The rider on the white horse might seem ambiguous to you, but it’s a very specific picture of our God. If we go into Revelation 19 we see the armies of heaven amassed and marching behind the rider on the white horse. Yet there is something that seems out of place.
Normally a King would lead his forces into battle, but he wouldn’t be the one necessarily doing all of the fighting. Yet in this picture he’s the only one bloodied. That’s not because there is something wrong with his armies. The reason for this strange picture is that our King, the rider on the white horse is none other than our Lord Jesus. The battle he fought wasn’t pretty. His crucifixion and death were awful. Yet it was in death that he won the victory over sin, death and the devil. Because of his sacrifice we are forgiven.
The reason why he had to be the one bloodied and bruised was because he was the only perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus alone is our great high priest and sacrifice. This was a battle for the King of the Universe to fight. No one could help him because as he hung on that cross he was all alone. That’s what it means to be forsaken by God. In our world, Jesus is the only one who knows what that feels like. AND because of his sacrifice we will never know what it’s like to be forsaken by God! Our King has fought the battle and won a place for us at his side. Now our future is a heavenly one! This was the core message of Revelation, a book written to a people who were severely persecuted. They needed to know that in the end their king wins.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s Bible class on The Rider on the White Horse.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.