THE MEANING OF THE HORSEMEN

St. Helena's basketball team is the Horsemen, referring to the Four Horsemen of Revelation, but what is the MEANING of those four famous horsemen of Revelation 6:1-11? The four horses of Revelation are part of the opening visions of the church’s conflict with the world, which constitutes chapters 1-11. Chapters 12-22 deal with the conflict behind the conflict, Satan’s efforts to destroy the church. The four horses depict the results of the preaching of the gospel, persecution and suffering. First is the white horse. White is always a symbol of purity and righteousness. The rider goes forth with a bow, a symbol of conquest. This rider went out conquering and to conquer, which is said of Christ in John 16:3, Revelation 3:21 and Revelation 5:5. There is only one other white horse singled out in Revelation, and it is the one upon which Jesus rides, 19:11. This rider and horse represent the going forth of the gospel. Second is the red horse. Red generally indicates war and bloodshed. This would indicate the persecution that would follow upon the preaching of the gospel and people’s obedience to it. Jesus said this would take place, Matthew 10:21, 34-36. Persecution is also mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:12. This rider carries a sword, the Greek word being machaira, which was the sacrificial knife. This word appears 28 other times in the New Testament, but it is never used in a sacrificial sense in those places. However, when the fifth seal is opened the saints who have been slain for their faith are shown. The word "kill" in vs. 4 is the same one in 5:6 and 6:9, both used in a sacrificial sense. This all points to the death coming as a result of persecution. Third is the black horse. Black portrays grief and mourning. The rider is carrying a pair of scales, indicating economic hardship. This is not a reference to famine because the oil and wine are not to be hurt. The prices given in vs. 6 indicate extreme inflation because normally the denarius would by 8-12 times as much as indicated here. So, not only would some Christians die for their faith, but others would suffer in other ways, such as shown here, economic hardship. Fourth is the pale horse. The color of this horse is hard to describe, perhaps greenish or ashen in color. It was symbolic of sickness and death, which is appropriate since the rider is Death, followed by Hades. They punish with the four sore judgments of God. This represents the suffering of those who reject the gospel message. To sum up, the gospel message goes forth, the white horse. Those who are obedient to that message suffer both persecution and economic hardship, the red and black horses. However, those who persecute the Christians are not beyond suffering and punishment themselves, the pale horse. It must be kept in mind that revelation is highly symbolic and meaning must not be looked for in every little detail. The symbols are meant to give an overall picture of the idea intended. The above interpretations are those which best fit first, and most importantly, the context in which they appear, and then the general meanings of signs and symbols in apocalyptic literature when the Bible was written.