Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Revelation 6), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [1-2] When the Lamb (the crucified, risen, ascended Lord Jesus) opens the first seal, the first horse and rider come forth into the world to advance the kingdom of God. There is a lot of “victory” language here: the horse is white, the rider has a crown, he comes out conquering, and to conquer. This symbolizes the very beginning of the spread of the Gospel following Pentecost, as many thousands were baptized into the church. What clear kingdom victories can you think of from the Book of Acts? What clear kingdom victories can you think of from your own life as a Christian?

• [3-4] When the Lamb opens the second seal, a red horse and rider come forth. On the heels of the Gospel going forth in clear victory comes great conflict with those who are antagonistic toward Christ and the church. It may not be as clear, but this also is how the kingdom advances according to God’s unfolding plan. Can you think of specific ways God’s kingdom has advanced as recorded in the New Testament because of this kind of conflict? Can you think of ways the kingdom has advanced through you when you’ve faced such conflict?

• [5-6] The third seal (black horse) is difficult to understand. The prices for wheat and barley (scratch ingredients for daily bread) are desperately inflated. But “do not harm the oil and wine” (products for festival celebration). These might represent the sustainability of the old/earthly ways versus the new/heavenly ways—the old is shriveling up and becoming untenable, while the joy of the new is abundant. How are the old ways of the world shown up as bankrupt by the new oil and wine of the Gospel? Are there ways in which is it becoming increasingly difficult for you to go back to former sins, in light of the glories of the Gospel?

• [7-8] The opening of the fourth seal calls forth a green horse (the word can indicate either the “pale,” sickly, gray-green of a corpse, or a more robust, brighter green… maybe both?). Death and Hades come forth. But we must remember that the Lamb has opened this seal, and Jesus has the keys of Death and Hades (1:18). Jesus was able to make his own death to serve the purposes of his kingdom in our salvation, so we should not be surprised that he would continue to use death to bring new life (not just to punish). Can you think of specific examples from the New Testament or church history where the death of the martyrs (“faithful witnesses”) advanced the kingdom?

• [9-11] The opening of the fifth seal reveals that God’s plan for bringing his kingdom and his justice, for making all things new, includes martyrdom. It is difficult for even the martyrs to endure the apparent delay of justice, and they cry out Psalm-like prayers of lament. But they are victorious in their faithfulness, and are rewarded, just as Jesus has promised in his letters to the churches (chs. 2-3). Even the faithful lament. Even the faithful have a hard time bearing God’s ways. Does this encourage you or discourage you? Why?

• [12-17] The Lamb opens the sixth seal. (This seal continues through ch. 7.) Earthquakes and eclipses signify the undoing of the old creation—they don’t necessarily indicate the literal end of the physical world. Stars falling like unripened fruits signify the children of Abraham (whose descendants were to be like the stars for number; Gen. 15:5; 22:17) who were violently opposed to producing the fruit of faith in Christ. The sky being rolled up like a scroll means there is no barrier between God Almighty in heaven above and those deserving his judgment on the earth below. The mountains and islands being removed (cast into the sea?) signifies the end of the old people of the land, the old Israel. This is the coming of the wrath of the Lamb—who is Love incarnate!—upon those who have spurned his great love, and their experience of it will be unbearable. Can Love have wrath? Can that wrath be good? Can you understand it? Can you submit to it? Is there anything else to be done about it?