Troublesome Topic: The Horses and Their Riders

Revelation 6:1

Translation

Then I watched as the

LAMB opened the first

of the seven seals,

and I heard one of the

four living beings

saying with a voice

like thunder,

“Watch out!”

Paraphrase

Then I watched as THE ONLY EFFICACIOUS SACRIFICE gave the first of all the confirmations of His authority, and I heard one of the representatives of all living things saying with a voice as overpowering as nature’s greatest demonstrations of power,

“Watch out!”

Revelation 6:2

Translation

I watched intently

and behold,

a horse,

a white horse,

its rider held a bow,

and wore a crown;

he went forth as a conqueror in order to conquer [again].

Paraphrase

As my vision continued you won’t believe what I saw, it was

a personification of unlimited swiftness and power, which had proven victorious in battle,

accompanied by a warrior bent on making war; he had been victorious in all his engagements; he was successful, and his obvious intent was to continue being successful as he waged war continually.

In this passage John sees six of the seven seals broken. The removal of each seal was accompanied by demonstrations of the power of Jesus, conveying the message, “Don’t mess with Jesus, and don’t oppose His power. Your options are to repent or be destroyed.” We can consider the breaking of the seals as warning shots fired across the bow of a ship. In the end, such a warning is a demonstration of mercy. Jesus can simply destroy those who do not follow Him, but instead He gives them a chance to repent.

Just as there are seven seals, meaning that complete, unquestioned authority is needed, there are now seven confirmations of Christ’s authority, symbolizing that the confirmations themselves are likewise complete and beyond doubt; there is no reason to doubt these confirmations.

Notice that, in this description of the horse and rider, and in each of the similar ones to follow, the emphasis is equally on the horse and the rider. The horse embodies action that is swift and powerful; it represents the power that Jesus has to implement His will and carry out His desired plan effectively and swiftly. The rider represents Jesus’ power as well, power to take action in the various ways described.

Modern eschatology often tries to describe what scholars call the “four horsemen of the apocalypse” as some earthly entities that are to be feared. I disagree because I don’t think the readers of John’s day would have seen the horses and their riders as a way to identify someone. They would have known that these horses are directly tied to the breaking of the seals and are therefore confirmations that the Lamb has the power and authority to carry out His plan. It’s not about some unknown “horsemen;” it is about Jesus and His power. Do not fear men, fear the Lamb, for the Lamb is also the Lion.

The Gospels describe how Jesus performed many miracles which served to demonstrate that He indeed has power in various areas. Through miracles He demonstrated that He has power over nature to calm that which is dangerous, power over sickness to bring health, power over death to bring life, and power over the demonic world to bring spiritual freedom. There was a prominent Hebrew word which meant “the word of authority,” or “the last word, the final word;” in English we should say, “the buck stops here.” Jesus used miracles to show the nature and purpose of God, to bring glory to God, and to show He had “the last word.”

Here, in Revelation 6, we see the corresponding, but opposite, side of that same authority, or “last word.” These seals serve to demonstrate that Jesus has authority to make war against His enemies, not just offer wellbeing to His followers; He has the power to remove peace, not just grant peace; He has the power to withhold sustenance and provision, as well as be a provider; He has the power to bring death as well as life; He has power over nature not just to calm it, but to use it as punishment of the wicked; and He has the power to sustain His persecuted followers for “a little longer” until their life is given for Him.

Now we are getting the full picture of who Jesus is. The Gospels show us reasons to desire to follow Him, here we see a different set of reasons to want to repent and follow Him. Earlier we saw the love factor, now we see the fear factor. For either reason people should take the opportunities granted to them and repent. In this demonstration of power we see His mercy; we see the extension of an offer and an opportunity to repent. We also see the consequences of not repenting. You do not want to be opposed to the one who has this kind of authority to act in such decisive ways.

The next lesson is: Locusts from the Abyss

Footnotes

1: “Watch Out!”

This Greek word is usually translated “come” or “go,” but it has many, many possible meanings. It is an emphasis on movement and allows the context to determine the direction of the movement. It has to do with the action about to take place. John is already in heaven with the angel that is showing him these things, so it is not a call for John to come. It cannot be a command to “go!” because it is not the living being that is sending out the horse and rider, it is Jesus who is sending out the proof of His own power. No created being can give Jesus a command. A possible translation that would fit better would grow from the idea of “arise, be established, come into being, become known.” That would fit what is going on here better than a simple “come or go,” and it is among the possible translations for this word according to Thayer. However, if the emphasis here is indeed upon the action that will take place (come into being) rather than the direction of the movement (come or go) it seems best to think of it as either a warning that something big is about to happen, or an excited anticipation of what will soon happen. With that emphasis in mind, any of the following would be acceptable ways to render it: “Watch out!” “Here it comes,” “Let’s roll!” “You can do it,” “On your mark, get set, go!” To determine the emphasis of the word’s meaning one must guess as to the intended recipient; to whom was this spoken? If spoken to the horse and its rider it was intended as encouragement to fulfill the prescribed purpose; if spoken to the recipients of the horse’s power, it was intended as a warning about what was coming. In light of everything mentioned above, a warning to the recipients makes the most sense to me.

2

Once again we see that very useful, versatile and attention-getting word which is often translated “behold.”

3

A good war horse was worth many foot soldiers. It was a symbol that combined swiftness and power, not just power in theory, but power in action to destroy.

4

Here the color white expresses victory, not purity.

5

The Greek says “he was given a crown” but the only way an observer would know that was because he was wearing the crown he had been given. There were two types of crowns. One