Revelation 6:1-6

(Rev 6:1 KJV)
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.

Now begins the opening of the seven seals. John sees the Lord Jesus Christ opening the first of these seals. One of the living creatures is now commanding John to come and to see the opening of these seals.

(Rev 6:2 KJV)
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.

Here we begin the first of the seals which represent the judgments of God which will fall upon the earth. The first horseman is a white horse and he had a bow and crown. His mission was to go forth conquering and to finally conquer. The rider on this white horse is not the Lord Jesus Christ. For many years I thought it was but the fact that this horse, like the other three, are part of the initial four judgments which are paralleled in the trumpet judgments and the vial judgments. The Lord Jesus Christ returns in Revelation 19:11 to judge the entire world and if you look closely you will see that the only thing the white horse in Revelation 6:2 and Revelation 19:11 have is the fact that they are white. The white horse in Revelation 6:2 does not necessarily represent Christ or some individual evil individual or Satan.

(2 Cor 11:13-15 KJV) For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. {14} And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. {15} Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The white horse here represents the going forth of the imitation of the true gospel. Satan brings an imitation gospel throughout the entire New Testament age. Keep in mind that Revelation is a book which describes the time from the cross to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout this time period, Satan has always attempted to conquer the church through false teachings and teachers. This white horse is told to go out and conquer but it does not say what is being conquered. If you recall in the seven letters to the churches, the Lord is promising salvation to all those that overcome. Those that overcome are the true believers down though the complete age. Let us notice another main trait about this rider. This rider was given a crown. The crown is a “stephanos” crown which was given to those who were victorious in the games. It is very important to know that this crown was given to this rider.

“…and a crown was given unto him:…” The phrase “given unto him” is a phrase which is associated with evil powers being given authority by God for a specific purpose. In Revelation 6:4, the rider on the red horse had power given to him also.

When Moses was in Egypt and he was performing the miracles of God before Pharaoh, he was opposed by the high priests of Egypt who were imitating those miracles by means of satanic power.

(2 Tim 3:8 KJV) Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

(Exo 7:11-12 KJV) Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. {12} For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

What we have in the white horse in Revelation 6:2 is a similar situation. The false workers of Egypt are just like the false teachers and preachers who attack the church. Their goal is to conquer the church and remove every vestige of truth from it. The crown which was given to the rider is symbolic of the authority given unto it to bring the attacks upon the church in the final days which commenced at the cross.

(1 Pet 4:17-18 KJV) For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? {18} And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

In Peter’s time, he knew that God would begin the final judgment very shortly and that judgment started with the house of God. The ultimate purpose was to separate the wheat from the chaff. In 1 Peter 4:18, it speaks about the righteous being saved and those who remain unsaved even in the church would someday be brought before the white throne judgment. For the present period or age, the white horse continues to ride as it attempts to conquer many churches and we see that happening at an accelerated rate.

(Rev 6:3 KJV)
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

Then after the first seal was opened, John is then commanded to come and see the events which are about to unfold in the opening of the second seal.

(Rev 6:4 KJV)
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

The second horse is colored red and the rider was given the authority to take peace from the earth. The result of this rider going forth from taking peace from the earth is that people are going to kill one another. The rider on this horse can be seen in two different ways. The first, is that this rider will be given the power to cause much dissension and strife in the physical realm of the world thus causing the world to be constantly in turmoil. Keep in mind we are looking at a time period from the cross to the second coming of Christ. During this time period, there has been very few days of peace, in fact it has been a time period of war and bloodshed. Within the confines of these wars, Christians have suffered at the hands of conquerors and normally are the first ones to be harassed even martyred for their faith. (Mat 10:34 KJV) Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. The Lord Jesus made it clear that the true Gospel is not going to make friends with the world, instead it is going to be a point of contention. Of course, with political wars religion always suffers.

For the second view of this horse, we must take a look at who these horses are, and we find the description in Zechariah 6:2-5:

(Zec 6:2-5 KJV) In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; {3} And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. {4} Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? {5} And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

If you will notice, the description of these horses are given as four spirits who stand before the Lord of all the Earth. These are not real horses but are given the description as horses because of the power given unto the riders. In the Bible the horse is described as a very noble creature designed for work and war.

