Revelation 6, the Four Horsemen

Revelation 6:

The Opening Seal Judgments

 Revelation 6:1-16 

The Seal judgments: In chapters 4 and 5, the scene is in heaven. Chapter six begins in heaven, but with a view on earth in the midst of the Tribulation. Many good and godly people have debated whether or not these seven seals occur first, and then followed by the trumpets, bowl judgments chronologically (LaHaye, John Phillips,), or whether some (especially the final two seals, trumpets and bowls) occur simultaneously and overlappingly (Walvoord). 

Some elements of Revelation (chapter 12, for instance) is not chronological, and in numerous Biblical passages, there is a “mountain peak” view of prophecy; that is, a prophet will see an event in the future which appears to be one event, but is actually separate. A good rule of thumb is “Where the Bible is clear, we can be clear; where the Bible is unclear, we can dialogue.”

I personally like how Clarence Larkin explained it: “A rocket fired into the air may burst into ‘seven stars,’ and one of these stars into ‘seven other stars,’ and one of the second group of stars into a third group of ‘seven stars.’ So the ‘Seventh’ Seal includes the ‘Seven Trumpets,’ and the ‘Seventh’ Trumpet includes the ‘Seven Vials.’ ”

The Seven Seals are divided into two parts, beginning with the famous “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” While the imagery is similar to Zechariah 1:8ff, these are not the same horsemen. 

¹ Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals;  and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

 The word “Anti-Christ” is not used in Revelation, but here are some other names of “the Beast”

Seed of Satan (Genesis 3:15)

Little Horn (Daniel 7:8)

King of Fierce Countenance (Daniel 8:23)

Prince That Shall Come (Daniel 9:26)

Desolator (Daniel 9:27)

Vile Person (Daniel 11)

Willful King (Daniel 11:36)

Idol Shepherd (Zechariah 11:17)

Man of Sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Wicked One (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8)

Lawless One (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Antichrist (1 John 2:22)

First Horseman (Revelation 5)

Beast of the Sea (Revelation 11:7) 

“Come and see.” Some versions leave off “and see,” but each time the call is issued to come, John says, “and I looked,” so it seems that “Come and See” is a good translation and is issued to the Apostle John. While many have inferred that simply because the first horse is white, that this must be Jesus Christ. It would be extremely unusual and incongruous for Christ to be linked so closely with the other three horsemen. 

The Anti-Christ is to be revealed after the restraining Holy Spirit is taken away (i.e., the Rapture). So, for him, the Anti-Christ, to be the first horseman is most likely, and the beast will come conquering. Some have said that since there are no arrows with him but only a bow that he will conquer peacefully. However, there are many Old Testament passages where a bow meant war (Ps. 18:34, Isa. 21:15). Whatever peace there is, the second horseman will take away. 

The first horseman does not have the royal diadem crowns which Christ will have (Rev. 19:12), but rather the stephanos crown or wreath as one is given to earthly winners. He will present himself to be a “messiah” or perhaps even “the Messiah.” 

No one will be able to make war with him, but he will be given power make war with the saints and even overcome them. He will have world-wide power (Rev. 13:4,7). The chaos that will occur after the Rapture is unimaginable and the order of the first four seals is strikingly similar to Matthew 24:4-8, the beginning of sorrows.

 

³ When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”    ⁴ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

The color of red purrhos used here is similar to the word purosis which is translated “burning” in Rev. 18:9, and 18. This horseman will take peace from the earth, the peace Paul referred to as mistakenly coming in 1 Thes. 5:2-4 “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’  then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” 

The “great sword” with this horseman is not rhomphaia, a soldier’s sword used in Rev. 6:8, but machaira, a machete-like sword used for slitting the throats of animals or even people, as seen in martyrs’ deaths in Heb. 11:37. It is identical to those used by Muslims today who execute hostages. That it would be a “great” sword means massive devastation, but only the “beginning of sorrows.” Some (Clyde Cox, Walvoord) have said this could be the false prophet, the associate to the Anti-Christ.

 

⁵ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

 The black horse represents famine, shown in the fact that a quart of wheat costing an entire day’s worth of wages. This indicates a hyper-inflation economy, one in which it would likely hasten a system in which no one could buy or sell without the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:17). However, not all will be impoverished as “oil and wine,” symbols of possessions of the rich, will not be hurt or damaged or spoiled. So while food would be a scarcity and famine be pervasive, special consideration would be given to the luxuries of life. 

Thus the rich will get richer and the poor will be poorer and the middle class will likely be done away with, likely to go the poor.

 

⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁸ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

The color here is the color a person turns after death, yellowish-green. Death Himself is personified upon this rider, followed by Hades (KJV: “Hell”). It could mean that here, one-fourth of the world’s population will be killed or that on one-fourth of the earth, death will reign with war (sword), famine (hunger), and wild animals (beasts of the earth). 

If it means one-fourth of the world’s population dies, no wonder than beasts will roam the earth. The beasts could even be the cause of the death of many, as rodents were carriers of diseases in many of the world’s plagues. 

LaHaye and others also say that the “beasts” could refer to human governments, bent on the destruction and annihilation of the world’s population. Massive killings are used to solidify power and instill fear in domination. 

If the seals, trumpets and bowls are chronological, then many who have died were in fact killed for their faith in God. However, the fact that Hades follows death indicates that many are killed who are not saved. If the three judgments run concurrently rather than chronologically, then the fifth seal martyrs are those who have died as a result of actions from the Anti-Christ shown later in the book of Revelation. The first four seals so far are all given from heaven’s perspective of events going down on earth, as is the fifth seal.

Some of the similarities of the seals, trumpets and bowls are seen below.

 

Sixth and Seventh Seal	Sixth and Seventh Trumpet	Seventh Bowl
1. A great earthquake 2. Voices, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake 3. Angel cried with a loud voice 4. Every mountain and island taken out of their way 5. --- 6. --- 7. Day of his wrath is come 8. Silence in heaven 9. Great multitude in heaven 10. ---	1. A great earthquake 2. Lightnings, voices, thunderings and an earthquake 3. Great voices in heaven              4. ---   5. Great hail 6. Temple opened; voices heard 7. Thy wrath is come 8. Mystery of God is finished 9. Time of the dead 10. Kingdom given to Christ	1. A great earthquake 2. Voices, thunders, lightnings and a great earthquake 3. Great voice from heaven 4. Every island fled away and the mountains were not found 5. Great hail 6. Great voice out of the temple 7. Fierceness of his wrath 8. “It is done” 9. First resurrection (ch. 20) 10. Christ reigns 1,000 yrs (ch. 20)

      

      And some of the similarities in various prophecies are seen in the chart below.

 

Joel (Joel 2)	Jesus (Matt. 24)	John (Rev. 6)
1. In the last days (Acts 2:17) 2. Sun into darkness, moon into blood 3, 4. Wonders in heaven . . .   5. . . . and in the earth 6. Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD	1. After the tribulation 2. Sun darkened, moon does not give its light 3. Stars fall from heaven              4. Powers of the heavens shaken 5. --- 6. Then the Son of Man appears in the sky	1. At the sixth seal 2. Sun became black, moon like blood 3. Stars of heaven fell to earth 4. Sky receded as a scroll 5. Mountains, islands disappear 6. Jesus is seen / day of his wrath has come