| The First Rider On The White Horse Commentary on Revelation 6:1-2 |
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Who is the first rider on the white
horse? Is it the Antichrist? Is that what you have been taught? That is what
we believed for many years and had even instructed others in the same
interpretation. In many traditional, pretribulational eschatology circles, the
"first rider of the Apocalypse" is thought or presumed to be the "antichrist."
But what if we were to examine this just a little closer, what would we
find? This is going to be amazing, proven using the Bible itself, not man-
made "theories." The THEORY of the antichrist being the "first rider"
appeals to our preconceived ideas (they have been embedded into our
minds since the turn of the 20th Century) but BIBLICAL truths are proven
using the Bible itself.
Pray for understanding. Let's begin...
THE VICTOR'S CROWN
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.
Many teachers have proposed "the antichrist" as the first rider. They give
excellent arguments, no doubt, appears to be him but the bible DOES NOT
say that it is him. And there is a problem with such an assumption-- A very
big problem with this interpretation. You see, when one views the antichrist
as opening the Apocalypse, then that causes a "domino effect" of error to
occur within our eschatology. Most Christians, by viewing the first rider as
antichrist, fear that the Tribulation has mainly to do with the antichrist, and
I assure you, he is a part of it but not the main focus. The purpose of
Revelation from the beginning to the end is: the triumph of the Lamb over
this evil world and the establishing of His kingdom at the end of the
Tribulation period.
The Time of Jacob's Trouble (the Tribulation) will cause the remnant in
Israel to cry out to the Lord and He shall come to their rescue. (See
Zechariah 12).
Now, when we read Revelation 6:2 in the Greek, we find that the first rider
receives a "victor's crown." The Greek word for crown in this passage is
"stephanos" and it means a "crown of victory." Now, if we back up into
the messages to the Seven churches, we find the word, "stephanos" will be
given to the Saints.
There are two Greek words for "crown" used in Revelation:
1) Stephanos - which is a victor's crown , also given to the Saints of God
2) Diadem - which is an earthly crown - the Beast of Revelation 13 wears
diadems (not stephanos)
Now, with the understanding that the rider on the white horse is a Victor,
receiving a victor's crown, we must understand that there's only ONE in
all of the Bible who is the Victor, who won the victory and that is the
Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. He is at the present time seated at the right
hand of the Father, awaiting the day when His enemies are made His
footstool. What is the purpose of the Book of Revelation? To show us
how our Savior gains the victory over the kingdoms upon the earth. You
see, the Lord Jesus-- the King of the Jews, is at this present time in exile,
awaiting the day when "The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever
and ever" (Revelation 11:15).
Speaking of Messiah's ascension into Heaven, Psalm 110:1 prophesied:
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool. This Scripture will be fulfilled at the end of the
Revelation.
So to understand that a "stephanos" is given to the First rider is to
understand that there is no other victor in all of the Bible but Christ.
That's the first problem with the "antichrist being the first rider." If we say
that the antichrist has a victor's crown and will gain the victory, then what
are we saying? That evil will prevail BUT...we know that evil will not
prevail. No, the same rider who at first received the victor's crown,
opening the Tribulation is the same One, who comes at the end of the
Tribulation... wearing many diadems for He has conquered the worldly
kingdoms (Rev.11:15). Christ is the First and the Last!
The Antichrist Comes From The Abyss
Another problem with the "antichrist rider" theory is that the antichrist is
depicted coming from the abyss (hell's agenda.)
ON A WHITE HORSE
Another problem with their theory is that the color white is ALWAYS the
symbol of purity in the book of Revelation. The Saints will wear white; the
Lord Jesus will come upon a white horse-- accompanied with His Saints
upon white horses.
White is the color for them who "are worthy." No evil is ever symbolized
in white, no, not in the entire book of Revelation.
THE BOW
Fourth, the argument of many prophecy teachers is that "God is never
depicted with a bow." The rider on the white horse has a bow with no
arrows....so they presume and dogmatically teach that the rider "must be
the antichrist." Just because "no arrows" are mentioned doesn't mean that
there is not a stash of them behind his back. That is a very weak argument.
