And when he had opened the second seal
Of the sealed book; that is, the Lamb, as before:
I heard the second beast say, come and see;
this living creature was the ox, whose situation was on the west
side of the throne, as the standard of Ephraim, on which was an
ox, was on the west of the camp of Israel; no mention is made of
the noise of thunder, as before, the voice of the ox being lower
than that of the lion; and this perhaps may point out a decrease
in the Gospel ministry; to fix on any particular person, as, with
Grotius, the Evangelist Matthew, because he says, ( Matthew 24:7
) , nation shall rise against nation, which carries in it some
likeness to what is said at the opening of this seal; or, as with
Brightman, Justin Martyr, whose second apology was not regarded
by the emperor, is mere conjecture; the ministers of the Gospel
are intended who lived under this seal, who, though they might
not be strong and courageous like the lion, or their
predecessors, yet were like the ox, laborious in preaching, and
patient in suffering; and these are represented in this vision as
inviting John to behold and observe the following hieroglyphic.