John’s vision of the four horses
parallels the vision of Zechariah (Zechariah 6:1-8). The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin
93a) distinguishes red, yellow, and white horses, and considers a white
horse to be a favorable sign. The Jewish Midrash Rabbah (Lamentations 13:41
and Song of Songs 9:3) mentions a horse as a sign of the coming of the Messiah,
while the Talmud (Berakoth 56b) says that when a man dreams of an ass,
he should look for the signs of redemption (cf. Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer 31).
This may be tied to the concept that Israel’s king rides an ass or mule to the
site of his anointing (1 Kings 1:43-46; Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1-9; John
12:12-16). In ancient Israel, only the royal family seems to have owned horses
and mules (e.g., 2 Samuel 13:29). (John A. Tvedtnes, “The Revelation of St.
John the Divine,” in Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints,
ed. Kevin L. Barney, 2 vols. [2007], 2:461 n. m)
