Four Horses Unsealed for Judgement

Revelation 6:1-8 

1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 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.
3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 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.
5 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. 6 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.”
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

The first four seals removed by the Lamb who alone is worthy to open them are undone as He unrolls the scroll.  These are judgements on those on the earth for sin and rejection of the Christ, for disbelieving God’s word and the gospel through His prophets and apostles.  We see what John saw and recorded for us, beginning with the rider of the white steed going out to wage wars and conquer many.  We see how many wars and empires have risen and fallen over the centuries, and this may very well be the source of all to date.  The second rider on the fiery red mount takes away peace so that hatred drives much killing, living by the sword and dying by it as well.  Now we see lawlessness with murderers, bombings, and many other crimes of hate across the world driven by a lack of peace with God in Christ and therefore with our fellow man.  The third horse, a black one, carries scales to control world prices by a supposed lack of food supplies; the prices escalate with further tragic results such as starvation and the accompanying violence to get food and avoid dying of hunger.  The fourth and final rider sits on a pale horse of death with hell close behind.  This one is given power by God to add to the ones of increasing judgement by killings, starvation, wild animals attacking, and death of other kinds.  This power is inflicted on a quarter of the world’s people.  These four judgements pictured as riders of four horseman of the approaching apocalypse (unveiling or revealing) are of God’s plan of judgement to the end of time and beginning of eternity, for a destiny of all people who will be with or apart from Him.  These first four seals unleash God’s wrath of judgement on an unrepentant and disbelieving world who reject His Son, but are given to drive some to repentance and deliverance from that condemnation; we are to be about our Father’s business of the gospel of repentance and reconciliation in Christ before the final judgement coming on all.  The time has always been short, and we can learn here to make the most of it in troubling times for the souls of men and women that they do not face worse things eternally.