That’s right. This article is called the 6 Horsemen of the Apocalypse!

I came across an article by J.C. O’Hair called “The Fifth Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” He makes the point that if you count the second rider on a white horse, the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have 5 Horsemen. I thought, “That’s hilarious.”

But then, when really you dig into Rev. 6, at some point, you have to admit to yourself that there were never 4 horsemen. There were always 5. It’s not hidden. It’s not ambiguous. It’s plain as day. The pale horse has two riders. This means that there are five horsemen in total in Rev. 6, and the Lord Himself has to be the sixth horseman. So, to be technically correct, you have to say there are a total of 6 horsemen, because you can’t explain the first horseman without also talking about the sixth horseman, because they’re both on white horses.

If you want to be super technically correct, there’s actually more than six. In Rev. 9, the sixth trumpet judgment, God sends a lot of angels on horses. Rev 9:16 tells us, “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand…” “Thousand thousand” in the Bible is “myriads of myriads,” which is a million. God sends two hundred million angels on horses to do a lot of scary stuff on the Earth. And they all have breastplates of fire. And the horses’ heads are like lions, and they shoot fire out of their mouths. So I could have titles this article, “Two Hundred Million and Six Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

But that would be wordy.

Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. Rev 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Rev 6:3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. Rev 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Rev 6:5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

You might remember, last Tuesday, we looked at the scene in the throne room that will take place when God carries out His first set of seven judgments, the Seal judgments. At the heart of that scene is the worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ to take the book of seal judgments out of the right hand of the Father on the throne, and to look upon that book, and to open the seals. One of the 24 elders told John that He hath prevailed to open the book. He wasn’t just inherently worthy to open the book. He did something that made Him worthy to open that book, and what He did was to endure the cross as a sacrifice for all our sins. In that victory over sin and death, He hath prevailed to open the book! By dying for man, He met the requirements of God written on the back of the book and He may now break those seals as both the Avenger of God and the Redeemer of Man, the personification of God’s justice and mercy to all mankind. Bullinger would write, “Past payment is the basis of future power.”

Thus, Christ is worthy to open the book of Seal judgments, the first set of seven judgments in the Tribulation, whereby Christ over the course of these seven years will reclaim possession of the Earth. He’ll take away from Satan his dominion over the Earth. And He’ll come back to establish His kingdom. Now Bullinger would write, “The price has been paid in the shedding of the precious blood of the Lamb; and now, the necessary power is to be exercised so as to secure all its wondrous results, in wresting the inheritance from the hand of the enemy by ejecting the present usurper, and forcibly taking possession. We see this power put forth in the Seals, Trumpets, and Vials which fill up the active judgments of God in accomplishing this: and which end with the coming of the Lord Himself (xix).”

Let’s talk about the horses! First, let’s consider Zech. 6. We all know Zechariah. He’s the great prophet of restoration after Darius the Great released the Jews from captivity. We’re given in Zechariah some glorious Messianic prophecies and visions of the kingdom. He would famously predict the Lord’s crucifixion in Zec 12:10 in which he wrote, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son... In the last chapter, 14:4, we have the vision of the Lord’s foot touching the Mount of Olives and the mountain explodes in half with a great valley between the two.

But in Zehc. 6, we’re given this curious vision of the four chariots. And would you know it, the horses are the same colors as the horses in Revelation 6. We’re going to read about horses that are white, red, black, and pale just like Rev. 6. That’s more than coincidental!

Zechariah turns to an angel, and he’s like, “What’s this all about?” And the angel would give him an interpretation of the meaning of the horses.

Zec 6:1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. Zec 6:2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; Zec 6:3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses (pale grey). Zec 6:4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? Zec 6:5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

What did he mean by that?

The horses and the chariots rush forth to execute this terrible work from between two mountains of brass, probably Mount Moriah and the Mount of Olives. They rush through the Valley of Jehoshaphat. They are agencies of God’s judgment during the Tribulation, which means that those horses are representatives of fallen angels, leaders in Satan’s army, permitted to do bad things as part of God’s judgment.

Bullinger would connect these four spirits of the heavens as leaders in Satan’s realm, like the prince of the kingdom of Persia in Daniel 10. You remember in Daniel 10, Daniel is given a vision. Daniel asks for the interpretation. God sends an angel to him. But he’s held up for 21 days. He’s withstood by the prince of the kingdom of Persia, the demon who was over the kingdom of Persia. God had to send Michael, the archangel, to deal with him so the angel could fly down to Daniel to explain the vision. This may be why they’re called the four spirits of the heavens, plural, because they operate in the first and second heaven.

Some might say, “Wait a minute. Zechariah also says these spirits are standing before the Lord of all the earth.” Right. Just as Satan had to present himself and stand before the Lord in Job 1.

