Revelation 6:9-11:14 ESV

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 6:1-17

The Six SealsThe afflicted Church has been reminded in Revelation 4 f. that God is over all, and that the future is committed to the Lamb. Now (Revelation 6 - Revelation 8:1) she is shown that future, unrolling to its appointed end, i.e. the judgment of the enemies of God and the triumph of those who ’overcome.’ The Lamb opens the seven seals. Apparently we are to understand that, as each seal is opened, a portion of that which is written in the book is revealed pictorially. Revelation 7... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Revelation 6:9

(9) I saw under the altar . . .—Read, when He opened, and, instead of “were slain,” &c., had been slain because of the Word of God, and (because of) the testimony which they held. The seal indicates that the mission of the Christian Church can only be carried out in suffering. An altar is seen, and at its foot tokens of the martyrs who had laid down their lives upon it. The word “souls” is to be taken as the equivalent of “lives”; the vision tells that their lives had been sacrificed. The... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Revelation 6:9-11

(9-11) The fifth seal differs from the four earlier seals. It is not introduced by the voice of the living beings, and the cry “Come.” The voice which is now heard is not the cry of the groaning world, but of the oppressed and troubled Church. In the fourth seal the climax of world-sorrow seemed to be reached in the accumulation of war, famine, pestilence, and noisome beasts. It declared to the evangelist that there were evils which would continue and even increase in the world. “Ye shall hear... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Revelation 6:1-17

Revelation 6:2 The motto of the Moravian Church is ' Vicit Agnus noster, eum sequamur '. ('Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him.') Revelation 6:8 Death appears mounted on a horse, not on a throne; he arrives, he passes by. C. G. Rossetti. Dr. John Brown, in the second series of Horae Subsecivae, describes a sermon by Dr. Chalmers on the reign of death, and on death as a tremendous necessity. Towards the end, 'in a few plain sentences, he stated the truth as to sin entering, and death by... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:1-17

CHAPTER IV.THE SEALED ROLL OPENED. Revelation 6:1-17.WITH the sixth chapter of the Apocalypse the main action of the book may be said properly to begin. Three sections of the seven into which it is divided have already passed under our notice. The fourth section, extending from chap. 6:1 to chap. 18:24, is intended to bring before us the struggle of the Church, the judgment of God upon her enemies, and her final victory. No detail of historical events in which these things are fulfilled need be... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Revelation 6:1-17

CHAPTERS 6 The Opening of the Seven Seals 1. The first seal (Revelation 6:1-2 ) 2. The second seal (Revelation 6:3-4 ) 3. The third seal (Revelation 6:5-6 ) 4. The fourth seal (Revelation 6:7-8 ) 5. The fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-11 ) 6. The sixth seal (Revelation 6:12-17 ) 7. Parenthesis: The remnant of Israel (Revelation 7:1-8 ) 8. The saved multitude (Revelation 7:9-17 ) 9. The seventh seal (Revelation 8:1-5 ) Revelation 6:1-2 . The Lamb, invested with all the authority to execute... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Revelation 6:9

6:9 {7} 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:(7) The sixth sign is that the holy martyrs who are under the altar, by which they are sanctified, that is, received into the trust and teaching of Christ (into whose hands they are committed) shall cry out for the justice of God, in a holy zeal to advance his kingdom, and not from any private disturbance of the mind, in this and the... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 6:1-17

The First Seal: The White Horse (vv. 1-2) In the Lamb's opening of the seals our sight is transferred again to earth, but John does not return there. His vision is from heaven. The first seal (v. 1) indicates the beginning of Daniel's seventieth week (Daniel 9:27). In Daniel 9:1-27, beginning with verse 24, Daniel is told that after seven "weeks" (or "sevens") and sixty-two "weeks" Messiah would be cut off (vv. 25-26). This has proven to be 69 weeks of years, which brings us to the exact... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:1-17

THE SEVEN SEALS This section might also be entitled “The things which shall be hereafter.” It is assumed that the true church is not upon the earth at the beginning of chapter 4, but that the translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 has taken place. Christendom is here, but the church is with the Lord in the air. To some this may seem a bold assumption, but not to those who have pursued the study of the earlier books in this commentary. To them it will appear natural and proper that the church... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Revelation 6:9-11

(9) 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: (10) 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? (11) And white robes were given unto everyone of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that... read more