Q41 : Four Horses of the Apocalypse and Zechariah

Are the Four Horses of Apocalypse analogous to the four horses of Zechariah 6:1-5?

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. (Zech. 6:1-5)

Therefore, is the pale green horse a symbol of the fourth spirit rider "Locusts King" Abaddon/Apollyon?

Are not locusts the masters of green vegetation destruction?

It is scientifically documented that one of the primary triggers involving the feeding habits of swarming locusts is their visual and targeted focus on eating anything (normally vegetation) of the color 'green'. However, there have been recorded incidents where locusts have even stripped green paint from walls or water tanks, eaten green clothes hanging on a washing line or destroyed green shade-cloth when adequate food supplies were unattainable.

A41 : by Tony Garland

I discuss the relationship of Zechariah's Horses to the horsemen of the Apocalypse in secion 4.19^a of my Revelation Commentary^b which may helpful to read.

I don't believe the color of the green horse relates to locusts, but merely denotes the color of a person in sickness as contrasted with the appearance of health, for the name of the rider of the pale horse is death (thanatos).

I do not believe that Scripture indicates that the rider of the fourth horse in Revelation 6:7-8 is connected with the king over the locusts in Revelation 9:11. Moreover, there are a number of indications in the text that the fourth horse, being associated with the fourth seal, rides forth much earlier than the locust plague, which occurs following the fifth trumpet.

Prior to the fifth trumpet, the text infers that the "king" of the locusts exercised dominion where the locusts themselves resided: locked away in the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:1-3), reserved for the time of the fifth trumpet. Notice that John calls him "the angel of the bottomless pit" (Rev. 9:11). Thus, it seems that Abaddon was locked away in the bottomless pit up until the fifth trumpet and would have been unable to ride forth on the fourth horse at the fourth seal.

See my commentary^c and audio class^d concerning Revelation 6:8. It may also be helpful to review the discussion concerning the literary structure^e of Revelation which provides evidence that the riding forth of the horses and the opening of the bottomless pit are strictly sequential, independent judgments.