Revelation 6:9-17 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 6:9-17

In the remaining part of this chapter we have the opening of the fifth and the sixth seals. I. The fifth seal. Here is no mention made of any one who called the apostle to make his observation, probably because the decorum of the vision was to be observed, and each of the four living creatures had discharged its duty of a monitor before, or because the events here opened lay out of the sight, and beyond the time, of the present ministers of the church; or because it does not contain a new... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:9-11

6:9-11 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw beneath the altar the souls of those who had been stain for the sake of the word of God and because of the witness which they bore. And they cried with a loud voice: "How long, Lord, Holy and True, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?" And to each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest for still a little while, until there should be completed the number of their fellow-servants... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:9-11

There are three things in this section which we must note. (i) We have the eternal cry of the suffering righteous--"How long?" This was the cry of the Psalmist. How long were the heathen to be allowed to afflict God's righteous people? How long were they to be allowed to taunt his people by asking where God was and what he was doing? ( Psalms 79:5-10 ). The thing to remember is that when the saints of God uttered this cry, they were bewildered by God's seeming inactivity but they never... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:12-14

6:12-14 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the heaven fell upon the earth, as a fig-tree casts its figs, when it is shaken by a high wind; and the heavens were split like a roll that is rolled up, and the hills and islands were moved from their places. John is using pictures very familiar to his Jewish readers. The Jews always regarded the end as... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:15-17

6:15-17 And the kings of the earth and the great ones and the captains and the rich and the strong, and every slave and every free person hid themselves in the caves and the rocks of the hills, and said to the mountains and to the rocks: "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" As John saw it in his vision, the end time was to be one of universal terror. Here... 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 Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:12

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal ,.... Of the sealed book which the Lamb took out of the hand of him that sat upon the throne, in order to open it, and unloose its seals. About this seal interpreters much differ; some refer this to the destruction of Jerusalem, because of the likeness of expressions here used, and in Matthew 24:7 ; but this was past many years before this seal was opened; and besides, though that time was a day of wrath to the uttermost upon the Jewish... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:13

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth ,.... All the other inferior deities lost their esteem, worship, and honour; for the idol temples being now opened, the idols and statues were exposed to the common people, and were found to be stuffed with hay and straw, which brought them into great contempt F12 Sozomen, l. 2. c. 5. . Moreover, as stars sometimes signify the ministers of the Gospel in the Christian church, Revelation 1:20 , and sometimes the priests in the Jewish church, ... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 6:9-17

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:9-11

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:9-11

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:12-14

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 6:15-17

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 6:13

Group of Brands