Revelation 6: 1 – 8
The Four Horsemen of Know Domain
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. 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. 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. 6 And 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.” 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 next stage of John’s vision describes the opening of the seals by the Lamb, and it will soon be clear that the result is the outworking of world history. It is the beginning of the end! However we know that it will take two thousand years and more to come to completion. But that was not apparent then.
The Scripture we are about to look at has many parallels with the apocalyptic discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ when He ministered here on the earth. The Gospel of Mark chapter 13, Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 21, refers to these conditions, so we will therefore consider those passages.
Mark 13: ”1 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” 2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” 5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows
Matthew 24: “1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Luke 21: “1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” 5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, 6 “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” 7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.” 10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
The background to this teaching was our Lord Jesus’ statement, given in reply to the disciples’ expressed admiration of Herod’s Temple which we read in Mark 13, ‘Do you see these great buildings? There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down’. This leads Peter, James, John and Andrew to ask Him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished?’.
Now let us consider the circumstances. The apostles have just been told that the Temple they see before them, huge and magnificent and permanent, will be destroyed totally. No wonder their interest is stirred. Indeed they can hardly believe it could happen. That is what leads to their questions. All three writers mention this. It is apparent from this therefore that the writers interpreted our Holy Lord’s discourse as mainly applying to the destruction of the Temple, which took place in 70 AD.
Matthew adds further questions ‘[1] Tell us, when will these things happen, and [2] what will be the sign of your coming and [3] of the end of the age?’. The fact that Mark and Luke did not see fit to include the last phrase is proof positive that their main thought was of the destruction of the Temple.
If you review history you will find out that Matthew was the first to write the first Gospel, then the others. So, the other 2 Gospel writers were not thinking of the ‘end times’ only thinking about the standing Temple in Jerusalem. So it is clear that in our Master Lord Jesus’ reply we will expect to have an indication of when the Temple of Herod will be totally destroyed, as it was in 70 AD. Note the clear distinction Matthew makes between ‘these things’ and ‘the sign of your coming and of the end of the age’
The distinction is important because our Lord Jesus will later state that ‘these things’ will occur within the lifetime of that generation. I have heard a lot of bible teachers butcher these verses where they add all kinds of descriptions of the word ‘generation’ in order to force fit it to their incorrect theology.
Our Lord Jesus at the time on earth did not know when His second coming will take place as indicated in Mark 13.32). Now that He Ascended back into heaven and as we read in chapter all honor and power was given to Him, He now knows when He Is coming back and the expected ‘end of the age’ when God’s kingdom would be established,
He then answers their questions by going on to depict a troubled world while He Is away. Now I want you to take this key point down. It is this. We are going to see in chapter 6 in the breaking of the seals which also includes the horse riders these four things;
1. False Messiahs will come
2. There will be wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
3. There will be famines
4. There will be pestilences [plagues]
5. There will be earthquakes in many and various places
He then describes the vilification that will be heaped on the disciples and their followers. They will be handed over to councils, beaten in synagogues, brought before governors and kings. Again all these things did happen, as described, for example, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Matthew adds ‘and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake’. Our Holy King Jesus then declares ‘And the good news must first be preached to all nations’ - ‘in the whole world for a testimony unto all nations’.
This phrase ‘all nations’ is an interesting example of how prophecy can speak in a twofold way. Very few towards the end of the first century would have doubted that the Gospel had reached ‘all nations’ and that they had been ‘hated by all nations’, for they thought in terms of the surrounding nations and had no world view. Thus Paul could say to the Romans in chapter 1 verse 8 that their faith ‘is proclaimed throughout the whole world’, and that their ‘obedience is come abroad to all men’ which is written in chapter 16 verse 19. In the book of Acts 11.28 speaks of a famine ‘over all the inhabited earth’ which ‘came about in the reign of Claudius’.
In that sense, which was certainly the sense in which His listeners would understand it, this prophecy was completely fulfilled. But we know today that there were many nations outside their purview and that its complete fulfillment awaited our own day and possibly beyond, thus we may see the words as having a deeper meaning, a double usage. Everything wasn’t fulfilled at the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.
Our Great Holy Lord Jesus goes on to describe further the tribulation His followers must face, ‘they will deliver you up into tribulation and will kill you’. They will be delivered up even by their own families, being ‘hated of all men for My name’s sake’. So the early church will face tribulation, - which of course they did.
Then He describes the fulfillment of the words that began the questioning, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. The ‘abomination of desolation’ is a phrase taken from the book of Daniel in chapters 9.27; 11.31; 12.11. The word ‘Abomination’ refers to the ‘abomination’ of idolatry. This was fulfilled when the eagles of the Roman legions (to which sacrifices were offered) were brought into the ‘holy city’, and inevitably into the Temple itself, as battle raged and the Temple went up in flames, flames which were actually fanned by fanatical Jews in order to prevent further sacrilege.
