And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
And when he had opened the second seal – So as to disclose another portion of the volume. See the notes at Rev 5:1.
I heard the second beast say – The second beast was like a calf or an ox. See the notes at Rev 4:7. It cannot be supposed that there is any special significancy in the fact that the second beast addressed the seer on the opening of the second seal, or that, so far as the symbol was concerned, there was any reason why this living. creature should approach on the opening of this seal rather than on either of the others. All that seems to be designed is, that as the living creatures are intended to be emblems of the providential government of God, it was proper to represent that government as concerned in the opening of each of these four seals, indicating important events among the nations.
Come and see – See the notes on Rev 6:1.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 6:3-4
Another horse that was red; to take peace from the earth.
The cry of the world in selfishness
The red colour is the emblem of bloodshed, the destruction of life. It recalls the vision of Isaiah concerning the traveller from Edom, with dyed garments of Bozrah, or that later vision of St. John concerning the King of kings, who leads the armies of heaven, His vesture dipped in blood. 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. It is every man for himself–the spirit of selfishness. Let me draw for you a picture of yourself. You are a person with certain wants, natural and material–wants, that is to say, of those things which are needful for the support and well-being of your bodily life. You are a person with certain tastes, natural and intellectual, at least as necessary to the prosperity of your mind as food is to the prosperity of your body. You have also certain desires and aspirations which we may call natural and spiritual. Then, your life is surrounded by certain circumstances, which you may modify, but cannot possibly do away with. Amongst these circumstances are your fellow men and women. And these have wants and tastes and desires of their own; the wants may be identical with yours, in which case your neighbours possession of the things wanted may well interfere with your own possession of them. You are in each others way. Or your tastes and desires may be dissimilar, in which case you are liable to be irritated and outraged by contradiction. In any case you cannot go through life without having your path traversed every day by others, going their own way, regardless of you. Let us go further. You are supremely important to yourself, and you have been so from your childhood. See how a child thinks his own affairs the first, and at all moments thrusts upon your notice the thing which happens to be especially interesting to himself. And certainly in this we, grown men and women, cannot say that we have put away childish things. But this self-importance is a reasoning spirit. I am always present to myself, you say; I cannot get away from pain and discomfort and disappointment and the hundred ills that my flesh is heir to. I move through life, the centre of my own little world; it all concerns my happiness or misery; how, then, can I say that I am not supremely important to myself? I may stop at the requirements of my earthly life, or I may go further. I may be a religious sort of person. But is this realisation a cure for my selfishness? Alas, that one must answer, No! For the possible selfishness of the religious person is quite the strongest and most terrible form that selfishness assumes. Now, it is my own soul, my own eternal happiness, my own personal salvation. Look at your own life, at your own heart, and say, Is there nothing of this spirit in me? For, after all, this selfishness seems so natural. How can one help it, in the lower interests of the body–far, far less in the higher interests of the soul? How can one help it? The one thing to be sure of in this world of crossing interests is oneself. Surely St. Johns terrible vision is overdrawn. What has it to do with me, that blood-stained figure, with the great sword? Surely my harmless, natural, inevitable egotism does not look like that in heaven? But stay, and ask yourself, Why not? I am not alone in the world. A thousand million others are engaged in this strange dance of life, equally with me. Each one may be supreme unto himself. Each one has his own place; to him I am as he to me. And if this be so, what must result from it but one vast scene of conflict, world-wide and age-long? How shalt not peace be taken from the earth? How shall not men kill one another? How shall not the spirit of conflict, the dazzling horseman, with the bow and with the crown, go forth conquering and to conquer? It is the spirit of Jesus which is wanted here. And what is that? Go back to the thought of the great renunciation of the Son of God. Surely it is the everlasting condemnation of selfishness. Not the terrible vision of St. John, not the extremest picture of horror that mans mind can conceive, can ever delineate too fearfully the spirit which is set in such antagonism to the spirit of Jesus Christ. (A. H. Simms, M. A.)
The spirit of war
This vision of the blood-red horse corrects the idea which we might have entertained from the fact that the Prince of Peace had begun His reign. We should have supposed that the progress and triumphs of the gospel would at least have assured to the earth a deliverance from the miseries of war, but it is not so. Since the time of the first preaching of the gospel to the present moment, there have not been twenty years of continued peace amongst the nations and people with which, as we suppose, the various visions in this Book have to do. And this history of war is not occupied with the wars of Christians against heathen, but with the wars of professing Christians against one another. Before the Reformation, when all the Christians of Europe professed to belong to one Church, there was a constant state of warfare amongst them. Since then the state of war has been quite as continuous–not Protestants with Papists only, but Protestants among themselves. Thus in this country, on the murder of Charles I., an ultra-Protestant republic was established, and the very first thing it did was to go to war with the only Protestant republic then existing–the Dutch. In our own time also we have seen the most powerful republic in the world, a republic more Protestant or Evangelical than any other, engaged in a long and sanguinary civil war. So that we have before us this most remarkable fact, that for 1,800 years the Gospel of Christ and the Demon of War have ridden side by side. For the rider on the red horse does not himself war or fight. He is apparently engaged in stirring up strife in which he personally takes no part. He is no human tyrant or general, but, as it were, the embodiment of the Spirit of War, who has power given to him to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. (M. F. Sadler, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. The second beast] That which had the face of an ox.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The second seal; the second of those seven seals with which the book, mentioned Rev 5:1, was sealed.
The second beast; the beast like a calf, Rev 4:7.
