prophets of universalism have been called by a god who is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the father of Jesus Christ; and have been commissioned to proclaim a message not authorized by the holy Scripture. Every major contemporary theologian has been schooled in the doctrine of universalism, and has learned well his lessons.
Reinhold Niebuhr would have us believe that man is only in an existential predicament. Sin can be painlessly extracted from this predicament and then the patient can go back on the shores of eternal bliss. God is love; His nature precludes that the separation be eternal. Complete restoration is inevitable! Another creative Athenian, Dr. Paul Tillich, provides fallen man with sanctified certainty that his redemption has been gained. This voice in the wilderness has compelled many to go out to hear him and have stayed to be anesthetized into spiritual insensibility by his new healing balm - universalism. His disciples have returned to the pew with a new zealous defiance toward any call to a closer walk with the master of men. Dr. Tillich’s redeemer is a tertium quid, neither man nor God! I humbly suggest that Dr. Tillich’s pointer symbol (Jesus is the symbol of Christ pointing men to God) will be powerless to grant forgiveness to the sinner and provide security to the day of the wrath of God. If the universal redemption of all men is to be accomplished, I doubt that this prophetic voice is spokesmen for a saviour adequate for the task.
Another architect of contemporary theological thought is Dr. Karl Barth. He is a specialist in anesthetizing his theologically inclined auditors. His doctrine of grace which reveals its irresistible power in the triumph of election in Christ. All men are elected to eternal life in Christ, whether they are aware of it or not! The great and the small among the fraternity of theologians maintain, with a concerted voice, that God’s love necessarily results in the redemption of all men. This assertion must be challenged, if the church is to be rallied from her deadly sleep. The great physician must be beseeched immediately to empower His body again, if the impotence caused by this spiritual sleeping sickness is to be overcome. The spokesmen for the complete restoration of men are growing more numerous. There are many, both high and low, on the ecclesiastical ladder who maintain this fallacious doctrine. Dr. Nels F. S. Ferre declares in favor of universalism in these words as he defines agape (one of the N.T. words translated Love) as indiscriminate kindness to all (p. 57 - Christ and The Christian - Harper, 1958). He categorically asserts that salvation is universal in actual extent. (Ibid. pp. 246-247). He calls the doctrine of the second coming of Christ the darkest of all umbrellas, because it makes sense of hell and eternal punishment and thus repudiates his doctrine of God as agape. (See p. 33, The Sun and The Umbrella). Can the gulf of guilt be bridged in this manner? It will not do merely to assert that God has so bridged the gulf of guilt. Is it actually bridged in this manner? We turn now to consider the position of those who maintain the universal restorations of all men on the basis of the new unbiblical views of the nature of revelation, and the nature of God as agape (in the special sense of their new definition), and in our final point we will consider some of the biblical doctrines which are not in harmony with the complete restoration doctrine.
I. Contemporary Universalism in Grounded in a Non-biblical View of the Nature of Revelation
How does God reveal himself? Most contemporary theologians deny that revelation is propositional. By propositional revelation we mean that the words and sentences in the Bible are very revelation. Those who maintain the doctrine of universalism, at least in its modern dress, deny that the Bible is the Word of God. They set forth an anti-biblical view of revelation as they speak ambiguously about events as being the revelation, but since there are no infallible records (according to them), the information from the first century Christians (The New Testament) is of no greater value than the theological systems of Doctors Barth, Bultmann, Tillich, Niebuhr, or Ferré; in fact, they are of less - to many. If this thesis is true, then let us trace the steps historically which led to this new view of revelation and makes universalism so feasible within the framework of its theological presuppositions. What are the major attitudes toward the nature of revelation found in contemporary thought, and in what ways do these effect the problem of universalism? In order to deal with these questions, let us retrace some of the more crucial steps in the development of the contemporary mind. The New Testament clearly reveals an apostolic insistence on revealed truth. The Apostolic Fathers of the second and third centuries were preoccupied with proving the validity of the Christian religion against Jewish and pagan rejections of Jesus as Christ. The paramount issue revolves about the relation of reason to revelation. The traditional position (from Apostolic Fathers to the modern period) has been that reason and revelation constitute two distinct sources of knowledge or truth. Contemporary insistences on a single source of knowledge react violently to this claim.
