The four horsemen ride from the pages of Revelation to today’s headlines, leaving clues as to where they will strike and why.
READ TIME: 5-6 Minutes
The Four Horsemen Tear Down the Established Powers
False prophets, war, social upheaval, pestilence, famine, violent conflict… it’s hard to know whether these are the daily news topics or the scourge of the four horsemen.
These are the headlines of our days, especially since 2020. COVID-19 changed the world and upended our understanding of freedom and privacy. George Floyd’s death sparked social upheaval in the U.S., which was inflamed by Marxist groups such as BLM and Antifa. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought back the enmity between east and west and the potential for nuclear conflict. But it has also brought the threat of famine, with soaring food prices hitting areas already decimated by COVID, supply-chain issues, drought, and locusts.
And these events are happening on the brink of the last jubilee (50 years) of the end of this 2,000-year age of grace. So as we reach this milestone, we must discern if these events are signs of the four horsemen.
The four horsemen will tear down the established powers to make way for the Beast’s kingdom so that sin may reach completion, God will release judgment, and Jesus will usher in a new era. In this series on the four horsemen, I have examined the horsemen’s activities in prior ages to understand their roles. So how can we use this information to know what nations these horsemen will target and how their missions will culminate in changing the world as we know it?
The description of the fourth horseman gives us a key component to answering these questions.
A Fourth of the Earth
John’s account of the fourth horseman stands out from his other accounts because he gave a limit to the horseman’s activities. Revelation states that God will limit the fourth horseman to a fourth of the earth.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that there would be a great deal of confusion about this statement. Its misinterpretation has led many Christian to believe that the four horsemen ride in the future, even post-rapture.
You may have heard that the fourth horseman will kill a fourth of the people on the earth. But the Bible does not state this.
The Bible states that the fourth horseman will be given authority over a fourth of the earth.
This is a geographical reference, not a population reference. The Greek word used, gé, means the earth, soil, land, or region. This term can indirectly apply to the land’s inhabitants, but it does not directly reference people. In contrast, when Revelation 9 describes the four angels who kill one-third of mankind, John uses the word anthrópos, meaning man, humans, or mankind.
So just because God gives the fourth horseman authority over an area covering a fourth of the earth, does not mean that he will kill every person in that territory.
When the plagues of the fourth horseman manifested in Judah as Babylon stood at its gates, not every person died. Only those who disobeyed God’s order to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar died; the others were exiled.
Why is this important? Because the misinterpretation leads to the conclusion that Jesus cannot have opened the four seals because one-fourth of the population has not been killed. If you believe this statement, you will misinterpret the signs manifesting today and believe the events of Revelation are farther in the future.
So is there a reason why God chose a fourth?
The Jurisdiction of a Fourth
In Zechariah 1, the prophet introduces us to the four horsemen and tells us some things about their purpose. When Zechariah asked who these “men” were, an angel responded, “These are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.”
The horsemen answered, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”
By these verses, we see the horseman as peacemakers, though their tactics may be anything but peaceful.
Then in Zechariah 6, we see the horsemen assigned to different territories. (Here we learned that they are also called the four winds.) The horsemen with the black and white horses (1st and 2nd) were assigned to the north, to Babylon. The horseman with the dappled/ashen horse (4th) was ordered south.
So by these statements, we see that the horsemen have a jurisdiction; they have a territory over which they have authority.
So why does God give the fourth horseman authority over a fourth of the earth?
In the body of scripture, there is nothing that appears significant about a fourth other than it is one of four. The fourth horseman is one of four horsemen. He is one of the four winds, from one of the four corners of the earth, directed by one of the four living creatures. Therefore, the most likely conclusion is that he has authority over one-fourth of the earth because he is one-fourth of the horsemen. It may be that each of the horsemen have a territory of one-fourth of the earth.
So if God assigns the four horsemen territories over which they have authority, which quarter will each one have?
Where are the Four Horsemen Assigned?
If you read the previous posts, you know that each horseman has a specific specialty and approach. Though each one brings different tactics, they ride for the same purpose; to tear down the establishment.
But Zechariah 6 also shows us that their territories can overlap.
The First Horseman
The first horseman on the white horse brings false christs. As Christ is king, priest, and prophet, we will see falsehood across each of these. His purpose is to conquer the institutions over which these false leaders stand, including governments and churches. This is how it was in Babylon. There, the horsemen divided the people and turned the kingdom over to the Medes and Persians. (as revealed by Daniel’s interpretation of the writing on the wall)
The first horseman will conquer the rulers who no longer rule righteously. He will conquer the superpowers, such as the U.S. and Russia. These powers must be divided and weakened so the Beast can assume their authority.
