Revelation 6:1-8 NKJV

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four
living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”2 And I looked,
and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to
him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come
and see.”4 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.
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and
see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales
in his hand.6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A
quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not
harm the oil and the wine.”
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature
saying, “Come and see.”8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of
him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to
them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by
the beasts of the earth.

A. The First Seal: The White Horse. 6:1–2.

6:1. The Lamb opened one of the seals. At this point it is well to make an important
distinction. When the Tribulation Period is spoken of, reference is to all the Seven Years
of Daniel 9:27. The Great Tribulation covers only the last three and a half years of the
period. Expositors are far from agreement on when the latter part of the trials on earth
will begin. The present writer holds that the final part of the Tribulation Period coincides
with the events of Matthew 24:15ff. Thus, the first six seals occur during the first half of
Daniel’s Seventieth Week. They are the beginning of sorrows (cf. Mt 24:8). The first four
seals are broken in connection with the four living creatures, but it is the Lamb who has
the power and authority to break the seals. As He does so, more of the contents of the
scroll are brought into view.
2. The rider on the white horse has been identified with Christ (cf. ch. 19), or even a
false Christ. To identify the rider as any specific person is not in keeping with the
interpretation of the other horses, which symbolize conditions and not individuals. This
rider and horse refer to the attempts of many to bring in permanent peace (cf. I Thess
5:3). It is verifiable from many times in the past, and especially in this century, that
before some of the greatest conflicts between nations, there have been powerful attempts
at man-made peace. The text indicates the desire to conquer in this area, but does not
state that the objective was achieved. In this passage horses speak of the powerful
providential actions connected with the government of the earth. Speed is also a factor
(cf. Zech 1, 6). White speaks of victory and triumph, a bloodless victory for the moment.

B. The Second Seal: The Red Horse. 6:3–4.

 3–4. The second beast or living creature is connected with the breaking of the second
seal. Unquestionably, this seal speaks of war, bloodshed. There went out another horse
that was red. Man’s attempts at world peace have failed miserably and carnage is the
result (cf. Mt 24:6–7). The great sword indicates war’s ravages will be let loose on a
universal scale throughout the earth.

C. The Third Seal: The Black Horse. 6:5–6.

5. A pair of balances in his hand. The rider of the black horse is holding a symbol
of commerce. Too, when there is abundance, there is no minute weighing of common
articles of food (cf. Ezk 4:10, 16). Worldwide war is followed by worldwide famine (cf.
Mt 24:7b), because the soil is abused and men are not free to work it as necessary.
6. The scarcity of the time is underscored by the inflated price of necessities. One
man’s measure of wheat will take a day’s wage; three measures of barley (the food for
cattle and horses) can be bought for a day’s wage. These are starvation conditions. Wheat
and barley are necessities of life, but why the mention of oil and the wine? They are
luxuries (cf. Ps 104:15; Prov 21:17) for the rich. The wealthy will apparently not be
touched at the first, but ultimately they will undergo suffering as well (cf. W. Scott, op.
cit., p. 150).

D. The Fourth Seal: The Ashen Horse. 6:7–8.

7–8. The livid or pale horse clearly speaks of death, probably by pestilence and plague.
Death is the place of the body of the departed and is synonymous with the grave; Hell is
the abode of the departed spirit (cf. Ezk 14:21; see Mt 24 for the same order as in the
horses). Notice that one-fourth of the earth is involved. When in human history has such a
pestilence overtaken man? KJV Bible commentary

The above commentary is about the closest thing I’ve found that comes to my own
opinion about the four horsemen. Barnes has some interesting commentary on the older
view of the first horse representing Christianity and/or Christ and then refutes the idea
quite nicely.

Obviously, chapter six of Revelation begins a new era or time period if you will. The
breaking of the seals required great ceremony and only the Lamb was found worthy. It
makes no sense to think of Christ breaking a seal that is Himself now does it? Why
would He put himself in with war, poverty and death? Why would He put Himself and/or
His bride in with seals that are the outpouring of His wrath? Nah – must be something
else.

The first four seals are all horses, each with a different color. In literature, they are called
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To interpret one, you must use the same criteria
to interpret them all. From interpreting Daniel 9:24-27, we know that the peace treaty
with Israel starts the final countdown of seven years to the Lord’s return to earth. That
peace treaty would necessitate someone strong enough to guarantee Israel’s safety – a
strong world leader or organization. Thus the white horse is a period of false peace, the
lull before the storm if you will.
Neville Chamberlain, in 1939, taught us a great lesson when he actually believed that a
treaty with a madman – a land for peace deal – would actually work. The Sudentland of
Czechoslovakia was handed over to Hitler in hopes of peace. Hitler took it as a sign of
weakness of the Allies (like all good dictators would) and proceeded to take Poland for
himself as well.

Likewise, this peaceful lull, is interrupted by war – the second horse, which of course is
followed by famine for the poor and hoarding by the rich. All of this is easily predicted.
The extent of the devastation however, has never been seen before in human history. One
fourth of the earth is killed – no small number! Today’s earth population is around 8
billion people. Can you imagine a war which wiped out the population of India and
China both??

These first four seals might not be “The Great Tribulation” yet, but so far it isn’t looking
good for those Left Behind.