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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_6:1-2
1Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come." 2I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Rev_6:1 "when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals" This verse shows the connection between chapters 5 and 6. These seals are broken before the book is read, so many interpreters have assumed that they are representative of problems that occur in every age (cf. Mat_24:6-12). However, because of the growing intensity of the judgments, some see these as immediately preparatory to the end of the age. Here is the interpretive tension between the kingdom as present and future. There is a fluidity in the NT between the "already" and the "not yet." The book of the Revelation itself illustrates this tension. It was written for the persecuted believers of the first century (and every century) and yet prophetically addresses the last generation of believers. Tribulations are common in every age!
The seventh seal is the seven trumpets and the seventh trumpet is the seven bowls. As has been noted, each is more intense than the previous one. The first two are redemptive in purpose. They basically demonstrate that God's judgment is just because unbelievers will not repent, so the last cycle (i.e., bowls) have no opportunity for repentance, only judgment! But it seems to me that the sixth seal and the sixth trumpet describe the end of the age. Therefore, these are synchronous in nature and not chronologically sequential.
The one Second Coming is discussed three times, at the end of the seals (cf. Rev_6:12-17) and trumpets (cf. Rev_11:15-18), and not just at the end of the bowls in Rev_16:17-21 and again in Rev_19:11-21. This is the structural pattern of the book. It is an apocalyptic drama in several acts! See Introduction to Revelation, C.
▣ "one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder" The four living creatures, like the elders, are levels of angelic creation. This voice, like thunder, is also mentioned in Rev_14:2; Rev_19:6.
▣ "'Come'" This term means either "come" or "go forth." The text of the ancient Greek uncial manuscript Sinaiticus ( à ) adds "and see" (cf. KJV, NKJV, which wold refer to John), but Alexandrinus (A) has only "come" (which would refer to the four horses). UBS4 gives this shorter form a "B" rating (almost certain). In context this command (present imperative) does not refer to John or the church, but to the four horsemen (cf. Rev_6:3; Rev_6:5; Rev_6:7).
Rev_6:2 "I looked, and behold, a white horse" This context is an allusion to Zec_1:8 (the four horses) and Zec_6:1-8 (the four chariots). There has been much discussion about the identity of this horseman. The interpretations range all the way from Jesus (Irenaeus) to the anti-Christ. With that kind of confusion, dogmatism is inappropriate. Some believe that it refers to Christ because of a similar description found in Rev_19:11-21, but the only similarity seems to be the color of the horse. Others see this as a reference to the spreading of the gospel. This is because they see these chapters as paralleling the Olivet discourse of Matthew 24; Mark 13, and Luke 21. Therefore, this is assumed to be a reference to Mat_24:14 and Mar_13:10.
It has even been proposed, based on Ezekiel 39, that this refers to Gog leading his troops against God's people. This would symbolize the end-time anti-Christ (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2). It seems highly unusual that an angel could command Jesus to come. Although Jesus wears a crown in chapters 6 and 19, the Greek words to describe these crowns are different. There, Jesus is called "faithful and true," but not here. The conquest of the rider is not described at all. The rider is described as having a bow in chapter 6, but in chapter 19, Christ has a double edged sword in His mouth, therefore, the similarity is far overshadowed by the differences. This may be just one of the plagues of the OT. These plagues, which are an allusion to Leviticus 26 and Eze_14:21, are spelled out in Rev_6:8. White was not only a color symbol for righteousness, but also a Roman symbol of military victory. Roman generals who had been victorious in battle rode in a chariot through the streets of Rome pulled by four white horses.
▣ "and he who sat on it had a bow" The bow was the weapon of choice of the feared mounted archers of the Parthian Hordes (who rode on white horses). The bow is often used in the OT to describe YHWH as Warrior (cf. Psa_45:4-5; Isa_41:2; Isa_49:2-3; Hab_3:9; Zec_9:13 and possibly Gen_9:13). There are also examples of YHWH judging other nations in the metaphor of His breaking their bow (cf Psa_46:9; Jer_51:56 and Hos_1:5).
▣ "a crown was given to him" This is a "stephanos" crown, meaning a victor's crown, while the one mentioned in Rev_19:11 of Christ is a "diadema," a royal crown.
▣ "he went out conquering and to conquer" The symbols in Rev_6:1 are of war and conquest. Because the first and second horsemen are described with similar purposes, some see this first one as a war of conquest and the second as a civil war. This is speculation, but the two horses are somehow parallel.