And I looked when the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder: “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and the one sitting upon it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and that he might conquer. Revelation 6: 1, 2

Today’s popular Christian view is that the white horse and its rider represent Antichrist. The thought is based on some of the Old Testament scripture that shows the bow as a symbolic enemy against God’s people (Jeremiah 49: 35; Ezekiel 39: 3). Plus, proponents of this view need for the rider to be thought of as Antichrist; this, so as to fit their secret rapture/left behind narrative.

I believe in another view; a view that has roots in the consistency of the book of Revelation. In it, the color white is always a symbol that refers to Christ (white hair), His followers (white garments, robes), or of spiritual victory (receiving white stones). Christ returns on a white horse with heaven’s army that’s also clad in white and ride white horses (19: 11, 14). Moreover, God’s throne is white (20: 11). There are many more examples of white standing for purity and righteousness. Nowhere in the book does white refer to evil.

My view also springs from knowledge that although the bow is sometimes used as a war symbol against God’s people in the Old Testament, God also refers to it as His own symbolic weapon (Psalms 45: 3-5; Lamentations 2: 4; Habakkuk 3: 8, 9; Zechariah 9: 13).

As for the rider’s crown, the Greek word for that crown is stephanos. Stephanos is not a royal crown but is a crown symbolizing victory; like the garland crowns given to victors in the Olympic games. With one exception (9: 7), Revelation repeatedly uses stephanos in reference to Christ or His people as over-comers (2: 10; 3: 11; 4: 4; 6: 2; 12: 1;14: 14).

This evidence indicates that the rider represents Jesus, The horse represents God’s people. Together, it is a representation of Jesus’ victory at the cross, and the victorious spreading of His gospel. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, there was rapid growth. Through the Spirit, Christ goes forth overcoming and that He might overcome by winning human hearts.

Christ, though, is not yet this world’s undisputed ruler. Many people in many lands continue to oppose Him. But at some point, all these powers will be abolished and placed under His feet (1 Corinthians 15: 24, 25). At that time, He will then wear the royal crown as King of kings and Lord of lords.

This white horse/rider event, then, can be looked at as the expansion of Christianity from the apostolic period through today to the Second Coming. And this statement is crucial in understanding the four horses’ role in history. Crucial because some would have us think the horses and their riders appear in a consecutive order, namely because they are numbered as the first, second, third, and fourth.

But those numbers are only presented so as to help us understand which horse/rider is being spoken of. The truth of the matter is that the horse/riders don’t appear consecutively, but instead concurrently in every age throughout history. Surely that can be recognized in today’s age.