An Exposition of Revelation .pdf

then struck.
Next we come to the opening of the Seals. Revelation 6 has a character of completeness about it,
with this only exception, that the seventh Seal is the introduction to the Trumpets in the beginning of
Rev. 8. This does not call for many words. The Seals open to us God's preparatory steps, but in this
fixed order, and springing from natural causes. They were secret, and they needed to be opened. "And
I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures
saying as a voice of thunder, Come. And I saw; and, behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon it
having a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he came forth conquering and that he might
conquer. And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. And
another, a red horse, came forth; and to him that sat upon it, to him it was given to take peace from the
earth, and that they should slay one another; and there was given to him a great sword. And when he
opened the third seal, I heard the living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and, behold, a black horse,
and he that sat upon it having a balance in his hand. And I heard as a voice in the midst of the four
living creatures, saying, A choenix of wheat for a denary, and three choenixes of barley for a denary;
and the oil and the wine injure not. And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living
creature saying, Come. And I saw, and, behold, a pale horse, and he that sat upon it, his name death,
and hades followed with him; and authority was given to them over the fourth of the earth to kill with
sword, and with hunger, and with death, and by the beasts of the earth."
Surely it is plain enough that we ought not to have here, and after the other three horses, the
words "And see." They are wanting in the best text* for all these passages. In every one of the cases
the sentence ought only to be "Come." The difference comes to this, that "Come and see" would be
addressed to John; whereas according to the better MSS. "Come" is addressed by the living creature to
the rider upon the horse. Clearly this makes all possible difference. It is not the elders here; but one of
the living creatures steps forward when the first Seal is opened, and says, Come; and at once comes
forth a rider upon a white horse, etc. An elder explains as to Christ, or those that are His if liable to be
misunderstood; a living creature acts from God for events in His providence. Let us inquire into the
force of each Seal severally; but before we do, may we not notice the strange fancy that one of the
living creatures saying "as a voice of thunder" could be a cry to the Lord Jesus to come? Not only
would it be wholly incongruous with these cherubs, but quite out of harmony with the context.
* Yet in every instance the Sinai MS. supports the inferior copies against the Alexandrian, the
Rescript of Paris, and the Porphyrian Uncial, with the better cursives, etc. The Sinaitic is often
careless, especially in the Revelation.
"I saw, and, behold, a white horse: and he that sat upon it had a bow; and a crown was given to
him: and he went (or, came) forth conquering and that he might conquer." It is the answer to the call.
The first then advances, and the character of his action is prosperity in conquest. Every trait shows
this. It is the earliest state that the Spirit of God notices as then to be brought about in the world. A
mighty conqueror shall appear here below. This has been applied to a great variety of things and
persons. It has been held to mean the triumphs of the gospel! by some Christ's coming again! by others
Antichrist, and one knows not what. But we may safely gather from the first Seal that God judicially
employs a conqueror who is to carry everything before him. A crown was given him. This would be
the notable event among men, which is the first to happen on earth after the translation of the glorified
to heaven at Christ's coming, in fact after Rev. 4 and 5. How absurd to talk of it as "victory for God's
church and people"!
"And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. And
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