Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Revelation
Chapter 6: The Great Day of His Wrath Is Come
Revelation 6 begins the opening of the seven-sealed book. The Lamb who alone is worthy now unfolds God's purposes upon the earth. As the first four seals break, four horsemen ride, white, red, black, and pale, bringing conquest, war, famine, and death. The fifth seal reveals the souls of the martyrs beneath the altar, crying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true?' The sixth seal shakes the very frame of creation: the sun turns black, the moon to blood, the stars fall, and the mighty of the earth hide in terror, crying to the mountains, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.' Here the same Lamb who was slain to redeem is revealed as the Lamb whose wrath none can withstand, for He is the one Lord God, gracious to save and terrible to the impenitent.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Revelation chapter 6. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here the Lamb opens the first six seals: the four horsemen ride, the martyrs cry out from beneath the altar, and the sixth seal unveils the terror of the day of the Lamb's wrath. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
The Four Horsemen
Conquest, war, famine, and death ride across the earth.
The Souls Under the Altar
The martyrs cry, "How long, O Lord, holy and true?"
The Heavens Shaken
Sun black, moon as blood, stars fall, the mighty hide.
The Wrath of the Lamb
"Who shall be able to stand?" on the great day of His wrath.
The Four Horsemen (Revelation 6:1-8)
As the Lamb opens the first four seals, four horsemen ride out in turn, bringing conquest, the sword, famine, and death, all under the sovereign hand of the One who opens the book.
Conquest, War, Famine, and Death
"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
Word Study
"was given," Greek edothe (ἐδόθη), from didomi. The passive verb "was given" tolls like a bell through this passage: a crown "was given" to the first rider, "power was given" to the second and the fourth, "there was given unto him a great sword." The passive hides no mystery, it points to the Giver. Every rider goes forth only because authority is given to him from the throne. The horsemen of conquest, war, famine, and death do not ride by their own right or Satan's permission; they ride only so far and only so long as the Lamb, who opened the seal, permits. This is the great comfort buried in a terrifying chapter: even the judgments and calamities that sweep the earth are under the sovereign control of the One who was slain. Nothing is loose in the universe; nothing rides beyond the leash of God. The very disasters that seem to prove God absent are in fact unfolded by the Lamb's own hand, and each is limited, "over the fourth part of the earth," not the whole. So edothe teaches the trembling believer that history is not chaos but is governed, and that the same Lamb who redeemed us holds the reins of all that comes upon the world.
Explanation
The Lamb begins to open the seals, and history's judgments are unleashed at His command -- proof that even the world's calamities are under the control of the crucified Lord. The four horsemen ride: conquest, war that "take[s] peace from the earth," famine weighing bread by the penny, and Death, followed by Hell, with power over a fourth of the earth. These are not random disasters but the ordered unfolding of judgment on a rebellious world, released by the Lamb who alone is worthy to open the scroll. The One who was slain now directs the course of the ages toward their appointed end.
Gospel Focus
The Lamb opens the seals, and the living creatures summon each rider with a voice like thunder: "Come and see." The first is a "white horse," its rider crowned and armed with a bow, going "forth conquering, and to conquer", the spirit of conquest and ambition that drives the nations. The second is "red," and its rider is given power "to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another," with "a great sword", the horror of war and slaughter. The third is "black," its rider holding "a pair of balances," and a voice cries the prices of famine: "A measure of wheat for a penny", a whole day's wage for a single day's bread, "and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine," scarcity that starves the poor while luxuries remain. The fourth is "pale," the color of a corpse, and "his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him," given power over "the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." These four riders are the recurring plagues of a fallen world under judgment, conquest, war, famine, and death. Yet the Apostolic reader sees the crucial truth: it is the Lamb who opens the seals. These forces do not rule the world; the Lamb does. Their power is "given," measured, and limited. The Lord who bore our judgment on the cross now measures out the judgments of history, and He does so with perfect purpose, restraining, permitting, and bounding every rider until His plan of redemption is complete.
The Martyrs and the Day of Wrath (Revelation 6:9-17)
The fifth seal reveals the souls of the slain crying for justice; the sixth shakes heaven and earth, and the mighty flee from the face of the enthroned God and the wrath of the Lamb.
Hide Us From the Wrath of the Lamb
"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: 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? And white robes were given unto every one 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 should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
Word Study
"how long," Greek heos pote (ἕως πότε). The cry "How long?" is the ancient prayer of God's suffering people, echoing through the Psalms (Psalm 13:1; 79:5; 94:3) and now rising from the souls beneath the altar. It is not a cry of doubt or vengeance in the flesh, but a longing for God to be vindicated and for righteousness to be established. "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?" The martyrs address God as "holy and true", the very titles of Christ in the letter to Philadelphia (3:7), and they appeal to His justice, not their own. Their blood, like Abel's, cries from the ground (Genesis 4:10), and God has not forgotten it. The answer they receive is tender and sobering: they are given "white robes," the assurance of their acceptance and glory, and told "that they should rest yet for a little season." God's justice is certain but not yet complete; He waits until the full number of the faithful, "their fellowservants... and their brethren," have finished their course. God is not slow, He is patient, gathering His people before He closes the age. So heos pote gives voice to every persecuted saint: the Lord who is holy and true hears the cry of His martyrs, keeps their blood in remembrance, and will surely avenge, in His own perfect time.