The Jewish Philosopher-Theologian, Martin Buber has provided many Christian theologians with a new view of religious knowledge. His view is clearly set forth in his small, popularly written work - I-Thou. He maintains that we come to know people in a different manner than we know things. This means that we never necessarily know God through scripture, or evidence of any kind. Commitment becomes totally an irrational leap. This position completely rejects the uniqueness of the Christian revelation. Salvation then becomes available to anyone open or responsive to the Thou (supposedly God). Salvation is no longer dependent on the work of Christ on the Cross and empty tomb. Revelation is no longer content or revealed information, but rather an encounter of man with God, not mediated through the language of scripture, or anything else.
The contemporary anti-biblical attitude toward revelation leads us to consider a corollary doctrine - the nature of God as agape (as defined in the new theology), and if this is His nature, then no one can thwart His redemptive love, therefore,
must be saved; therefore, man’s acceptance or response to God has nothing to do with man’s salvation. Yet, the personification of this redemptive love declared Marvel not at this; for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28-29; R.V., 1901). Negative Biblical criticism and the so-called assured scientific results play a role in the rejection of the Bible as the Word of God, but we will by-pass this particular problem and move to specific declarations of major theologians - concerning their repudiation of the Bible as the very Word of God.
Archbishop William Temple was a giant among the theological Philistines. He declares against the unique status of the Bible in these wordsWhat is offered to man’s apprehension in any specific revelation is no truth concerning but the living God Himself. (See* Nature, Man, and God,* p. 322). This is a categorical rejection of the propositions of the Bible as very revelation. Emil Brunner said the fate of the Bible is the fate of Christianity, but he is very hard on this object - which determines the fate of Christianity. The Bible of Brunner, Barth, Bultmann, and their disciples is a document capable of yielding the doctrine of universalism; but we must not confuse their Bible with the one on which the church has kindled her evangelistic compassion for centuries. Much of the contemporary Church’s zeal for the lost has been dissipated, because it has been served from the source of the power of God unto salvation. This conclusion leads us to consider a second problem which arises out of the first - the nature of God as Love.
Advocates of open membership maintain, implicitly and explicitly, a view of revelation which stands in marked tension with the biblical data. When one maintains that we must not allow even baptism to be a stumbling block to a person seeking to become a member of the Church of Christ, he is maintaining an implicit view of the will of God. How do the advocates of Open Membership know that it is more Christian to accept the pious unimmersed as fellow Christians than to deny to them the aforementioned status. Though we cannot here consider the intricacies of the contemporary debate concerning the nature of revelation, theological language, etc., we can assert that those who maintain the view mentioned above, do so by implying a new gnostic source of religious knowledge. Those of us who deny the validity of open membership have a right to demand that they clearly articulate a defensible view of the nature of revelation and religious discourse. This has not been observed, at least by this present author. It follows logically that if universalism is a true doctrine, then a discussion of immersion versus no immersion is ultimately non-sensical.
II. Contemporary Universalism Also Entails a Non-Biblical View of the Nature of God which is Inseparable from the New Views of Revelation (Not Content but the Encounter of Persons)
What is God like? How can we know the nature of God? The contemporary universalists maintain that He is love, but what does this mean? If revelation is not content or information (re: Scriptures), how do they know that God is love in the sense that His love necessarily entails the salvation of every man? No biblically oriented Christian would deny that the love of God is necessary for our salvation, but would deny that it is the sufficient condition of our salvation. How do they know that all men will be saved? Where do the universalists obtain this information? We must take up the promethian task of challenging all universalists with the query - how do you verify your assertion that the nature of God precludes that anyone can be lost, if you are cut loose from a rational view of revelation? If revelation is rational, i.e., propositions contained in the scripture, then we can assert that we know the nature of God is love, because the revelation provides this information, and at the same time gives us abundant evidence of the nature of the love of God. But is the biblical doctrine of love to be equated with the contemporary view of love as entailing the universal redemption of man? The Scripture speaks of both the love of God and the condemnation of the alien sinner. We would never find out from a critical study of the scripture texts that all men are saved, and that our sole responsibility is merely entailed in our telling them so. Quite the opposite is the case! One said to Jesus Lord, are they few that are saved? Though we believe the Bible is unique revelation, we are not here concerned with the mere proof-texting of biblical animosity toward universalism. We will choose a book which contains an extensive doctrine of the love of God, I John; and we now turn to learn what he has to say