Second Seal - Red Horse

Seal - God's Judgement on the Pagan Rome (Dragon)

Revelation 6:3 - And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

Revelation 6:4 - 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.

In this seal, our Lord Jesus is judging the Pagan Roman Empire because they persecuted and killed thousands of Christians. He is avenging for their deaths.

Horses

Isaiah 63:2-3 - Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes.

2 Kings 3:22 - Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood.

Nahum 2:3 - The shields of his mighty men are made red, The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots come with flaming torches In the day of his preparation, And the spears are brandished.

1 Samuel 14:20 - Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords.

2 Chronicles 20:23 - The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

Judges 7:22 - When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords...

Civil War

The Second Seal is associated with the Roman period fraught with civil wars between would-be emperors that came and went during that time. It was the beginning of the end for the Pagan Roman Empire. When the Cretan Dynasty came to an end, this marked the beginning of Rome's downfall.

The Year of the Five Emperors refers to the year 193 AD, in which there were five claimants for the title of Roman Emperor: Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus. This year started a period of civil war where multiple rulers vied for the chance to become Caesar.

Year of the Five Emperors and subsequent civil war (AD 193–196), between the generals Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus following the assassination of Commodus (AD 192) and the subsequent murders of Pertinax and Didius Julianus (AD 193). Severus is victorious and founds the Severan dynasty.

Severus was declared Caesar by the Senate, but Pescennius Niger was hostile when he declared himself emperor. This started the civil war between Niger and Severus; both gathered troops and fought throughout the territory of the empire.

Five Emperors