The Lord has been unpacking the seals of Revelation 6 as the days draw near. And these are our thoughts on the first two seals. Read and ready yourselves, Christian. We are only months away.
Seal #1
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.”
Revelation 6:1
The words come and see reflect one of the first things we notice when the first seal is released.
And these words relate to increased perception, which is one of the first events of the tribulation. People who are really listening to and following Jesus will have their eyes opened, progressively, as suggested by the repetition of this phrase in Revelation 6, and we will more clearly perceive what is going on and Who is behind it.
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Revelation 6:2
Jesus is the king with the crown on the white horse. In one sense this seal has already been loosed, as Jesus is already going out conquering and to conquer. But how does He conquer? He is on the horse, with bow in hand. The bow gives us the picture of shooting arrows. His arrows are His children (Ps 127:5), and happy is He, for His quiver is full. These are His prophets sent into the world to deliver the messages which God wants us all to come and see.
Are we seeing? Are we hearing His message? Whoever has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Seal #2
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Revelation 6:4
The one on the red horse is given a sword. As swords are commonly metaphors for spoken words, this rider is given words to speak. Specifically, he has been given the power to expose the secrets of men’s hearts.
What is spoken in secret will be shouted from the housetops (Luke 12:3). The disclosures of people’s hidden agendas and secret sins is what will remove peace from the earth. Notice then, in this second seal, the peace being taken away is a false peace. In His day of judgment, God will no longer be turning a blind eye to deeds of darkness, so He gives the rider of the second horse the ability and the power to reveal whatever sins people have been hiding.
At this stage in the tribulation, the focus is on people in the church. The Lord has said many times that His day is the day of full disclosure. And judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). When the second seal gets underway, the church will be hit hard. Expect to see hypocrisy exposed among professing Christians. The exposing of the sins will start at the top of the biggest organizations, on down to the least significant or least recognized.
As people are exposed, they will retaliate. The horse is red because of bloodshed, which could be figurative (i.e people slain in the court of public opinion) or literal (people shedding blood in an effort to keep from being exposed).
However, in these days, satan will also muddy the waters by spreading false rumors about God's faithful servants, so we must be careful not to pass judgment on everything we hear. Keep your heart pure and your love heart on in these very troublesome times. Jesus said during these days most people's love will grow cold. Don't let that happen to you. Judging one another is not the answer. Renouncing one another is not our role as believers. Rather, love covers a multitude of sins.
Ready your heart to receive truly repentant brothers and sisters into your cities of refuge. Don’t stand in judgment of those whom God has forgiven, or He will take issue with you. And if you are hiding anything, get right with God now before you become a sad casualty of this second seal.
The taking away of the false peace is a necessary step to true and lasting peace. These are righteous judgments. They are justified. All the generations from the beginning until now are being righted by these seals.
For more on the topic of the end times and biblical prophecy, see, The Prophetic Word Made More Sure.