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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 6

1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, “Come!” 2 So I looked, and here came a white horse!⁠ The one who rode it had a bow, and he was given a crown, and as a conqueror he rode out to conquer. 3 Then when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4 And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword. 5 Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand. 6 Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay, and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” 7 Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind.⁠ They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.⁠ 9 Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed⁠ because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.⁠ 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”⁠ 11 Each of them was given a long white robe,⁠ and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached of both their fellow servants and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.⁠ 12 Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red;⁠ 13 and the stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when shaken by a fierce wind.⁠ 14 The sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the very important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.⁠ 16 They said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,⁠ 17 because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

Texts in conversation

Compare Revelation 6:8 and Testament of Abraham 17:2

New Testament · Pseudepigrapha, Testaments

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Summary

Revelation describes Death as a rider on a pale horse, with Hades following behind. The Testament of Abraham also personifies Death, one who calls himself the destroyer of the world and appears beautiful to the righteous but frightening to sinners.

Passages

Revelation 6:8

New Testament
7 Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth. 9 Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

Testament of Abraham 17:2

Pseudepigrapha, Testaments
1 Then Abraham got up and went into his house, and Death went along with him. Abraham went up to his room, and Death went up with him. Abraham lay down on his couch, and Death came and sat by his feet. Then Abraham said: Go away, go away from me, because I want to rest on my couch. 2 Death said: I will not go away until I take your spirit from you. Abraham said to him: By the immortal God I order you to tell me the truth. Are you death? Death said to him: I am Death. I am the destroyer of the world. 3 Abraham said: I beg you, since you are Death, tell me whether you come to everyone like this, in such loveliness and glory and beauty. Death said: No, my Lord Abraham. It is your righteous deeds, and the boundless sea of your hospitality, and the greatness of your love toward God that have become a crown on my head. I approach the righteous in beauty and great peace and gentleness, but I come to sinners in great decay and fierceness and the deepest bitterness, and with a fierce and merciless look. Abraham said: I beg you, listen to me, and show me your fierceness and all your decay and bitterness.
100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Testament of Abraham

References

... The New Testament includes a few passages where Death is hypostatized along with the figure Hades: ‘Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire’ (Revelation 20:14, Revised Standard Version. See also 21:4). In another passage from the book of Revelation, part of John’s vision of the fourth seal, Death is personified as a rider upon a pale horse. With Hades following, ‘they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth’ (6:8, Revised Standard Version). Greek ideas of the personification of Death share several significant parallels with the Testament of Abraham’s portrayal of Death, even though the role and status of Thanatos is not plainly given in Greek texts. ...
Jared W. Ludlow, Abraham Meets Death: Narrative Humor in the Testament of Abraham, JSPSup 41 (London: Sheffield Academic, 2002), 101–102.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Revelation 6:8 and Testament of Abraham 17:2

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