First Seal: the White Horse and Its Rider
Commentary on the Book of Revelation
By: Tom Lowe Date: 8-26-15
TOPIC # III: VISIONS OF JUDGMENT AGAINST JERUSALEM (4:1-11:19)
Subtopic B: The Opening of Seven Seals (6.1-8.1)
Lesson: III.B.1: First Seal: the White Horse and Its Rider (Revelation 6:1-2)
Revelation 6:1-2 (KJV)
1 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.
2 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.
Introduction to Chapter 6
This is the first of three seven-part judgments. Chapters 6-16 form the core of Revelation. Chapters 1-5 are introductory, and chapters 17-22 conclude the book of Revelation; chapters 6-16 describe the seal judgments (chapter 6), the trumpet judgments (chapters 8-9), and the bowl (vial) judgments (chapters 15-16), with interludes between them. In chapter 5, a scroll with seven seals had been handed to Christ, who is the only one worthy to break the seals and open the scroll, setting into motion the events leading up to the end of the world (5:1-5). In chapter 6, the scroll is opened as each seal is broken. The scroll is not completely opened until the seventh seal is broken (8:1). The contents of the scroll reveal mankind’s depravity and portray God’s authority over the events of human history. Let me say here that these judgments are future; they have not been fulfilled as yet. “The day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2) has not yet come upon the earth, but it is drawing near. Up to the present our God’s throne has not been one of judgment but of grace.
Each of the judgments (seals, trumpets, bowls) consist of seven parts; the first four judgments involve natural disasters on the earth, and the last three are cosmic disasters. There are three views about how to understand this series of judgments—seals, trumpets, bowls:
Recapitulation View. According to this view, the three sets of judgments repeat each other (are cyclical); they presented three ways of viewing the same judgments. Because the trumpets and the bowls have the same order, many have concluded that the three sets are repetitive. In addition, in all three sets, the first four of the seven judgments are very similar, as are the last three of each set of seven. Exact repetition, however, occurs only in the trumpets and bowels.
Consecutive View. This view maintains that judgments will follow in the order described in Revelation: first the seals, then the trumpets, then the bowls—in other words, Revelation is describing 21 separate events. For that reason, chapters 6-16 in Revelation would be chronological.
Progressive Intensification View. The key to this view is understanding the results of the judgments. The seals destroy one-fourth of the earth; the trumpets destroy one-third; the bowls affect everything. The picture seems to be one of progressive intensity, with each of these sets of judgments ending in the same place—that is, the end of history.
These views are helpful as you consider and study the book of Revelation. While many will feel very strongly about one view or another, only God knows the truth. He left much of Revelation unclear to His people for a reason, perhaps so we’ll study it and be watchful and morally alert. One truth is sure; as God prepares to end history and usher in His kingdom, He will bring judgments. Christ as the Lion-Lamb, who holds the title deed to the earth by right of creation and redemption, is about to take over. Chapters four and five are scenes in Heaven. Believers have been raptured and have received their crowns or reward: “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their CROWNS before the throne . . .” (Revelation 4:10). The giving of the crowns belongs to that period after the Rapture of the church: “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
In this chapter, four men on horses appear when the first four seals are open; these are commonly known as the “four horsemen of the apocalypse.” John describes these four horsemen as introducing God’s judgment on the world. The first rides a white horse; the second, a bright red horse; the third, a black horse; the fourth, a pale horse. Each one has a mission related to the Lord’s breaking of the first four seals of judgment (Revelation 6:1-8). This series of judgments will affect one-fourth of the world (6:8); in other words, these are not judgments of the entire earth, but are partial.
These horses represent God’s judgment of people’s sin and rebellion. God is directing human history—even using His enemies to accomplish His purposes. The four horses provide a foretaste of the final judgments yet to come. Some viewed this chapter as a parallel to Jesus’ words about the end times (see Matthew 24:4-8; Mark 13:5-13; Luke 21:8-19). The imagery of colored horses and their riders comes from Zechariah 1:8-17; 6:1-8. In Zechariah, the colors of the horses have no special significance; in Revelation, the colors of the horses do have symbolic meaning, as described below. In Zechariah, the horses and riders went out to patrol the earth; in Revelation, they set out to bring disaster.
