Rev 6:3 - And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:4 - And there went out another horse that was red (pyros– color of fire, red): and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace (eirene – “the” peace – tranquility, security, Messiah’s peace) from the earth (ge– dirt), and that they should kill (sphazo – slay, slaughter, butcher)one another(allelon – one another, themselves): and there was given unto him a great(megas – big in size) sword (macharia – large knife, small sword).
Let us begin by looking at some of the more interesting word usages and definitions in the passage. Remember, not all of the notes on the word usage must have some great underlying meaning, it is just that I thought they were interesting and worthy of notation in my study.
First is the word “red”. The Greek word was actually “pyrros” and you may can tell that (pyro = fire) that it was the color of fire or a “fiery red”. Next of note is the word “peace”. What is interesting to note here is that in this passage it also contained the article “the”, so in effect it was actually written like this; “… to take thepeace from the earth…” At first look, that may not be such a significant note, but it struck me as a very important fact/clue. For me, the article “the”made it sound like a specific item or at least not a general term, thus leading me to ask the question; “which peace?” We’ll discuss some options on that later. Next was the word earth – the only reason I highlight this is that it was the specific word “ge” which means the actual land and dirt as opposed to the word “world” which includes a broader scope. I’ll address the next two together – “kill one another”. Since most people associate the red horse with the broad term “war”, this seems simple – the definition of the word kill here is “slay, slaughter, butcher”. That may be war, but it is a very one-sided war if it is. Follow that term by the “one another”, which can mean “themselves” and you get a very different picture. Say these two phrases one right after the other and then think about the visual connotations that pop into your head. “That people would kill one another…” or “That people would slay themselves…” The first definition looks like war and sounds like war, but the second one brings up a completely different image for me. The second one doesn’t sound like nation against nation, but more like neighbor against neighbor (civil unrest). Finally, we’ll look at the last two words; “great sword” (megas macharia). On the surface (or in English) this looks simple enough to understand. The definition for the Greek term “megas” is (as you guessed…) related to size (our word ‘mega’) so great would mean a large, grand, huge, mega, and so on. However, the term for sword used here is “macharia”,which means a “large knife or small sword”. Now, whether this contradiction in terms means anything, I do not know –I’m merely pointing it out here, and I will hopefully be able to circle back around to it at some later time for more deep study. (which there are a couple of items that popped up during the red horse I will need to circle back on – so don’t let me forget).
So there is a breakdown to the verse itself, now let’s look more closely at some of the specific emblems/symbols in the passage and what they may have meant.
Horse: War, conquest, strength. (Accelerated mode of message delivery transportation). (Job 39:19-25). This is the same for the white horse and the subsequent ones.
Red: War, fire, slaughter, slay, blood, terror. Red horses (at least this color of red) were not common – probably non-existent. So this symbol was definitely described to trigger the imagination.
Sword: War, weapon of destruction. The sword was more widely recognized as a symbol of war than other weapons of the time. While the bow is also a symbol, it was not the primary symbol. (Think of the movie Braveheart – the archers were not the primary war symbols. Swordsmen on horseback were the most feared).
It doesn’t take much to come to the conclusion that this rider symbolizes “war”. But I ask the question, what kind of war? Nation against nation? Kingdom against kingdom? How about man against man? If you look at Matthew 24:6-8, you will see that Jesus talks about wars between the nations and kingdoms, but he describes these as the birth pains of the end times. Then in Matthew 24:9 he states the following.
Matthew 24:9 - Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
This sounds like a direct attack on the believers – the saints. (note – the word “kill” here is different than in Rev 6:4. The kill here is defined as “by any means possible”). I think this is what the “slay themselves” means. Neighbor against neighbor as the Christians are persecuted for their beliefs. This may also be tied to the megas-macharia (big – small sword). It is not a “nuclear”weapon as many interpret the Red Horse Sword to be, it could very well be that it is small arms (hand to hand or other like means) that carry the power or numbers of some weapon of mass destruction.
So why would our otherwise very moral and pleasant neighbors (although not Christian) suddenly start to attack and persecute the believers?
“…and power was given to him that sat thereon to take (the) peace from the earth...”
Back to “the peace”. What is the peace that the red horse is going to remove? Is this the moral compass that God has planted in all humans – regardless of faith? Is this this peace of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gave upon his ascension? Is this the (false) peace the antichrist (white horse) created on his arrival?
So while I see the horse as “war”, I see it slightly different than many of the standard “war”definition. It is with all the above information that I believe the “Red Horse” is the breakdown of civil morality. Anarchy will reign over the earth with people killing each other and persecuting the Christians with extreme prejudice. It will be a war amongst the citizens to persecute the saints.
Well, I hope you are enjoying my journey through Revelation so far. Next week we move on to the black horse. Before we do, though, I must give you a sneak peek at something that entered into my study this week. That is the Rapture. While I was following the Spirit through the Bible this week, I believe I was taken to a place I had not been before. So I have decided that when I get done with the four horsemen, I’m going to do a deep dive on the “Rapture” and see where it leads me.
Take care, God bless, and see you next week.
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