The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The story of the horsemen and the seven seals depicts what john of patmos saw in his “revelation”, a story within a story. John of Patmos wrote The Book of Revelations and in it included what he believed was to come in the future, and it did. Famine, disease and war have brought death and devastation in many forms. In the sixth chapter of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, John describes the horrors invited into the world upon the opening of the Book of Life. This Book has seven seals, and as each is opened, new and terrible things are introduced to Earth. The first four of these seals unleash the four Horsemen, instruments of Death, War, Plague, and Famine. While the abhorrence’s that follow are equally as frightening, the four Horsemen stand out in history as warning signs of the end of the world, and in the 14th century, they paid a visit to Europe and the surrounding world.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, several horrific events took their toll on European lifestyles. Famine, disease and war brought death and devastation in many forms. The many religious people believed the end of the world had arrived, as - according to the Christian Bible - these events signalled the arrival of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, mythical figures whose destruction of the Earth preceded the second coming of Christ and Judgement Day. The Great Famine of 1315-1317 entered first with a change in climate, ruining crop fields. It was soon followed by the “Black Death”, a potent attack of bubonic plague that would be remembered as one of the deadliest outbreaks in history. The “Black Death” coincided with the beginning of the Hundred Years War, which would dramatically change relations between England and France, the two most powerful countries in Medieval Europe at the time.

The book with seven seals/ Book of life

When the Lamb ( the Lamb of God refers to Jesus Christ) opened a seal from the book/scroll, a judgment was released or an apocalyptic event happened on earth. The opening of the first four seals release The Four Horsemen, each with their own specific mission. The opening of the fifth seal releases the cries of martyrs for the "word of God". The sixth seal prompts cataclysmic events. The seventh seal cues seven angelic trumpeters who in turn cue the seven bowl judgments. ( Seven angels are given seven bowls, each consisting of judgements full of the wrath of God These seven bowls are poured out on the wicked and the followers of the Antichrist after the sounding of the seven trumpets.)

The Horsemen

The first part concerns the opening of the first six seals, and tells the history of Mankind and The Four Horsemen “ I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the Seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder "Come and see!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest”. (- Revelation 6:1-2^ NIV). The white rider is referred to as Conquest or some cases Pestilence.

John tells how the Lamb opens the second seal, “ When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come and see!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given the power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a great sword”. (-Revelation 6:34^ NIV). This Horseman may represent civil war as opposed to the war of conquest that the first horseman is