Returning to Revelations. Friday, March 22, 2008 there was a column on the 6th Seal in the book of Revelations. When reading through that Book, and then rereading it a dozen or so times, one is struck with how hard it is to place any passage about the Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Vials into any specific period of time.
Saints and scholars have struggled with it for lifetimes. “God,”, I remember asking, “please give me a meaning for at least one of the Seals, Trumpets, or Vials so that I can put all of them into some kind of context.” The March 22 column describes an idea that came to me after my plea. It was reasonable, and showed how the Sixth Seal could be seen to describe events at the Crucifixion, Descent into Hell, and Resurrection.
IF that is an accurate portrayed, then we see that the opening of the First Seal, after which one of the animals called “Come!” and the rider of the White Horse appeared, armed with a bow, must have been before the Descent into Hell in approximately 33 B.C.
A bow fired by a single archer, as opposed to mass bowmen firing rapid volleys, usually fires an arrow at a specific target. He went on from “victory to victory”. It may be reasonably suggested that the Rider of the White Horse may have been the Spirit that calls some people to belief in God. The first person called to both belief and sacrifice was Abel. So, it may be plausibly suggested that the first arrow fired by the Rider of the White Horse was what called Abel to faith.
There are, to be sure, many interpretations of the Rider of the White Horse. I found 21 suggested meanings in a brief amount of research. Many studies of what the White Horse symbolized were accompanied by a great deal of study and effort.
Once we consider the likelihood of that explanation, we can move on to the Rider of The Red Horse. He, it will be remembered, was given a huge, two-edged sword with which he encouraged people to kill each other. That rider may symbolize the spirit of murderous rage that encouraged Cain to kill Abel, the first Scriptural record of murder.
