The Four Riders
THE FOUR RIDERS
REVELATION 6:1-8
In spite of everything we should have learnt about life, this world is still a troubled place and will remain so until Christ returns.
There are three basic principles in this section which must be grasped:
Whether or not a closer historical interpretation can be given to the four riders, it is clear that they primarily represent the four main aspects of war. War is the supreme evidence for humanity’s fallen state and inner depravity, and so writers constantly try to justify and glamorize it more than most other evils. Its roots lie in covetousness, in the desire to possess what belongs to others, and often in the instinct of self-preservation rooted in lack of trust in God. It always issues in theft on a grand scale with murder as its climax.
Traditionally the first rider is often interpreted as being Jesus Christ coming out on his conquest of the world by preaching the gospel. The mention of the bow, which is never used elsewhere as a Christian symbol, should have been a sufficient warning. In addition, symbolism has an inner cohesion, which is denied when we suggest that the rider is Christ at the moment when as Lamb he is opening the seals.
Part of the attraction of war is the repeated belief that an opportunity exists for an almost bloodless victory march. Very often those who yield to this temptation find that they succeed, and the world justifies them, for they seem to guarantee peace over a wide area. In fact, sooner or later, they cause only the bitterer hostilities, which are represented by the second rider. After bloodshed and pillage there follow shortage, rationing and hunger. Then it is only a short step to famine, plague and death, and the inrush of wild animals, over which humanity should rule.