"After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven!" Revelation 4:1a Amplified Bible Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith

AND I saw lying on the open hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll (book) written within and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals;

In this particular portion of Scripture we find ourselves standing in the very Throne Room of God and we see Christ standing at the very center of all that is taking place,

1After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like [the calling of] a war trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future. 2At once I came under the [Holy] Spirit's power, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne! 3And He Who sat there appeared like [the crystalline brightness of] jasper and [the fiery] sardius, and encircling the throne there was a halo that looked like [a rainbow of] emerald. 4Twenty-four other thrones surrounded the throne, and seated on these thrones were twenty-four elders (the members of the heavenly Sanhedrin), arrayed in white clothing, with crowns of gold upon their heads. 5Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne seven blazing torches burned, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit]; 6And in front of the throne there was also what looked like a transparent glassy sea, as if of crystal. And around the throne, in the center at each side of the throne, were four living creatures (beings) who were full of eyes in front and behind [with intelligence as to what is before and at the rear of them]. 7The first living creature (being) was like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature [was] like a flying eagle. 8And the four living creatures, individually having six wings, were full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty (Omnipotent), Who was and Who is and Who is to come. 9And whenever the living creatures offer glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him Who sits on the throne, Who lives forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities), 10The twenty-four elders (the members of the heavenly Sanhedrin) fall prostrate before Him Who is sitting on the throne, and they worship Him Who lives forever and ever; and they throw down their crowns before the throne, crying out, 11Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion, for You created all things; by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.

"At once I came under the Holy Spirit's power, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the Throne!" Revelation 4:2 Amplified Bible Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith

1And I saw lying on the open hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll (book) written within and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals; 2And I saw a strong angel announcing in a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll? And [who is entitled and deserves and is morally fit] to break its seals? 3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in the realm of the dead, Hades] was able to open the scroll or to take a [single] look at its contents. 4And I wept audibly and bitterly because no one was found fit to open the scroll or to inspect it. 5Then one of the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said to me, Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (Source) of David, has won (has overcome and conquered)! He can open the scroll and break its seven seals! 6And there between the throne and the four living creatures (beings) and among the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] Who have been sent [on duty far and wide] into all the earth. 7He then went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne. 8And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves before the Lamb. Each was holding a harp (lute or guitar), and they had golden bowls full of incense (fragrant spices and gums for burning), which are the prayers of God's people (the saints). 9And [now] they sing a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on it, for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased men unto God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10And You have made them a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth! 11Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels on every side of the throne and of the living creatures and the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin], and they numbered ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, 12Saying in a loud voice, Deserving is the Lamb, Who was sacrificed, to receive all the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and majesty (glory, splendor) and blessing! 13And I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth [in Hades, the place of departed spirits] and on the sea and all that is in it, crying out together, To Him Who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed the blessing and the honor and the majesty (glory, splendor) and the power (might and dominion) forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities)! 14Then the four living creatures (beings) said, Amen (so be it)! And the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves and worshiped Him Who lives forever and ever. 1THEN I saw as the Lamb broke open one of the seven seals, and as if in a voice of thunder I heard one of the four living creatures call out, Come!

Revelation 4:1-6:1 Amplified Bible

And we see Him (Christ) take the scroll from the hand of God the Father, "AND I saw lying on the open hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll (book) written within and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals; …And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves before the Lamb."

1And I saw lying on the open hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll (book) written within and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals; 2And I saw a strong angel announcing in a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll? And [who is entitled and deserves and is morally fit] to break its seals? 3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in the realm of the dead, Hades] was able to open the scroll or to take a [single] look at its contents. 4And I wept audibly and bitterly because no one was found fit to open the scroll or to inspect it. 5Then one of the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said to me, Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (Source) of David, has won (has overcome and conquered)! He can open the scroll and break its seven seals! 6And there between the throne and the four living creatures (beings) and among the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] Who have been sent [on duty far and wide] into all the earth. 7He then went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne. 8And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves before the Lamb. Each was holding a harp (lute or guitar), and they had golden bowls full of incense (fragrant spices and gums for burning), which are the prayers of God's people (the saints).