Explanation
The fifth seal reveals the souls of the martyrs under the altar, crying "How long, O Lord... dost thou not judge and avenge our blood?" -- assured that their number will be completed and their cause vindicated. The sixth seal brings cosmic upheaval: a great earthquake, the sun black, the moon as blood, stars falling, and the terror of kings and slaves alike, who cry to the mountains, "hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." The gentle Lamb has a wrath the mighty cannot escape. History's climax is not the triumph of evil but the day of the Lamb's reckoning, and the urgent question echoes: "who shall be able to stand?"
Gospel Focus
The fifth seal draws back the veil on the unseen world. "Under the altar" are "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God," the martyrs, conscious and alive with God, resting near the place of sacrifice. They cry for justice, and God answers with comfort and with patience: white robes now, full vindication soon, but first the age must run its course "until their fellowservants... should be fulfilled." Then the sixth seal breaks, and the whole created order convulses: "a great earthquake," the sun "black as sackcloth," the moon "as blood," the stars falling "as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs," the heaven departing "as a scroll," every mountain and island moved. This is the language of the Day of the Lord, foretold by the prophets (Joel 2:31; Isaiah 34:4) and by Christ Himself (Matthew 24:29). And the response of the ungodly is terror. From the greatest to the least, "kings," "great men," "rich men," "chief captains," "mighty men," down to "every bondman, and every free man," all hide in the rocks and beg the mountains, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Here is the most solemn phrase in the chapter: "the wrath of the Lamb." The gentle Lamb who was slain, who redeemed a people by His blood, is the same Lord whose wrath the impenitent cannot endure. There is no contradiction: the God who is love is also holy, and the Saviour rejected becomes the Judge. Their despairing question, "who shall be able to stand?", has one answer, given in the next chapter: only those sealed and washed by the Lamb Himself. The wrath of the Lamb is terrible, but His mercy is open now to all who come. Blessed are those who hide, not from Him, but in Him.
Chapter 6 in Review
Revelation 6 opens the first six seals of the book that only the Lamb could open. The first four unleash the horsemen: a white horse of conquest "conquering, and to conquer," a red horse that takes "peace from the earth," a black horse of famine weighing out bread "for a penny," and a pale horse whose rider "was Death, and Hell followed with him." Each rider's power "was given," measured and limited by the throne. The fifth seal reveals the martyrs "under the altar," crying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true?", answered with white robes and the call to "rest yet for a little season." The sixth seal shakes creation itself, sun, moon, stars, heaven, and mountains, and the mighty of the earth hide, crying, "hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb... who shall be able to stand?"
For the Apostolic reader this chapter holds together two truths the world tries to separate. First, God is sovereign over history: even conquest, war, famine, and death ride only by permission, their power "given," their reach bounded to "the fourth part of the earth." The Lamb who was slain governs the ages, and nothing is loose. Second, the same Lamb who saves is the Judge whom the impenitent cannot face. "The wrath of the Lamb" is no contradiction of His mercy; the God who is holy and true, and who bore our judgment on the cross, will surely judge all sin, and the Saviour despised becomes the Lord from whose face the wicked flee. The martyrs teach us to trust His timing, for He keeps their blood in remembrance and gathers His people before the end. And the terror of the sixth seal presses the great question on every heart: "who shall be able to stand?" The answer is only in the Lamb. Now, while mercy is open, we come to Him and are washed in His blood, so that in the day of wrath we are hidden, not from Him, but safe in Him.
- The Lamb opens the seals; even the horsemen ride only by power "given" from the throne (6:1-8).
- Conquest, war, famine, and death are the recurring judgments of a fallen world, all limited by God (6:2-8).
- The martyrs live with God "under the altar" and cry, "How long, O Lord, holy and true?" (6:9-10).
- God's justice is certain but patient; He waits for His people to be "fulfilled" (6:11).
- The sixth seal brings the Day of the Lord, foretold by the prophets and by Christ (6:12-14).
- "The wrath of the Lamb": the Saviour who was slain is the Judge none can face (6:16-17).
Questions for Reflection
- Does it comfort you that even calamity rides only by the Lamb's permission?
- How does the martyrs' cry, "How long?", teach you to trust God's timing?
- What does "the wrath of the Lamb" reveal about the holiness of the God who saves?
- "Who shall be able to stand?" Are you hidden in the Lamb, washed by His blood?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The Lamb opens the seals; the four horsemen: Revelation 6:1-8; Zechariah 1:8-10; 6:1-8; Ezekiel 14:21; Matthew 24:6-8. The souls under the altar and the cry "How long": Revelation 6:9-11; Genesis 4:10; Psalm 79:5, 10; Deuteronomy 32:43; Revelation 3:7. The sixth seal and the Day of the Lord: Revelation 6:12-17; Joel 2:30-31; Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah 2:19; Matthew 24:29; Hosea 10:8; Malachi 3:2. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The four horsemen ride by power "given" from the throne: Revelation 6:1-8; Zechariah 6:1-8; Ezekiel 14:21.
- The martyrs under the altar; "How long, O Lord, holy and true": Revelation 6:9-11; Psalm 79:5, 10; Genesis 4:10.
- The sixth seal; the Day of the Lord in the prophets and Christ: Revelation 6:12-14; Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29.
- The wrath of the Lamb; "who shall be able to stand?": Revelation 6:15-17; Isaiah 2:19; Hosea 10:8; Malachi 3:2.