End Time Insights

The third seal releases the rider on the black horse, producing economic hardship  –  Revelation 6:5-6 .  When the “ Lamb ” opens the third “ seal ,” once again, one of the “ four living creatures ” summons its rider, this time on a “ black horse .” Apparently, it represents economic distress and food shortages. As before, his task is declared by one of the four “ living creatures ,” along with limitations on how much damage he may afflict.

The second rider was sent to “remove peace from the earth” and cause men to “slay one another”   –  Revelation 6:3-4 .  As with the first rider, the second horseman is commanded by one of the four “ living creatures ” to “ go forth .” Although each seal is opened by the “ Lamb ,” the involvement of the “ four living creatures ” emphasizes that heaven remains in firm control over the earthly events represented by each “ rider. ”

The Lamb opened the first seal, releasing the rider with a “bow” and seated on a white horse, “conquering” and to “conquer.”  Immediately after ascending the throne, the “ Lamb ” begins to open the “ seven seals ,” starting with the first four. His right to open the scroll is based on his sacrificial death. But the opening of the seals does not yet reveal the contents of the “ sealed scroll ” itself. Breaking its seals is the preliminary step necessary before the scroll can be unfolded.

In many interpretations, the forces unleashed by the breaking of the “ Seven Seals ” are linked to the horrific calamities that unfold on the Earth prior to the coming of Jesus at the end of the age, especially so when the first four seals are opened. Apparently, His patience with humanity exhausted, God pours out plagues on the world in a last-ditch effort to bring men to their knees in repentance.

In Chapter 5, John saw the “ Sealed Scroll ” held tightly in the right hand of the “ One Who Sits on the Throne .” A search was made of the entire creation for someone who was “ worthy ” to open the scroll. Alas, no one was found, and this caused John to begin to weep profusely. If the scroll remained sealed, its contents could not be implemented. However, one of the twenty-four “ elders ” tells John to cease weeping, for the “ lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David overcame .”