Discovery BoxRevelation 6:2 
Context6:2 So 1 I looked, 2 and here came 3 a white horse! The 4 one who rode it 5 had a bow, and he was given a crown, 6 and as a conqueror 7 he rode out to conquer.
Revelation 12:1
Context12:1 Then 8 a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. 9
Revelation 14:14
Context14:14 Then 10 I looked, and a white cloud appeared, 11 and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man! 12 He had 13 a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Revelation 2:10
Context2:10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown 14 into prison so you may be tested, 15 and you will experience suffering 16 for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. 17
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 within the narrative.
9 sn Sun…moon…stars. This imagery is frequently identified with the nation Israel because of Joseph’s dream in Gen 37.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
11 tn Grk “and behold, a white cloud.”
12 tn This phrase constitutes an allusion to Dan 7:13. Concerning υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (Juio" tou anqrwpou), BDAG 1026 s.v. υἱός 2.d.γ says: “ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου lit. ‘the son of the man’…‘the human being, the human one, the man’…On Israelite thought contemporary w. Jesus and alleged knowledge of a heavenly being looked upon as a ‘Son of Man’ or ‘Man’, who exercises Messianic functions such as judging the world (metaph., pictorial passages in En 46-48; 4 Esdr 13:3, 51f)…Outside the gospels: Ac 7:56…Rv 1:13; 14:14 (both after Da 7:13…).” The term “son” here in this expression is anarthrous and as such lacks specificity. Some commentators and translations take the expression as an allusion to Daniel 7:13 and not to “the son of man” found in gospel traditions (e.g., Mark 8:31; 9:12; cf. D. E. Aune, Revelation [WBC], 2:800-801; cf. also NIV). Other commentators and versions, however, take the phrase “son of man” as definite, involving allusions to Dan 7:13 and “the son of man” gospel traditions (see G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 771-72; NRSV).
13 tn Grk “like a son of man, having.” In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence.
14 tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.
15 tn Or “tempted.”
16 tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).
17 tn Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, th" zwh") functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stefanon): “the crown that consists of life.”
