The WHITE HORSE and its HORSEMAN/RIDER in Book of Revelation

White horse and its horseman

Understanding the book of Revelation with Afolabi Dollars (7)

PASTOR AFOLABI DOLLARS

“And I looked, and behold, a WHITE HORSE. He WHO SAT ON IT had a BOW; and a CROWN was GIVEN to him, and he went out CONQUERING and to CONQUER.” (Revelation 6:2)

Please, I’d like us to pay attention to the words/phrase I put in block letters in the above scripture in order for us to decode better the symbolism of the white horse and its horseman.

Our first focus is the WHITE HORSE.

I know we all have a fixed interpretation of what WHITE represents; righteousness, purity, divine, etc, but when it comes to vision, imageries/pictures must be interpreted within the context of the seer’s vision and their relationship to the existing realities around the seer.

From my explanation of THE DYNAMICS OF VISION that I discussed in my previous article, I established that the pictures/images shown to the seer in a vision are things he/she is familiar with in the natural world.
In ancient times in history, conquering kings or rulers would prance around on a WHITE HORSE whenever they conquer/triumph.

THE WHITE HORSE IS A SYMBOL OF DOMINION AND TRIUMPH because in biblical era, even John the seer is familiar with the fact that it’s customary for a conqueror, in order to emphasize his DOMINION, to ride in TRIUMPH on a WHITE HORSE, not red, black or any other color.

So, within the CONTEXT of John’s vision, the white horse represents DOMINION and TRIUMPH! This explains why John pointed out in the above scripture that the rider of the white horse went CONQUERING and TO CONQUER because he knows that a white horse means the absolute power TO CONQUER or TRIUMPH!
Now, let’s quickly analyse HE WHO SAT ON IT, also known as the RIDER or HORSEMAN.

There’s been a long time schism of Interpretations about who the Rider/Horseman is, the first category of interpreters concluded that this horseman of the white horse is the Antichrist, while those on the other side of the argument concluded that it is the Christ. You see, misrepresentation is what you get when you have a fixed interpretation/representation of images, instead of interpreting within the context of the seer’s vision.
What am I trying to say? don’t let your stereotyped understanding of the colour of the horse make you draw the conclusion that the HORSEMAN is Christ, as I do not see the symbolism of the white horse to be significant in referring to Christ.

To decode who/WHAT the HORSEMAN represent, our focus shouldn’t really be more on the colour of the horse, our focus should be very much more on the RIDER of the horse and the characteristics of this particular rider.
The white horse RIDER is NEITHER the Antichrist NOR Christ, and to understand that the rider/Horseman is not Christ, we need to decode that in the entire book of Revelation, there are only two white horses riders mentioned, the first is the one we are already checking out in chapter 6, the second is the one in chapter 19.
The RIDER of the white horse in chapter 19 is CHRIST, but the one in chapter 6 is definitely not Christ, though both riders have striking similarities but when you pay attention to the DISTINCTIONS between them, you’d rule out Christ as being the rider in chapter 6.

THE SIMILARITIES:

1) Both RIDERS are upon a white horse indicating DOMINION and TRIUMPH (Rev. 6:2, Rev. 19:11).

2) Both wear a crown (Rev. 6:2, Rev. 19:12).

3) Both are CONQUERORS-victorious in their pursuits (Rev. Rev. 6:2, Rev. 19:15).

THE DISTINCTIONS:
1) The RIDER in chapter 6 has a BOW, but Christ as the RIDER in chapter 19 has a SWORD.(Rev.6:2, Rev.19:15).

2) The RIDER in chapter 6 was given just a crown, but Christ as the RIDER in chapter 19 has many crowns.(Rev.6:2, Rev.19:12).

3) The RIDER in chapter 6 has no name, but Christ as the RIDER in chapter 19 has the NAME. He is FAITHFUL AND TRUE, THE WORD OF GOD! (Rev.19:11,13).

4) The RIDER in chapter 6 (in Fela’s voice) is a beast of no nation, but Christ as the RIDER in chapter 19 is followed by the armies in heaven also riding on white horses (Rev. 19:14).

5) The RIDER in chapter 6 sets forth at the BEGINNING of the TRIBULATION, but Christ as the RIDER in chapter 19 rides forth towards the END of the TRIBULATION.

Engaging a MUTATIS MUTANDIS on the above similarities and distinctions, it is clear that these two white horse RIDERS are not the same, Christ is the RIDER in chapter 19, but not the one in chapter 6!

Let’s go back to chapter 6 so that we can decode who/what our horseman represents.
This RIDER has a BOW in his hand. The bow as a weapon of war is a symbol of CONQUERING POWER, so putting into consideration the age/era and time John saw and wrote this vision, this RIDER/HORSEMAN with bow and crown represents the PERIODIC REIGN/RULE OF KINGS AND LORDS ON EARTH, such as the Roman emperors and the likes.

So putting into consideration our own age/era and time, the white horse and its rider therefore stands for the GOVERNING POWERS THAT BE, as in WORLD POWERS with a CONQUERING INFLUENCE/CONTROL on the world and its systems! For the sake of emphasis, the white horse and its rider represents earthly rule, political authority and dominion, which can easily become as part of the mechanism and major frame work for the possibility of the ANTICHRIST AGENDA by becoming THE THRONE/POWER OF INIQUITY THAT DEVISES EVIL USING THE LAWS/RULES! (Please check Psalm 94:20-23 from different translations)
Another Translation says “the corrupt THRONE that creates troubles by law”

We look into the RED HORSE and its HORSEMAN in my next article. Blessings be upon you.

#EndTimeFever
#TheVOICE