In Revelation 4 John saw the scene in heaven after Christ’s ascension. He saw the throne of God as the center and God sitting on the throne ready to execute His universal administration for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. John “saw on the right hand of Him who sits upon the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed up with seven seals” (5:1). These seven seals are the contents of the scroll and the contents of the book of Revelation. They are a record of God’s thought concerning the church, Israel, the world, and the universe.
John also saw that no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it; hence, he wept much (vv. 2-4). While John was weeping, one of the elders said to him, “Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals” (v. 5). Christ’s overcoming qualifies Him to open the scroll and its seven seals.
John then saw “a Lamb standing as having just been slain” (v. 6). Having just been slain indicates that the Lamb was recently slain. This indicates that the scene in heaven depicted by John in these verses is immediately after Christ’s ascension into heaven. Having passed through incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, Christ in ascension is qualified to open the mystery of God’s economy contained in the seven seals.
The first four seals consist of four horses with their riders (6:1-8). All four riders are personified. The rider of the first horse, the white horse, is the gospel (v. 2); the rider of the second horse, the red horse, is war (v. 4); the rider of the third horse, the black horse, is famine (v. 5); and the rider of the fourth horse, the pale horse, is death (v. 8). Immediately after Christ’s ascension, beginning from the first century the gospel has been spreading for twenty centuries, and war has been proceeding simultaneously. War always causes famine, and famine issues in death. These four things will continue to run until the end of this age.
The rider of the white horse is the preaching of the gospel. White signifies clean, pure, just, and approvable. The white horse is a symbol of the preaching of the gospel, which is clean, pure, just, and approvable both by men and by God. John saw “a white horse, and he who sits on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer” (v. 2). The rider had a bow without an arrow. This indicates that the arrow has already been shot to destroy the enemy, and the victory has been won for the constitution of the gospel of peace. The fighting is over, and the gospel of peace is proclaimed in a peaceful way. Throughout all the centuries, wherever the gospel is proclaimed, it has conquered and has overcome all kinds of opposition and attack. The gospel is still conquering today.
Verses 3 and 4 say, “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, another horse, a red one, went forth; and to him who sits on it, to him authority was given to take peace from the earth, and that men should slay one another; and to him a great sword was given.” In this verse red signifies the shedding of blood. Thus, the red horse is a symbol of the raging of war, which is altogether a matter of shedding blood. To take peace from the earth, that men should slay one another, and to him a great sword was given clearly indicate war. These are prophecies. Since Christ’s ascension, the preaching of the gospel has been followed by war.
Verses 5 and 6 say, “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he who sits on it had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying: A choenix of wheat for a denarius and three choenixes of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” Black, indicating dearth (Jer. 14:1-4), signifies the color of the visage of famished people (Lam. 4:8-9; 5:9-10). The black horse is a symbol of the spreading of famine, which causes a black visage. A balance is a scale used to weigh precious things. However, in Revelation 6:5-6 it is used to weigh food, showing the scarcity of food (Lev. 26:26; Ezek. 4:16). During times of famine, oil and wine are always short and become precious. Famine always follows war, and war causes food to be scarce.