about the nature of the love of God. We will examine John’s theology of love to see if this section of scripture adheres to the contemporary theological definition of agape that is, that God’s love is of such a nature that no man - not even the unrepentent sinner, will be eternally condemned. If we find that the Biblical doctrine love is not in harmony with the redefinition of agape by the theologians, then we can only say that their new view of the love of God stems from their new view of revelation, and therefore, stands in the sharpest tension with both the biblical doctrine of revelation, and the love of God revealed therein. John develops the first epistle around three basic tests of life - fellowship, love, and belief. Though the entire epistle repudiates universalism, our immediate attention will be directed to the place of love in the life of redemption. John tells the universal church that - He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. (1 John 2:9-29 R.V.). John declares that only the ones who continue to love (present tense verb) continues to abide (Present tense verb) in the light. This entire work was written to give criterion for distinguishing between the redeemed and the unredeemed!He again raises his voice against the universalist message as he states, We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. (1 John 3:14, 1901 R.V.). The love of God obligates man to love; therefore, there is at least this condition, which must be fulfilled before the love of God is redemptive. In the great section on the test of love (John 4:7-12) we are confronted with the demands of holy love. God is defined as agape or love! This sounds like what the contemporary theologians are saying, but here God’s redemptive love is conditioned. This becomes crystal clear in 1 John 4:12if we love one another, God abideth in us.. The condition which must be met, before God promises to continually dwell in the believer is clearly pointed out in John’s use of the conditional if we love one another. We love, because he first loved (1 John 4:19). This great paragraph on the love of God shows three things(1) That the love of God is not indiscriminately redemptive; (2) and that therefore the biblical doctrine of the love of God is not the doctrine of the love of God which the universalists teach; (3) the universalist’s agape theology must be the result of a new view of revelation, because it does not stem from the biblical theology of the love of God. This great sketch of scripture clearly demarcates the relation of the love of God to the problem of Sin, truly a problem fit for God! The two questions which we asked at the beginning of this section What is God Like? and How Can we Know the Nature of God? receive mutually exclusive answers in the Bible and in the works of contemporary universalist theologians.
We now turn to a third consideration - some biblical doctrines which cannot be harmonized with the doctrine of the universal salvation.
III. There Are Many Biblical Doctrines Which Flatly Contradict the Doctrine of Universalism:
What do universalists reply to the biblical doctrines of the wrath and judgment of God? Marcian taught in the second century, that the Old Testament reveals solely a God of wrath and the New Testament solely a God of love. This assertion tells us more of the level of Marcian’s biblical knowledge - than it does about the biblical teaching concerning the wrath of God. The locus classicus of the biblical doctrine of the wrath of God is Romans 1:19-32. Here all of mankind is brought under the wrath of God. We must here assert what is very clear in the text that we are here reading of the objective wrath and not a subjective or emotive wrath.
The desert herald, John the Baptizer, thundered out these words to unrepented Pharisees and SadduceesYe offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come the same time no one can take seriously the biblical records, and reduce the wrath and judgment of God to a present reality, emptying these doctrines of any future or eschatological impart. All judgment is not condemnatory in nature, but the biblical authors take special care to distinguish this fact from condemnatory judgment which will befall all who are not found in Christ. Paul provides us with the message of divine mercy - Therefore, there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1).
The contemporary agape theologians have set aside the biblical doctrines of justice, righteousness, wrath, judgment as though they were not there or as though they are in irreconcilable tension with the biblical doctrine of the love of God. Why and how do they choose only a part of the biblical doctrine of the nature of God to the exclusion of other parts? The New Testament as does the Old, speaks of the justice, righteousness and love of God as though they are inseparable. Exegetically, universalism is untenable! How then can we account for the wide spread adherence to this doctrine by most top ranking theological eschalon? Contemporary theologians, controlled by alien philosophical and/or theological presuppositions, hold that these doctrines are contradictory.
Nicholas Berdyaev, the Russian Orthodox Existentialist, states that, The justification of hell on the ground of justice. is particularly revolting and lacking in spiritual depth (see p. 267 - The Destiny of Man.) Berdyaev is actually claiming that the biblical teaching that God is love is precluding justice. The very work which gives this definition of God - I John - militates against Berdyaev’s interpretation of the significance of the doctrinal assertion that God is love. John maintains that the nature of God as love obligates man - if he is to be among the redeemed. John is no universalist, but Dr. Berdyaev is! You will have to choose which one you follow!
