The Rider on the White Horse

At a high age the apostle John was sent into exile to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. He was separated from his beloved congregation of Ephesus. This was a great sorrow for him, but this affliction was also known by the Lord. The enemies had been allowed to separate him from Ephesus, but they were not able to separate him from his God. On the day of the Lord, which is our Sunday, the Lord Jesus appeared unto him. John became as a dead man, so much was he overwhelmed. But the Lord did not come to kill him, but to strengthen him and use him to the welfare of the church.

The apostle was allowed to look through the clouds and stars into the third heaven, before the throne of God. He beheld the Lord in heavenly glory; he also saw twenty-four elders and four beasts. The Lord kept the book of His counsel in His hand, as nobody is worthy to open it. John was sad about this, but one of the elders comforted him, because the Lion of the tribe of Judah is able to do it.

The above text speaks about the opening of the first seal, which is a comfort for the church. John’s life would be totally changed by it. At first it was so dark and lonesome on Patmos, but the Lord made it well. So often when it is dark, then in our perception the Lord is so far away. The reasons for this are on our side, and it is necessary that we see this and come in humiliation before the Lord, supplicating Him to come again to His vineyard, as is described in our text. One of the four beasts said, “Come and see.”

John saw a rider on a white horse. Here it refers to Christ who came in the fullness of time to fulfill the will of the Father: “I delight to do Thy will, O My God” (Psa. 40:8a). He came as the servant of the Father, willing to go in the way of humiliation and suffering. It was for His elect that Christ emptied the cup filled with the wrath of God against the sin of mankind. When God’s justice was satisfied, He could not be held by death. He arose on the morning of the third day, He ascended into heaven, and He received the place of honor at the right hand of the Father. All these facts show that God’s justice is completely satisfied by Christ.

He is the horseman on the white horse. White is the color of heaven, the color of purity. It tells us that the Mediator is clean, is holy, and therefore He was allowed to open the book of God’s counsel. It contains everything which takes place on earth, good and evil. The creation and the fall of Adam is written in it, but also the deliverance in Christ. Everything of the past, of today, and of the future is written in this book, such as wars, famine, death, and all the kinds of woes which the people who live on earth experience.

Before these judgments are made known, encouragement is spoken to the church militant. All that which takes place on earth is to fulfill God’s counsel, and especially that which is related to the salvation of the Church. The world is spared until the full number of the elect, whose names are written in the Book of Life, are called by Word and Spirit.

God’s counsel is written in a book, a sign that it is sure and unchangeable. The execution of God’s sovereign counsel has been given to the Son by the Father, which will lead to the salvation of the Church through the depth of the fall. In His hand the Church is safe. Nobody will pluck them out of His hand. Even in times of great persecution or times of darkness the Lord will not forsake His Church, as He has promised shortly before His ascension: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me; in My Father’s house are many mansions.”

John may see that Christ is worthy to open the book, to break the seals of the book. One of the four beasts called, “Come and see.” This voice is still heard, but man is deaf by nature; we do not hear the thunder of the law, nor do we hear the sweet invitations of the gospel. The Holy Spirit must call us from death to life and teach us true wisdom. When our ears, our eyes, and our heart are opened by the Lord, then we will see, hear and understand. So John might also see, “And I saw, and behold a white horse.” In this vision he saw Christ going to war. The poet has also spoken of it: “Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most Mighty, with Thy glory and Thy majesty” (Ps. 45:3). Horse and war go together in the Bible. The work of the field, such as plowing, threshing, etc., was done by oxen or mules in the Orient. The ass was used to ride upon and to bear burdens. The heathens used horses in the wars, but this was forbidden for Israel. In Psalm 20:7 we read: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”

King Solomon had broken with this law and brought cavalry into the armies of Israel. Where today there is a cannon, a rocket, or a tank, in former days there was a horse or a chariot. Here it is written that Christ goes out to battle as victor. Before this He has gained the victory over the three-headed enemy. He merited all we need unto salvation. Man can be saved without any merit from his side. Is this enough unto salvation? No, because man is dead in sin and trespasses. We are unable and unwilling to return unto God. Therefore, we have to look for help outside ourselves. That which Christ has merited must also be applied to our heart.

Of this our text speaks: “... and He that sat on him had a bow.” The arrows shot from this bow point to the preaching of God’s Word which strike a person under the application of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it happens that we are touched by the Word; we hear and feel it is not well with us as travellers to eternity. So often it is only a temporal impression, and it passes by again. Sometimes you hear that until Sunday evening the people are thinking about the message which they have heard, but on Monday morning it has vanished. When the Lord begins the good work, then it will never be forgotten anymore.

Christ is sitting on the white horse and will ride until the gospel is preached all over the world. Then the end will come. Since He has defeated His enemies, He is able to enter the house of the strong man and take his goods. In the multitude of subjects is the glory of the King. These subjects are internally called. Who are these subjects? By nature all men are rebels who do not acknowledge the Lord; they are enemies of God and free grace. At His time an arrow is shot from His bow and the target will be hit under the administration of the Holy Spirit. This works a holy unrest, giving sorrow and a missing of God because of our sins, but also a desire to serve God with all our strength and with all our soul.

