There are things which are about to take place… and take place quickly… the time is near for them to begin…
A new song is sung to the Lamb in Revelation 5 because He is worthy to take the book and open its seals. You are going to find out that the book, or the scroll, contains judgments against His creation—mankind, specifically. When the seals are broken on the scroll—His wrath will be finally and fully poured out on all ungodliness and all unrighteousness.
God hates sin! I believe we have tolerated sin for so long we don’t even realize how much He hates it. But that is exactly what they were praising God for in Revelation 4 and 5, especially chapter 5. They were praising Him because He was going to bring judgment on the unrighteous and He was worthy to do it! He deserves to be praised for that. He wants to be praised for that. We need to praise Him for that.
The summary title for this chapter could be “The Lamb Breaks Six Seals”. We will look at each seal individually. It would be a good idea to read through the first 5 chapters of Revelation once again before you read any further. If you don’t have time, then at least read chapters 1, 4, and 5 before starting chapter 6. Pay special attention to Revelation 5:7-14 as it is part and parcel with Revelation 6:1-2.
In John’s vision, the Lamb, while standing between the throne and the elders, took the book out of the right hand of the One Who sat on the throne, God, the Father. The right hand signifies power—God has the power to render His judgments on the earth whenever and however He pleases—and He is going to do just that! God is going to let Jesus, the Lamb slain, administer the judgments on His creation.
When Jesus takes the book, the creatures and the elders sing a song (a new song) about the worthiness of the Lamb to render judgments for God. Then the angels, along with the living creatures and the elders, speak with a loud voice and declare that the Lamb is also worthy to receive, well… everything!
In response John hears all of creation give God and the Lamb praise and blessing. In continual offering of praise, John hears the four living creatures agree to the response of creation, and he sees the elders fall down and worship God and the Lamb. Amen!!! Revelation 6 is a continuation of this glorious event. In the midst of this all encompassing praise and passion, the Lamb does what God’s devoted servants hope for—He opens the book and begins dispensing God’s judgments.
Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come”. Revelation 6:1
John watched intently, from his vantage point as privileged spectator, as the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals. Seven is often the number used to represent perfectness or completeness—in this case, the judgments of God will be full and complete—and once they are finished, they will be done and over forever.
The first of the four living creatures called out with a voice like thunder and said, “Come”. We can assume it is the lion-like creature who says “Come” because we see in the next seal it is the second living creature who speaks. The four living creatures seem to be in order when the first four seals are broken—the order in which they were introduced to us back in chapter 4. The voice of the first living creature was like thunder—loud and powerful. He uses that voice to call a horseman onto the scene of John’s supernatural vision, which depicts actual events about to take place on this earth.
I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. Revelation 6:2
The white horse and its rider responded to the call of the first living creature and appeared in John’s cataclysmic vision. This is not the white horse that our Lord and Savior, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, will ride on when He returns to the earth one day soon. Could this be the horse of the antichrist? Probably not—the antichrist will not be made manifest until much later in the book of Revelation (and in the seals). However, the antichrist becomes quite popular in the world before he actually takes his stand in the Holy of Holies and calls himself “God”, so being on the lookout is not without merit.
The rider has a bow and evidently wants to use it. He attains a crown, but not without help; the crown is given to him. We can know that whoever or whatever earthly establishment thinks it is giving him his crown, it will be the sovereign hand of God which will ultimately hand it to him.
Many people—way too many people—believe that God would never ever enable a person or entity in its pursuit of evil.
However, the book of Revelation is going to show you that God will, indeed, use any part of His creation to do His will—anytime He pleases and in any way He pleases. In the first seal judgment, God is going to begin judging His creation, specifically mankind, for rebellion against Him. Although the rider seems to be administering evil, he will, in reality, be administering God’s justice. The evil that the participants of the earth will render will be just that—wicked deeds, but God’s super-intention above it all will actually be righteous and true judgments.
The crown that will be given to the rider is a victor’s crown. The Greek word is stephanos. There are two types of crowns that we will see in Revelation. One is the Greek word diadem (we use that word in hymns). Diadem refers to a crown of royalty, ruling and reigning. But this crown is a stephanos and refers to a victor’s crown; this type of crown is given to one who wins.
Perhaps the rider will be a great military leader. To conquer the world doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be the “king”—on the other hand, if he isn’t the governing ruler, he will most certainly be acting on behalf of whoever is.
Will he make his global conquest in one fell swoop? No, he goes out conquering and to conquer—it will be a process.
Just how will this horseman accomplish his conquest? Does it sound like the rider on this horse wages war? It says he goes out to conquer and he will do just that. He has a bow and he receives a crown; he conquers, but we don't see much of anything that would indicate war other than the bow.
It is interesting that he has a bow and not a sword. Swords make me think of hand to hand combat, like boots on the ground, while arrows with tips make me think of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. Am I saying that’s what the rider holds? No. I’m just thinking out loud… Perhaps he wins through diplomacy—using the bow as intimidation, of course.
But no matter the means—the rider’s conquest is the world! The rider on the white horse wins… he wins the world…
