Red Horse: Turmoil of War

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

Revelation 6:4

Red is the color of blood. The rider on the red horse may represent social unrest, civil war, and revolution. The second rider of the Seven Seals holds a large sword and can take peace from the earth, paving the way for people to kill each other. The Lord Jesus prophesied that before His return, “nation will rise against nation” (Matthew 24:7). “Power was given to the one who rode it” indicates that all authority granted is by God’s permission. God allows people to kill each other (Zechariah 14:13; Isaiah 19:2), using history to judge history, and allowing people to judge themselves.

The word “sword” (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12) refers to a short knife worn at the waist (John 18:10) or a sword (Romans 13:4). It was not the primary weapon in warfare at that time but was suitable for creating internal turmoil, “taking peace from the earth and causing people to kill one another.“

From 235 to 284 AD, the Roman Empire encountered civil war, division, the Plague of Cyprian, foreign invasions, and economic collapse, nearing its breaking point. This period is historically known as the Crisis of the Third Century. Due to humanity’s sinful nature, people are their own greatest enemies. Therefore, any effort to build a utopian world will ultimately result in division, as seen in the Tower of Babel. Throughout history, powerful regimes have often been destroyed not by external enemies, but by their own internal failures. Thus, we should not exalt any particular political system. When Christ initiates spiritual warfare through the preaching of the Gospel, evil forces will inevitably resist stubbornly. Persecution will also certainly follow. The rider on the horse does not initiate the killing. Rather, when he takes peace from the earth, it will inevitably lead to the rise of persecution.