Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Summary

The Apocalypse of John is in the Book of Revelation, the last canonical book of the New Testament, and the only biblical book that is entirely composed of apocalyptic literature. Because of the difficultires of interpreting it and the danger for abuse, many bishops argued against including this book in the New Testament canon. In the end it was accepted as cannon, but it remains as the only book of the New Testament that is not read within the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Apocalypse of John, commonly referred to as the the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, is contained in Chapter 6, verses 1-8. The identify of its author is not known, other than the fact that his name is known as John. Many believe that it is referring to the same John that wrote the gospel of John. Other scholars disagree. Regardless of who wrote it, it is commonly regarded as a story about the end times of the world and the destruction of mankind still to come, or, according to other scholars, it describes events that have already taken place during the time of the Roman Empire.

The Four Horseman are described as four different riders on four different horses of different colors —White, Red, Black, and Pale. Due to the symbolic language, it is not possible to definitively state its intended intepretation, although there are several, which is discussed in this article.

Authorship

There is no consensus as to who is the author, other than the fact that his name is referred to as “John”. Some scholars claim that it was written by an exile named John during the persecution by Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81–96), identified as the same person as John the apostle, the author of the Gospel of John. However, other scholars speculate that John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, and John of Patmos refer to at least three separate individuals, and that the book was written at an earlier date, AD 68 or 69, in the reign of Nero or shortly thereafter. Those who favor the later date appeal to the external testimony of the Christian father Irenaeus (AD 185) who received information relative to this book from those who had seen John face to face. He says that the Apocalypse "was seen no very long time since, buty almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign (A.H.5.30.3). Evidence has been used to place it under Domitian, who according to Eusebius had started the persecution referred teo in the book. However, more recent scholars dispute that the book is situated in a time of ongoing persecution and have doubted the realkity of a large-scale Domitian persecution, as there is no reference to such a persecution before Eusebius.

Although the personal identity of John is not known, it is certain that the Book of Revelation was written from the small isle of Patmos, a small island in the Aegean Sea about thirty-seven miles south and west of Miletus, on the western coast of what is present-day Turkey. This area was one of the most important areas in the development of early Christianity, and it is frequently mentioned in the various letters attributed to apostle Paul.

An Overview of The Horses and Their Riders

After a short introduction (ch.1:1-10), the author, who identifies himself as John, states that he had two visions that he received while on the isle of Patmos. The first vision, (chs 1:11-3:22), tells of "one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle", speaking with "a great voice, as of a trumpet", are statements addressed to the seven churches of Asia. The second vision comprising the rest of the book (chs 4-22) begins with "a door...openend in heaven." and describes the end of the world—involving the final rebellion by Satan at Armageddon, God's final defeat of Satan, and the restoration of peace to the world.

Like the contents of the entire Book of Revelation, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which is contained in Chapters 6:1-8, is one of the most controversial and difficult parts of the Bible to understand, with diverse interpretations of its meaning. Martin Luther is known to have considered it to be "neither apostolic nor prophetic" and stated that "Christ is neither taught nor known in it". Regardless of its real meaning, it is considered as symbolic descriptions of different events. There is no consensus whether the events that are being described have already taken place, or is a description of the end times yet to come.

The first horseman is described as riding on a white horse: "I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest." Many interpret this verse to mean that the first horseman refers to the antichrist, who as an imitator of Christ, will obtain earthly authority and use it to conquer those who oppose him. (Revelation 19:11-16). It should be noted that while the rider of the white horse is often interpreted as the Antichrist, he is not named such in the Book of Revelation.

The second horseman is described as riding on a red horse: "Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword." This second horseman is generally symbolic of a terrible warfare that has already broken out or will take place in the end times. (Rev. 6:4)

The third horseman is described as riding on a black horse: “...and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’” This third horseman is generally used to mean that a great famine will take place in some future period of time (or it has already taken place), likely as a result of the wars from the second horseman. Food will be scarce, but luxuries such as wine and oil will still be readily available. (Rev. 6:5-6)

The fourth horseman is described as riding on a place horse: "I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." The fourth horseman is generally interprted to mean that death and devastation that came as a result of the famine that took place as a result of the black horse that was described in the preceding verse. This fourth horseman will bring further warfare and terrible famines with plagues and diseases.(Rev. 6:8). (Note: the word used to describe the color of the 'pale' horse is the Greek word chloros or green. It is meant to convey the sickly green tinge of the deathly ill or recently dead. Since the literal translation 'green' does not carry these connotations in English the word is rendered 'pale' in most English translations)

Original text

In the King James Version of the Bible, Revelation chapter 6, verses 1 to 8 reads as follows: (emphasis added):

“

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 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. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 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. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and saw a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

