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And I saw when1 the Lamb [Isaiah 53:7] opened one of the 7 Seals.2 I heard one of the 4 Living Creatures with a voice like thunder, saying: “Come!”3
| 1 | When: “When?” may be rightly asked. The scene is in the Throne-Room and it is of a Lamb having been slaughtered. The timing seems to follow right upon the sacrifice of the Lamb. Now the Lamb is seen in the Throne-Room so the Lamb must have made his ascension in fulfillment of Daniel 7:13. Here a “crown” is given the rider on the white horse so Psalm 2.6 must be undergoing fulfillment. In Revelation 1:19 John is told to write down two categories of events: a) things that are; b) future things. The Throne-Room scene at this moment may well be those “things that have already taken place” and therefore “are.” The white horse begins its ride upon the crowning and enthronement of the King. These are events Paul said occurred in 33 AD. (Psalm 2:1-7; Acts 13:33; Romans 1:4; Hebrews 1:5; 2:9; 5:5) |
| 2 | The Lamb opened one of the 7 Seals: Or, broke the seal to read. Revelation 5:4 uses the Greek BIBLION which is the source of the English “Bible.” Here it means “little book” or “booklet” and since it is written on front and back it must be a true codex or book and not a scroll. (Revelation 5:1) This Little Bible contains all the information to follow in the Apocalypse for the seals lead to the trumpets which lead to the plagues. Perhaps the end of this “book” is Revelation 11:19 but it is likely to continue to the end. It is the Apocalypse the Lamb opens, revealing the unfolding of God’s purpose. |
| 3 | A voice like thunder, saying: “Come”: “Come!” must be read like a thunderclap and subsequent rolling thunder. |
Dear Friends of the Nazarene,
We choose Revelation 6:1 as the theme verse of chapter six – Revelation Opened! Successively the Lamb opens and unlocks the seven seals. The first describes the conquering Lamb himself as the reigning king. [1, 2] Not peace but war is to follow the beginning of the reign of the Lamb. [3, 4] Famine will follow war. [5, 6] Death, not plenty, in several forms will characterize the reign of the Lamb. [7, 8] With the fifth seal the Martyrs of the Gospel Age leading up to the end-times are described. [9-11] More martyrdoms are to occur as the end-times are approached. The sixth seal reveals matters concerning that period when the Day of Wrath arrives. [12-17]
Abba our Father bless the Martyrs.
[20 September 2002]
The wonderful scene in heaven when the Sealed Book is given to the Lamb, pictured in the last chapter, shows the transcendent importance of the Sealed Book itself, of the act of placing it in the hands of the Lamb of God, and of the events which be unfolded as its pages are opened. These seals are opened in succession and with the opening of each seal John sees and records an impressive vision. No system of interpretation which does not make these represent events which follow each other in time is reasonable. The vision following the opening of the first seal must portray a period of events nearest to the times of John, while the seventh seal must relate to the remotest events, and when the last symbol that it contains is reached we must have been carried to the end of time and to the consummation of the history of the church and of the fate of the world. As each seal is opened a symbol is seen which is designed to outline the character of a new epoch.