They teach that, "The antichrist is coming with no arrows." Let's see what
the Bible has to say, rather than assuming.
In the Psalms and elsewhere, it states that God has "arrows" and where
there are arrows, there must be symbolically "a bow."
Psalm 45:5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies;
whereby the people fall under thee.
Psalm 144:6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows,
and destroy them.
Hab 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of
thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER?
Now, let us examine the next part of the verse in Revelation 6:2:
"and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
The Greek, here, is saying something more, than what is translated in the
English translation. Young's Literal translation says it this way:
"and he went forth overcoming, and that he may overcome."
The word translated, "conquer" is the Greek word "nikao" and it is
translated elsewhere in the KJV as "overcome" or "overcomer."
From Strong's: G3529; to subdue (literally or figuratively): - conquer,
overcome, prevail, get the victory.
The word is found 28 times in the New Testament. The verb "nikao" is
used of overcoming an enemy in the temporal realm and overcoming Satan
and his kingdom of darkness in the spiritual realm. The Lord Jesus uses it
in Luke 11:22 and it means, “to overcome.�
Only once is nikao translated "conquer." Elsewhere it is translated as
follows:
overcome
Luke_11:22, John_16:33, Rom_3:4, Rom_12:21; 1John 2:13-14, 1John 4:4, Rev_13:7,
Rev_17:14
overcometh
1Jo_5:4-5, Rev_2:7, Rev_2:11, Rev_2:17, Rev_2:26, Rev_3:5, Rev_3:12, Rev_3:21, Rev_21:7
overcame
Rev_3:21, Rev_12:11
conquer, conquering
Rev_6:2
prevailed
Rev_5:5
victory
Rev_15:2
So just by the above verses, we see that "nikao" is only translated
"conquer" in ONE verse. But if we piece Revelation 6:2 in harmony
with the rest of the Bible, we have a different picture than what the
prophecy experts are advocating in their many books and DVDs. You
see, they want to introduce the antichrist in the beginning of the book of
Revelation because it fits in with their "interpretation" but the problem is,
the Bible should be read and rightly divided, not made to fit our theories
or interpretation, but rather it stands alone by itself. So when we take the
literal Greek, here is the verse in harmony with the rest of Scripture:
Rev 6:2 and I saw, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is
having a bow, and there was given to him a victor's crown, and he went
forth overcoming, and that he may overcome.
And this rider is, WITHOUT A DOUBT, the Lord Jesus Christ, who goes
forth through the power of the Holy Spirit winning victory after victory.
Remember, the plagues are sent from Heaven upon the earth. It is the
"wrath of the Lamb." We know Jesus is the Victor of all things-- for at the
end, when He returns to earth to destroy the "beast's government," He is
wearing MANY crowns. This teaching is harmonious with the rest of the
Book of Revelation. Christ is the First and the Last!
If anything, this proves to us once more not to rely so heavily upon
"experts," who did not (in this case) rightly divide the Word of Truth. We
also should beware of those who hide the meanings of certain Scriptures
from their readers to "fit in" with their theories.
We believe that the antichrist [or even perhaps the false prophet] will
confirm a covenant with many for one week (seven years). This is spoken
of in the Book of Daniel but to say that antichrist represents the first seal
negates the purpose of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The seals are broken
in Heaven and only the Lord Jesus is worthy to open those seals. As a
result of these first four seals, there is a great multitude of Tribulation
Saints, who are slain for the word of their testimony. In other words, many
will become Believers during the Tribulation period-- this necessitates the
presence of the Holy Spirit at work in the earth. The Holy Spirit will not be
taken out of the earth, as some teachers have said. There are many things
going on in the first three-and one-half years. The preaching of the Two
Witnesses in the streets of Jerusalem, which we believe to be Enoch and
Elijah, and also then wars, famines, death. It is during times of hardship
that people repent, not times of celebration. So when we understand the
symbolic meaning of the rider on the white horse-- that He is a Victor,
going forth into battle, we understand that the same Rider returns for the
Final Battle, in Person, with His Saints.
