the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Revelation 6:4
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Then another horse came out, a red one. The rider on the horse was given power to take away peace from the earth so that people would kill each other. He was given a big sword.
And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a great sword.
And there went out another horsse that was red and power was geven to him that satte thereon to take peace from the erth and that they shulde kyll one another. And there was geven vnto him a gret swearde.
Another came forth, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given to take shalom from the eretz, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.
And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that people would kill one another; and a large sword was given to him.
Then another horse came out, a red one. Its rider was given power to take away peace from the earth and to make people kill each other, and he was given a big sword.
And another [horse] came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they shall slay one another: and there was given to him a great sword.
And there went out another horse [that was] red: and [power] was given to him that sat upon him to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given to him a great sword.
Another came forth, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.
And there went forth another horse that was red; and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another; and there was given him a great sword.
And another horse came out--a fiery-red one; and power was given to its rider to take peace from the earth, and to cause men to kill one another; and a great sword was given to him.
And another reed hors wente out; and it was youun to hym that sat on hym, that he schulde take pees fro the erthe, and that thei sle to gidere hem silf; and a greet swerd was youun to hym.
And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.
Then another horse came out. It was fiery red. And its rider was given the power to take away all peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. He was also given a big sword.
And another, a fiery red horse [of bloodshed], came out; and its rider was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that men would slaughter one another; and a great sword [of war and violent death] was given to him.
And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
And another horse came out, a red horse; and it was given to him who was seated on it to take peace from the earth, so that people might put one another to death: and there was given to him a great sword.
Another horse went out, a red one; and its rider was given the power to take peace away from the earth and make people slaughter each other. He was given a great sword.
And another, a red horse, went forth; and to him that sat upon it, to him it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
A second horse went out. It was fiery red, and its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.Zechariah 6:2;">[xr]
And there went out another horse (which was) red; and to him who sat upon him was given to take peace from the earth, and thus that one another they should kill; and there was given to him a great sword.
And there went forth another, a red horse; and to him who sat thereon, it was given, to take tranquillity from the earth; and that they should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was giuen to him that sate thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was giuen vnto him a great sword.
Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.
Another horse came out. This one was red. The one who sat on it was given a long sword. He was given power to take peace from the earth so men would kill each other.
And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword.
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.
And there went out an other horse, that was red, & power was giuen to him that sate thereon, to take peace fro the earth, & that they should kill one another, & there was giuen vnto him a great sword.
And there went out another horse, and it was red, and to him who sat on it was given power to take away peace from the earth, that people should kill one another: and there was given to him a great sword.
And there went out another horse that was red. And to him that sat thereon, it was given that he should take peace from the earth: and that they should kill one another. And a great sword was given to him.
And there went out another horse that was redde, and power was geuen to him that sate theron to take peace from the earth, and that they should kyll one another: and there was geuen vnto hym a great sworde.
Another horse came out, a red one. Its rider was given the power to bring war on the earth, so that people should kill each other. He was given a large sword.
Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.
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.
And another horse came out, fiery red, and it was granted to the one seated on it to take peace from the earth, and that they would slaughter one another, and a large sword was given to him.
And another horse went out, red. And it was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another. And a great sword was given to him.
and there went forth another horse -- red, and to him who is sitting upon it, there was given to him to take the peace from the land, and that one another they may slay, and there was given to him a great sword.
And there went out another horsse that was reed, & power was geuen to him that sat there on, to take peace from the earth, and that they shulde kyll one another. And there was geue vnto him a gret swearde.
and there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon, to banish peace from the land, and to make men kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword.
Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
Another horse rode out. It was a sorrel horse with the deepest color of red I'd ever seen. The cowboy who rode it was given the power to wage war on earth and make people slaughter each other. He rode tall in the saddle with a large sword held in his hand.
