Lesson 3 - The Four Horsemen (part 1)

Technology and Bible Prophecy

Technical Insights for

Bible Prophecy

by

Dwight Wickersheim

2018

Lesson 3–The Four Horsemen (part 1)

 

 

Bible References to Men on Horses

·       Zechariah saw similar horsemen in Zech 1.  He asked the angel what they represented.  The Angel answered:

o   Zec 1:8  I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel, and white horses behind him.

o   Zec 1:9  Then I said, "My lord, what are these?" And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, "I will show you what these are."

o   Zec 1:10  And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, "These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth."

o   Zec 1:11  So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.“ 

·       The most notable riders on white horses are Christ and His armies that appear in heaven at Christ’s coming.

o   Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

o   Rev 19:14  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

What do Men on Horses Represent?

·       They are not literal, but are symbolic and appear to represent nations, world forces, or kingdoms that are given power to bring about specific conditions or events on earth.

o   For example, Christ and His armies (Rev 19) do not literally come on white horses, but they do come to conquer, bringing Christ’s kingdom and peace to the earth.

·       The men on the horses appear to have a specific influence over the earth.

o   They come as conquerors, take peace from the earth, control economies, and cause war.

·       The men (or kingdoms) on the horses appear to co-exist over a period of time, but their influence follows a specific sequence with the seals.

o   Christ opens each seal of the book one at a time.

·       The color of the horse is symbolic and provides an physical clue of the current force or kingdom behind the world influence.

o   White represent a righteous conqueror on the earth like Christ when He returns.

o   Red represent a force or kingdom that takes peace from the earth causing men to slay one another and finally acquires the great sword (nuclear weapons).

o   Black represents a force or kingdom that uses economic control to protect commodities.

o   Green represents a force or kingdom that affects ¼ of the earth with death, war and famine.

Some Theories about the Horsemen

·       One of the oldest theories is that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse represent Conquest, War, Famine, and Death.  Billy Graham believed these were world conditions that will intensify in the final days.

·       A more recent theory considers the horses to be political or religious systems that influence the actions of world governments.

o   The White horse represents Christianity. Christianity’s conquering power is through its message of peace and strength. The pope is dressed in white and wears a crown. Christ comes on a white horse.

o   The Red horse represents communism. Red is the color of communism.  The quote, “that men should slay one another” is a direct reference to the estimated 80 million Chinese killed in political purges in China since the Communists took over in 1948.  The government of the USSR killed 67 million of its own people. Both China and Russia possess the great sword - nuclear weapons.

o   The Black horse represents economic unions that control the sale and protection of commodities. Several trade unions currently exist.  This horse represents economic power to control nations.

o   The Green horse represents Islam.  Muslims chanting, “Death to Israel, death to America”, seems to be the mindset of Islam as a whole.  There are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, or 23% of the world’s population, making Islam the second-largest religion that influences many nations.

·       This recent theory seems to fit our current world conditions and history, but it does not address the sequence and timing as Christ opens each Seal. 

o   Christianity was established by Christ while Islam, the forth seal, was established in 632. 

o   Communism was established by the Russian revolution in 1917 and the world trade organizations and unions began after world war II in 1948.

The Sequence of the Four Horsemen

·       In Revelation, the order they appear on earth is important as Christ opens each seal.  They all appear before the events of the final 3 ½ years which begins on the day Christ opens the sixth and seventh seal (explained later).

o   White horse – Christianity, a conqueror comes

o   Red horse – Communism, acquires the great sword

o   Black horse –European Union, forms as a world economic power

o   Green horse – Islam spreads, terrorism affecting many nations

·       Three of these horses exert a form of military influence in the world, while the black horse has a great influence on the economies of many nations.

·       As we have seen in the maps, these forces are located in specific areas of the world and therefore seem to be domain and nation specific.

·       This domain and nation relationship is also mentioned by Christ in Matt: 24:7, "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”

·       Another Bible source for the identification of these end time world powers can be found in Daniel chapter 7, where Daniel is given a dream about four great beast that appear during the time before Christ returns.

The Beasts from Daniel Chapter 7

·       Daniel had a dream and vision of four great beasts that appear before Christ returns to earth to set up His Kingdom with His saints.

·       Daniel is given the interpretation of the four beasts.

o   Dan 7:17  'These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.

o   Dan 7:23  "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.

·       The four Beasts appear to interact with one another during the end time events.

o   Dan 7:7  “… and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet;

·       The fourth beast was slain by Christ who takes dominion of the earth.

o   Dan 7:11  “… I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.

·       The other Beasts are given an extension of life in Christ’s Kingdom.

o   Dan 7:12  "As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.

·       These Beasts appear to have great world influence like the four horses of Rev. 6.