Answered Scripture

The first six seals in the Book of Revelation (chapter 6) represent a series of events that unfold as the Lamb (Yehoshua) opens a scroll with seven seals. There is a lot to these, so I will separate them into 2 parts. The first 4 seals have what everyone knows as the four horsemen. Each one relates to Yehoshua’s warnings that He gave His disciples.

The first seal is broken, and we see a White Horse. The rider on this horse is wearing a crown and holding a bow. Now, some people associate this white horse with Yehoshua’s coming; this is not the case. There are two white horses mentioned in Revelation, and one carries our King, but it’s not this one. Why do people think that this is Yehoshua? Because it states, “…he went out conquering and to conquer.” We think of Yehoshua’s return as Him conquering all things. Still, the difference is what this rider is carrying, and “a” crown being given to him, not many crowns like Yehoshua is described as having (Revelation 19:11). Also, the rider has a bow, not a sword.

With all this in mind, we can put together what is happening here. He is an impostor. We can look back to when Yehoshua was on earth, and He told His disciples repeatedly about false prophets. He warned them, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5). “To be consistent with Yehoshua’s prophecies, this first rider can represent only a deceptive power masquerading as Christ. Outwardly it will appear Christian, but in reality it will be, like the three riders that follow, a force for evil and destruction.” (Book of Revelation Unveiled) In other words, false religion.

We could really dive deep into this subject, but this is not what this blog is about. I will write another blog on that subject after this series.

Onto the next, the second seal and the Red Horse. This rider wields a great sword and is given the power to take peace from the earth, causing people to kill each other. The color red symbolizes blood caused by the wars that this one represents. Matthew 24:6-7, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of war…For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…” Further into Revelation, we see this pattern continuing and increasing in size and devastation. It describes massive armies engaged in military actions that will take hundreds of millions of lives.

This horseman’s ride leads right into the next two seals, and the two horses coming on the scene are the Black and Pale Horses. The rider on the black horse holds a pair of scales. A voice speaks of high food prices, suggesting famine and economic hardship. It corresponds to Yehoshua’s third warning in Matthew 24:7, “And there will be famines…” The scarcity of food and resulting famines are the natural aftermath of war. The rider on the pale horse is named Death, with Hades (the grave) following. We can think of it as widespread disease epidemics and death in the wake of the war and famine from the previous seals that were broken. Other factors, such as earthquakes, also fit within the context of plagues that bring about widespread death.

The last three tie together with each other. They are given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts. All these elements (war, famine, pestilence, and other calamities) reinforce each other. Wild beasts become a concern in times of societal breakdown, and the reference here could also be in the context of disease carriers or microscopic pathogens. The conditions during this time are similar to the last days of ancient Israel when God told Jeremiah He would “consume them (Israel) by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence” (Jeremiah 14:12).

“God doesn’t want His servants to be surprised by outbreaks of such tragedies, but to look to Him for help and deliverance” (Book of Revelation Unveiled). He warns us over and over with what Yehoshua told His disciples. You can read about that in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Take time and read each of these chapters and compare them with the seals we have gone over. God throughout the Bible has always given fair notice of everything He is about to do; the same is true with the end of this age. He has warned us, we just need to “take heed”. If you like to read more about just the horsemen of Revelation, the booklet “The Horsemen of Revelation” is a great read.

I will cover the next two seals in the next blog…till next time…