Behold a Red Horse
Revelation 6:3-4 “And when he (the Lamb) had opened the second seal, I heard the second Living creature say, Come. 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.”
The color red here is from the Greek word meaning fire-like while the great sword indicates power or military might. What is interesting here is that the Fire and the Sword are also both symbolic of God’s Word.
Jeremiah 23:29 “Is not My Word like as a fire? says the LORD”
Ephesians 6:17 “… the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God:”
So, let’s string some pearls.
Why a Red Horse?
The word translated red here is the Greek word purrhos which means fire-like. This exact Greek word is only in two verses in the Bible. Revelation 6:4 above in describing the Red Horseman and Revelation 12:3 in describing the Great Red Dragon:
Strong’s Concordance – Red – NT:4450 purrhos (poor-hros’); fire-like, i.e. (specifically) flame colored: KJV – red.
Strong’s numbers 4442-4451 are variations of the same word, and they all relate in meaning to fire. So, how does this verse change if we consider it as a man on a fire-like horse and compare it to a Great fire-like Dragon.
Revelation 12:3 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red (purrhos) dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”
Skipping ahead a few verses we can see exactly who this great red dragon is:
Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
This word purrhos ties the red horse to the great red dragon, that old serpent, the Devil and Satan, indicating from where this Horseman receives his power. It is also interesting to note that if Fire represents the Word of God as we saw in Jeremiah, then what empowers the Red Horseman is the Word of God from the lying mouth of Satan. This is a false fire similar to the false white of the White Horseman.
Revelation 13:2 “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat (throne), and great authority.”
In Revelation 6:4 above power is given to the one who sat upon the red horse. His power was to take peace from the earth and cause the nations to kill each other. Here the beast is given that same power by the dragon who places him on a throne and:
Revelation 13:7 “And it was given unto him to make war (taking peace from the earth) with the holy ones, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindred, and tongues, and nations (causing them to kill one another).“
The Red Horseman is the same shadow as the Beast empowered by Satan. The Red Horseman receiving a sword and the Beast being placed on a throne indicate that this is a kingdom or government with great military might.
Matthew 4:8-9 “Again, the Devil took him (Jesus) up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And said unto him, All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said unto him, Get away, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.”
When we identified the White Horseman we saw how this applied to a false religion crowned by Satan. Here we can see that it also applies to an oppressive ruler or government given power by Satan over all nations.
Matthew 24:3-4 “And as he (Jesus) sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of your coming (revealing), and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no one deceive you.”
Matthew 24:5 “For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many (majority).” (False Religion – White Horseman)
Matthew 24:6-7 “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you are not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: …” (Oppressive Government – Red Horseman)
Which means that in the end times the most powerful religion on earth and the most powerful nation on earth will have been given power by Satan. With this power they deceive the people of God and take peace from the earth.
From an historic perspective this is a common pattern. Kingdoms using religion to control the people.
What nation could this be?
Revelation 13:4 “And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”
In the time of Jesus this was the Roman Empire, today it is the most powerful nation on earth which has modeled itself after the Roman Empire.
New York Times – Jan. 5 2026 – Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Trump, asserted on Monday that Greenland rightfully belonged to the United States and that the Trump administration could seize the semi-autonomous Danish territory if it wanted.
“Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper, the CNN host, after being asked repeatedly whether he would rule out using military force.
The remarks were part of a vocal push by Mr. Miller, long a powerful behind-the-scenes player in Trump administration policy, to justify American imperialism and a vision for a new world order in which the United States could freely overthrow national governments and take foreign territory and resources so long as it was in the national interest.
“We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” he said. “These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
It is uncanny how close this top government aid is to quoting Revelation 13:4. Today, by strength of military power alone, the United States is the most powerful nation that the world has ever seen. If this is not the beast empowered by Satan in the last days, who else could it be?
What is the power of the Sword?
