Page 560 - Demo

5:8 Horns represent power; eyes represent knowledge. Thus the seven horns and the seven eyes of the Lamb represent the ultimate power and wisdom of Christ.
5:9 These hymns of the heavenly liturgy nd a place in the earthly liturgy. They are sung in the Church’s o ce of Evening Prayer (Vespers) at various times of the year, especially on Sundays.
6:1 This chapter describes the beginning of the apocalypse, the end times, with the breaking open of each of the sealed chapters of the book. Through the strange, sometimes terrifying imagery, we see the signs of the coming of the end of the world: violence (6:4), famine (6:6), disease (6:8), and upheaval in the natural world (6:12). Each sign is represented by a horse and rider, referred to in art and popular culture as the “horsemen of the apocalypse.”
REVELATION  - 
6Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and the elders a Lamb* that seemed to have been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are the [seven] spirits of God sent out into the whole world.c 7He came and received the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. 8When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls lled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones. 9They sang a new hymn:
“Worthy are you to receive the scroll
and to break open its seals,
for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.
10You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth.”d
11I looked again and heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders. They were countless* in number,e 12and they cried out in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.”
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out:
“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.”
14The four living creatures answered, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
IV. THE SEVEN SEALS, TRUMPETS, AND PLAGUES, WITH INTERLUDES*
6The First Six Seals.
* 1* Then I watched while the Lamb broke open the rst of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures cry out in a voice like thunder, “Come forward.” 2I looked, and there was a white horse, and its rider had a bow.* He was given a crown, and he rode forth victorious to further his victories.a
* [5:6] Christ is the Paschal Lamb without blemish, whose blood saved the new Israel from sin and death; cf. Ex 12; Is 53:7; Jn 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Pt 1:18–19. This is the main title for Christ in Revelation, used twenty-eight times. Seven horns and seven eyes: Christ has the fullness (see note on Rev 1:4) of power (horns) and knowledge (eyes); cf. Zec 4:7. [Seven] spirits: as in Rev 1:4; 3:1; 4:5.
* [6:1–16:21] A series of seven disasters now begins as each seal is broken (Rev 6:1–8:1), followed by a similar series as seven trumpets sound (Rev 8:2–11:19) and as seven angels pour bowls on the earth causing plagues (Rev 15:1–16:21). These gloomy sequences are interrupted by longer or shorter scenes suggesting the triumph of God and his witnesses (e.g., Rev 7; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14).
*[6:1–17] This chapter provides a symbolic description of the contents of the sealed scroll. The breaking of the rst four seals reveals four riders. The rst rider (of a white horse) is a conquering power (Rev 6:1–2), the second (red horse) a symbol of bloody war (Rev 6:3–4), the third (black horse) a symbol of famine
CHAPTER 5
c. [5:6] Jn 1:29.
548 d. [5:10] 1:6; Ex 19:6; Is 61:6.
(Rev 6:5–6), the fourth (pale green horse) a symbol of Death himself, accompanied by Hades (the netherworld) as his page (Rev 6:7–8). Rev 6:8b summarizes the role of all four riders. The breaking of the fth seal reveals Christian martyrs in an attitude of sacri ce as blood poured out at the foot of an altar begging God for vindication, which will come only when their quota is lled; but they are given a white robe symbolic of victory (Rev 6:9–11). The breaking of the sixth seal reveals typical apocalyptic signs in the sky and the sheer terror of all people at the imminent divine judgment (Rev 6:12–17).
* [6:1–8] The imagery is adapted from Zec 1:8–10; 6:1–8.
* [6:2] White horse. . .bow: this may perhaps allude speci cally to the Parthians on the eastern border of the Roman empire. Expert in the use of the bow, they constantly harassed the Romans and won a major victory in A.D. 62; see note on Rev 9:13–21. But the Old Testament imagery typi es the history of oppression of God’s
people at all times.
CHAPTER 6
a. [6:2] Zec 1:8–10; 6:1–3.
e. [5:11] Dn 7:10; Jude 14–15.