“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. Rev. 6:1, 2.
Naturally, the first seal, the seal with which the Judgment opens, must contain the things at the very inception of the human race. Logically, then, the white horse, the first in the symbolism identifies the world’s first state of being — pure and sinless with a Divinely-crowned ruler (rider), who at first had no goal but to subdue the earth and to fill it with eternal God-like beings. The earth itself was wrapped in a garb of beauty and purity, with all the wonders on land and in sea. Nothing was wanting.
In the Garden of Eden “were trees of every variety, many of them laden with fragrant and delicious fruit. There were lovely vines… presenting a most graceful appearance, with their branches drooping under their load of tempting fruit, of the richest and most varied hues.” — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 47.
The earth in her youth, filled with delicate flowers and covered with a carpet of living green, spanned by the blue heavens, exhibited natural beauty and elegance such as no language can describe. A living wonder without a flaw, which only the great Master Artist could bring forth.
The rider and his white horse (God’s crowned king, Adam, and his peaceful government, his white horse) are, therefore, the first to be weighed on the balances, the first to come in review before the Judicial Throne. Hence, we are again reminded that this character-searching event, the Judgment, is the very thing that was to take place “hereafter” from John’s time, years after the first century of the Christian era.
The rider’s crown and his bow call to mind the office which man first filled the instant God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Gen. 1:26. And God blessed Adam and Eve, and God said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it,” conquer it. Gen. 1:28.
Plain it is that at the Throne of Judgment, the white horse, the rider, and his crown, figuratively identify Adam, God’s created king, and his kingdom. And if the only thing which he was commanded to conquer was the earth, by replenishing and subduing it, then what else in the field of symbolism can the “bow,” the instrument to conquer with logically represent but Eve?
The next generation that is called to give account for its faith and fidelity, is brought to light in THE SYMBOLIZATION OF THE SECOND SEAL.