And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
horse: Revelation 12:3, Revelation 17:3, Revelation 17:6, Zechariah 1:8, Zechariah 6:2
power: Revelation 13:10, Exodus 9:16, Exodus 9:17, Isaiah 37:26, Isaiah 37:27, Ezekiel 29:18-20, Daniel 2:37, Daniel 2:38, Daniel 5:19, John 19:11
and there: Psalms 17:13, Isaiah 10:5, Isaiah 10:6, Ezekiel 30:24, Ezekiel 30:25
Reciprocal: Jeremiah 12:12 - no Jeremiah 16:5 - I have Jeremiah 38:2 - He Ezekiel 14:21 - my four Nahum 2:3 - made Zechariah 14:3 - General Mark 13:8 - nation shall
Cross-References
And, this, is how thou shalt make it, - three hundred cubits, the length of the ark, fifty cubits, the breadth thereof, and thirty cubits the height thereof.
Of the bird after its kind and of the beast after its kind, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of each, shall come in unto thee. for keeping alive.
But thou, take to thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it unto thee, - and it shall be for thee and for them for food.
And Noah did so , - according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
And they said Come on! let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower with its head in the heavens, so let us make for ourselves a name, - lest we be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.
And, there, saw we the giants, sons of Anak descended of the giants, - And we were in our own eyes, as grass-hoppers, And, so, were we in their eyes.
and rose up before Moses, with certain men of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty, - princes of assembly, called to the stated meeting, men of renown;
For, only Og, king of Bashan was left remaining of the remnant of the giants, lo! his bedstead, was a bedstead of iron, is not, the same, in Rabbath of the sons of Ammon? nine cubits, the length thereof and four cubits, the breadth thereof, by the fore-arm of a man.
And there came forth a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, Goliath, his name, from Gath, - his height, six cubits and a span;
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And there went out another horse, [that was] red,.... Which may be an emblem either of the suffering state of the church, being answerable to the Smyrnaean one, as the purity and power of the Gospel, represented in the former seal, may answer to the Ephesine church; or else of those contentions and divisions occasioned among men through the Gospel, which, though of a peaceable nature, yet, through the corruption and depravity of men, brings not peace, but a sword; or rather of those bloody wars within the period of time signified by this seal, which came as punishments on the enemies of the Gospel:
and [power] was given to him that sat thereon; not the Lord Jesus Christ, who is said to ride on a red horse, Zechariah 1:8; though indeed he presides over his church and people, and takes the care of them when the most desolating judgments are in the earth, and causes all things to work together for good; nor Satan, the red dragon, who was a murderer from the beginning, and delights in effusion of blood, and in stirring up of men to destroy one another, whenever he is permitted; but Trajan the Roman emperor, in whose reign John died; and who came from the west, and was a Spaniard, as was Hadrian his successor, who may be joined with him; which was the side, or quarter, on which the living creature was that spoke to John; and in the times of these emperors were very bloody and civil wars: wherefore power is said to be given him,
to take peace from the earth; that is, from the Roman empire, which is sometimes called the whole world; and which could not have been done, if power had not been given from him who makes peace, and creates evil:
and that they should kill one another: which refers not to the havoc and slaughter which the Jews made one of another at the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the Jews murdering of the Greeks and Romans, and the Romans the Jews, in the times of the above emperors. In Trajan's time, the Jews who dwelt about Cyrene, under the conduct of one Andrew, fell upon the Romans and Greeks, and killed many, fed on their flesh, ate their bowels, besmeared themselves with their blood, and covered themselves with their skins; many of them they sawed asunder, from the crown of the head down to the middle; many of them they threw to the wild beasts, and many of them they forced to fight among themselves, till they had destroyed above two hundred and twenty thousand men; in Egypt and Cyprus they committed the same kind of outrages, their leader being one Artemion, where two hundred and forty thousand men perished r; Lybia was almost emptied of men by them; so that Hadrian, the successor of Trajan, was obliged to send colonies to repeople the places they had made desolate. But at length they were overcome by Lupus, governor of Egypt, and by Marcius Turbo, and by Lucius, whom Trajan sent against them s, and destroyed great numbers of them; and for the space of about fourteen years they were quiet; but in Hadrian's time they rose again, and set one Bar Cochab, a false Messiah, at the head of them, whom they proclaimed king: when Hadrian sent forces against them, and with great difficulty subdued them, took the city Bither, where they were, and destroyed at times five hundred and eighty thousand of them t; the Jews say, that he put men, women, and children to death in such numbers, that their blood ran down into the main sea, yea, that a horse might go up to his nose in blood u; they say that he destroyed in Bither double the number of those that came out of Egypt, even twelve hundred thousand men w; some of their accounts are very extravagant, and exceed all bounds x; however, the slaughter was very great, that it may well be said,
and there was given unto him a great sword; to slay men with; though Hadrian on his death bed, amidst his pains, would fain have had a sword given to him to have dispatched his own life, and could not obtain one y; the Jews say he destroyed all the land of Judea z.
