The First Two Seals--

Revelation

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals
and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder,
one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
And I saw, and behold a white horse
and he that sat on him had a bow
and a crown was given unto him
and he went forth conquering
and to conquer.
...


Jesus opened one of the seals on that very important book in His hands. When He did so there was a great noise- isn't thunder a great noise? Thunder sounded. How ominous does that sound? You break a seal and thunder sounds. Again we can't help but imagine a movie scene here- the thunder booming as the seal is broken signifying something of importance taking place. And something important did take place-


One of the four beasts surrounding the throne spoke to John telling him to come and see... come look... And John was allowed the vision of a white horse with a person sitting upon the horse holding a bow and then someone was giving the person on the white horse a crown and after that the rider on the white horse when forth conquering right away, his mission to conquer.


White is a symbol of purity. Christ's righteousness is as a white raiment. To ride upon a white horse is symbolic of going forth in time in the purity, the righteousness of the new faith in Christ. This coincides with the first Church- Ephesus and the time line that was established there.


...
And when he had opened the second seal,
I heard the second beast say,
Come and see.
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.
...


Jesus opens the second seal and right away John hears the second beast - remember the second beast around about the throne is like a calf filled with eyes- this beast tells John to come and see. Again John is allowed another vision. He looks and he sees another horse- this time a red horse going forth. A red horse, no longer a white horse. If white symbolizes purity and righteousness, red symbolizes what? Blood, destruction, impurity. The one who sat upon the red horse was given power, power to take peace from the earth. This lull was to be destroyed, when you take peace from something you bring what? Discord. The peace was to be taken and power so people would kill one another was allowed, a great sword of death was being wielded by the one upon the red horse. Think about what history reveals for the time after the early church...

Note this-

'The spirit of this period perhaps reached its climax as we come to the days of Constantine, the first so-called Christian emperor, whose conversion to Christianity in A.D. 323 brought about a compromise between the church and the Roman Empire. The Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, is said to have granted toleration to Christians and allowed conversions to Christianity. Kenneth S. Latourette declares that the acts immediately preceding and culminating in the Edict of Milan in 313 "still remain the most significant of the many milestones in the road by which the church and the state moved toward co-operation.' [4]

[4] Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of the Expansion of Christianity, Vol. I, The First Five Centuries, p. 159.

And Note this-

'The Diocletianic Persecution (or Great Persecution) was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman empire.[1] In 303, Emperor Diocletian and his colleagues Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutionary laws were nullified by different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius's Edict of Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution


The persecutions of the early Christians grew so intense that it is noted in history - the 'last and most severe persecution' this took place under the red horse period and it's fitting isn't it?

'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.'

A great sword indeed and it was geared towards the destruction of Christians, the destruction of the early church, truly a horse of red with a rider set to destroy.

May God bless us and keep us and may the Holy Spirit guide us into a fuller understanding of His word. By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever, all honor, praise and glory to him!

Amen.