What about the Rider on the White Horse?
The rider on the white horse is the most difficult to understand. We know he is conquering something, but we don’t know what because it doesn’t say. He has a bow, a symbol of battle. But there is no mention of any arrows. And he is given a victors’ crown (in Greek crown is stephanos which was used to describe the victor of a race/competition) before he ever goes out conquering and to conquer. So who could this rider be?
Many Christians think this rider is Jesus Christ since he is on a white horse. There is an instance when Jesus is on a white horse – at His Second Coming (Revelation 19:11). But if this rider is Christ, then He would have had to open the seal and immediately be seated on the horse. This is probably not the case.
Other Christians think the rider is the Antichrist. There is a problem with this synopsis. When Jesus teaches about the end of the age, what is the first thing He says?
And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people.” Matthew 24:4-5 NASB
And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people.” Matthew 24:11 NASB
The problem with thinking the rider is the Antichrist is because it says many false prophets will come and mislead many. Yes, the Antichrist takes over in great deception. But he is only one man, and he is able to deceive so well because of the many deceptions that have already occurred. before him. Further, if all four horsemen are unleashed after the beginning of the tribulation, there would be wars. But during the first half of the tribulation, as the Antichrist is rising in power, there is a sense (false as it is) of world peace (Revelation 13:2b-4, Revelation 13:7b-8). Worldly turmoil doesn’t fit well with what will actually be taking place when the Antichrist first takes the reigns of his rule.
So, the main point is that Jesus says to the disciples is to make sure they are not being misled. There you have it: spiritual deception.
The rider of the white horse is a deceiver, mimicking the Lord Himself. He represents not just one man, but all spiritual deception. Many will be misled by many false prophets. The deception comes in stealth (no arrows), clothed as something it is not. It conquers without its victims ever realizing it. People think they are receiving the truth, but they are really receiving poison! This rider is given a wreath as a victorious hero, all the while the victims unaware they have been duped! Thus, the world is prepared for the Antichrist – due to all of the spiritual deception throughout the years. (See What does it mean that there will be false christs in the end times?” by GotQuestions)
Still others have suggested that the white horse represents the gospel and the victorious saints during the ages. This is a wonderful truth of course, and we clearly see in the book of Revelation that there indeed is a wonderful endurance and victory for the saints. And we have seen that in the history of the church as well. But that would make one of the horsemen different in their intent. That is, the second, third, and fourth horsemen – being lawlessness/bloodshed/war, scarcity/famine, and death – are God’s sovereign judgments of the sin and rebellion of mankind. The white horseman is no exception. He represents spiritual delusion as God’s judgments upon people who refuse to acknowledge God.
God is orchestrating the length, magnitude and timing of these works through His agents – the four horsemen. They bring about his ultimate design and purpose upon fallen mankind over the course of the centuries.