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"A White Horse."--Here is the parody of Rev. 19: 11-16. There we read:--
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse: and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. . . . and the
armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean."
The rider in Rev. 6: has a bow, and is thereby linked with another vision of the
revelation of Christ, viz., Psa. 45: 4, 5. "In Thy majesty ride prosperously. . . . Thine
arrows are sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies." While the bow is of frequent
mention in the O.T. it is only mentioned once in the N.T. A passage from Hosea seems
to point the meaning of the symbol:--
"I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God,
and I will not save them by bow, nor by the sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by
horsemen" (Hos. 1: 7).
This statement rules out the four horsemen of Rev. 6: These are not the divine
instruments of Israel's restoration. What was true of the first inheritance will be true of
the last.
"They got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm
save them: but Thy right hand and Thine arm and the light of Thy countenance, because
thou hadst a favour unto them. . . . I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword
save me" (Psalm 44: 3-6).
The false Messiahs will be no saviours, they will go forth conquering in order that he
might conquer. The object is here stated, "in order that" (hina) he might conquer. Like
the beast of Rev. 13: and like all his pre-shadowings down the age; these grasp at world
dominion, and seek it by right of conquest. The crown that is given to the rider is a
triumphal crown (stephanos), indicating victory or conquest.
The next horseman that rides forth is seated upon a red horse. The red horse
symbolizes war. To the rider are given two things, the one a symbol of the other. It was
given to him to take peace from the earth in order that they should kill each other; and
there was given to him a great sword. The sword is the first of God's great sore
judgments.
"The sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from
it man and beast" (Ezek. 14: 21).
When the true Christ was born the angels said, "on earth peace" (Luke 2: 14), but the
world despised Him, hated Him and crucified Him. The false Christ ushers in war, and
takes peace away from the earth. No war ever fought will "end war"; that is one of the
awful mockeries of the times we live in. Nothing but the coming of the Prince of Peace
will be sufficient guarantee that the nations shall "learn war" no more. The peace is
taken from the earth with a purpose, "in order that they should kill each other". Nation
rises against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and wear themselves down in their blind
hatred and impotence. All these things, as current events demonstrate, make the