Revelation 6:2; Behold a White Horse

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Revelation 6:2 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. 

This horseman on the white horse went forth conquering. The absence of arrows symbolizes a bloodless victory. The bow indicates that war is threatened, but never really occurs because victory is accomplished through peaceful means (Scott; Walvoord).

Worldwide peace is the condition at the end of the first-seal period, because one of the results of the second seal is to take peace away.

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. 

Without arrows, the bow is not a deadly weapon as the sword under the second seal. Wherever active warfare is described, specific mention is made of arrows also (Scott).

Numbers 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce themthrough with his arrows. 

Zechariah 9:14 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 

Because death is not alluded to under this seal, this explanation of the bow is preferable. His victory will come through peaceful means. However, the triumphs of the rider of the first seal are purely temporal. The counterfeit Christian forces of the future will attain worldwide domination, but that domination will only be temporary. The real King of kings will appear and put an end to it. [1]

Revelation 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him wascalled Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes wereas a flame of fire, and on his head weremany crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he wasclothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which werein heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on hisvesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 

Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly! Amen.

[1]Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 1-7 An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1992, 423.