Who Are The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse?

While the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are typically associated with the end times, I believe they had to do with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation in AD 70.  They are in our past, not in our future.  This is a preterist (past, rather than a futurist) interpretation of Revelation.  

There are three main reasons I hold this position.  First, John tells us in his introduction that the book of Revelation is about the near future, not the end times.  In Revelation 1:1-3, he tells us plainly that he is writing about "what must soon take place," because "the time is near."  Since Revelation was written in the first century, then we shouldn't be looking for its fulfillment thousands of years later.  Second, Jesus prophesied that he would punish the Jews in that generation for their treatment of God's servants (Mt 23:35-37).  This was fulfilled in the Jewish War against Rome (AD 66-70), when the Jews revolted, provoking the Romans to invade Israel and eventually destroy Jerusalem.  Third, I believe that Revelation was written in AD 65, several years before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.  This means it is highly probable that the prophecies of Revelation are pointing not to the end times, but to the end of the Jewish nation in AD 70.  So, the four horsemen are symbols of impending wrath that would be poured out on the Jewish nation in that generation for their treatment of Christ and His followers.

The four horsemen appear in Revelation 6.  There John sees a vision of the Lamb (Jesus) opening the seals of a seven-sealed scroll.  As each seal is broken, John witnesses a scene of terror and destruction.  The first four seals introduce us to the four horsemen.

The first horseman (Rev 6:1-2) rides on a white horse.  Its rider held a bow, wore a crown, and went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.  This horseman represents either the Roman empire sent by God to conquer the nation of Israel in the first century, or it represents Jesus working through the Roman empire.

The second horseman (Rev 6:3-4) rides on a red horse.  He was allowed to take peace from the earth (land), so that people would kill each other.  A large sword was given to him.  This horse represents the terrible bloodshed that would results from the Jewish War with Rome (AD 66-70).  When the Romans invaded Israel from the north, they conquered one city at a time, slaughtering thousands upon thousands of Jews.  When the Roman army finally broke through the walls of Jerusalem and completely destroyed the city, over 1,000,000 Jews were killed.

The third horseman (Rev 6:5-6) rides on a black horse, holds a set of scales, and calls out the price of food.  This horseman represents the terrible famine that would occur during the Jewish War, especially when Jerusalem was under siege.  The horseman is holding scales, symbolizing that the price of food will be inflated.  A denarius was one day's wage, so it would cost an entire day's wage to buy just a little wheat.  This was a 1,000% increase of the normal cost of food.  While wheat and barley would increase in price, wine and oil would not.  Wheat and barley are essentials, while wine and oil are not.  So, during the famine there would be plenty of the non-essentials, but not enough of the necessities.  This was fulfilled in AD 70 when Rome besieged Jerusalem near the end of the war and cut off the city's food supply.  Add to that the fact that much of the food supply had already been burned up by the warring factions within Jerusalem.  The famine became severe, killing thousands.  There is one report of a woman who cooked and ate her own child.  Josephus, the eye-witness historian writes, "Then did the famine widen its progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and families; the upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine; and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged; the children also and the young men wandered about the marketplaces like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead whenever their misery seized them."

The fourth horseman (Rev 6:7-8) rides on a pale green horse, representing death.  It was given authority to kill a fourth of the earth (land) by sword, famine, plague, and wild animals.  This horseman represents the massive amount of death that would occur during the Jewish War (AD 66-70).  The fourth horseman is given a name -- Death.  The Greek word is Thanotos, which is where the name of the Marvel supervillain, Thanos, is derived.  The four means of death mentioned are the same ones mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel when he foretold of the impending destruction on the Jews at the hands of the Babylonians (Eze 14:21).  Just as these means of death were used by God to punish the Jews in 586 BC, they would be used again in 70 AD.  

Contrary to popular belief, there's no need to fear the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  They have already come and gone.  The four horsemen are symbols in Revelation 6 of the impending wrath that would be poured out on the Jewish nation in that generation for their treatment of Christ and His followers.

For more information on the Four Horsemen, see my sermon on Revelation 6 called "The Six Seals."