1. Read Revelation 6. How many of the seven seals are explained in this chapter?
a. Carefully read Revelation 6:1-8 again.
(1 Read Zechariah 1:8-17; 6:1-8. Compare to the first four seals of Revelation 6.
“The horses may signify various divine judgments on the earth.” NIV Study Bible
(2 What does the rider on the white horse come to do? Who do you think he is?
“Major interpretations of the rider on the white horse are (1) Christ (19:11) (2) antichrist (3) the spirit of conquest. The latter establishes a more natural sequence with the other three riders (which symbolize bloodshed, famine and death).” NIV Study Bible
(3 What do you think the second seal, a “fiery red” horse represents? Why? The sword in Revelation 6:4 is the same kind of sword as Revelation 13:10. How does this differ from the sword of Revelation 1:16?
(4 What does the third seal, the black horse, represent? Why?
“wheat…barley. One quart of wheat would be enough for only one person. Three quarts of the less nutritious barley would be barely enough for a small family.” NIV Study Bible
“oil and the wind. Sets limits on the destruction of the rider on the black horse. The roots of the olive and vine go deeper and would not be immediately effected by a limited drought.” NIV Study Bible
(5 What does the fourth seal, the pale horse, represent? Who was it’s rider? Why would Hades be following close behind him? Who were they given power to kill? Who gave them this power (Revelation 1:18)?
(6. Can you see a natural consequence of one seal leading to another? Explain.
b. Read Revelation 6:9-11 carefully.
(1 What do you think “under the altar” symbolizes?
“under the altar, In OT ritual the blood of the slaughtered animal was poured out at the base of the altar (Ex 29:12 Lev 4:7).” NIV Study Bible
(2 Who are the “inhabitants of the earth”? (Revelation 8:13-14; 11:10; 13:8, 12; 17:2, 8)
(3 What does the “white robe” symbolize? (Revelation 3:5, 18; 4:4; 7:9, 13-14; 19:14)
(4 “Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been were completed.” Revelation 6:11 Who was told? To wait a little longer for what? Where do you think they are? Who would be fellow servants and brothers?
c. Read Revelation 6:12-17.
(1 What signs show the significance of the sixth seal?
“late fig. Green figs appearing in the winter and easily blown from the tree, which at that season has no leaves.” NIV Study Bible
(2 During the sixth seal who hides? Where? Why?
2. Read Revelation 7, considering its context.
a. Read Revelation 7:1-8 again.
(1 Who were sealed? (Include the answers in both verse 3 & 4) Why were they sealed? With whose seal were they sealed?
(2 When were they sealed (what events happened before and after)? Where were the 144,000 when they were sealed? On what part of their body were they sealed?
(3 Read Genesis 49. Which of Jacob’s sons were not included in the 12 tribes? (Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons–Genesis 48:5-14) Any idea why? “The omission is due perhaps to Dan’s early connection with idolatry (Jdg 18:30) or to a tradition that the antichrist was to come from that tribe.” NIV Study Bible
b. Read Revelation 7:9-17 again.
(1 Who were included in the great multitude? What were they wearing and what was in their hands? Where were they standing? What did they cry?
(2 What did one of the elders ask John? What was the answer? What is the future of the great multitude?
3. The seventh seal is not mentioned till Revelation 8. What two major events occur between the sixth and the seventh seal? Notice the two times “after this” is mentioned.