r Dion Cassius in Vita Trajani. s Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 4. c. 2. t Dion Cassius in Vita Hadrian. u T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 57. 1. & Hieros. Taanith, fol. 69. 1. Echa Rabbati, fol. 52. 3. w Jucaasin, fol. 142. 2. & 143. 1. x T. Hieros Taanith, fol. 68. 4. & T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 157. 2. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 13. 1. y Spartianus in Vita Hadriani, & Aurel. Victor. Epitome. z T. Hieros. Peah, fol. 20. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And there went out another horse - In this symbol there were, as in the others, several particulars which it is proper to explain in order that we may be able to understand its application. The particular things in the symbol are the following:
(a) The horse. See this explained in the notes on Revelation 6:2.
(b) The color of the horse: another horse that was red. This symbol cannot be mistaken. As the white horse denoted prosperity, triumph, and happiness, so this would denote carnage, discord, bloodshed. This is clear, not only from the nature of the emblem, but from the explanation immediately added: “And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another.” On the color, compare Bochart, Hieroz. P. 1, lib. 2, c. 7: p. 104. See also Zechariah 1:8. There is no possibility of mistaking this, that a time of slaughter is denoted by this emblem.
(c) The power given to him that sat on the horse: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. This would seem to indicate that the condition immediately preceding this was a condition of tranquility, and that this was now disturbed by some cause producing discord and bloodshed. This idea is confirmed by the original words - τὴν εἰρήνην tēn eirēnēn - “the peace”; that is, the previously existing peace. When peace in general is referred to, the word is used without the article: Matthew 10:34, “Think not that I am come to send peace - βαλεῖν εἰρήνην balein eirēnēn - upon the earth.” Compare Luke 1:79; Luke 2:14; Luke 19:38; Mark 5:34; John 14:27; John 16:33; Acts 7:26; Acts 9:31, et al. in the Greek. In these cases the word “peace” is without the article. The characteristics of the period referred to by this are:
(a)That peace and tranquility existed before;
(b)That such peace and tranquility were now taken away, and were succeeded by confusion and bloodshed; and,
(c)That the particular form of that confusion was civil discord, producing mutual slaughter: “that they should kill one another.”
- The presentation of a sword: and there was given unto him a great sword. As an emblem of what he was to do, or of the period that was referred to by the opening of the seal.
The sword is an emblem of war, of slaughter, of authority Romans 13:4, and is used here as signifying that that period would be characterized by carnage. Compare Isaiah 34:5; Revelation 19:17-18; Leviticus 26:25; Genesis 27:40; Matthew 10:34; Matthew 26:52. It is not said by whom the sword was presented, but the fact is merely referred to, that the rider wets presented with a sword as a symbol of what would occur.
In inquiring now into the period referred to by this symbol, we naturally look to what immediately succeeded the one which was represented by the opening of the first seal; that is, the period which followed the accession of Commodus, 180 a.d. We shall find, in the events which succeeded his accession to the empire, a state of things which remarkably accords with the account given by John in this emblem - so much so, that if it were supposed that the book was written after these events had occurred, and that John had designed to represent them by this symbol, he could not have selected a more appropriate emblem. The only authority which it is necessary to refer to here is Mr. Gibbon; who, as before remarked, seems to have been raised up by a special Providence to make a record of those events which were referred to by some of the most remarkable prophecies in the Bible. As he had the highest qualifications for an historian, his statements may be relied on as accurate; and as he had no belief in the inspiration of the prophetic records, his testimony will riot be charged with partiality in their favor. The following particulars, therefore, will furnish a full illustration of the opining of the second seal:
(a) The previous state of peace. This is implied in the expression, “and power was given to him to take peace from the earth.” Of this we have had a full confirmation in the peaceful reign of Hadrian and tim Antenines. See the notes on the exposition of the first seal. Mr. Gibbon, speaking of the accession of Commodus to the imperial throne, says that he “had nothing to wish, and everything to enjoy. The beloved son of Marcus (Commodus) succeeded his father amidst the acclamations of the senate and armies; and when he ascended the throne, the happy youth saw around him neither competitor to remove, nor enemies to punish. In this calm elevated station, it was surely natural that he should prefer the love of mankind to their detestation; the mild glories of his five predecessors to the ignominions fate of Nero and Domitian,” i. 51. So again, on the same page, he says of Commodus, “His graceful person, popular address, and imagined virtues attracted the public favor; the honorable peace which he had recently granted to the barbarians diffused an universal joy.” No one can doubt that the accession of Commodus was preceded by a remarkable prevalence of peace and prosperity.
