Revelation Chapter 6
The First Seal
“The seals about to be broken by the risen Lord are none other than those affixed to the scroll seen earlier…as held fast, and as kept secret, in the hand of the Almighty One (Rev 5:1). The initial disclosure of the contents of the scroll pertains to what the future would hold in store for God’s elect; that is, it is the shocking revelation of the then soon-to-come aberrant behavior of the professed Church of Christ during the gospel dispensation.
The vision of this prophetic scroll clearly indicates (a) the Creator’s foreknowledge of history prior to its fulfillment and (b) His intention to assure the faithful that no matter how surprising the developments about to arise, somehow behind all of them an ultimate benefit would accrue. It is important to realize that since these appalling circumstances do not originate with Divinity, they do not involve consequent moral responsibility on the part of Deity. Nonetheless, the subsequent tolerance and unchecked continuance of the evils, about to be unveiled by the Master, can be seen as the providential testing and proving ground for the development of the true Church and its worthiness to share future honors, power, and glory. The disclosure of the sealed mystery is observed to occur in seven successive steps corresponding to each stage in the history of the church.” (The Keys of Revelation edited)
As it is explained by the Wisconsin class:
“In our study of the seven seals, which correspond with the seven churches, we will see what are traditionally called the four horsemen of the apocalypses. Most in the nominal or professing churches, believe that this pictures events that are going to happen at the end of the world, or age. They think that the four horsemen are part of the final battle of Armageddon, as it is traditionally viewed.
We however do not hold with that conclusion, but find that similar to the seven churches, the vision of the seven seals is intended to show the course of history that started during the early church, and then reached to the end of the Gospel age. We see that the churches, seals, and trumpets, are giving us different prophetic views of Gospel age history, but each from different viewpoints or perspectives.
The seven churches show us the history of the True Church from Christ's perspective, especially as a shepherd of the flock. In the seven churches, Christ is the principle speaker to the messengers, and thereby to all the churches.
The seven seals show us “the religious history” of the falling away of the false church. We see here, step by step the downfall of the church and the corrupting of God’s truth. The true church is seen, but only in the result of the persecution that comes against them, such as when we see them slain under the altar, in the fifth seal. The sixth and especially the seventh seal show the judgment and vengeance that God brings against the false church.
The seven trumpets will show us what happens from another perspective.
They show the history of the gospel age, from the perspective of the taking over of God’s church by the false church and state.
The trumpets will show us what happens through the misuse of civil power, especially when it’s controlled by the Papacy. The message of the trumpets, shows us what was done wrong politically during the great falling away. In the three woe trumpets we are shown what God and Christ do to remove the illegal power from the false church system. By the time of the seventh trump we see that God and Christ have taken their power and have begun to reign.” (Excerpts taken from Revelation Notes Southern Wisconsin Edited)
Bible Students differ somewhat in respects to the seals notably the first seal, the white horse and its rider. One side believes the rider to be our Lord and or his representatives (the early church), particularly the Apostles who oversaw and controlled the doctrine during the first stage of the church in order to maintain its purity, while the other side admitting that the white horse represent pure doctrine nevertheless questions who exactly the rider is. Both sides have their merits and both appear to be supported by the scriptures. Before we present a more detailed view of the first seal from both perspectives we would like first in our next post to note a few of the brethren who have written upon the subject and note which particular view they appear to favor.
