Category: Book of Revelation

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6)

Overview

The previous article identified the rider on the white horse in the first seal, which never stops conquering, as the gospel going out throughout the Church Age. (Read Article) Show More

An important principle is that the Four Horsemen form a unit, meaning that each one causes the next. Therefore, since the white horse represents the proclamation of the gospel, the next three horsemen symbolize the consequences thereof.

Another important principle is that the fifth seal, which shows God’s slain people calling for revenge, is part of and the result of the sequence of the Four Horsemen.

The second (red) horse, which causes men to “slay one another,” could refer to general violence. However, since it follows the preaching of the gospel and results in God’s slain people calling for revenge, it symbolizes violence to God’s people when they proclaim the gospel: Show More

The third (black) horse depicts famine conditions. Since it must be the consequence of the violence to God’s people in the second seal, and since the black horse is the opposite of the white horse, symbolizing the gospel, it is understood as a famine of the Word of God, and even opposition to God’s Word, that follows when the people who proclaim God’s truth are derided, ridiculed, and even killed. Show More

The name of the rider of the fourth (pale) horse is Death, symbolizing spiritual disease and death resulting from the famine for the Word of God. It is the permanent exclusion from mercy, the frightful consequence for people who have chosen to exclude God and His mercy from their lives.

The Four Horsemen form a Unit.

Covenant Curses

Based on strong parallels, there can be little doubt that seals 2 to 4 build on the curses in God’s covenant for Israel, should they become unfaithful. Show More

However, this does not mean that the “war, famine, and pestilence” of these seals fall on God’s unfaithful people because these “curses” also later targeted Israel’s enemies. Show More

Furthermore, later writers of the Old Testament, such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, applied these ‘curses’ to all nations. Show More

But what we do learn from this is that the Old Testament frequently refers to the sword, famine, and pestilence as a single expression of judgment (Jer 14:12; 21:7; 24:10; 44:13; Ezek 6:11, 12; 5:12). And, similar to the fourth seal, Ezekiel 14:21 adds wild beasts to the list. For that reason, this article interprets seals 2-4 as a unit. Show More

Further Indications

The following are further indications that the four horsemen form a unit:

1) All four are horsemen.

2) In the Synoptic Apocalypse (the Olivet Discourse – Matt 24), where Jesus predicted the nature of the Church Age, He mentions the same things that we find in the four horsemen (wars, plagues, and famines – Matt 24:6-14; Mark 13:7-8; Luke 21:11) and describes them as characteristics of the entire Church Age; rather than as specific events.

3) The grammar of the white horse is extremely continuous and ongoing (Rev 6:2), implying that it covers the entire Church Age. By implication, the same applies to the other three horses.

4) The fourth seal (Rev 6:7-8) includes the bloodshed and famine of seals 2 and 3. Show More

The Fifth Seal

Actually, the fifth seal is also part of this unit because the first and sixth seals begin with the phrase, “And I saw,” indicating the beginning of new sections of the vision. This implies that the souls under the altar in the fifth seal are the people who died during seals 2 to 4. 

Conclusion

Since the white horse represents the proclamation of the gospel over the church age, and since the four horsemen form a unit, symbolizing different aspects of one thing, the next three horsemen symbolize the consequences of gospel preaching.

Second Seal – Red Horse

“When He broke the second seal …
a red horse went out;
and to him who sat on it,
it was granted to take peace from the earth,
and that men would slay one another;
and a great sword was given to him” (Rev 6:3-4).

He broke the Second Seal –The word for “broke” is in the past tense because the prophet experienced these in the past. It does not necessarily mean that the symbolized events are literally in the prophet’s past.

Second Living Creature – The second living creature was the “calf” (Rev 4:7).

Red Horse – The Greek word translated as “red” is purros, meaning the color of fire.

To him who sat on it, it was granted – This implies that God gave this rider his power. However, that does not mean that the rider on the red horse is Christ. Satan and the forces of evil can do nothing unless God allows it (e.g., Job 1:11-12; 2:5-6).