Let me add one thing further. There are some teachers who are saying that the Antichrist is going to offer a pig in a rebuilt temple and proclaim that this will be the ‘abomination’. This is not true and is not in our bibles.
The Jews looked on the Roman Eagles, often adorned with an image of the emperor, as graven images and idolatrous, and indeed many legionaries did offer sacrifices to their standards. The earlier history of intense resistance to the presence of the Roman Eagles demonstrated how intensely seriously this issue was viewed. Pontius Pilate, for example, ever insensitive, tried to introduce them into Jerusalem by stealth and only withdrew when there were mass protests. Such was the strong feeling that many bared their necks declaring their willingness to die to prevent it.
Mark comments ‘Let him who reads understand’. These words clearly indicate that he has the Romans in mind, for it is a hint to those in the know without being too blatant. The reference to ‘fleeing to the mountains’ was fulfilled when many Christians in the light of this passage left Jerusalem and took refuge elsewhere. We know that a good number fled to Pella, a Gentile city in Peraea, East of the Jordan.
‘For those days shall be tribulation (Matthew puts it ‘then shall be great tribulation’ such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created, until now, and never shall be’. The incredible story of the final days of the war which led to the destruction of the Temple is one of horrific proportions and, if it had not been recorded would be impossible to believe. Fellow Jews treating each other in abominable ways (for they were so unrestrained, fanatical and divided that they fought each other viciously, as well as the Romans, in a way that is difficult to comprehend, as they followed different ‘inspired’ leaders); wholesale crucifixions by the Romans; the ravages of famine during the siege and its consequences; widespread slaughter; all are chronicled by eyewitnesses. But we can be sure that even more dreadful things occurred which have never been revealed. It is an almost unbelievable story of suffering and misery.
If you are into this I suggest you find the writing of Josephus who was an eye witness to this tragedy.
Luke confirms this reading of events when he interprets the words of Jesus for his non-Jewish readers. ‘The abomination of desolation’ becomes ‘Jerusalem encompassed with armies’. Then Luke based on words of our Lord Jesus not recorded by Mark, shows that it is certainly this destruction of the Temple that is in our Lord Jesus’ mind, for he adds ‘there will be great distress on the land and wrath to this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be led captive into all nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’. Thus their tribulation carries on through history,
‘Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved. But for the elect’s sake, whom he chose, he shortened the days’. Even in the midst of these terrible events God did not overlook His people, and He held a restraining hand on events so that they would not reach beyond a certain point. This is confirmed by the fact that many of His people did survive those dreadful days.
These were all manifestations of human nature, and because both human nature and Nature itself are as they are, history would repeat itself again and again, false ‘Messiahs’ would continue to arise, wars would continue to abound, famines would be a regular occurrence, earthquakes would continue to happen and be seen to be messages of divine wrath, but unquestionably by 70 AD the disciples could confidently say ‘all these things have taken place’, included, be it noted at least the beginning of the ‘great tribulation’ on the Jews. We must not let some theoretical view of ‘the end times’ make us ignore this fact.
There are some who, in order to support their theories, try to distinguish what Luke said from the words in Matthew and Mark, as though the latter recorded only words spoken of the end times and Luke recorded different words and ignored the end times, but this is quite frankly incredible. All began by stressing that their questions related to the coming destruction of the Temple which they saw in front of them and which was mentioned by our Lord Jesus. Therefore we must see their words as primarily describing that destruction of the Temple.
‘But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken’, and until all this has happened the Son of Man will not come. This apocalyptic language is typical of the kind of phraseology used in ancient days to describe people’s reaction to cataclysmic world events; they began to see natural phenomena as giving signs. This is clear in Luke when he first summarizes it ‘there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars’ and then explains it, ‘and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows, men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken’.
After the destruction of Jerusalem, during the final mopping up operations of the Roman army and the events that followed this is precisely how things would appear to the people of Judea. Everything was finished. Hope had gone. The world was on the point of collapse. The heavens were falling in. For this apocalyptic language we can compare Acts 2.19-21 where Peter sees the words of Joel as fulfilled in the death of Jesus and what follows. Otherwise he would have stopped the quotation at verse 18. The disciples had felt indeed as though the world itself was in process of collapse, and such feelings were often helped by eclipses of the sun and moon, meteors and ‘falling stars’. Peter was almost certainly deeply affected by the uncanny darkness at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.
The above descriptions demonstrate that this kind of language must not be applied too literally. They refer to how men discern things in times of catastrophe (an invading army constantly burning fields and trees in abundance produce smoke in large quantities which itself distorts man’s view of the heavens), not to the actual destruction of the heavens.
Moving back, then, to the apocalyptic discourse it is of all ‘these things’ described above that Jesus says they will happen within a generation. Not until then, an inevitable part of history would the Son of Man return in His glory. But the timing of that return is deliberately not tied to any events, it occurs ‘after them’, for even Jesus, while on earth, did not know when it would be. [Take note of this!]
From a longer term point of view we can agree that 70 AD was not the end of history. What happened between the death of Jesus and 70 AD was a mirror of the future of the world before the second coming of Christ, and as we read His words we recognize that they held meanings deeper than are simply apparent for that period. This, in fact, is what the Book of Revelation will demonstrate.
Now let us begin to take a look as our Master opens the seals on the scroll.
We will find out how the inevitability of history is revealed, for all is seen to be in God’s hands. He Is in control of history. But this does not mean He causes it to be. It is man who chooses the way that he takes, with its inevitable results, but God in the end is the overruling force, using it for His greater purposes. The seals will follow the pattern laid down by our Lord. False Messiahs and false prophets, international wars, famine, pestilence, death, intense persecution of God’s people, earthquakes, signs in the heavens, all leading up to the Coming of Christ, and all to be experienced in these days in which his readers and we live.
Please note that the seals are opened one by one, but they are opened immediately. The events which they describe are parallel not consecutive.
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. 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. 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. 6 And 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.” 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.
Who are the four horsemen answerable to? It is significant that the four horses are under the control of the four living creatures. As representatives of the whole creation, and preservers of the holy nature of God, the living creatures show their concern for creation and for God’s holiness in this act. If creation is to be restored and God’s holiness established then the going forth of the horsemen is inevitable. And so as guardians of God’s throne they give their commands.
The meaning of the horses is not really in doubt (in spite of many varied interpretations) when we compare Scripture with Scripture. We now see our Lord’s fourfold listings:
1. False Messiahs will come
2. There will be wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
3. There will be famines
4. There will be pestilences [plagues]
5. There will be earthquakes in many and various places
Some bible teachers try to list the rider on the white horse as our Lord Jesus Christ. As the meaning of the last three is clear to see, they are bearers of tribulation and judgment, this must surely also apply to the first. Thus the white horse too must represent the same unless we have good reason to think the contrary. In line then with the apocalyptic discourse of Jesus we must see it as representing false Messiahs and prophets, antichrist rather than Christ, an attempt to match the white horseman in Revelation 19.11 which is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please note that there is no stress on bloodshed with the white horse. He goes out to spread his particular ‘truth’, the wholesale murder is secondary and not his main aim. This rider receives a single crown, while the rider in chapter 19 wears many diadems. This rider carries a bow, while the rider in chapter 19 has a sharp, two edged sword coming from His mouth.
In Psalm 120 verse 4 we read that lying lips and a deceitful tongue are likened to ‘the sharp arrows of the mighty’, an intriguing contrast with the sword of the Spirit of truth which we are taught in the book of Ephesians chapter 6 verse 17
We read in Psalm 78.57 and in Hosea 7: 16 about ‘the deceitful bow’
. Psalm 78.57 “But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
. Hosea 7: 16 “They return, but not to the Most High; They are like a treacherous bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the cursings of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt”.
A crown was given to him’. Even these horsemen are in the end controlled by God. Unless God had given a crown to the rider on the white horse, he would have had none. Thus even the mighty Roman emperors receive their crown from God. It is this alone that enables him to go out ‘conquering and to conquer’
As you know Satan loves to try to copy what our Great and Majestic Holy God does. Please note the words ‘overcoming and to overcome’ – We will read later about the behaviour of true believers who in Revelation also ‘overcome’. Here Satan’s representative copies the Lord’s work
This last phrase suggests an excessive determination to conquer. The fact that the crown is specifically stated to have been given by God. Paul had stated in his letter to the Romans in chapter 13 verse 1that the powers that be were ‘ordained of God’, and the fact of his rapacity in conquering, may again point to ‘divine’ Roman emperors as very much in mind here, for it would demonstrate to the readers that whatever their claims their crown came from God - and Rome’s thirst for conquest was a byword.
Some would say that the bow prevents too close an identification, but the figure was not intended just to depict Roman emperors, but all false Messiahs, and as we have seen, the writer uses the bow mainly to prevent identification with our Lord Jesus Christ and to indicate his more stealthy, deceitful and distant type of approach. As our Lord Jesus warned us, many a false Messiah will ride forth in history before the end.
To help in the fact that the rider of the 1st horse is the Antichrist consider this facts. Who has the scroll? Who opens the scroll by removing all 7 seals? The answer is the Lamb of God.
\Has it ever been recorded in the bible that our Holy Lord, Master, and King Jesus ever took orders from one of His created beings? We read that the creatures who are before the Throne of God give the command to all 4 riders – Come!
We need to use common sense to see Need to consider how can our Holy Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, open the 1st seal and then be ordered by one of His angels to ‘Come’ and then be the rider. Then He Is back in Heaven again opening seals 2 through 7?
To the red horse, the color of blood, it was given to take peace from the earth, and he ‘is given’ a great sword. This great sword is in contrast to the sword which came from the mouth of the Son of Man which we read about in chapter 1 verse 16. That one was the powerful word which aimed to bring peace and true judgment, the intent of this one is to make war and take peace from the earth. Thus he makes war and causes nation to rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
The sword is often seen as a symbol of judgment. In Ezekiel 38.21-22 God says ‘and I will call for a sword against him --- every man’s sword shall be against his brother’. This is linked in Ezekiel 38 with pestilence and blood, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone thus to some extent paralleling Revelation. Indeed the sword is seen as one of God’s sore judgments which the prophet Ezekiel speaks about in chapter 14 verse 21, ‘How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and famine, and the noisome beast and pestilence’. These four sore judgments are clearly in John’s mind. False prophets preceded them, the sword is here, the famine comes next, followed by sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts with the pale horse. It is surely significant for the significance of the white horse that these judgments are preceded by ‘deceitful prophets’.
Famine is the second of God’s sore judgments shown here as the black horse, and is pointed out in Ezekiel 14.21. In Lamentations chapter 4 verse 8 those who suffered famine were described as ‘their visage is darker than blackness, they are not known in the streets, their skin cleaves to their bones, it is withered, it is become like a stick’. So blackness is associated with famine.
The measurements of the wheat and barley also indicate famine, for men measure their food like this when hard times stare them in the face. Yet please notice that the oil and wine is not to be hurt. In the book of Proverbs 21.17 we are told that the one who loves oil and wine will not be rich. This suggests that these items were seen more as luxury items. So it would seem that the idea is that the rich will not be inconvenienced. Only the poor will suffer. How true this has often been through history.
The pale horse represents all four of God’s sore judgments as mentioned in Ezekiel 14. It sums up every form of death, which is why its rider’s name was DEATH, with HADES (the shadowy world of the grave) following with him, to collect the victims. Its pale color is intended to show the pallor of death.
Death and the Grave are seen as co-partners elsewhere in the bible. Here they ride out to claim their victims, but the reader has the assurance that our Majestic Ruler Jesus Christ holds the keys of death and the grave (chapter 1.18) and will one day destroy them (chapter 20.14).
This rider kills ‘A fourth part of the earth’. This stresses that, while considerable license is given, there are reins upon the pale horse. He cannot go beyond the boundaries set by God. Judgment it may be, but it is tempered with mercy.
Here then we have sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts as in Ezekiel 14. Throughout history the world, beginning in the first century, has experienced devastating examples of all four which have carried off vast numbers of people.
The wild beasts would naturally arise in the areas depopulated by the earlier wars and famines, and they carry on the dreadful work. So the horsemen ride and the world suffers. But as God is here pointing out in Matthew’s Gospel, they are precursors of the end; they are ‘the beginning of suffering’.
I want to say one more thing about these wild beasts. It is possible that wild animals will run around killing people or perhaps the wild animals were let out of zoos. I also think that so called scientist are still playing games with experiments. Way back there was a movie about a doctor mixing wild animals with humans. Perhaps with all their messing around with things that they should not play with these people are playing god and the end result of these experiments can turn around and bite us.
In the words of our Lord Jesus the four horsemen are just ‘the beginning of birth pains’. As the world sees religious fanaticism which results in men’s destruction, international warfare, famine and widespread pestilence, they can recognize that ‘the end’ is beginning. In the first century Christians men saw all four riding, and they have continued to ride to the present day, and they are riding today, and often they have raised questions as to whether God is aware of what is happening.
This vision contains within it the encouragement that when these things happen it does not mean that the world is out of control, for they ride with God’s permission. He has allowed them, firstly because they are the inevitable consequence of men’s sinfulness, and secondly in order that through them men might be brought to consider eternal realities. Nothing makes men face more up to reality than prospective death and the grave.
We started off this study with the three Gospels that our Lord has described as ‘The Beginning Of Sorrows’. So here is the listing as our Great Holy Spirit continues to expand on what our Master and King Lord Jesus told us;
. False Christ's - 1st Rider
. Wars - 2nd Rider
. Famines 3rd Rider
. Pestilences 4th Rider
[plague]
. Earthquakes 6th seal
