The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

in which He will be pleased to grant us an understanding of the things contained in these
wonderful visions.
The first seal opened
"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four
living ones saying, as with a voice of thunder, 'Come.' And I saw, and behold! a white
horse, and he who sat on him having a bow; and a crown was given to him; and he came
out conquering, and that he might conquer."--Rev. 6:1,2.
Let it be noted first, that whatever connection the "living one" has with the vision, the
invitation "Come," (the words "and see" as in the Common Version not being in the
original) is not addressed, as some have taught, to St. John, but rather to the horseman.
Understanding that these "living ones" represent the attributes, qualities, or principles
upon which the Divine throne or government rests, as also the operation of these in
connection with the administration of the Divine government, their acting in this vision
would signify that all the events now about to occur would be under the Divine
administration and would display the Divine principles operating to the accomplishment
of the Divine purpose, in the call, trial, and development of the Church.
The horse and his rider were not to St. John's vision mere pictures on the scroll; they were
the same to the Apostle as though a real living horseman appeared. The scene of the
horseman's action was the earth. In our study of symbolic prophecy we have already
learned, from those portions which the Scriptures themselves interpret, that there are two
rules to observe: first, we should study the symbol itself before we endeavor to understand
its application or fulfillment; second, we should never look for the fulfillment of a symbol
in the same phase of life as that from which the symbol is drawn. The only exception to
this is where objects are used which from their very nature, nothing could be found to
describe, as the Redeemer or the Deity. Where these appear and are clothed in symbols,
they always refer to themselves.
Therefore, in seeking to understand the meaning of the vision, let us first study carefully
the symbol and discover from what phase of life it is taken. Very evidently the horseman is
a warrior, as seen from the "bow," a common weapon of warfare at that time. This is also
manifest from the fact that "he went forth conquering and to conquer." The symbol, then,
is drawn from military life in the Roman Empire, a phase of life with which St. John was
very familiar. The fact that a crown was given to him indicates, first, that he was a
victorious warrior; second, that he was not a rebel, but warred in the interest of his own
rightful king or ruler; and, third, that he was rewarded for his successful service.
The symbol therefore is that of a Roman general or commander who goes forth making
conquests in the interests of his own kingdom, bringing into subjection new peoples and
provinces, causing them to become subjects of his kingdom. The symbol being taken from
the military life of the Roman Empire, we inquire, In what phase of life shall we find its
fulfillment? The answer is that there can be but one phase of life that Christians should
look for the fulfillment of the symbol, and that is the religious phase. But what was there