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!" 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.
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.
Then 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!"
When the Lamb
opened the fourth seal, 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. Revelation 6:1-8
These four horses are sometimes known
as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.
They have been characterized as hooded figures on multi-colored horses
riding around the land. What are they
really?
They are not actual horsemen. That’s the stuff of mythology. They must represent something else. They
represent judgment.
·
White Horse – judgment
on nations, conquering them
·
Red Horse – judgment
on people, robbing them of peace
·
Black Horse – judgment
on the economy, causing inflation
·
Pale Horse – judgment
on health, by wars, famine or plague
Old Testament
View (Zechariah):
I looked up
again—and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two
mountains—mountains of bronze! The first chariot had red horses, the second
black, the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. I asked
the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these, my lord?"
The angel answered
me, "These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the
presence of the Lord of the whole world. The one with the black horses is going
toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west, and
the one with the dappled horses toward the south."
When the powerful
horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said,
"Go throughout the earth!" So they went throughout the earth.
Zechariah 6:1-7
These are four angels (spirits)
trotting out into the world in all directions, bringing chaos and plunder. It does not represent a specific event that
happened in history, but a pronouncement of judgment on the people of the world
for all time.
New Testament
View (Matthew):
You will hear of
wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things
must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various
places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:6-7
Jesus said wars, death, famines and
earthquakes will happen as they always happen.
These are the natural “birth” pains that will occur before the final,
beautiful arrival of Jesus back to the earth to end it all. While not specified as horses of apocalypse,
Jesus spoke of a similar judgment on mankind – wars between nations, famines,
earthquakes.
The four horsemen speak of judgment
coming on the land or a people in the form of devastating, ongoing events that
come about because of the disobedience of people.