Revelation 6:4

Verse

Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

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.

Douay-Rheims 1899

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.

Free Bible Version

Another horse came out, a red one. Its rider was given a large sword, and the power to take away peace from the earth so that people would slaughter one other.

Geneva Bible 1599

And there went out an other 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.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Translation for Translators

Then a red horse came out. The one sitting on it was allowed {God allowed the one sitting on it} to cause people to no longer live peacefully, but instead to be killing each other. For this purpose he was given {God’s agent gave to him} a large sword.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Then another horse came out—fiery red. To its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth, so that its people would slaughter one another. This rider was given a huge sword.

Noah Webster Bible

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.

World English Bible

Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.

Young's Literal Translation

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.

Context

The Second Seal: War

³And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”⁴Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.

Sermons

Military Invasions in God's End-Time Plan

Mike Bickle

Summary

This verse describes the second horseman of the Apocalypse, who rides a fiery red horse symbolizing war and bloodshed. The rider is given power to take peace from the earth, causing people to kill one another. This imagery signifies the widespread conflict and violence that will occur during the end times, leading to chaos and suffering. It serves as a warning of the consequences of human sin and rebellion against God, highlighting the need for repentance and reconciliation with Him.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

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, etc., etc. 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.

John Gill Bible Commentary

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, Zac 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.

Revelation 6:4

The Second Seal: War

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

Douay-Rheims 1899

Free Bible Version

Another horse came out, a red one. Its rider was given a large sword, and the power to take away peace from the earth so that people would slaughter one other.

Geneva Bible 1599

King James (Authorized) Version

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

Then another horse came out—fiery red. To its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth, so that its people would slaughter one another. This rider was given a huge sword.

Noah Webster Bible

World English Bible

Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.

Young's Literal Translation

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Revelation 6:4

Verse

Context

The Second Seal: War

Sermons

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Revelation 6:4

The Second Seal: War

Military Invasions in God's End-Time Plan

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary