In Revelation 6:1, Jesus begins opening the seals unleashing a serious of events on the earth. The nature of the seals as well as the majority of the book of Revelation is still shrouded in mystery and symbolism. Some believe the first 4 seals opened immediately once Jesus ascended to heaven 2000 years ago while others think they’re saved to be opened right before or at the beginning of the tribulation.
First Seal
The first seal is a figure that rides a white horse, has a bow as well as a crown, “And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer,” (Revelation 6:2, NKJV). The identity of this figure itself is often debated to be a representation of the antichrist or the antichrist himself. As of now, I’m of the belief that this could indeed be the antichrist being let loose on the earth.
Second Seal
Out of the second seal appears a red horse, “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,” (Revelation 6:4, NKJV). This isn’t the first time a red horse appears in the Bible, it also shows up in Zechariah 1:8, “I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white” and again in Zechariah 6:1-2, “Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses”.
At this point in the Bible, the role of the horses/horseman seems to be a type “scout”. They travel the whole earth and come back with a report on the activities of the world, “And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “’ These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.’ So they answered the Angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly,’” (Zechariah 1:10-11, NKJV). In Revelation is where they are “given” power. Just as the name “seal” implies, the horses and horseman may currently have their abilities sealed up until the time of the end.
Third Seal
The third seal unleashes a black horse that seems to have power over the economy and maybe even the supply of food on a global scale. Things may become more scarce with prices soaring at the same time leading to a worldwide famine, “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard 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 the wine,’” (Revelation 6:5-6, NKJV).
Let’s take a closer look at the statement “…A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius…”. In Greek, the word for “denarius” is “dēnarion” which was a silver coin used as a means of currency in the Roman Empire (Blue Letter Bible). The Greek word used for “measure” is “choinix” which is equivalent to a dry quart. When I convert this amount, I get around 1.3 pounds which makes about a loaf of bread. From these calculations, we can see how people will be struggling to feed themselves.
Fourth Seal
The fourth seal seems to be the most serious one; a pale horse appears with its rider being Death itself and Hell is following along, “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.” (Revelation 6:8, NKJV).
This brings to my remembrance Isaiah 28:14-18 which uses similar language concerning “Death” and “Hell”,
Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.’ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it. (Isaiah 28:14-18, NKJV)
Both Revelation and Isaiah are personifying death and hell. Revelation says power was given to death and hell to kill by any means necessary and in Isaiah, we can see God’s chosen people are making a deal with death and hell, 2 beings that have the power to kill. This agreement formed may be done by force or by intimidation once the power of these figures is on display (maybe through a nation that gains power during this time).
To note, death and hell may just be spiritual beings that have an effect on our physical world but they operate through physical people that may be empowered by them. So this deal may not be made directly with death and hell themselves but rather real people that are spiritually empowered due to the influence of “death” and “hell”. God in verse 16 points out that the people that believe in the cornerstone he has laid don’t need to worry about these consequences. This cornerstone represents Jesus referenced multiple times in scripture, both in old and new testaments (Mark 12:10, Acts 4:10-12, Ephesians 2:19-21, 1 Peter 2:5-7, NKJV)
The Culmination of the First 4 Seals
All in all the seals appear to have a “trickle-down” effect. In the second seal, the rider of the red horse takes peace from the earth which may be the effects of the conqueror of the first seal. The third seal then negatively impacts the economy and possibly causes a famine. Again, if wars are occurring worldwide now, with peace being taken away, food supply could drop and the economy would feel the effects. Lastly, the fourth seal wraps it all together and has power over a part of the earth to kill with the sword (2nd seal), and with hunger and death (possible causes of 1st and 3rd seal). Although separate, the seals are working together.
Note that in Leviticus 26:21-26 there’s a passage where God warns his people that if they follow his commandments they’ll be blessed, but if they turn away from him they will face dire consequences,
Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate. ‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied. (Leviticus 26:21-26, NKJV)
Although I can’t say for sure if this passage is directly referencing the seals in Revelation (as this could’ve been punishments God has used several times due to the disobedience of the Israelites), the language here is still similar. God says he’ll “send wild beasts” and will “bring a sword upon them” (parallel that to the second seal in Revelation 6:4 and fourth seal in Revelation 6:8). God also specifically mentions that once he affects their food supply they won’t be satisfied with what they eat. The use of the bread being weighted linking to the next statement that they won’t be satisfied shows that there will be less food (parallel this with the third seal in Revelation 6:5-6).
Something I also found interesting about the first 4 seals is that they are fairly similar to some of the things Jesus warns the disciples about. For example in Matthew 24:6, Jesus starts off with wars and rumors of wars but in the next verse includes nations warring against each other, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” (Matthew 24:7, NKJV).
This appears to correlate with the first, second, third, and fourth seals to some degree. However, here is where it gets tricky because these things have been occurring since the dawn of time so it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s caused by the opening of the seals. Due to this very fact though that these events aren’t new might mean that the seals will cause a greater magnitude and severity of these events to take place which I believe is supported by verse 8 when Jesus says “All these are the beginning of sorrows”.
Nature of the Horsemen
Just like the second seal with the red horse that appeared in Zechariah, the other 4 horses are mentioned in Zechariah and have the same role of “surveying” the earth and reporting their findings back, “In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 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.” (Zechariah 6:2-5, NKJV).
In the next 2 verses we get more information as to where the horses are specifically going but this is still mysterious in nature, “The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth,” (Zechariah 6:6-7, NKJV). Each of the colored horses have designated locations where they need to go to.
I believe that if these horses we see in Zechariah are truly related to those in Revelation then at this point the horses’ “true” abilities or purpose may be sealed up until later as we see in Revelation where they are given the power over portions of the earth to take peace and kill. Something I do want to note and that you may have already noticed is that in Revelation, the opening of the first 4 seals brings 1 horse and 1 rider, however, in Zechariah we see a horseman on a horse as well as multiple horses behind him (Zechariah 1:8, NKJV) and chariots with horses (Zechariah 6:1-2, NKJV) so although we see similarities (mainly being the color of the horses) the differences with the various number of horses is interesting. Despite this difference, I still believe they have a connection. This is mainly due to the fact that besides Zechariah and Revelation, nowhere else in the Bible (as far as I’ve seen) talks about the same 4 colored horses.
If you enjoyed this study, you can find similar studies on the book of Revelation here including the 7 Churches of Revelation, the 24 Elders, the 4 living creatures, etc.
Featured Image by Lians Jadan on Unsplash
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