Revelation 6:1-16 NIV

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:2

And I saw, and behold a white horse ,.... Representing the ministration of the Gospel in the times of the apostles, which were just now finishing, John being the last of them, who saw this vision; and the "horse" being a swift, majestic, and warlike creature, and fearless of opposition and war, may design the swift progress of the Gospel in the world, the majesty, power, and authority with which it came, and opposition it met with, and which was bore down before it; and its "white" colour... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:3

And when he had opened the second seal ,.... Of the sealed book; that is, the Lamb, as before: I heard the second beast say, come and see ; this living creature was the ox, whose situation was on the west side of the throne, as the standard of Ephraim, on which was an ox, was on the west of the camp of Israel; no mention is made of the noise of thunder, as before, the voice of the ox being lower than that of the lion; and this perhaps may point out a decrease in the Gospel ministry; to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:4

And there went out another horse, that was red ,.... Which may be an emblem either of the suffering state of the church, being answerable to the Smyrnaean one, as the purity and power of the Gospel, represented in the former seal, may answer to the Ephesine church; or else of those contentions and divisions occasioned among men through the Gospel, which, though of a peaceable nature, yet, through the corruption and depravity of men, brings not peace, but a sword; or rather of those bloody... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:5

And when he had opened the third seal ,.... Of the sealed book: I heard the third beast say, come and see ; this living creature was that which was like a man, who was on the south side of the throne, as the standard of Reuben, which had the figure of a man, was on the south side of the camp of Israel; this was not the Apostle Paul, as Grotius thinks, to whom was made a prophecy of a famine in the days of Claudius Caesar; nor Tertullian, who made an apology for the Christians in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say ,.... Not the voice of Agabus to the Apostle Paul, Acts 11:28 ; but rather of Christ, who was in the midst of them, Revelation 5:6 ; the Ethiopic version adds, "as the voice of an eagle": a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny ; "Choenix", the measure here used, signifies as much as was sufficient for a man for one day, as a penny was the usual hire of a labourer for a day, Matthew 20:2 ; so a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:7

And when he had opened the fourth seal ,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; that is, when the Lamb had opened it, or took it off, as in Revelation 6:1 ; I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see ; this living creature was that which was like an eagle, and was on the north side of the throne, answerable to the standard of Dan, which was on the north of the camp of Israel, and had the figure of an eagle upon it; and the opening of this seal begins with Maximinus the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:8

And I looked, and behold a pale horse ,.... An emblem either of the state of the church, pale not with persecution, as some think, for through that it was red; but with the hypocrisy and superstition of many of its members, who were paving the way for the man of sin, and on account of whom the church was grown sickly and dying; or rather this is an emblem of the sickly and dying state of the Pagan Roman empire, through a complication of judgments upon it, hereafter mentioned, as war, famine,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:9

And when he had opened the fifth seal ,.... Of the seven seals of the sealed book; here is no beast speaking here, nor horse and rider presented to view; it was now a very dark time both with respect to the church of God and ministry of the word, and the Roman empire. This seal refers to the times of Dioclesian, and the persecution under him; and instead of the voice of one of the living creatures, John hears the voice of martyrs: I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain ;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:10

And they cried with a loud voice ,.... With great ardour and fervency, being very pressing and importunate; and which shows that they were awake, and not asleep, and that the soul does not sleep with the body in the grave, or is after the death of that in a state of insensibility and inactivity, as some imagine: saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true ; the person they address is either the Lamb in the midst of the throne, with whom they were, and under the shelter of whom they were safe... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:11

And white robes were given to everyone of them ,.... The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read in the singular number, "a white robe", and so does the Syriac version; as a token of their innocence, that they did not suffer, or were slain, for any capital crime or immorality they were guilty of; and of their purity and perfection they now enjoyed; as also of that spiritual delight and pleasure, which was unspeakable and full of glory, they now had in the presence of God and Christ; and in... read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:8

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:11

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