Final answer:
1. The first seal is opened, revealing a white horse and signifying peace but also implying a false sense of security before war breaks out.
2. The second seal is opened, revealing a red horse and bringing war, famine, and death.
3. The third seal is opened, revealing a black horse and causing famine and scarcity of resources.
4. The fourth seal is opened, revealing a pale horse and bringing death on a massive scale.
5. The fifth seal is opened, revealing souls under the altar crying out for vengeance but being told to wait until others are slain as well.
6. The sixth seal is opened, revealing a great earthquake, the sun turning dark, the moon turning red, and the stars falling from the sky as the wrath of God begins to be poured out fully.
7. The seventh seal is opened, signifying silence in heaven as the judgments of God are prepared to be carried out in full.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first seal reveals a white horse and rider, who is given a bow but no arrows (Revelation 6:2). This represents peace but also implies that it will be short-lived before war breaks out (see also Daniel 11:21-24). This could be interpreted as referring to a false sense of security that will precede global conflict or perhaps even as describing an initial period of peace before the outbreak of war.
The second seal reveals a red horse and rider, who carries a large sword (Revelation 6:4). This represents war, famine, and death (see also Matthew 24:7). This could be interpreted as referring to global conflict on an unprecedented scale that will result in widespread famine and death due to the destruction of crops and infrastructure.
The third seal reveals a black horse and rider, who holds scales and measures out grain that has become scarce (Revelation 6:5-6). This represents famine and scarcity of resources (see also Matthew 24:7). This could be interpreted as referring to economic hardship resulting from global conflict or perhaps even as describing an initial period of scarcity before famine becomes widespread due to crop failures or other disasters.
The fourth seal reveals a pale horse and rider, who carries Hades behind him and is given authority over one-fourth of the earth (Revelation 6:8). This represents death on a massive scale (see also Matthew 24:21-22). This could be interpreted as referring to mass deaths resulting from global conflict or perhaps even as describing an initial period of death before mass deaths become widespread due to disease or other disasters.
The fifth seal reveals souls under the altar crying out for vengeance but being told to wait until others are slain as well (Revelation 6:9-11). This represents martyrs seeking justice for their deaths (see also Revelation 20:4). This could be interpreted as referring to Christians who will be persecuted and killed during global conflict or perhaps even as describing an initial period of persecution before martyrdom becomes widespread due to religious intolerance or other forms of oppression.
The sixth seal reveals a great earthquake, the sun turning dark, the moon turning red, and the stars falling from the sky (Revelation 6:12-14). This represents the wrath of God beginning to be poured out fully (see also Joel 2:30-31). This could be interpreted as referring to natural disasters resulting from global conflict or perhaps even as describing an initial period of natural disasters before catastrophic events become widespread due to environmental degradation or other forms of ecological disaster.
The seventh seal represents silence in heaven as the judgments of God are prepared to be carried out in full (Revelation 8:1). This could be interpreted as referring to a period of reflection and contemplation by God before carrying out his final judgments against sinful humanity (see also Revelation 15-16). It may also represent a pause between the opening of the sixth seal and the beginning of the trumpet judgments described in Revelation 8-11.