(Job 39:19-25 KJV) Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? {20} Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. {21} He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. {22} He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. {23} The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. {24} He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. {25} He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

When speaking of these four horses, who are really the four spirits which are before the Lord, they are powerful enough to affect the entire earth with the task which has been assigned to them. The focus of Satan’s attacks are against the church and the Christian. When studying the book of Revelation we must keep this in view. In the Bible, peace is normally referred to as peace between God and the Christian. In the world, there is always going to be wars which means that peace in the physical realm is really academic. When a person becomes saved, they are now at peace with God. (Rom 5:1 KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

That peace only comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. To remove peace from the earth is to remove the means of that peace which is the true Gospel. If the true Gospel is no longer being preached, then peace with God cannot be attained because it is only through hearing the word of God does one come to salvation. (Rom 10:17 KJV) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

(Amos 8:11-12 KJV) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: {12} And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

If you notice in the Amos passages, we read that God Himself will send a famine in the land, which as we read in the next verse, is the entire world. We are seeing that come to pass at a very rapid rate. What is that famine? It is a famine of hearing the true word of God. The spirit, represented by the Red Horse, will slowly be removing the true Gospel and the true word of God from the entire earth. As we come closer to the last day, this removal will begin to escalate. 1881 was a pivotal year in the attack upon the word of God. That was the year that the Revised Version was published by two satanic necromancers, Hort and Westcott. Their Greek text was taken from the Gnostic corruptions made in Alexandria, Egypt in the second century and these have become the source text for all the modern bibles except the King James Version. It is interesting to note, that since the introduction of these modern Bibles, the church has declined rapidly in truth and spirituality. Visit a church which uses the NIV and you will see a weak church in disarray. God cannot and will not bless any church or Christian who uses a counterfeit bible.

Not only are we seeing God’s word being attacked by the church, the very institution which should be cherishing it, but it is being attacked by unbelievers in the pulpit. Today if anyone has a Seminary degree, whether saved or unsaved, they will be considered for the Pastorate. The true word of God is also being hidden by signs and wonders gospels, false prophets, allegorical quagmires, false systematic theologies, etc. The time is truly upon us that the true word of God has been removed from mainstream Christianity. The rider on the red horse is removing the means of eternal peace with God, which is the true Gospel. Go to ten churches and see if you hear the true Gospel in at least two of them. Most of the time you will hear a social gospel or a guilt manipulating gospel and no preaching on sin. There is going to come a time when the true Gospel will be completely removed, not from the true believer, for God must have true preaching until He has safely sealed every one of His Elect. There will come a time right before the return of the Lord when it will look like Satan has completely won but that is the deception. We will see this later on as we continue our study in Revelation. Notice how the red horse and white horse work in concert. The red horse removes the true Gospel and the white horse implants the false gospel. When the false gospel begins to take route, it is like killing each other because the false gospel cannot save and those who follow it will be killed with the second death. Remember those who followed the false teacher Jezebel? Revelation 2:20-23

(Rev 6:5 KJV)
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Then the third seal was open and the living creature commanded John to come and see what this spirit was about to do. This particular rider had a balance in his hand. A balance was used for measuring. The balance is also a symbol for justice and equity. In front of courthouses in the United States we have statues with blindfolds on holding a balance in the hand. God used the balance in Scripture to measure kingdoms to see if they were found worthy. One such kingdom was that of Belshazzar who used the implements taken from the temple in a profane way at a drunken banquet. God symbolized the judgment of this kingdom by using a balance.

(Dan 5:25-30 KJV) And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. {26} This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. {27} TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. {28} PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. {29} Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. {30} In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

Whenever God uses a balance on anyone, they will always come up wanting and only the imputed righteousness of Christ will bring the balance to an even position.

(Rev 6:6 KJV)
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

(Joel 1:6-12 KJV) For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. {7} He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. {8} Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. {9} The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn. {10} The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. {11} Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. {12} The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

In Joel, we read about the impending judgment of Judah as they are about to go into captivity with the Babylonians. These verses above overlap two judgments by God. The first one is the plague of locusts which eat all the crops and the second is a great drought which is a great lack of rain, thus causing all the crops to dry up in the field. In the Revelation verse, we read that both the wheat and the barley are very scarce commodities in which a person would have to work a full day for just one liter of wheat and three liters of barley. The black horse is representing a major famine upon the earth. The red horse showed us a famine of the true word of God but here we have a famine of true believers. As we begin to get closer to the last day, it will be harder and harder to find a true believer, one of like mind.

In the New Testament the wheat is a figure of the true believer. (Mat 3:12 KJV) Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. The high price of Wheat and Barley in the Revelation verse shows the scarcity of these two grains. This shows the scarcity of true believers in the last days. Many may claim to be Christian but their doctrine and church affiliation will give them away. Have you ever tried to find a true Christian program on radio or TV? What will you find? You will find Charismatics teaching the false prosperity gospel. There is no such thing in the Bible as a prosperity gospel. You will also find the free will gospel, the dispensational gospel, the allegorical gospel, the psychological gospel, the works gospel, the political gospel but the true free grace gospel will be non-existent. Fifty years ago you could hear the free grace gospel, today it is gone.

An interesting verse which includes all four items in the Revelation verse is found in 2 Chronicles 2:15:

(2 Chr 2:15 KJV) Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: