REVELATION - CHAPTER 6-THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE
REVELATION – CHAPTER 6
THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE
Tuesday Morning Bible Study
June 26, 2012, The Year of our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
To quote Matthew Henry, we are launching out into the deep. Our business is not so much to fathom it as to let down our net and take a drink.
In this chapter we meet the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse who are presented to us one by one. The appearance of the horsemen marks the beginning of birth pains which herald the winding up of the age (Mk. 13:8). By faith, I believe the four horsemen are celestial agents of God’s government. Horses symbolize dominance and strength. In Zechariah 6:3, the four chariot horses are identified by the angel as “the four spirits of the heavens”. Here the word for “spirits” is “winds”. The function of the four chariot horses is to go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth; walk to and fro in all the earth…In their going forth…they have given my Spirit rest”. In Zechariah we have red horses, white horses, black horses, and bay horses.
Though the four horseman of the apocalypse are white, red, black, and pale (green), God’s spirit is operating in the horses and horseman and their function is more sinister by far. The Messianic games begin with the usual race in four colors. But it is not the usual race; it is the apocalyptic death-race.
There are those who believe the horses are only symbolism and there are no celestial horses. If that were the case, then the 24-elders; four living creatures; ten thousands time ten thousands and thousands of angels; Seven Spirits of God; lightning; thunders; trumpets; candle sticks; thrones; rainbow; glass sea, the Lamb and God would only be symbolic. By faith, I believe they are Spirit beings sent by God to perform the supernatural governing of God’s Kingdom.
Yes the government of God is His Kingdom within each of us, or us within His Kingdom. However, I believe the Book of Revelation is not only for the spiritual journey of the individual, but God’s dealing with the nations and demonic powers and principalities over the nations, tongues, peoples, and kings of the earth.
The “book” was in the right hand of God. Only the Lamb has the authority (“exousia”) and power (“dunamis”) to take the book and open the seals. By His life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, he has the right to rule what he has conquered. He conquered with power as a man taking back the dominion of Satan over the earth. The first Adam gave up the dominion and the Second Adam took it back. Jesus has now been given the authority to rule as “prince of the Kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5).
As Christ takes the scroll of destiny and proceeds to break one seal after another, the unveiling properly begins. His action in Heaven determines events on earth.
Rev. 5:9: “They sung a new song, saying, you are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation.”
Christ, the Lamb, opens the first seal. As each seal is opened, each horseman is summoned by one of the four beasts.
Rev. 6: 1-2: “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 bests saying, ‘Come and see’. 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.”
In chapter 4, we explored “the voice of the trumpet”. At the opening of the seventh seal in Revelation chapter 8, seven angels are given seven trumpets. Like the seven seals, the seven trumpets, which follow the seals, fall into two divisions of four and three, with an interlude before the seventh.
However, here we hear the “noise of thunder”. In addition to this verse, the voice of thunder is used four times in scripture:
Psa. 77:18: “The voice of your thunder was in the heaven, the lightnings lightened the world; the earth trembled and shook.”
Psa. 104:7: “At your rebuke they fled; at the voice of your thunder they hasted away.”
Rev. 14:2: “And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder; and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps.”
Rev. 10:3-4: And he (The mighty angel) cried with a loud voice as when a lion roars; and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not…”
With the opening of the seals, we hear the voice of one of the four beasts with a voice like thunder.
The interpretation of the white horse is divided into two polarizing views: Don’t shoot me. I am just the messenger and teacher:
- The white horse rider is a counterfeit of the Christ and thus the antichrist as he begins his reign. At this point he will look very much like a savior. Operating in the power of Satan, his political and economic genius will cause the world to view him as a great deliverer. Actually, he will be the slickest deceiver ever to appear on this earth. He will establish himself as the ruler of the world which is the agenda of the antichrist. Christ, the slain Lamb of God took that authority from him. He still thinks he can take it back. This view believes he is a counterfeit of the Glory of Christ in Rev. 19:11.
“The fact that this horseman is equipped with a bow (like the mounted archers of the Parthian (Iranian) army), suggests an invasion from Persia” (F. F. Bruce Bible Commentary). The Parthians were a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persian from 247 B.C. to 224 A.D. The Parthian rulers were titled the King of Kings. This would also represent the demonic Prince of Persia. They would have been in power at the time of this vision.
2. Like the white horse of Rev. 19:11, this is the Lord Jesus. He had a bow in his hand which is part of the arsenal of weapons of the mighty men of Israel. It is also the same word used for the bow in the cloud of God’s covenant with the earth.
1 Ch. 5:18: “The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant ment, men able to bear buckler and sword and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were 24,730, that went out to the war.”
1 Ch. 8:40: “And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers…”
1 Ch. 12:2: “They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow…”
2 Ch. 17:17: “And of Benjamin, Eliada a mighty man of valor and with him armed men with bow…”
“The convictions impressed by the Word of God are sharp arrows. They reach at a distance. A crown was given Christ to show him as victorious. He went forth conquering and to conquer. As long as the church continues militant, Christ will be conquering. He conquers his enemies in his people; their sins (carnality) are their enemies and his enemies; and he goes on conquering, in the progressive work of sanctification until he has gained us a complete victory” (Matthew Henry Bible Commentary).
The word for white used here for the white horse is “leukos”. This is the same word used for the white horse of Rev. 19:11 and for the white robes of the martyrs in verse 11; the saints of Rev. 7:9; and those who have come through the tribulation and their robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb. It means light, bright, brilliant; dazzling white; brilliant from whiteness; of the garments of angels, and of those exalted to the splendor of the heavenly state; shining or white garments worn on festive or state occasions; of white garments as the sign of innocence and purity of the soul; of the whitening color of ripening grain. It is also the same word used for the great white throne of Rev. 20:11.
Mark 9:3: “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them.”
The word for the color of white is “laban”.
The successful progress of the gospel of Christ in the world is a glorious sight, worth beholding.
The good news is the interpretation of the next three horsemen of the apocalypse is not so controversial. The only reason there is universal agreement is the Holy Writ is very explicit. One would have to have a brilliant imagination to spin another meaning.
Rev. 6:3-4: “And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 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 word for red means “fiery red”. The rider is described by C. S. Lovett as the “prince of war”. The mission of the rider is to sow strife and slaughter on earth---civil war this time rather than foreign invasion. We clearly see this Red Horse spirit riding now in the nations of the Middle East. One could ask is the (“exousia”) authority given to him from Satan or from the Lord? It is my Faith statement that these are judgments from God which punishes those who abuse the everlasting gospel and Israel. As we continue the study of the Book of Revelation we will discover that “exousia” is given to Satan and his chain of command until the cup of iniquity is full. The Wrath of the Lamb and the Wrath of God will destroy all that is evil and exalts itself against God.
It is God’s book that is being opened and it is His supernatural government that is being revealed. Only Christ has the authority to open the seals. Only Christ has the authority to release the judgments sealed therein. Since no one under the earth, over the earth, in the earth, or in heaven except for the Lamb can even touch the book, then Satan has no access to the judgments.
Rev. 6:5-6: “And when he has 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. 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 you do not hurt the oil and the wine.”
The black horse signifies famine. One judgment seldom comes alone; the judgment of war naturally draws after it that of famine. The famine of bread is a terrible judgment. The price of food is inflated to roughly ten to fourteen times the normal price. Scarcity following in the wake of war generates nearly famine prices. A quart of wheat was the bare minimum for a man per day. A day’s wages would also buy him three quarts of the less nutritious barley for his family. The coin described here is the Denarius. According to this scripture the Denair will be devalued. According to the parable of Mt. 20:2, this was a laborer’s daily wage in Palestine in A.D. 30.
At the same time, the Lord places limits on this horseman, ordering him not to damage the vineyards or the olive orchards. Grain grows on the surface, but grapes and olive trees have deep roots. It appears this devastation is not to go below the surface of the earth, a definite limitation.
Metaphorically we could also identify the oil and the wine as the Holy Spirit filled saints.
Rev. 6: 7-8: “When he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
The pale horse was a livid, corpse-like color translated as green. Two riders are named. Death rides the green horse. It is a matter of dispute if there is a fifth horse. The Holy Writ states one horse with two riders. Where the dead bodies fell in the wars, famines, and plagues of the first four seals, there the beasts will be gathered.
