1st Seal - Conquering

(Rev 6:1-2 KJV) 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. {2} 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.

Today we begin a study of the opening of the seven seals. Since chapter 5 of Revelation let us know that Jesus wants to open our understanding of the Word of God, we understand that opening the seals is like opening the seal of a letter that you receive. As long as the letter is sealed, you will not be able to understand the message but when you open the seal, you will be able to read the message. So it is with God’s Word. It is sealed to the unbeliever and Jesus your Lord opens the seals for you the Christian. The Word of God is sealed with seven seals. As the seals are opened you will understand better and better how to live a victorious life from the present through the future and on to the end of your life.

And so we begin with the opening of the first seal which is a message of Conquering. If you have ever tried to live a Christian life the way your Lord wants you to live, you have discovered that you are engaged in a war. Paul described it this way:

(Rom 7:23 KJV) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord, you enlist in His army to fight the good fight of faith.

(1 Tim 6:12 KJV) Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Now the message that Jesus is giving in opening the first seal is that there is only one way to conquer sin and that is to follow the Lord. He becomes your commander and His orders become your orders. He is leading to victory. He is leading to righteousness. The choice for every one is simple, either you conquer sin or sin will conquer you. The devil is fighting with every lie that he can manufacture to convince you that you cannot win. Jesus is telling you the truth and showing you the way and leading you into righteousness. There is power through Christ to conquer every sin.

In our text, John said that the Lamb opened one of the seals. We know from our study of chapter 5 that the Lamb is the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. He is the one that opens our understanding:

(John 1:29 KJV) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

(Mat 13:11 KJV) He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

As a child of God, it is your privilege to know the mysteries of the kingdom. But as a sinner, you cannot understand the mysteries of the Word of God. In order for Jesus to teach you and give you understanding, you must be born again.

(John 3:3 KJV) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

(John 14:26 KJV) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

When the lamb opened this first seal, John said that he heard as it were the noise of thunder and one of the four beasts saying, come and see. The idea of thunder and the four beasts that John refers to are what we studied a few weeks back when we studied about the throne of God which John described to us in chapter 4. You may remember that the four beasts represent the attributes or character of God. Since John later tells us it was the voice of the second beast or attribute of God that opened the second seal, we can imply that it was the first beast that invited John to look at the message of the first seal. And the first beast was like a lion representing the courage and kingly character of our Lord. As the lion of the tribe of Judah our Lord leads us to conquer every sin. He is not afraid of any beast for He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Your Lord will impart that same courage and fearlessness in you if you will obey Him. There is no power that can conquer you when God is on your side. Jesus has all power and He stands ready to share that power with you.

(Mat 28:18 KJV) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

(Mat 7:7-8 KJV) Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: {8} For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

(John 1:12 KJV) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

(Eph 3:20 KJV) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

When John looked, he saw our Lord on a white horse. The horse is used as a symbol of warfare.

If you will read the 14th chapter of Exodus you will see that the army of Pharaoh that pursued the Children of Israel was an army of horses and chariots. Then when God overthrew the army the children of Israel celebrated by singing.

(Exo 15:1 KJV) Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

So the rider of the white horse is representing our Lord leading us to victory over sin and every crafty wile of the devil. His horse is white representing the righteousness of His warfare. He leads into paths of righteousness and if you will follow Him, He will lead you into righteousness. Now the devil does not want you to follow Jesus and he will do his best to prevent you from doing it. That is why you must be prepared to fight the good fight of faith believing what your Lord tells you. With God all things are possible. There is nothing that He cannot do. Your problems, your situation and your condition is not too big or too hard for the lord. He is mighty to save and stands ready to loose you from every sin that Satan has bound you with.

(Judg 5:10 KJV) Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.

(Rev 3:4 KJV) Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

(Rev 19:8 KJV) And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Our rider has a bow which represents His Covenant with man.

(Rev 4:3 KJV) And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

(Gen 9:8-16 KJV) And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, {9} And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; {10} And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. {11} And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. {12} And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: {13} I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. {14} And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: {15} And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. {16} And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

And so we are reminded of the covenant God made with man when we see that the rider had a bow and we know that His bow is also His weapon.

(Psa 7:11-13 KJV) God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. {12} If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. {13} He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.

This spiritual warfare is a war of words. Either you are going to believe the Word of God or you are going to believe the lies of the devil. You are constantly being bombarded with the lies of the devil and the Lord is trying to invite you to come to Him and learn of Him the truth. The truth will set you free from the bonds of sin. God’s Word is a covenant and what he promises, He will deliver. You can count on it. The words that Satan uses are lies for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(John 8:44 KJV) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The Word of God is the perfect weapon that reveals the truth of every situation.

(Heb 4:12 KJV) For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

God has provided a complete armor for you so that you can fight the good fight of faith and win.

(Eph 6:11-18 KJV) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. {12} For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. {13} Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. {14} Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; {15} And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; {16} Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. {17} And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: {18} Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

The armor of God is complete and you need every part. It will protect you and give you the ability stand with the Lord. If you are going to be a successful soldier of the cross, you must put on every bit of the armour. Your Lord does not put in on for you and He does not put it on you; you have to put it on. That is one reason that many fail in living a Christian life; they do not put the whole armour on. When you don’t have the whole armour on, the devil will find your weak spot and shoot his lies into you destroying your faith in God.

The fight of faith is a fight to believe God so that you can trust Him for your salvation. It is a fight that takes place in your mind.

(2 Cor 10:1-5 KJV) Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: {2} But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. {3} For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: {4} (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) {5} Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Notice that Paul tells us that the strongholds that we are pulling down are imaginations and those lies of the devil that exalt themselves against the truth of God’s Word. Where is this process taking place? In you mind, of course. As long as you believe God, you will do what he asks you to do. But, when you doubt God, you will be in a weakened condition and the devil will cause you to yield to temptation. A part of the armour is to girt up your loins with the truth. Peter tells us

(1 Pet 1:13 KJV) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

The more that you saturate your mind with the truth of God’s Word, the less opportunity the devil has to throw in his lies. This is such an important part of the armour of God and sad to say it is often left off by those that are trying to live Christian lives. Is it any wonder that so many in our time are weak and yielding to temptation? The only way to gain strength to fight the devil is to gird up your mind with the truth. God’s Word is truth!

(John 17:17 KJV) Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

(Rev 19:11-16 KJV) And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. {12} His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. {13} And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. {14} And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. {15} And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. {16} And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Jesus is leading His army against sin and He is conquering with the Word of God that goes out of His mouth as a sharp sword. Whose word are you believing and living by today? Is Jesus your King? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you obeying Him as your commander?

(Josh 5:13-14 KJV) And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? {14} And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

As Joshua recognized his Lord, so you today need to recognize your Lord. To any military strategist there was no way that Joshua and his army was going to be able to defeat Jericho; but with the Lord in command the walls came down and the city was taken easily. So it is in your life today. There is no way that you can break free from sin and conquer it on your own, but with Jesus as your commander you can conquer. All you have to do is obey Him. He will never command you to commit any sin. He will direct you into paths of righteousness.

And so we understand the message. The Lord has opened up the letter and the first page describes the good fight of faith. We have Jesus, the righteous captain leading us forth conquering and to conquer. With Jesus as our leader, we can defeat every trick of the enemy. But, make no mistake about it this war will not be won without many hot battles because your enemy, the devil, is not about to surrender without a fight. As we continue our study of the seven seals, we will uncover many of the devil’s tactics and we will show you how he continues to fight. Also we will show you how your Lord counters every move of Satan and shows you how to keep the victory by conquering all sin.