The four horsemen of the Apocalypse.
As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory. When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!” Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.” – Revelation 6:1-4.
A seal is a symbol used extensively in the East on documents to indicate power, authority, and authenticity. This scroll represents God’s providential ministry to the world. The seals are the reaction to the gospel through the ages. We will notice a progressive resistance to God and his message with intensifying trouble in the world.
In November 520BC, 16 years after the return from exile in Babylon, the prophet Zechariah was given a seven-fold vision. The first of which was 4 coloured mounted horses riding throughout the earth. The connection with Revelation 6 is obvious. In fact, Zechariah is one of the most quoted books in the New Testament. 70 quotes and illusions, mostly in the Gospels and Revelation.
Who is this rider on the white horse? As we have already noted, the symbols seem to consistently point in the same direction. First, the horse is white in colour. Throughout the book of Revelation, the colour white always refers to the things of Christ and His people. The same is true for the “victory crown” (Greek: stephanos) that the rider wears.
While the language of conquering might seem to reflect something negative, it is primarily a spiritual term in Revelation. In fact, up until chapter six, the Greek word for conquering always refers to Christ and his people (“to the one who overcomes I will give. . .”). The word “conquer” in Revelation refers to overcoming in spiritual matters (Rev 5:5; 12:11).
The rider on the white horse, therefore, represents the gospel of Jesus Christ, beginning with His enthronement in heaven (Rev 5) and continuing until the very end. Passing on that gospel is now the major activity of God’s people on earth.
The image of war is often glorified by those who have never known war firsthand. Those who have experienced war, on the other hand, tend to view it more realistically. The fear, the pain, the separation, the carnage, the loss of life; there is nothing pretty about it, except perhaps in the minds of arm-chair generals. In the words of General Robert E. Lee, “It is good that war is so terrible, or we might grow fond of it.”
War is not far from any of us today. Even without the use of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism has found ways to multiply suffering and garner world-wide attention. How amazing is it in our day to watch war and destruction garnered by drones and precision missiles.
It is hard to use the word “civilization” in the phrase “twentieth-century civilization.” That century witnessed the Nazi holocaust against the Jews, the genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda, the ethnic cleansing of Armenians and Greeks from Turkey, Croats and Muslims from parts of Bosnia, and Serbs from Croatia. Less known is the “rape of Nanking,” where, after the city’s surrender, women were gang-raped and men were butchered for bayonet practice. And we do not have space to talk about the millions destroyed by Mao, Stalin and World War I. War brings out the worst in people of every ethnic group. The Twenty first century is shaping up to be just as bad if not worse.
As I write, the situation in the Middle East is “hot.” Our previous study on Daniel 11 is looking highly likely. As we noted then, the conflict between the king of the North and the King of the South (The powers of western Europe and the USA vs Islam) is followed by “A time of trouble such as this world has never seen” Daniel 12:1-2 and quoted by Jesus in Matthew 24:21.
If John had received his visions in our time, the terrifying symbols might have been different, but the essential message would be largely the same. Humanity has not been evolving morally through the centuries; we have simply developed more efficient means of killing one another. In a world filled with terror and chaos, nothing is certain except that God is the one who is in ultimate control of history. The only solid ground we must stand on is to trust the final outcome to Him.
as you said this is all about finding ways to kill one and another i can’t wait for Jesus return thank heaven this world is not our home come quickly Jesus and take us home