All of this to say, that the similar colors of the horses is more than coincidental, and I suspect Zech. 6 exists to help us interpret the meaning of the horses in John’s vision. They are meant to represent demonic spirits, and most likely, four leaders in Satan’s demonic realm, who have been given liberty by God to pass over the Earth and carry out these judgments, and the riders are operating in perfect synergy with these Satanic spirits and the result is great suffering throughout the world.

White Horse

Let’s do some exegesis on these verses in Rev. 6.

Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

You might remember last Tuesday that there were four beasts that surrounded the throne of God. They had the faces of a lion, eagle, ox, and man. We argued that they had to be Cherubims. In this narrative in Rev. 6, each one of the four beasts would introduce to John a different horseman of the apocalypse. In vs. 3, he would talk about the second beast speaking to him. In vs. 5, we have the third beast. In vs. 7, we have the fourth beast.

Each of the four beasts would introduce each of the horsemen of the apocalypse.

The first beast would say, as all the four beasts would say, “come and see.” I would suggest that this cherubim took John for a little trip. Come with me and see the result of the Lord opening this first seal. So they left Heaven, and from a vantage point on the Earth or maybe above the Earth, John would see the vision of this first horseman of the apocalypse.

Rev 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Apart from the white horse, we learn three things about him. He had a bow. He was given a crown, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Keep that in mind.

Rev 19:11 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. Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Who is the sixth horseman of the apocalypse? Clearly describing the Lord Jesus Christ and His Second Coming.

Let’s compare the first and second riders on these white horses.

The first rider had a bow, which was always an emblem of war. The Lord had a sword. We’re told of the first rider that he went forth conquering, and to conquer. He didn’t simply conquer the world in one fell swoop. He went forth into the world to conquer the world. His conquering took place over time. Does that sound like the Lord Jesus Christ to you? He conquers the world the moment He returns! Paul would tell us in 2 Thess. 1:9 that the Lord will defeat all His enemies in one fell swoop. They’ll all be annihilated simply from the glory of His power.

Of the first rider, we’re told that, as a result of his conquering the world, he’s given A crown, ONE crown. But the Lord, when He returns, already had MANY crowns on His head. We read in Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns…

Not only that, before He even goes to war, He already has written on his vesture and on his thigh… KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Notice also that the armies of Heaven followed the Lord on white horses. What follows the rider of the white horse in Rev. 6? Riders on red, black, and pale horses all representing suffering, war, famine, death, and even hell itself.

We can only arrive at one conclusion.

The first rider of the white horse in Rev. 6 has to be the antichrist. How can the rider of the white horse in Rev. 6 be the Lord Jesus Christ when He’s still up in Heaven opening all the seals?

Some might ask, “If the Lord is riding a white horse, why would that vision of the antichrist have him also riding on a white horse?” Simple. Because he’s imitating the Lord Jesus Christ. When you compare what’s said of the antichrist in Rev. 6 vs. the Lord Jesus Christ here in Rev. 19, the antichrist is but a pale imitation. He’s got a little bow. One crown. He’s nothing compared to the Lord.

Here’s a question: in Rev. 6:2, the first rider of a white horse, the antichrist, a crown was given unto him. Who gave him that crown? I’d suggest that was Satan, because we read a few weeks ago in Rev. 13:2 that the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. You might also remember how we read in Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life... Make no mistake. Those verses are talking about a global dominion over every nation and every person on the planet. That crown has to do with global dominion.

But that crown Satan gives the antichrist is also permitted by God as part of His determined desolations that would take place during the Tribulation. This vision of the rider on the white horse in Rev. 6 is a spiritual representation of a literal reality that will come to pass, which is the coming of the antichrist, who is going to make war, who is going to conquer the Earth and be crowned. His appearance at the beginning of the Tribulation coincides with the first seal judgment and this permitted by God as judgment upon the Earth.

Red Horse

Rev 6:3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. Rev 6:4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

Notice here that the rider of this second red horse was given power to take peace from the earth. This isn’t merely the land of Israel. This isn’t the Middle East. This is the entire Earth, which would include America. We know from this verse, at least, that America will be engulfed in war. And with the arrival of the rider on this red horse, we’ll have the fulfillment of the Lord’s words in Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…

The color of this horse is red, because it denotes sin, carnage, war, bloodshed.

We would also note that two things were given to him. Power to take peace from the earth, that is, authority to engage in global warfare. Plus, he was given a great sword. He wields a great killing force.

Who is this?

Nobody ever tries to identify the rider of the red horse. If we can identify the rider of the white horse, then why not the red one and the black one? Plus, the riders on the pale horses are identified for us. So who is the rider on the red horse?

