The First Seal

Rev. 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The Lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ (John 1:29).  The seals show the conditions, under which salvation were offered in each age.  By studying them it will help our vision in seeing clearly what is required of us in our day.

The first symbol to study is thunder.  Thunder is an echo or a report of a flash of lightning that has already occurred.  So we understand it is pointing back to events of the past, in the case to Pentecost, when the church went forth conquering and to conqueror.

 John in his vision saw a white horse going forth in battle.  The horse is  a symbol of warfare and a spirit, i.e. the militant spirit, which is taken from the Romans’  military and civil life.  Zech 5:1-5; Jer. 6:23; 8:6.

White is a symbol of purity (holiness).  It takes a pure, holy people to fight against wrong and conqueror.  So we see the church is depicted by a white horse and its rider, a militant conquering spirit, or influence for God.

The bow is a offensive weapon, shooting forth arrows of truth.  Jer. 50:14, 15.  We are not to sympathize with Babylon or sin, but blow the trumpet and shoot arrows of fiery truth at anything that isn’t holiness unto the Lord. 

The crown represents victory.  “Victory must first be won before a cown is given.  The church has victory over sin, and opposition