Revelation 6, verses 7 and 8, Death, and Hell followed with him

 

Revelation 6:7  And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8  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.

 

Death, the fourth horseman, follows famine, war, and a conqueror as it often has throughout history. If the earth is not simply a reference to what had been the Roman Empire of that time then a fourth of the world’s population is killed or a fourth of the area of the earth is affected with weapons of war, hunger, disease, and the natural world’s resurgence. We must always keep in mind, though, that when most people in Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa wrote about the earth in those days they were referring to the Mediterranean world.

 

A couple of notes here. For killing with death see comments on chapter 2, verse 23. This suggests a plague or plagues, which the previous comments on the seals, trumpets, and vials manifest.

 

It is well-known that in some parts of the United States, at least, natural predators are on the rise again due to laws restricting the hunting of them. Mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves are coming back. We will learn why our forefathers killed them if this keeps up as our livestock, pets, and even our children become their prey again.

 

 If these things are happening at the same time, as some say, then when the fourth trumpet sounds;

 

Revelation 8:12  And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. 13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

 

And the fourth vial is poured out;

 

Revelation 16:8 ¶  And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

 

There is a conqueror, hail and fire mingled with blood, a horrible sore on the worshippers of the Beast’s image, but war on the earth, an asteroid hitting the earth or a volcano falling into the sea, the water congealed like men’s blood a third of sea creatures that breathe died, and a third of the ships destroyed. We have famine, something falling from outer space making the waters undrinkable, and water normally drank turned to blood. There is a plague or plagues and wild animals killing numbers of people, sun, moon, and stars limited, great heat, and misery over the people who would not give God glory and blasphemed Him. Here is conflict with the contemporaneous view. The sun is smitten but the sun scorches men. So, I do not feel comfortable believing these events all happen at the same time as some commentators have said. We will soon see that the interpretation that the seals, trumpets, and vials are different views of the same events happening at the same time is untenable.

 

Now, for the fifth seal.