Revelation 6:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”

NIV: I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, 'Come!'

NASB: 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 !'

CSB: Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come! "

NLT: As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, 'Come!'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: 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.”

In this verse John watches as the Lamb of God opens the first of seven seals. We learn from chapter 5 that Jesus is the Lamb and He alone has the moral and legal right to open the scroll that He took from God's right hand (Revelation 5:5–7). Further, He alone is worthy to open the seven seals that kept the scroll shut.

When the Lamb removes the first seal, one of the four living creatures (Revelation 4:6–8) shouts in a thunderous voice. It is a command, to the first horseman, to come forth. Revelation 6 will continue by showing that the opening of each of the first four seals is followed by a living creature's command to come. As the horsemen respond, calamitous judgments fall on the earth.

When the apostle Paul preached in Athens, he announced that God has set a day when He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed. Paul identified that man as the one whom God raised from the dead, meaning Jesus (Acts 17:31). During the events described in Revelation 6, the time of judgment at Jesus' hands has come.

Revelation 6:1–8 introduces John's vision of Jesus, the Lamb, opening the first four of seven seals. He also heard one of the four living creatures issue the thunderous command, ''Come!'' What John saw next was the first calamity to strike the earth in the tribulation: seven years of judgment following the rapture of the church. There is no way to know whether the four horsemen follow each other sequentially or ride forth simultaneously. If they follow each other sequentially, we cannot know how much time elapses between their rides. The judgments appear to belong to the first half of the tribulation. However, some interpreters believe the sixth seal may be an exception.

This chapter typifies the dramatic, heavily symbolic description of end-times events for which Revelation is famous. John sees a series of visions corresponding to Jesus opening the first six seals of the scroll He received in chapter 5. The first four seals unleash four horsemen, respectively symbolizing a world leader, war, famine, and death. The fifth seal reveals the prayers of martyrs pleading with God to avenge their deaths. The sixth seal unleashes massive natural disasters. In response, the people of the world cower in fear, admitting that they are suffering under the wrath of God.

The largest section of Revelation extends from chapter 4 to the end and describes events ''that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). Chapter 5 focused on a scroll containing God's judgment on sin and a search for someone to open it. Only Jesus is worthy to open it. When Jesus took the scroll from God, He received praise from every creature in heaven and on earth. Now, in chapter 6 our attention focuses on the events that transpire when Jesus opens six of the seven seals, one at a time. This process will continue through chapter 8.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/4/2024 9:52:47 PM