”

Horses and their riders

In summary, the horses and their riders as described in the Bible are as follows:

Horse	Horse Represents	Rider	Power	Rider Represents	Original Greek Description
White	Victory; Pure Warfare	Carries a bow, wears a crown	Conquest	The Antichrist	ίππος λευκός (híppos leukós), [The] White Horse
Red	Blood spilled on the battlefield	Carries a sword	War	War	ίππος πυρρός (híppos purrós), [The] Fiery Red Horse
Black	Desolation	Carries scales	Famine, Persecution	Injustice to the poor and scarcity of food	ίππος μέλας (híppos mélas), [The] Black Horse
Pale	Paleness of skin in death, decay	Followed by Hell	Kills by war, hunger, plagues, etc.	Death	ίππος χλωρός, θάνατος (híppos khlōrós, thánatos), [The] Pale Green Horse, [named] Death

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Interpretations

Intrepreting the meaning of the four different colored horses and the events associated with each horse and its rider are seen as part of the larger picture on how the Book of Revelation is to be interpreted. There are several schools of thought on how the contents of the Book of Revelation should be interpreted.

• The Biblical prophecy school of thought holds that the contents of Revelation, especially when interpreted in conjunction with the Book of Daniel and other sections of the Bible, constitute a prophecy of the end times. This school is subdivided into the preterism|preterist view, which sees the book concerned with 1st-century events that have already taken place; the futurist view, which states that most of the events fron chapter 6 and onwards will take place in the future; and the historicist view, which regards the book as spanning history from the first century through the second coming.
• A second Biblical Prophecy school of thought exists, believing that the Book of Reveleations is a rewriting of the various prophetic books of the Old Testament that was originally located at the end of the Old Testament with several other books, but which has since been removed. This school also maintains that many of these same prophetic books are merely different rewrites of each other in the same way that Matthew, Mark, and Luke are thought to be..^{[citation needed]}
• The historical-critical approach, which became dominant among critical scholars of religion since the end of the 18th century, attempts to understand the Book of Revelation within the genre of apocalyptic literature which was popular in both Jewish and Christian tradition since the Babylonian diaspora, following the pattern of the Book of Daniel.
• Another school is the long-standing and highly controversial view of the esoteric schools which hold that the Book of Revelation, like all scriptures, bears several levels of meaning, which range from a very strict and literal meaning, to those who believe in a more symbolic interpretation of many parts of the Bible. These followers promote a more subtle level of understanding. In particular, the Book of Revelation is a very difficult scripture to grasp intellectually. In fact, it must not be understood and interpreted solely by the intellect. One must go beyond the use of intellect.
• The Kabbalist believes that Revelation, like Genesis, is a very profound book of Kabbalistic symbolism, written by a Kabbalist, for Kabbalist disciples, with multiple levels of meaning contained in its symbol or allegorical language. This view is held by schools related to teachers such as H.P. Blavatsky, Eliphas Levi, Rudolf Steiner and Samael Aun Weor.^{[citation needed]}
• Recently, aesthetic and literary modes of interpretation focus on Revelation as a work of art and imagination, viewing the imagery as symbolic depictions of timeless truths and the victory of good over evil.
• Ebionites and other Essene|Neo-Essenes regard Revelation as a description of the Destruction of The Temple in 70 C.E. and the subsequent Imperial Roman persecution of Jews and Christians.
• The "Patristic Interpretation", is the view held by St. Augustine, Jerome, and other early Church Fathers, who viewed the Book of Revelation as an attempt to describe a spiritual reality and heavenly worship and compare it to the liturgy of the Christian Church. Although all but forgotten today, this interpretation is alluded to in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and has been promoted by modern theologians such as Scott Hahn .

These schools of thought are not mutually exclusive, and many Christians adopt a combination of many or all of these approaches in the manner they find most meaningful. However, it can be noted that the Biblical Prophecy school of thought is popular among Protestants, other evangelicals many of whom also find value in the other approaches, and amongst Rastafarians, who interpret the book very differently from fundamentalist Christians but definitely belong to the Biblical Prophecy school. (Rastafarians believe Haile Selassie I to be the Messiah and God incarnate.) Members of more mainline and liberal churches tend to prefer the historical-critical and aesthetic approaches. Moreover, the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches have delimited their own specific positions on Revelation.