Someone may ask the question, “Why does Christ break the scroll’s seals and permit such devastation?” Today’s readers of Revelation must remember that this message was first for the persecuted early Christians. In breaking these seals, Christ does not send disaster because the mechanism for evil already exists in the hearts of sinful humanity. Rather, Christ breaking the seals demonstrates His lordship over history—even the evil that occurs in history is under His control. While evil people and evil systems appeared to dominate, Christ unfolds a future in which He will triumph over every enemy. “They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings” (Revelation 17:14). The Lamb shall overcome them: partly through the faithfulness of His people, who will not love their lives to the death, but freely lay them down for Him; nor can anything separate them from the love of Christ, or prevail upon them to desert Him. For the first-century believers who were facing persecution, Revelation revealed that Christ had seen their suffering and controlled human events. Thus, they could put their trust in Him and stand up for their faith in times of difficulty.
The events leading up to the Kingdom Age. The church age ends with the spewing out of the visible assembly and the gathering of all born again saints from out of the world. The saints who have died will be raised, and together the raised saints and the living saints will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:1). The position of the Lord Jesus today is walking in the midst of the churches. He is the Chief Shepherd, the Overseer of the church. And in this dispensation the Chief Shepherd guides the sheep, leads the sheep, and seals the sheep through the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost. Oftentimes this age is referred to as the dispensation of the Holy Ghost.
The Rapture takes place near the end of the third chapter of Revelation. Immediately after the Rapture (Revelation 4:1-3) we see the four and twenty elders clothed in white raiment, wearing crowns of gold. These four and twenty elders around the throne signify the redeemed in Heaven. They represent the Church, caught up out of the earth into Heaven to be with the Lord. Therefore, in chapter 4 of Revelation, the Rapture has already taken place, and the redeemed are already in Heaven. Later, in chapter 19, verses 11-14, John sees the redeemed coming out of Heaven, following Christ who is riding on a beautiful white horse. The saints are also riding white horses. Since these facts are clearly set before us, in what part of Revelation can the Rapture be placed except between the close of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4? Chapter 3 closes one series of events, chapter 4 opens a new series of events. Therefore, we look for the fulfillment of the words in John 14:3 and the words in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, between chapters 3 and 4 of Revelation. Unless we admit this fact, an intelligent understanding of the book of Revelation is impossible. It is a Biblical fact that the Church is not on the earth during the judgments; the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” the Great Tribulation.
According to Scripture, comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13), the Church will not enter nor go through any part—not one day or 1 hour—of the Tribulation period. Any minister who teaches that the church will go through any of the Tribulation period is not rightly dividing the Word.
Beginning with chapter 6, we will study the prophetic part of Revelation. As we enter this prophetic part of the book, keep in mind the fact that the three different series of judgments . . . the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the vials of the wrath of God . . . will take place between the gathering of the Church to the Lord, and the time when He comes with the Church. These judgments will take place during Daniel’s seventieth week of prophesy . . . a period of seven years. The first half of this will be mild, but the last half will be known as the Great Tribulation—a time of blood, death, torments and suffering on this earth such as has never been known, nor ever will be known again after the Tribulation.
Before we look at the text, we should examine a very real problem, namely, whether the details are to be regarded literally or symbolically. This is the question which all students of this book must face. This book must be studied the same as any other book in the Bible. The question of literalness or symbolism must be determined by language and context. Are the horses and the horsemen literal or symbolic? Personally I feel that they are symbolic of the nature of the judgments and calamities which are to come upon the earth.
Commentary
1 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.
The “LAMB,” Christ, opened the first of the seven seals. As each seal was opened, events signaling the end of the world took place. With the breaking of the first seal came four riders on horseback, the first of which John saw in this verse. One of the four living creatures said in a voice like “THUNDER,” “COME!” [Another controversy—for some say it was the voice of Christ that John heard.] This voice as a Clap of “THUNDER” sounds the beginning of the tribulation period, the time of Jacob’s trouble—“How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7)—the time when the church and people of God, the true Israel of God, shall be saved from those great tribulations, and taken to a very happy and comfortable place. The creature was probably beckoning the rider on the horse to come forward because, when John looked, he saw a white horse (a mighty war horse) with a rider holding a bow. As John watched, the rider was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. We note that when the subject concerns Heaven, the elders speak, and when it concerns the earth, the living creatures speak.
John wants us to know that he was an eyewitness to what he is writing about: “And I saw . . .” (Revelation 6:2). “AND I HEARD . . . (REVELATION 6:1). John both heard and saw these things, he was there, and he knows firsthand, because he was an eyewitness.
