And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Ver. 2. And behold a white horse] The apostles and apostolic preachers of the primitive times, white for their purity of doctrine, discipline, and conversation; horses for their nimble and swift spreading the gospel, which ran αθροως οια τις ηλιου βολη, through the world like a sunbeam (as Eusebius hath it), and was carried as on eagles' or on angels' wings. A horse hath his name in Hebrew from devouring the ground by his swiftness, and was therefore by the heathens dedicated to the sun, whose "going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it,"Psalms 19:6. Cranzius tells us that the Saxon princes, before they became Christians, gave a black horse for their arms; but being once baptized, a white horse; with reference haply to this text.
He that sat on him] Christ, Revelation 19:11; Psalms 65:5. The conquerors entered into Rome carried on a white horse.
Had a bow] The doctrine of the gospel, whereby the people fall under him, Psalms 45:4 .
Conquering, and to conquer] Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo tamen patuerunt, saith Tertullian. Advers. Jdg 7:1-25 Christ came and conquered this kingdom, which the Romans with all their power could not do. A Christo vinci, summa victoria est; vinciri, summa libertas, saith another. There is no such conquest as to be conquered by Christ; no such liberty as to be bound by him.