What do the 4 riders symbolize? (Revelation 6:2-8)

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Apocalypse 6:2-8 - Louis Segond

⚪ 4 Riders : 1° Pope | 2° Antichrist | 3° Antichrist | 4° Papacy

[1] And behold a white horse.—The doctrines, teachings of the Lord and the Apostles recognized as the one and only rule of faith and practice of God's Church. And he that sat on him.—The Bishop of Rome, the embryo Pope, the personal representative of Satan. [...]

[2] And I beheld and lo there went out another horse.— A creed-horse, quite different from the Scriptures which it misrepresented. That was red-—The color of sin—imperfection. "Though your sins be as scarlet"—Isa. 1:18. And power was given to him that sat thereon.—The same rider, the Antichrist To take peace from the earth.—To embroil in controversy those who were under religious restraint—in other words, the entire professed church of God. And that they should kill one another.—Depose and destroy one another as teachers, by inveighing the Roman power against all offenders. And there was given unto him a great sword.—As the Lord has a great and powerful sword, the Sword of the Spirit, which la the Word of God [...]

[3] And I beheld, and lo, a black horse.—Complete disregard of the Scriptures by clergy and people alike, and in their place the ugly creeds and bulls of popes and councils. And he that sat on him.—The same rider, the Antichrist [...]

[4] And I looked, and behold a pale horse.—The ghastly and horrible teachings that God's true people must be "exterminated." "The ghastly green of terror and of death. The word Is used of grass in Rev. 8:7; 9:4; Mark 6:39."—Cook. And his name that sat on him was Death.—Still the same rider, the Papacy; [...]

Source : 🇺🇸 1917 - Studies in the Scriptures, Vol 7, The finished mystery, page 106, page 112, page 114 + Cover

⚫ 4 Riders : 1° Jesus | 2° elements | 3° profiteers | 4° plagues, disease, pestilence

Cette 2^e interprétation est liée à la première Guerre mondiale (1914-1918)

[1] The first seal discloses the glorified Christ Jesus seated upon a white horse, equipped for war and going forth "conquering, and to conquer".

[2] The red horse appears, and to the one riding thereon was given the power to "take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another". It is Satan's organization, particularly the financial, military, political and ecclesiastical elements, consorting together to take peace from the earth, which they did. That occurred from 1914 to 1918,

[3] Looking, John states that he saw a black horse with the rider carrying "a pair of balances", That was the profiteers, or commercial element of the Devil's organization, with false scales or balances, manipulating the prices of food by the connivance and consent of the politicians and the clergy of so-called "Christendom". [...] the common people were made to suffer while the ultrasclfish men of commerce reaped great profits [...] That must have been the voice of the past from Jesus when he foretold the famines or food-shortuges that would come at find during the World War and foretold the methods of dealing at that time. [...] "A measure" (Greek, choenix) represented the amount of corn for a day's food, hence a day's food for a day's labor indicated that the profiteers would get all except what was barely neccessary to feed "the common herd" so that they could fight. The oil and wine dealers must have their share of the spoils, [...] Russia stopped the use of intoxicating liquors during the war.

[4] "A pale horse" appears with its rider, which literally means a horse of pallid hue or sickness, representing pestilence and death; and the name of the rider is Death. Thus was pictured the death-dealing agencies that came with and immediately followed the World War, to wit, plagues, disease and pestilence, which Jesus foretold. It is authoritatively reported that millions more people died from the pestilence of "the flu" than were killed in the four years of the World War. Millions went into premature graves. The undertakers had a big business.
The name of the rider was Death and he was given power over "a fourth part of the earth", which manifestly means to the four corners of the earth.

Source : 🇺🇸 1930 - Light, vol 1, page 73, page 74, page 75, page 76, page 77 + Cover

⚫ 4 Riders : 1° Jesus | 2° wars since 1914 | 3° famine | 4° death since 1914

[1] Unmistakable identification of the rider on the white horse is given by the “Revealer of secrets” later in the same series of visions. At Revelation 19:11-16, a white horse is again seen, this time with clear identification of the rider. The fact that a white horse is seen twice in these prophetic visions indicates that it is the same horse and that various duties or activities of the rider are being depicted. In the latter scene, the rider is named. He is called “Faithful and True,” “The Word of God,” and “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Those designations leave no doubt as to the identity of the rider on the white horse. It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself! [...]

[2] The second horse is “bright red,” or “fiery-colored.” (Revelation 6:3, 4, An American Translation) Its rider “was granted to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another.”He was given “a great sword.” This proved true when 1914 saw the beginning of the worst war in all human history, the first global war. Back then it was called the Great War. Just 21 years later World War II began, and it was even more devastating than World War I. Since then there have been constant wars. Altogether, since 1914, wars have taken some one hundred million lives.

[3] The third horse is a black one, and its rider has a pair of scales in his hand. (Revelation 6:5, 6) [...] This fittingly describes food shortages on a scale greater than ever before. That has proved to be true since 1914. Right from the outbreak of World War I, food prices soared. Millions died from hunger.

[4] As for the fourth horse, we notice that it is “pale,” sickly looking. The rider’ s name is “Death.” (Revelation 6:7, 8) It well symbolizes the vast number of deaths since 1914 by unnatural causes, such as food shortages and famines, wars and violence, plagues and diseases.

Source : 🇺🇸 The Watchtower, January 1 1986, page 5, page 6, page 7 + Cover

This last interpretation is given again in 2017 (more clearly)

The Four Horsemen—Who Are They?

[1] THE RIDER OF THE WHITE HORSE
[...] Who is the rider of the white horse? The key to his identity is found in the same Bible book, Revelation, which later identifies this heavenly rider as “The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11-13) That title, The Word, belongs to Jesus Christ, for he acts as God’s spokesman. (John 1:1, 14) [...]

[2] THE RIDER OF THE RED HORSE
[...] This rider represents warfare. Notice that he takes peace away from not just a few nations but the whole earth. In 1914, for the first time in history, a global war erupted. It was followed by a second world war, which was even more destructive. [...]

[3] THE RIDER OF THE BLACK HORSE
[...] This rider represents famine. We find here a picture of food rationing so severe that a quart (1.08 L) of wheat would cost one denarius, a whole day’s wage in the first century! [...] About 70 million people died in famines during the 20th century. One authority estimated that “805 million people—about one in nine of the world’s population—were chronically undernourished in 2012-14.”

[4] THE RIDER OF THE PALE HORSE
The fourth rider represents death due to plague and other causes. Soon after 1914, the Spanish flu killed tens of millions. Possibly some 500 million people were infected, about 1 out of every 3 humans then alive!

Source : 🇺🇸 The Watchtower, n°3, 2017, page 4, page 5, page 6, page 7 + Cover - (or online)