The idea of the Four Horsemen originates from Christian myth, they appear in three main books in the Old Testament, the writers can be found in the Book of Zechariah, or the book of Ezekiel. The New Testament talks about them in the book of Revelation Chapter Six of Revelation talks about a scroll in the right hand of God, which has been sealed shut by seven individual seals. When the Lamb of God opens the first four of the seven seals, he shall summon forth for beings that ride on white, red, black, and pale horses out of these four riders Only death is named in the Bible. The rest are named after what they represent. The Lamb of God. For those unfamiliar, is a title given to Jesus Christ. This leads us to believe if Jesus is opening the seals and unleashing the apocalypse upon humanity, then maybe it was ordained by God Himself. Maybe it is a future or punishment, that humanity brought upon itself. The first horseman to appear, is the rider in white, the Horsemen of conquest. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, come. I looked, and behold a white horse. And He who sat on it had a bow and the crown was given to her, and he went out conquering and to conquer. This horseman has been interpreted in several different ways. In this context, conquering men spreading the word of God across the land. The reason this rider is dressed in white would have been because traditionally it's a color the Bible associated with purity, Christ, and righteousness. In the mid 19th century, there were those who claimed this horseman represented something closer to the Antichrist and was not to be seen as a positive figure with a white the horseman was also thought to symbolize war, which would make sense considering war and conquest, often go hand in hand, but war is something more commonly associated with the red horse. You may also see that many refer to the first horseman as pestilence, instead of conquest, and there are a few reasons for this more in conquest or fairly similar. And so in the last few 100 years, writers and scholars have instead associated the first horsemen with infectious disease, the bringer of plague. The Romans interpreted the Four Horsemen slightly differently. They saw them as representing or prophesizing the future of the Roman Empire, the color white to them was symbolic of triumph, political success, and prosperity. Although the horsemen may not have been seen as Christ, or religion. They also saw him largely as a positive thing. The second horseman is the rider in red the Horsemen of war, when he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, calm under no nothing, a red horse when tapped into Him who sat on it, it was granted to take a piece from the earth. And that men would slay one another, and a great sword was given to him. Everything about the second horseman is fairly straightforward. He rides on a fiery red horse with his great sword held upwards as a declaration of war. An upward-facing sword would often signify the intention to enter battle, and the color red, we can assume symbolizes the bloodshed that comes with war the white and red horsemen are both connected to war, but not the same type of conquest in play is trying to seize control of something through military force. In the case of the Horsemen of conquest, that would mean spreading the word of God, to those who may be of a different faith. It was granted to take peace from. And that men would slay one another. It's this passage that led scholars to interpret the Horsemen of war as representing civil war 2. If we go back to the Roman Empire. The White Horseman was symbolic of the success of Rome. The red horsemen, not so much the second seal being broken meant peace left Rome. There was bloodshed, civil war, and insurrection in the empire. This is attributed to the Roman Emperor accommodators, whose reign is considered the end of the golden era within Rome, and the beginning of civil unrest.
The third Horseman is the black rider, the Horsemen of famine. When he broke the third seal, I heard the third living creatures say come. I looked, and behold a black horse. And He who sat on it had a pair of scales in his head, and I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying a quart of wheat for a denarius and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not damage the oil and wine. Some believe the scales the horseman holds can be interpreted as the scales of justice, others believe these scales actually reflect how bread used to be weighed in times of famine. The mention of barley and wheat in the above passage is why the latter interpretation is used more commonly, the prices mentioned may not make much sense now, but it roughly translates to an entire day's work, just to buy some of the ingredients needed to make bread. So you can see how that may have caused the famine. It also mentions the price of oil and wine remains untouched, but these were luxuries away out of the price range of a common worker. This can also be taken in a literal sense as a plague of locusts could easily ravage crops, but grape vines and olive branches are a bit more resolute. If the Horseman is bringing this famine as a punishment then going after necessities such as wheat and barley which offer little resistance, but are of great importance does make sense. If we once again go back to the Roman Empire. The third horsemen and the increasing costs of basic necessities would represent the excessive taxation of Roman citizens that led to the rich continuing their lavish lifestyles, Whilst everyone else struggled just to feed their families. The fourth and final Horseman is the Pale Rider. Many scholars have described him to have a sickly appearance, as opposed to a specific color like the other horsemen in later artistic interpretations the color green is what we would associate with the Horsemen of death. When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying come I looked, and behold a pale horse, and he who sat on it had the name Death and Hades was following him. authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword and with famine and pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. The fourth horseman is the only one to be mentioned by name. He's also referred to as Thanatos, a Greek deity or spirit associated with a non-violent death. Death is also described as being followed by Hades, which in this sense, may not necessarily mean the God himself, but more so Hades the rest in place of the dead authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword and with famine and pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. This can be interpreted as death being given the authority to kill and Hades to take the soul for the fact that mentions by sword and famine and pestilence, you would imagine this passage refers to all four horsemen .
After the years of carnage famine oppression and failures by the Empire to look after its own people. Death would mark the dissolution of the Roman Empire. The Four Horsemen have been interpreted in many different ways. One being as a prophecy of the Great Tribulation, a series of judgments from God, that caused and many on earth to die. Those who repented for their sins and accepted Him as their Savior would form a new world of those who remained faithful. The horsemen were the first of many judgments. The first seal being broken signifying the arrival of the Antichrist, the second was a global war. The third economic collapse and the last was the death of a quarter of the world's population. The Book of Zechariah takes a different approach to the Four Horsemen. Here they are known as four spirits who descend from Heaven on chariots, each one with a different colored horse. Unlike in Revelation. Their role is not to bring the apocalypse. They were sent to patrol the earth and main piece. So the accounting Zechariah is pretty much the opposite to Revelation. Hopefully, this sheds some light on the four horsemen. If you'd like to share your favorite references of the four horsemen, then feel free to do so in the comment section. As always, I've been your host mythology infection explained.
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