The Second Horseman
The second horseman on the red horse takes peace from the earth, resulting in wars. These wars will overlap territory of the first horseman, tearing down the warring countries and consolidating power with a victor. In WWII, we saw the United States arise as a new superpower on the earth. In the aftermath of these coming wars, a new power will emerge; one that will consolidate the power of ten kings likely in the Middle East.
The Third Horseman
The third horseman brings about social upheaval created by imbalances in society, particularly through scarcity. He will target the democracies that have chosen evil causes. We see this upheaval in democracies worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, France, and Great Britain.
We saw the third horseman’s methods in Babylon, where he brought famine and rising food costs. The social upheaval from famine and disputes over false gods brought so much angst against the king that the population welcomed their conquerors.
The history of Baylon’s defeat leads me to believe that the people of today’s democracies will also welcome their conqueror, the Antichrist.
The Fourth Horseman
The fourth horseman brings the plagues of famine, pestilence, the sword, and wild beasts to tear down and scatter the nations following false gods. We saw the fourth horseman’s work in Judah when God used Nebuchadnezzar to punish the disobedient people.
Through Jeremiah, God gave the reasons for the plagues. They were a direct result of the kings (particularly Manasseh) and people following false gods and practicing witchcraft, divination, and conjuring the dead. Moses prophesied this would happen if the people forsake “the Rock.” Accordingly, I believe this horseman will strike the areas where the people have denied Jesus and embraced the worship of false gods most heavily.
Notice in Revelation that Hades follows the fourth horseman. Under Jesus, the saints go to heaven, not Hades. I believe this is a clue that death will target the apostate nations.
This includes many of the lands of Asia and the Middle East (including nations such as Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and India). However, the U.S. is rapidly growing to fit this category as well, with many people embracing the same sins as Manasseh embodied in new age practices, witchcraft, psychic abilities, and contacting the dead through mediums.
As the Jews did in Nebuchadnezzar’s time, many people will flee these nations in exile to escape the plagues of death. The flood of refugees will inundate other countries already stricken with failing governments, war, famine, and social upheaval.
Strange Occurrences in the U.S.
Not to be US-centric, because these events are occurring worldwide, but the U.S. is one of the superpowers that must greatly fall in prominence for the Antichrist to rise.
I find it intriguing that the U.S. may have an illegitimately elected President (the first horseman), is now in a proxy war with Russia (second horseman), has experienced significant social upheaval (third horseman), was greatly affected by COVID-19, and now has historic inflationary food costs (fourth horseman).
The war in Ukraine is significantly impacting food costs as are ongoing supply chain issues. But at the same time, reports have surfaced of 17-20 fires at U.S. food processing plants in the last six months (including two from plane crashes). The website Snopes is declaring that these incidents are from unrelated normal accidents. However, how would we recognize disasters that originate from the fourth horseman? Man-made incidents are easily discoverable, but spirit-made incidents take a different type of discernment.
The Four Horsemen & Daniel’s 7th Week
The signs of the four horsemen fill the earth today. False kings and prophets, wars, social upheaval, disease, famine, and violent conflicts are our daily news. I strongly believe that the evidence points to Jesus having opened at least the first four seals and that the four horsemen are the destabilizing force behind many of today’s headlines.
You may wonder if the horsemen are riding, whether Daniel’s seventh week started?
I don’t believe so. In this seven-year period, we will see the antichrist rise to power, reveal himself at the mid-point, and then reign for the remaining 3 1/2 years. Its start will be marked by either the making of or confirming [or opposing] of a covenant by a burgeoning leader.
Many assume that the opening of the seals must occur during this seven-year period. However, there is nowhere in scripture that states that this is the case. Once we understand that the horsemen catalyze the conditions on the earth for the antichrist to rise, it is reasonable to conclude that they begin their activities before the seven years start.
We are quickly moving to the end of this age. If the Essene calendar rediscovered through the Dead Sea Scrolls is correct, we are about the enter the first shemitah (7 years) of the final jubilee (50 years). In this same period, 2,000 years ago, Jesus started his ministry at the mid-point and finished it with His resurrection. Could the Horsemen’s work today lead to the rise of the Antichrist and the return of Christ during this same period 2,000 years later?
We will know soon.
Related Posts:
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Insights You Have Never Heard
The First Horseman of the Apocalypse: Past Victories Tell of What’s to Come
The First Horseman is Riding and Conquering Today
Wars of the Second Horseman and the Christian Call to Arms
The Third Horseman Rides but His Purpose is Not What You Think
The Fourth Horseman – Unwinding the Enigma of Death