Killing of God’s people

One option is that the sword that causes men to “slay one another” refers to general violence. That view is supported by the Synoptic Apocalypse, where Jesus distinguished between wars and persecution as different aspects of the Church Age. Show More

However, for the following reasons, the slaying in the second seal is likely the slaying of God’s people by people who have rejected the gospel, following divisions and strife resulting from the preaching of the gospel: Show More

Following the gospel – Since the four horsemen form a unit, the bloodshed of the second must be the consequence of the first, which is the gospel going out. Divisions arise as the gospel is preached. God’s true people will not slander, hurt, and even kill others, but their opponents will.

Resulted in the Fifth – Since the first five seals form a unit, the people of God who have been slain for their faith in the fifth (Rev 6:9) have been killed in the first four. Show More

The Sword – The Greek word translated as “sword” refers to a smaller weapon used for close-in combat OR SACRIFICE. Show More

Slay – The fifth seal, which explicitly states that God’s people are slain, uses the same Greek word translated in the second seal as “slay.” Furthermore, this word is also used for animal sacrifice in the Greek Old Testament (LXX) (Lev 1:5, 11; 3:8, 13; 4:4, 24, 33, etc.) and for Christ’s death (Rev 5:6, 9, 12; 13:8). Show More

Third Seal – Black Horse

“When He broke the third seal … behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. … a voice … saying,

‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.’” (Rev 6:5-6)

A pair of scales in his hand – In times of scarcity, prices rise. The more an item is worth, the more precisely you will want to measure the quantity being bought or sold. For that purpose, you would require a scale. This seal focuses on food. The scale, in combination with food, indicates a shortage of food. In other words – famine conditions. Show More

A voice in the center of the four living creatures – This voice is not identified. However, since the sound comes from the midst of the four living creatures, it must come from the throne (Rev 4:6). Show More

Wheat … Barley … Oil … Wine – The three main crops of Palestine in ancient times were grains (including wheat and barley), grapes (from which wine was made), and olives, which were processed into oil.

Denarius – The Denarius was a small Roman coin made of silver. It was considered the equivalent of a day’s wage. The very high prices confirm famine conditions. Based on these prices, it would cost a person his whole day’s pay to buy enough wheat for one day for only one person. Show More

Famine for God’s Word

For the following reasons, this famine can be understood symbolically as a famine of the Word of God, a time when the Word of God may be hard to find or poorly understood, even as opposition to God’s Word: Show More

Following Death – Since the four horsemen form a unit, this famine must be the consequence of the second seal, namely of the persecution of the people who proclaim God’s word.

Black – Since the sun may symbolize the gospel (John 3:18-21), the black of the third horse might be understood as darkness, the absence of the light of the sun, and as the opposite of the white horse, and, therefore, the absence of the gospel or even opposition to the gospel. Show More

Food – The Bible often uses food in a spiritual sense. For example, Jesus is “the bread of life” (John 6:35). Show More

Fourth Seal – Ashen Horse

“When the Lamb broke the fourth seal …
behold, an ashen horse;
and he who sat on it had the name Death;
and Hades was following with him.
Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth,
to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence
and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Rev 6:7-8)

Ashen – The adjective “pale” or “ashen” (NASB) translates the Greek word that was used in ancient times to describe the appearance of a very sick person on the verge of death. 

Death … Hades – The name of the fourth horseman is Death. He is death personified. Hades, the place where the dead is, followed after him. As in human experience, after death comes the grave. Show More

Authority was given to them – God gave Death and Hades permission to do their work. God is not the author of death or suffering. He does not desire the human race to suffer. But out of respect for human freedom, He allows human beings both the freedom to choose and the consequences of their choices.

To kill with Sword … Famine and … Pestilence … Wild Beasts. – The fourth rider has both the sword of the second seal and the famine of the third but intensifies them by adding pestilence and the beasts of the earth. The judgments become more and more severe.

Spiritual Death

Since the four horsemen form a unit, the death in the fourth seal must be the consequence of the spiritual famine of the previous seal. It is, therefore, interpreted as spiritual death, permanent exclusion from mercy, and the frightful result for people who have chosen to exclude God and His mercy from their lives.

Zechariah’s horses

Zechariah’s visions also have colored horses and sound similar to the four horsemen of Revelation 6. However, they are substantially different. While Zechariah’s horses serve as scouts and signify God’s awareness of what is happening on earth, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse actively bring the gospel and then major calamities. (Zech 1:8; 10-12; 14-16; 6:1-8) Therefore, Zechariah’s horses do explain the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Show More

  • Purpose of the Seals

    In Revelation 5, God has in His hand a book that is “sealed up with seven seals,” and nobody is able to break the seals and open the book (Rev 5:1-3). Previous articles interpreted this as follows:

    The book is the Book of Life, listing the people God elected to eternal life.

    The seals are Satan’s informed and well-motivated accusations against God’s elect, preventing the heavenly beings from being able to explain why God saves only those sinners.

    But then, the Son of God became a human being. Although He was tempted to the utmost, He “has overcome so as to open the book” (Rev 5:5-6). His entire life, but particularly the hours of His death, has demonstrated Him to be “the faithful and true Witness” (Rev 3:14), “worthy” to take the book and break its seals (Rev 5:9). In other words, He is “worthy” to show that God’s judgments, as contained in the Book of Life, are perfect. (Read Article)

    In Revelation 6, Jesus breaks the seals one by one, causing catastrophes on Earth. By breaking the seals, He refutes Satan’s accusations and shows that God judges perfectly. Like Jesus’s life and death showed that He is worthy, these seal events on Earth show that God’s people are worthy. (Read Article)

Other Articles

The Seven Seals

Other

  • I recommend Jon Paulien’s commentary on Revelation for further reading. For general theological discussions, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.
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The white horse of the first seal symbolizes the gospel.

Introduction

Brief Overview of Previous Articles

Revelation 5 describes a book in heaven that is sealed up with seven seals, and none of the beings in heaven is able to open it (Rev 5:1, 3). The book has been interpreted as the Book of Life, identifying the people God elected to eternal life. (Read Article) That article also shows that this sealed book symbolizes the same crisis as the War in Heaven (Rev 12:7-17). In that war, Satan accuses the people God elected to eternal life (Rev 12:10). Therefore, the seven seals with which the book is sealed are Satan’s accusations against God’s people. His brilliant accusations have created doubt about the fairness of God’s judgments, and nobody is able to refute Satan entirely.

But then, Jesus Christ overcame so as to open the book and break its seals (Rev 5:5-6). He has overcome sin. He came to this world to be tested. Although Satan tested Him to the maximum with every possible temptation, Jesus never sinned. The hours of His death were His most severe temptation, but He never used His powers contrary to God’s will. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He allowed evil men to nail Him to the Cross because that was the will of His Father. (Read Article) 

In Revelation 5, Jesus takes the scroll from the One sitting on the throne (Rev 5:7). Since He appears as a slain lamb (Rev 5:6), He received the book after He had ascended to heaven. (Read Article) His victory on earth brought great joy to the beings in heaven (cf. Rev 5:9).

Purpose

To break the seals means to provide evidence to refute Satan’s accusations. (Read Article) In Revelation 6, the Lamb breaks the seals one by one in heaven, causing catastrophes on Earth. The current article discusses the meaning of the first seal.

6:1-2

6:1 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.”
2 I looked, and behold, a white horse,
and he who sat on it had a bow;
and a crown was given to him,
and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Then I saw – This phrase introduces major sections of the Book of Revelation. Show More

The Lamb broke one of the seven seals. – Jesus Christ directs these events. Show More

Interpretations

Over history, the first horse has been interpreted in three main ways:

    • The Parthian military conquests of the first century;
    • The Gospel, and
    • The Antichrist.

The Parthians

In the preterist interpretation of critical scholarship, Revelation 6 is a fairly literal description of military conquests during the first century of the Christian era. Specifically, the white horse is understood as the Parthians of ancient Persia, today’s Iran, who rode on white horses and who were a significant threat to the Roman Empire. However, such a reading does not fit:

Firstly, the seals are not limited to the first century but portray events leading all the way up to the second coming (cf. Rev 6:12-14 – see The Sixth Seal).

Secondly, the seals should be taken symbolically. No one suggests that the “Lion” and “Lamb” (Rev 5:5-6) or the four horses of the first four seals should be taken literally. Why would the events associated with the seals be literal? Show More

Thirdly, this horse “went out conquering and to conquer.” This implies that it will never stop conquering. It cannot be limited to the beginning of the church age, as the Parthian interpretation does.

