White Horse See also: White horse (mythology) The first horseman, Conquest on the White Horse as depicted in the Bamberg Apocalypse (1000-1020). The first living creature (with halo) is seen in the upper right. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. — Revelation 6:1-2˄ NASB Based on the above passage, the most common translation into English, the white rider is generally referred to as Conquest.[1] The name could also be construed as Victory, per the translation found in the Jerusalem Bible (the Greek words are derived from the verb νικάω, to conquer or vanquish). He carries a bow, and wears a victors crown. The rider has also been called Pestilence, particularly in pop culture (see below). As righteous Irenaeus, an influential Christian theologian of the 2nd century, was among the first to interpret this horseman as Christ himself, his white horse representing the successful spread of the gospel.[3] Various scholars have since supported this notion,[5] citing the later appearance, in Revelation 19, of Christ mounted on a white horse, appearing as The Word of God. Furthermore, earlier in the New Testament, the Book of Mark indicates that the advance of the gospel may indeed precede and foretell the apocalypse.[3][6] The color white also tends to represent righteousness in the Bible, and Christ is in other instances portrayed as a conqueror.[3][6] However, opposing interpretations argue that the first of the four horsemen is probably not the horseman of Revelation 19. They are described in significantly different ways, and Christs role as the Lamb who opens the seven seals makes it unlikely that he would also be one of the forces released by the seals.[3][6] Besides Christ, the horseman could represent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was understood to have come upon the Apostles at Pentecost after Jesus departure from Earth. The appearance of the Lamb in Revelation 5 shows the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Heaven, and the white horseman could represent the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.[7] Other interpretations relying on comparative religious research ascribe the first horseman as guiding for the right path as in Mahabaratha Lord Krishna was a charioteer to Arjuna by riding on white horses, while Arjuna himself was an archer.[8] As infectious disease Under this interpretation, the first horseman is called Pestilence, and is associated with infectious disease and plague. It appears at least as early as 1916, when it is mentioned in the Jewish Encyclopedia.[9] The interpretation is common in popular culture references to the Four Horsemen.[10] The origin of the interpretation is unclear. Some translations of the Bible mention plague (e.g. the NIV) or pestilence (e.g. the RSV) in connection with the riders in the passage following the introduction of the fourth rider; cf. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7-8˄ NASB). However, it is a matter of debate as to whether this passage refers to the fourth rider, or to the four riders as a whole.[1] Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, in his 1916 novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (filmed in 1921 and in 1962), provides an early example of this interpretation, writing The horseman on the white horse was clad in a showy and barbarous attire. [...] While his horse continued galloping, he was bending his bow in order to spread pestilence abroad. At his back swung the brass quiver filled with poisoned arrows, containing the germs of all diseases.[11] As evil One interpretation, which was held by evangelist Billy Graham, casts the rider of the white horse as the Antichrist,[12] or a representation of false prophets, citing differences between the white horse in Revelation 6 and Jesus on the white Horse in Revelation 19.[13] In Revelation 19,[14] Jesus has many crowns, but in Revelation 6 the rider has just one.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 10:27:27 +0000