Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the horses of the Apocalypse

They are the horses of the Apocalypse …

«I looked, and I saw a bay horse. He who rode it was called Death and Hades followed him.

Then, power was given to him over a quarter of the earth, to kill with the sword. This would be with hunger, with death, and with the beasts of the earth »

(Revelation 6,7-8)

 

The horses of the Apocalypse in the human mind.

The human mind flows like an overflowing river. In her all the thoughts fit, united to the emotions.

Revelation means “revelation”. The Apocalypse is the revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint John about future events. It is necessary to take into account that first there is an invisible world for us.

Secondly, that this invisible world is – we could say – separated from us as by a glass, which is opaque on our side, but transparent on the invisible side.

But the most important thing for those who understand this matter is thttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqfl4Allkkohat God, who knows everything and sees everything here on earth, takes care of each one of us and is aware of our fight against Evil.

The apocalypse is part of the literature

The Apocalypse has a special literary genre: its genre is apocalyptic. It is a genre used in times of persecution.

The specialists comment that it is a literature of resistance that seeks to provide hope to the persecuted. At the time of the Apocalypse (90 A.D.), the Christian people were in tremendous persecution. Hence, it is full of many symbolisms, images, numbers, used to keep the persecutors in ignorance.

The numbers in the apocalypse

In the Apocalypse the numbers are used as symbols. Seven, for example, denotes perfection (because the perfect head has seven holes). But the six means imperfection, since it lacks one of seven, like blindness, for example, which is lack of sight, is an imperfection. And the maximum imperfection is the tripled six (666) which is the number of Evil, the number of the Beast (Rev. 13, 18).

Another number mentioned in this book is twelve. Twelve is a holy number. It symbolizes the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles. Twelve squared is 144 (fullness), multiplied by 1000 (large amount) is 144,000.

This number does not mean, as some sects preach, that only 144,000 people will go to Heaven. The number is a symbolic number that indicates a great crowd, as the Apocalypse also says: “then I saw an immense crowd, impossible to count, of every nation, race, people and language …” (Rev. 7, 9).

What do the horses of the apocalypse mean?

Let us not forget that Revelation means revelation and on this maetria there are people who dedicate themselves to studying it. Without giving our opinion on the matter, we will limit ourselves to outlining what some experts say on the subject.

There are four horsemen, four the horses of the Apocalypse.

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are described by John in Patmos in his book of Revelation (or Apocalypse book). The last book of the New Testament. There is talk of a ‘book’, or ‘scroll’, in the right hand of God that is sealed with seven seals.

The Lamb of God, or the lion of Judah, (Jesus Christ). He is the one who opens the first four of the seven seals. This successively summons four beings who ride on white, red, black and pale horses.

Although some interpretations differ, most interpret that the four horsemen are seen as a symbol of conquest, war, famine, and death, respectively. The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the four horsemen establish a divine apocalypse over the world as forerunners of the final judgment.

The White Horse – False Christ

I saw how the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. And I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice of thunder: “Come and see!” I looked, and behold a white horse! The one who was riding it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out on horseback as the victor determined in the conquest. (Revelation 6: 1-2)

There are different opinions on whether the first rider on the white horse represents Christ or the Antichrist. Until the time of the Protestant Reformation, the traditional view was that the rider on the white horse was Christ. This view is based on the assumption that a later reference to the rider on the white horse is the same as the rider mentioned above.

In Revelation 9: 11-16 it says: “I saw heaven open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. On his garment and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords ».

With the reform, however, some interpreters have seen that the rider on the first white horse is the Antichrist. While the rider of the second white horse is considered the Christ at the second advent. This is one of the 4 horses of the apocalypse that has most differentiated the interpretation.

The Red Horse – Mass War

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come and see!” Then another horse came out, a red fire. The rider was given the power to take peace from the land and to kill each other. And he was given a great sword. (Revelation 6: 3-4)

The rider of the second horse is usually held to represent war. The red color of your horse represents the blood spilled on the battlefield. He carries the great sword, which represents battle and struggle. The red horse is also said to represent the planet Mars, the planet of the God of War.

The Black Horse – Famine

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come and see!” I looked, and behold a black horse! The rider had a balance in hand.

And I heard a voice from among the four living creatures, saying: “A liter of wheat for a denarius, and six pounds of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil or the wine.” (Revelation 6: 5-6) This third horseman is generally considered to symbolize the great famine.

Probably as a result of the war coming from the second rider. Basic foods like wheat and barley will be very scarce. This is one of the 4 horses of the apocalypse that preludes suffering and imminent death.

The Pale Horse – Death

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, “Come and see!” I looked, and behold a yellow horse! He who rode it was called Death, and Hades followed him.

They were given power over a quarter of the earth, to kill with famine and plague with the sword, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6: 7-8) The pale color of the fourth horse is thought to represent fear, disease, decay, and death.

The word used to describe the color of the pale horse is the Greek word chloros, or green. It is intended to transmit the sickly green tint of the sick or recently dead.

There are multiple interpretations

There are multiple interpretations of the horses of the Apocalypse, but they all lead us to premonitions about what and where the world is going, and each one of these horses represents a limit situation in the history of humanity.

The wheelies of the devil, in a way, are also part of premonitions, in European culture.

There is a universal imaginary that allows us to build symbols, archetypes, premonitions … All of this is part of the collective unconscious.

Today some attribute the role of the first horseman of the apocalypse to the “coronavirus”. This is due to the rider wearing a “crown” (Corona-virus = “Crown” -virus).

In this way the riders would represent a series of events triggered by the pandemic in the following sequence:

– Coronavirus – First horse and rider

– War – Second horse and rider

– Famine – Third horse and rider

– Death – Fourth horse and rider

 

We must take into account that they are free interpretations and we should not be alarmed.

Horses of the Apocalypse in Popular Culture

The religious theme and particularly that related to revelations has been a matter of interest and inspiration for numerous artists in various fields, it is the case of the world of music where the genre Rock in its Gothic and Heavy Metal sub-genres has interpreted the history of Los Caballos of the Apocalypse from his point of view, perhaps the most notable example is that of the song The Four Horsemen by the band Metallica, whose interpretation we refer to in the video below:

 

Likewise, the xmen comics have portrayed the role of the horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Apocalypse as a character in itself.

Sources:

https://www.gustavomirabal.es/literatura/los-caballos-del-apocalipsis/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse