The Modern Equivalents of the Four Horsemen Apocalypse - Essay Example

Taking a Global Perspective, Which Threats to Future Stability, Security and Prosperity Assess to Be the Modern Equivalents of the Four Horsemen Apocalypse Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 3 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction In the present day context, the economic as well as the political ties amid countries have facilitated in developing a positive force relating to stability, prosperity and security globally. The strong bondage amid countries and different regions has assisted in sharing values with regard to democracy and respect towards human rights. In this respect, an alliance is developed amid countries based on which peace as well as security is maintained within regions. The global partnership has been extensive through the involvement of every continent in conducting trade and investment operations. However, the global partnership is also identified to be inefficient owing to challenges as well as threats for political and government interventions along with cultural differences (Russel, 2014). The current global scenario is recognised to possess both positive consequences with respect to global alignment as well as negative consequences owing to outbreak of different types of lethal diseases and frequent occurrence of wars. The world is currently under the threat of weapons proliferation and terrorism symbolising mass destructions, which is adversely affecting the security, stability as well as prosperity agenda to a large extent (Mabey, 2007). In this regard, the essay emphasises the threats and challenges to future stability, security and prosperity assess to be the modern equivalents of the four horsemen apocalypse. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are identified as symbolic descriptions relating to the different events that might happen at the end of the world. The horses of four different colours which include white, red, black as well as pale are rode by different beings. The riders of the four horses reveal different aspects that include conquest, famine, and war along with death. The four horsemen represent the apocalyptic vision about the future of the world at the end times. Horsemen are symbol of immortality as well as power acting as a tool relating to destruction as well as chaos at the time of apocalypse. The riders of the horses possess different power for the execution of the apocalypse effectively. The four horsemen of the apocalypse are described in detail hereunder. White Horse The rider in the white horse represents conquest, which signifies that evildoers will be conquered for the development of societies as a whole. The rider is identified to have a crown and also equipped with a bow representing Holy Spirit and purity. The rider will conquer individuals with opposing views with respect to stability and security of societies (Hawkin, n.d.). In this respect, the world scenario has witnessed the philosophy of white horse with the birth of Jesus Christ for conquering the heart of the people with righteousness attitude and humbleness. The reign of Jesus Christ symbolises the period of preachment of God in order to win the hearts of the people on a global context. Additionally, present world leaders are also recognised as riders of white horse, as they have made immense contributions of ensuring that the world is under a common roof through the development of global alliance. Subsequently, building global relationship has facilitated different countries in conducting trade as well as investment operations effectively. Global relationship has aided countries in developing economic conditions and building political association. Red Horse The rider of the red horse possesses sword and is recognised as mass slaughter ready to spill blood. The rider of the red horse symbolises war. The sword is pointed upward, which signifies that the commencement or declaration of battle. The rider rides out with the power of slaying humans and disrupting peace. In this respect, the rider notifies the break out of terrible warfare during judgement day. Simply, the rider implies persecution, destruction as well as bloodshed (Hawkin, n.d.). In a similar perspective, the development of nuclear weapons as well as weapons capable of mass destruction has raised the issue of global security. Currently, different countries across the world are predominately involved in reinforcing their military power and are also engaged in building mass destruction nuclear weapons which have increased the number of nuclear warhead. Additionally, the growth and increment in nuclear-armed states is identified for raising issues relating to stability and security. In this respect, the development of nuclear weapons and other illegal weapons are recognised as the beginning of war. Subsequently, the development of bio-nuclear weapons has become a significant threat for the survival of human beings. Besides, widespread political wars among the countries to acquire supremacy over others have also resulted in economic and political instability (TSO, 2008). Nuclear weapons and nuclear-armed states have also raised the issue of terrorism along with proliferation of mass destruction weapons, which in turn adversely affected the security agenda on a global context (Mabey, 2007). Black Horse The rider of black horse holds two scales in the hand. The rider symbolises the beginning of economic misfortune. The rider emphasises high cost related to barley as well as wheat. The rider also depicts the period conjured with shortage of necessary food in a severe manner. In this respect, shortage of food raises the price level owing to which the people suffered immensely. The arrival of the rider of black horse is also witnessed as mismanagement. Additionally, rich people are identified to enjoy economic prosperity in contrast to poor people (Hawkin, n.d.). In this present day context, economic downturn and instability is observed with the beginning of financial crises, which adversely affected the price of commodities and other essential livelihoods due to inflation. The period of financial crisis has adversely affected the worldwide financial stability, which in turn raised issues relating to poor management of resources, poverty, poor governance and inequality. In this context, the trend of economic growth as well as trade operations has been adversely affected to a large extent. Contextually, the period of financial crises can be witnessed the coming of the rider of black horse (TSO, 2008). Pale Horse The horseman of pale horse symbolises death possessing scythe and sword among others. The rider of pale horse rides out for intensifying warfare, diseases, famines and plagues. The rider signifies ecological disaster bringing death to each and every individual. The political dominance as well as inadequate usage of economic factors have adversely affected and devastated nature. The nature is affected for destruction of vegetation (Hawkin, n.d.). Similarly, the present global scenario is identified to be affected with the outbreak of life threatening endemic, man-made emergencies and extreme weather conditions. Presently, the widespread outbreak of diseases has led to the loss of millions of lives in different parts of the world. Moreover, man-made emergencies that include nuclear and other illegal wars such as world war and cold war among others have affected the life of millions in different regions. Extreme weather conditions including global warming, flood, hurricane and earthquakes are identified to cost society, environment, vegetation and people to a large extent. In this context, the rise in natural disaster and man-made emergencies have been symbolised as the coming of the rider of pale horse bringing death globally (Sena, 2006). In this context, it can be recognised that the changes in the world scenario have adversely affected the stability, security as well as prosperity globally for increased number of nuclear warheads and nuclear-armed states, financial instability as well as natural disasters. Subsequently, the present scenario has marked similarities in comparison to the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Conclusion It can be comprehended from the above analysis that the four horsemen of the apocalypse comprises riders with four colour horses that include white, red, black and pale. The four horses labels conquest, famine, war as well as death. In this context, the present scenario has been witnessed with global relationship, natural calamities, man-made emergencies and loss of vegetation symbolising the similarities with the four horses of the apocalypse. The present conditions have raised different threats relating to nuclear wars bringing an end to mankind and vegetation. References Hawkin, David J. n.d. Globalization, the American Empire, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. http://archive.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_118_4_Hawkin.pdf Mabey, Nick. 2007. Security Trends and Threat Misperceptions. http://www.e3g.org/docs/E3G_Security_Trends_and_Threat_Misperceptions.pdf Russel, Daniel R. 2014. Assessing Threats Facing the U.S.-Korean Alliance. http://www.state.gov/p/eap/rls/rm/2014/06/227842.htm Sena, Lelisa. 2006. Disaster Prevention and Preparedness. http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/health/ephti/library/lecture_notes/health_extension_trainees/DisasterPreventionPreparedness.pdf TSO. 2008. The National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228539/7291.pdf Read More