Revelation 6:1
ESV
Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!"
NIV
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!"
NASB
Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, 'Come !'
CSB
Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!"
NLT
As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, 'Come!'
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.
NKJV
Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”
What does Revelation 6:1 mean?
In this verse John watches as the Lamb of God opens the first of seven seals. We learn from chapter 5 that Jesus is the Lamb and He alone has the moral and legal right to open the scroll that He took from God's right hand (Revelation 5:5–7). Further, He alone is worthy to open the seven seals that kept the scroll shut.When the Lamb removes the first seal, one of the four living creatures (Revelation 4:6–8) shouts in a thunderous voice. It is a command, to the first horseman, to come forth. Revelation 6 will continue by showing that the opening of each of the first four seals is followed by a living creature's command to come. As the horsemen respond, calamitous judgments fall on the earth.
When the apostle Paul preached in Athens, he announced that God has set a day when He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed. Paul identified that man as the one whom God raised from the dead, meaning Jesus (Acts 17:31). During the events described in Revelation 6, the time of judgment at Jesus' hands has come.
