Rev 6:1-2
"Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer."
The four horsemen represent recurring historical forces: white (conquest/false peace), red (war), black (famine/scarcity), pale/yellow (death and Hades). They are not unique future events — they are realities marking the entire era between Christ’s two comings.
Rev 6:9-11
"When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’"
The martyrs under the altar: the death of the saints is a sacrifice (thysiasterion — altar of sacrifice). The cry ‘how long?’ is the martyrs’ prayer for justice. The answer: rest and waiting — judgment will come in God’s timing.