Thoughts on the First and Second Seals

“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!’ I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” – Rev. 6:1-2

Recently, I read an End Times novel in which the rider of the white horse was interpreted as the Antichrist. This made no sense to me, because right before the opening of the first seal, it says, “Look! The Lamb of God, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” – Rev. 5:5

As a Catholic, I was taught to respond to “Have you been saved?” with “I have been saved; I am being saved; and I hope when my time comes, I will be saved.” The reference to Jesus who “has conquered” shortly followed by the rider who goes out on the white horse “conquering and to conquer” reminded me of this. So it feels right to me that Jesus is the rider on the white horse.

And when I looked it up to double check my thoughts, I noticed that when the second seal is opened, “Another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.” – Rev. 6:4

When I saw “Take peace from the earth”, I remembered the Catholic prophecies that tell us that, before the final tribulations, Jesus will come as the King of Mercy. All around the world, the sky will become black as the night, even where it is daytime, and everyone will Jesus on the cross. Each will be shown his or her soul and sinfulness as God sees them. And each will experience for a few minutes what it would be like (Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory) if they were to die at that moment. To me, that sounds like the first seal, with Jesus, the King of Mercy going out with his crown, conquering and to conquer.

Further, it has been prophesied that, immediately following the Warning, there will be a period of 6 weeks where the devil will not be allowed to act so that all will have the freedom to choose for or against God. In other words, there will be a period of peace. I’m thinking the second seal sounds like what will happen at the end of that six week period of peace, when the rider of the red horse is “allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another.”

• https://www.humblehousewives.com/blog/illumination-of-conscience-the-warning-will-happen-in-2020