And I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals: and I heard one of the four living creatures, as it were the voice of thunder, saying: Come and see.
και ειδον οτι ηνοιξεν το αρνιον μιαν εκ των επτα σφραγιδων και ηκουσα ενος εκ των τεσσαρων ζωων λεγοντος ως φωνη βροντης ερχου και ιδε OMIT και ιδε
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The opening of the seals, as we have said, is the disclosure of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the foretelling of what will happen in the future. Although the prophetic Scripture speaks through the opening of each separate seal, the prophecy receives its order when all the seals are opened together. One of the living creatures is mentioned because all four are one. Come and see: come is said to those invited to faith, and see to him who had not seen.
Even among those in heaven there is a good order, descending from the higher ranks to the lower. For he heard the first voice, which commanded the angel mystically depicting the vision to come, from one of the four-formed beings, the lion. The first living creature, the lion, in my judgment, indicates the royal authority of the apostles over the demons. For it is said of them: behold, the kings of the earth were gathered together (Ps 47:5). And elsewhere: You shall make them princes in all the earth (Ps 44:17).
The book's being closed and sealed signifies the estrangement of the people written in it, and the closing of their mouths against every justification before God, according to what was said above. Therefore the partial removal of the seals signifies the gradual restoration of closeness to God and of a place near Him. The Only-begotten secured this for us when He became man and corrected our errors by His own good deeds. It should be known that the removal of each seal shows one of the Lord's works for our salvation, and one of His campaigns against our spiritual enemies. His care for us is the abolition of their dominion.
Therefore the first benefaction of our Savior Christ toward our race, which removed the first seal from the book and began our regeneration, was the bodily birth of the Lord. Through this regeneration we withdrew from the place where we had come to be through Adam's transgression. It restored our lost nearness to God and changed our muteness into the right of speech. The Lord's bodily birth sanctified our birth, so that we should no longer be conceived in iniquities, nor should our mothers bear us in sins (cf. Ps 50:7). Rather, the birth of Christ is holy for us, since by His birth He blessed our birth. The divine Apostle, as witness to this honor given to men, writes: "Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy" (1 Cor 7:14).
He said: I heard one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see. This one living creature is the Church, speaking with the loud voice of preaching and summoning the follower to the true Church: Come and see. If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink (Jn 7:37). Come to Him and be enlightened (Ps 33:6). Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light (Eph 5:14).
The color white signifies victory. Therefore the one sitting on the white horse depicts a conqueror: "He made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He hid Me. He made Me a polished arrow; in His quiver He kept Me" (Is 49:2). Elsewhere the prophet Isaiah says: "He made them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow" (Is 41:2). This rider uses His arrows for the conversion of the Gentiles. The history of the first centuries of Christianity tells how this Conqueror scattered arrows from His bow. It also shows by what the persecuted Christians conquered the Gentiles: "Its arrows are arrows of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it. If a man offered all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly despised" (Song 8:6-7).
In accordance with this understanding, St. Andrew explains the opening of the seals of the book in this way. The opening of the first seal is the apostles’ mission into the world. They aimed the Gospel preaching against the demons like a bow, and brought to Christ those wounded by saving arrows.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 23 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS