Understanding the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: A Prophetic Journey (Revelation 6:1-8)

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Explore the prophetic meaning of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as described in Revelation 6:1-8. Discover how each horseman represents key events and truths in God’s sovereign plan.

Famous horses seem to fall into three categories. The first category is racehorses:

• Seabiscuit became more famous through the 2003 film that told his underdog story.
• Secretariat won the Triple Crown —the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes—and still holds the fastest time records in all three races. He also received his film in 2010.
• Frankel is also known as “The Unbeatable Wonder Horse” because he was unbeaten in his fourteen-year career.

The second category is famous television horses:

• Silver, the Lone Ranger’s horse.
• Trigger was the horse of singer, actor, and performer Roy Rogers.
• For any cartoon fans: Quick Draw McGraw, the anthropomorphic white horse, wearing a red Stetson cowboy hat, a red holster belt, a light blue bandana, and occasionally spurs.
• As a Lord of the Rings fan, I hoped Shadowfax, Gandalf’s horse, would make the list, but he didn’t.

The third category is warhorses:

• Sergeant Reckless achieved the military rank of sergeant for her bravery and service during the Korean War.
• Comanche was Captain Miles Keogh’s (pronounced key-oh) horse. Part of Comanche’s fame comes from being the lone survivor of The Battle of Little Bighorn.
• Marengo was Napoleon’s horse. He fought in battles such as Austerlitz and Waterloo. Interestingly, Marengo’s skeleton is displayed at the National Army Museum in London.

If I asked for the most famous horses in Scripture, I think most people would say the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Olivet Discourse begins by describing birth pains. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse also describe birth pains, paralleling what Jesus preached in the Olivet Discourse. When Jesus described the birth pains in the Olivet Discourse, you could say that He was prophesying about the Four Horsemen.

As we look at each of the four horsemen, I will give you the parallel prophecy from the Olivet Discourse so you can see how they mirror each other.

Because we are jumping into the book of Revelation, let me give you some context. In Revelation 4, John finds himself caught up in heaven. The chapter describes God’s throne room. Revelation 5 shifts from the throne room to the scroll in God’s hand. Jesus receives the scroll, and Revelation 6 begins with Him opening its seven seals. Each seal releases a new judgment on the earth. The first four seals contain the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The First Horseman of the Apocalypse Is the Antichrist

Revelation 6:1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 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.

The four living creatures are exalted angelic beings or cherubim. They appear repeatedly in Revelation, and one is associated with each of the four horsemen. Whenever one of the seals is opened, one of the four living creatures invites John to “Come and see.”

The rider of this horse is almost universally recognized as the antichrist. This follows the way Jesus began the Olivet Discourse, prophesying the first birth pain would be false Christs:

Luke 21:8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.

The “Instead of Christ”

People often think wrongly about the antichrist. They think of him as the opposite of Jesus: the way Jesus went around doing good, the antichrist will do evil; the way Jesus went around teaching good, the antichrist will go around teaching evil. The problem is that the Bible teaches that he will come as a man of peace. We should think of him more as the counterfeit Christ.

The prefix “anti” can mean “instead of,” and it’s better to see the antichrist as the “instead of” Christ. He will be the christ chosen by many instead of Jesus. He will be embraced as the world’s savior instead of the real Savior. Consider these verses describing Satan as the great imitator:

2 Corinthians 11:13 [Satan’s servants] disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.

Let me show you how much the antichrist imitates Christ by asking eight questions.

First, who comes riding on a white horse to make war?

I could be talking about the Antichrist as we read in Revelation 6:2:

Revelation 6:2 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.

Or I could be talking about Jesus at His Second Coming:

Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Christ comes on a white horse to make war, and the antichrist comes on a white horse to make war:

Second question: who is part of a Trinity?

Jesus is part of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Antichrist is part of the Unholy Trinity. The Antichrist, also called the first beast in Revelation 13, imitates Christ. Satan imitates God the Father. Before Satan’s rebellion in heaven, he said:

Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’

The false prophet, also called the second beast in Revelation 13, completes the satanic or unholy trinity, as he imitates the Holy Spirit. Jesus said:

John 16:14 [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

The Holy Spirit’s primary ministry is glorifying Christ, and similarly, the false prophet will glorify the antichrist.

Third question: who is given power, authority, and a throne from his father?

Christ, but consider what it says about the Antichrist:

Revelation 13:2 [the devil] gave [the antichrist] power and his throne and great authority. 

Fourth question: who dies and comes back to life?

Christ, but consider what it says about the antichrist:

Revelation 13:3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 

He seems to experience a mortal wound or be killed but then is healed, and he comes back to life or seems to.

Fifth question: who is worshiped because of his holiness or set-apartness?

We know the Lord is. Holiness is the one attribute God used thrice-fold to describe His separateness from the rest of creation: holy, holy, holy. Throughout the Old Testament, the phrase, “Who is like Him?” is used to praise God for His holiness: nobody is like Him:

• Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
• Psalm 35:10 “O Lord, who is like you?”
• Psalm 71:19 O God, who is like you?
• Psalm 113:5 Who is like the Lord our God?

But consider what they say about the antichrist:

Revelation 13:4 [People] worshiped the beast (referring to the Antichrist), saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

Praise previously reserved exclusively for God will be given to the Antichrist. Instead of thinking nobody is like God, people will think nobody is like the Antichrist.

Sixth question: who puts a mark on his people’s foreheads?

The Lord does!

Revelation 7:3 “[Seal] the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

And the antichrist puts the famous mark of the beast on his followers’ foreheads:

Revelation 13:16 [He] causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,

Seventh question: Who is called a prince?

Take your minds to Daniel’s Seventy Weeks…

Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince,

Referring to Jesus. The next verse…

Daniel 9:26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince (referring to the antichrist) who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

Eighth question: Who makes a covenant with the Jews?

We know the Lord did…

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

And antichrist does…

Daniel 9:27 And he (the antichrist) shall make a strong covenant with many (the Jews) for one week.

You get the point that instead of being the opposite of Christ, the antichrist will look like Christ.

Would the Jews Embrace the Antichrist?

It might be hard to believe the Jews would receive the Antichrist instead of Christ, but Jesus prophesied this would happen:

John 5:43 [Jesus said,] “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.”

And different accounts in Scripture prefigure the Jews choosing the antichrist over the Christ. For example, in the Old Testament, the Jews chose Absalom as their king over King David. David is a picture or type of the true and greater Son of David, Jesus, and Absalom is a picture or type of the antichrist. When Absalom came to power, he had his own false prophet in Ahithophel:

 2 Samuel 16:23 the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.

Let me remind you of an account at the end of Jesus’s earthly life that dramatically prefigures the Jews choosing the antichrist over Christ. Many translations point out that Barabbas’ full name was Jesus Barabbas. Barabbas means Son of the Father. “Bar” means “son of.” Think of Matthew 16:17 when Jesus called Peter, “Simon Bar-Jonah. This meant “Simon, son of Jonah.” “Abba” means “father,” so “bar abba” means son of the father. Together, Barabbas’s full name was “Jesus, Son of the Father.” When Jesus was talking to the religious leaders, He said:

John 8:42 “If God were your Father, you would love Me [but] 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning… he is a liar and the father of it.”

Barabbas was also a liar and a murderer. He was of his father, the devil. When the Jews had to choose between Jesus and Barabbas, they were presented with two Jesus Sons of the Father: Jesus had God as His Father and Barabbas had Satan as his father. Without hesitation, the Jews cried out for the wrong Son of the Father. Just like the Jews chose Barabbas over Jesus, they will choose the antichrist over Jesus.

The Second Horseman of the Apocalypse Removes Peace

Revelation 6:3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

The second living creature invites John to watch as the world breaks out in war. This follows what Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse:

Luke 21:9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

You don’t have to go back too far in human history for these verses to look doubtful. A little over 100 years ago, most people wouldn’t believe there could be a world war with nations destroying each other. But then, in the twentieth century, we had two world wars, and suddenly, these verses look very realistic.

Let me ask an important question: Does the second horseman of the apocalypse bring war? He doesn’t. He takes peace from the earth. This difference is subtle but essential, and here’s why: If I say the second horseman brings war, how does man look? He looks good and peaceful. Man gets along with man. Conflict exists only because God introduces it. If God left man alone, man would be just fine.

Anne Frank was a young Jewish girl who grew up in Nazi Germany. She kept a diary documenting her life, hiding from Nazi persecution. She became famous when her diary was published in 1947. When I was growing up it seemed like required reading. Here’s part of probably the most famous entry in her diary:

“It’s really a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl, Saturday, July 15, 1944, Page 358.

We can imagine why her diary, mainly this excerpt, received so much attention: a sweet young Jewish girl is witnessing more evil than we can imagine, yet she still concludes that man is good. Sentimentally, we all want to believe this. But biblically, it is entirely untrue.

Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.

The flood didn’t change anything because immediately after the waters receded, God said:

Genesis 8:21 the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. 

So, we must interpret the second horseman correctly for two reasons. First, it is a terrible indictment of man’s depravity. We are prone to violence. Second, it is a remarkable commendation of God’s goodness: He keeps us from destroying ourselves.

Man only has peace because of God. In the absence of the peace only God can provide, men break out in terrible war against each other. Man is not good without God. Instead, the only good associated with man is from God.

The Third Horseman of the Apocalypse Is Famine

Revelation 6:5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat (the amount one person would need for one day) for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

Again, John is invited to watch; this time, it is a worldwide famine, which I will explain briefly. Here’s Jesus’s parallel statement:

Luke 21:11a There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences.

Because we read about the horsemen of the apocalypse chronologically, they look independent of each other, but they’re related. The Antichrist comes offering peace, represented by the first horseman. People believe he’s the world’s Savior and enter a covenant with him. The Antichrist breaks the peace covenant with the Jews, and the world erupts in war, represented by the second horseman. People will be removed from agriculture to focus on the war effort, destroying the food supply—famine results, represented by the third horseman.

The black horseman has “a pair of scales in his hand.” Scales were used for purchasing. Whatever you bought had to be weighed. The scales indicated food scarcity, leading to rationing and food lines. Picture a little bit of food being weighed out for each person. Price is determined by supply and demand. A shortage leads to high inflation as supply goes down, hence the statement that a quart of wheat and three quarts of barley cost one denarius. To put this in perspective, a denarius is a typical day’s wage. So it would cost one day’s wage to buy three quarts of barley to feed three people or a quart of wheat to feed one person.

Wheat costs more because it’s more nutritious. Barley was often fed to livestock. In other words, people will eat animal food. It reminds me of the terrible conditions the prodigal son experienced.

The third living creature said not to harm the wine and oil because they would still be available. They are luxury items versus necessities. When people are starving, they don’t care about oil and wine. So, these items will be unaffected.

The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse Is Death

Revelation 6:7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them (Death and Hades) over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

The word for pale is chlōros (pronounced chlorosis), related to our English word chlorophyll. It means “green, yellowish pale.” It describes the ashen-green paleness of a corpse in decomposition. The horse is an unearthly color, and in this context, a ghastly one.

If we continued reading Revelation 6, we would see that the fifth seal is persecution, which Jesus describes next in the Olivet Discourse. In other words, the parallels between Revelation 6 and the Olivet Discourse continue, but we don’t have time for them in this message.

The Olivet Discourse has no parallel for the fourth horseman of the apocalypse because Jesus describes judgments, but the fourth horseman isn’t a judgment. The fourth horseman describes what happened because of the previous horsemen: 25% of the world’s population is killed. These aren’t people killed in addition to the war and famine. Instead, these are the percentage of people killed because of the war and famine.

Revelation 6:8b And power was given to them (Death and Hades) over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword (that’s the Second Horseman, war), with hunger (that’s the Third Horseman, famine), with death (the fourth horseman), and by the beasts of the earth.”

The world’s conditions will be so bad that man regresses to defend himself from animals. Think of less civilized times in the past when animals constituted some of the most dangerous threats. It will be like that again.

God Is Sovereign When Things Look the Worst

I knew the sermons wouldn’t have as much application when we reached the Olivet discourse. It is important to understand the end times, but as my wife might say, “How does this help me in my daily life?” But there is one essential application from these verses, and I want to build up to it by asking a question: When are we most tempted to doubt God’s sovereignty? Is it when things are going well, or when they’re going poorly?

When things are going well, we are confident in God’s sovereignty. We thank God for blessings because we believe they came from Him. But when things are going poorly, we are tempted to doubt God’s sovereignty. We wonder, “Has God lost control? Did He let this happen?”

There will never be another time in history when things go as badly as during the Great Tribulation. There will never be another time when things look as chaotic. But to encourage us to trust God’s sovereignty, consider the phrase “over a fourth of the earth” in Revelation 6:8. That is a phrase about God’s sovereignty.

This shows that no matter how terrible and out-of-control the world looks, it is still entirely under God’s control. The precision of the judgments is a theme in Revelation. Here are a few more examples:

• Revelation 8:7 says one-third of the earth is burned up
• Revelation 8:8 says one-third of the sea became blood
• Revelation 8:11 says one-third of the rivers are poisoned
• Revelation 9:18 says one-third of mankind is killed

Nothing is random. It is precisely the amount God wants to be affected. These are the judgments Jesus unleashes as He opens the seals on the scroll. To Earth’s inhabitants, it will appear that the world is spiraling out of control, but everything is going according to God’s plans in Heaven.

The application for us is if God can be sovereign over worldwide judgments, if God can control how much of the earth is burned up, how much of the water becomes blood, how many of the rivers are poisoned, how many people are killed, He can control what is happening in our lives.

God’s Sovereignty with Job

If you want to move from the global to the individual, let me ask: Who is the one person in Scripture whose life seemed spiraling out of control? I would say Job. You might quickly say, “But didn’t Satan do all these things to Job, so isn’t he the one who looks sovereign?” Consider what Satan said to God:

Job 1:10a Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?

What was Satan saying? “You are protecting him too well.” We might not like what God let Satan do to Job – we might wish the hedge God put was bigger and stronger – but there’s no denying that God was sovereign over what Satan could and couldn’t do to Job.”

So, let me say it like this: No matter how terrible or chaotic things might seem in our lives with our children, in our marriages, with our health, in our homes, and with our finances, God is still sovereign. Everything is unfolding according to His plan.

God’s Sovereignty Over Death and Hades

Death and Hades are mentioned together because Death leads to Hades: when people die, they go to Hades. Death kills many, and Hades follows along, collecting the dead. God desires so much for us to see His sovereignty over Death and Hades that He personifies them as things to be defeated. That’s why they’re capitalized in Revelation 6:8. Consider this…

Revelation 20:14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

God has so much control over life and Death that right before eternity begins, He casts them into hell itself. We avoid being cast into hell with Death and Hades by having our names written in the Book of Life. We get our names written in this book by repenting of our sins and putting our faith in Christ.