Christ takes the scroll for the purpose of removing the seals and inspecting the contents of the scroll.

1And I saw lying on the open hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll (book) written within and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals; 2And I saw a strong angel announcing in a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll? And [who is entitled and deserves and is morally fit] to break its seals? 3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth [in the realm of the dead, Hades] was able to open the scroll or to take a [single] look at its contents. 4And I wept audibly and bitterly because no one was found fit to open the scroll or to inspect it. 5Then one of the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said to me, Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (Source) of David, has won (has overcome and conquered)! He can open the scroll and break its seven seals! 6And there between the throne and the four living creatures (beings) and among the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] Who have been sent [on duty far and wide] into all the earth. 7He then went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him Who sat on the throne. 8And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] prostrated themselves before the Lamb. Each was holding a harp (lute or guitar), and they had golden bowls full of incense (fragrant spices and gums for burning), which are the prayers of God's people (the saints).

Now when we stay with the understanding that is set forth in the very first verse of the Book of Revelation, and that being that the Book of the Revelation is about Christ's unveiling of the divine mysteries that God (the Father) gave to Him (Christ) for the purpose of unveiling or revealing them to us (His bond servants),

[THIS IS] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John,

Then we realize that at the opening of each seal something wonderful is being disclosed or made known to His bond servants and at the same time the Lord is revealing His powerful arm and His indignation against His enemies is also being revealed. So what is that wonderful something? That wonderful something is the unveiling of each of the divine mysteries that are His (Christ's) to unveil and make known to us, His bond servants!

Now let's return to the scroll which Christ took from the hand of His Father, in this particular portion of Scripture (Revelation 6:1), the word "scroll" comes from the Greek word, "biblion" and specifically means, "a roll, a bill, a writing," or "a book," and in this case it specifically is referring to the Bible! There is no other hidden "scroll", no Volume Two, there is only one Bible and Christ has been found worthy to take the Book and open it for the purpose of inspecting its contents and making the contents known to us, His bond servants.

In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden.

And according to Scripture there is nothing hidden, except for the simple purpose of being made known by revelation.

[Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known. If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend.

Christ examining the "scroll" for the purpose of making known the mysteries of God to His bond servants. Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith

So in keeping with the understanding of the very first verse of the Book of Revelation, as Christ removes each seal, the knowledge and spiritual illumination comes forth of each of the seven divine mysteries of God and we see how each is intertwined into the visions of John. To put it simply, if you had a container with a sealed lid, there is no way to know what is exactly in the container unless someone comes along and removes the sealed lid, once that happens the contents of the container is exposed (or unsealed) for all to see, and likewise, with the Word of God. So, keeping in mind that the Book of the Revelation is about Christ unveiling (or revealing) the mysteries of God, that God the Father gave to Him for the purpose of revealing them to us (His bond servants), let's take a look at what is taking place as Christ removes the first seal.

Then I saw as the Lamb broke open one of the seven seals, and as if in a voice of thunder I heard one of the four living creatures call out, Come! And I looked, and saw there a white horse whose rider carried a bow. And a crown was given him, and he rode forth conquering and to conquer.

The King James Version uses the phrase, "Come and see!"

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Upon first glance, you would suppose that John is being told to "come and see," for the purpose of looking upon the first horse (or judgment) coming forth, but that's not exactly what is taking place. So the question to be answered is; what is John being told to "come and see"? Well let's take a closer look, in this verse John is being commanded by one of the four living creatures (one of the four expressions of the revelation of God) to "come and see," and the command is coming forth like the sound of thunder. In the original Greek text the command is, "erchomai blepo", the word "blepo" means "perceive" and is derived from the two words, "optanomai" and "harao"; "optanomai" meaning, "to gaze, that is, with wide open eyes, as at something remarkable" and "harao" meaning, "to discern clearly." Therefore, as Christ removes the first seal, John is commanded by one of the four expressions of the revelation of God (one of the four living creatures) to come and perceive, and gaze at something remarkable with wide open eyes and discern clearly. This being said, we can add the definitions directly into the Scripture and it will read like this:

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see (blepo--perceive, optanomai--gaze at something remarkable with eyes wide open and horao--discern clearly). And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

And what did John say in response? He said, "I saw", the word, "saw" comes from the Greek word, "eido," meaning, "to see with the idea of knowing and perceiving in such a way as to optanomai and harao"; in other words, he eido (saw) in such a way as to perceive--gazing at something remarkable with eyes wide open and discerning clearly, then he beheld, (or from the Greek word "idou", which is a different form of seeing) a white horse and the accompanying arm of the Lord coming forth in judgment. So, as Christ removes one of the seven seals, John is commanded to come and perceive and gaze upon something remarkable with wide open eyes and discern clearly and when he does, he turns and idou (sees) a white horse. So, what remarkable thing did John perceive and gaze upon with wide open eyes? He perceived and gazed upon the disclosure of one of the divine mysteries that was revealed as Christ removed the seal on the scroll that was written within and on the back, and we know that for certain because he tells us so right in the very first verse! In the very first verse John tells us that the Book of the Revelation is His unveiling of the divine mysteries that God gave to Him (Christ) for the purpose of making them known to His bond servants!

[THIS IS] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John,

Not only did John "see" but at the same time he "heard"; "…and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder," and as John "heard" the disclosure it sounded like the noise of thunder in heaven.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The word "heard" comes from the Greek word, "akouo" which means, "to hear and to understand"; therefore, John "heard" or "akouo" and the noise was as if a noise of thunder. The word, "noise" comes from the Greek, "phone" and "phaino" which mean "enlightenment, with the idea of a disclosure" and also comes from the word, "phemi" meaning, "to show or make known one's thoughts".

So as Christ removed the seal, John saw in such a manner as to perceive-gazing at something remarkable with eyes wide open and discerning clearly and he heard and understood or became enlightened with the disclosure (the revelation) of God's thoughts, and that enlightenment was like the noise of thunder (hence the seven thunders or the disclosure of the seven mysteries Revelation 10) and with that he turned and "idou" ("sees", with a lower form of seeing) a white horse.

Therefore, as each seal is removed something wonderful takes place as the revelation of each of the divine mysteries is disclosed (made known to us by Christ); and when you see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bones shall flourish like green and tender grass, and the powerful hand of the Lord shall be revealed and known to be with His servants, but His indignation will also be revealed against His enemies.

When you see this, your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like green and tender grass. And the [powerful] hand of the Lord shall be revealed and known to be with His servants, but His indignation [shown] to be against His enemies. For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and His chariots will be like the stormy wind, to render His anger with fierceness, and His rebuke with flames of fire.

And as Christ unveils the divine mysteries to us (His Bond servants) then we see how each of the divine mysteries fit into the visions of John and the complete understanding of the Book of Revelation (and God's plan) comes into focus!

Seven Seals, Seven Mysteries

AND I saw lying on the open hand of Him Who was seated on the throne a scroll (book) written within and on the back, closed and sealed with seven seals;

Now we see by the Scripture verse that the "scroll" is sealed with seven seals; therefore, as each seal is removed the unveiling of seven divine mysteries is disclosed and as they are disclosed, we see them intertwined into the visions of John and the visions of John can be properly understood. When the visions of John are properly understood, then we also see the climax and fulfillment of each of the divine mysteries! So what are the seven divine mysteries?

1. The Mystery of Christ In You, the Hope of Glory (Col. 1:25-27)
2. The Mystery of the Perishable Putting on the Imperishable (1Cor. 15:51-55)
3. The Mystery of the Plan of Redemption (Rom. 16:25)
4. The Mystery of Oneness Between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:29-32)
5. The Mystery of the Unification of Israel (Rom. 11:25-28, Eph. 3:3-6)
6. The Mystery of Lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7)
7. The Mystery of Christ (Eph. 1:9-14; 3:3-6; 6:19, 1Cor. 2:1, Col. 2:2-3; 4:3-4)

If you notice the first four mysteries directly pertain to a personal relationship with Christ and therefore are distinct from the other three, which brings us to the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.