4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Death

The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse are considered common in this day and age.  They are seen as the harbingers of the end of days.  Sometimes they are represented as evil creatures or demons sent to destroy the earth.  Sometimes they are just seen as mythical creatures that are just symbolic of the end times.  They are even featured in Marvel comics as ‘mutants’.  But, what do they really symbolize?  

This is part 4 discussing the horseman.  Check out my earlier posts for the rest of the horsemen.

INTRODUCTION:

The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse are found in Revelation 6.  But before we get to that chapter, we need to start at Revelation 5.  John the Apostle sees a scroll in the hand of God the Father who is sitting on the throne.  This scroll is sealed with seven seals.  Then we see an angel proclaiming, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” (Revelation 5:2).  There is no one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth who was able to open the scroll or even look at it.  The only one who was able to was Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.  This chapter shows us that the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse who will be released in the next chapter are beings sent by God to do His will.  They aren’t symbolic creatures or demonic in nature.  They come from God.  This is how Revelation 6 starts.  It is the beginning of the tribulation leading up to Christ’s Second Coming. 

Revelation 6:7,8 - When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 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 over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

What do these verses tell us about the fourth horseman?

• The rider is named Death and is followed by Hades

• The rider is on a pale horse

• The rider is given power to kill ¼ of the earth 

Who is this horseman?

• The fourth and final horseman is the only one that is given a name - Death or Thanatos in Greek.  The Greek word for plague is a variation of the word ‘Thanatos’, which causes many to believe that there is a connection between the fourth horseman and plague.   

What is the significance of the horse?

• Death rides on a pale horse.  The actual Greek word used is ‘chlooros’, which is translated as pale, ashen, pale green, or yellowish green.  The horse itself is the sickly green complexion of a corpse.  Death’s horse is the only one that has a supernatural color - Green.     

What is the significance of the items the horseman holds?

• In the Bible, Death is the only horseman that is not specifically given a weapon or item during his ride.  Instead, it is said that Death is followed by Hades.  Hades is referred to as either the resting place of the dead, a polite word for hell, or the Greek god over the underworld.  

• Many illustrators commonly depict Death carrying a scythe, even though that is not mentioned in scripture.  In lore, the scythe of the Grim Reaper (or Death personified) is used to separate a person’s soul from their body when he comes to ‘reap’ humans.  

What does the horseman’s purpose tell us?

• In the verses, the fourth horseman is given a purpose.  His purpose is to bring his namesake, Death.  But his purpose has a limit.  God has only given the horsemen authority over ¼ of the population.  Some interpret these verses to mean that Death takes the body, while Hades follows to take the soul (eternal damnation).  

• Four types of death are mentioned in these verses:

  • “Sword” - murder; individual asaults, lawless society 

  • “Hunger” - famine; larger groups of people will die

  • “Death” is also translated as disease or plague which would wipe out entire populations 

  • “Beasts of the earth” - once the societal infrastructures have crumbled, the wild animals will begin to attack the population

In this post we discussed the fourth and final horseman of the apocalypse.  I intended for this to be a single post, but after doing much research, there turned out to be more information than I was expecting.  Please check out my previous posts for information on the other horsemen of the apocalypse.