I would add to Tom’s response that while I find your interpretation of the seal and bowl judgments interesting, I don’t find it compelling. The imagery of Revelation 6:9-10 speaks of martyrs crying out from under the altar for God to avenge them. Revelation 14:18 speaks of a voice calling to the angel commanding him to bring forth judgment. The language just doesn’t line up. But the connection that you made was interesting.

That doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit “can’t” speak truth to us….”

First, I don’t think you can properly interpret the Bible in all cases with just the Bible. There are cultural symbols and contexts behind these texts which must be known if we are to understand them. (i.e. Baptism for the Dead in I Cor. 15, or the meaning of “image and likeness” in Genesis 1:26-28). While it is best to interpret the Bible with the Bible, it is not always sufficient to answer some of the questions we modern readers ask - for it assumes the answers instead of explicitly stating them.

Second, all theories are man-made. As are all interpretations. We are historically situated people within a given culture. Thus, all our thoughts are tainted by our situation. That doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit can speak truth to us, but it does mean that all interpretations are human in nature and are subject to fallibility.

Hope that doesn’t sound confrontational. I just wanted to raise some objections.
Tom

6:9-10  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

Both talk about judgement, and somebody is under the altar shouting out that they want the persecutors to pay for what they did (of course this is symbolic, since the saints always loved their persecutors and forgae them). It’s just a hunch, but it’s better than what man-made theories have to offer.

I saw this and just thought I would add a few comments. God Bless

The use of ‘white’ and the exact same intro to 6:2 and 19:11 are pretty strong cases….but certainly not absolutely definitive.

Good info, bro.

Four cavaliers motif loosely based on Zech. 1:11-17 and the 4 colors are loosely based on Zech. 6:1-8. Origin doesn’t determine meaning (in my opinion, many obviously disagree), but it helps to see how John is using something established to further his own rhetoric.

In Ovid’s Metamorphisis, he depicts the legendary Minos as mounted on a white horse and as carrying a bow as wel as a spear (Metam. 8.25-36). In fact, there is a general history of "celestial cavalier" imagery in the Greco-Roman world (Dioscuri, Heron the Thracian cavalier god, Horus, or Mithras).

The greek of the phrase "and behold, a white horse and the one seated on it" is the exact same in Rev. 6:2 and 19:11. Interesting. The rider of 19:11 is quite certainly Jesus/The Messiah. Yet, the portrayal of the riders is very different in the two passages. One thing to notice is that the Lamb himself is opening the seals in this scenario, it seems to be narratively confusing for the Lamb to open a seal and then suddenly be a white horse and then open another seal (but Rev. plays around with narrative continuity all the time, so while it takes some work, you can get around this).

Aune points out that the Messiah isn’t expected until after the Messianic woes are completed. Yet, that still leaves room for this figure (esp. the horse) to represent the Gospel…and interesting suggestion. Oecemenius (10th c.) suggests this apparently (Comm. in Apoc. 6:2).

For the bow, interestingly…it’s not a Roman weapon, but it was used widely in Greece and others in the Near East…especially Parthia. I thought I was smart for a second in coming up with this on my own, but Aune also suggests that Apollo could be an intersting corollary considering Apollo shot arrows from heaven as divine punishment for the Greeks (first book of the Iliad, don’t have the specific reference handy).

Aune seems to fall on the side that this horseman just represents warfare, and that the following horses represent the "stereotypical evils of war: sword, famine, and plague."

So…I don’t know what to glean from all that, but I hope it provides some material for you to chew on. :)