“Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold… (1)
Such is described in the last book of the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the Book of Revelation.
John of Patmos is credited with writing down his visions in prophesy, which were later inscribed into the Christian Bible, in the Book of Revelation. He is also known as John the Divine. He is not known to be called a Saint. He is not St. John the Apostle of Jesus, from which the Gospel of John is taken, nor is he John the Baptist. (2)
Patmos is a Greek Island, one of three island places where persons were exiled for various reasons during the Roman Empire.
The Beings or creatures in John’s visions are supposed to be harbingers, symbolizing prophesy. They are said to be warning mankind of things to come.
Or they could just be one guy’s creepy idea of trying to scare people.
In the visions, God Himself is said to be in possession of a large scroll which He holds in His right hand. The scroll is bound by seven seals.
The Lamb of God opens four of the seven seals and out springs the stuff of nightmares.
Four appallingly skinny beings ride atop four really boney, scary horses. One horse is white, one red, one black, and one pale.
Many interpretations have arisen since these visions were first described.
One interpretation that has generally stayed fairly common is that the white horse symbolizes Pestilence, Disease, or Plague.
The Horseman is clad in barbaric, gaudy armor and as the horse gallops over the Earth, he shoots his bow and arrows, spreading disease everywhere. The quiver is full of poisonous arrows tipped in germs and bacteria of all natures of sickness and plague. (3)
The rider of the second horse is said to represent War, and is often depicted holding up a huge sword and shield.
In symbolism and art, when a mounted horseman is holding up the sword and shield, it is said to represent heraldry and a declaration of war, or of entering into battle. (4)
He is said to take peace away from the Earth, and to possibly enter a time of persecution of Christians.
From the third seal springs a Horseman astride a black horse, said to represent Famine.
If food production ceases due to catastrophe, or supply chains are halted, prices of food go up.
If the price of food increases by astronomical proportions from the normal, or if a person spends their entire daily wage to receive only enough to eat for themselves, or if they had to purchase less nutritious food on that same wage in order to feed a family, then the population would struggle to eat and survive. (5)
This could be considered Famine. Famine can also occur due to natural consequences of farms and crops being wiped out; no farms or farmers means no food.
The fourth Horseman is named Death and is a grotesque skeleton creature sporting a scythe. He springs forth from the broken seal and rides across the Earth, cutting down human beings for any number of reasons, including cataclysms.
Tidal waves, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions causing global clouds, nuclear catastrophe and the like can all cause mass extinction of living species.
Greek translations show the horse as ashen, pale, or a sickly, pale green or yellowish color, likely reflecting the sick pallor of dead human corpses.
There are many interpretations of all the symbolism that John of Patmos saw in his visions.
There are theological, historical, prophetic, and “preteristic” interpretations.
Preteristic comes from Christians who view prophesy or interpret Biblical prophesy as “having already occurred.” (6)
John of Patmos was living on the island of Patmos when he saw these visions. He was probably exiled due to being persecuted for being a Christian, one of many during the Roman Empire, under Emperor Domitian.
Prophesy was considered a banishable offense, along with magic and sorcery.
Christians tend to interpret the four Horsemen as warnings of future Tribulations where many on Earth will die due to cataclysmic events.
God is to judge the Earth, but He gives mankind a chance to repent first.
The Horsemen represent the catastrophic events.
Most likely, these events have already occurred, and did occur soon after John of Patmos psychically viewed them.
The ungodly, heathen Roman Empire that had experienced untold prosperity, advanced modern plumbing and medicine of its day, good times, and food a-plenty, was followed by a steady decline and subsequent fall. (6)
The Preterist viewpoint extols this belief, and leaves all of the scary events in the 1st century AD of Christian history. (Phew! Am I glad to hear that.)
Civil strife as per the red horse was noted throughout the 1st century AD, while famine’s black horse could have symbolized Emperor Domitian’s attempts to subdue the expansion of grape growing and vineyards in favor of other food types, in 92 AD. (7)
Famine could make scarce wheat and barley, but olives could withstand weather and other events, thus olives and olive oil could still be produced.
The white horse of war may symbolize the Parthians of the time, who fought with the Roman Empire and won a notable battle in 62 AD. (8)
Modern interpretations have the red horse symbolizing socialism and communism, the white horse as Catholicism, and the pale green horse as the rise of Islam and its Calipihates seeking to dominate the entire Earth. (9)
Each person will interpret as they will.
I myself fully believe that when a mass thought enters into mass consciousness, then the thought becomes manifest as truth and reality.
It is like the 11th monkey washing his sweet potato on a separate island. How did a monkey on a separate island suddenly know to start washing his sweet potato before he eats it, when he never saw any other monkey engaging in this practice?
If people believe in Armageddon and catastrophe, then that will manifest as truth and reality.
If people believe in the Prince of Peace and what He stands for, then that will manifest as Truth and experience. Who has more believers believing in what they believe?
Tales of unearthly skeletons flying out of Biblical seals, riding grotesque forms of equine only stand to install fear and unrest. I choose to believe Jesus wants us to firmly anchor our faith in Him, so that He can encompass us into His Divine care, safely and serenely. There is a good reason He goes by the Name of Prince of Peace.
There is no fate but what we make.
Looking out into my paddocks at my healthy, beautiful equines standing peacefully munching their hay, I close once again with the immortal words of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, “Happy Trails to You.”
1: Revelation 6:1-2, NASB
3- 9: Internet/ Wikipedia