Four Horsemen Overview
The Four Horsemen are part of the visions described in the Book of Revelation, specifically under the opening of the first four of the seven seals. These events are detailed in Revelation 6:1-8. Each of the Four Horsemen is associated with a different seal:
- The White Horse (First Seal): Symbolizing conquest or victory, the rider on the white horse is often interpreted as representing the antichrist. This is found in Revelation 6:1-2.
- The Red Horse (Second Seal): This horse symbolizes war and bloodshed. The rider is granted the power to take peace from the earth and make people kill each other, as described in Revelation 6:3-4.
- The Black Horse (Third Seal): Representing famine, the rider on the black horse holds a pair of scales, indicating the weighing and rationing of food, detailed in Revelation 6:5-6.
- The Pale Horse (Fourth Seal): Death is personified in the rider of the pale horse, with Hades following close behind. This horseman is given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts, as mentioned in Revelation 6:7-8.
These Four Horsemen are distinct from the later trumpet judgments that occur when the seventh seal is opened, which introduces another set of cataclysmic events described in Revelation chapters 8 through 11. The seals primarily deal with events on earth, while the trumpets announce events that are more cosmic in scope.