If the red horseman represents and oppressive government which Satan has empowered, what is the Sword which he was given? The answer is twofold…
From a physical perspective the sword represents the strength, force and power of military might as Stephen Miller pointed out above. From a spiritual perspective the Sword is the Word of God which is the strength, force and power of God.
Ephesians 6:17 “… the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God:”
This Sword is often seen coming from the mouth of the righteous. Consider that the Sword is also the only part of the armor of God that is both defensive and offensive.
Revelation 2:16 “Repent; or else I will come unto you quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Revelation 19:21 “And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”
A person speaking the Word of God truthfully is like Jesus, the Word made flesh.
John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
The Sword then is the truthfully and correctly spoken Word of God.
But what happens when that Word comes out of the mouth of the wicked?
Revelation 13:5 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies;”
It has become common to hear politicians quoting scripture or saying “God bless …” this or that. Nearly all political speeches end with “God bless America” as if concluding a sermon. This is what Jesus meant when he said:
Matthew 15:11 “Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
When the words of God leave their lips it is to deceive the people into thinking they are in some way aligned with God. Which is what this means:
Jude :16 “These (ungodly sinners) are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.”
Did Jesus know these people were coming, or was he pointing out how things have always been? In the quote above, Stephen Miller said: “These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.” In this he is correct, but he left out the fact that this is why God hates the ways of the World. Let’s not forget what Paul said:
Romans 2:11 “For there is no respect of persons with God.”
To climb the political, religious or even corporate ladder requires you to bow to those above you. No politician ever came to be in any other way. In fact, they get the money to run for office by taking bribes from lobbyists who then tell them how to govern. Paying respect to those with the money, they have no regard for the people they supposedly represent.
How will we know them?
No matter how often they speak great swelling words about God, they have the traits of the children of the Satan, the father of lies. Which is why Jesus said:
Matthew 7:20-21 “Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
They say all the right things and then do the opposite. Is this not how politics works? Also consider that those calling Jesus Lord are Christian, or at least claiming to be Christian. Which is why Jesus also said:
Matthew 10:36 “And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household.”
Strong’s Concordance – enemies – NT:2190 echthros; hateful (passively, odious, or actively, hostile); usually as a noun, an adversary (especially Satan):
Christianity has been infiltrated and influenced by Satan, since at least 325AD, but that is a story for another time. Suffice it to say that the denomination of Christianity that was birthed at the council of Nicaea in 325AD is what is spoken of here.
Revelation 17:1-2 “Come hither; I will shew unto you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
The word fornication here is not sexual, but the same as saying in bed with or working closely with. The Great Whore is the false religion that the Kings of the earth are in bed with, making the people drunk of the wine of their pagan ways.
Damascus Document 3:19 “The serpents are the rulers of the peoples and their wine is their ways.”
The deception is that Satan and his angels have infiltrated Christianity and the governing powers of the earth so completely that the whole world is deceived into thinking what is evil is good and what is good is evil.
Isaiah 5:20 & 23 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! … Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!”
Justifying the wicked for reward is the same as “having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage” who Jude referred to above as those “walking after their own lusts” and speaking “great swelling words” about God.
In Conclusion
The Red Horseman is an oppressive government that appears to be Christian. It has been given a great sword by Satan with which it takes peace from the earth and sets nation against nation.
Revelation 6:3-4 “And when he (the Lamb) had opened the second seal, I heard the second Living creature say, Come. 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.”
The United States has the highest military spending in the world, accounting for approximately 37% of global military expenditures. The U.S. military budget is larger than the military expenditures of the next seven largest military budgets combined. What are they afraid of? A nation that prints “In God We Trust” on their money, their actions indicate that the god in whom they trust, is their Money.
Revelation 6:8 … “And power was given unto them (all four Horsemen) over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
Also, consider that the United States has the largest economy in the world by over ten trillion dollars, giving it financial power over all the earth as well. In the next installment we will cover this massive economy and Behold a Black Horse.