This new non-biblical view of the nature of God is clearly revealed in the universalism of C. H. Dodd. The nature and purpose of the atoning work of Christ receives radical alteration at the hands of some master theological surgeons. The new understanding of the nature of Christ’s atonement is a genetic abervation. Dr. Dodd was largely responsible for the change in translation from propitiation to expiation in the Revised Standard Version, and New English Bible, etc. What is the theological difference between these two terms? Expiation involves an atonement for a thing; propitiation involves atonement to a person! The contemporary theological foundation for favoring expiation is most apparent in the so-called agape theology: that God is love, and cannot and does not demand atonement to himself in order that reconciliation of the sinner can be effected. This idea is not only foreign to the New Testament, but rather it stands in diametric opposition to the biblical doctrine of atonement. The use of expiation in Romans 3:25, etc., clearly reveals the contemporary attitude toward the nature of God; that God’s nature precludes His demand for propitiatory sacrifice. We must never cease from declaring that though God’s nature demanded propitiatory sacrifice; and that He was that sacrifice in the person of the Lamb of God! The biblical doctrine of the objective wrath of God, which leads to the condemnation of the person outside of Christ on the day of Judgment, has no place in a concept of atonement based on expiation. The apostolic declaration that new power became available to men in Christ is central for the biblical doctrine of Kerygma. What was the origin and extent of newness on the earth? What was the relation of Kerygma, and the source and power of newness? In the fulness of time God made available in Christ a new power to become sons of God. God made a new covenant with men and this covenant was inseparably related to the death of the testator - the Christ of the Cross and empty tomb. (Hebrews 8, 9). This new covenant brought into possible existence a new life. This new quality of life transcends mere existence. Paul pictures the new life of one who has died to sin in Romans 6:1-7. We are entombed with Christ by the instrument of baptism - in order that we rise to walk in newness of life (Revelation 6:4). This beautiful section of scripture plainly reveals that this newness of life is conditioned; therefore, it is not indiscriminately available to all men as universalism asserts.
Newness of Life is made available to man through the preaching of the Cross. The paradox of The Skandalon (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) is that it is the power of God - only to those who are saved; it is a stumbling block to the Jews, who thought that there was some other way to be redeemed; it is foolishness to the Gentiles (nations or Greeks), because it was intellectually absurd that man’s only possibility for salvation was made available through a crucified savior on an ignomenious cross. This new life was a separated life. Here the tension with universalism is sharply focused. This is no sacred-secular distinction; because of a re-interpretation of the kingdom and lordship of God based on a complete restoration of man to God. The newness of life is the quality of life available only to the new man. The Ephesian Epistle gives us a divine perspective from which to see the new man in Christ. The construction of the Church (chp. 2) was to destroy unwanted walls which divide the creation of God. That he might create in himself of the two one new man. and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross - (Ephesians 2:15-16 R.V. 1901). In a burst of glory Paul discloses that the new man is not to walk as the Gentiles, and he admonishes us to put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. (Ephesians 4:24). His radical distinction between the old man and the new man clearly stands in opposition to the indistinguishable line between old and new man in universalism.
The new man makes up of the people of God. In universalism the whole earth is ushered into the kingdom indiscriminately, but the Scriptures speak of an elect race, a royal nation, a people for God’s own possession - (1 Peter 2:9). The three adjectives elect, royal, and holy cry out against a complete restorationism. Beginning in the ancient records of Israel we take note of the development of a special people of God. The development culminated in the construction of the Church of Jesus Christ - spiritual Israel (Romans, chp. 9-11). Christ himself demarcated two distinct groups of men - the sheep and the goats. From the beginning to the end the Bible repudiates the doctrine that all men are children of God. The old liberal theologians spoke often about the universal fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man, and so do their successors, the contemporary preachers of universalism. In apostolic preaching the saving power of Christ was extended to all hereers as conditioned. But all who heard did not hear! The Paradox of seeing when they cannot see was illucidated by Isaiah (chp. 6) by Christ, (Mark 4:10 f), and by Paul (Acts 28:26-28). All three declared that their hearers were conditioned by their cultural ears! But we must never forget that only those who hear and believe the same shall be saved.
