Revelation's First and Second Seals -- Conquest and War

Below is the 11th of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from The Parousia, the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell: 

"OPENING OF THE FIRST SEAL [WHITE HORSE: CONQUEST].
 
"Chap. vi. 1, 2 [Rev. 6:1-2] ---‘And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as (with) a voice of thunder, Come. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given to him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.’
 
"It will be seen that we regard this vision as emblematic of the Jewish[-Roman] war [that ultimately resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70], which was introductory to the great final event of the Parousia [Second Coming]. Upon the opening of the first seal we behold the first act in the tragic drama. It is announced by one of the four mystic beings, represented as guarding the throne of God, exclaiming, with a voice of thunder, ‘Come!’ and behold, an armed warrior, seated on a white horse, and holding in his hand a bow, passes across the field of vision. A crown is bestowed upon the warrior, who goes forth conquering, and to conquer. 

"This is a most vivid representation of the first scene in the tragic drama of the Jewish[-Roman] war which commenced in the reign of Nero, A.D. 66, under the conduct of [Roman military leader, later emperor] Vespasian. In the first scene we see the Roman invader advancing to the combat. As yet the war has not actually begun; the warrior rides upon a white horse; he holds in his had a bow, a weapon used at a distance. ... 

"OPENING OF THE SECOND SEAL [RED HORSE: WAR].

"Chap. vi. 3, 4. [Rev. 6:3-4]---‘And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, Come. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given unto him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth (land [Greek: ges]), and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.’

"This symbol also speaks for itself. Hostilities have now commenced; the white horse is succeeded by the red---the colour of blood. The bow gives place to the sword. It is a great sword, for the carnage is to be terrible. Peace flies from the land: all is strife and bloodshed. It is a civil as well as a foreign war,---‘they kill one another' [verse 4]. 

"All this fitly represents the historical fact. The Jewish war, under Vespasian, commenced at the furthest distance from Jerusalem in Galilee, and gradually drew nearer and nearer to the doomed city. The Romans were not the only agents in the work of slaughter that depopulated the land; hostile factions among the Jews themselves turned their arms against one another, so that it might be said that 'every man’s hand was against his brother.’ The exchange of the bow for the sword indicates that the combatants had now closed, and fought hand to hand: it is another act in the same tragedy. 

"It is worthy of notice that the language of the fourth verse not obscurely indicates the scene of war. Peace is taken from the land [Greek: ek tes ges]. [Biblical scholar Moses] Stuart has accurately interpreted this circumstance: ‘Here, not the whole earth, but the land of Palestine is especially denoted.’"

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