The scroll containing the plan for the Day of the Lord is secured by seals. This devotional reading looks at the Lamb opening the first seal.
Nuggets
- From the very first seal and the start of the conquest, we see that it is a spiritual battle, making it a conquest for our souls.
- The white horse represents that conquest.
- The rider will have a bow and a crown.
- God and Jesus will be victorious for eternity.
We’ve spent a lot of time leading up to the opening of the seals. The Lamb is now set to do so.
Let’s look at what the first seal delivers.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Opening the Seals series
The First Seal
“And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer” (Rev. 6: 2 ESV)
From the very first seal and the start of the conquest, we see that it is a spiritual battle, making it a conquest for our souls.
A White Horse
The white horse represents that conquest.
I think the color of the horse is very important. It is easy to think of the white horse as being from God.
We’ve talked about the color white when it referred to garments. It symbolizes purity and is often used to describe spiritual beings.
This is especially true when we look at the initial command. “Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’” (Rev. 6: 1 ESV).
Here, it is translated come. It is easy to think of that as John being called to come and see.
However, it is different in the Complete Jewish Bible. “Next I watched as the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living beings say in a thundering voice, ‘Go!’ I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse; its rider had a bow and was given a crown; and he rode off as a conqueror to conquer” (Rev. 6: 1-2 CJB emphasis added).
Go means the directive came from Heaven — because that is where John is at in the vision – to go to earth. In fact, the directive came from the first living creature, which may be a Cherubim.
You know, we really aren’t told what is going to occur during the ride of this horse – other than being a conqueror.
Its Rider
I can see the rider identified as Jesus.
I can see this when Jesus is rapturing the Church. He would be seen as a conqueror then. This is when we would like to see the Church raptured. We would miss everything else.
What if, instead, this is referring to Jesus coming to earth the first time? We’ve said that, most times, prophecy has a current application and a future application. We don’t know the timing leading up to the Day of the Lord.
What if we are in the opening of the seals now and, in this seal, it had an element of past application?
Jesus conquered sin and death then. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2: 14 ESV).
I can see this as the gospel being sent out to mankind. God calls us to salvation. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (II Cor. 2: 14 ESV).
God’s wrath wasn’t going to spew forth until He devised a way through which we could escape it. That was only going to happen when Jesus conquered sin and death.
We couldn’t do it on our own. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (II Cor. 10: 4 ESV).
We said in the last devotion that Thomas thought the four horses came from Satan. If we lump all the horses together, wouldn’t the white horse have to be from Satan?
Resource
Is the white horse a smoke screen? Is this the serpent in the Garden? Won’t the Antichrist be here to deceive us? Won’t he be pretending to be what he isn’t?
Is this Satan conquering our world? He has definitely done that.
A Bow and a Crown
The rider will have a bow and a crown.
We can’t say it can’t be Satan because he has a crown. “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems” (Rev. 12: 3 ESV). Diadems are crowns.
We expect the crown/laurel to go to the victor, so we can’t fathom Satan having one. Plus, we don’t want to see evil rewarded in that way.
Other than Old Testament human warfare, I didn’t find anything about a bow – especially not in Jesus’ possession or in Satan’s.
But Satan is winning now. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2: 1-2 ESV).
Conquering, and to Conquer
God and Jesus will be victorious for eternity.
Because of John’s vision of the Lamb opening the seals – and all the rest – we know the ending of the story. We know good is going to win over evil.
Clayton makes a good point. This is going to be a gradual conquest.
Resource
How do we know that? Verse 2 talks about conquering – present tense – and to conquer – in the future.
I think this is talking about more than our struggles with submitting ourselves to our Savior and Redeemer. That is just the beginning.
Look at this verse. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8: 3-4 ESV).
Sin is condemned, not only by our saying the words for salvation, but also by our living it out in our day-to-day lives. We have to be sanctified to ensure salvation.
That is a process that will take the rest of our lives. Every day we are conquering sin.
But does that point to the white horse being Jesus’ first time on earth? If the seals are to happen right before the Day of the Lord, there wouldn’t be much time to conquer in the future.
Jesus won’t have to conquer in eternity. Satan and sin will be no more. There will be nothing left to conquer.
Making the Connections
We know this is a battle between Jesus and Satan. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6: 12 ESV).
We know we have a part in the battle. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6: 11 ESV).
No, we are not meant to battle Satan. We are meant to choose to submit to Jesus and let Him fight our battles.
In the end, Jesus will be victorious. He will defeat Satan.
The question is are we going to be victorious alongside Him? Or will we be alongside with Satan?
How Do We Apply This?
- Submit our hearts to our Savior because of His power.
- Work to expand God’s kingdom.
- Cherish our Savior and Lord by being faithful and true to Him.
- Turn away from being Jesus’ adversary.
Resources
Father God. We want to understand what You want us to understand regarding the first seal. We can see it being interpreted many different ways. Help us to see Your way. Amen.
What do you think?
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