"Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer."
(Revelation 6:1-2)
The first rider represents a satanic force attempting to defeat and oppress believers spiritually either through deception (the color white alluding to the attempt to deceive by imitating Christ and to appear as righteous, as in (2 Cor. 11:14) "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.", or persecution, or both. This first destructive rider, however, is sent out by Christ, for he is commanded forth by the angelic living creature, and a crown was given to him. Since the first set of four judgments of the trumpets and bowls are divinely commissioned, so must be all four of the horsemen's woes. This is confirmed from Zech. 6:7, where an angel of the Lord commands the four groups of horses to "go" and to execute divine judgment. Thus believers can have confidence that, in spite of their present sufferings, God is in ultimate control, working out His purposes in all that is happening. Satan, of course, is intent on destroying the church (and the world), but God's plan includes Satan pursuing his wicked purposes, because only through them can God work out His higher strategy of refining the saints and punishing the wicked.
(G.K. Beale)
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