"When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword."
(Revelation 6:3-4)
Whereas the first horseman introduces the attempt of Satan to gain dominion over the world, the second horseman seeks to take peace from the earth by stirring up strife and warfare among the world's nations. This includes persecution of believers, as the allusion is to Jesus' warning to His disciples that His coming would bring not peace but a sword to the world (Matt. 10:34). The point of the Mathew text is that Jesus' followers should not be discouraged from confessing His name to the world when persecution comes, since such persecution is part of God's sovereign will. Their faithfulness amidst oppression may result in loss of their physical lives, but it will also result in the salvation of their spiritual lives (so Matt. 10:28-39). The gospel itself produces peace, but the attack of Satan upon its progress leads to war. The phrase that men should slay one another points to the persecution of believers, for the word slay is used otherwise in Revelation only to refer to the deaths of Christ and His followers.
(G.K. Beale)
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