Revelation 6:7

7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come."

Revelation 6:7 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 6:7

And when he had opened the fourth seal
Of the seven seals of the sealed book; that is, when the Lamb had opened it, or took it off, as in ( Revelation 6:1 ) ;

I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see;
this living creature was that which was like an eagle, and was on the north side of the throne, answerable to the standard of Dan, which was on the north of the camp of Israel, and had the figure of an eagle upon it; and the opening of this seal begins with Maximinus the Roman emperor, who came from Thrace, far north. This living creature was not James, the brother of our Lord, who had been dead long ago, as Grotius imagines; nor Cyprian, as Brightman thinks, though he lived under this seal; but the ministers of the Gospel in general in the times referred to are intended: and it may denote some decline in the Gospel ministry, that they had not the courage and strength of the lion, as the first Gospel preachers; nor the patience and laboriousness of the ox, the next set of ministers; nor the solidity and prudence of the man, the ministers that followed them; and yet they retained some degree of light and knowledge, sagacity and penetration, and contempt of the world, signified by the eagle; these invite John in a visionary way to come and see the following hieroglyphic.

Revelation 6:7 In-Context

5 When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come." I looked, and a black horse appeared, its rider carrying a balance in his hand.

6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice speaking in the midst of the four living creatures, and saying, "A quart of wheat for a shilling, and three quarts of barley for a shilling; but do not injure either the oil or the wine."

7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come."

8 I looked and a pale-colored horse appeared. Its rider's name was Death, and Hades came close behind him; and authority was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword or with famine or pestilence or by means of the wild beasts of the earth.

9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed because of the word of God and of the testimony which they had given.