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Transcript 230B — The Four Horsemen of Revelation 6
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Hello. The horsemen in Revelation 6. Does that point to Christ?
HC: The question is raised concerning the four horsemen of Revelation 6. I'd like to speak just a moment on that, and so I'll go into it.
This is an interesting question, and we haven't talked about this for some time, so I would like to look at it for just a moment. In Revelation 6 we have a reference to four different horsemen. In verse 2, "I saw and behold, a white horse. And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer." Now who is this horseman? What does this phrase represent?
When we search the Bible, we find that the color white is always used in connection with that which is pure, that which is holy. We find, for example, in Revelation 19, when Christ comes at the end of time, at Judgment Day, that He comes on a white horse. He sends out His Gospel into the world. "A crown was given to him," we read. Remember in Ephesians 1, it says that He was raised from the dead and was seated at the right hand of God, and was given rule and authority over everything, not only in this age but in the age to come. So that identifies very well.
Now what about this fact that it says that its rider has a bow? Well, back in Psalm 45, we find an interesting commentary on that. In Psalm 45:3 we read, "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O Mighty One. In your glory and majesty [you see, it's talking about God Himself] ride forth victoriously for the cause of truth and to defend the right. Let your right hand teach you dread deeds. Your arrows are sharp [notice the arrows – to have arrows means that you have a bow] in the heart of the king's enemies. The peoples fall under you. Your divine throne endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity. You love righteousness and hate wickedness." You see how Psalm 45 identifies very beautifully with the Lord Jesus Christ as He's seen in Revelation 6:2.
As we go out with the Gospel, it is Christ who is out conquering and bringing to subjection those who are the unsaved and who are becoming born again believers.
Now the second passage is speaking there about a red horse: "Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another. And he was given a great sword." Now this in all likelihood is talking about the persecution that comes against believers, as they go forth with the Gospel. Red signifies the shedding of blood. To take peace from the earth the born again believers are the ones who bring peace to the earth. And yet this horseman is one who is taking peace from the earth. And very frequently this kind of a sword, that is spoken of here, is spoken of in the sense of slaughtering the believers.
We are reinforced in this, I think, when we look at verse 9, where it says, "I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God." This word slain here is the same word that is used in verse 3, "that men should slay one another." And he was given a great sword.
In other words, as we bring the Gospel, it is against adversity. It is against persecution. It is being resisted constantly by the forces of evil, who do not want the Gospel to go out.
Now the third horseman is a little different problem altogether. There we read, "I saw, and behold, a black horse. And its rider had a balance in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius. But do not harm oil and wine." Now what could this be referring to?
The reference, I think is, first of all, going back to Ezekiel 4:16. Now how do I get to Ezekiel? Well, simply by taking a concordance and looking up every possible reference to wheat and barley and denarius and famine, and a balance, and all of these things. And this is the passage that stands out.
In Ezekiel 4:16 we read that God is faulting Israel in the days of Ezekiel, because they had run after other gods. They had not been true to the Gospel of their day. And therefore He said, "Son of man, behold. I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. I will do this that they may lack bread and water and look at one another in dismay, and waste away in punishment."
Here God is really indicating that spiritual famine will be on the earth because of the sinfulness of the body of believers, in not being true to the Gospel. In this context, in verse 10, He says, "And the food which you eat shall be by weight, 20 shekels a day. And once a day you shall eat it. And the water you shall drink is by measure, the sixth part of a hind. Once a day you shall drink." And it's the same idea that's presented here in Revelation 6.
Now when it says "Do not harm oil and wine," I believe that this is referring to the fact that those who are born again believers will not come under judgment, wine referring to the shed blood of Christ, those who are identified with Him, oil referring to the anointing that we receive when we are a born again believer. As false prophets and as false pastors lead the church away from the true Gospel, so that there is spiritual famine, those who are born again believers will not lose their salvation.
Now the fourth horse: "I saw, and behold, a pale horse. And its rider's name was death." Incidentally, there's another reference that I'd like to check a minute, in Leviticus 26, to see if that relates to this. There is a statement in connection with the third horse, where again God is faulting Israel because they would turn away from Him. He says, in verse 23 of Leviticus 26, "And if by this discipline you are not turned to Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you. And I Myself will smite you sevenfold for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you. And you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven and shall deliver your bread again by weight. And you shall eat and not be satisfied."
Again it's using the same kind of language, to indicate the spiritual famine that will come if they go contrary to the Word of God. Now the fourth horseman: "And I saw and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death. And Hades followed him. And they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth."
Now Ezekiel 14:21 assures us that God here is talking about judgments that will be brought by God against the church for their failure to remain faithful to the Word. In Ezekiel 14 we read, in verve 21 (and the context is that they have gone after idols, they have gone after false prophets, and therefore God is bringing His wrath against the body of believers): "For thus says the Lord God, How much more, when I send upon Jerusalem My four sore acts of judgment, sword, famine, evil beasts and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast." The same language, you see, that you find in Revelation 6:8, where it talks about this fourth horseman who kills with sword, with famine, with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
The four and the one-fourth that we find in Revelation 6 I think in both cases are speaking about the worldwide nature of this, the fact that God will not tolerate unfaithfulness within the church. He will bring judgments against the church if they are not faithful.
To summarize then, we find that the first horseman gives us a picture of the Gospel as it goes victoriously throughout the earth, to accomplish the work God has set forth for it. The second horseman gives us a picture of the resistance that will be encountered by this Gospel as there are those who will persecute those who bring the Gospel. The third and the fourth horsemen are figures of the judgments that will come against the church when it is not faithful in bringing the Gospel. It really is a very excellent outline of the whole matter of the responsibility of bringing the Gospel – the joy, the glory, the wonder of it all, the tribulation that comes because of it, and the judgments of God when we are not faithful in bringing the Gospel.