2 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.
This is the only rider who didn’t bring catastrophe (the others initiated warfare, famine, and death); this rider was “bent on conquest.” But who is He? There is much debate over who or what this horseman represents:
Some have suggested that this rider symbolizes the proclamation of the Good News of Christ. They see the “WHITE HORSE” as being “good” and therefore the rider on a good mission.
Others believe that the rider on the “WHITE HORSE” is Christ Himself, for Christ later appears on a “WHITE HORSE” (19:11). Jesus is closely associated with the color white in Revelation (see 1:14; 6:11; 14:14).
Still others, believe him to be the Antichrist—Satan’s man.
A few commentators believe the rider on the “WHITE HORSE” represents sinful mankind’s desire for conquest; when this occurs, many suffer.
Finally, there is the opinion that he represents the Gospel, its power, its goals, and its peaceful conquest of the globe.
Obviously he cannot be all of these. The context provides the needed clue, for the Holy Spirit Himself interprets the symbolism of the fourth horseman: he is death, and Hades follows hard on his heels. The horsemen, therefore, are not persons, but personifications. Moreover, they are personifications of things very unpleasant indeed. Here, then, is a rider who personifies one of these factors which undermined the world and prepared it for God’s final judgment. He is all-victorious and wins his victories relatively peacefully. He represents the blasphemous philosophies of the last days, those anti-Christian ideologies which prepare men’s minds for the devil’s gospel and the ultimate reception of the strong delusion, the great lie (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).
In the scripture, a “HORSE” is often used as a symbol for war. At the end of the Apocalypse, for example, the Lord Jesus Himself returns on a great “WHITE HORSE” to settle the issues of Armageddon (Revelation 19:11-16). The “WHITE” color of the “HORSE” suggests that the rider wins victories without bloodshed. Peaceful victory is implied—what we would call “cold war.” The bow suggests that far-reaching objectives are in view, and the “CROWN” makes it clear that whatever is represented under the symbolism of this seal will be successful and victorious. Notice here that this crown is presented before victory, and is therefore not a victorious “crown.” The “CROWN” indicates that royal dignity and imperial power is bestowed upon this distinguished rider of the “WHITE HORSE,” who offers to the world peace without bloodshed; and during the first three and a half years of the reign of the Antichrist, there will be no bloodshed. Those years will be a time of peace and prosperity. He will make a covenant with the Jews in their homeland, and all will be peace—until three and a half years have gone by, and then all hell will break loose!
At the command to “COME” the rider spurs forward both “CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER.” That is, victory after victory, conquest after conquest was his without defeat. His reign was marked with victory on every hand, and of course he became the idol of the nations who had rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely, he was worshipped as the one who had finally brought world peace. The fact that this “WHITE HORSE” and its rider precede three other horsemen who wreak havoc on the earth, however, suggests that the “WHITE” horseman might represent the lust for conquest. When mankind is bent on conquest, the result is warfare, famine, and death. The color “WHITE” could correspond, then, to conquest.
The rider of the “WHITE HORSE” is not the Lord Jesus Christ. This rider is not the King of kings and Lord of lords riding forth in mighty conquest. Psalm 45 and Revelation 19:11 show us that this rider could not be the Lord Jesus Christ. The scriptures prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the rider on the “WHITE HORSE” is certainly someone else besides the Christ. The Psalmist and John declare that when Jesus rides out of the sky in great conquest, He will set on the throne, He will assume the sovereignty of the world; but when this seal is opened there are many, many years before the kingdom of the Lord Jesus is set up in power. Therefore, this rider could not be the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus rides out of the sky it will be on a mighty, “WHITE HORSE”—but with Him will be a host of other riders clothed in “WHITE” and riding upon “WHITE HORSES” (Revelation 19:1-11).
