The Pale Horse of Death Revelation 6:8

After the worship scene in heaven where “the Lamb” of God received the “scroll” in God's right hand, the beginning of the tribulation began upon the earth and John the apostle “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. 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, and when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see”, and in chapter six and verse eight of Revelation John saw “a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death” where we read:

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

The verse reads, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.” John began with the words, “and I looked” which means “and John perceived, observed, noticed, discerned, discovered and inspected” “and behold” or “and lo and see” “a pale horse” which means “a horse that was verdant, dun-colored or yellowish pale and greenish”: “and his name” or “and the one's identity, rank, authority, interest, pleasure, command, excellence and deeds” “that sat on him” which means “who was seated, occupied and dwelt upon the pale horse” “was Death” or “separation of the soul and body by which the life on earth is ended”, “and Hell” which refers to “the grave” “followed” which means “joined in side with or accompanied the one who sat on the pale horse as his attendant” “with him” or “with the one who was seated upon the pale horse”. “The grave” accompanied “Death” which sat upon this fourth horse that was “pale” or “yellowish green” in color.

The verse goes on to say, “And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” John continued with the words, “and power” which means “permission, ability, strength and authority” “was given unto them” or “was granted to, bestowed upon, supplied and furnished to Death” “over the fourth part” or “on and in position against one quarter or fourth” “of the earth” which refers to “of the arable land, country, territory and region”, “to kill” or “to destroy, allow to perish, inflict mortal death and deprive of spiritual life and procure eternal misery in hell” “with sword” which means “with a large and long sword which was to be worn on the right shoulder or Thracian javelin”, “and with hunger” or “and with scarcity of harvest and famine”, “and with death” which means “separation of the soul and body by which the life on earth is ended”, “and with the beasts” or “with the wild, savage and ferocious animals” “of the earth” which refers to “the arable land, country, territory and region”. John saw how “power” was given to this “fourth rider upon the pale horse” to “kill” with his “sword, hunger, death and wild animals”.

When we consider John's words in this verse, we see this ominous fourth horse colored “pale”. Not only did “Death” ride upon him, but “hell” itself accompanied him as he rode. Destruction through the “sword, famine, death and wild animals” was to be unleashed upon one quarter of the earth's population. This devastation could have been avoided by those effected if they only had received God's Son Jesus Christ as their personal “Savior and Lord”. But, they rejected Him. They refused His offer of “grace” unto salvation for their sins, and now they were to suffer great “destruction” and “the grave” as well. May all who read these words take heed, and yield to Jesus before they receive the ruin of this “pale horse”.

Next time John shares what he saw, “he had opened the fifth seal”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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