In 2004, a devastating tsunami swept across the Indian Ocean at the speed of a jet airplane. A train in Sri Lanka was driven off the tracks. A boat off the shore of Thailand was thrown more than a mile inland. Triggered by a magnitude-9.1 earthquake, the tsunami killed nearly 250,000 people.

Natural disasters give us an idea of the catastrophic scenes recorded by John in his vision. In today’s chapter, the Tribulation begins as six of the seven seals are opened. The first four seals reveal the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”—conquest, war, famine or economic disaster, and Death (Zech. 6:1–7). First is a white horse with a rider who is given a bow for conquest (vv. 1–2). Next is a red horse with a rider who is given a sword to take peace from the earth (vv. 3–4). Next is a black horse with a rider who is given scales or balances, representing hunger and poverty (vv. 5–6). Finally, there is a pale horse whose rider is Death itself (vv. 7–8). The color “pale” is best thought of as the color of a corpse. Death is allowed to kill one-quarter of the world’s population.

When the fifth seal is opened, there is a pause in the action (vv.  9–11). Christian martyrs call for justice, lamenting, “How long?” They’re told to wait but assured that the time is drawing near. This scene no doubt provided encouragement to persecuted believers in John’s day and has done so throughout history.

Finally, the sixth seal is opened and, in the words of the Moody Bible Commentary, the world experiences “cosmic upheaval” (vv. 12–17). Though sinners recognize God’s wrath, they do not repent or seek His mercy, but instead foolishly try to hide or escape.