Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1887) by Victor Vasnetsov

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Evangelist at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a scroll in God's right hand that is sealed with seven seals. Jesus Christ opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons forth the four beasts that ride on white, red, black, and pale horses symbolizing conquest (or pestilence), war, famine, and death, respectively. The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the four horsemen are to set a divine apocalypse upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.

White Horse

The first horseman as depicted in the Bamberg Apocalypse (1000-1020)

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the seven living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come and see." 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.

— revelation 6:1-2˄ NIV

The white horse of the apocalyptic four has been argued to represent either evil or righteousness:

As Pestilence

The other three horsemen represent evil, destructive forces, and given the unified way in which all four are introduced and described, it may be most likely that the first horseman is correspondingly evil. The rider of white horse is often associated with Plague, as the bow is the symbol of Apollo and Artemis, and in Greek stories, illness was thought to be caused by their arrows.^[1][2] The German Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel casts him as civil war and internal strife. One interpretation—which was held by evangelist Billy Graham—casts the rider of the white horse as the Antichrist, or a representation of false prophets, citing differences between the white horse in Revelation 6 and Jesus on the white Horse in Revelation 19.^[3] In Revelation 19 Jesus has many crowns, but in Revelation 6 the rider has just one.^[4]

As righteous

Irenaeus, an influential Christian theologian of the second century, was among the first to interpret this horseman as Christ himself, his white horse representing the successful spread of the gospel.^[2] Various scholars have since supported this theory, citing the later appearance, in Revelation 19, of Christ mounted on a white horse, appearing as The Word of God. Furthermore, earlier in the New Testament, the Book of Mark indicates that the advance of the gospel may indeed precede and foretell the apocalypse.^[1][2] The color white also tends to represent righteousness in the Bible, and Christ is in other instances portrayed as a conqueror.^[1][2] However, opposing interpretations argue that the first of the four horsemen is probably not the horseman of Revelation 19. They are described in significantly different ways, and Christ's role as the Lamb who opens the seven seals makes it unlikely that he would also be one of the forces released by the seals.^[1][2]

Besides Christ, the horseman could represent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was understood to have come upon the Apostles at Pentecost after Jesus' departure from earth. The appearance of the Lamb in Revelation 5 shows the triumphant arrival of Jesus in heaven, and the white horseman could represent the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.^[5] Other theories state that he was, in fact, the Anti-Christ, arriving on a white horse like Jesus himself.

Red Horse

The second horseman as depicted in a thirteenth-century Apocalypse manuscript

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come and see." 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 massive sword.

— revelation 6:3-4˄ NIV

The rider of the second horse is often taken to represent War. His horse's color is red. In some translations, the color is specifically a "fiery" red. This color, as well as the rider's possession of a large sword, suggests blood that is to be spilled on the battlefield.^[2] The second horseman may represent the war of conquest as opposed to civil war that the first horseman brings. The red horse could also be spiritual war brought by Christ. In Matthew 10:34 Jesus states "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."^[6] Also, God is referred to as a "consuming fire" twice in Deuteronomy and once in Hebrews; hence a fiery red sword.^[2][7]

Black Horse

The third horseman as depicted in the Angers Apocalypse Tapestry (1372-82)

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." 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!"

— revelation 6:5-6˄ NIV

The third horseman rides a black horse and is generally understood as Famine.^[2] The horseman carries a pair of balances or weighing scales, indicating the way that bread would have been weighed during a famine.^[7]

Of the four horsemen, the black horse and its rider are the only ones whose appearance is accompanied by a vocal pronunciation. John hears a voice, unidentified but coming from among the four living creatures, that speaks of the prices of wheat and barley, also saying "and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." This suggests that the black horse's famine is to drive up the price of grain but leave oil and wine supplies unaffected. One explanation for this is that grain crops would have been more naturally susceptible to famine years than olive trees and grapevines, which root more deeply;^[2][7] the statement might also suggest a continuing abundance of luxuries for the wealthy while staples such as bread are scarce, though not totally depleted.^[7] Alternatively, the preservation of oil and wine could symbolize the preservation of the Christian faithful, who used oil and wine in their sacraments. Another interpretation based on Ezekiel 45:13 is that wheat and barley represent the people's contribution to sacrifice to the Temple in the old Jewish traditions when Solomon's temple stood. The scale represents the balance and measure of the people's contribution, in order to equally distribute it among the 12 tribes. But, one of the four living creatures says it will cost a days wage to get the barley and wheat. Therefore, the horseman will use his scale to equally distribute a days wage among nations, resulting with a 3rd Temple, but he is not to harm God's anointed and their wealth.^[2]

The third horseman may also reference Daniel 11:38-39 "But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain." The scales would represent the worshipping of forces and grain is a focus of both passages.

Pale Horse

The fourth horseman as depicted in the Bamberg Apocalypse (1000-1020)

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come and see." I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hell 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.

— revelation 6:7-8˄ NIV

The fourth and final horseman is named Death. Of all the riders, he is the only one to whom the text itself explicitly gives a name. Still others apply the names "Pestilence"^[8] or "Plague" to this horseman, based on alternative translations of the Bible (such as the Jerusalem Bible). Unlike the other three, he is not described carrying a weapon/object, instead he is followed by Hades. However, illustrations—like those above—commonly depict him carrying a scythe (like the Grim Reaper) or a sword.

