Revelation 6:7

• When the fourth seal is opened, a terrifying horse appears. In the ancient world, a pale green color was used to show the color of a dead body.

• Hades: In Greek thought, Hades was the underworld for spirits without bodies. The Hebrew concept of Sheol, the place of the dead (1 Samuel 28:15), was similar.

• The death of one-fourth of the people on earth shows that the final judgment has not yet come (contrast Revelation 6:16–17).

• This set of four woes (sword, famine, disease, and wild animals; compare Ezekiel 14:21) summarizes the hardships of life on earth. The world cannot provide hope for humanity.

The four horses and their riders (see Zechariah 1:8–11; 6:1–8) represent the world's power structures. Their actions lead mainly to war, violence, economic imbalance, and death. Because of this, it is useless to place our hope in these human systems of power.

Three sets of seven judgments (the seals, trumpets, and bowls) are central to Revelation. Some believe these judgments happen in a sequence, one after another, totaling twenty-one judgments.

However, it is more likely that the relationship is cyclical, similar to other Jewish apocalyptic writings (compare Daniel 2, 7, 8, 11). Each set of judgments becomes more intense and adds new details about God's judgment on those who rebel against him. In this view, all three cycles end at the same time, with the return of Christ.

The Lamb breaks the seven seals to reveal the significance of history from God’s point of view.