Come and see; inviting John to attend.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. and seeomitted in thethree oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, and Vulgate.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when he had opened the second seal,…. Of the sealed book; that is, the Lamb, as before:
I heard the second beast say, come and see; this living creature was the ox, whose situation was on the west side of the throne, as the standard of Ephraim, on which was an ox, was on the west of the camp of Israel; no mention is made of the noise of thunder, as before, the voice of the ox being lower than that of the lion; and this perhaps may point out a decrease in the Gospel ministry; to fix on any particular person, as, with Grotius, the Evangelist Matthew, because he says, Mt 24:7, nation shall rise against nation, which carries in it some likeness to what is said at the opening of this seal; or, as with Brightman, Justin Martyr, whose second apology was not regarded by the emperor, is mere conjecture; the ministers of the Gospel are intended who lived under this seal, who, though they might not be strong and courageous like the lion, or their predecessors, yet were like the ox, laborious in preaching, and patient in suffering; and these are represented in this vision as inviting John to behold and observe the following hieroglyphic.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Opening of the Seals. | A. D. 95. |
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 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 next three seals give us a sad prospect of great and desolating judgments with which God punishes those who either refuse or abuse the everlasting gospel. Though some understand them of the persecutions that befel the church of Christ, and others of the destruction of the Jews, they rather seem more generally to represent God’s terrible judgments, by which he avenges the quarrel of his covenant upon those who make light of it.
I. Upon opening the second seal, to which John was called to attend, another horse appears, of a different colour from the former, a red horse, v. 4. This signifies the desolating judgment of war; he that sat upon this red horse had power to take peace from the earth, and that the inhabitants of the earth should kill one another. Who this was that sat upon the red horse, whether Christ himself, as Lord of hosts, or the instruments that he raised up to conduct the war, is not clear; but this is certain, 1. That those who will not submit to the bow of the gospel must expect to be cut in sunder by the sword of divine justice. 2. That Jesus Christ rules and commands, not only in the kingdom of grace, but of providence. And, 3. That the sword of war is a dreadful judgment; it takes away peace from the earth, one of the greatest blessings, and it puts men upon killing one another. Men, who should love one another and help one another, are, in a state of war, set upon killing one another.
II. Upon opening the third seal, which John was directed to observe, another horse appears, different from the former, a black horse, signifying famine, that terrible judgment; and he that sat on the horse had a pair of balances in his hand (v. 5), signifying that men must now eat their bread by weight, as was threatened (Lev. xxvi. 26), They shall deliver your bread to you by weight. That which follows in v. 6, of the voice that cried, 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, has made some expositors think this was not a vision of famine, but of plenty; but if we consider the quantity of their measure, and the value of their penny, at the time of this prophecy, the objection will be removed; their measure was but a single quart, and their penny was our sevenpence-halfpenny, and that is a large sum to give for a quart of wheat. However, it seems this famine, as all others, fell most severely upon the poor; whereas the oil and the wine, which were dainties of the rich, were not hurt; but if bread, the staff of life, be broken, dainties will not supply the place of it. Here observe, 1. When a people loathe their spiritual food, God may justly deprive them of their daily bread. 2. One judgment seldom comes alone; the judgment of war naturally draws after it that of famine; and those who will not humble themselves under one judgment must expect another and yet greater, for when God contends he will prevail. The famine of bread is a terrible judgment; but the famine of the word is more so, though careless sinners are not sensible of it.
III. Upon opening the fourth seal, which John is commanded to observe, there appears another horse, of a pale colour. Here observe, 1. The name of the rider–Death, the king of terrors; the pestilence, which is death in its empire, death reigning over a place or nation, death on horseback, marching about, and making fresh conquests every hour. 2. The attendants or followers of this king of terrors–hell, a state of eternal misery to all those who die in their sins; and, in times of such a general destruction, multitudes go down unprepared into the valley of destruction. It is an awful thought, and enough to make the whole world to tremble, that eternal damnation immediately follows upon the death of an impenitent sinner. Observe, (1.) There is a natural as well as judicial connection between one judgment and another: war is a wasting calamity, and draws scarcity and famine after it; and famine, not allowing men proper sustenance, and forcing them to take that which is unwholesome, often draws the pestilence after it. (2.) God’s quiver is full of arrows; he is never at a loss for ways and means to punish a wicked people. (3.) In the book of God’s counsels he has prepared judgments for scorners as well as mercy for returning sinners. (4.) In the book of the scriptures God has published threatenings against the wicked as well as promises to the righteous; and it is our duty to observe and believe the threatenings as well as the promises.
IV. After the opening of these seals of approaching judgments, and the distinct account of them, we have this general observation, that God gave power to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth, v. 8. He gave them power, that is, those instruments of his anger, or those judgments themselves; he who holds the winds in his hand has all public calamities at his command, and they can only go when he sends them and no further than he permits. To the three great judgments of war, famine, and pestilence, is here added the beasts of the earth, another of God’s sore judgments, mentioned Ezek. xiv. 21, and mentioned here the last, because, when a nation is depopulated by the sword, famine, and pestilence, the small remnant that continue in a waste and howling wilderness encourage the wild beasts to make head against them, and they become easy prey. Others, by the beasts of the field, understand brutish, cruel, savage men, who, having divested themselves of all humanity, delight to be the instruments of the destruction of others.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The second seal ( ). “The seal the second.” The white horse with his rider vanished from the scene bent on his conquering career.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
And see. Omit.
