The White Horse

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. (Revelation 6:1)

The first sight[1] John saw when the risen Christ summonsed him to heaven was the vision of God on His throne.[2] In His right hand, God held a scroll written on the front and back and sealed with seven seals.[3] The scroll represents the deed to the earth that was lost in the Garden of Eden.[4] No one in heaven or earth was found worthy to take the scroll and break open the seals[5] except for “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”[6]

In order to understand what John saw, we need to look back to the law of the kinsman-redeemer.[7] This law allowed a close relative to buy back land lost for whatever reason so that the land would remain in the name of the family. The book of Ruth[8] serves as a good example of this law in practice. Ruth, a Moabite, followed her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem after the loss of her husband and father-in-law. Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, had owned land in Bethlehem, but Naomi could not redeem the land because of her status as a woman. The book of Ruth is a short four chapters, so to sum up the account in brief, Boaz, a close relative, took a shine to Ruth and agreed to marry her and redeem the property that had been lost. (There is more to the story, but I will leave it to the reader to research the details.)

Carrying this idea to the scene John witnessed in heaven, we understand the loss of earth’s possession through Adam’s sin. The Lamb, who is the Second Adam,[9] is the kinsman-redeemer that has the legal right to buy back the lost property by virtue of His shed blood on the cross. “And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne” (Revelation 5:7).

Up to this point, the tense of John’s record is present tense, i.e., the time of John’s writing. At the opening of Chapter 4, he is called up to heaven. Many excellent end-times biblical scholars see John’s call up to heaven as a “type” of the Rapture of the Church, because the Church is no longer mentioned on earth and is not seen again until she returns to earth following the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.[10] From the opening of Chapter 6, the tense changes to future.

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see” (Revelation 6:1). The opening of each of the seals brings judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth. The first seal brings the rider on a white horse.

“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). Many mistake the rider on the white horse to be Christ. They come to this conclusion from His description in Revelation 19. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11) However, here the Lamb, with the scroll in hand, releases the rider on the white horse; He cannot be both the One who releases and the one released. The fact that it is Christ releasing this judgment and all those that follow demonstrates that He is ultimately in full control of all that takes place.

So, who is the rider on the white horse? Without going into all the various opinions, the best possible explanation is that this one is the Antichrist, aka, the son of perdition,[11] the little horn,[12]the prince that shall come,[13] the abomination of desolation,[14] and the beast.[15]

The identity of Antichrist will be revealed at the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation. Christians should not waste their time and effort trying to identify the one that will fill that role. Christians will not be on earth when he makes his appearance because the Church has been raptured at this time.[16] His appearance will go unnoticed by most of the world, but for those left behind who have some familiarity with biblical end-times prophecy, he will be recognized when he affirms a treaty that will bring peace to the nation of Israel. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Daniel 9:27, emphasis mine). This act begins the Tribulation in earnest for seven years (one week).

The first rider comes mounted on a white horse which symbolizes a conqueror. Notice that the rider holds a bow, but he carries no arrows. The crown he wears is a stephanos – a victor’s crown or wreath – that is “given” to him. He does not take it by force, but rather by diplomatic means. The Prophet Daniel describes him as a big talker: “And he shall speak great words against the most High” (Daniel 7:25). Through the eloquence of his speech, he convinces the rulers of ten nations to cede power to him, or perhaps they unilaterally agree that he is the best man for the job of ruling the world. He has a bow indicating military power, but the fact that he has no arrows suggests that he conquers without using the military power accessible to him.

Even now the world prepares for the coming of a one-world leader. One does not need to search very hard to hear the term “One-World” proclaimed by government leaders all over the world including those in our own “land of the free.” Our own government is little-by-little ceding the sovereignty of our nation to the United Nations. Recently, President Biden gave up authority to the World Health Organization (WHO). “These proposed amendments are written to strengthen the organization’s ability to unilaterally intervene into the affairs of nations merely suspected of having a ‘health emergency’ of possible concern to other nations. If these amendments are approved, the WHO will have the power to declare an ‘international health emergency,’ nullifying the powers of nation states.”[17]

For many years now, the U.N. has had plans in place to divide the world into 10 regions.[18] The cabal of the uber-rich elites of the world that gather in Davos, Switzerland, make up what is known as the World Economic Forum. This group has grand plans for setting up a one-world government, and they do not hide their intent. They publish their plans on their website[19] and offer access to their meetings on video which one can watch on their website.

The world is primed for Antichrist. The late Belgian Prime Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak once said, “We do not want another committee, we have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man, and be he god or devil, we will receive him”[20](emphasis mine)

The white horse is saddled and the rider is ready to mount. In a speech at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 1, 2021, Prince (now King) Charles, speaking on the topic of global warming, said, “Here we need a vast military-style campaign to marshal the global private sector. With trillions at his disposal far beyond global GDP, and with the greatest respect beyond even the governments of the world’s leaders, it offers the only real prospect of achieving fundamental economic transition”[21] (emphasis mine). Who is he that needs “trillions at his disposal”? Do the UN, the WEF, and the WHO already have a leader in mind waiting in the wings?

The Antichrist is already in the world and preparing to take his place in this great cosmic drama. We cannot know who he is. In fact, he probably does not know himself. However, the stage is being set. As we see all of these things falling into place, true Christians can know that our Lord and Savior will soon shout, “Come up here!” and we will rise to meet Him in the air. I am not looking for Antichrist, the rider on the white horse. I am looking for Jesus Christ. Are you ready to meet Him? If not, please read my page on “Securing Eternal Life.”