9 And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony that they held,
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them, and the souls of those who have been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the word of God, and who did not bow before the beast, nor his image, and did not receive the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand, and they did live and reign with Christ the thousand years;
and another messenger did come forth out from the altar, having authority over the fire, and he called with a great cry to him having the sharp sickle, saying, `Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, because come to perfection have her grapes;'
out of the synagogues they will put you; but an hour doth come, that every one who hath killed you, may think to offer service unto God;
and I heard another out of the altar, saying, `Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous `are' Thy judgments.'
and the priest hath put of the blood on the horns of the altar of spice-perfume before Jehovah, which `is' in the tent of meeting, and all the blood of the bullock he doth pour out at the foundation of the altar of the burnt-offering, which `is' at the opening of the tent of meeting.
and I will give to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy days, a thousand, two hundred, sixty, arrayed with sackcloth; these are the two olive `trees', and the two lamp-stands that before the God of the earth do stand; and if any one may will to injure them, fire doth proceed out of their mouth, and doth devour their enemies, and if any one may will to injure them, thus it behoveth him to be killed. These have authority to shut the heaven, that it may not rain rain in the days of their prophecy, and authority they have over the waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the land with every plague, as often as they may will. `And when they may finish their testimony, the beast that is coming up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them,
and I fell before his feet, to bow before him, and he saith to me, `See -- not! fellow servant of thee am I, and of thy brethren, those having the testimony of Jesus; bow before God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the prophecy.'
and they did overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life -- unto death; because of this be glad, ye heavens, and those in them who do tabernacle; wo to those inhabiting the land and the sea, because the Devil did go down unto you, having great wrath, having known that he hath little time.' And when the dragon saw that he was cast forth to the earth, he pursued the woman who did bring forth the male, and there were given to the woman two wings of the great eagle, that she may fly to the wilderness, to her place, where she is nourished a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent; and the serpent did cast forth after the woman, out of his mouth, water as a river, that he may cause her to be carried away by the river, and the land did help the woman, and the land did open its mouth and did swallow up the river, that the dragon did cast forth out of his mouth; and the dragon was angry against the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those keeping the commands of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ.
we have courage, and are well pleased rather to be away from the home of the body, and to be at home with the Lord.
And the sixth messenger did sound, and I heard a voice out of the four horns of the altar of gold that is before God,
I have known thy works, and where thou dost dwell -- where the throne of the Adversary `is' -- and thou dost hold fast my name, and thou didst not deny my faith, even in the days in which Antipas `was' my faithful witness, who was put to death beside you, where the Adversary doth dwell.
who did testify the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, as many things also as he did see.
therefore thou mayest not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but do thou suffer evil along with the good news according to the power of God,
but if also I am poured forth upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and joy with you all,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Revelation 6
Commentary on Revelation 6 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 6
The book of the divine counsels being thus lodged in the hand of Christ, he loses no time, but immediately enters upon the work of opening the seals and publishing the contents; but this is done in such a manner as still leaves the predictions very abstruse and difficult to be understood. Hitherto the waters of the sanctuary have been as those in Ezekiel's vision, only to the ankles, or to the knees, or to the loins at least; but here they begin to be a river that cannot be passed over. The visions which John saw, the epistles to the churches, the songs of praise, in the two foregoing chapters, had some things dark and hard to be understood; and yet they were rather milk for babes than meat for strong men; but now we are to launch into the deep, and our business is not so much to fathom it as to let down our net to take a draught. We shall only hint at what seems most obvious. The prophecies of this book are divided into seven seals opened, seven trumpets sounding, and seven vials poured out. It is supposed that the opening of the seven seals discloses those providences that concerned the church in the first three centuries, from the ascension of our Lord and Saviour to the reign of Constantine; this was represented in a book rolled up, and sealed in several places, so that, when one seal was opened, you might read so far of it, and so on, till the whole was unfolded. Yet we are not here told what was written in the book, but what John saw in figures enigmatical and hieroglyphic; and it is not for us to pretend to know "the times and seasons which the Father has put in his own power.'
In this chapter six of the seven seals are opened, and the visions attending them are related;
Rev 6:1-2
Here,
Rev 6:3-8
The next three seals give us a sad prospect of great and desolating judgments with which God punishes those who either refuse or abuse the everlasting gospel. Though some understand them of the persecutions that befel the church of Christ, and others of the destruction of the Jews, they rather seem more generally to represent God's terrible judgments, by which he avenges the quarrel of his covenant upon those who make light of it.
Rev 6:9-17
In the remaining part of this chapter we have the opening of the fifth and the sixth seals.