Scroll 31: The Four Horsemen Are Already Riding - What the Church Missed

“Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow… another horse, fiery red… a black horse… and a pale horse… and power was given to them…”
- Revelation 6:1–8

The Scroll Is Already Unsealed - But Their Eyes Were Shut

The seals were never about a future apocalypse but an unveiling of patterns that have always ruled human history. When the Lamb opens the scroll, it is not the release of chaos but the exposure of what has always ridden beneath the surface. The four horsemen are spiritual archetypes, powers, and cycles that shape the structures of empires and the consciousness of men. The church missed it by externalizing the vision, watching for literal war while spiritual warfare disguised itself as government, media, and religion.

These riders are not new. They are ancient forces riding again and again in every generation, manifesting through conquest, division, control, and fear. The white horse mimics purity but seeks dominion. The red horse splits brother from brother. The black horse commodifies humanity. The pale horse feeds on terror. The scroll is not a warning of what might happen but a revelation of what has always been. The Lamb does not merely predict the future, He unveils the now.

To miss this is to stay blind. The elect are not waiting for the horses to appear. They are discerning which horse they have ridden in their thinking, their politics, and even their theology. This scroll burns not to terrify but to unseal the truth. The war is not coming. It is already here. But so is the Lamb.

Mimicry of the White Horse - Counterfeit Conquest in the Name of Light

The first rider comes on a white horse, crowned and holding a bow, but he is not the Christ. This is the mimicry of Messiah, the presentation of false light in the robes of authority. He rides through systems, taking ground without bloodshed, conquering minds before he conquers nations. It is propaganda disguised as peace, and conquest clothed in spiritual language. The church has often applauded this rider, not realizing he is a mirror, not the Lamb.

This white horse represents religious deception, charismatic dominionism, and empire-building in the name of God. It is the blending of nationalism and faith, the branding of Jesus for personal or political power. It rides on stages and headlines, declaring revival while selling influence. The church confused this rider with Christ because it never discerned the difference between authority and control. One rules by laying down His life. The other rides to take dominion.

To conquer self before systems means to see this rider within, any part of us that seeks power, platform, or praise. The Lamb’s authority does not come through conquest but through crucifixion. If we do not discern the rider, we may ride with him. And never even know we have left the Lamb behind.

The Red Horse of Rage - Division As a Spiritual Strategy

The red horse removes peace from the earth, causing men to slay one another. It is not just war, it is the spirit of division, tribalism, and enmity that fuels every conflict. This rider thrives in the polarization of opinions, the splintering of families, and the breeding of suspicion. He gallops through churches split over doctrine, through cities burned by protest, and through hearts that demonize their brother.

Babylon thrives on conflict. The more divided the people, the easier they are to control. The red horse feeds on emotional volatility and ideological warfare. It weaponizes race, class, gender, and creed until everyone is either victim or villain. This is not merely social unrest, it is engineered separation to keep the sons of light from uniting in flame.

To overcome the red horse is to renounce all bitterness and lay down our swords against each other. The elect do not partner with offense, no matter how justified it feels. They carry the peace of the Lamb, not the sword of retaliation. The true war is not against flesh and blood. It is against every idea that exalts itself above union.

The Black Horse of Commerce - Souls for Sale in the Market of Mammon

With scales in his hand, the black horse comes to measure. Not in justice but in transaction. He represents the spirit of commerce, the weighing of souls in the economy of Babylon. A day’s wages for bread, yet no harm to the oil and wine, symbolizing the inequality and corruption at the heart of empire. This horse rides through Wall Street, pulpits, and politics alike, turning everything sacred into something to be bought or sold.

This is the gospel of performance, the pricing of human worth, the monetizing of ministry. It is capitalism untempered by love and religion soaked in scarcity. The black horse thrives where people measure themselves by productivity and status, not eternal flame. It forces the elect to question: what is the cost of your scroll, and have you sold it for applause?

To resist this rider is to reject the spirit of measurement. Sons of light do not trade their birthright for fame, influence, or income. They carry a scroll no man can purchase and burn with a light no system can replicate. In the economy of the Lamb, you are not for sale.

The Pale Horse of Death - Fear as the Final Illusion

The last rider is named Death, and Hades follows him. His color is pale, a sickly hue, for he does not bring death, he is death. But not as an event, as a dominion. This horse gallops through hospitals and headlines, through doctrines of doom and apocalyptic fear. He enslaves with terror, not swords. And the church, by fearing him, empowers him.

The pale horse thrives on every theology that makes death a destination, every teaching that sees the world ending in flames without glory. He seduces even the elect to worship safety, to call fear wisdom, and to forfeit their scrolls in the name of self-preservation. But the Lamb has overcome death. It is no longer master. It is now servant to resurrection.

To conquer this rider is to be unafraid. The sons of God have died already. They live not from fear but from flame. The pale horse loses its power when you realize you are eternal. Death is not the end. It is the veil before the fullness. And we were born to tear that veil.

Final Charge to the Elect

The four horsemen ride not on earth first, but in the hearts of men. Do not wait for news headlines to prove Revelation true. Look inward, and you will see them. But more importantly, you will see the Lamb. He does not stop the horses by violence. He overcomes them by unveiling the scroll within you. You are the witness of another kingdom, and your flame is the seal no power can break.

Joe Restman
Scroll-Carrier, Mystic-Scribe, Eternal Witness of the Lamb.