The Four Horsemen

By Irvin Baxter.

There are four major belief systems that determine the allegiances and the behaviors of people in our world today. These four belief systems each have official colors by which they are identified. The four colors are white, red, black and green.
Interestingly, these same four colors are used in the book of Revelation to foretell the four belief systems that will control the minds of men just before the second coming of Jesus to the earth. The accuracy of the prophecy is amazing!

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went
out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a green horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6:1-8

The book of Revelation is written almost exclusively in symbols, but they are symbols that can be understood. It is
especially helpful when a prophecy is given more than one time in scripture. Usually, details of the prophecy in one
account will shed additional light on the meaning of the prophecy given in a different location.
Besides being given in Revelation 6:1-8, the prophecy of the four horsemen was also given in the Old Testament in
Zechariah 6:1-8. In verse 5, we are told that the four horses and their riders are “four spirits”.

What spirits permeate the minds and hearts of men in our world today? Let’s find out.

Red Horse

There is an international spirit in the earth today known as the “red” power. Nations who embrace communism (or
socialism) are known as red nations. Red China, Red Russia, and Red Romania are just a few examples.
Revelation 6:4 states that “Power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth.” Everywhere communism
has raised its ugly head, revolution and war has broken out. The Soviet Union, China, Korea, Berlin, the Congo,
Cuba, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua are just a few of the many examples.

The prophecy says that those controlled by this red spirit would kill one another. It has been estimated that 80 million Chinese have been killed in political purges since the communists took over China in 1949. Joseph Stalin killed 20 million people in political purges in the Soviet Union.
Everywhere communist revolution has gone, there has been bloodshed and death. Finally, in the same verse, there was given to the rider of this red horse “a great sword”. What greater military might exists in the world today than the combined power of Russia
and China? Is there a nation that would like to go to war against these two giants? The red spirit, which takes peace
from the earth, is communism.

The Black Horse

The rider on the black horse in Revelation 6:5 had a pair of balances in his hand. Balances are a symbol of trade and
commerce. What international spirit in the world embodies the message of commerce? Capitalism, of course! The
world’s capitalist nations enjoy higher standards of living than the other nations of the world.
This is reinforced in the next portion of this prophecy: “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure
of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny” (Revelation 6:6). One of the things heard daily in the
news of capitalist countries is, “Dow Jones Industrials—up 3 cents; AT&T down a penny; Xerox is steady.” This passage
is a prophetic stock market report! Obviously, the stock markets are at the center of capitalist economies.

Finally, in the same passage, the Bible says “… and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” One of the quickest ways for
a man to lose office in the political world of capitalism is for the economy of that nation to suffer under his administration.
One of the major issues of any political campaign in the free-world countries is that of the economy. Bill
Clinton’s central slogan during the 1992 US presidential campaign was, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
The December 9, 1966, issue of Time magazine, page 34, reported that a new coalition government had recently been
formed in Germany between the Socialist Party and the Christian Democratic Party.

In describing the union, Time said, … a grand coalition of the two major parties—the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats,
that have bitterly fought each other for years…[has been made]. A union of black and red, it was a marriage of convenience—but a stunning match nonetheless.” In political and news circles socialism is referred to as the “red power”. Likewise, democracy is referred to as the “black power”. God knew that this would be true; so He let the red horse symbolize communism and the black horse
symbolize capitalism.

The black horse is the spirit of capitalism foreseen by God 2,000 years ago!

The White Horse

In his very interesting political science book Communism, Democracy and Catholic Power, Paul Blanshard contends
that almost every conflict between nations in modern history has been produced by conflicts generated among three
forces—Communism, Capitalism, and Catholicism. Catholicism perfectly fits the description of the white horse
rider of Revelation 6:2. It is Roman Catholic custom that the pope dresses in white. His helicopter is white; his jet
airplane is white; and his popemobile is white. If he had a horse, I wonder what color it would be?

White is used as a symbol of peace. The predominant message of Roman Catholicism is the message of peace.
The Vatican has become a diplomatic peace center for the world. When peace is being negotiated between rulers of
our world, the pope and other high officials of the Roman Catholic Church are often consulted. Newspapers,
magazines, books, television and radio applaud his efforts towards peace. Pope Paul VI was the world’s first religious
leader to speak before the United Nations General Assembly. His message was, “Lay down your arms. War no more.
Never again!”

A crown was given to the one sitting on the white horse. History teaches that the pope originally had no crown, but
around the ninth century popes began to wear a crown to indicate their temporal power as well as their spiritual
authority. Over time the popes’ crown developed into the famous triple tiara. When Pope John XXIII was crowned in
1958, the coronation pronouncement was, “Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art Father
of princes and kings, Ruler of the world, Vicar of our Savior Jesus Christ.” Revelation 6:2 states that the rider of the white horse went
forth conquering and to conquer. Although Catholicism at present has no standing army, it is certainly a conquering
power. When the majority of the people of a nation becomes Catholic, that nation is referred to as a “Catholic” nation.
One of the Vatican’s major goals is to conquer America. This is the spirit of the white horse! Conquering and to conquer is
the spirit of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Green Horse

In his book, Militant Islam Reaches America, Daniel Pipes describes the rise of Islam in a very interesting way: “The
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 prompted loose talk about Islam replacing Marxism-Leninism as the West’s
necessary enemy. In symbolic terms, it was said that green (Islam’s color) had replaced red (communism’s color) in the
West’s rogues’ gallery.”

Several versions of the Bible describe the fourth horse of Revelation 6:8 as the “pale” horse. Yet, the Greek word
describing the color of the fourth horse was “chloros”. This is the origin of the word chlorophyll that makes the plants
green. Furthermore, the word chloros appears three other times in the New Testament. Notice how chloros was translated
each time: Mark 6:39—And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the “green” grass.
Revelation 8:7—And all “green” grass was burnt up. Revelation 9:4—And it was commanded them that they
should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any “green” thing.

So then, why did the translators render chloros as pale in Revelation 6:8? The answer is simple. When translating from
one language to another, translators will use common sense to determine the best translation of a word or phrase. When
chloros was used to describe a horse, the translator undoubtedly thought that green could not be the proper translation
since there was no such thing as a green horse. Since “pale green” was one of the possible meanings of chloros, the
translators used what seemed reasonable to them. Herein lies the mistake. They assumed these were literal horses instead
of symbols representing belief systems. They should have simply translated what the original text said.

The color green as the color of Islam was first used by the Prophet Mohammed himself. The color of the Islamic flag is
green. To Muslims, green represents the freshness of Islam and how it is meant to bring the mind of the Muslim from
ignorance into light. Today, all the trim on the Temple Mount, where Islam is presently in control, is painted green.
Notice the trim on the businesses owned by Muslims in the old city of Jerusalem. The minarets of Islamic mosques are lit up with green lights at night. When there are Islamic parades or demonstrations, you will see a sea of green. In recent times, the owners of the
Empire State Building in New York have honored Islam during the month of Ramadan by lighting the upper third of the
building in green.

Once we understand the prophecy about Catholicism, Communism and Capitalism, and knowing that green is the official color of Islam, it becomes obvious that the green horse foretells the influence of Islam that we are presently witnessing.