Commentary: to be first in something frequently means to be foundational, and that thought remains true in the opening of the four seals of the Apocalypse wherein the results, or more subjectively accurate, the consequences of the opening of each seal including and following the first seal (the foundation) are 1. a discernable quite logical “cause and effect” progression from seal to seal, 2. a solid dependency of each seal upon the cumulative activities of the preceding seals, and 3. the rapid evolution of the dire consequences of all four seals into a climatic crescendo of unbearable intensity. After approximately 1,900 years of silence, the four seals of the Apocalypse are now being opened by Christ Jesus. Do you hear the thunder?

THE FIRST SEAL OF STRONG DELUSION… THE FOUNDATION,

AND IT’S RIDER, THE ANTICHRIST

(Rev 6:1,2)  And I saw [Gk: considered] when the Lamb [of God] opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder [strongly commanding my attention], one of the four beasts [Gk: zoon; a live thing, an animal] [i.e., a heavenly creature] saying, Come and see [a present tense imperative command]. And I saw [Gk: perceived, understood] [compare & contrast Rev 19:11-16 for the true Christ and His coming], and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him [i.e., he that controlled and directed this horse of strong delusion, The Antichrist] had a bow [but no arrows, vs. “a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations” Rev 19:15]; and a crown [vs. “many crowns” Rev 19:12] was given unto him: and he went forth conquering [present tense], and to conquer [future tense; but we “through Him that loved us” have already been made “more than conquerors” Rom 8:37].

1. Commentary: “Come and see” = is a present tense “now” phrase rendered four times in the book of The Revelation as both a command and a warning directing the hearer/reader specifically toward each of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, and appearing in The Revelation as a phrase only in the first four seals (Rev 6:1-8), and not appearing (and thus not emphatically present tense) in the following three seals of numbers five, six, and seven which remain prophetic.
2. Commentary: “a white horse” = giving the appearance (covering) of righteousness, “for the fine linen (Gk: white) is the righteousness of the saints” Rev 19:8. But in this application, the white color of the horse, in the Bible a horse symbolizes power, is in fact a delusional deceiving covering hiding the great darkness of “strong delusion” 2 Thes 2:11.
3. (2 Cor 4:3,4)  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds [into darkness] of them which believe not, lest the light [Gk: illumination] of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
1. Commentary: “hath blinded the minds” = To blind the mind to the readily available blessings of God is to fraudulently delude and deceive that mind. These are the last days, and knowing that his time is short, Satan’s work has greatly intensified, hence strong delusion prevails “conquering” unsaved minds, and he shall continue “to conquer” the plethora of unsaved minds until the true Lord Jesus Christ returns (the sixth seal).
4. (Mat 24:4,5)  And Jesus answered and said unto them [His disciples], Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ [(lit.) I am anointed; (fig.) I am a Christian]; and shall deceive many.
1. deceive = Gk: to (cause to) roam (from safety, truth, or virtue): go astray, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way /// subjectively a straying from orthodoxy or piety: deceit, to deceive, delusion, error.

THE PROPHECY OF “THAT MAN OF SIN” (2 Thes 2:3), THE ANTICHRIST

(2 Thes 2:8-12)  And then shall that Wicked [Gk: lawless] [“the lawless one (the Antichrist)” Amplified Bible] be revealed [Gk: to take off the cover, disclosed], whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming [His Second Advent]: Even him [a man, The Antichrist], whose coming [“The coming [of the lawless one, the Antichrist]” Amplif.] is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness [Gk: delusion] of unrighteousness [“And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception” Amplif.] in them that perish [Gk: are destroyed fully, die]; because they received not the love of the truth [Jesus Christ: John 14:6], that they might be saved [Gk: sos; “safe”; delivered or protected: healed, preserved, made whole]. And for this cause God shall send them [the unsaved][“a misleading influence” Amplif.] strong delusion, that they should believe a lie [Gk: falsehood: lying] [“to make them believe what is false” Amplif.]: That they all might be damned [“judged and condemned” Amplif.] [“who refused to adhere to” Amplif.] who believed not the truth [Jesus Christ], but [instead] had pleasure in unrighteousness [i.e., all those who remain natural (vs. spiritual) brute men and women].

1.       (Eccl 3:18)  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them [make apparent to them], and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

2.       Commentary: “that Wicked” = refers to the wicked ways (lawlessness) of the “beast” of Rev 13:1 who rises up out of the sea. The “sea” is a biblical symbol of humanity, and the beast is The Antichrist [Gk: the opposite of Christ, instead of Christ], thus his wicked lawless ways. Please note that before being revealed, The Antichrist beast was hidden in the vast sea of humanity; therefore most of his earlier background, origins, and the activities that occurred while he was hidden in the sea of humanity prior to his rising up into our sight (becoming visible to the Saints in this world) remain undisclosed, unrevealed, obscure and conjectural at best.

ANOTHER LOOK AT: THE ANTICHRIST, THAT MAN OF SIN, A BEAST

(Rev 13:1,2)  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [Gk: therion; a dangerous animal:  (venomous, wild) beast] [i.e., “venomous” meaning deadly, and “wild” meaning lawless, i.e., “that Wicked”] [a physical beast] rise up out of the sea [being revealed as he rose up (fig. ascended) out of the sea of humanity], having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns [emblems of conquered foes], and upon his heads [the thoughts of his theology] the name of blasphemy [against our God, and then against all gods: Dan 11:37]. And the beast which I saw was like unto [a composite of the characteristics of] a leopard [a swiftly moving deadly carnivore, a flesh eater – devouring unsaved people], and his feet were as the feet of a bear [a large heavy stomping ill-tempered carnivore (i.e., an oppressive government), a flesh eater – devouring unsaved people)], and his mouth as the mouth of a lion [the roaring “king” of beasts broadcasting his authority and beguiling dominance to all the world from his position as King (to which the position of President correlates in our present culture), a carnivore, a flesh eater – devouring unsaved people]: and the dragon [Satan] [a spiritual beast] gave him his [own] power [to deceive], and his [own] seat [the most influential, commanding, dominant, controlling, physical position in the world as the President of the United States, directly comparable to the spiritual position of “the god of this world” 2 Cor 4:4], and great authority [Gk: privilege, force, capacity, (superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength].

1. (Prov 28:15)  As a roaring lion, and a ranging [Heb: to course (like a beast of prey); by implication to seek greedily] bear; so is a wicked [Heb: morally wrong; concretely an (actively) bad person: ungodly] ruler over the poor people.
2. (1 Pet 5:8)  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour [Gk: to drink down, gulp entirely: swallow (up)]:

Amen