Revelation 6:7 - Printer Friendly

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

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

NASB: When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, 'Come !'

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

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

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

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

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, the fourth living creature (Revelation 4:6–8) said, "Come!" It is noteworthy that each command to come brings an immediate response from a rider. Certainly, these horsemen are messengers of Satan to hurt and damage the inhabitants of earth, but their actions fulfill God's will to judge unbelievers.

Throughout history, Satan has tried to damage God's creation, especially God's people. At times, this involvement has been through temptation, indirect influence, and other means (1 Peter 3:8). He plotted to persuade Adam and Eve to sin and thereby experience death and corrupt the human race (Genesis 3:1–7). He drew humanity into constant evil in the time of Noah, prompting God to destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 6:5). He tried to wipe out Israel during the captivity in Egypt (Exodus 1:8–22) and in the time of Esther (Esther 3:5–6). His evil attempts to destroy God's plan to bring redemption through Jesus included Herod's slaughter of the Hebrew children (Matthew 2:16–18) and various efforts to destroy Jesus before He voluntarily died on the cross for our sins (Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:29–30; John 10:39). No doubt, Satan delighted to see the damage and destruction inflicted by the four horsemen of Revelation 6.

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.''