Go to Related Reading
About this book

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 4 Ezra 4:35 and Revelation 6:9

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Share:

Summary

Revelation shows the souls crying for justice and being told to wait until all the martyrs are killed. 4 Ezra presents a similar scene where the righteous dead ask the same question and receive the same answer about a set number yet to be fulfilled.

Passages

4 Ezra 4:35

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · 2 Esdras
32 When the grains which are without number are sown, how great a threshing floor they will fill!” 33 Then I answered and said, “How long? When will these things come to pass? Why are our years few and evil?” 34 He answered me, and said, “Don’t hurry faster than the Most High; for your haste is for your own self, but he who is above hurries on behalf of many. 35 Didn’t the souls of the righteous ask about these things in their chambers, saying, ‘How long will we be here? When does the fruit of the threshing floor come?’ 36 To them, Jeremiel the archangel answered, ‘When the number is fulfilled of those who are like you. For he has weighed the world in the balance. 37 By measure, he has measured the times. By number, he has counted the seasons. He won’t move or stir them until that measure is fulfilled.’” 38 Then I answered, “O sovereign Lord, all of us are full of ungodliness.
70–132 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4 Ezra

Revelation 6:9

New Testament
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.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... The entire scene in vv 9–11 has close parallels in both form and content with 1 Enoch 47:4 and 4 Ezra 4:35–37 ... Despite some difficulties with the text (Knibb, Enoch 2:133, note on 47.4), the reference is probably to the predetermined number of the elect (Black, 1 Enoch, 209–10). Here we find the juxtaposition of two motifs, the complete number of the righteous and the prayer for vengeance by righteous martyrs. Similarly, in 4 Ezra 4:35–37, we find a comparable sequence of motifs consisting of a brief question put by the righteous dead (beginning with the phrase “How long ... ?” as in Revelation 6:11; see Westermann, ZAW 66 [1954] 53) and the comforting answer by a supernatural being, which contains the motif of the numerus iustorum, i.e., the complete number of the righteous ..."
David Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6-16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 163.

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

Your feedback

4 Ezra 4:35 and Revelation 6:9

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library