Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 5

The opening of the seals continues the vision begun in chs. 4–5. Now the scene shifts to events on earth. Before the exposition of each of the seals, it will be helpful to consider their overall meaning. As we have already seen (cf. comment on 5:1), the scroll itself involves the rest of Revelation and has to do with the consummation of the mystery of all things, the goal of history for both the overcomers and the beast worshipers. But what do the seals have to do with this mystery? Are the events of the seals representative and simultaneous world happenings that occur during the church age, or do they occur sequentially? Are they part of the final drama or merely preparatory to it? One thing is certain: the Lamb has the scroll and he himself opens the seals.

With the opening of the fifth seal, the martyrs cry out, “How long... until you judge the inhabitants of the earth?” and are told to wait “a little longer” (vv.10–11). And when the sixth seal is opened, judgment appears imminent (v.17); this seems to indicate a time progression in the seals. The writer of this commentary tentatively suggests that the seals represent events preparatory to the final consummation. Whether these events come just before the end or represent conditions that prevail throughout the period preceding the end is a more difficult question.

The seals closely parallel the signs of the approaching end times spoken of in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:1–35; Mark 13:1–37). In these passages the events of the last days fall into three periods: (1) the period of false Christs, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and death, called “the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:8); (2) the period of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; NIV, “great distress”; and, (3) finally, the period “immediately after the distress of those days,” when the sun, moon, and stars will be affected and Christ will return (Matthew 24:29–30). This parallel to major parts of Revelation is too striking to be ignored. Thus, the seals correspond to the “beginning of birth pains.” The events are similar to those occurring under the trumpets (8:2–11:19) and bowls (15:1–16:21), but they should not be confused with those later and more severe judgments. In the eschatological reckoning of time (cf. comment on 1:1), the events immediately preceding the end can stretch out over the whole age of the church, from John’s time until now, and can still be viewed as “next” (4:1) in the sense that the “last days” began in the first century and are still continuing (cf. 1Jn 2:18).

The first four seals are distinct from the next two in that they describe four horses of different colors with four riders who are given different powers over the earth. Background for this imagery reflects Zec l:8ff. and 6:1–8. In Zechariah’s visions the horsemen and chariots are divine instruments of judgment on the enemies of God’s people, while the colors represent geographical points of the compass. This may also be the best interpretation of the horses and their riders here, where each is sent by Christ through the instrumentality of the living creatures. The emphatic “Come!” (vv.1, 3, 5, 7) should not be viewed as addressed either to John or to Christ but to the horsemen.

The “four angels” at “the four corners of the earth” hold “the four winds of the earth” from blowing on the earth until the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads. The expression “the four corners of the earth” was used in antiquity among the Near-Eastern nations much as we use “the four points of the compass.” Since nowhere in Revelation do we read of the four winds actually blowing, they may be taken as representing the earthly catastrophes that occur under the trumpets and bowls.

Another angel comes from the “east” (possibly from Jerusalem, to emphasize its mission of salvation?) and calls to the four others not to release their destruction until the servants of God have a “seal” (GK 5382) on their foreheads.

Such a seal indicates ownership by God and the Lamb (14:1). It also offers protection or security for the bearers (cf. 9:4, where the demonic forces are told to harm “only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads”).

We can better understand the “seal” if we examine what John sees regarding the “mark” (GK 5916) of the beast (13:16–17). Those who have the mark are not only identified as beast worshipers but they have become the objects of God’s irreversible wrath (14:9, 11). This implies, by contrast, that those who have “the seal of God” are God worshipers and are the objects of his abiding grace. In 16:2, the bowl of God’s wrath seems directed exclusively toward those who have the mark of the beast, thus excluding those with the seal of God (cf. 16:6). Furthermore, those having the mark of the beast are deluded by the beast (19:20), whereas the sealed of God are apparently not deceived. Finally, a martyred group is seen just prior to their resurrection and thousand-year reign with Christ and are described as not having the mark of the beast or worshiping him (20:4).

In the light of these passages, we may say that the “sealed” are the people of God and that their sealing must be related to their salvation (cf. Paul’s use of “sealed” in 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). Elsewhere, the sealed are described as those “who had been redeemed from the earth” (14:3–4; cf. Romans 8:23; James 1:18). In fact, “baptism” was considered a “seal” of salvation in the early church. While the seal may not protect the sealed against harm inflicted by human agency (13:7; 20:4), they are protected from the divine plagues (16:2). As for OT background, Ezekiel 9:4–7 seems primary. In this passage, a divine messenger with stylus in hand was to go through the apostate Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s day and put a mark upon the foreheads of those who deplored the faithless idolatry of the Israelites. Those so marked were the faithful and true servants of God; they would be spared the divine slaughtering of the rebellious inhabitants of the city.

The sealing language would have the effect of assuring God’s people of his special concern and plan for them. Even when facing persecution and martyrdom at the hand of the beast, they can be certain that no plague from God will touch them but that they will be in his presence forever because they are his very own possession (cf. 3:10). Therefore, the seal on the forehead is a divine mark of ownership, the presence of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). Consequently, those thus sealed must be Christians and not unconverted Jews or Gentiles.

John sees “in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll [GK 1046] with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.” A problem arises regarding the phrase “with writing on both sides.” In ancient times, papyrus rolls were used for public and private documents. Usually the writing was on one side only—the inside part, arranged in vertical columns. Occasionally a scroll was written on both sides; such double-sided writing was for private, nonsalable use in contrast to the usual scrolls written on only one side, which were sold. In the context of ch. 5, a double-sided scroll would signify a scroll full of words. A scroll could be opened only after all the seals were broken.

Scrolls, or folded sheets, were sealed with wax blobs impressed with a signet ring to protect the contents or to guarantee the integrity of the writing. Only the owner could open the seals and disclose the contents. Original documents were usually sealed; copies were not. Sealed documents were kept hidden while unsealed copies were made public (Revelation 22:10).

As to the identity and significance of the scroll, there are a number of different views. (1) Ancient Roman wills were sealed with six seals, each of which bore a different name of the sealer and could only be opened by him. This has led some to identify the scroll as the testament of God concerning the promise of the inheritance of his future kingdom. (2) Others find the scroll containing, like Ezekiel’s scroll, “words of lament and mourning and woe” (Ezekiel 2:9–10) and depicting the future judgment of the world. (3) Still others find the significance to be the progressive unfolding of the history of the world. As each successive seal is opened, the further contents of the book are revealed. It is the “title-deed” (cf. Jeremiah 32:10–14) to creation that was forfeited by sin in Genesis. By his redeeming death Christ has won the authority to reclaim the earth. (4) A more recent study finds the scroll to be the OT Torah (Law).

Each of these views has merit and may provide elements of truth for the background of the striking imagery in these chapters. Yet each view is vulnerable to criticism. Only from Revelation itself can the content and nature of the scroll be determined. Since the seals hinder the opening of the scroll until they are all broken, we may assume that the seals are preparatory to the opening of the scroll and the disclosure of its contents. This means that the seals have the effect of hiding the contents of the scroll until all are broken (Isaiah 29:11).

The following internal evidence relating to the contents of the scroll may be noted: (1) Just prior to the opening of the seventh seal, we read, “For the great day of their [i.e., of the One sitting on the throne and the Lamb] wrath has come, and who can stand?” (6:17). (2) When the seventh seal is opened (8:1–5), no immediate events follow on earth—except for the earthquake—as in the first six seals, unless the opening of the seventh seal includes among its events the blowing of the seven trumpets of judgment (8:6–11:15). This appears to be precisely the case. (3) The seventh trumpet likewise is not immediately followed by any specific events on earth (11:15ff.), except for an earthquake and a hailstorm (11:19). But just before the sounding of that trumpet, we read, “The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon” (11:14). When the seven angels prepare to pour out “the seven last plagues,” symbolized by the bowls, we read that with these bowls “God’s wrath is completed” (15:1, 7). Thus it seems reasonable to identify the content of the seventh trumpet with the seven bowls of judgment (chs. 16–19).

Furthermore, frequent references to the events of the seals, trumpets, and bowls appear throughout the remaining visions in Revelation (cf. 19:19ff.; 20:4; 21:9), indicating that the content of the seven-sealed scroll ultimately includes the unfolding of the consummation of the mystery of all things, the goal or end of all history, for both the conquerors and the worshipers of the beast. In 10:7 we are told that in the days of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, “the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” From this it may be concluded that the scroll contains the unveiling of “the mystery of God” that OT prophets foretold (cf. comment on 10:7). Thus the “seals” conceal the mystery, which only Christ can disclose (Daniel 12:9; Revelation 10:4), of how God’s judgment and his kingdom will come. In 11:15, when the final trumpet sounds, heavenly voices say, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,” indicating that the scroll also contains the announcement of the inheritance of Christ and the saints who will reign with him (5:10).

In conclusion, then, the scroll is not only about judgment or about the inheritance of the kingdom. Rather, it contains the announcement of the consummation of all history—how things will ultimately end for all people: judgment for the world and the final reward of the saints (11:18). Christ alone, as the Messiah, is the executor of the purposes of God and the heir of the inheritance of the world. He obtained this by his substitutionary and propitiatory death on the cross (5:9).

The identification of the first rider seated on a white horse has given interpreters great difficulty. The main difficulty is whether the rider on the white horse represents Christ and the victory of the gospel or the Antichrist and the forces of evil. In favor of the first identification is the striking similarity of this rider to the portrayal of Christ in 19:11–16, the symbolism of white throughout Revelation always being associated with righteousness and Christ (e.g., 1:14; 2:17; 3:4–5, 18; 4:4; et al.), and the references in the Olivet Discourse to the preaching of the gospel throughout the world before the end.

