6:5 Then 8 when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So 9 I looked, 10 and here came 11 a black horse! The 12 one who rode it 13 had a balance scale 14 in his hand.
14:1 Then 19 I looked, and here was 20 the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
19:11 Then 21 I saw heaven opened and here came 22 a white horse! The 23 one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice 24 he judges and goes to war.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of hearing the voice summon the first rider.
2 tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to come through the
3 tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
5 tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”
sn The one who rode it. The identity of the first rider on the white horse has been discussed at great length by interpreters. Several answers are given: (1) A number understand the rider on the white horse to be Christ himself, identifying this horse and rider with the one mentioned in 19:11, where the identification is clear (cf. 19:13, 16). It must be noted, though, that there is little in common between the two riders beyond the white horse. The word for “crown” is different, the armament is different, and the context here is different (conquest vs. retribution), with three other horsemen bringing catastrophe following. (2) Others see the rider on the white horse representing a spirit of military conquest that dominates human history and leads to the catastrophes that follow. (3) Another possibility is that the white horse rider represents the Antichrist, who appears later in Rev 11:7; 13:17, and whose similarity to Christ explains the similarity with the rider in 19:11. This interpretation has been discussed at length by M. Rissi, “The Rider on the White Horse: A Study of Revelation 6:1-8,” Int 18 (1964): 407-18. This interpretation is the most probable one.
6 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
7 tn The participle νικῶν (nikwn) has been translated as substantival, the subject of the verb ἐξῆλθεν (exhlqen). Otherwise, as an adverbial participle of manner, it is somewhat redundant: “he rode out conquering and to conquer.”
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the summons by the third creature.
10 tc The reading “and I looked” (καὶ εἶδον, kai eidon) or some slight variation (e.g., ἶδον, idon) has excellent ms support ({א A C P 1611}) and its omission seems to have come through the
11 tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
12 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
13 tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”
14 sn A balance scale would have been a rod held by a rope in the middle with pans attached to both ends for measuring.
15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
16 tn Though the nearest antecedent to the subject of ἤκουσαν (hkousan) is the people (“those who were watching them”), it could also be (based on what immediately follows) that the two prophets are the ones who heard the voice.
17 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the two prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn The conjunction καί (kai) seems to be introducing a temporal clause contemporaneous in time with the preceding clause.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
20 tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
22 tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).
23 tn A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
24 tn Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.