This is not world wide tribulation because only ¼ of the earth is to be struck with these judgments.
Since Christ was envisioned by John as taking the scroll in A.D. 30, it is not surprising to find a rather close correlation between the first six seals and the forecast of the immediate future which were fulfilled within a generation. However, it is also prophetic of God’s Spirit moving today as well as down through the centuries in times of war, famine, plagues and death. Beginning in chapters 7-11, John describes visions of the end.
Rev. 6: 9-11: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held; and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
The soul is the mind will and emotions. There must be the death of the carnal soul that we may walk and live in the Spirit. Many have had their hearts broken as well as suffered as martyrs for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. The word for soul here is “psyche” and means the breath of life; the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart), etc; the soul as an essence which differs from the body and Is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body).
The souls of the martyrs are crying out continually from the altar for the Lord to avenge their blood for their faithfulness to the Word of God and the testimony which they held.
Dake writes “the soul and spirit, or the inner man, has a form and shape exactly like the outer man and fits into the body even to the outer skin. This is based upon the fact that the soul is that part which feels and the spirit is that which knows.”
The Lord has shown me by His Spirit many things concerning the “soul” and the “spirit”. I tend to believe these saints’ spirits went on to be with the Lord, but their “soul” continues to cry out. Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
They were slain for the same reason John was on Patmos, “For the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.” They were asked to wait a little longer until the number was completed. The persecution launched in A.D. 64, must run its course. When the full tale of the martyrs is made up, the prayers of the saints on the altar fall in judgment on the earth (8:5).
Rev. 6: 12-14: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”
A great earthquake is a recurrent sign of divine visitation in the bible (Ex. 19:18; Zech. 14:4; Mt. 27:51). For the darkening of the heavenly bodies on the day of the Lord, Isa. 12:10; Ez. 32:7; Jl. 2:10; 3:15.
Joel 2:31 was quoted by Peter on the Day of Pentecost as part of the prophecy fulfilled at that time. Acts 2:20: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come…”
Revelation speaks of four times the Sun will be darkened:
- During the 6th seal.
- During the 4th trumpet (8:12).
- During the 5th trumpet (9:2).
- During the 5th vial. (16:10)
The falling of the stars to the earth metaphorically means the collapse of established authority. (Mark 13:25) ‘And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.”
In the natural, I believe the entire universe will be shaken. Catastrophic movement occurs world-wide as a great earthquake dislocates mountain ranges. The earth is racked with convulsions. The seas don’t know where they belong. The islands, which are mountain tops, disappear. This awesome earthquake merely foreshadows a far greater one ahead (16:18).
Changes occur in the skies as well; the sun is darkened, the moon turns blood-red and the sky recedes. All these events are described in Old Testament prophecies (more than 60 of them) as signs that herald the coming Day of the Lord.
A complete convulsion of heaven and earth is implied; the use of such language to describe political upheaval is also well established in biblical prophecy. The picture of chaos-come-again in Jeremiah 4: 23-26, describes the desolation caused by foreign invaders.
Rev. 6: 15-17: ‘And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
This is an echo of Isa. 2: 10, 19, where men flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground, from dread of the Lord, and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.”
John elaborates the picture by enumerating the successive ranks of men, from kings to every slave and every free man, who seek refuge on the day of wrath. They called to the mountains and the rocks, fall on us.
This wrath is the retribution which must operate in a moral universe such as God’s universe is. It is a response of His holiness to persistent and impenitent wickedness. It is indeed His strange work (Isa. 28:21) to which He girds Himself slowly and reluctantly, in contrast to His proper and congenial work of mercy.
Where His mercy is decisively repudiated, men are left to the consequences of their freely chosen course. If here the wrath of God is also the wrath of the Lamb, it is because that wrath is not detached from the cross; indeed, it is best understood in the light of the cross.
Taught by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Scripture from K.J.V.
I entered into the labors of F. F. Bruce, F.F. Bruce Bible Commentary; Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible; C. S. Lovett’s Lights on Revelation; Matthew Henry Bible Commentary; Comments and conclusions are my own and not the views of those whom I entered into their labors.