Revelation 6:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”

NIV: When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come!'

NASB: When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, 'Come !'

CSB: When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come! "

NLT: When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, 'Come!'

KJV: And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

NKJV: When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”

We read in this verse that when the Lamb opens the second seal (Revelation 5:1–7), the second living creature issues the command to come forth.

In this passage, every time a seal is broken, John sees what transpires on earth. This begs the question: can people in heaven see what is happening on earth? This is also suggested by statements such as Jesus saying there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents (Luke 15:10). But do the angels actually see the sinner repent, or is the repentance reported to them? Hebrews 12:1 states that we are surrounded by a great cloud of "witnesses." Some suggest these witnesses behold our lives from heaven. However, that verse refers to the believers cited in Hebrews chapter 11; it implies that those examples are evidence—witnesses—of the truth being explained in that passage. In addition, we do not know that John was literally in heaven at this point. He may have beheld what was transpiring on earth in a vision he received from the Holy Spirit.

We can be sure, though, that God sees everything that transpires on earth because "no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).

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.''