Prophetic Interpretation Page 11: A Revelation Interpretation Page 1: The Charge of the Cavalry

Using this method of interpreting symbolism in the prophetic accounts, how can we then interpret the horsemen and the horses and the other events we discussed in the beginning?  What did horsemen mean to the people of that time?  Horsemen were used for a couple of purposes.  First, horsemen were couriers and scouts.  They could travel swiftly to deliver messages or to spy out a land and return.  In other words, they were messengers.  In Zechariah 1:8-11 you’ll see a parallel in scripture to the four horsemen in Revelation.  These horsemen were going to and fro throughout the world spying out what the nations were doing.  They came and reported back what they had seen.  They were angels of God, His messengers.

But is that what these horsemen are doing in Revelation?  No.  These horsemen are not going about the world reporting.  This leads us to the other main purpose of horsemen during that time that most of the readers would have thought immediately of.  They were cavalry.  They charged into battle swiftly and were a force to be reckoned with.  Cavalry charges often bolstered troops to fight harder.  Since horses could cover more ground at a quicker rate than infantry, a sudden cavalry charge could bring about swift destruction on an enemy.  As you read the Revelation account, I think you’ll see that this is more like what the horsemen are doing.  They are charging as if into battle, attacking swiftly and bringing devastation upon their enemies.

But who sent them?  Read Revelation 6:1 from the beginning.  You’ll see that each of these horses is prompted by the breaking of a seal from a book, or scroll, that the Lamb was holding.  The Lamb, Jesus, is the only one worthy of being able to read this book.  The imagery, therefore, is that of a King sending out His cavalry to bring swift and sudden destruction upon the enemies of the Kingdom.  These are not wicked men, such as Osama Bin Laden or Hitler.  They are angels from the army of God.  Their purpose is to go about and hit God’s enemies hard and swift.  They are depicted, not as most would depict them, as evil minions of destruction.  They are depicted as knights going out to destroy those who have rebelled.  They are heroes of righteousness, not villains to dread and fear.

And that is the difference, you see, from how many interpret these scriptures and how they were meant to be interpreted.  Most interpret these horsemen with terrible dread and fear.  “They are coming to kill people and bring terrible pain and suffering upon the world.  They symbolize disastrous events, and we should fear and cast them in a villainous light.”  However, the imagery here is not really of some evil black knights riding off to destroy innocent villagers.  The imagery was meant to inspire the readers, Christians.  “Your King, Jesus, will one day send forth His valiant knights, who are angels, and they will bring forth destruction upon the wicked because they have rejected Christ and because their wickedness has increased to astronomical levels.”