Had opened [] . Rev., rendering the aorist mow literally, opened.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
(THE SECOND SEAL DISCLOSED) v. 3, 4 The Red Horse Rides, Killing Begins
1) “And when he had opened the second seal,” (kai hote enoiksen ten sphragida ten deuteron) “And when he (the Lamb) opened or broke the second seal; the second of the seven heretofore concealed judgments, Rev 5:11; Eze 2:9-10; Dan 12:4.
2) “I heard the second beast say,” (ekousa tou deuterou zoon legantes) ‘I heard the second (of the four) living creatures saying, inviting,” Commanding or exhorting. These four living creatures, representing the redeemed from among the Gentile nations, who were never either in the church, or Israel’s covenant of worship and service, are used to announce pending deceit, craft, and judgment that is to fall on the earth in the tribulation, Rev 4:6-8.
3) “Come and see,” (erchou) “Come and observe, behold or see for yourself,” come, if you will, or of your own accord. And John beheld and wrote, Rev 1:19; Rev 22:16; Rev 22:18-19.
This chapter describes at length God’s final tribulation judgment upon rebellious man prior to the beginning of the Millennial reign. Tho details of judgment intensity are given on thru Rev 6:1 to Rev 19:21; This chapter leads to earthly kings’ confession “The great day of His wrath is come,” alluding to his terminating the battle of Armageddon in a rapid moving judgment holocaust, Rev 6:17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Strauss Comments
SECTION 16
Text: Rev. 6:3-4
3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. 4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Initial Questions Rev. 6:3-4
1.
The opening of the second seal revealed what Rev. 6:4?
2.
Who gave the rider permission to take peace from the earth Rev. 6:4?
3.
What does the great sword symbolize?
Rev. 6:3
The second seal was opened and the second living creature commanded that John come in order to see the content of the second seal.
Rev. 6:4
War is the content of this seal. And another horse went forth, a red horse (horse implied but not in text the horse was flame colored purros from pur fire) and to the one sitting on it was given (edoth 1 aor. ind. pass. the pass. voice means that someone else give or permitted him to take peace from the earth, and the aor. tense means that this power was given in a single act) to him to take peace out of (ek) the earth and in order that, (or for the purpose thatanother hina clause) they shall slay one another (reciprocal killingeach other), and a great sword was given (passive voice) to him. The word translated sword (machaira) is used in the Septuagint for the sacrificial knife used by Abraham (see Gen. 22:6; Gen. 22:10).
This condition of war is probably a precursor to Harmagedon (chp. 16). Jesus great discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world in Mat. 24:1-51 will provide much insight for this section of The Revelation. James speaks of the ultimate source of war (chp. Rev. 5:1 ff). Ours is an age when war has become normal. What does this say of the spiritual foundations of western civilization? Who is involved in this war mentioned in this verse Church against world, or nation against nation?
Note: War and Peace are two dominate themes in 20th century thought. The prophet of Israel taunted You cry Peace Peace, when there is no Peace. Men still cry peace, and we are participating in a most precarious peace. Shall evil or righteousness prevail? The Revelation was written to give the answer that righteousness shall prevail over persecution, pain, and war, because God in Christ won the victory over darkness. This is one of the central reasons for the resurgent relevance of The Revelation in our day. It is a book for times of crisis. (See Pedersens monumental work on Israel, Oxford University Press for an excellent analysis of the concept of peace in the O.T.)
Christ is the righteousness of God! The root of the Hebrew term for righteousness means three things: (1) righteous one; (2) innocent one; (3) victorious one. Christs victory stands in marked contrast to the grotesque, barbaric Greek understanding of victory. There shall be no Peace upon the face of the earth until the Prince of Peace reigns in every mortal heart. Peace cannot be brought about by a One World Government! If men want ultimate Peace, it is to be found in the wholeness of the holiness of God in Christ.
Review Questions
See Rev. 6:12-17.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(3, 4) And when he had opened . . .Better, And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living being, saying, Come. And there came forth another horse, red; and to him that sat on him was given to take peace from the earth, and that they (i.e., the inhabitants of the earth) shall kill one another, and there was given to him a great sword. This seal is the distinct and unmistakable declaration to the Church that they must look for wars, even after the Prince of Peace has come. The advent of the highest good does not work peace, but only because the hindrance is in man. Mans resistance to good turns the gospel of peace into an occasion for the sword. So our Lord declares, I came not to send peace, but a sword. The reign of peace, the beating of swords into ploughshares, is not yet. The vision may help to fix the Christian position about war. It is to be expected; it is an evil, but often an inevitable evil. Those who take part in war are not condemned: those who occasion offences are. It is as much a mistake to condemn soldiering as a profession as it is to deny that Christianity aims at the suppression of war. She admits the soldier to be a soldier of Christ, even while she keeps before her the ideal age when nations shall learn war no more. We expect wars, even while we believe that the day will come when war will be reckoned as absurd as duelling is now. The vision says, It must needs be that wars will come; and war, even when roused by the passions of men, is a judgment of God, for Gods judgments are mostly formed out of mans vices. The seal puts in pictorial form the warning of Christ that wars and rumours of wars would be heard of. How true the warning the after history showswars in the empire, wars among nations, controversies, and often fratricidal wars in the Church of Christ.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE RED HORSE – WAR AMONG NATIONS ( Rev 6:3-4 ).
To the red horse, the colour of blood, it was given to take peace from the earth, and he ‘is given’ a great sword. This great sword is in contrast to the sword which came from the mouth of the Son of Man (Rev 1:16). That one was the powerful word which aimed to bring peace and true judgment, the intent of this one is to make war and take peace from the earth. Thus he makes war and causes nation to rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Mat 24:6-7 and parallels). But once again, in the end it is God Who gave him the sword.
The sword is often seen as a symbol of judgment. In Eze 38:21-22 God says ‘and I will call for a sword against him — every man’s sword shall be against his brother’. This is linked in Ezekiel 38 with pestilence and blood, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone thus to some extent paralleling Revelation (Eze 38:22 compare Rev 7:7). Indeed the sword is seen as one of God’s sore judgments. ‘How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and famine, and the noisome beast and pestilence’ (Eze 14:21). These four sore judgments are clearly in John’s mind. False prophets preceded them, the sword is here, the famine comes next, followed by sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts with the pale horse. It is surely significant for the significance of the white horse that these judgments are preceded by ‘deceitful prophets’ (Eze 14:9-10). But the evidence from Jesus’ apocalyptic discourse is final.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Second Seal: The Red Horse – We read about the opening of the second seal in Rev 6:3-4. This second horseman comes forth on a red horse with power given to him to take away peace from the earth. The great sword that he holds represents great wars that will take place due to his powers.
1. The Red Horse as Islam – This could represent the second evil power that has manifested on the earth after Catholicism in the fourth century, which is Islam in the seventh century. This religion spreads its faith by conquering nations and killing all who oppose.
2. The Red Horse as Communism – Irvin Baxter, Jr. suggests that the red horse symbolizes the spirit of communism, which is known today as the “red” power. It is always accompanied with dictatorship. Today we have the countries under its influence called, “Red China, Red Russia, Red Romania, Red Yugoslavia and Red Poland”. Rev 6:4 describes this spirit as one that removes peace and causes people to kill one another. This spirit claims that a communistic form of government improves the lives of people. This is a clear description of how Communism spreads it power through an evil dictator. So the first horseman has gone forth to conquest while this second horseman follows and increases wars upon the earth. We can call this second horseman the man of war. [69] Communism brings the spirit of atheism. This spirit is also one that persecutes the Church because the two are not compatible in the same society.
[69] Irvin Baxter, Jr., A Message for the President (Richmond, Indiana: Endtime, Inc. 1986), chapter 3.
Rev 6:4 Comments – The great sword symbolizes a great amount of death that this horseman will bring.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Rev 6:3-4. And when he had opened the second seal, The second seal or period is noted for war and slaughter; and was proclaimed by the second living creature, which was like an ox, and had his station in the West: and in the account hereof, Bishop Newton, Lowman, &c. nearly agree. The second period, says the former, commenced with Trajan, who came from the West, being a Spaniard by birth, and was the first foreigner who was elevated to the imperial throne. In his reign, and that of his successor Adrian, there were horrid wars and slaughters, and especially between the rebellious Jews and the Romans. The Jews about Cyrene slew of the Romans and Greeks two hundred and twenty thousand men, with most shocking circumstances of barbarity; in Egypt and Cyprus two hundred and forty thousand more. But the Jews in their turn were subdued by Lucius and other generals sent against them by Trajan. These things were transacted in the reign of Trajan; andin the reign of Adrian was their great rebellion under their false Messiah, Barchochab, and their final dispersion, after fifty of their strongest castles, and nine hundred and eighty-five of their best towns had been demolished, and after five hundred and eighty thousand men had been slain by the sword, besides an immense multitude who had perished by famine, sickness, and other casualties; with great loss and slaughter too of the Romans, insomuch that the emperor forbore the usual salutations in his letters to the senate. Here was another illustrious triumph of Christ over hisenemies; and the Jews and the Romans, both the persecutors of Christians, were remarkably made the executioners of divine vengeance upon one another. The great sword and the red horse, Rev 6:4 are expressive emblems of this slaughtering and bloody period; and the proclamation for slaughter is fitly made by a creature like an ox that is destined for slaughter. This period continued during the reigns of Trajan and his successors, by blood or adoption, about ninety-five years. See 2Ki 3:23-24.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 6:3-4 . When the Lamb [2034] opens the second seal, John is again commanded, and this time by the second of the beings, to come; it is therefore presupposed, that after the vision of the first seal had ended, and the first image of a horseman had vanished, he had again withdrawn, and taken his original place. [2035] The form proceeding from the book of fate after the opening of the second seal ( , cf. Rev 6:2 ) is that of personified shedding of blood. This is so obviously indicated by the red color of the horse, [2036] whereby it was granted ( , cf. Rev 3:21 ) to take peace away from the earth with the effect of a slaughtering of one another by the dwellers upon earth, [2037] and by the corresponding emblem of a great sword which was given ( , cf. Rev 6:2 ), [2038] that expositors are united concerning the essential significance of the vision. [2039] The more accurate determination of the intention of the threatening manifestation is given partly from the words , and partly from the connection of the whole, decided already in the first sight of a seal. As does not mean “from the land of Judaea, and the places in which there were Jews,” [2040] certainly the vision as a prophecy post eventum cannot refer to the Jewish war, and the rapine and strifes of factions which occurred during its continuance, especially in Jerusalem. [2041] Since, on the other hand, because of the connection of . . . and , only the [2042] can be regarded as subject to ., who kill one another , those massacred cannot be Christians, i.e., the discourse cannot be in reference to the persecutions of Christians; for then also, in reference to the combination of the first four seal-visions, it is entirely arbitrary to assert that the last three horsemen occupy a hostile position towards the first. [2043] Incorrect, therefore, are all expositions which in the second seal-vision find the persecution of Christians; as well those specially expounding it, [2044] as those holding it more or less in general. [2045] On the contrary, as in Mat 24:7-8 , wars in the world are regarded as the first presage of the parousia of Christ, the , so there appears here the personification of the shedding of blood, which is to occur on earth in consequence of the Lord’s approach for the glorious and victorious end. Even sanguinary war serves the Lord at his coming. Believers, too, are of course alarmed by the which is thus proclaimed by the second seal-vision; [2046] but their Lord not only preserves them, but at the signs of his coming they are to be the more confident in their hope, since their redemption approaches. [2047]
[2034] Cf. Rev 6:1 .
