what is the meaning of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Though theologians and popular culture differ on the first Horseman, the four riders are often seen as symbolizing Conquest[1] or Pestilence (and less frequently, the Christ or the Antichrist), War,[2] Famine,[3] and Death.[4] The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the Four Horsemen are to set a divine apocalypse upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.[1][5] One reading ties the Four Horsemen to the history of the Roman Empire subsequent to the era in which the Book of Revelation was written. That is, they are a symbolic prophecy of the subsequent history of the Empire.[6]
Fourth Age The Fourth Age followed the defeat of Sauron and the destruction of his One Ring, but did not officially begin until after the Bearers of the Three Rings left Middle-earth for Valinor, the 'Uttermost West'.[1]