There are a lot of popular theories about the four horsemen. Most don’t make much sense at all. I’ve only heard one that makes perfect sense.
There are two passages that deal with horsemen and chariots with horses. Just as Daniel and Revelation both talk about the same beasts, Revelation 6:1-8 and Zechariah 6:1-8 both deal with the same prophecy.
Rev 6:1 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 see thou 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.
Zech 6:1 And I
turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four
chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of
brass. 2 In the first chariot were red
horses; and in the second chariot black
horses; 3 And in the third chariot white
horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled
and bay horses. 4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with
me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These
are the four spirits of the heavens,
which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The black
horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth
after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 7 And the bay
went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth:
and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to
and fro through the earth. 8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying,
Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the
north country.
The horses represent spirits in the world, as it says in Zech 6:5.
Let’s take a look at each type of horse.
The black horses go forth into the north country and the rider had a pair of balances in his hand, saying, “A measure of wheat for a penny…” Does the northern hemisphere contain most of the capitalistic nations? What is capitalism? Free trade! Black represents capitalism like red represents communism in political and news circles. Can you find the pair of balances on a US dollar bill?
The white horse went forth after the black and the rider had
a bow, and a crown, and it went forth to conquer. The Roman Catholic pope wears white, rides in
white (his limo, helicopter, etc). If the pope were to ride a horse, what
color would it be? White is the symbol of peace. The Catholic church brings a message of
peace. The pope wears a crown. Although Catholicism has no standing army, it
is certainly a conquering power. When
the majority of the people of a nation becomes Catholic; that nation is
referred to as a “Catholic” nation, and the
The red horse was given power to take peace; that they
should kill one another, and he had a great sword. What greater military might exists in the
world than the combined power of
The pale horse went south and Death sat on him and Hell
followed him and he was given power to kill with the sword and hunger and the
beasts of the world. The southern
hemisphere contains most of the poverty stricken nations. War, crime, revolution, hunger and beasts of
the earth are more prominent in the more backward nations of the third world. The last 100 years have seen more death than the
entire history of man (wars, abortions, etc.)
The passage in Zechariah splits the pale/green horse in two; into the grisled
and bay horses. That makes this prophecy easier to understand in that it
has two components: Islam and Death. A very interesting thing about this
horse is that the meaning of the original Greek word is interpreted as “pale”
in the King James Bible, but the word chloros (khlo-ros'); also means greenish,
or pale green. This word (chloros)
is also used in 3 other places in the bible: Mark 6:39, Revelation 8:7 and
Revelation 9:4. In all three of these other places it was interpreted
correctly as green. This horse was also
given power over the fourth part of the earth.
Since we know these horses are spirits, it is very, very interesting
that the color of Islam is green (their flags, etc.), and that there are 1.48
billion Muslims (Islam followers) in the world today. That’s almost exactly one fourth of the world
population. This horse went south; and
96.5% of the world’s Muslims are in the southern hemisphere, in
The four horsemen and the horses in the chariots most likely represent the spirits of Catholicism, Capitalism, Communism, and Islam. These spirits are in the world today and have been here for a long time. If you think about it, I’ll wager you’ll notice how the spirit of the people living under these forces have different attitudes, ways of thinking, etc; that fit the spirit governing their lives.
The four horsemen of Revelation are also the first four seals, of which there are a total of seven.
There are four groups of sevens in the book of Revelation. Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials and seven thunders. John was told not to write what the seven thunders said. The seven trumpets are discussed in the next chapter. The seven vials are all “poured out” at the end of the final seven years before the return of Christ, but I will not be discussing them very much in this little book. It’s interesting reading though, and I suggest reading Revelation a few times to really get it in your head.
The remaining seals are: Seal 5 – The saints of God that are already dead are told to rest yet for a little season. Seal 6 – there is much happening here and this seal appears to be the same prophecy as the 7th trumpet and the 7th vial. There’s a definite correlation here with the seven trumpets. As you will see in the next chapter, the first 5 trumpets have very likely sounded and we’re right on the heels of the sixth. We’ve already seen that the first four seals have been opened and it’s very likely that we’re in that “waiting period” of the fifth seal, right on the heels of the sixth. Seal 7 – There is silence in heaven for the space of about a half hour. (see Chapter 10 for more information)
Most people are taught that the book of Revelation is a chronological record of the end time events, but there is no real rhyme or reason for thinking that. The 6th seal, the 7th trumpet, the 7th vial, Matthew 24:29, and Ezekiel 38:18-22 all talk about the same things and are representing the same period of time that immediately follows the great tribulation at the end of the final seven years, discussed more in Chapter 10 - Understanding Revelation and the Timeline of Events.. This discussion of the timeline of events in Revelation is presented in great detail in the, “Understanding the Endtime: Level 3” prophecy series by Endtime Ministries and I recommend getting this set if you’re interested in seeing the proof and the details of my statements.