This rider is none other than the counterfeit Christ, known in the Bible as the man of sin, the Antichrist. This is not an Antichrist—John tells us in his epistle that even in his day there were many antichrists (plural)—but this is the man of sin, the devil in flesh. For everything Jehovah God has that is great and wonderful, the devil has the cheap counterfeit. He corresponds to the false Christ of Matthew 24:5: “For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many.” This is the first sign, preceding the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem; as there was a general expectation among the Jews of a Messiah; that is, of one that should arise and deliver them from the Roman yoke; in this period of time, many set up themselves to be deliverers and redeemers of the people of Israel. The Antichrist’s method is that of deception. We shall see as we pursue our study that Matthew 24 is a commentary on Revelation 6. The prefix “anti” means “opposite”—and this is the Antichrist (the lie), whereas Jesus was the Truth and the Light of the world. Jesus said, “I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him” (John 5:43). The world that has rejected God’s Christ is ready to receive the devils Christ. And the reason is that Antichrist does not appear as a villain. After all, Satan’s angels are angels of light. He is not going to have horns or cloven feet. Rather, he is going to be the most attractive man the world has ever seen. They will elect him—for his platform will be world unity and peace—and the world will proclaim him because he has come in his own name. When Antichrist comes to power, he is going to talk peace, and the world will think that it is entering the Millennium when it is actually entering the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation comes in like a lamb, but it goes out like a lion.
The Antichrist will ride a “WHITE HORSE,” and in Revelation 19 the Christ will ride a “WHITE HORSE.” So you see, the personality in verse 2 is a counterfeit—he counterfeits everything Jesus has. Nevertheless, just as men like Nebuchadnezzar and Hitler were instruments in God’s hands, so will it be when the Antichrist appears. God can stir up the heart of a wicked man and impel his fury and in this way display His own power and Glory even as He did in times past (Exodus 14:4; Romans 9:17). No matter what the enemies of God do, in time all will accrue God’s praise, inasmuch as they cannot in any degree prevail against Him. Men are mere puppets in the hands of Almighty God.
This rider of the “WHITE HORSE” goes forth in mighty conquest and he is victorious—the “WHITE HORSE” is a symbol of victory; but he is victorious without bloodshed or slaughter. This rider has a bow . . . but no arrow. In the Bible, when war was fought with a bow and arrow, the arrow was specifically mentioned. Read Numbers 24:8, Psalm 45, Zechariah 9:14. But in the account of this rider on the “WHITE HORSE” not one word is said about the arrow, which is the deadly part of the bow and arrow. This rider has only a bow, denoting bloodless victory.
In the Old Testament the bow is always the sign of military power. In the final defeat of Babylon her mighty men are taken and their bows—that is, their military power—destroyed (Jeremiah 51:56). God will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel (Hosea 1:5). God breaks the bow and shatters the spear in sunder and burns the chariots with fire; that is, against Him no human military power can stand: “He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire” (Psalm 46:9). He destroys all offensive weapons, so that none may hurt or destroy. So, then, the “WHITE HORSE” and its rider with the “BOW” stand for militarism and conquest. Here, then, is something which has taken men a long time to learn. Military conquest has been presented as a thing of glamour; but it is always tragedy.
The picture behind this for the first-century readers may have been the powerful Roman legions and their greatest foes—the Parthians who lived east of the Euphrates River, which became the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire. The Parthians rode “WHITE HORSES” and were the most famous bowmen in the world. They had defeated the Roman army twice with their Calvary and their archery. This had caused many to fear an invasion by the Parthians, so Rome eventually had made a treaty with them.
Coming events always cast their shadows before them. This fact will become increasingly evident as the seals are removed. Things happen in the world which foreshadow and illustrate the eventual shape of things to come. It is not surprising that shadows can be discerned in today’s world, shadows cast upon our times by soon-coming apocalyptic events. The days of the Apocalypse have not dawned yet, but enough is happening to enable us to clearly foresee what the judgment age will be like. The rider on the “WHITE HORSE” is not yet in action, for the great Restrainer is still in Heaven, and the book is still sealed. But we can surely see the shadow of this “HORSE” on every hand. We can see the how radically and rapidly ideologies can change the world, and we can imagine what it will be like when restraints are removed and blasphemous propaganda is unleashed upon mankind, spurred on by permission from God’s throne. The machinery for a major worldwide anti-God propaganda offensive already exists, and that machinery is being well oiled and put to the test.
Any person who reads the Word of God, listens to the radio and keeps up with current events, knows that the world is looking for a super-human to lead the nations into world peace, and into the utopia that has been so much talked about in recent times. But Peter tells us that when they say, “Peace and safety,” sudden destruction “cometh upon them.” According to the signs all around us, we surely must be very near the Rapture—the time when Jesus will take out the Bride so that He can turn loose the judgments that are sure to come upon ungodly men.
