Now we’ll continue with the fourth seal judgment. When the Lamb breaks open the fourth seal, a pale green horse appears (6:8). Most translations say “pale horse”. This seems to be the traditional translation. However, the word is chloros (translated “green” in 8:7 and 9:4). My Parallel New Testament in Greek and English in the translation of 6:8 has “pale green”. In context, I suspect “pale” was added or (in some translations) substituted for “green”. Either way, the horse color probably describes the discolored, ashen appearance of dead and rotting human flesh.
Here, the rider on the horse is named Death. And again, we have a continuation of cause and effect. The rider of the first horse “went forth conquering and to conquer”. Then the rider of the second horse (red) “was given power to take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another”. And we have to remember that the purpose of the tribulation period and the series of judgments described in Revelation are to deal with the enemies of Israel. (I know this is not politically correct, but God is dealing principally with Islam, the only religion in the world whose members seem to have no reservations whatsoever when it comes to killing other members of their own religion). So we have war. Then the third horse (black) appears representing famine, the eventual result of war. Now the rider of this pale green horse, Death, illustrates the result of war and famine.
After the rider of this pale green horse is identified as Death, the text reads, “and Hell followed with him”. Again, in context, the cause and effect continues. I like the translation of this phrase in my Amplified Bible, “and Hades followed him closely”. The people dying in these wars and the resulting famine are going to hell.
The last sentence of 6:8 reads something like this: “And they were given power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with disease and with wild beasts of the earth.” The “they” does not refer to Death and Hell only, but to all those described in the first four seals in verses 1-8. They’re given power or authority over “a fourth part of the earth”. This is simply a confirmation of the limited scope of the antichrist’s power and the area directly affected by the events of the tribulation as previously discussed (the revised Old Roman Empire consisting of Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa or all the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea).
There are four things listed in this verse that kill; war, famine, disease and wild beasts of the earth. This is an interesting aspect of this time. If you remember, the original animal kingdom consisted only of herbivores and mankind was vegetarian. After the flood man was given permission to eat meat, but not blood. And at the same time some animals became carnivores. It was at this time that men began to be in danger as there were some in the animal kingdom that were more than willing to eat human flesh (Leviticus 26:22, Jeremiah 16:4, Ezekiel 39:17-20). When we get to the place in these lessons where we talk about the Millennium, you will see the animal kingdom revert back to its original state (Isaiah 11:6,7).
Now we see the first martyrs in this time. “Then when the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, at the foot of the altar I saw the souls of those who had been killed for clinging to the Word of God and because of the testimony they had given. And they all cried with a loud voice, Oh Lord, holy and true, how long before You sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? And they were all given a white robe and told to wait patiently until the number should be fulfilled of their fellow servants and brethren that were to be killed as they had been.” (Revelation 6:9-11) These people are those who come to Christ after the rapture, but are martyred for their belief in Christ before this fifth seal is opened. They are just the beginning of the multitudes of those martyred during the tribulation period, as evidenced by the last statement in verse 11 when they are told to wait for the complete number of martyrs to be fulfilled.
There are several things that need to be discussed here. Why would there be so many people killed for what they believe during this time? Let’s try to put ourselves in the historical context. If you live in a country that is directly involved in the events of the tribulation, you would be in a country most likely dominated by the Muslim culture. It is a time of chaos, destruction, war and the desperate circumstances that go with it (death, famine, disease). The world has already experienced the rapture and it is now widely and, at least somewhat accurately, reported to be an act of God as clearly foretold in the Christian Bible. People are abandoning their religions and investigating the claims of the Christian faith. And, although many in the religion called Christianity are in denial and are still distorting truth, there are those who avoid their deception and find a reality in God and in His Son Jesus.
But remember, the purpose of the rapture was to remove believers from the earth to give the attitude of rebellion against God it full freedom and expression. Yet in the midst of this rebellion, people are coming to Christ. As you will see as we progress through God’s program of judgment in Revelation, the more destructive the judgment, the more it becomes evident God is in complete control and the more angry and rebellious men become. And so, the angrier they get, the less tolerance they have for those who follow the God they’re fighting against. Hence, the martyrdoms increase.
There is another factor to consider. A large sect of Islam awaits the coming of the 12th Imam, who is supposed to lead them to world domination. To read more about this man you can go to www.allaboutpopularissues.org/12th-imam.htm. If you do, you will see how it could be possible that this 12th Imam could be the antichrist, or someone closely involved with him (possibly the false prophet, we’ll look at that later as he appears during the second half of the tribulation period). Anyway, as you study the Islamic prophecies regarding this 12th Imam, there are definite parallels between what they are looking for and what Daniel and John speak of in the Scriptures. What happens if it comes to the point that they believe their 12th Imam has come, but his ability to lead them into world domination is being denied by the judgment of God? The answer is found in Revelation 16:9, 11. During the very worst of God’s judgment against them, they curse Him and refuse to submit. The point is that Islamic fervor being what it is, the events of the tribulation will only serve to heighten that fervor and Muslims will be even more intolerant of the “infidels” and more anxious to kill as many of them as they can.
Then one last thing and we can move on to the sixth seal. In case you haven’t noticed, I believe in a literal translation of Scripture. If it says it, I believe it, and I have yet to find any real contradiction or perceived error in it. So, let me make these observations from verses 10 and 11. First of all, in verse 10, these martyred souls cry out to God, asking how long it will be until He avenges their death. This illustrates the immortality of the soul, the fact that intelligence, understanding and memory is intact after death and full consciousness is retained between the time of death and the time that resurrection takes place when the new spirit body identical to Christ’s resurrection body is given by God (as discussed in Lesson 25, point IV).
The other thing that most people don’t stop to think about when they read this or similar passages is that the soul and spirit have a recognizable shape that is like the physical shape or body it used to occupy (read Luke 16:19-31 where Jesus recounts the actual experiences of two men who died, this is not a parable, it is a true story and in it men recognize and talk to each other). In verse 11 these martyred souls are given white robes to wear. How could they wear white robes unless they have form and shape?
We’ll continue with the sixth seal in Lesson 30.