Editing Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (section)

==White Horse==
{{See also|White horse (mythology)}}
{{About||other uses of the term "White Rider"|White rider (disambiguation){{!}}White rider}}
[[File:BambergApocalypseFolio014rFirstHorseman.JPG|thumb|The first Horseman of the Apocalypse as depicted in the [[Bamberg Apocalypse]] (1000–1020). The first "living creature" (with [[Halo (religious iconography)|halo]]) is seen in the upper right.|upright=1.2]]
{{quotation|Then I saw when the [[Lamb of God|Lamb]] broke one of the [[seven seals]], and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come!" I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.|Revelation 6:1–2 New American Standard Bible<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|6:1–2|NASB}}</ref>}}

The above passage is a common English translation of the rider of the White Horse (sometimes referred to as the '''White Rider'''). He is thought to carry a bow (Greek τόξον, ''tóxon'') and wear a victor's crown (Greek στέφανος, [[Stephane (Ancient Greece)|''stéphanos'']]).

According to the ''[[Interpretatio graeca|Interpretātiō Graecǎ]]'', he is [[Zelus|Zelos]] (Ζῆλος, ''Zêlos'' (latinized as Zēlus), literally "Zeal" or "Jealousy"), [[daimon]]/[[deity]] of conquest and glory.

===As Christ, the Gospel, or the Holy Spirit===
For the broad historical interpretation of Christ as the rider of the white horse, it is to be understood that the [[Antichrist]] does not appear until the opening of the sixth seal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apocalypse 6 – Haydock Commentary Online |url=https://haydockcommentary.com/apocalypse-6 |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=haydockcommentary.com}}</ref> Events in world history since the founding of Christianity were interpreted as "horses" up to the sixth seal event. Therefore, this interpretation can be seen as either partially [[Preterism|preterist]], or an instance of [[dual fulfillment]].
[[File:Albrecht Dürer, Knight, Death and Devil, 1513, NGA 6637.jpg|thumb|[[Albrecht Dürer]], ''[[Knight, Death and the Devil]]'', 1513.|upright=1.2]]
In the New Testament, the [[Gospel of Mark|Book of Mark]] indicates that the advance of the gospel may precede and foretell the apocalypse.<ref name=RMounce /><ref name="GBeale">{{cite book |last1=Beale |first1=G. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjKUiljUwcUC&q=book%20of%20revelation&pg=PA375 |title=The Book of Revelation |date=1999 |publisher=W.B. Eerdmans |isbn=0-8028-2174-X |edition=3rd |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |pages=375–379 |access-date=2009-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113180802/https://books.google.com/books?id=HjKUiljUwcUC&q=book%20of%20revelation&pg=PA375 |archive-date=2023-01-13 |url-status=live}}</ref> The colour white also tends to represent righteousness in the Bible, and Christ is portrayed as a conqueror in other instances.<ref name=RMounce /><ref name=GBeale />

Besides Christ, the Horseman could represent the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]]. The Holy Spirit was understood to have come upon the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]] at [[Pentecost]] after Jesus departed Earth. The appearance of the Lion in Revelation 5 shows the triumphant arrival of Jesus in Heaven, and the first Horseman may represent the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus and the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.<ref>{{cite web |author=Rev. Brian Vos |url=http://www.reformedfellowship.net/articles/vos_brian_looking_above_apr06_v56_n04.htm |title=Outlook Article – The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse |publisher=Reformedfellowship.net |access-date=2014-04-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121031638/http://www.reformedfellowship.net/articles/vos_brian_looking_above_apr06_v56_n04.htm |archive-date=2014-01-21 }}</ref>

===As the Antichrist===
In 1866,<ref>References given by B. Gineste, Les Quatre Chevaux du Messie, Paris, 2d ed., 2019, pp. 53–54.</ref> when C. F. Zimpel defended the hypothesis that the first horseman was the [[Antichrist]] (and more precisely, according to him, [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]).<ref>Ch. Fr. Zimpel, Le Millénaire, Franckfort-sur-le-Main, 1866, p. 43.</ref> The Antichrist interpretation later found champions in the United States, such as R. F. Franklin in 1898<ref>Annotations on the Revelation, New York, 1898, p. 85.</ref> and W. C. Stevens in 1928.<ref>W. C. Stevens, Revelation, Harrisburg, 1928, vol. 2, p. 129.</ref> It remains popular in evangelical circles today,<ref>{{Cite web |title=evangelical – Search |url=https://www.bing.com/search?PC=U523&q=evangelical&pglt=297&FORM=ANNTA1 |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=www.bing.com |archive-date=2023-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113180757/https://www.bing.com/search?PC=U523&q=evangelical&pglt=297&FORM=ANNTA1 |url-status=live }}</ref> for example with Pastor [[Billy Graham]], for whom the horseman represented the Antichrist or false prophets in general.<ref name="Graham">{{cite book|last1=Graham|first1=Billy|author-link=Billy Graham|title=Approaching Hoofbeats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse|date=1985|publisher=Avon|location=New York|isbn=0380-69921-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/approachingh00grah/page/273 273]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/approachingh00grah/page/273}}</ref>

