Dear John and Doves -

I'm providing for prayerful consideration a few things I've found and am considering regarding the rider on the white horse, who appears in Revelation 6:2.

As most of us know, the commonly held belief is that this is The AntiChrist, who rides in with a bow (and no arrows) to capture the kingdoms of the world by stealth, intrigue and deception.  He is a "dastardly-deed-doer" par excellance and he and the other riders form a group that reduces the world's population by 25%.  That's two billion people - and among them (so the popular narrative goes) are a huge number of martyrs whose souls appear under the altar when the fifth seal is broken.

That's the received narrative, but many of us have explored the "received narrative" and have found a few problems.  Hal Lindsey and John Walvoord meant well, but we still need to do our own homework.

A contrasting and maybe more traditional view is that this is Jesus Christ the Overcomer, and He rode forth at the beginning of the "church age."  In other words, this was fulfilled a long time ago.  The idea is that Jesus, the Lamb and also "Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Rev. 5:5) didn't arrive in heaven 2,000 years ago and then basically DO NOTHING toward our redemption until these end times.  Rather, He went forth "spiritually" conquering, and the minions of Satan followed in His wake, wreaking havoc with war, famine and disease.  The activities of the four horsemen - in this view - have been busy since Christ's ascension, and the things described in Rev. 6:2-11 describe "business as usual" until the sixth seal rapture.

I think these are the two most prevalent views, but I'd like to suggest a third possibility, one which emerges when a few of the key words in Rev. 6:2 are carefully examined.

The first word is "toxon" which is translated "bow."  This word (Strongs G5115) only appears here in the entire New Testament.  Popular conjecture posits that this is a weapon, and some think that because there are no arrows, the rider is basically bluffing those he is conquering.  I find this a weak argument.  If someone says, "watch out, he's got a gun!" the presence of bullets can be safely assumed.  Similarly, if the "bow" in view is a weapon, one can safely assume the presence of arrows.

But it may not be a weapon at all.  In Genesis 9:13 God set His "bow" in the clouds - in this case a rainbow, which was NOT a weapon, but rather a sign of His covenant.  This is supported by Greek Septuagint usage, where toxon is the word used for the rainbow covenant sign.  Some might then think that The AntiChrist is coming to confirm the covenant.

Somewhat persuasive, but hardly conclusive.  According to the Strongs definition linked above, the sense of "bow" is "the simplest fabric."  Perhaps like a "bow" of fabric one puts on a gift?  Was the rider on the white horse given a piece of cloth?  Is this a description of The AntiChrist who is bearing a gift?

BlueLetterBible defines toxon as a neuter noun which is derived from the base of the verb tikto (Strongs G5088), and this Greek verb appears 19 times in the NKJV, almost always in the primary sense of a woman bringing forth or bearing a child. This association brings a few different possibilities to mind, but the first thing I'd explore is the possibility that "toxon" in Rev. 6:2 is a subtle pointer to "tikto" as it appears four times in Rev. 12:2-14.  Having had LOTS of exposure to Rev. 12 since the sign appeared in September 2017, we see this as a rapture passage. 

The rider on the white horse "went out conquering and to conquer."  This translation is extremely problematic - some might even say "deceptive" - because the Greek word nikaō (Strongs G3528) which is translated as "conquering" in this text is translated "overcoming" in almost every other NT usage, including the preceding letters to the seven churches in Rev. 2-3 where "overcoming" is a major theme.

Now, I can't be dogmatic on this point, but it seems that this rider is "overcoming" in the present, and will "overcome" again at some future point (from John's perspective).  The Beast "overcomes" the saints in Rev. 11:7 and Rev. 13:7.  But it appears from the Biblical text that those are his first "overcomings."  And in Rev. 17:14 the kings of the earth and the Beast make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them. 

In short, it seems the strongest case is that it is Jesus and His saints who are the overcomers before Revelation chapter 11 and that the descriptive phrase "conquering and to conquer" applies to Jesus more than it does to anyone else.

This rider on the white horse also has a crown.  This is the stephanos crown and it is given to him.  This is a reward, and some point out that Jesus is a King and He wears a diadem, or Kingly crown.  In fact, when Jesus is seen on His white horse in Rev. 19:11 He has MANY crowns and they're all diadems.  Therefore, the reasoning goes, the rider in Rev. 6:2 can't be Jesus because it's the wrong crown.

The only problem is that the Son of Man - an unambiguous reference to Christ - appears in Rev. 14:4 with a stephanos crown.  There is nothing demeaning about the idea of Jesus, who conquered sin, death and the grave, being given a stephanos crown for His victory.

Prophecy is, by design, "through a glass darkly."  We can't KNOW the future; we just get hints.  Once a prophecy is fulfilled, we can see it clearly.  Examples in scripture abound.  The disciples wondered what "rising from the dead" might mean (Mark 9:10).  The true meaning of Psalm 22 was a mystery until fulfilled.  Jesus' birthplace was a mystery to His contemporaries (John 7:27).  We've all had those "now I get it" moments.  I think if the rider on the white horse had already impacted history, we would all see the fulfillment with clarity.

But we don't.  We still wonder, and that's one reason why I think the first seal has not yet been opened.  I think when it IS opened, we will know without a doubt.  And what then is a reasonable expectation?  My expectation is that the rider IS Jesus, and that He will come to gather His overcoming elect.  In other words, the first seal is the rapture.  And since we see the rider on the red horse in the very near future, we should expect the white horse Rider any time now.

I welcome any feedback.

Best,

Steve