What causes the pale horse to appear in Revelation 6?
The pale horse appears as a result of the famine symbolized by the black horse and the great demise of two great power structures. Its rider is Death, with Hell following, and power is given to kill with the sword over one-fourth of the world during the tribulation.
Les explains that the black horse represents famine and a drop in the food supply. As a result of that famine, and as a result of the great demise of two great power structures, the pale horse is seen. Its rider is Death, and hell follows with him. Power is given to them to kill with the sword, and the scope is one-fourth—whether of geographical area or population. Les emphasizes this is tribulation, just the beginning. He notes the four horsemen are merely symbolisms, not someone literally riding a horse, but symbols of events coming on the planet. Jesus in Matthew 24 follows verse 7 with famine, pestilence, and earthquakes in diverse places, and verse 8 calls these the beginning of travail, or sorrow. Les connects this to the scroll in Revelation 5, a paying off of a mortgage and the delivery of the earth from the curse instituted at the garden.