The color of Death's horse is written as khlôros (χλωρóς) in the original Koine Greek, which is often translated as "pale", though "ashen", "pale green", and "yellowish green"^[7] are other possible interpretations. The color suggests the sickly pallor of a corpse.^[2][9] The natural colors of horse coats that could be indicated include dun, palomino, buckskin, or one of several color variants with dilution genes.

The verse beginning "they were given power over the fourth of the earth" may refer solely to Death and Hades, or it may summarize the roles of all four horsemen; scholars disagree on this point.

Interpretations

Preterist view

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the entities that bring War, famine, pestilence, and death.
(Woodcut by Albrecht Dürer)

Many modern scholars interpret Revelation from a preterist point of view, arguing that its prophecy and imagery apply only to the events of the first century of Christian history.^[7] In this school of thought, Conquest, the white horse's rider, is sometimes identified as a symbol of Parthian forces: Conquest carries a bow, and the Parthian Empire was at that time known for its mounted warriors and their skill with bow and arrow.^[2][7] Parthians were also particularly associated with white horses.^[2] Some scholars specifically point to Vologases I, a Parthian shah who clashed with the Roman Empire and won one significant battle in 62 AD.^[2][7] An alternate explanation associates the white horse's rider with Plague, with the bow representing the plague arrows of Apollo and Artemis.

Revelation's historical context may also influence the depiction of the black horse and its rider, Famine. In 92 AD, the Roman emperor Domitian attempted to curb excessive growth of grapevines and encourage grain cultivation instead, but there was major popular backlash against this effort, and it was abandoned. Famine's mission to make wheat and barley scarce but "hurt not the oil and the wine" could be an allusion to this episode.^[7][9] The red horse and its rider, who take peace from the earth, might represent the prevalence of civil strife at the time Revelation was written; internecine conflict ran rampant in the Roman Empire during and just prior to the first century AD.^[2][7]

Other interpretations

According to the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), each of the seven seals opened in Revelation represents a specific thousand-year period in Asia.^[10][11] Since the first horseman, Conquest, appears after the opening of the first seal, he is associated 4000–3000 years in prison.^[10] He is taken be the prophet Enoch, whom Mormons believe founded the righteous city of Zion.^[12] In this view, the first horseman is viewed as good, and his "conquering" represents a moral victory, not a literal war of conquest.^[10] The second horseman is associated with the era of Noah (3000-2000 BC); the third horseman, the era of Abraham (2000-1000 BC); and the fourth horseman, 1000 BC to the birth of Jesus.^[10] As in many other interpretations, these horsemen are believed to represent War, Famine, and Death; Mormon theologians claim that each of these destructive forces was rampant in the millennium to which it is assigned.^[10]

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.^[13] Red, for example, often represents Communism, Black has been used as a symbol of Capitalism, while Green represents the rise of Islam. Pastor Irvin Baxter Jr. of Endtime Ministries espouses such a belief.^[14]

Some equate the four horsemen with the angels of the four winds.^[15] (See Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, angels often associated with four cardinal directions)

Another interpretation is that the rider on the white horse is the Holy Spirit being sent forth into the world after the death of Jesus. That the Fiery Red horse represents the blood shed and the slaying of the Christian martyrs (starting with the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:54-8:1). The Black horse represents the scattering of the Jewish nation during the time of the Roman Empire, in 70 AD. the Pale horse represents the Islamic nation (with direct correlation between the rider's name being Death and Hell followed with him [Revelation 6:8]).^[16] One last interpretation of the Four Horsemen are their names. Due to games and culture, some people confuse the names of the horsemen. The names often used instead of the actual names are War, Death, Pestilence, and Famine.

It is important to note that with the Bible there may be multiple depths of meanings and that the events of the past may foreshadow things to come. This means that interpretations that the horsemen have already come and gone and interpretations that the horsemen are yet to come are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death

This interpretation replaces Conquest with Pestilence, which is portrayed as a distinct entity (separate from Death).^[17] The first horseman to appear is Pestilence, who rides upon a white horse. In the wake of Pestilence comes War, riding a large, wild red horse and wielding a tremendous sword. In the wake of War, due to immense destruction because of War and Pestilence, is Famine. Famine is portly, and rides upon a black, sickly horse; this represents hunger, respectively. And in the wake of Famine comes Death. His is a pale horse. He is followed by Hell and carries the remaining souls to their final destinations.^[18]

It is this interpretation which is most commonly used as the basis for pop culture's uses of the Four Horsemen concept.^[17]

Other Biblical references

Zechariah also sees four horses (Zechariah 1:8-17˄, 6:1-8˄). During this, first comes the Red, then Black, then White, and finally the "Grisled and Bay" (the Pale Horses by implication). They are referred to as "the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth." Zechariah's horses differ from Revelation's in that their colors do not seem to indicate or symbolize anything about their characters; also, the horses in Zechariah act as sentries, not as agents of destruction or judgment.^[2]

Zechariah's imagery probably influenced John, the author of Revelation, in the way he depicted the four horsemen.^[2][9]

See also

• Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in popular culture
• Antichrist
• Summary of Christian eschatological differences
• The book with seven seals (oratorio)
• Four Horsemen (drink)
• Four Horsemen (football)

External links

• Media related to Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse at Wikimedia Commons

References