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Symbolism -

The Four Horsemen are key figures in the Book of Revelation from the Bible. Each of them embodies a significant event of the apocalypse that is set to come: conquest, war, famine, and death.

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The Son -

According to the Book of Revelation, the Four Horsemen are brought forth by Jesus Christ himself. Also known as the Lamb of God (or Lion of Judah), Christ opens four of seven seals that end up summoning the apocalypse.

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Conquest -

The first horseman, riding a white horse, wields a bow and wears a crown of victory. As his name suggests, he is prominently associated with conquest and conquering. Some interpretations also connect him with pestilence, while others argue he represents Christ or the antichrist.

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War -

The red horse signifies war, with the rider removing peace from Earth and wielding a large sword. This horseman’s actions result in widespread violence and slaughter in a symbol of human conflict on a devastating scale during the end times.

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Famine -

The third horseman, riding a black horse, holds scales in his hand. He represents scarcity and famine, with the high cost of wheat and barley reflecting economic collapse. During the apocalypse, luxuries like oil and wine remain unhindered, which shows the inequality that exists in apocalyptic suffering.

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Death -

The pale horse of the fourth horseman represents death, trailed by Hades. This rider is perhaps the most notorious. He has the authority to kill a quarter of the Earth’s population through famine, pestilence, war, and wild beasts.

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Four interpretations -

Ever since the Book of Revelation came into existence, many scholars and theologians have attempted to interpret the symbolism of the horsemen. There are four primary schools of interpretation and perspective that exist today.

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1. Idealist interpretation -

The idealist approach interprets the horsemen allegorically, depicting a timeless battle between good and evil. It sees these symbols as universal struggles that apply to all people, regardless of historical context or future events.

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The allegorical focus of idealism -

Idealists emphasize that the horsemen represent spiritual and moral struggles rather than literal events that will happen once the apocalypse comes to pass. Since this approach is based on allegory, an interpreter can assign any meaning they want to the symbols.

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Throughout time -

The idealist perspective also refrains from placing the Four Horsemen in any specific period of time. As such, the symbols in the Book of Revelation become timeless and applicable to every era.

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2. Futurist interpretation -

Just like the name implies, futurism views the Four Horsemen as harbingers of future catastrophic events leading to the end times. Each rider symbolizes a specific sequence of events in a prophetic timeline, beginning with conquest and ending with widespread death.

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Futurist debates -

Futurists often debate whether the first horseman, Conquest, represents Christ or an antichrist figure. Some argue that his conquest signifies the gospel’s triumph, but others view his weapon and actions as inconsistent with Christ’s message, which suggest that he’s an impostor pretending to be Christ.

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War and unrest -

In the futurist perspective, the red horse symbolizes wars and civil unrest that will intensify in the end times. It predicts escalating global conflicts as a direct consequence of the conquest initiated by the first horseman.

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Famine in the future -

According to futurists, the black horse predicts the collapse of economic systems and widespread famine, where even basic staples become unaffordable. The protection of luxuries like oil and wine simply highlights the stark inequality during this apocalyptic era.

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Death’s inevitability -

Death on the pale horse represents the culmination of all the apocalyptic events. The horse is sometimes depicted with a greenish hue or as a skeleton, which some believe to symbolize decay and disease, with the rider unleashing destruction through a combination of war, famine, pestilence, and predatory animals.

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3. Preterist interpretation -

Preterists believe the horsemen and the rest of the Book of Revelation represent events from the 1st century CE. The symbols are linked to figures like Roman Emperor Vespasian’s generals or the Empire’s turmoil.

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Religious struggle -

Many Christians experienced significant hardship under the eye of the Roman Empire. Preterists believe that the horsemen reflect the sociopolitical struggles of early Christian communities.

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Historical context -

According to preterism, the first horseman often represents mounted archers from the Parthian Empire, who were known for riding white horses. This interpretation links the rider’s conquest to historical military campaigns, emphasizing tangible events from the Roman Empire’s history.

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Civil unrest -

Preterists associate the red horse with the constant civil strife that plagued the Roman Empire. This unrest, characterized by violence and bloodshed, mirrors the horseman’s actions of removing peace and causing widespread slaughter.

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Famine’s literal representation -

Preterists believe that the black horse signifies famine and economic disparity during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The scarcity of essentials resulted in the suffering of the masses, while the wealthy were spared from hardship.

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Literalism -

Preterist interpretations often take a literal approach to the horsemen, with swords, wild beasts, and famine directly representing real historical elements.

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4. Historicist interpretation -

Historicism interprets the four horsemen as four symbolic stages of the Church’s history, from its early purity to periods of persecution, institutionalization, and spiritual decline. The symbols align with the church’s journey through successive eras.

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Purity -

According to historicists, the white horse signifies the early church’s purity and Christ’s victory over sin. Historicism connects the first horseman’s bow and crown to Old Testament imagery, reflecting God’s power and the triumphant spread of the gospel in its initial years.

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Persecution -

The red horse depicts the bloodshed of Christian martyrs during the early Roman persecutions. Historicists emphasize the violent opposition the Church faced as it struggled to establish itself amidst widespread hostility.

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Institutionalization -

The black horse represents the Church’s institutionalization, marked by the infiltration of pagan practices and a diminishing focus on Christ as the “bread of life.” This era in the Church’s history reflects spiritual famine rather than physical scarcity.

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Papal dominance -

The fourth horseman’s pale horse represents the period of Papal supremacy, during which scripture was inaccessible to laypeople. The spiritual control that the papacy held is equated to death, emphasizing the Church’s loss of transparency and connection with ordinary believers.

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Cultural impact -

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have transcended religious texts, becoming iconic symbols in literature, art, film, and popular culture. Even the 13th card in a tarot deck is of Death (sometimes the Grim Reaper) astride his pale white horse.

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Moral warnings -

Beyond their apocalyptic roles, the horsemen can serve as moral warnings about human behavior. Conquest warns of unchecked ambition, war of violence, famine of inequality, and death of humanity’s mortality and frailty.

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Hope amidst the horsemen’s terror -

Despite the fear they evoke, the Four Horsemen ultimately point toward the resolution of divine justice. For believers, their role in the apocalypse signifies not just destruction, but the ushering in of a renewed and redeemed world.

Sources: (TheCollector) (Britannica) (The Gottman Institute)

See also: Early Christianity and the sects it rejected

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