The Vision of the Seals – The Four Horsemen

Revelation 6:1-17

¹Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”

²And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

³When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”

⁴And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

⁵When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.

⁶And 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, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

⁷When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”

⁸And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

¹⁰They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

¹¹Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹²When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,

¹³and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

¹⁴The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

¹⁵Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,

¹⁶calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

¹⁷for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

It is time to examine the first vision of the End given to John. Before we dig into the details, I want to share a quote from Dr. Brighton that brilliantly snaps all three of these visions into focus. [Underlining is my emphasis].

“The events displayed in the three visions are not given for the purpose of predicting particular events in human history. Rather, they are presented so as to portray conditions, circumstances, situations, environments, and contexts in which people find themselves during the time period covered. While particular events in human history are to be, and must be, interpreted in view of and by these conditions, circumstances, and so on, no particular historical event or person at any given time exhausts the condition as prophetically revealed, for the conditions revealed in this prophetic message are prevalent throughout all of human history. The end result of the prophetic message, then, is not to give a predictable view of history, but rather to give a predictable view of the human condition in suffering and defeat because of human evil and rebellion against God, and a predictable knowledge of God’s terrible judgment. The purpose is to move all people to repentance and faith before the End, which in turn serves the ultimate purpose of displaying Christ’s majestic sovereignty for the salvation and hope of those who listen, repent, and believe.”

Brighton, L. A. ©1999. Revelation (p. 150). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Conquest, War, Famine & Death, an 1887 painting by Victor Vasnetsov.

Now that the right Person has been found (Jesus, the Lamb of God) to open the seven seals, the revelation of the first vision begins. As John watches, Jesus opens each of the seven seals one at a time. With each seal opened a details about future is exposed. The process for the first four seals is that Jesus breaks the seal, an angel announces “Come” and one of the Four Horsemen rides forth upon the earth. Remember, all of these predictions are fulfilled starting with the Ascension of Christ into Heaven.

The first horseman comes on a white horse, carrying a battle bow, and wearing a crown. This horseman brings a spirit of conquering those weaker than himself. Military might and prowess are this horseman’s focus and tool of terror. Those who would conquer do not care how the task is completed. The goal is never the betterment of mankind but instead a grab for power through fear and exploitation. The second horseman comes in with the spirit of war and bloodshed to pour out upon the earth. That is a natural follow-up to the tyranny of the first horseman. This horseman of course represents the bloodshed of war but also any bloodshed through killing and murder. I cannot help but think of the atrocity that is currently being perpetrated on the unborn through abortion when I read of the second horseman. The third horseman is black and carrying a scale. Here we find the roots of poverty that would see people starve to death even though there may be foodstuffs available. Here we see people unclothed and having nowhere to live. Economic imbalance typifies this horseman. Finally, the fourth horseman is called out and he rides a sickly green horse that represents death. This is the logical conclusion to tyranny, war, and famine. Death takes its toll and the earth is devastated.

It doesn’t take a history professor for us to look back and see that these horsemen have indeed already been released upon the earth and we bear the scars today. As we read these words we must keep in mind that Jesus Christ is the One in control of all of this. We are not left without a Champion. While He releases these horsemen He does so with the goal of our salvation in mind. The final outcome is in our favor. Once again the Christian faith walks in tension. All of this must be accomplished in order for God’s perfect plan to see fruition. We trust in Him even in the worst of times.