The Four Horsemen
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The seals closely parallel the signs of the approaching end times spoken of in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Mt 24:1–35; Mk 13:1–37; Lk 21:5–33). In these passages, the events of the last days fall into three periods: (1) the period of false christs, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and death called “the beginning of birth pains” (Mt 24:8); (2) the period of the great tribulation (Mt 24:21; NIV, “great distress”); and finally, (3) the period “immediately after the distress of those days,” when the sun, moon, and stars will be affected and Christ will return (Mt 24:29–30). This parallel to major parts of Revelation is too striking to be ignored. Thus the seals would correspond to the “beginning of birth pains” found in the Olivet Discourse. The
The seals closely parallel the signs of the approaching end times spoken of in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Mt 24:1–35; Mk 13:1–37; Lk 21:5–33). In these passages, the events of the last days fall into three periods: (1) the period of false christs, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and death called “the beginning of birth pains” (Mt 24:8); (2) the period of the great tribulation (Mt 24:21; NIV, “great distress”); and finally, (3) the period “immediately after the distress of those days,” when the sun, moon, and stars will be affected and Christ will return (Mt 24:29–30). This parallel to major parts of Revelation is too striking to be ignored. Thus the seals would correspond to the “beginning of birth pains” found in the Olivet Discourse
the events immediately preceding the end can stretch out over the whole age of the church, from John’s time until now, and can still be viewed as “next” (4:1) in the sense that the “last days” began in the first century and are still continuing (cf. 1 Jn 2:18).
The first four seals are distinct from the last two in that they describe four horses of different colors with four riders who are given different powers over the earth. We find the background for the imagery of these four seals in Zechariah 1:8–10 and 6:1–8. In Zechariah’s visions, the horsemen and chariots are divine instruments of judgment on the enemies of God’s people, while the colors represent geographical points of the compass. This may also be the best interpretation of the horses and their riders in Revelation 6, where each is sent by Christ through the instrumentality of the living creatures.
An analogy may be a first-century amphitheater or circus, with various charioteers being summoned into the arena of the world by the call “come!” or “go forth!”
Again the “bow” would most naturally be connected with the enemy of God’s people (Eze 39:3; cf. Rev 20:7–8). Finally, the parallelism to the Olivet Discourse shows that the first events mentioned are the rise of “false Christs and false prophets” (Mt 24:24).
Each of the first four seals, then, represents conflict directed at Christians to test them and to sift out false disciples (6:10).
A “crown” refers to victorious conquest in 19:12, where Christ wears “many crowns.” “He was given” is the formula for the sovereign permission to carry out acts
Therefore, the first rider represents a satanic force attempting to defeat and oppress believers spiritually through deception, persecution, or both (so 11:7; 13:7). The image of the rider may include reference to (1) the antichrist, (2) governments that persecute Christians, or (3) the devil’s servants in general
Here white may refer to the forces of evil as they try to appear righteous and thus deceive by imitating Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 11:13–15). The portrayal is intended by John as a parody of Christ’s righteousness and victory in 19:11–16: Satan’s attempts to be victorious are but feeble imitations of Christ, worthy only for ridicule (as in, e.g., 11:7; 13:1–13)
Therefore, the horses in Rev. 6:1–8 signify that the natural and political disasters throughout the world are caused by Christ in order to judge unbelievers who persecute Christians and in order to vindicate his people. This vindication will demonstrate his love for his people and his justice
The second horseman is war and bloodshed. He rides on a “fiery red” steed, whose color symbolizes slaughter (2 Ki 3:22–23); he is given the “large sword” because the number of those he kills is so great
This amount suggests food prices about twelve times higher than normal (Beckwith, 520) and implies inflation and conditions of famine (Mt 24:7). A quart of wheat would supply an average person with one day’s sustenance. Barley was used by the poor to mix with the wheat. The
The second horseman is war and bloodshed. He rides on a “fiery red” steed, whose color symbolizes slaughter (2 Ki 3:22–23); he is given the “large sword” because the number of those he kills is so great
This amount suggests food prices about twelve times higher than normal (Beckwith, 520) and implies inflation and conditions of famine (Mt 24:7). A quart of wheat would supply an average person with one day’s sustenance. Barley was used by the poor to mix with the wheat.
So in this view the third seal brings poverty and partial, though not severe, famine. Mounce, 144, notes, “This interpretation is in harmony with the increasing intensity of the three cycles of judgment. The fourth seal affects ‘the fourth part of the earth’ (6:8), the trumpets destroy a third (8:7, 8, 10, 12), and the destruction by the bowls is complete and final (16:1ff.).”
The fourth seal reveals a rider on a “pale horse.” “Pale” (chlōros, GK 5952) denotes a yellowish green, the light green of a plant, or the paleness of a sick person in contrast to a healthy appearance
This probably refers to the death brought by pestilence or plague, which often follows famine (cf. Jer 14:12; Eze 5:17; 14:21; Lk 21:11). “Hades was following close behind [Death].” But how? On foot? On the back of the same horse? On a separate horse? Scripture does not say. (On “Hades,” see comments at 1:18.) There seems to be a growth of intensity in the judgments as they are carried out by various agencies—the sword (human violence), famine, plague, and now the wild beasts of the earth