Question
Who is the white horseman in Revelation chapter 6? Some people say it is the Anti-Christ and then there are some that say it is Jesus Christ. Which is it?
Answer
The context of Revelation does not seem to suggest that the white horseman is either antichrist or Jesus. Rather, the context of the horsemen seems to indicate that each one represents a typical form of covenant judgment.
In the Old Testament, one of prophecy's major functions was to express the terms of God's covenants by threatening judgment against covenant disobedience, and offering blessings for covenant obedience. The other three horsemen represent curses in the typical forums of nature and war. The white horseman explicitly represents conquest. Probably, he is to be understood as taking away the political autonomy of those he conquers. He represents conquest by a foreign nation, such as that suffered by Israel during their captivity in Assyria following the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C., and that suffered by Israel and Judah in Babylon following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
Thus, the riders as a whole would represent loss of self-rule, loss of military peace, loss of sufficient means of survival (food, etc.), loss of health, and loss of harmony with nature -- all typical Old Testament covenant judgments.
In the Old Testament, one of prophecy's major functions was to express the terms of God's covenants by threatening judgment against covenant disobedience, and offering blessings for covenant obedience. The other three horsemen represent curses in the typical forums of nature and war. The white horseman explicitly represents conquest. Probably, he is to be understood as taking away the political autonomy of those he conquers. He represents conquest by a foreign nation, such as that suffered by Israel during their captivity in Assyria following the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C., and that suffered by Israel and Judah in Babylon following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
Thus, the riders as a whole would represent loss of self-rule, loss of military peace, loss of sufficient means of survival (food, etc.), loss of health, and loss of harmony with nature -- all typical Old Testament covenant judgments.
Ra McLaughlin is Vice President of Finance and Administration at Third Millennium Ministries.
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