4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War
4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War
The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse are considered common in this day and age. They are seen as the harbingers of the end of days. Sometimes they are represented as evil creatures or demons sent to destroy the earth. Sometimes they are just seen as mythical creatures that are just symbolic of the end times. They are even featured in Marvel comics as ‘mutants’. But, what do they really symbolize?
This is part 2 discussing the horseman. Check out my earlier post for the rest of the horsemen.
INTRODUCTION:
The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse are found in Revelation 6. But before we get to that chapter, we need to start at Revelation 5. John the Apostle sees a scroll in the hand of God the Father who is sitting on the throne. This scroll is sealed with seven seals. Then we see an angel proclaiming, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” (Revelation 5:2). There is no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth who was able to open the scroll or even look at it. The only one who was able to was Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. This chapter shows us that the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse who will be released in the next chapter are beings sent by God to do His will. They aren’t symbolic creatures or demonic in nature. They come from God. This is how Revelation 6 starts. It is the beginning of the tribulation leading up to Christ’s Second Coming.
Revelation 6:3,4 - When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
What do these verses tell us about the second horseman?
The rider is nameless, but he rides a fiery red horse
The rider was given a great sword
The rider had a purpose - to take peace from the earth
Who is this horseman?
As with the first horseman, this one is also nameless in the Bible. He is referred to as war because of the inherent associations between the color red, a sword, and killing with the concept of war.
Some interpret the second horseman to be the essence of civil war because the verse mentions that people would be killing one another.
What is the significance of the horse?
While we commonly think of war’s horse as being scarlet red to symbolize the blood that is being shed during his ride, the Bible actually refers to the horse as being fiery, or the color of fire (in Greek). This means that the horse is likely red, orange, and yellow like a flame. John the Apostle uses this same word in Revelation 12:3, when describing the dragon (Satan). In general, red horses are symbols of war, destruction, anger, passion, destruction, and bloodshed.
Fun Fact: Red horses are called both Chestnut and Sorrel. Sorrel is sometimes used to refer to a red horse that is bright in color, almost an orange-red. Chestnuts are usually used to refer to horses of brown-red color.
What is the significance the item the horseman holds?
The great sword the second horseman wields is translated in Greek as a short word or a long knife like a dagger. This kind of sword was usually worn by magistrates and executioners.
What does the horseman’s purpose tell us?
The second horseman didn’t bring war and destruction with him. He was given the task to take peace from the earth. Peace is one of God’s gifts to mankind. With that being taken away, mankind quickly falls into war and destruction. The verse tells us that once the peace is removed, mankind begins to kill each other. This is the premise behind war being depicted as specifically civil war and interpersonal strife.
In John 14:27, Christ says that He is leaving us with HIs peace. This refers to the Holy Spirit, who currently dwells on earth with God’s people. When the second horseman comes to take away the peace from earth, this can mean that the Holy Spirit has left.
Another thing to note is that the verse clearly states the authority was given to the horseman to do his purpose. This shows that the horseman’s judgment is coming from God. It is part of the tribulation because God has willed it.
In this post we discussed the second horseman of the apocalypse. I intended for this to be a single post, but after doing much research, there turned out to be more information than I was expecting. Tune in for part 3 coming up soon!
