Revelation

For years I held to the popular belief that the white horse was related to the picture of Jesus we see in Revelation 19:11-15:

“¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.”

There is no argument that the rider of this horse is our Lord Jesus Christ.  So was the white horse in Revelation 6 related to this horse?  This fit with the other three horses as war, pestilence, and death follow the Gospel message as it rides out.  This is still consistent with the understanding of persecution and suffering for the faithful, but I had some speed bumps that caused me to rethink this.  Here is the description of the white horse and rider in Revelation 6:1-2

“¹ I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" ² I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.”

The horse is white.  This is the only solid connection.  This rider held a bow, while Jesus is seen most commonly with a sword.  This rider was given a crown, while Jesus simply has crowns.  This rider rides out as a conqueror bent on conquest, where Christ has already conquered and He rides out only to vindicate the Church.  Let’s look at these one at a time:

White
The horse is white, and the rider isn’t mentioned to be specifically dressed in a particular color.  In my new understanding, the white appearance is a mockery of the appearance of Jesus in both Revelation 19 and in chapter 1.  We are told that Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) as do his followers.  What better color to use for the antichrist / false teachers, religions, and figures across the span of our history?

Bow vs Sword
A sword is a face to face weapon, where a bow is a sneaky weapon, taking people out from a distance, which does seem to fit better with the antichrist / false teacher motif, than with Jesus or the Gospel.  There is nothing “sneaky” about the Gospel, and Jesus is most commonly seen with a sword (in the few times He is pictured using a symbolic weapon).  Though there are Old Testament passages that place a bow in the hand of God.  Paul does mention in Ephesians 6:16 that we are to take up our shield of faith to extinguish the arrows from the evil one. 

Given a crown
This rider was given a crown, where Christ just has the crown.  A crown is a symbol for authority and holding a position of power.  If this is referring to antichrist figures and false teachers, then this authority is ultimately given by God to allow them to proceed with their lies and deception.

Bent on conquest
As with the other pieces of this puzzle this could very well capture the heart, zeal, and attitude of those who are riding out carrying the Gospel of Christ.  But we don’t ride out impersonating one who has conquered.  We simply are conquerors, or as Paul would say, we are “more than conquerors.”