White Horse

File:Duerer-apocalypse.png

Woodcut of the Four Horsemen by Albrecht Dürer

Opinions differ on whether the first horseman, riding the white horse represents the Antichrist or False Prophet, on the one hand, or a Godly monarch, in some way reflecting Jesus, Who later on in the Apocalypse shows all the same details, plus signs of personal Deity. Among protestants, the popular consensus is that he is the Antichrist, with the seemingly peaceful work of the Antichrist seen in the first half of his rule somehow being shown in this rider (however, this requires dissecting the rider in a way the passage mentioning him does not). There is, in service to this idea, an emphasis on the lack of arrows mentioned where the bow used for conquering is brought up. However, the Greek word for the crown he wears is "Στέφανος (Stéphanos)," the very name of the first Christian Martyr, and also the crown awarded to all Martyrs by Jesus, as well as worn by the 24 Elders mentioned in the same Apocalypse. It is clearly not said that the rider acts in his own interest, and he is significantly not said to wear a crown of royalty (Greek "Διάδημα (Diádēma)") which we would expect Christ to wear - which is consistent with not possessing the presumption of Antichrist, but the humility of one acting as an agent of the Lord Himself. He, unlike the little horn that is generally interpreted as Antichrist in some way, is not described as boasting, nor as wearing blasphemous names or titles, to contradict what is written on Jesus' thigh when He returns with the Armies of Heaven on a White Horse.

Historically, the view of the rider of the white horse as having some connection with Christ is the general one, with the contrary view arising late in Christian history, among fringe thinkers, then among protestants, soon afterward. Even among this minority there has been some residual remembrance of the ancient view, as evinced even among Jonathan Edwards, among others.

Arguments against this horseman representing Christ include the release of each horsemen due to the opening of a seal opened by Christ and the unambiguous description of his return in Revelation 19:11-16. An argument that it might be Christ states that the Horsemen represent events which happen in specific time, as the seals represent things that should be opened in specific time.

However, it is not a matter of either Christ Himself being this rider, or it having to be none other than Antichrist. It is most logical to recognize the rider as one riding in service of Christ. After the victories of this rider, the Saints have enough authority over enough nations for the later appearing Antichrist to have to physically and militarily go to war with them to overcome them. That they are then said to endure as Saints, thus not being spiritually defeated, pinpoints none other than a temporary defeat for the Saints that is in warfare. Only by subduing the world as left by the rider on the white horse - only by defeating the Saints, without overcoming their spirits - does the Antichrist dominate the world. In Daniel chapter 7, we see the little horn described, who there also is said to overcome the Saints, only to later be defeated and destroyed by the Saints in their later battle victory.

Illuminated parchment, 1047 C.E., The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Other scholars do not interpret this figure as either Christ or Antichrist. M. Eugene Boring's commentary on Revelation suggests that the image is drawn from the current events of the first century which the Christians in the Roman Empire would have recognized (see also Preterism). In AD 62, the Parthians had beaten a Roman army in the Tigris valley and people throughout the empire viewed them with the same dread as westerners in more recent times had for the yellow peril. The Parthians were the only mounted archers of the 1st century, and white horses were their mount of choice. The passage can thus be interpreted as "conquest from without" without assigning any specific identity to the rider.

Yet other Christians see a similarity between events of the four horsemen and those of the beginning of birth pains which Jesus described in the Olivet discourse, (Matthew 24:7-8). This view holds that the events of the four horsemen, once begun, will lead quickly to the end of the age and the return of Christ.

Red Horse

The rider of the second horse is generally held to represent War. The red color of his horse represents blood spilled on the battlefield. He carries a great sword, which represents battle and fighting. The Red Horse is also said to represent the Planet Mars. According to astrological beliefs, Mars has quite an ill effect on the Earth when its position is behind us to the Sun, especially when the Moon, The Pale Horse, is between Mars and the Earth. The red planet also represents the God of War in many pre-Christian religions, specifically the Mars of Roman mythology and the Ares of Greek mythology.

Black Horse

The third horseman, riding the black horse, is popularly called Famine or Pestilence. The black color of the third horse could be a symbol of famine. Its rider was holding a scale, which means scarcity of food, higher prices, and famine, likely as a result of the wars from the second horseman. Food will be scarce, but luxuries such as wine and oil will still be readily available. (Or that the rich will be fine but the poor will suffer as wine and oil represented the richer classes)

The "a measure of wheat for a penny" from the King James Version might not sound like a famine to modern ears, but in the NIV we read "a quart of wheat for a day's wages," which is a little clearer.

Again, the poor or comfortable will suffer from prices, while the rich will be fine.

Pale Horse

The fourth horseman (on the pale, or sickly horse, which may be the source of the notion of "pestilence" as a separate horseman) is explicitly named Death. Although Death is popularly represented carrying a scythe, this is not mentioned in the original text.

The Greek word interpreted here as "pale" is elsewhere in the New Testament translated as "green." The horse is sometimes translated as "pale," "pale green," or "green." The pale greenish color of the fourth horse could mean fear, sickness, decay, and death.