[2035] Cf., also, Rev 6:5 ; Rev 6:7 . Ebrard.
[2036] Cf. 2Ki 3:22 ; LXX.: .
[2037] The with the ind. fut., in the epexegetical clause , . . ., stands in combination with , just as the after , Rev 3:9 .
[2038] It is to be noted how excellently the significant instrument, the , applies to the slaying which is announced ( ; cf. Rev 6:6 ).
[2039] Apart from individual, entirely untenable, arbitrary explanations, as in Alcasar.
[2040] Grot.
[2041] “Intestine dissensions, robbers, assassins, insurrection of Theudas,” etc., Wetst.; cf. Herder, Bhmer, also Eich., Heinr., etc.
[2042] Rev 3:10 .
[2043] “ Against the victorious and conquering Church, a red horse goes forth, i.e., an unfavorable populace, bloody from their rider, the Devil” (Beda).
[2044] e.g., N. de Lyra: “The red horse is the Roman people; the rider is Nero.”
[2045] e.g., Beda, Zeger, Calov.: “The red horse, an unfavorable people, an assembly of the godless; the rider is the Devil.” Cf. also Andr., Areth., Laun., Vitr., who regard the rider a personification of the Roman Empire, and suggest Decius and others; Stern, who, in the entire form of each personification, sees only the worldly power thirsting for the blood of Christians, etc.
[2046] Cf. Rev 3:10 .
[2047] Hengstenb., Ebrard, also Beng., Ew., De Wette.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
(3) And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. (4) 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.
Here we have the immediate effect of the opening of the second seal. And let not the Reader overlook, who it is that opened everyone of them. None but Christ could be found worthy. Oh! precious thought! All power is our Lord’s, in heaven, and in earth. He reigns, and rules over all. By a red horse, seems to imply blood. And, as power was given to him that sat thereon, to take peace from the earth, and there was given unto him a great sword; the matter seems plain enough, that where on his white horse, in the meekness and mildness of his Gospel-grace is not received, the judgments of peace are taken away, and blood-shedding shall succeed. And, in the history of the Church, as recorded from the time of Christ’s return to glory, to about the year of our Lord God 140, there were great slaughters took place in the empire. John, the beloved Apostle, died, it is supposed, about ten years after writing this Book of the Revelation. And if this book be dated, as is generally done, Anno 94, then it will follow, that John died Anno 104. Reader! pause over this seal, just to remark the plan of divine government. Christ on his white horse, if not redeemed, hath his judgments on others that follow. All must bend to his sceptre. He hath sworn to it with an oath. Isa 45:23 . How strong the words of the Psalmist. Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him, Psa 2:12 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
Ver. 3. Come and see ] John’s better attention is called for. How dull and drowsy are the best in perceiving and receiving heavenly mysteries! A sea coal fire, if not stirred up, will die of itself, so will our spark and spunk of light. Christ calls upon those that had come far to hear him, saying, “Let him that hath an ear hear,” Mat 13:9 ; cf. Zec 4:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3, 4 .] And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living-being saying, Come (see above on Rev 6:1 ). And there came forth another horse, red (the colour of blood: Song of Son 4 Kings Rev 3:22 , . The colour of the horse in each case has reference to the employment of the rider. Tertullian, de Spectaculis, 9, vol. i. p. 641, says: “russeum Marti consecraverunt”), and to him that sat upon him it was given (to him) to take away peace ( . not, as Elliott, “the peace left by the former seal,” for 1) the former seal neither implies nor leaves such peace, and 2) these four seals are strictly correlative, not consecutive on one another: but, peace in its entirety , the distributing , as the logicians say, the substantive. See for without the art., Mat 10:34 (peace, at all: any peace): Luk 2:14 (peace, in each particular case, under every circumstance), &c.: with the art., Rom 14:19 , . : Rom 15:33 , al., : Eph 2:14 , , &c.) out of the earth (generally, as ever: not, Juda, nor the Roman “orbis terrarum,” nor any special portion merely) and that they (men: the inhabitants of the earth) shall kill (the pregnant future after not only imports the result of purpose, but includes also matter of fact, “that they may which they also shall;” see Winer (edn. 6, 41 b. 1. b), who however inteprets it as expressing duration (?), whereas the aor. denotes rapid transition) one another: and there was given to him a great sword (the key to the interpretation of this seal is to be found in Mat 10:34 , : see also Luk 12:51 . It represents to us the taking away of peace from the earth, the slaying one another, the reign of the sword, as one of the destined concomitants of the growing and conquering power of Christ, and one of the world-long and world-wide preparations for His coming. Observe, all limitations of this meaning are wrong: whether to the persecutions of the Christians, or to any period of time, ancient or modern. The above was the most ancient interpretation; e. g. we have in Victorinus, “Equus roseus et qui sedebat super eum habens gladium. bella sunt significata futura, ut legimus in Evangelio, Surget enim gens contra gentem,” &c., Mat 24:7 ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 6:3-4 . The second seal opened : A swordsman representing (red = martial colour) war and bloodshed, “is permitted to make men slay one another”. The allusion to the merciless weapon (Plut. de Iside , 11) of the sword as Rome’s national arm thus places the Parthian and Roman empires side by side ( generally, not Judaea in particular), but the vision of war is also connected directly with the two following visions of famine (Rev 6:5-6 ) and mortality (from pestilence, 7, 8). The seven punishments drawn up by rabbinic theology ( Pirke Aboth , Rev 6:11 f.) were: three kinds of famine, pestilence, noisome beasts, and captivity or exile.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 6:3-4
3When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” 4And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
Rev 6:4 “another, a red horse” This is an allusion to some kind of military slaughter.
“a great sword was given to him” This was the small Roman sword called “machaira.” It was worn on the belt of Roman soldiers and was used for capital punishment of Roman citizens (cf. Rom 13:4). The phrase “men would slay one another” is interesting because in the OT this is one of the means YHWH used to defeat His people’s enemies (cf. Jdg 7:22; 1Sa 14:20; 2Ch 20:22).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
had. Omit.
say = saying, Rev 6:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
3, 4.] And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living-being saying, Come (see above on Rev 6:1). And there came forth another horse, red (the colour of blood: Song of Solomon 4 Kings Rev 3:22, . The colour of the horse in each case has reference to the employment of the rider. Tertullian, de Spectaculis, 9, vol. i. p. 641, says: russeum Marti consecraverunt), and to him that sat upon him it was given (to him) to take away peace ( . not, as Elliott, the peace left by the former seal, for 1) the former seal neither implies nor leaves such peace, and 2) these four seals are strictly correlative, not consecutive on one another: but, peace in its entirety, the distributing, as the logicians say, the substantive. See for without the art., Mat 10:34 (peace, at all: any peace): Luk 2:14 (peace, in each particular case, under every circumstance), &c.: with the art., Rom 14:19, . : Rom 15:33, al., : Eph 2:14, , &c.) out of the earth (generally, as ever: not, Juda, nor the Roman orbis terrarum, nor any special portion merely) and that they (men: the inhabitants of the earth) shall kill (the pregnant future after not only imports the result of purpose, but includes also matter of fact, that they may which they also shall; see Winer (edn. 6, 41 b. 1. b), who however inteprets it as expressing duration (?), whereas the aor. denotes rapid transition) one another: and there was given to him a great sword (the key to the interpretation of this seal is to be found in Mat 10:34, : see also Luk 12:51. It represents to us the taking away of peace from the earth, the slaying one another, the reign of the sword, as one of the destined concomitants of the growing and conquering power of Christ, and one of the world-long and world-wide preparations for His coming. Observe, all limitations of this meaning are wrong: whether to the persecutions of the Christians, or to any period of time, ancient or modern. The above was the most ancient interpretation; e. g. we have in Victorinus, Equus roseus et qui sedebat super eum habens gladium. bella sunt significata futura, ut legimus in Evangelio, Surget enim gens contra gentem, &c., Mat 24:7).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rev 6:3-4
2. THE SECOND SEAL OPENED
Rev 6:3-4
3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come.–The language here is substantially the same as that used to describe the opening of the first seal. See notes on verse 1.
4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth,–Concerning see the horse notes on the significance of the term verse 2. The language of this seal indicates the same general idea as the first–it represents a period of war, though in some respects it is different in its results. If we were correct in the conclusion that the first symbol referred primarily to the Roman Empire, then this one should be applied in the same way. The reasoning on this point given under the first seal will apply here equally as well. The reader is referred to that. The word red would naturally suggest carnage–excessive bloodshed and disastrous war. This is confirmed by the expression “slay one another,” found in the following verse. It is further confirmed by the words that the rider of the red horse was “to take peace from the earth.” While the first seal indicated warfare, it was a successful period for the empire. Trajan’s victories had extended Rome’s borders and brought many weaker nations in subjection to its authority. It was a time of great prosperity and internal peace. The margin says “the peace” which implies that the peace they had was to be destroyed in the time indicated by the second seal. This conclusion is further sustained by the statement that peace was to be taken “from the earth.” Since the symbol had to do with matters that would affect the church, and the church was scattered throughout the Roman Empire, the term “earth” meant that part of the world subject to Rome.
and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.–This symbol represents internal strife; the fighting was to be among themselves. They were to kill each other. In this particular the warfare of this seal was very different from that of the first. To the rider here was given a great sword. This is the full and final proof that this seal refers to warfare. The rider of the white horse in Rev 19:15 also had a sword, but it proceeded “out of his mouth,” and could not therefore mean a literal sword, but his words. In the symbol of the second seal the great sword was “given unto him.” This furnishes another reason why the rider in these seals does not referto Christ.
It is again suggested that the rider of the horse need not refer to any special emperor, but rather to the ruling power, whoever the ruler might be, for a period of time when the general facts stated may have found their counterpart in Roman history. If the preceding reasoning is correct, it would have to come after the time covered by the reigns of the “five good emperors.” The two symbols are too clearly different to refer to the same period of time. Historians describe this period as one of almost continuous civil warfare. Sismondi’s Fall of the. Roman Empire, Vol. 1, p. 36, says “With Commodus commenced the third and most calamitous period. It lasted ninety-two years, from 192 to 284. During that period thirty-two emperors and twenty-seven pretenders alternately hurled each other from the throne by incessant civil warfare. Ninety-two years of almost incessant civil warfare taught the world on what a frail foundation the virtue of the Antonines had placed the felicity of the empire.”