(b) Civil war and bloodshed: to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. Of the applicability of this to the time supposed to be represented by this seal, we have the fullest confirmation in the series of civil wars commencing with the assassination of the emperor Commodus, 193 a.d., and continued, with scarcely any intervals of intermission, for 80 or 90 years. So Sismondi, on the fall of the Roman empire (i. 36), says, “With Commodus’ death commenced the third and most calamitous period. It lasted 92 years, from 193 to 284. During that time, 32 emperors, and 27 pretenders to the empire, alternately hurried each other from the throne, by incessant civil warfare. Ninety-two years of almost incessant civil warfare taught the world on what a frail foundation the virtue of the Antonines had reared the felicity of the empire.” The full history of this period may be seen in Gibbon, i. pp. 50-197.
Of course it is impossible in these notes to present anything like a complete account of the characteristics of those times. Yet the briefest summary may well show the general condition of the Roman empire then, and the propriety of representing it by the symbol of a red horse, as a period when peace would be taken from the earth, and when people would kill one another. Commodus himself is represented by Mr. Gibbon in the following words: “Commodus was not, as be has been represented, a tiger, born with an insatiate thirst of human blood, and capable, from his infancy, of the most inhuman actions. Nature had formed him of a weak, rather than a wicked disposition. His simplicity and timidity rendered him the slave of his attendants, who gradually corrupted his mind. His cruelty, which at first obeyed the dictates of others, degenerated into habit, and at length became the ruling passion of his soul,” i. 51.
During the first three years of his reign “his hands were yet unstained with blood” (Ibid.), but he soon degenerated into a most severe and bloody tyrant, and “when Commodus had once tasted human blood, he was incapable of pity or remorse,” i. 52. “The tyrant’s rage,” says Mr. Gibbon (i. 52), “after having shed the noblest blood of the senate, at length recoiled on the principal instrument of his cruelty. While Commodus was immersed in blood and luxury he devolved the detail of public business on Perennis, a servile and ambitious minister, who had obtained his post by the murder of his predecessor,” etc. “Every sentiment of virtue and humanity was extinct in the mind of Commodus,” i. 55. After detailing the history of his crimes, his follies, and his cruelties, Mr. Gibbon remarks of him: “His cruelty proved at last fatal to himself. He had shed with impunity the best blood of Rome: he perished as soon as he was dreaded by his own domestics. Marcia, his favorite concubine, Eclectus, his chamberlain, and Laetus, his pretorian prefect, alarmed by the fate of their companions and predecessor, resolved to prevent the destruction which every hour hung over their heads, either from the mad caprice of the tyrant, or the sudden indignation of the people. Marcia seized the occasion of presenting a draught of wine to her lover, after he had fatigued himself with hunting some wild beasts. Commodus retired to sleep; but while he was laboring with the effects of poison and drunkenness, a robust youth, by profession a wrestler, entered his chamber, and strangled him without resistance,” i. 57.
The immediate consequence of the assassination of Commodus was the elevation of Pertinax to the throne, and his murder eighty-six days after (Decline and Fall, i. 60). Then followed the public setting-up of the empire to sale by the pretorian guards, and its purchase by a wealthy Roman senator, Didius Julianus, or Julian, who, “on the throne of the world, found himself without a friend and without an adherent,” i. 63. “The streets and public places in Rome resounded with clamors and imprecations.” “The public discontent was soon diffused from the center to the frontiers of the empire,” i. 63. In the midst of this universal indignation Septimius Severus, who then commanded the army in the neighborhood of the Danube, resolved to avenge the death of Pertinax, and to seize upon the imperial crown. He marched to Rome, overcame the feeble Julian, and placed himself on the throne. Julian, after having reigned 66 days, was beheaded in a private apartment of the baths of the palace, i. 67. “In less than four years Severus subdued the riches of the East, and the valor of the West. He vanquished two competitors of reputation and ability, and defeated numerous armies provided with weapons and discipline equal to his own,” i. 68.
