Revelation 6:1

And I saw (kai eidon). As in Philippians 4:1 ; Philippians 5:1 . The vision unfolds without anything being said about opening the book and reading from it. In a more vivid and dramatic fashion the Lamb breaks the seals one by one and reveals the contents and the symbolism. The first four seals have a common note from one of the four zwa and the appearance of a horse. No effort will be made here to interpret these seals as referring to persons or historical events in the past, present, or future, but simply to relate the symbolism to the other symbols in the book. It is possible that there is some allusion here to the symbolism in the so-called "Little Apocalypse" of Mr 13; Mt 24; Lu 21. The imagery of the four horses is similar to that in Zechariah 1:7-11 ; Zechariah 6:1-8 (cf. Jeremiah 14:12 ; Jeremiah 24:10 ; Jeremiah 42:17 ). In the Old Testament the horse is often the emblem of war ( Job 39:25 ; Psalms 76:6 ; Proverbs 21:31 ; Ezekiel 26:10 ). "Homer pictures the horses of Rhesus as whiter than snow, and swift as the wind" (Vincent). When the Lamb opened (ote hnoixen to arnion). First aorist active indicative of anoigw. This same phrase recurs in rhythmical order at the opening of each seal ( Ezekiel 6:1 Ezekiel 6:3 Ezekiel 6:5 Ezekiel 6:7 Ezekiel 6:9 Ezekiel 6:12 ) till the last ( Ezekiel 8:1 ), where we have otan hnoixen (otan rather than ote calling particular attention to it). One (mian). Probably used here as an ordinal (the first) as in Matthew 28:1 . See Robertson, Grammar, p. 671f. Of (ek). This use of ek with the ablative in the partitive sense is common in the Apocalypse, as twice in this verse (ek twn, etc.). So eno ek twn (one of the four living creatures) is "the first of," etc. In a voice of thunder (en pwnh bronth). Old word used of John and James ( Mark 3:17 ) and elsewhere in N.T. only John 12:29 and a dozen times in the Apocalypse. Come (Ercou). Present middle imperative of ercomai, but with exclamatory force (not strictly linear). The command is not addressed to the Lamb nor to John (the correct text omits kai ide "and see") as in John 17:1 ; John 21:9 , but to one of the four horsemen each time. Swete takes it as a call to Christ because ercou is so used in John 22:17 John 22:20 , but that is not conclusive.