For over 1700 years, the interpretation of Revelation 6:2 was always that
the first rider of the Apocalypse is Jesus Christ. It was not until the late
1800's that the first rider changed to the antichrist. The Book of Revelation
is not solely about the antichrist-- but rather the focus is upon the Lord
Jesus Christ-- from the beginning to the end...Jesus is the VICTOR! That
is why the "Left Behind" books are so grievous-- they divert the victory
away from the Lamb and focus on the antichrist and the political beast.
No, the Lord Jesus is the CENTER of Revelation-- He is the First and the
Last!
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome [nikao] them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and
they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Daniel 7:21-22 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and
prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment
was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom.
Now that we know the first rider is Jesus the Christ, how does this fit in
with the whole seven year tribulation timeframe?
Commenting on Revelation 6:2, Dr. Henry M. Morris says the following:
At this tremendous moment in history, "the Son of God goes forth to war,"
as the Lamb breaks the First Seal. The seven seal judgments follow, then
the seven trumpets , then the seven bowls. However the seventh seal
includes all of the seven trumpets and the seventh trumpet leads into
the seven bowls. The entire series thus represents the Lamb's successive
forays into the invader's strongholds until finally the enemy is driven
out completely. The climax comes at the battle of Armageddon, when the
great Rider appears once again on His white horse to win the final
victory (Revelation 19:11, 19).
©2007 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, please
click here to read about the free gift of salvation. The Lord Jesus loves you
and He will save you.
----------------------------------------------------
Related Reading:
Tribulation Movies ... Good or Bad?
Our God Shall Come - Old Testament Scriptures Pertaining To The Second Coming of Christ
The King Of Glory - Bible Study on the Office of Messiah as King
Are You Rapture Ready?
Who Are The Two Witnesses in Revelation 11?
horse? Is it the Antichrist? Is that what you have been taught? That is what
we believed for many years and had even instructed others in the same
interpretation. In many traditional, pretribulational eschatology circles, the
"first rider of the Apocalypse" is thought or presumed to be the "antichrist."
But what if we were to examine this just a little closer, what would we
find? This is going to be amazing, proven using the Bible itself, not man-
made "theories." The THEORY of the antichrist being the "first rider"
appeals to our preconceived ideas (they have been embedded into our
minds since the turn of the 20th Century) but BIBLICAL truths are proven
using the Bible itself.
Pray for understanding. Let's begin...
THE VICTOR'S CROWN
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.
Many teachers have proposed "the antichrist" as the first rider. They give
excellent arguments, no doubt, appears to be him but the bible DOES NOT
say that it is him. And there is a problem with such an assumption-- A very
big problem with this interpretation. You see, when one views the antichrist
as opening the Apocalypse, then that causes a "domino effect" of error to
occur within our eschatology. Most Christians, by viewing the first rider as
antichrist, fear that the Tribulation has mainly to do with the antichrist, and
I assure you, he is a part of it but not the main focus. The purpose of
Revelation from the beginning to the end is: the triumph of the Lamb over
this evil world and the establishing of His kingdom at the end of the
Tribulation period.
The Time of Jacob's Trouble (the Tribulation) will cause the remnant in
Israel to cry out to the Lord and He shall come to their rescue. (See
Zechariah 12).
Now, when we read Revelation 6:2 in the Greek, we find that the first rider
receives a "victor's crown." The Greek word for crown in this passage is
"stephanos" and it means a "crown of victory." Now, if we back up into
the messages to the Seven churches, we find the word, "stephanos" will be
given to the Saints.