I don’t believe it’s Satan because a man sits on this horse, just as a man sat on the white horse.

I don’t believe it’s the antichrist again because he was already on the white horse.

I don’t believe it’s the false prophet because the only thing we’re told he’s put in charge of is the Mark of the Beast.

I’d suggest two possibilities. These are just ideas. I’m not dogmatic about this. I’m open to anything anyone has to say about it. One possibility could be that this is a man who will only be known to us when the Tribulation happens, a man who the antichrist puts in charge of his ten armies to carry out warfare on his behalf around the globe. The power to take away peace and the sword given to him may have come from the antichrist with the guidance and approval of Satan. Essentially, he’s the man who will be commander of the antichrist’s armies.

There’s also a second possibility. When we get to the fourth pale horse, there are two figures whom the Bible only identifies as Death and Hell, who many suggest are simply Death and Hell personified. So this rider of the red horse could also be War personified. However, my gut tells me this is a man, a real man, because he was given power, and he was given a great sword.

Black Horse

Rev 6:5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

This, to me, sounds like the false prophet, because he’ll be put in charge of the Mark of the Beast, which means he’ll be in charge of the new economy. Vs. 5 told us that he had a pair of balances in his hand. I take that to mean that he’ll be in charge of the new economy, just as the false prophet will be in charge of the Mark of the Beast. This could also be Famine personified, but again, my gut tells me this is a man. He’s holding a pair of balances in his hand. He also seemingly speaks and says to someone, see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

In any event, the big picture is that this horse and rider is all about famine. The economy will be in disastrous shape because of famine, which is a result of all the wars, and all the pestilence.

We would also note that the horse is black, which is meant to represent famine. Solomon would write in Lam 5:10, “Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.”

Then John hears the voice of someone else near the throne, perhaps one of the 24 elders, who says, “A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”

Bullinger would make the point that bread “by weight” always denotes scarcity. He’d write, “When God describes, through Ezekiel, the famine during the siege of Jerusalem, He says, ‘Thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight… and drink water by measure.’ (Read Ezek. iv. 10, 16, 17).” Many have pointed out that “penny” is, in the Greek, a denarius. That’s a day’s wage. We know this because of the Lord’s illustration about laborers in the vineyard in Matt. 20. We’d read in Matt. 20:2 that the employer agreed to pay his laborers “a penny a day” or a denarius a day. Some have said that a “measure,” was about a quart of wheat or enough food for approximately one day. According to Bullinger, the usual price of a wheat was 1/8^th of a denarius. So that wheat, here, in this famine, is eight times its usual price. He also mentioned that during the Roman Empire, we are told that a denarius would buy 16 measures of wheat in the time of Cicero, and 20 in the time of Trajan.

All of this means great scarcity.

Because of this exorbitant price of wheat, many will turn to barley, which is far less nourishing, but at least they can get three measures of barley for a penny.

After all this, John hears the voice say something really weird, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

What is going on here?

A lot of differing interpretations about this. Bullinger, in his Companion Bible, suggested that this “may point to special protection of the elect in famine times.” Albert Barnes would write something similar. He’d say, “Perhaps the most common impression on reading it would be, that it is addressed to the horseman with the balances, commanding him not to injure the oliveyards and the vineyards.” As if God ordered the rider to protect the oil and wine for His own purposes. That makes no sense to me.

Paul Sadler would write, “As the poor wonder where their next meal is coming from, the commodities of the rich, oil and wine, are left untouched by this worker of evil. These will be perks for those seduced by the riches of the Antichrist.” Ironside would basically say the same thing. He wrote, “The wheat and barley are the food of the poor—almost out of reach; but the food of the rich, or the luxuries, are not touched.” I’m not convinced of this either. I’m not convinced we’re seeing a contrast here. Oil and wine were totally common to the people. They all had access to oil and wine. It may have been cheap oil and cheap wine, but it’s still oil and wine. Clarence Larkin would write, “What is meant by not hurting the oiland wine, may be, that as the Olive tree and grapevine do not bear their fruit until some months after the wheat and barley harvest, and grow without much attention, their crops would not be so much affected by war, and therefore the Olive trees and grapevines were not to be ruthlessly destroyed by invaders for they were needed for medicinal purposes.”

Now that makes some sense.

My first question was who is speaking and who is being spoken to? Is this direction from God to the rider for the sake of giving divine protection so the elect can have oil and wine? I don’t buy that. My guess would be that the rider on the black horse is speaking, and he’s giving instructions to the rider on the red horse that when he goes to war, he’s to make sure he protects the vineyards for oil and wine. Why? Because they’ve been deemed as a big new source of income for the antichrist when he establishes his kingdom. That’s just a guess.

