LEARNING DAILY

 

Revelation 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”

 

Revelation 6:2, “And I looked and behold a white horse.  He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him and he went conquering and to conquer.”

 

In Revelation 4 the emphasis was on God as Creator and He is Holy.  The emphasis of Revelation 5 is on Christ as Redeemer and He is worthy!  Chapters 6-19 is concerned with God’s wrath; The Jeremiah Study Bible has this note regarding Revelation 6:1, “The God who has been worshipped now pours out His judgment.”  There are three different thoughts about when the first seal is opened. One thought is the seal is opened at the beginning of the seven-year period known as the Tribulation, the future time of unprecedented suffering and judgment leading up to the return of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom on earth.  A second thought is the first seal is opened up during the final three- and one-half years of the seven-year tribulation known as the Great Tribulation.  A third thought is that the first seal is opened as the beginning of the judgment of God toward the end of the age (from note in The Life in the Spirit Study Bible).   Let me explain what each seal is about and you decide if any has been opened yet or the opening of the seals is still in the future.

 

Before I do that, I want you to be aware of the pattern in the first four seals.  In each of these seals, the Lamb opens the seal.  At that time one of the four living creatures tells the rider on the horse to “Come and see.”  The Jeremiah Study Bible explains that this directive is spoken to the rider on the horse, not to John.  At the command the rider and the horse “proceed across the stage of history”.  The opening of the seals begins the first of three successive series of God’s judgments.  The judgments found in the seals are followed by seven trumpet judgments and then seven vials of the wrath of God.  They get progressively worse in severity.  One thing to remember throughout this study is God is never out of control! 

 

Okay, I said I would let you decide when the first seal is opened.  I lean heavily with the thought that the first seal is opened after the rapture of the church as a result of the Seven-Year Covenant signed between Israel and the Antichrist (more on that at another time).    The four horsemen come out as the first four judgments upon a corrupt and evil world system and the ungodly who have rejected God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

 

The rider on the white horse is described as wearing a crown and conquering, and to conquer.  This is not the Lord Jesus Christ!  Dr. Arnold G. Fruchenbaum states this rider “is not the Messiah indicated by the fact that the crown here is a stephanos crown, the crown of an overcomer or victor.  It is not the diadem crown, the crown of sovereignty and royalty, the type the Messiah will wear in chapter 19.  This figure who enters the Tribulation conquering, and to conquer is the Antichrist.” (from his book The Footsteps of the Messiah). 

 

We will discuss the Antichrist more in the future.  Know that he is a deceiver and counterfeits what the Lord Jesus Christ has done or will do.  He is allowed by God to deceive all who oppose Christ.  The bow in his hand is his ability to conquer; he does so without arrows.  He conquers through the use of deception, confusion, scarcity, and fear.  The Antichrist is controlled by Satan and energized by Satan to begin worldwide conquest as seen through this first seal. 

 

Just for fun, take a peek at the description of the rider on the white horse found in Revelation19:11-16.  There is to be no confusion between this rider and the horse and rider of the first seal.

 

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