In the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. I, chapters IV to XII, Gibbon gives the history of this period in much detail. He shows that of these more than thirty emperors all were murdered except a very few. He also says there were nineteen pretenders in the reign of Gallienus who ruled from A.D. 260 to 268. Regarding this part of the period Gibbon says “Such were the barbarians, and such the tyrants, who, under the reigns of Valerian and Gallienus, dismembered the province, and reduced the empire to the lowest pitch of disgrace and ruin, from whence it seemed impossible that it should ever emerge.” (Vol. I, p. 326.)
No effort is here made to apply the symbol to the reign of any one emperor, such being unnecessary, but the general facts of that period, as history presents them, are such as fit the demands of the case. Certainly the rulers slew one another with the sword, and the peace and prosperity of the Roman Empire during the preceding century were taken away. This is all that is necessary to show that this symbol could refer to this period of Rome’s civil warfare.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
beast living creatures. (See Scofield “Eze 1:5”).
Come and see Come! Omit “and see.” So Rev 6:1; Rev 6:5; Rev 6:7.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Rev 6:1, Rev 4:7
Reciprocal: Jer 15:2 – for death Rev 6:7 – General Rev 8:1 – And Rev 10:2 – a little
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 6:3. At the breaking of each of the first four seals the event was announced by one of the four beasts (or creatures). Come and see means to call the attention of John to what was about to be revealed.
Rev 6:4. The next horse was red which denotes bloodshed. Accordingly the rider was given power to take peace from the earth. This was fulfilled by the persecutions the Roman Empire began to wage against the Christians when their teaching began to show up with greater success.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verses 3-4.
The red horse (second seal)–Rev 6:3-4.
The color of each horse corresponds to the mission of its rider. In the symbol of colors red stands for bloodshed; the rider was the persecutor waging war against Christ and his church. This rider had power, and political authority, to take peace from the earth. This symbolized the dwelling place of the nations. The statement that they should kill one another, meant the war of the Jews against Jews, their own flesh and blood kindred. This phase of events was described in Mat 24:10 in foretelling the Jewish persecutions, the hostilities of the unbelieving Jews against their Jewish kinsmen who professed faith in Christ.
And there was given unto him a great sword. To the rider of the red steed of bloodshed and war, a great sword was given, in contrast with the bow, signifying a closer, bitter, relentless and bloody struggle. It was an intensified view of the events in successive symbols.
The sword has connotations of both civil authority and military might. Even when it is used as a metaphor for the word of God it is a function of war against sin in the soul and the rebellion of the heart against the will of God. (Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12) Moses used the sword as a metaphor of war. “I will punish you for your sins, I will bring the sword upon you,” (Lev 26:24-25), which meant that God would cause war to come upon them. “Ye shall be delivered into hands of enemies,” he said. Paul used the sword to signify the authority of government. “For he beareth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” (Rom 13:4) God has ordained the rightful power of government to punish evildoers and defend the good. Jesus used the sword to symbolize capital punishment. “Put up thy sword into its place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” (Mat 26:52) They that take the sword by their own authority, assuming unto themselves the prerogative of vengeful justice, deserve to be put to death by the sword of authority. It is stated in Gen 9:6 : “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” That was and yet is the universal law of requital.
The great sword given to the rider of the red horse was not the sword of government, but the sword of persecution. It was a “great” sword in significance, the survival of the church was involved, the gospel was at stake. It was great in extent–the whole Jewish and Roman world were drawing the sword against the church. It was a great sword in effect–resulting in the martyrdom of the followers of Christ, who would not yield to the coercion of conscience, when their testimony for the truth was sealed by the blood of witnesses; who trusted to the power of the truth, against the sword of persecution, for the success of the cause of the Lamb; and for the universal expansion of Christianity through the blood of its adherents.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 6:3-4. The second horse is red, the colour of blood (comp. 2Ki 3:22); and he and his rider appear in answer to the second cry Come. In this seal Jesus comes just as He came in the victory of the first seal; but He comes in war and with the sword. There are two ways in which the warfare may be viewed. It may be the struggle of light with darkness and of truth with error, the opposition awakened by the faithful proclamation of the Gospel, and deepened into fiercer enmity as the Gospel makes progress in the world, the contest spoken of by our Lord in Mat 10:34-36. Were this the struggle alluded to, the war represented by the second rider would be that between the world and the Church, an opposition shaping itself into many other forms than those of the march of infantry or the thunder of artillery. But the words of Rev 6:4 forbid this interpretation. The war there thought of is not between the Church and the world, but between different portions of the world itself. The earth out of which peace is taken is the ungodly world, and the slaughtering of which we read is not produced by the attacks of the wicked on the good, but by those of the former on one another. War, in short, is here represented as one of the curses or judgments which a world that will not accept the rule of the Prince of peace brings upon itself. It rejects those principles by which alone security and peace can be enjoyed. It yields to its own evil passions, and the sword and the battlefield are the result. In the midst of all this nothing is said of what shall be the condition of the righteous. By and by we shall hear more of them. In the meantime, with the first vision in our mind, we may rest in the assurance that they are safe in the hollow of their Redeemers hand. Before passing on it may be well to notice the extremely peculiar language in which the effect of the wars here alluded to is described in the second of the three clauses of the description, and that they should slaughter one another. The verb is the sacrificial word already met by us in chap. Rev 5:6, and it appears to be chosen for the purpose of bringing out the irony of Gods dealings with those who reject His Son. They will not flee to the slaughtered Lamb, taking advantage of His sacrifice. In the righteous judgment of God, therefore, sacrifice of another kind shall be required of them: they shall slaughter one another. Their mutual and fratricidal war is a coming of Jesus to judgment. Compare Isa 34:6, The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The second seal opened did represent to St. John’s visionary view a red horse, of a bloody colour; denoting first the dreadful execution of God’s wrath upon the Jews, embroiling the land with wars, divisions, bloodshed, unpeaceable tumults, killing and ruining one another, to which purpose he apprehended that he saw a sword in his hand that rode upon this horse, signifying the great slaughter which would be committed by the Jews upon one another.