Mr. Gibbon then enters into a detail of “the two civil wars against Niger and Albinus” - rival competitors for the empire (i. 68-70), both of whom were vanquished, and both of whom were put to death “in their flight from the field of battle.” Yet he says, “Although the wounds of civil war were apparently healed, its mortal poison still lurked in the vitals of the constitution,” i. 71. After the death of Severus, then follows an account of the contentions between his sons, Geta and Caracalla, and of the death of the former by the instigation of the latter (i. 77); then of the remorse of Caracalla, in which it is said that “his disordered fancy often beheld the angry forms of his father and his brother rising into life to threaten and upbraid him” (i. 77); then of the cruelties which Caracalla inflicted on the friends of Geta, in which “it was computed that, under the vague appellation of the friends of Geta, above twenty thousand persons of both sexes suffered death” (i. 78); then of the departure of Caracalla from the capital, and his cruelties in other parts of the empire, concerning which Mr. Gibbon remarks (i. 78, 79), that “Caracalla was the common enemy of mankind. Every province was by turns the scene of his rapine and cruelty. In the midst of peace and repose, upon the slightest provocation, he issued his commands at Alexandria in Egypt for a general massacre. From a secure post in the temple of Serapis he viewed and directed the slaughter of many thousand citizens, as well as strangers, without distinguishing either the number or the crime of the sufferers,” etc.
Then follows the account of the assassination of Caracalla (i. 80); then, and in consequence of that, of the civil war which crushed Macrinus, and raised Elagabalus to the throne (i. 83); then of the life and follies of that wretched voluptuary, and of his massacre by the pretorian guards (i. 86); then, after an interval of thirteen years, of the murder of his successor, the second Severus, on the Rhine; then of the civil wars excited against his murderer and successor, Maximin, in which the two emperors of a day - the Gordians, father and son - perished in Africa, and Maximin himself, and his son, in the siege of Aquileia; then of the murder at Rome of the two joint emperors, Maximus and Balbinus; and quickly after that an account of the murder of their successor in the empire, the third and youngest Gordian, on the banks of the river Aboras; then of the slaughter of the next emperor Philip, together with his son and associate in the empire, in the battle near Verona: and this state of things may be said to have continued until the accession of Diocletian to the empire, 284 a.d. See Decline and Fall, i. 110-197. Does any portion of the history of the world present a similar period of connected history that would be so striking a fulfillment of the symbols used here of “peace being taken from the earth,” and “men killing one another?” In regard to this whole period it is sufficient, after reading Mr. Gibbon’s account, to ask two questions:
(1) If it were supposed that John lived after this period, and designed to represent this by an expressive symbol, could he have found one that would have characterized it better than this does?
(2) And if it should be supposed that Mr. Gibbon designed to write a commentary on this “seal,” and to show the exact fulfillment of the symbol, could he have selected a better portion of history to do it, or could he have better described facts that would be a complete fulfillment? It is only necessary to observe further:
(c) that this is a marked and definite period. It has such a beginning, and such a continuance and ending, as to show that tiffs symbol was applicable to this as a period of the world. For it was not only preceded by a state of peace, as is supposed in the symbol, but no one can deny that the condition of things in the empire, from Commodus onward through many years, was such as to be appropriately designated by the symbol used here.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Revelation 6:4. Another horse-red — The emblem of war; perhaps also of severe persecution, and the martyrdom of the saints.
Him that sat thereon — Same say, Christ; others, Vespasian; others, the Roman armies; others, Artabanus, king of the Parthians, &c., &c.
Take peace from the earth — To deprive Judea of all tranquillity.
They should kill one another — This was literally the case with the Jews, while besieged by the Romans.
A great sword. — Great influence and success, producing terrible carnage.
