Revelation 6:7-8 — Seal #4 Fourth Apocalyptic Horseman (Ashen Horse) Named Death and with Hades Following

Rev. 6:7   When He broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.”  8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Prayer and Bible Expo

Who breaks the fourth seal?

“He” – the Lamb (6:7).

Who speaks when the fourth seal is opened?

“the fourth living creature” (6:7).

§  “The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle” (Rev 5:7, bold print added).

What does the fourth living creature say?

“Come” (6:7).

What does John see?

“an ashen horse” (6:8).

§  χλωρός (chlōros) ashen – “pale, greenish gray (cp. the relatively paler appearance of the dorsal side of a leaf compared to its ventral side) as the color of a person in sickness contrasted with appearance in health” (BDAG, 1085).

What was the name of the rider?

“he who sat on it had the name Death” (6:8).

Who was following with Death?

“Hades was following with him” (6:8).

§   “Hades. Abode of all the dead (in Greek and some Jewish literature) or abode of the wicked dead (in Christian literature). […] Hades became important to the Jews as the stereotyped term used by the translators of the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew name ‘Sheol’ into Greek. […] In Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15 Jesus speaks of Capernaum’s descending to Hades. Most likely he simply means that the city will ‘die’ or be destroyed. Hades means ‘death,’ in this context as ‘heaven’ means exaltation. Revelation 6:8 also exemplifies this: Death comes on a horse and Hades (a symbol of death) comes close behind. This personification of Hades probably comes from the OT, where Hades/Sheol is viewed as a monster that devours people (Prv 1:12; 27:20; 30:16; Is 5:14; 28:15, 18; Hb 2:5)” (Walter A. Elwell, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 1, 912).

What authority is given to Death and Hades?

§  “Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill . . .” (6:8).

How would they perform the killings?

§  “to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth” (6:8).

What impresses you about the fourth seal? 

The fourth seal results in the death of a fourth of the earth’s remaining population. The previous three seals would have already introduced apocalyptic disaster into the world scene. But the fourth seal inaugurates catastrophic loss of life. According to Geohive, the population of the entire world in 2016 is 7,404,976,783. The destruction of a fourth of the current population would equate to the deaths of 2,961,990,713 people. If Jesus opens the fourth seal today, almost 3 billion people will be killed with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Father,

You are the source and sustainer of life. You give life. And You have power to destroy. The world is utterly dependent upon Your will for survival. You have made known the judgments that will precede the second return of Jesus the Messiah. Death and destruction will pulverize the entire world. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man, they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Only by Your grace appropriated through Jesus will souls be spared from the final judgment of Death and Hades during the Tribulation. May the sleepers be awakened to the spiritual reality of Death and Hades, that they may repent and turn to Jesus and escape the second death in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.