Four horsemen of the apocalypse
Meaning
The four horsemen of the apocalypse are symbolic figures representing major calamities that precede or accompany a catastrophic end to the world or an era.
Origin
In the cryptic visions of the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, John the Apostle describes a scroll sealed with seven seals. As the first four seals are broken, four distinct horsemen emerge, each riding a uniquely colored steed and wielding a specific instrument of destruction. The white horse brings conquest or pestilence, the red horse unleashes war, the black horse signifies famine, and the ghastly pale (or greenish) horse carries Death himself. These terrifying figures ride forth as divine agents, unleashing widespread catastrophe upon the world, and thus became the ultimate symbolic harbingers of universal doom and destruction.
Examples
- Many economists fear that inflation, war, famine, and disease could become the four horsemen of the apocalypse for the global economy.
- The dystopian novel depicted a world where authoritarianism, environmental collapse, technological overreach, and social unrest acted as the four horsemen of the apocalypse for human society.