Who are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

In Revelation 6, the apostle John records the Lamb’s opening of a scroll and six of the seven seals. When the fourth seal is broken, John says, “I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him” (Revelation 6:8).

The scroll the Lamb opens is introduced in Revelation 5. Only the Lamb who was slain is worthy to open it (Revelation 5:1–5). As the Lamb opens the scroll, He breaks seven seals in succession. Each seal unleashes a new judgment on the earth. The first four judgments are known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Four allegorical mounted figures, commonly identified as Pestilence (or Conquest), War, Famine, and Death, whose arrival heralds the end of the world, as described in the biblical book of Revelation.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are symbolic warnings of the death and destruction to occur at the end of days. They are described in Chapter 6, verses 1-8 in the Book of Revelation. The four riders represent:

Conquest.

The violence of warfare.

Famine.

Widespread death.

The four horsemen ride on a white, red, black, and pale horse.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are biblical figures described in the Book of Revelation. They symbolize different aspects of destruction and judgment, serving as harbingers of the apocalypse.

Here’s what each represents:

Conquest: The first horseman rides a white horse, often interpreted as symbolizing Christ or the Antichrist.

War: The second horseman wields a great sword and rides a red horse, representing war and bloodshed.

Famine: The third carries a balance scale, rides a black horse, and symbolizes famine.

Death: The fourth horseman rides a pale horse and is identified as Death.

Their arrival signifies the approaching end times and the final judgment. The idiom “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” is also used metaphorically to describe catastrophic events or times of turmoil .

The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in Revelation chapter 6, verses 1-8. The four horsemen are symbolic descriptions of different events which will take place in the end times.

The first horseman of the Apocalypse is mentioned in Revelation 6:2: “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.”

This first horseman likely refers to the Antichrist, who will be given authority and will conquer all who oppose him. The antichrist is the false imitator of the true Christ, who will also return on a white horse (Revelation 19:11-16).

The term "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" comes from the Bible's book of Revelation, specifically chapter 6 of that book. "Apocalypse" is another word for "Revelation", and means "the unveiling" in the Greek language.

The Apostle John was given a vision by God about things that would occur in the last days immediately prior to the second coming of Christ, so in a sense God "unveiled" to John what will occur in the future.

One of the things God disclosed to John was that a series of judgments will occur at some point that will bring great destruction upon the world. These are described in chapters 6-18 in Revelation and consist of what are called the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments.

These collective judgments are also described by Jesus in Matthew 24 ( also Luke 21 and Mark 13) and are often called the "great tribulation," a term used by Jesus: "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be" (Matthew 24:21).

The first series of judgments that are revealed are the seal judgments. In chapter 5 of Revelation, John sees God the Father holding a scroll that is sealed with seven seals. The scroll itself represents the title deed to the earth and is Christ's inheritance, which belongs to Him alone.

Chapter 5 clearly states that only Jesus is worthy to open the scroll, and with each seal that is broken, a corresponding judgment occurs as Christ reclaims what has been stolen from Him by Satan and an unbelieving world.

The first four seals are portrayed as four different horses and riders. Each is commanded to come forward from four beings that are likely special angels called cherubim.

The first horseman is described in this manner: "Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, 'Come!' And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer" (Revelation 6:1–2).

Horses in Scripture are typically associated with triumph, majesty, power, and conquest. The first horse is white, which is what a conquering king would use to ride into a nation/city that he had just successfully defeated.

The horse's rider wears a special crown, which in the first century was made of foliage and signified extremely high status. The rider carries a bow, but no arrows are mentioned, which communicates that the rider is a warrior, but that he will initially conquer not through force, but by peace.

Most theologians agree that the rider represents the Antichrist, who will be "given" his crown by a world that elects him to bring about the peace and safety they desperately crave. The Antichrist will promise peace and make a peace treaty with Israel ( Daniel 9:27), but in the end it proves to be a false peace that he uses to entrap an unsuspecting world.

This fact is described by the prophet Daniel: "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many" (Daniel 8:25 KJV, emphasis added).

It will not be long before that peace is shattered, but by then it will be too late – a truth described by the Apostle Paul: "While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

War is unleashed upon the earth with the coming of the second horseman: "When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come!' And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword" (Revelation 6:3–4).

The second rider specifically takes the false peace from the world that the Antichrist established. No doubt the Antichrist himself will be involved in war and bloodshed, which the red horseman depicts, although other wars will break out apart from the Antichrist.

The adjective "great" that describes the sword given to the rider of the red horse illustrates the exceedingly great carnage that will result from this judgment, while the term used for the sword itself refers to a short, dagger-like sword used by assassins and those involved in close fighting.

Jesus described this period of time in His Olivet discourse: "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (Matthew 24:6–7).

The third horseman represents horrible famines that will come upon the earth: "When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come!' And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!'" (Revelation 6:5–6).

A denarius represented a day's wage back in the first century, and a quart of wheat was about the portion for one person's meal. Barley was normally used to feed animals, but was sometimes eaten by the very poor. Oil and wine were typically used for cooking. The scales carried by the black horse's rider represent a measuring system that will give a person barely enough to eat for a full day's labor.

This shows food costing 8–10 times its normal price in the first century. Clearly, famine conditions are showcased by the third horseman of the apocalypse.

The fourth horse and rider are the natural culmination of the first three: "When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come!' And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him.

And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:7–8).

The word "pale" or "ashen" as in some translations in the Greek is chloros from which the word "chlorophyll" is derived. The yellowish-green horse is the color of a corpse. Death is the natural result of war and famine, with Hades, said to follow the rider, representing the grave.

A full one quarter of the earth's population will perish from the four horsemen, which showcases why Jesus says in Matthew 24:21 that the time of tribulation will be something that the world has not seen up to that point. And what's worse, it is only the beginning of God's judgments that will come upon the earth.

What is most amazing, or perhaps terrifying, is that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are just precursors of even worse judgments that come later in the tribulation (Revelation chapters 8—9 and 16). For all the horror brought by the Four Horsemen, there is much more to come.

However, the wrath of God described in the book of Revelation can be escaped by putting one's trust in Jesus Christ. It is only through His death and resurrection that deliverance can be found.

But for those who reject Christ, there is no deliverance, only certain judgment, which is a truth the writer of Hebrews may have had in mind when he wrote, "how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).

In the Bible, death (Greek, thanatos) refers to either the physical separation of the body from the spirit or the separation in relationship of the human being from God. In the scene that John records, he sees a horse rider who is called Death, perhaps because this rider is given authority to bring death to a fourth of the earth’s population.

Hades (an English transliteration of the Greek word hades) refers to the grave, where people await resurrection for judgment (Revelation 20:13). The riders named Death and Hades are riding together to bring death and send people to the grave (Revelation 6:8).

John does not say that Death and Hades were both riding on a pale or ashen horse, but rather that Death was riding on a pale horse and that Hades was following with him. John doesn’t describe what Hades rides, so it has been assumed by some that Hades was also riding a pale horse.

Others see Death and Hades sharing the same pale horse. Either way, the fourth seal brings about the demise of many during the tribulation.

The pale horse that Death rides is of a sickly, corpse-like color. Some translations of Revelation 6:8 describe Death riding “an ashen (pale greenish gray) horse” (AMP) or “a pale green horse” (CSB). In this chilling scene, slaughter is personified as the earth experiences unparalleled, terrifying calamities.

It is the Day of the Lord, and “who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” (Malachi 3:2).

To the eternal praise of Jesus, believers will triumph even over the rider of the pale horse: “‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54–55).