===As Roman Empire prosperity===
[[File:Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_Bibel_in_Bildern_1860_237.png|thumb|Four horsemen, by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]], 1860.|upright=1.2]] 
In [[Edward Bishop Elliott]]'s interpretation, the Four Horsemen represent a prophecy of the Roman Empire's subsequent history; the horse's white colour signifies triumph, prosperity, and health in the Roman political body. For the next 80 or 90 years, succeeding the banishment of the prophet John to the island of Patmos and covering the successive reigns of the emperors [[Nerva]], [[Trajan]], [[Hadrian]], and the two Antonines ([[Antoninus Pius]] and [[Marcus Aurelius]]), a golden age of prosperity, union, civil liberty and good government unstained with civil blood unfolded. The agents of this prosperity, personified by the rider of the white horse, are these five emperors wearing crowns, who reigned with absolute authority and power under the guidance of virtue and wisdom, the armies being restrained by their firm and gentle hands.{{sfn|Elliott|1862|p=129–131,134}}

According to this interpretation, this period in Roman history, both at its commencement and close, illustrated the empire's glory where its limits were extended, though not without occasional wars, which were always uniformly triumphant on the frontiers. The triumphs of Emperor Trajan, a Roman Alexander, added to the empire [[Dacia]], [[Armenia]], [[Mesopotamia]], and other provinces during the first 20 years of the period, which deepened the impression on the minds of the barbarians of the invincibility of the Roman Empire. The Roman war progressed triumphantly into the invader's territory, and the total overthrow of those people successfully ended the Parthian war. Roman conquest is demonstrated even in the most mighty of these wars: the [[Marcomannic Wars]], a succession of victories under the second Antonine, unleashed on the German barbarians, who were driven into their forests and reduced to Roman submission.{{sfn|Elliott|1862|p=131–133}}

===As war===
In some commentaries, the white Horseman symbolizes war, which may be decently exercised on moral grounds, hence the white colour. The red Horseman (see below) specifically symbolizes civil war.<ref>''Herder'' German Bible, Freiburg im Breisgau 2007, p. 1348, annotation to Apc 6,7: "The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse symbolize various plagues: [1.] War, [2.] Civil War, [3.] famine and inflation, [4.] pestilence and death." (translated from German)</ref>

===As infectious disease===
Under another interpretation, the first Horseman is called [[Infection|Pestilence]] and is associated with infectious disease and plague. It appears at least as early as 1906 in the [[Jewish Encyclopedia]].<ref>{{Cite book |first1=Crawford H. |last1=Toy |first2=Kaufmann |last2=Kohler |date=1906 |title=The Jewish Encyclopedia |chapter=Revelation (Book of) |chapter-url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12712-revelation-book-of |quote="...and sees a white horse appear, with a rider holding a bow (representing, probably, Pestilence)." |access-date=2021-08-22 |archive-date=2023-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113180803/https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12712-revelation-book-of |url-status=live }}</ref> This particular interpretation is common [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in popular culture|in popular culture references]] to the Four Horsemen.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stableford |first1=Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHc3XTdJBxQC&pg=PA18 |title=The A to Z of Fantasy Literature |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810868298 |location=Lanham, Maryland |page=18 |access-date=18 December 2015}}</ref>

The origin of this interpretation is unclear. Some translations of the Bible mention "[[plague (disease)|plague]]" (e.g. the [[New International Version]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=The NIV Bible |url=https://www.thenivbible.com/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=NIV Bible |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113180800/https://www.thenivbible.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> or "pestilence" (e.g. the [[Revised Standard Version]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 6 - Revised Standard Version |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%206&version=RSV |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=Bible Gateway |language=en}}</ref> in connection with the riders in the passage following the introduction of the fourth rider; cf. "They were given power over a fourth of the Earth to kill by sword, famine, plague, and by the wild beasts of the Earth." in the NASB.<ref>{{bibleverse|Revelation|6:7–8|NASB}}</ref> However, the original Greek does not use the word for "plague" or "pestilence" here, simply "death" (θᾰ́νᾰτος, ''thánatos'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Revelation 6:8 Interlinear: and I saw, and lo, a pale horse, and he who is sitting upon him – his name is Death, and Hades doth follow with him, and there was given to them authority to kill, (over the fourth part of the land,) with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and by the beasts of the land. |url=https://biblehub.com/interlinear/revelation/6-8.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113180801/https://biblehub.com/interlinear/revelation/6-8.htm |archive-date=2023-01-13 |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=biblehub.com}}</ref> The use of "pestilence" was likely drawn from other parts of the Book of Revelation and included here as another form of death. Also, whether this passage refers to the fourth rider only or the four riders as a whole is a matter of debate.<ref name=flegg/>

[[Vicente Blasco Ibáñez]], in his 1916 novel ''[[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Spanish novel)|The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]'' (filmed [[The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|in 1921]] and [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)|1962]]), provides an early example of this interpretation, writing, "The horseman on the white horse was clad in a showy and barbarous attire. . . . While his horse continued galloping, he was bending his bow in order to spread pestilence abroad. At his back swung the brass quiver filled with poisoned arrows, containing the germs of all diseases".<ref>{{cite book | last = Ibáñez | first = Vicente Blasco | year = 1916 | url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1484/1484-h/1484-h.htm | title = The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (ch V) | access-date = 2012-08-19 | archive-date = 2023-01-13 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230113180801/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1484/1484-h/1484-h.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>