Bird's-eye view
In this sobering passage, the Lamb, Jesus Christ, opens the fourth seal of the scroll that represents His sovereign decree over history. With this action, the fourth and final horseman of the Apocalypse is unleashed upon the earth. This rider, explicitly named Death, brings with him a ghastly companion, Hades, and is given divine authority to execute a terrifying judgment upon a fourth of the earth. The judgments described here, sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts, are not random acts of chaos but are the classic, covenantal curses found in the Old Testament, particularly in places like Leviticus 26 and Ezekiel 14. This is God's formal response to covenant-breaking.
The key to understanding this passage, and indeed all the seals, is to recognize who is opening them. It is the Lamb who was slain, Jesus Christ Himself. These are not forces that have slipped God's control; they are the instruments of His just wrath, directed specifically against a rebellious world, and in the immediate context of Revelation, against apostate Jerusalem in the years leading up to its destruction in A.D. 70. This horseman represents the culmination of the previous three, gathering war, civil strife, and economic collapse into their ultimate result: widespread death. It is a grim picture, but one that powerfully asserts the absolute sovereignty of Christ over life, death, and history itself.
Outline
- 1. The Fourth Covenant Curse Unleashed (Rev 6:7-8)
- a. The Summons of the Fourth Living Creature (Rev 6:7)
- b. The Rider on the Pale Horse (Rev 6:8a)
- i. His Name is Death
- ii. His Companion is Hades
- c. The Scope and Instruments of Judgment (Rev 6:8b)
- i. Authority Over a Fourth of the Earth
- ii. The Fourfold Covenantal Curse
Context In Revelation
This passage is the fourth in the sequence of the seven seals, which occupy chapters 6 through 8. The opening of the seals by the Lamb is the central action that drives the first major section of the book's prophecies. These seals are not separate, unrelated events, but a cascading and intensifying series of judgments. The first horseman (conquest), the second (civil war), and the third (famine and economic hardship) all logically precede and contribute to this fourth horseman, Death. These initial four judgments form a distinct unit, often called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Their ride represents the preliminary judgments that God would bring upon the covenant-breaking Jewish nation prior to the final cataclysm of A.D. 70. This section serves as the historical and theological justification for the more intense trumpet and bowl judgments that will follow, all culminating in the destruction of "the great city," apostate Jerusalem, which had become a persecutor of God's people.
Key Issues
- The Sovereignty of Christ in Judgment
- The Identity of the Four Horsemen
- The Meaning of "Hades"
- The Old Testament Background of Covenant Curses
- The Preterist Interpretation of "a fourth of the earth"
- The Nature of God's Wrath
The Rider Named Death
It is crucial that we see these horsemen for what they are. They are not free agents. They are not chaos breaking its leash. They are emissaries sent by the enthroned Christ. Each seal is opened by the Lamb. Each horseman is summoned by one of the living creatures who surround the throne. This is a heavenly court proceeding. What we are seeing is the execution of a sentence, a verdict handed down. The world sees war, famine, and death and concludes that no one is in charge. The Christian with his Bible open knows that this is precisely the evidence that the right Person is in charge. God promised in His covenant with Israel that if they were obedient, they would have blessing, but if they were rebellious, He would send specific, escalating curses (Lev. 26; Deut. 28). One of the final sets of curses involves the sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beasts. This is not arbitrary; this is covenantal justice. Christ is not wringing his hands over the state of the world; He is ruling it with a rod of iron, just as the Father promised Him (Psalm 2).
Verse by Verse Commentary
7 And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.”
Once again, the action is initiated by the Lamb. Jesus Christ, the one found worthy to open the scroll, breaks the fourth seal. And as with the previous three, the summons comes from the throne room of God. One of the four living creatures, these mighty cherubim who attend the throne of God, issues the command. The command is not a suggestion; it is an imperial order. "Come." This demonstrates that the judgment about to be unleashed is not an accident of history but a direct and deliberate act of God's sovereign will. The entire created order, represented by these living creatures, is involved in executing the judgments of God. Heaven is in charge of what happens on earth.
8a Then I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and he who sits on it had the name Death, and Hades was following with him.
John looks, and what he sees is terrifying. The horse is described as pale. The Greek word is chloros, from which we get our word chlorine. It is the sickly, pale green color of a corpse, the color of decay and disease. This is the color of death. Unlike the other riders, this one is explicitly named. His name is Death. There is no ambiguity here. This rider embodies the final, grim result of the previous judgments. Conquest leads to war, war leads to famine, and all of it leads to death.
And he does not ride alone. Hades was following with him. Hades here is not Hell, the final lake of fire. The Old Testament equivalent is Sheol. Hades is the abode of the dead, the grave, the place where the spirits of the departed go to await the final judgment. So we have a picture of Death riding forth to claim the lives of men, and Hades following behind like a wagon, gathering up the souls of the slain. Death reaps the harvest, and Hades collects it. It is a comprehensive and dreadful picture of mortality unleashed.
8b Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.
Notice the critical phrase: Authority was given to them. Death and Hades are not rogue powers. Their authority is delegated, given to them from the throne. They can do nothing apart from the permission of the Lamb who opened the seal. Their jurisdiction is limited: "over a fourth of the earth." In the symbolic language of Revelation, "the earth" often refers to "the land," specifically the land of Israel, the theater of God's covenant dealings. This is not a global judgment at this stage, but a severe, regional judgment upon the covenant-breaking people. A fourth is a significant portion, a devastating blow meant to bring a people to their knees in repentance.
The instruments of this judgment are listed, and they should be immediately recognizable to any student of the Old Testament. Sword, famine, pestilence (the Greek word for "death" here often carries this meaning of plague), and wild beasts. This is the fourfold judgment of God threatened in Ezekiel 14:21 against Jerusalem for its idolatry. God is simply doing what He said He would do. He is bringing the curses of the covenant upon the people who broke the covenant by rejecting His Son. The "wild beasts" can refer to literal animals attacking people in a time of societal breakdown, but it also carries the symbolic weight of ravenous, beast-like political powers (like Rome) or the demonic frenzy that characterized the Jewish revolt.
Application
The fourth horseman is a grim figure, and our first reaction might be to recoil in fear. But for the Christian, the central lesson here is one of profound comfort. And that comfort is found in the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. The world we live in is full of death. We see it in wars, in famines, in pandemics, and in the violence that erupts in our cities. The unbeliever sees this and despairs, concluding that history is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. But we know that Death does not hold the reins. Christ does. Death is a rider on a horse, but he only rides when the Lamb gives the command.
This means that not one person dies apart from the sovereign decree of God. Not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from our Father's will. This does not make God the author of sin, but it does make Him the absolute ruler of all things, including the tragedies of this life. For the one who has taken refuge in Christ, death has lost its ultimate sting. The rider on the pale horse may be able to take our physical life, and Hades may receive our soul for a time, but they are both on a leash held by the one who said, "I am the resurrection and the life." Christ descended into Hades and plundered it, leading captivity captive. He holds the keys of Death and Hades (Rev 1:18).
Therefore, we are not to fear the chaos of the world. We are to fear God. And if we fear God, we need fear nothing else. These judgments in Revelation were poured out upon those who rejected the Messiah. For those of us who have embraced Him, the message is not one of terror, but of assurance. The one who directs the judgments of the world is the same one who loved us and gave Himself for us. Our King is on the throne, and He is working all things, even the ride of the pale horse, for the good of His people and the glory of His name.