Others, secondly, by this red horse understand the bloody Roman emperors, Nero, Trajan, &c., and the persecution which the primitive church underwent in their days. Eusebius relates, that so fierce was their rage against the poor Christians, that a man might see cities full of dead bodies, old and young, men and women, cast out naked, without any reverence of persons, or regard to sex.
From hence we may learn, What little reason the Christian church has to think strange of the fiery trial, as if some strange things happened unto them; when as we see all the rage and cruelty, all the blood and violence, which the Christian church has fallen under in the several ages of it, have been from the beginning revealed and prophetically foretold.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
At the opening of the second seal, a red horse came forth. Its rider was empowered to take peace from the earth. He carried a short sword, like the one used by Roman soldiers. The word for “kill” is the same as the one translated “slain” in Rev 5:6 ; Rev 6:9 , and may therefore indicate the terrible bloody persecution which followed the preaching of the gospel. ( 2Ti 3:12 ; Mat 10:34-39 )
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 6:3-4. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature Which was like an ox, and had his station toward the west; say, Come and see As the former had done when the first seal was opened; and there went out another horse that was red Seeming to betoken great slaughter and desolation by approaching wars: and to him that sat thereon was given to take peace from the earth In the year 75, Vespasian had dedicated a temple to Peace: but after a time we hear no more of peace; all is full of war and bloodshed. According to Bishop Newton, this second period commences with Trajan, who came from the west, being a Spaniard by birth, and was the first foreigner who was elevated to the imperial throne. In his reign, and that of his successor, Adrian, there were horrid wars and slaughters, and especially between the rebellious Jews and Romans. Dion relates, that the Jews about Cyrene slew of the Romans and Greeks two hundred and twenty thousand men, with the most shocking circumstances of barbarity. In Egypt also, and in Cyprus, they committed the like barbarities, and there perished two hundred and forty thousand men more. But the Jews were subdued in their turn by the other generals and Lucius, sent against them by Trajan. Eusebius, writing of the same time, says, that the Jews, inflamed, as it were, by some violent and seditious spirit, in the first conflict gained a victory over the Gentiles, who, flying to Alexandria, took and killed the Jews in the city. The emperor sent Marius Turbo against them, with great forces by sea and land, who, in many battles, slew many myriads of the Jews. The emperor also, suspecting that they might make the like commotions in Mesopotamia, ordered Lucius Quietus to expel them out of the province, who, marching against them, slew a very great multitude of them there. Orosius, treating of the same time, says, that the Jews, with an incredible commotion, made wild, as it were, with rage, rose at once in different parts of the earth. For throughout all Libya they waged the fiercest wars against the inhabitants, and the country was almost desolated. Egypt also, Cyrene, and Thebais they disturbed with cruel seditions. But in Alexandria they were overcome in battle. In Mesopotamia also war was made upon the rebellious Jews by the command of the emperor. So that many thousands of them were destroyed with vast slaughter. They utterly destroyed Salamis, a city of Cyprus, having first murdered all the inhabitants. These things were transacted in the reign of Trajan; and in the reign of Adrian was their great rebellion, under their false Messiah Barchochab, and their final dispersion, after fifty of their strongest castles, and nine hundred and eighty-five of their best towns had been demolished, and after five hundred and eighty thousand men had been slain by the sword, besides an infinite number who had perished by famine and sickness, and other casualties; with great loss and slaughter too of the Romans, insomuch that the emperor forbore the usual salutations in his letters to the senate. Here was another illustrious triumph of Christ over his enemies; and the Jews and the Romans, both the persecutors of the Christians, were remarkably made the dreadful executioners of divine vengeance upon one another. The great sword and red horse are expressive emblems of this slaughtering and bloody period, and the proclamation for slaughter is fitly made by a creature like an ox, that is destined for slaughter. This period continued during the reigns of Trajan and his successors, by blood or adoption, about ninety-five years.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6:3 And {3} when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
(3) The second sign joined with words of declaration (after the express calling of John as before) is, that God being provoked to wrath by the obstinacy and hard heartedness of the world, not repenting for the former plague: as setting on the same at hand, will cause disputes among men, and will destroy the inhabitants of this world, by the swords of one another.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The second seal 6:3-4
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
When the Lamb broke the second seal on the scroll, John heard the second living creature order the second horseman forward.
Beale believed the disasters represented by the opening of each seal are simultaneous throughout the church age, not sequential occurrences, for either the purification of believers or for the punishment of believers’ persecutors. [Note: Beale, pp. 370-72.] They began, he believed, after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, and they will end at His second coming. Conquest, both literal and spiritual, has led and will lead to civil unrest, which has led and will lead to famine, which has led and will lead to death.