The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Four Beasts of the Apocalypse Part One

Revelation 6 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)

6 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and seethou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Are these the days of fulfillment of the prophesies in the Book of the Revelation?  There is reason to believe so.  One of the intriguing events described is the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  

Sometimes overlooked in this discussion are the Four Beasts, or "living creatures," described in Revelation 4:7, that introduce each of the Four Horsemen.  I'll make this easier to refer to with a chart:

Beast 1  A lion                 Horseman 1  A conqueror

Beast 2  An ox                 Horseman 2  War  

Beast 3  A man's face      Horseman 3  Famine

Beast 4  An eagle             Horseman 4  Death and Hell

It all begins with the Lamb opening the first seal in the Throneroom of God.  The Lamb is Christ. What are these seals?  The Book of the Revelation is about the judgments of God on the earth.  The judgments are divided into Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets and Seven Bowls.  The first four seals are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which are each introduced by one of the Four Beasts.  

Do the Horseman arrive individually or concurrently?  The text introduces them individually, but they may arrive all at the same time.  I would guess they are not far apart. Who are these Beasts?  Who are these Horsemen?  The Beasts are cherubim that stand before the Throne of God.  The Horsemen are earthly entities.  

When I say the Horsemen are earthly entities, I mean that they are personifications of either literal people who will be in the world, or else of categories of earthly events.  For example, when we speak of the Grim Reaper, do we speak of a literal person?  Most of us understand the Grim Reaper to be a personification of death.    And while many commentaries struggle to identify the Rider of the First Horse, is a literal person even being referred to?  I don't know.   Not so much ink is spilled trying to identify the Rider on the Second Horse - War.  No one asks, "Who is War?"  "How can War ride a horse?"

Why is prophesy so hazy, like dreams?  This is a mystery.  




















The First Beast is like a lion.  He introduces the First Horseman, who rides a white horse and holds a bow.  He wore a crown and went forth conquering and to conquer.  A lion introduces  a man with a crown, military weapons, and is a conqueror.  Who is he?  Why does he ride a white horse?  Does he speak of an actual person?  He could be a literal person, or he may represent the political theater of the time.  He could even represent the final empire.   Why is the horse white?  I'm working on that.  

The Second Beast is "like a calf."  Why did I use "an ox" on my chart then?  Because the translation of the original text could mean calf or ox.  More on that later.  The Second Horseman rode a red horse and carried a sword.  The power to take peace from the earth was given to him.  Is he a literal person?  He is usually thought to  personify war.   Why is the horse red?  I would guess that the color represents the color of bloodshed.  

The third controversial figure is the Third Horseman riding a black horse.  He is introduced by the Third Beast, who "had the face of a man."  The Third Horseman is usually said to be famine.   He holds balances in his hand, and a voice is heard saying, "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."  A measure of wheat would be what a man would usually eat in a day.  A penny would be the amount a man would earn in a day.  Connecting the dots, one sees that food is expensive, because it would cost all one could earn just for food.  On the other hand, does this Rider represent famine because food is mentioned?  Money is also mentioned.   This may be the personification of economic turmoil.  While there may be food, it may become exorbitantly expensive.  Why is this horse black?  Is he somehow juxtaposed with the white horse of the First Horseman?  

The Fourth Beast was "like a flying eagle."  He introduces the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, Death and Hell, riding a pale horse.   Why a pale horse?  I think this suggests a corpse.  This whole quartet describes the atmosphere ushering in the earth's darkest days.  

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.  

to be continued.