Alternative interpretations

An alternative interpretation holds the first Horseman to represent War or the Antichrist, the second to represent Pestilence (sometimes called Plague), while the third and fourth riders remain Famine and Death, respectively, though this interpretation is often considered flawed.

One interpretation rearranges the order in which the horsemen arrive to end the world, and a slight change to their personas. The first horseman to appear is Pestilence, who rides upon a sickly, decaying horse. Pestilence causes the decay and imminent destruction of the worlds crops and wildlife. In the wake of Pestilence comes Famine, a large and portly rider riding upon a thin and sickly horse, symbolizing gluttony and the lack of food. In the wake of Famine, due to immense fighting over the remaining food supplies, is War. War rides upon a red horse and wields a tremendous sword which he uses to slay the millions in his path. And in the wake of War, comes the black rider, Death. His horse is, as one would guess, jet black. He is followed by hades and carries the remaining souls to their final destinations.

Another challenged interpretation is that the white horse represents foreign warfare or conquest ("went forth conquering, and to conquer"), the red represents civil war or domestic strife ("that they should kill one another"), the black represents famine ("A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine"), and the pale represents pestilence or disease in its various forms (" to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth").

Yet another interpretation is that the Four Horsemen are the Four Beasts mentioned in the visions of The Book of Daniel, representing four kings (or kingdoms), the last of which devours the world. The more conventional integration of this portion of Daniel with Revelation, however, is that the eleventh king (arising in the fourth kingdom) is the Antichrist.

Some Christian scholars do not interpret Revelation as prophecy of future events so much as a revealing of God's presence in the current events of the first century^{[citation needed]}.

In this sense the white horseman is a symbol for a conquering force from without. This is symbolized using the image of the feared Parthian mounted archer on his white horse and given the crown of a conqueror. The red rider who takes peace from the earth is the civil strife that ended the pax romana. The black rider is the famine that follows anytime there is foreign invasion or civil war. The final rider is the death that accompanies conflict and famine and the pestilence that springs up in the aftermath of these other tragedies.

While these images, and especially the Parthians, are specific to the Roman Empire of the early Christian era, there is a universality about them. Each new century, Christian interpreters see ways in which the horsemen, and Revelation in general, speaks to contemporary events. Some who believe Revelation applies to modern times can interpret the horses based on various ways their colours are used. Red, for example, often represents Communism, while Black has been used as a symbol of Capitalism. Pastor Irvin Baxter Jr. of Endtime Ministries espouses such a belief.

Not all interpretations agree that the horsemen are associated with contemporary events; one interpretation suggests that the horseman are each associated with one of the first, four opened seals. The white horse represents the first seal in which the city of Enoch is established in righteous conquest. The red horse represents the second seal in which bloodshed and wickedness reigns. The black horse represents the third seal in which famine, plague, and pestilence take hold of the world. The pale horse represents a time of escalated death and destruction. Further interpretation by scholars suggests that each horse represents a given time: the time of Enoch, the time of Noah, the time of Abraham, and the time of Christ. This interpretation is popular among Mormon scholars, but is not a part of Mormon doctrine.

The Relationship of the Four Horsemen to the Book of Zechariah

Four sets of horses are similiarly depicted in Chapter 6, verses 1-8 in the Book of Zechariah, the second to last Book in the Old Testament. Zechariah's writings are filled with Messianic references and passages that deal with the end of times, as was understood at that particular period of time. Zechariah is quoted in the Book of Revelation more than any other book in the Old Testament. The first nine chapters of Zechariah are considered apocalyptic like the Book of Revelation. This Old Testament writing is also quoted frequently by many other New Testament authors. The verses in Zechariah are sometimes used to determine whether or not the rider of the white horse in the Book of Revelation is the Antichrist. In Zechariah, all of the horse and riders are servants of the Lord. If these are the same four horses and riders as the Four Horsemen, this would suggest that rider of the white horse in the Book of Revelation is not the Antichrist, and possibily that the Four Horsemen in the Book of Revelation is an adaptation of the Book of Zechariah.

The text in the book of Zechariah is as follows: (King James Version)

“

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, there came four chariots from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

”

Note: In the King James version, all of the horses are possibly the same color.^{[citation needed]} The fourth set, grisled and bay, are the ones seeing debate. Other translations use the word dapple (or bay) to describe their color. The word grisled is defined by the OED as being "awe-inspiring; horrible; grisly," closer to the "pale" mentioned in Revelation 6:8.

See also

• Antichrist
• Apocalypse
• Book of Revelation
• Death
• Death (personification)
• Eschatology
• Famine
• Horsemen of Apocalypse (comics)
• Pestilence
• Summary of Christian eschatological differences
• War
• The Four Horsemen (song)

Notes

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