There are two Greek words for "crown" used in Revelation:
1) Stephanos - which is a victor's crown , also given to the Saints of God
2) Diadem - which is an earthly crown - the Beast of Revelation 13 wears
diadems (not stephanos)
Now, with the understanding that the rider on the white horse is a Victor,
receiving a victor's crown, we must understand that there's only ONE in
all of the Bible who is the Victor, who won the victory and that is the
Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. He is at the present time seated at the right
hand of the Father, awaiting the day when His enemies are made His
footstool. What is the purpose of the Book of Revelation? To show us
how our Savior gains the victory over the kingdoms upon the earth. You
see, the Lord Jesus-- the King of the Jews, is at this present time in exile,
awaiting the day when "The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever
and ever" (Revelation 11:15).
Speaking of Messiah's ascension into Heaven, Psalm 110:1 prophesied:
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool. This Scripture will be fulfilled at the end of the
Revelation.
So to understand that a "stephanos" is given to the First rider is to
understand that there is no other victor in all of the Bible but Christ.
That's the first problem with the "antichrist being the first rider." If we say
that the antichrist has a victor's crown and will gain the victory, then what
are we saying? That evil will prevail BUT...we know that evil will not
prevail. No, the same rider who at first received the victor's crown,
opening the Tribulation is the same One, who comes at the end of the
Tribulation... wearing many diadems for He has conquered the worldly
kingdoms (Rev.11:15). Christ is the First and the Last!
The Antichrist Comes From The Abyss
Another problem with the "antichrist rider" theory is that the antichrist is
depicted coming from the abyss (hell's agenda.)
ON A WHITE HORSE
Another problem with their theory is that the color white is ALWAYS the
symbol of purity in the book of Revelation. The Saints will wear white; the
Lord Jesus will come upon a white horse-- accompanied with His Saints
upon white horses.
White is the color for them who "are worthy." No evil is ever symbolized
in white, no, not in the entire book of Revelation.
THE BOW
Fourth, the argument of many prophecy teachers is that "God is never
depicted with a bow." The rider on the white horse has a bow with no
arrows....so they presume and dogmatically teach that the rider "must be
the antichrist." Just because "no arrows" are mentioned doesn't mean that
there is not a stash of them behind his back. That is a very weak argument.
They teach that, "The antichrist is coming with no arrows." Let's see what
the Bible has to say, rather than assuming.
In the Psalms and elsewhere, it states that God has "arrows" and where
there are arrows, there must be symbolically "a bow."
Psalm 45:5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies;
whereby the people fall under thee.
Psalm 144:6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows,
and destroy them.
Hab 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of
thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER?
Now, let us examine the next part of the verse in Revelation 6:2:
"and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
The Greek, here, is saying something more, than what is translated in the
English translation. Young's Literal translation says it this way:
"and he went forth overcoming, and that he may overcome."
The word translated, "conquer" is the Greek word "nikao" and it is
translated elsewhere in the KJV as "overcome" or "overcomer."
From Strong's: G3529; to subdue (literally or figuratively): - conquer,
overcome, prevail, get the victory.
The word is found 28 times in the New Testament. The verb "nikao" is
used of overcoming an enemy in the temporal realm and overcoming Satan
and his kingdom of darkness in the spiritual realm. The Lord Jesus uses it
in Luke 11:22 and it means, “to overcome.�
Only once is nikao translated "conquer." Elsewhere it is translated as
follows:
overcome
Luke_11:22, John_16:33, Rom_3:4, Rom_12:21; 1John 2:13-14, 1John 4:4, Rev_13:7,
Rev_17:14
overcometh
1Jo_5:4-5, Rev_2:7, Rev_2:11, Rev_2:17, Rev_2:26, Rev_3:5, Rev_3:12, Rev_3:21, Rev_21:7
overcame
Rev_3:21, Rev_12:11
conquer, conquering
Rev_6:2
prevailed
Rev_5:5
victory
Rev_15:2
So just by the above verses, we see that "nikao" is only translated
"conquer" in ONE verse. But if we piece Revelation 6:2 in harmony
with the rest of the Bible, we have a different picture than what the
prophecy experts are advocating in their many books and DVDs. You
see, they want to introduce the antichrist in the beginning of the book of
Revelation because it fits in with their "interpretation" but the problem is,
the Bible should be read and rightly divided, not made to fit our theories
or interpretation, but rather it stands alone by itself. So when we take the
literal Greek, here is the verse in harmony with the rest of Scripture:
Rev 6:2 and I saw, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is
having a bow, and there was given to him a victor's crown, and he went
forth overcoming, and that he may overcome.
