The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse describes the four horsemen who, according to the New Testament in the Christian Bible, represent Conquest, War, Famine and Death. They are summoned and empowered by God as part of the opening of the Seven Seals. There are four separate horsemen, each representing something different. Each rides a different color horse, wields a different weapon and has a different power. THE WHITE HORSE The white horse is the first of the four horsemen to arrive. He represents Conquest and his power is "to go forth in conquest; to kill with the beasts of the Earth." He Yeilds a Crown and a Bow. AS EVIL The other three horsemen represent evil, destructive forces, and given the unified way in which all four are introduced and described, it may be most likely that the first horseman is correspondingly evil. Some interpret the rider of the white horse to be the Antichrist, or a representation of false prophets, citing differences between the white horse in Revelation 6 and Jesus on the white Horse in Revelation 19. Revelation 19 Jesus has many crowns, but in Revelation 6 the rider has one. In Revelation 19, the rider on the horse is depicted as "The Word of God". The rider of the white horse may represent the second coming of Christ during which the end of the world/judgment day would occur. He may also just represent judgment of the living and the damned AS RIGHTOUS Irenaeus, an influential Christian theologian of the second century, was among the first to interpret this horseman as Christ himself, his white horse representing the successful spread of the gospel. Various scholars have since supported this theory, citing the later appearance, in Revelation 19, of Christ mounted on a white horse, appearing as The Word of God. Furthermore, earlier in the New Testament, the Book of Mark indicates that the advance of the gospel may indeed precede and foretell the apocalypse. The color white also tends to represent righteousness in the Bible, and Christ is in other instances portrayed as a conqueror. However, opposing interpretations argue that the first of the four horsemen is probably not the horseman of Revelation 19. They are described in significantly different ways, and Christ's role as the Lamb who opens the seven seals makes it unlikely that he would also be one of the forces released by the seals. Besides Christ, the horseman could represent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was understood to have come upon the Apostles at Pentecost after Jesus' departure from earth. The appearance of the Lamb in Revelation 5 shows the triumphant arrival of Jesus in heaven, and the white horseman could represent the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. FROM THE BIBLE "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest." — Revelation 6:1-2 NIV THE RED HORSE The rider of the second horse is often taken to represent War. His horse's color is red, or, in some translations, specifically a "fiery" red. This color, as well as the rider's possession of a large sword, suggests blood to be spilled on the battlefield. The second horseman may represent civil war as opposed to the war of conquest that the first horseman brings FROM THE BIBLE "When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a huge sword." — Revelation 6:3-4 NIV THE BLACK HORSE The third horseman rides a black horse and is generally understood as Famine. The black colour of the horse could be a symbol of the dead. The horseman carries a pair of balances or weighing scales, indicating the way that bread would have been weighed during a famine. Of the four horsemen, the black horse and its rider are the only ones whose appearance is accompanied by a vocal pronunciation. John hears a voice, unidentified but coming from among the four living creatures, that speaks of the prices of wheat and barley, also saying "and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." This suggests that the black horse's famine is to drive up the price of grain but leave oil and wine supplies unaffected. One explanation for this is that grain crops would have been more naturally susceptible to famine years than olive trees and grapevines, which root more deeply; the statement might also suggest a continuing abundance of luxuries for the wealthy while staples such as as bread are scarce, though not totally depleted. Alternatively, the preservation of oil and wine could symbolize the preservation of the Christian faithful, who used oil and wine in their sacraments. FROM THE BIBLE "When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!" — Revelation 6:5-6 NIV THE PALE HORSE The fourth and final horseman is named Death. Of all the riders, he is the only one to whom the text itself gives a name. Unlike the other three, he carries no weapon or other object (but some versions say that Death carries the scythe, symbolizing that he is the Grim Reaper); instead he is followed by Hades. The color of Death's horse is written as khlômos (χλωμóς) in the original Koine Greek, which is often translated as "pale", though "ashen", "pale green", and "yellowish green" are other possible interpretations. The color suggests the sickly pallor of a corpse. The natural colors of horse coats that could be indicated include dun, palomino, buckskin, or one of several color variants with dilution genes. The verse beginning "they were given power over the fourth of the earth" may refer solely to Death and Hades, or it may summarize the roles of all four horsemen; scholars disagree on this point FROM THE BIBLE "When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." — Revelation 6:7-8 NIV

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse describes the four horsemen who, according to the New Testament in the Christian Bible, represent Conquest, War, Famine and Death. They are summoned and empowered by God as part of the opening of the Seven Seals.

There are four separate horsemen, each representing something different. Each rides a different color horse, wields a different weapon and has a different power.

THE WHITE HORSE

The white horse is the first of the four horsemen to arrive. He represents Conquest and his power is "to go forth in conquest; to kill with the beasts of the Earth." He Yeilds a Crown and a Bow.

