The Red horse.
The second horseman has wreaked havoc on mankind with religious wars throughout history.
In Matthew 24:6-7, Christ said, “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.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there
shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”
Though Christ was addressing His disciples then, but also the multiple billions who
inhabit this Earth today,at the end of the end times.
John’s vision, revealed by Jesus Christ and recorded for us today in Revelation 6:1-8,
differs only slightly from the Olivet prophecy in Matthew 24 and the other Gospel accounts.
“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
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” (Revelation 6:3-4).
Jesus Christ opens the second seal and John sees a red horse whose rider is given authority
to remove peace from the Earth. When peace is gone, there is only war. The man on the
red horse plainly represents war with its abominable effects.
Christ practically spells it out for us in His description of the second horseman who represents
“wars and rumors of wars.” The first thing Christ prophesied about was a general condition of
war that would extend from His time on Earth until man’s misrule on Earth was finally over.
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars [plural].”
“See that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
These many wars comprise a general, not specific, condition of war. Christ admonished us not
to be too troubled. Throughout man’s miserable existence on Earth, there have been alternating
periods of war (of every description) and peace.
The world has already survived two world wars, but neither can compare to the potential global
war spoken of in Matthew 24:22: “And except those days should be shortened, there should
no flesh be saved [alive].” The Moffatt translation adds the word alive. This refers to total war,
with the annihilation of all people as the outcome, barring divine intervention.
Only in the generations since World War?ii has the potential for worldwide cosmocide existed.
Never before has mankind had the potential to completely destroy itself—until now!
Religious deception—the first horseman—has conquered the Earth with Satan’s counterfeit religion.
Now we see war—the second horseman—as the tool religion has used down through history.
Satan is the great being symbolized by the rider of the blood-red horse. The casting down of
Satan leads to this intensified period of global wars and conflicts. (Revelation 12:7-9) the
“prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), and the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Realizing he is about to lose his throne (2Corinthians 4:4), Satan will desperately attempt
one final all-or-nothing battle against his successor, Jesus Christ.
The Black Horse (Revelation 6:5-6)
The third horseman, riding a black horse, symbolizes famine. In Matthew, Mark and Luke,
Christ was speaking of general famines, set against the backdrop of war.
The plural use of the word famine refers to the repetitive occurrences of famine
down through time, rapidly accelerating immediately before His return.
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines,
and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places”
The Pale Horse (Revelation 6:7-8).
The context mentions two of the other horsemen—war and famine. But we cannot be certain of
the symbolism of the last horseman from this passage. The key word to its identity is the word pale,
which often makes us think of someone who is feeling sick, having an anemic-looking appearance.
When used biblically, chloros means the sickly pale green color of sickness and disease.
“and there shall be…pestilences” (Matthew 24:7). The man on the pale horse symbolizes climactic,
globe-encircling plagues and pandemics occurring and soon to occur in this modern age!
Look up pestilence in any Bible concordance and you will be amazed by the link
between the second, third and fourth horsemen representing war, famine and pestilence
(Jeremiah 21:9; 27:13; 29:17-18; 32:24; 34:17; 38:2; 42:16-17; 44:13).
These three horsemen derive their origin directly from the first horseman of religious deception.
