Remember, John is in the heavenly throne room and has seen the Lamb take the scroll with the seven seals. The scroll is God’s plan for history. This is what happens next: Revelation chapter 6.

“6:1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 

The seals on the scroll have to be broken before the scroll’s contents can be read. The breaking of each seal brings judgment on the earth.

Judgment is meant to cause rebellious humanity to repent. Think of the Egyptian plagues—their purpose is to convince Pharaoh to turn back from his destructive path before it is too late. Unfortunately, Pharaoh chooses to ignore the warnings, and the same thing happens here: the cataclysmic effects of the opening of each seal in turn does not bring humanity back to God.

“2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.”

The first seal is broken, and the judgment that comes is the first of the so-called Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The first horseman brings war.

“3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.”

The second seal is opened, and the judgment that comes is the bright red horse (the color of blood).

The second horseman brings bloodshed, which makes sense, since bloodshed follows war.

“5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

The Lamb opens the third seal, and the black horse and its rider bring the judgment of economic disruption and famine. The scales in the rider’s hand would have been used in the marketplace, but the prices for basic staples—wheat and barley—are many times too expensive for the working class. Luxury goods, however—oil and wine—are still available for the wealthy.

Economic disruption and famine follow after war and bloodshed.

“7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.”

The breaking of the fourth seal brings a sickly pale horse and its rider Death, closely followed by Hades. Death follows after war and bloodshed and famine.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

As the Lamb opens the fifth seal, John’s perspective changes from earth back into heaven and he sees the martyrs crowded under the heavenly altar, where the blood of the sacrifice would have been in the Old Testament sacrificial system. The martyrs cry out for vengeance, but they are told that the story isn’t yet over.

God has a plan to vindicate the faithful, but its time has not yet come.

“12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?””

The opening of the sixth seal brings with it the final judgment—the End. We can see this because the world itself is shaken; even the very stars begin to fall.

Still, humanity does not repent and turn toward God but merely wants to be protected from God’s judgment.

The message of the seals is that rebellious humanity is so hard-hearted that even death and cataclysm will not be enough to have people turn back to God.

Is John describing what has happened or what will happen?

I think the answer is “Yes.”

Since the time of Jesus, there have been war and violence and pestilence on the earth, and yet humanity has not turned back to God. There will be more and greater judgments in the future, and they will have the same result.

If judgment doesn’t bring about repentance, then what will?

This is what the message of the scroll will explain.