The Gospel

A second main interpretation of the white horse is that its rider is Christ, and the white horse represents the gospel. This position is supported by the following:

1) The horse is white.

The color of the horse is white, and, in Revelation, the color white always refers to the things of Christ, never for evil (e.g., Rev 1:14; 2:17; 3:4-5; 6:11). Show More

2) The Rider has a stephanos.

This rider receives a crown. A diadem crown symbolizes a ruler’s authority (e.g., Rev 19:12), but this rider receives a stephanos crown, which is always associated with Christ and His people (e.g., Phil 4:1; 1 Thess 2:19; 2 Tim 4:8; Rev 12:1). Show More

3) The rider conquers.

This horse and rider “went out conquering and to conquer.” In the seals, the Greek words for conquering, which are also translated as “overcome,” refer to Christ and his people (Rev 3:21 and 5:5). Show More

4) The rider never stops conquering.

In the Greek, “conquering and in order that he might conquer” is the most continuous expression possible, meaning that the white horse will never stop conquering. Such an expression fits the gospel because God’s people will suffer but never stop (cf. Rev 2:10; 12:11). In contrast, the Antichrist is utterly defeated when it is destroyed in the lake of fire (Rev 19:20). This also means that it cannot be limited to the first century. 

5) The Synoptic Apocalypse includes the gospel.

In the Synoptic Apocalypse (Matthew 24), Jesus predicted that the Church Age would be a period of (a) gospel preaching, (b) war, (c) famine, (d) pestilence, and (e) persecution of His people. We see the same things in the seals, implying that the seals also describe the Church Age. But if the rider on the white horse is not the gospel, the gospel would be missing in the seals.

6) The white horse of Revelation 19 symbolizes Christ.

There is another rider on a white horse in the Book of Revelation, and that is explicitly Jesus Christ (Rev 19:12). In Revelation 6, we see the Rider on the white horse at the beginning of the Church Age; Revelation 19 shows Him at the end of that journey. Show More

7) Habakkuk 3:8-9

Hab 3:8-9 is very similar to the first seal. Both texts concern horses, victory, and the rider employing a bow. But the rider in Habakkuk is Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament, not an evil power.

The Antichrist

In the view of probably most interpreters today, the rider on the white horse is the Antichrist, appearing as an angel of light, a counterfeit of Christ and of the gospel. This view is based on considerations such as the following:

a) The other seals bring affliction.

Since the other horses all bring affliction and disaster, the military conquest mentioned in the first seal could also be understood as a disaster. However, the first seal does not mention any affliction or disaster, implying it is different. Show More

b) The rider has a bow.

In the Old Testament, the bow can be used as a symbol of enemy nations, such as Gog and Babylon. However, the bow is also used as a weapon of God. Show More

c) Beasts conquer God’s people.

In Revelation, there are beasts that “conquer” God’s people (Rev 11 & 13), using the same word for conquest as the first seal (cf. Rev 13:7). However, in the seals, as discussed, only Christ and His people “overcome.” 

d) Counterfeit is a regular theme.

Counterfeit is a main theme in the Book of Revelation. However, Revelation does not leave us in doubt when something is a counterfeit. For example, the Land Beast has two horns like a Lamb but speaks like a dragon (Rev 13:11), meaning that this beast has a Christian face but is a deception. But there is no indication of evil in the first seal. Show More

Conclusion

The white horse represents the proclamation of the gospel, beginning with the enthronement of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary (see Revelation 5) and continuing until He returns. The gospel must go out to the whole world as a witness to all nations before the end comes (Matt 24:14). 

Understood this way, the other three horsemen do not portray obscure apocalyptic disasters but symbolize the consequences of preaching the gospel. The seals also show that the conquest would not be easy or quick but through suffering. War, famine, pestilence, and death would fill the intervening years. Revelation here prepares God’s people to endure in the face of hardship, knowing that victory, in the end, is assured.

Other Articles

The Seven Seals

Other

  • I recommend Jon Paulien’s commentary on Revelation for further reading. For general theological discussions, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.
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