Pale Horse

Rev 6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. Rev 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Here, we have something unique. We have two figures here, two riders who are both given names, Death and Hell (or Hades). Death is in the front. Hell follows him. We’re not told that Hades (or Hell) following Death is also riding on a pale horse, as well. However, when all the armies of Heaven were following the Lord Jesus Christ on a white horse, they were all also riding on white horses. So it seems likely to me that Hades (or Hell) is also riding a pale horse, which would mean that we have two figures on two horses, which means that in Rev. 6, there are actually five horsemen and six in total if you include the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who are these figures named Death and Hell? One mid-acts writer suggested this is the angel of death and the angel Hades. I thought, “What are you talking about? What Bible are you reading?” We just went through an angelology series. We read pretty much every verse having to do with angels, and there are no angels of death in Scripture, although there are angels who have killed, but no one angel designated as the angel of death. That’s a total myth.

Likewise, there’s no angel named Hades. The angel over the bottomless pit in Rev. 9 was called Abaddon in the Hebrew or Apollyon in the Greek, which means destroyer. Hades means the grave. Plus, it makes no sense to me that heavenly angels would be riding upon horses that Zechariah told us were representative of demonic spirits.

I think Bullinger had it right. He suggested in his Companion Bible that this is simply Death and Hell personified. That makes sense to me. Many have pointed out that in Rev 20:14, which is all about the Great White Throne Judgment, we’re told that death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. To me, this reinforces the idea that Death and Hell on the pale horses are personifications. When we get to the Great White Throne Judgment in Rev. 20, the personifications of Death and Hell are cast in the Lake of Fire, which is meant to symbolize that there will be no more death, no more condemnation ever again. In any event, Death and Hell follow the three other horsemen, because death and hell for unbelievers is the inevitable result of the evil works done by those first three horsemen.

This is why their horses are pale – it’s the color of dead bodies or those who are sickly.

We’re also given some details here about how people will die as a result of the antichrist kingdom. The second half of vs. 8 tells us, And power was given unto them (both figures, Death and Hell) over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. First, we learn that a fourth of the world’s population will die. They say 8 billion are on the planet today. Supposedly, 2 billion are Christians. That leaves us with 6 million, which means 1.5-2 billion will die at the hands of the antichrist and his minions as part of his new global Babylonian kingdom. Hades follows Death because when unbelievers die, Hell and the Lake of Fire will be their eternal destination. Next, we learn that they kill with sword (war, represented by the rider of the red horse), and with hunger (famine, represented by the rider of the black horse), and with death (the rider of the pale horse), and with the beasts of the earth (which I suspect may be a reference to pestilence).

My only question here had to do with John writing and with death, which was representative of the rider of the pale horse. How does Death personified kill with death? Natural causes, like diseases that will be rampant in a world that’ll be full of war and famine.

Conclusion

A big point that has to be made about this section of Rev. 6 is that there is a striking similarity between the first six seal judgments and the words of the Lord in His Olivet Discourse in Matt. 24 from verses 4-10. A number of commentaries pointed this out. The Lord Himself would say in Matt. 24:4-5 “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many”. And we’ve discovered that the antichrist, the first rider of the white horse is the great deceiver of the world. (Rev. 6:2 cf. 13:12-18).

The Lord would say in Matt. 24:6,7, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars… For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”. And as we read, the second red horse had a rider upon it that was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

The Lord would say in Matt. 24:7, “And there shall be famines”. And as we read, the rider of the black horse represents worldwide famine (Rev. 6:5,6). And the Lord would also make the point in Matt. 24:7 of other means of death, like earthquakes, and pestilence implying widespread sickness and death as a result. And as we read, the fourth pale horse, pale because it’s the color of sickness and death, there will be all manner of death by sword, or by hunger, or by natural causes, or even from the beasts of the earth.

And as the Lord also says, all of this, is only the beginning of sorrows.

Another point to be made is that these judgments aren’t merely consecutive but also, I think, continual throughout the entire Tribulation.

Consider the sixth seal judgment, the sun becoming black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon turning into the color of blood. There is a permanence to these judgments that lasts throughout the seven years of Tribulation until the Lord’s return. The rider of the white horse, the antichrist, isn’t merely a deceiver at the beginning of the Tribulation but all throughout. This sets the model for the other judgments that follow with the other three horses that appear after him. The judgments they bring, the war, the famine, the death – they don’t simply take place in the first half of the Tribulation but all throughout the seven years. And the grand total of all the death because of the antichrist and his kingdom is a fourth of the global population, probably around 2 billion people. Of all the beasts who rose up out of the sea in Daniel 7, none of them killed as many people as will the antichrist during the Tribulation.