Ephraim asked the Lord, “Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned” (Jer. 31:18). When the Lord shoots His arrow, either in the preaching or the reading of God’s Word, then under the leading of the Holy Ghost such a person is wounded, begins to suffer pain, becomes sad. This is not to his death or destruction, but it is to his welfare. We have to know our misery; otherwise we will never ask for deliverance.

We all need such heavenly instructions shall it be well. Then more and more it will be discovered what we are and what we should be. Thus we are emptied of our self-righteousness and begin to loathe ourselves because so much sin is found in our life. Not only that we commit sin, but we are sin; we are a fountain of iniquity. Friends, we should ask ourselves if there has ever been a moment in our life that God’s Word came with such power and discovered to us what we are before God. Then we become the unhappiest person in the world, because we do not then know there is a way for such a corrupt person to be saved; we see only misery. We repeat, the discovery of our sins is indispensable; otherwise there is no need to be saved.

By now probably some think that conversion is a sad happening in the life of man. It is such a painful experience to be wounded and to learn to be a lost sinner before God! No, then you make a wrong application of the ways of the Lord with His people. It cannot be denied that the discovery of our sins is painful, but it also has another side. Those arrows of the Lord are not only to wound and to discover what we are, but also to encourage upon the way and to strengthen us in the warfare to be waged. What a great privilege it is when the Lord speaks to us through His Word and leads us into the mystery of salvation! Thus the Lord gathers His Church and cares for them. This horseman cannot stop until God’s counsel is fulfilled, also among the heathen.

My unconverted fellow travelers to eternity, the Lord is still using His Word to shoot arrows. Every sermon is like an arrow. It is a great wonder when we are hit by it and brought to conversion, because, “he that believeth not is condemned already,” namely, when we do not believe in the name of God’s only begotten Son. Sin is not the hindrance, because also the wicked Manasseh was converted to the Lord. Also self-righteousness is no hindrance for the Lord, because Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, was also stopped by the Lord. God’s Word is not spoken in vain, although the arrows will have a different effect. For the unbelievers and impenitent it will be as it is written in 2 Corinthians 2:16, “To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.” The end will be terrible if we harden ourselves as Psalm 132:18a says, “His enemies will I clothe with shame.”

The text speaks of His victory, “... and He went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Christ has received the crown of victory, as is mentioned in Psalter 367, verse 5:

But His crown shall ever flourish;
Blessed be His holy Name.

His victory is sure, although there can be times that it seems the opposite. Elijah thought he was the only one who served the Lord, while yet seven thousand had not bowed their knees before Baal.

Toward the end of the world Satan will yet receive some freedom to persecute the church with great fierceness. It seems we are coming more and more to that time. As we read in the book of Revelation, it will then be a difficult time, at moments even seem to be lost. When we think of our own strength, then it is hopeless. But remember how the Lord encouraged Paul: “My grace is sufficient for thee. For my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9a).

The Lord is not only victorious in the beginning when a person is born again, but also in the furtherance of the way. When the Lord pursues, then all becomes hopeless, but He also opens at His time a door of hope in the valley of Achor, while they fear to perish. They become partakers of the victory of Christ and they will not slip through His fingers, as God’s Word confirms. The Father has promised His Son: “Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession” (Ps. 2:9). The poets and prophets have seen something of Christ’s victory and the Holy Spirit also makes it known in the heart of God’s children. First, we come to know the God against whom we have sinned, but later on the Lord leads us back to Paradise, where we rebelled against God and broke the covenant of works. This covenant is impossible for us to repair. Thus the Holy Spirit brings us to an end with our works. In this way the Lord makes room for Christ.

When we may behold Him with the eye of faith, then we must say, “He is altogether lovely.” Nothing can be compared with Him. There is a people among our readers who know a little of this wonder of beholding Christ. They must confess that the communions with Him are the best times of their life. The world does not comprehend what this means, but at moments the Church may experience: “He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love” (S.S. 2:4). Then Peter could say, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us” (Rom. 8:37).

This victorious horseman continues His work until the day of judgment, when the number of elect will be full. It is still the time of grace; the Lord still gives His Word to be preached among us. Oh, that He may use it for young and old to the glory of His Name and the welfare of many souls! We have only one soul to lose and therefore hasten for your life’s sake. Sinners can be reconciled with God through the merits of His Son and the application of the Holy Spirit. We should not expect a repeat of the Day of Pentecost, but it is the same Spirit who is still working. Therefore the prayer, “Whatever Thou wilt withhold, withhold not Thy Spirit.”

In this time the Church may see Christ by the exercise of faith, but He is invisible to the world; however, on the last day every eye will see Him and every knee will bow before Him. The victory will be complete when Christ comes on the clouds of heaven to judge the quick and the dead. This last step of Christ’s exaltation means eternal death for His enemies, but eternal life for His children who are saved out of free grace. While the Church is waiting for the coming of Christ, may something be felt of the prayer of the Spirit and the bride, “Come.” And the Lord promises in the last verses of the Bible, “Surely I come quickly. Amen” (Rev. 22:20).

Rev. A.M. den Boer is pastor of the Netherlands Reformed congregation of Sunnyside, Washington.

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