The First Six Seals Are Opened
Revelation 6I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice of thunder, “Come!” I looked—and there was a white horse! The one who sat on it held a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out as a conqueror in order to conquer.
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red horse one, and the one who sat on it was granted to take peace from the earth, so that people should butcher one another. He was given a large sword.
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” I looked—and there was a black horse! The one who sat on it had a balance scale in his hand. I heard something like a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius! Don’t damage the oil and the wine!”
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” I looked—and there was a pale horse! The one who sat on it was Death, and Hades was following behind him. They were given authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by death, and by the wild animals of the earth.
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been butchered because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony they had of the Lamb. They cried with a great voice, saying, “How long, Master, holy and true, will you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” They were each given a long white robe. They were told that they should rest for a short time, until the full number was reached of their fellow slaves and their siblings who were going to be killed as they had been.
I saw when he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood. The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was torn apart like a scroll being rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved from of its place. The kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the wealthy, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They told the mountains and the rocks, “Y’all fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”