And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Revelation 6:1-2
John first sees Jesus Christ take the scroll from the Father and open the first seal; an angel tells John to come and look. John then sees a rider on a white horse wearing a crown and holding a bow. Many have carelessly assumed that the rider is Christ, since Revelation 19 describes the returned Christ riding a white horse. But in fact this is the false prophet. Beginning in Revelation chapter six, we will get a detailed look at the judgments of God. Jesus Christ opens the seals of the scroll and pronounces judgment upon the earth.
These seal judgments are the wrath of the Lamb.

White Horse: Conquest
The rider on the white horse in Revelation 6:2 is the first of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. This is the antichrist who is coming to conquer the world.
Although many have suggested that this rider is Jesus Christ, a closer look reveals that the rider in Revelation 6 is an impostor. Jesus Christ, in Revelation 19, also returns on a white horse, but he returns with the sword of his mouth, while the antichrist carries a bow. Christ wears the diadema crown, while the antichrist wears the stephanos, an earthly victor’s crown.
Second Thessalonians 2 tells us more about this end-time false prophet. He will make blasphemous claims, proclaiming his divinity and demanding worship, and will work miraculous signs through satanic power. Also read Matthew 24:5. When this final false prophet arises on the world scene, true Christians will be able to recognize exactly where we are in the scope of prophecy.

Red Horse: War
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 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.
Revelation 6:4

During the tribulation, war will characterize the world situation. The second horse is red, and its rider represents war. The rider on the red horse may remind us of the crafty military-political leader who will emerge on the scene in Europe, undoubtedly claiming to be a man of peace. He will launch preemptive strikes and wars in the Middle East and even against America and our allies in Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In close alliance with the false prophet, this great military-political leader (called “the Beast” in Revelation 13 and elsewhere) will seek to dominate and control all nations.

Black Horse: Destruction and Famine

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. 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.
Revelation 6:5-6
This passage introduces the black horse of destruction and famine. During the tribulation the economy of the world will be in a situation where it will require a day’s pay to buy a loaf of bread.
Soon after this dramatic upsurge in global and warfare, these events will combine with terrible weather upsets to produce massive food shortages and famine. While basic foodstuffs (symbolized by barley and wheat) will be sold only in small amounts for vastly inflated prices, luxury items (symbolized by the wine and oil) will still be available for the wealthy.
The denarius, or penny, was a day’s wages for laborers in the first century, showing that ordinary people will be spending all of their earnings just trying to feed themselves and their families.
Disease and pestilential death will follow in the wake of food shortages, symbolized by the rider on the pale horse.

Pale Horse: Death and Hell
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 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.
Revelation 6:7-8
Revealed at the opening of the fourth seal, this grim rider is pictured as holding sway over a quarter of the earth when he emerges for his end-time ride. This means that by the time the pale horse rides forth, one quarter of the world’s population will have perished from the judgments of God. The events symbolized by the seals are cumulative, and the seals, once open, remain open.