AS EVIL
The other three horsemen represent evil, destructive forces, and given the unified way in which all four are introduced and described, it may be most likely that the first horseman is correspondingly evil. Some interpret the rider of the white horse to be the Antichrist, or a representation of false prophets, citing differences between the white horse in Revelation 6 and Jesus on the white Horse in Revelation 19. Revelation 19 Jesus has many crowns, but in Revelation 6 the rider has one. In Revelation 19, the rider on the horse is depicted as "The Word of God". The rider of the white horse may represent the second coming of Christ during which the end of the world/judgment day would occur. He may also just represent judgment of the living and the damned

AS RIGHTOUS
Irenaeus, an influential Christian theologian of the second century, was among the first to interpret this horseman as Christ himself, his white horse representing the successful spread of the gospel. Various scholars have since supported this theory, citing the later appearance, in Revelation 19, of Christ mounted on a white horse, appearing as The Word of God. Furthermore, earlier in the New Testament, the Book of Mark indicates that the advance of the gospel may indeed precede and foretell the apocalypse. The color white also tends to represent righteousness in the Bible, and Christ is in other instances portrayed as a conqueror. However, opposing interpretations argue that the first of the four horsemen is probably not the horseman of Revelation 19. They are described in significantly different ways, and Christ's role as the Lamb who opens the seven seals makes it unlikely that he would also be one of the forces released by the seals.
Besides Christ, the horseman could represent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was understood to have come upon the Apostles at Pentecost after Jesus' departure from earth. The appearance of the Lamb in Revelation 5 shows the triumphant arrival of Jesus in heaven, and the white horseman could represent the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

FROM THE BIBLE
"I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."
— Revelation 6:1-2 NIV

THE RED HORSE The rider of the second horse is often taken to represent War. His horse's color is red, or, in some translations, specifically a "fiery" red. This color, as well as the rider's possession of a large sword, suggests blood to be spilled on the battlefield. The second horseman may represent civil war as opposed to the war of conquest that the first horseman brings

FROM THE BIBLE
"When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a huge sword."
— Revelation 6:3-4 NIV

THE BLACK HORSE
The third horseman rides a black horse and is generally understood as Famine. The black colour of the horse could be a symbol of the dead. The horseman carries a pair of balances or weighing scales, indicating the way that bread would have been weighed during a famine.
Of the four horsemen, the black horse and its rider are the only ones whose appearance is accompanied by a vocal pronunciation. John hears a voice, unidentified but coming from among the four living creatures, that speaks of the prices of wheat and barley, also saying "and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." This suggests that the black horse's famine is to drive up the price of grain but leave oil and wine supplies unaffected. One explanation for this is that grain crops would have been more naturally susceptible to famine years than olive trees and grapevines, which root more deeply; the statement might also suggest a continuing abundance of luxuries for the wealthy while staples such as as bread are scarce, though not totally depleted. Alternatively, the preservation of oil and wine could symbolize the preservation of the Christian faithful, who used oil and wine in their sacraments.

FROM THE BIBLE
"When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
— Revelation 6:5-6 NIV

THE PALE HORSE
The fourth and final horseman is named Death. Of all the riders, he is the only one to whom the text itself gives a name. Unlike the other three, he carries no weapon or other object (but some versions say that Death carries the scythe, symbolizing that he is the Grim Reaper); instead he is followed by Hades.
The color of Death's horse is written as khlômos (χλωμóς) in the original Koine Greek, which is often translated as "pale", though "ashen", "pale green", and "yellowish green" are other possible interpretations. The color suggests the sickly pallor of a corpse. The natural colors of horse coats that could be indicated include dun, palomino, buckskin, or one of several color variants with dilution genes.
The verse beginning "they were given power over the fourth of the earth" may refer solely to Death and Hades, or it may summarize the roles of all four horsemen; scholars disagree on this point

FROM THE BIBLE
"When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."
— Revelation 6:7-8 NIV

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TonioRomero	A Message 2011	0	Jan 18 2011, 11:55 AM EST by TonioRomero
	Thread started: Jan 18 2011, 11:55 AM EST Watch I have been watching SUPERNATURAL ever since I was 12 and see Dean Winchester as the main protagonist, including Sam Winchester. 1 out of 7 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you? Keyword tags: None Post reply
kampeon19	The four biblical horsemen	0	Dec 8 2009, 1:18 PM EST by kampeon19
	Thread started: Dec 8 2009, 1:18 PM EST Watch Hi there !! Maybe there’s some confusion in what the 4 horses are. The bible says that they are 4 horses (4 seals). The white horse, pestilence, evil and conquer. In the bible it is established like a king riding a horse and has a bow. The king is supposedly the evangelization of towns. It represents the conquest of the Christians. The bow represents low distance, such as the evangelization. Also it represents the monarchy, political concepts. The red horse, war. That appears in “Good God Yáll”, episode 2. He will reap judgement in the name of God Himself. This color, as well as the rider's possession of a large sword, suggests blood to be spilled on the battlefield. The black horse, famine. The black color of the horse could be a symbol of the dead. The horseman carries a pair of balances, indicating the way that bread would have been weighed during a famine. Foodless = Death. The pale horse, name death. The last episode of this year. Unlike the other three, he carries no weapon or other object (but some versions say that Death carries the scythe, symbolizing that he is the Grim Reaper. Many questions are now invading the heads of you and me. Who is death? How do you kill it? Why Castiel took the brothers to Bobby? Does he/it obey Lucifer? What would happen in 6 months (in the series). Remember Lucifer said he will see Sam in Detroit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apocalypse_vasnetsov.jpg 0 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you? Keyword tags: None Post reply

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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