The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 ⭑

- Chapter 6 -

And I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals. And I heard one of the four living creatures saying, in a voice like thunder: “Draw near and see.”

And I saw, and behold, a white horse. And he who was sitting upon it was holding a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering, so that he might prevail.(a)

(b)

The Second Seal: War

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying: “Draw near and see.”

And another horse went forth, which was red. And it was granted to him who was sitting upon it that he would take peace from the earth, and that they would kill one another. And a great sword was given to him.(c)

The Third Seal: Famine

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: “Draw near and see.” And behold, a black horse. And he who was sitting upon it was holding a balance in his hand.(d)

And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A double measure of wheat for a denarius, and three double measures of barley for a denarius, but do no harm to wine and oil.”(e)

(f)

The Fourth Seal: Death

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying: “Draw near and see.”(g)

And behold, a pale horse. And he who was sitting upon it, his name was Death, and Hell was following him. And authority was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to destroy by the sword, by famine, and by death, and by the creatures of the earth.

The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw, under the altar, the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony that they held.(h)

(i)

And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying: “How long, O Holy and True Lord, will you not judge and not vindicate our blood against those who dwell upon the earth?”(j)

And white robes were given to each of them. And they were told that they should rest for a brief time, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who were to be slain even as they were slain, would be completed.

The Sixth Seal: Terror

And when he had opened the sixth seal, I saw, and behold, a great earthquake occurred. And the sun became black, like a haircloth sack, and the entire moon became like blood.(k)

And the stars from heaven fell upon the earth, just as when a fig tree, shaken by a great wind, drops its immature figs.

And heaven receded, like a scroll being rolled up. And every mountain, and the islands, were moved from their places.

And the kings of the earth, and the rulers, and the military leaders, and the wealthy, and the strong, and everyone, servant and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

And they said to the mountains and the rocks: “Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One sitting upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.

For the great day of their wrath has arrived. And who will be able to stand?”

Footnotes

(a)6:2 The first Seal is the first horseman of the Apocalypse. The first four Seals are grouped together, by being represented each by one of four horsemen, because they are a related series of events. The first horseman is World War III.(Conte)

(b)6:2 White horse:He that sits on the white horse is Christ, going forth to subdue the world by his gospel. The other horses that follow represent the judgments and punishment that were to fall on the enemies of Christ and his church. The red horse signifies war; the black horse, famine; and the pale horse (which has Death for its rider), plagues or pestilence.(Challoner)

(c)6:4 The second Seal is the second horseman of the Apocalypse, which is severe worldwide civil violence and disorder.(Conte)

(d)6:5 The third Seal and the third horseman is the great famine of the 21st century, which begins about the time of World War 3. This famine will not end until all the Protestant Churches, and the Orthodox Church, repent and unite with the Catholic Church in one holy unified Church with seven parts. This is the famine predicted by Jesus in the parable of the Prodigal Son.(Conte)

(e)6:6 This verse says that a denarius (a day’s pay) will buy one double measure of wheat, but three double measures of barley. During Biblical times, wheat was the grain of the wealthy, and barley was the food of the poor. Therefore, this famine will be unusual, because it will be more severe in wealthy nations and less severe in poor nations. Wine and oil were luxury items during the time that these verses were written. The wealthy nations will lack basic necessities like food, but will have various kinds of modern day luxury items. The famine will be most severe in the wealthy nations of Europe because of the war; it will afflict the United States with a lesser severity. Third world and developing nations will be less affected, because they grow their food locally and they are not as affected by the war.(Conte)

(f)6:6 A libra is an ancient Greek unit of weight equaling about 11 or 12 ounces; so a bilibra is about 23 ounces of weight.(Conte)

(g)6:7 The fourth Seal and the fourth horseman is the set of results from the war and the civil unrest and the famine, especially, but not limited to, death from a variety of different causes. The devastating effects of these first three Seals is the fourth Seal, for war and violence and famine have lasting effects, making people more susceptible to disease, causing extreme poverty, joblessness, homelessness, and economic ruin, and many other consequences. But these shall be tempered by the mercy of God.(Conte)

(h)6:9 The fifth Seal is not a fifth horseman, because now the war and the civil unrest and the famine have ended, though their effects linger on. The fifth Seal is a great persecution and martyrdom of Christians in the occupied territories by the Arab/Muslim extremists. Do not blame this massacre on all Muslims, nor on all Arabs, but only on the extremists who are now drunk with power. God gave them victory in the war because of the sins of the nations that they conquered; but they now act as if they were gods, deciding life and death. This massacre will be like the Jewish Holocaust, except that it will be mostly Christians who are put to death. This Christian Holocaust will be even more severe than the Jewish Holocaust. The worst of this massacre occurs during the latter part of the occupation.(Conte)

(i)6:9 Under the altar:Christ, as man, is this altar, under which the souls of the martyrs live in heaven, as their bodies are here deposited under our altars.(Challoner)

(j)6:10 Revenge our blood:They ask not this out of hatred to their enemies, but out of zeal for the glory of God, and a desire that the Lord would accelerate the general judgment, and the complete beatitude of all his elect.(Challoner)

(k)6:12 The sixth Seal is World War IV. This war is started by the Allied (free) nations because the extremists have been killing millions of Christians, and because now that they have many nuclear missiles there is nothing to stop them from nuking and conquering the free nations. The Allies develop a nuclear weapon with very little radioactivity (pure fusion weapons). They attack the extremists in a nuclear first strike. They also attack with massive air and naval power. The extremists reply with nuclear missiles. This war is the most devastating war that the human race has ever seen. Very many nuclear weapons are used by both sides. The great monarch is the preeminent leader among the Allies. He has the blessing of the Pope. His troops are few and holy. The Allies call upon the help of God and of His Angels. Otherwise, they would not succeed.(Conte)