And this rider is, WITHOUT A DOUBT, the Lord Jesus Christ, who goes
forth through the power of the Holy Spirit winning victory after victory.
Remember, the plagues are sent from Heaven upon the earth. It is the
"wrath of the Lamb." We know Jesus is the Victor of all things-- for at the
end, when He returns to earth to destroy the "beast's government," He is
wearing MANY crowns. This teaching is harmonious with the rest of the
Book of Revelation. Christ is the First and the Last!
If anything, this proves to us once more not to rely so heavily upon
"experts," who did not (in this case) rightly divide the Word of Truth. We
also should beware of those who hide the meanings of certain Scriptures
from their readers to "fit in" with their theories.
We believe that the antichrist [or even perhaps the false prophet] will
confirm a covenant with many for one week (seven years). This is spoken
of in the Book of Daniel but to say that antichrist represents the first seal
negates the purpose of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The seals are broken
in Heaven and only the Lord Jesus is worthy to open those seals. As a
result of these first four seals, there is a great multitude of Tribulation
Saints, who are slain for the word of their testimony. In other words, many
will become Believers during the Tribulation period-- this necessitates the
presence of the Holy Spirit at work in the earth. The Holy Spirit will not be
taken out of the earth, as some teachers have said. There are many things
going on in the first three-and one-half years. The preaching of the Two
Witnesses in the streets of Jerusalem, which we believe to be Enoch and
Elijah, and also then wars, famines, death. It is during times of hardship
that people repent, not times of celebration. So when we understand the
symbolic meaning of the rider on the white horse-- that He is a Victor,
going forth into battle, we understand that the same Rider returns for the
Final Battle, in Person, with His Saints.
For over 1700 years, the interpretation of Revelation 6:2 was always that
the first rider of the Apocalypse is Jesus Christ. It was not until the late
1800's that the first rider changed to the antichrist. The Book of Revelation
is not solely about the antichrist-- but rather the focus is upon the Lord
Jesus Christ-- from the beginning to the end...Jesus is the VICTOR! That
is why the "Left Behind" books are so grievous-- they divert the victory
away from the Lamb and focus on the antichrist and the political beast.
No, the Lord Jesus is the CENTER of Revelation-- He is the First and the
Last!
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome [nikao] them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and
they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Daniel 7:21-22 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and
prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment
was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom.
Now that we know the first rider is Jesus the Christ, how does this fit in
with the whole seven year tribulation timeframe?
Commenting on Revelation 6:2, Dr. Henry M. Morris says the following:
At this tremendous moment in history, "the Son of God goes forth to war,"
as the Lamb breaks the First Seal. The seven seal judgments follow, then
the seven trumpets , then the seven bowls. However the seventh seal
includes all of the seven trumpets and the seventh trumpet leads into
the seven bowls. The entire series thus represents the Lamb's successive
forays into the invader's strongholds until finally the enemy is driven
out completely. The climax comes at the battle of Armageddon, when the
great Rider appears once again on His white horse to win the final
victory (Revelation 19:11, 19).
©2007 Cobblestone Road Ministries
All Rights Reserved
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, please
click here to read about the free gift of salvation. The Lord Jesus loves you
and He will save you.
----------------------------------------------------
Related Reading:
Tribulation Movies ... Good or Bad?
Our God Shall Come - Old Testament Scriptures Pertaining To The Second Coming of Christ
The King Of Glory - Bible Study on the Office of Messiah as King
Are You Rapture Ready?
Who Are The Two Witnesses in Revelation 11?
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