Revelation Now :
Daily Devotional Bible Studies in Revelation
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The Four Apocalypse Horsemen : Day 27 
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!" 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. When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. (Revelation 6.1-4)
The Seven Judgments
This is the beginning of the seven judgments. As each seal is opened, events are sets in motion that will bring about the end of human history. Each scroll is opened by degree as each seal is broken and all is not completed until the seventh seal is broken. The contents of the scroll portray God's authority over the events of human history. These sequences are interrupted by scenes proclaiming the triumph of God and his witnesses.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The riders described in these verses are commonly called "the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." In the Old Testament the prophet Zechariah sees four horsemen let loose upon nations that have oppressed God's people. (1) Four horses appear in Revelation as the first four seals are opened. The horses represent God's vehicles of judgment on people's sin and rebellion. God is directing human history, even using his enemies to accomplish his purposes.
The White Horse
The first rider of a white horse is a conquering military power and may refer to Christ himself carrying a bow. It could allude to the Parthians on the eastern border of the Roman empire. They rode on white horses and were experts in the use of the bow. They embarrassed the Romans in AD. 62. by winning a major and humiliating victory against them.
The Fiery Red Horse
The second fiery red horse takes peace from the earth and is a symbol of blood and war with his huge sword. Former friends will become enemies and kill one another. This was certainly true in John's day when no fewer than one hundred thousand men were killed in revolutions between 37 and 67 BC The revolution in Britain led by Queen Boadicea was crushed by the Romans at a cost of one hundred and fifty thousand dead men. These were blood thirsty times.
Meditation
Imagine the horror of seeing the terrible horsemen of the Apocalypse?
Prayer
Lord, may we know peace even in the midst of war or tumult
Notes
(1) Zechariah 6.1-8
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place."