Support for the identification of the white horse with the Antichrist and his forces is the parallelism with the other three horses, which are instruments of judgment. The references in 19:11–16 to the rider on the white horse as “Faithful and True” and as one who judges and makes war with justice stands in contrast to the rider in 6:2, who is not faithful or true and who wages war for unjust conquest. Moreover, the Lamb opens the seals and would not be one of the riders, nor would it be proper to have an angelic being call forth Christ. Again, a “bow” would most naturally be connected with the enemy of God’s people (Ezekiel 39:3). Finally, Jesus himself shows that the first events mentioned are the rise of “false Christs and false prophets” (Matthew 24:24).

It must be admitted that the problem of the identity of the rider on the white horse may be solved either way. The evidence, however, seems to favor slightly the second solution, which identifies the white horse with the Antichrist and his forces that seek to conquer the followers of Christ. John sensed that these persecutions were already present in his day and that they would culminate in a final, more severe form (Revelation 13:7).

Each of the first four seals, then, represents conflict directed at Christians to test them and to sift out false disciples (v.10). This interpretation need not necessarily eliminate the fact that the seals may also refer to judgments on humankind in general. Yet since the fifth seal stresses the cry of the martyred Christians, probably the thought of Christian persecution belongs also in the first four seals. Each of them unleashes events that separate false belief from true. The destruction of Jerusalem is a case in point (Lk 21:20ff.). The white horse goes forth to conquer, and as he does so, judgment falls on the unbelief of Israel , while at the same time there is a testing of believers to separate the chaff from the wheat (cf. Lk 21:12-19).

The “bow” suggests forces opposed to Christians (cf. Gog in Eze 39:3). A “crown” (GK 5109) refers to victorious conquest (cf. Revelation 19:12). “He was given” is the formula for the sovereign permission to carry out acts that, from a human viewpoint, seem contrary to God’s character but nevertheless accomplish his will (cf. 13:5, 7, 15). Thus the rider on the white horse may also point to the attacks of the false Jews (2:9; 3:9) and to the affront to Christians from pagan religionists and the persecutions from Rome, as well as to all future, limited victories over the church by Satan (cf. 2:13; 12:17).

While v.2 would be sobering for first-century believers, at the same time it would encourage them, provided they understood that the Lamb had permitted their testing and suffering. So they could trust that in the midst of seeming defeat from their enemies, he would ultimately be the victor (17:14).

The “four angels” at “the four corners of the earth” hold “the four winds of the earth” from blowing on the earth until the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads. The expression “the four corners of the earth” was used in antiquity among the Near-Eastern nations much as we use “the four points of the compass.” Since nowhere in Revelation do we read of the four winds actually blowing, they may be taken as representing the earthly catastrophes that occur under the trumpets and bowls.

Another angel comes from the “east” (possibly from Jerusalem, to emphasize its mission of salvation?) and calls to the four others not to release their destruction until the servants of God have a “seal” (GK 5382) on their foreheads.

Such a seal indicates ownership by God and the Lamb (14:1). It also offers protection or security for the bearers (cf. 9:4, where the demonic forces are told to harm “only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads”).

We can better understand the “seal” if we examine what John sees regarding the “mark” (GK 5916) of the beast (13:16–17). Those who have the mark are not only identified as beast worshipers but they have become the objects of God’s irreversible wrath (14:9, 11). This implies, by contrast, that those who have “the seal of God” are God worshipers and are the objects of his abiding grace. In 16:2, the bowl of God’s wrath seems directed exclusively toward those who have the mark of the beast, thus excluding those with the seal of God (cf. 16:6). Furthermore, those having the mark of the beast are deluded by the beast (19:20), whereas the sealed of God are apparently not deceived. Finally, a martyred group is seen just prior to their resurrection and thousand-year reign with Christ and are described as not having the mark of the beast or worshiping him (20:4).

In the light of these passages, we may say that the “sealed” are the people of God and that their sealing must be related to their salvation (cf. Paul’s use of “sealed” in 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). Elsewhere, the sealed are described as those “who had been redeemed from the earth” (14:3–4; cf. Romans 8:23; James 1:18). In fact, “baptism” was considered a “seal” of salvation in the early church. While the seal may not protect the sealed against harm inflicted by human agency (13:7; 20:4), they are protected from the divine plagues (16:2). As for OT background, Ezekiel 9:4–7 seems primary. In this passage, a divine messenger with stylus in hand was to go through the apostate Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s day and put a mark upon the foreheads of those who deplored the faithless idolatry of the Israelites. Those so marked were the faithful and true servants of God; they would be spared the divine slaughtering of the rebellious inhabitants of the city.

The sealing language would have the effect of assuring God’s people of his special concern and plan for them. Even when facing persecution and martyrdom at the hand of the beast, they can be certain that no plague from God will touch them but that they will be in his presence forever because they are his very own possession (cf. 3:10). Therefore, the seal on the forehead is a divine mark of ownership, the presence of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30). Consequently, those thus sealed must be Christians and not unconverted Jews or Gentiles.