That the Lordship of God, revealed in Christ, was conditionally set forth is clear from the first occasion of apostolic preaching. When Peter and the eleven finished holding high the magnificent master - men cried - Men and brethren, what must we do? (Acts 2:14 ff - the word translated must is from the Greek dei which expresses all kinds of necessity). The reply came - not that the love of God was unconditioned, but rather that the seeking sinner must do something to lay hold on eternal life. Peter said Repent! (This is in the imperative, or command mode.) Christ. except ye repent! He continued and declared and be baptized everyone of you. (This part of his reply is also in the imperative modebe baptized.) This was not a suggestion or a mere request, but a command! The results of obedience would bethe remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. After every example of Apostolic preaching - men were challenged to decide for Christ. His saving power is available only to those who decided to stand without the gate and suffer with Christ. To decide for Christ means to cut through or away the possible alternative of denying His redemption.
There is no possible way to eliminate orgç from the Bible, even by the most radical critical surgery, - only he who continues to the end - the same shall be saved. The contemporary agape theologians manipulate the biblical data to fit into their theological molds which were formed by existentialists and phenomenological views of man, and the human situation, not the biblical doctrine of love, son, man, forgiveness, etc.
The raison d-‘être of the church is to evangelize all men everywhere, and bring them to saving knowledge of Christ. In the March 1st, 1963 edition of Christianity Today, Dr. Ferré graciously but vainly attempted to reply to Dr. Kuhn’s analysis of Dr. Ferré’S view of universalism. Dr. Ferré quoted the Scriptures in his effort to show that universalism is clearly a biblical doctrine. Since this is not a self-evident claim, it would require extended critical discussion. (For a recent study of alleged Pauline universalism see Paul Munch, Paul and the Salvation of Mankind. This is an excellent refutation of supposed Pauline Universalism).
Dr. Ferré’S universalism is clearly delineated in his statement - to attribute eternal hell to God is literal blasphemy, the attributing of the worst to the best. From such blasphemy may God deliver everyone. p. 24, Christianity Today, March 1, 1963. It must be apparent that what constitutes blasphemy and the nature of God, according to Jr. Ferré, has not been vouch-safed in the Scripture, but if at all, through some other revelatory medium unknown to most of us. Contemporary universalism is merely voicing again the words of a Dostoevskian archangel who has reappeared in our midst, and bids all men give him ear. I refuse my mission if the torture of an innocent child by the brute is to be the ransom of the world. Often, neither the thoughts of men nor archangels voice the word and will of God! The time of the tyranny of words is again upon us! The revelation of God declares against the indiscriminate redemption of man; and the voice of the theological oracles echo and re-echo that redemption of all men is a fact - go and declare it. The oracles of our age of naturalistic humanism are declaring that man is the absolute. Man is infatuated with himself and is seriously ill with self love, like Goethe’s Werther.
Bertrand Russell said that the only thing that would save western civilization is Christian love; but he too wants Christian love without God’s Christ. The gulf of guilt has been bridged, but only for those in Christ! The Hound of Heaven is seeking the lost, and it is His love that persistswhile human hybris (pride) intensifies, Francis Thompson gives us thrilling insight into the nature of the love of God: a God who loves sinners, and judges the unrepentant, has announced in His Word that the unredeemed will be lost. Let us retrace the steps of The Hound of Heaven as we challenge every hearer to receive Christ as Lord of life and death, time and eternity. These steps are strewn with the tears of Christ who came to be our saviour, and who will, if necessary, come again to be our judge. Not everyone who sayeth unto me Lord, Lord will enter into the Kingdom of God but he that doeth (present tense - keeps on doing) the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy by thy name and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23, R.V., 1901).
CONCEPT OF RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS IN THE KERYGMA
A Study in Biblical Theology - Outline Taken from Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia, Curtis Pollok Harper Jr., May, 1958. - T.H.M. Thesis
Consummation of God’s Purpose for Man and the Rest of Creation
I.
Proclaimation of Restoration
Old Testament Prophecy of Restoration
II.
New Testament Teaching
Revelation 20:11 to Revelation 21:1 - Revelation 22:5
Apokatastasis Pantôn - Reconcile Completely, refer to John 1:1-4 - come to own (things neuter plural - back again)
III.
Reconciliation of Persons
Reconciliation of Cosmos
Reconciliation implies previous estrangement!
Prefix - do again. Anakephalaiôsasthai - to sum up all things in Christ.
IV.
Pattern of Restoration
First Prophets
Apostles - Preaching
Pauline Epistles - Ephesians and Colossians 4.
Revelation of John