Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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Summary

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is contained in Chapter 6, verses 1-8 in the Book of Revelations, also known as the Apocalypse of John, the last book of the New Testament. 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. Others disagree. Not only is there disagreement as to the identity of the author, there is also disagreement on how this Book is to be interpreted in view of its extensive use of symbols and and images. Some regard Revelation as a story about the end times of the world and the destruction of mankind still to come, or, according to others, it describes events that have already taken place during the time of the Roman Empire. Still others believe that the events that are described are still taking place, or should be interpreted as spiritual truths that have eternal meaning.

Apocalyptic literature is defined as that literature that uses symbols, images, and numbers to depict future events. Outside of the Book of Revelation, examples of apocalyptic literature in the Bible are Daniel chapters 7-12, Isaiah chapters 24-27, Ezekiel chapters 37-41, and Zechariah chapters 6-12. The word "apocalypse" comes from the Greek word "apocalupsis" which in English means "revealing, disclosure, to take off the cover".

The 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.

This last book of the New Testament is the only biblical book that is entirely composed of apocalyptic literature. Because of the difficultires of interpreting the meaning of this book, and the perceived danger for abuse, many bishops argued against including this book in the New Testament canon when the books of the New Testament were being assembled. 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.

Authorship

There is no consensus as to who is the author, other than the fact that his name is referred to as “John” in several places (Rev 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8). Several early church Fathers, including Justin, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Hippolytus, claim that this person was the same person as John the apostle, the author of the Gospel of John, although this claim is never made by the author of the Book of Revelation. There are definite linguistic and theological affinities between the two books. The tone of the letters to the seven churches (Rev 1:4-3:22) is indicative of the great authority the author enjoyed over the Christian communities in Asia. If the author was not John the apostle, it is possible, hoiwever, that he was a disciple of John the apostle, who is traditionally associated with that part of the world. The date of the book in its present form is probably near the end of the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81-96), a notorious persecutor of the Christians.

Thos who argue that John the aposle was not the writer of Revelation are other Church Fathers, such as Denis of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen, and John Chrysostom. They point our that the vocabulary, the grammar, and the style make it doubtful that Revelation was written by the same person(s) responsible for the fourth gospel. Some 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 testimony of Irenaeus who received information about this book from those who claim to have seen John face to face during the time of Domitian's reign (A.H.5.30.3). The majority of evidence has been used to place it under Domitian, who persecuted Christians that were unwilling to engage in emperor worship, as evidence of their allegiance to him. Christians, for whom there was only one God, refused to participate in this idolatry, and therefore suffered persecution in the form of arrest, loss of possessions, economic boycott, and in many cases, death.

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 Roman penal colony 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

white horse

The first horse is described as follows: "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" {2} 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" (Rev 6:1-8 NIV).

There are diverse opinions on whether the first horseman, riding a white horse, represents Christ or is the so-called anti-Christ.

File:Duerer-apocalypse.png
Woodcut of the Four Horsemen by Albrecht Dürer

The traditional view, until the time of the Protestant Reformation, was that the rider of the white horse was Christ. With the Protestant reformantion, however, that view changed, at least among Protestatns, who viwed the rider on the white horse as the antichrist. [1]

There are several arguments used by those who support the view that the rider on the white horse is Christ. The Greek word for the crown that the rider is wearing s "Στέφανος (Stephanos|Stéphanos)," the same name of the first Christian martyr. It is also the same crown that is worn by the 24 Elders mentioned in Revelation 5:4. In addition, the horseman on the white horse described in Chapter 6 is later described, in Revelation 19:16, as the "King of kings, the Lord of lords". Rev. 19:11-16 speaks of a rider on a white horse, who comes to defeat the forces of evil.

Red Horse

The second horseman is described as riding a red horse: "When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!". 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." (Rev 6:3-4 NIV).

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 (the last horse), is between Mars and the Earth. The red planet also represents the God of War in many pre-Christian religions, specifically the Mars (mythology)|Mars]] of Roman mythology and the Ares of Greek mythology.

Black Horse

The third horseman is described as riding a black horse: "When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, 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!" (Rev 6:5-6 NIV).

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, depending on how one interprets the Book of Revelations), likely as a result of the war that comes from the second horseman. Food will be scarce, but luxuries such as wine and oil will still be readily available.

Pale Horse

The fourth horseman is described as riding a pale horse. His named is specifically referred to as "Death". "I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" 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 (Rev. 6:7-8).

The pale greenish color of the fourth horse is said to represent fear, sickness, decay, and death. 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)

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

There are 4 basic schools of thought on how the Book of Revelations is to be interpreted.

Preterist view

The term Preterism comes from Latin, and it means "past". The followers of Preterism are known as Preterists. Preterists are divied into two schools of thought—full preterists and partial preterists.

Full Preterists believe that the Book of Revelation is a prophecy of events that was fulfilled with the fall of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple by the Roman army (which is identified as "the beast") and the start of the Christian age. The "last days" is identified as the time-period between the ministry of John the Baptist and the fall of Jerusalem, and the tribulation is identified as the destruction of Jerusalem and the forced exile of its people. [2] Within the group of full Preterists, there are some who see the second half of Revelation as dealing with Rome, and its persecution of Christians and the fall of the Roman Empire.

Partial Preterists divide end-times prophecy into several parts. It believes that certain parts of Revellation have yet to be fulfilled, such as the resurrection of the dead and the physical resurrection of Jesus. Partial Preterists also believe that part of the Book of Revelation is literal while other parts are symbolic.

Futurist view

This view believes that the Book of Revelation is a prophecy of future events to come, which will occur shortly before the second coming of Christ. Futurist interpretations predict a resurrection of the dead as well as those who have not yet reached an age of accountability, and a rapture with Jesus. All "true" Christians will be gathered to Christ at the time God's kingdom comes on earth.

Historicist or Historical view

The historicist or historical view regards the prophecy in Revelateion as being in the process of being fulfilled. That process started at the end of the first century and will continue through the second coming of Christ.

Under this school, historical interpretations apply the symbols of Revelation to the gradual division and collapse of the Roman Empire, the emergence of a divided Europe in the West and a Muslim empire in the East, and the collapse of the Eastern Empire while Europe attempts to reunite and recreate the Roman Empire. According to historical interpretations, the second coming of Christ occurs about the time that a partly reunited Europe starts to wage war against Israel. This view is held mainly by Fundamentalist Protestant Christians, wuch as Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, John Calvin, John Knox, Isaac Newton, Charles Finney, and C.H. Spurgeon.

Historical interpretations see the expansion of the Church, despite its persecution. However, they see the majority of people throughout the world as gradually evolving into disbelief, in which true Christians will be a persecuted minority. This view is associated with an Antichrist system which exists for much of history rather than expecting a single Antichrist in the last days. The "beast" in Revelation 13 was commonly interpreted to be the papcy of the Roman Catholic Church.

Spiritual or Idealist view

The Spiritual view, also called Idealist view, does not see the contents of the Book of Revelation as literal. Rather its language is symbolic, and each generation can read and interpet it in their own way. The various visions in the Book of Revelations express eternal spiritual truths and struggles that are without any literal or historical application. Revelation is seen, as well as all of scriptures, as having several levels of meaning, which range from a strict and literal interpretation to an intepretation that cannot be understood and interpreted only on the basis of one's intellect.

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 (Zech 6:1-7) reads as follows: (Revised Standard Version)

"1. And again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2. The first chariot had red horuses, the second black horses. 3. The third white horses, and the forth chariot dappled gray horses. 4. Then I said to the angel who talked to me, "What are these, my lord? 5. And the angel answered me, "These are going forth to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6. The chariot with the black horses goes towards the north country, the white ones go toward the west country, and the dappled ones go toward the south county. 7. When the steeds came out, they were impatient to get off and patrol the earth. And he said, "Go, patrol the earth. So they partolled the earth". 8. Then he cried to me, "Behold , those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country".

Note: In the King James version, the color of the fourth horse is described as "grisled and bay". Matthew Henry, in his Commentary, states that the traditional interpretation given to his this passage was that the four chariots, drawn by horses, each with a different color, represented four different monarchies: the Babylonbian monarcy, the Persian monarcy, the Grecians, and the Romans. However, Henry had a different opinion: He believed that the vision represented the administration of the kingdom of Providence in the government of this "lower" world. The fact that there are so many conflicting interpreatations underscores the inability to have a consensus on how to interpret this particular passage in Zechariah and the Book of Revelations.


Evaluation/Significance

This book contains an account of visions in symbolic and allegorical language borrowed extensively from the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. Whether or not these visions were real experiences of the author or simply literary conventions employed by him is an open question.

This much, however, is certain: symbolic descriptions are not to be taken as literal descriptions, nor is the symbolism meant to be pictured realistically. One would find it difficult and repulsive to visualize a lamb with seven horns and seven eyes; yet Jesus Christ is described in precisely such words (Rev 5:6). The author used these images to suggest Christ's universal (seven) power (horns) and knowledge (eyes). A significant feature of apocalyptic writing is the use of symbolic colors, metals, garments (Rev 1:13-16; 3:18; 4:4; 6:1-8; 17:4; 19:8), and numbers (four signifies the world, six imperfection, seven totality or perfection, twelve Israel's tribes or the apostles, one thousand immensity). Finally the vindictive language in the book (Rev 6:9-10; 18:1-19:4) is also to be understood symbolically and not literally. The cries for vengeance on the lips of Christian martyrs that sound so harsh are in fact literary devices the author employed to evoke in the reader and hearer a feeling of horror for apostasy and rebellion that will be severely punished by God.

The lurid descriptions of the punishment of Jezebel (Rev 2:22) and of the destruction of the great harlot, Babylon (Rev 16:9-19:2),are likewise literary devices. The metaphor of Babylon as harlot would be wrongly construed if interpreted literally. On the other hand, the stylized figure of the woman clothed with the sun (Rev 12:1-6), depicting the New Israel, may seem to be a negative stereotype. It is necessary to look beyond the literal meaning to see that these images mean to convey a sense of God's wrath at sin in the former case and trust in God's providential care over the church in the latter.

The Book of Revelation cannot be adequately understood except against the historical background that occasioned its writing. Like Daniel and other apocalypses, it was composed as resistance literature to meet a crisis. The book itself suggests that the crisis was ruthless persecution of the early church by the Roman authorities; the harlot Babylon symbolizes pagan Rome, the city on seven hills (17, 9). The book is, then, an exhortation and admonition to Christians of the first century to stand firm in the faith and to avoid compromise with paganism, despite the threat of adversity and martyrdom; they are to await patiently the fulfillment of God's mighty promises. The triumph of God in the world of men and women remains a mystery, to be accepted in faith and longed for in hope. It is a triumph that unfolded in the history of Jesus of Nazareth and continues to unfold in the history of the individual Christian who follows the way of the cross, even, if necessary, to a martyr's The Book of Revelation had its origin in a time of crisis, but it remains valid and meaningful for Christians of all time. In the face of apparently insuperable evil, either from within or from without, all Christians are called to trust in Jesus' promise, "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). Those who remain steadfast in their faith and confidence in the risen Lord need have no fear. Suffering, persecution, even death by martyrdom, though remaining impenetrable mysteries of evil, do not comprise an absurd

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Friesen, Steven J. "Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of John". Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0195131536
  • Henry, Matthew "Matthew Henry's Commentary".Zondervan, 1960. ISBN: 0-10-26010-8

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  1. ↑ Kreider, Glenn. Jonathan Edwards' Interpretation of Revelation 4:1-8:1. Univ. Press of America, 2004.
  2. ↑ This view is held by the majority of Catholics[citation needed]. ((seeciteeb|url=http://www.catholic.com/library/Whore_of_Babylon.asp%7Ctitle=The Whore of Babylon|publisher=Catholic Answers|accessdate=2007-05-11}}
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