Revelation 6:1 – I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (NIV)

In this passage, the Risen Christ is opening the first four seals.  Some translations have the voice saying ‘Come and see.’ That is not correct, for John is not being summoned, the horses and their riders are being summoned. There is similar imagery in chapter six of Zechariah. In Jewish thought, the four horses and riders stood for the four great destructive forces which would be dispatched by God against evil.

The first is the white horse of conquest. Some interpret this as Christ, others say it is not. Christ is often wearing a diadem, or a crown of victory. This rider is wearing a stephanos, or a crown of conquest. What is clear is that this rider represents conquest in war. This was comforting for those hearing these words, for they knew that God would conquer the evils of the world. 

The next horse is fiery red, sometimes even translated as blood red. This is the horse of strife. The purpose of this rider was to take peace from those in power. As today, many in that day believed that this had already begun. It was, indeed, a deadly time.  In one thirty year period, in Palestine alone, over one hundred thousand men were killed in violent revolutions. In Jewish thought, the time before God’s triumph would be a period of brother against brother, city against city. Yet, as people still say today, they believed that things would get worse before they got better. So, there was hope given in this, things would improve, but not before a time of great violence. 

The third horse was the black horse of famine. Remember, this is not a vision of the end of the age, but a vision of the events leading up to that end. They were being told that a famine would come, severe, but not totally devastating. The wheat and barley would be scarce, but the wine and oil would not be affected. Basically, this is a picture of famine alongside luxury. The poor would have next to nothing, while the rich would be able to get by. 

The fourth horse and rider represent pestilence and death. Note that only one fourth of the earth would suffer. There was hope, but still a frightening picture!

So we have the four horsemen, three which would bring war, famine, and death. Yet, in the midst of this there is the white horse of victory. Our spiritual application is that when life is overwhelming, remember, God’s victory has been set free on the earth. Even now, as we worry about the events of our present age, God’s victory is here amongst us, even if the whole world has not yet come under its influence. 

Today, when we face trials and troubles, let us remember that God’s victory is here for us. 

Posted by Ramón Torres