Is the Roman Tetrarchy of AD 293 a good fit for the Four Horsemen of Revelation?

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greenonions

Member
#1
Jan 15, 2025
52
22
8
#1
Diocletian was a Roman emperor from AD 284-305 who shared his empire with 3 other men:
- Constantius Chlorus was a noble prince who reconquered London (Rev. 6:2)
- Maximian crushed an internal revolt by the Bagaudae and also killed his own Christian soldiers in the Theban Legion (Rev. 6:4)
- Galerius was a very cruel persecutor of Christians who killed people with the sword, with hunger, with torture, and with bears (Rev. 6:8)

Furthermore,
1. Diocletian was a cavalry commander who rode on horses
2. Diocletian gave authority to each of the other three: crown (Rev. 6:2), great sword (Rev. 6:4), authority over one-fourth of the empire (Rev. 6:8)
3. Diocletian was not given authority by another man, but was famous for the Edict of Maximum Prices in AD 301 (Rev. 6:5-6)
- See post on historical fulfillment of the price of wheat, which can only happen when the denarius is still used as currency
(https://christianchat.com/miscellan...v-6-6-web-and-diocletians-price-edict.218352/)
4. Diocletian ordered the Great Persecution of Christians in AD 303, which resulted in the martyrs in the fifth seal (Rev. 6:9)
5. Galerius (Death) was succeeded by his nephew, Maximinus Daia (Hades). Both were cruel and killed many Christians.
6. The Roman Tetrarchy and the Great Persecution are recorded in detail by early church fathers, Lactantius and Eusebius
7. Soon afterwards, Constantine the Great ruled and Christ was held in high esteem in the Roman Empire.

What do you think? Would you say that the four horsemen prophecy of the first four seals has been fulfilled?
 
Hakawaka

Hakawaka

Well-known member
#2
Jul 1, 2021
451
259
63
#2
Im not a historicist I think it involves too much guess work. I could just as well make the 4 horseman fit islamic caliphs. One of them added the jizya tax to the areas, thats a fullfilment. Except that its not.

It says 4th of the earth, not one fourth of the empire. I believe this is part of the general signs of the end, the birth pains Jesus talks about.

If you compare Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 they are very similar
 
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greenonions

Member
#3
Jan 15, 2025
52
22
8
#3
Hakawaka said:
Im not a historicist I think it involves too much guess work. I could just as well make the 4 horseman fit islamic caliphs. One of them added the jizya tax to the areas, thats a fullfilment. Except that its not.

It says 4th of the earth, not one fourth of the empire. I believe this is part of the general signs of the end, the birth pains Jesus talks about.

If you compare Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 they are very similar
Click to expand...
Hi Hakawaka. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I used to be skeptical about historic fulfillments too, but I really like patterns, so when they match it catches my attention.

That's why I think the third seal's description is crucial for a unique identification, kind of like a fingerprint. The price of wheat was one quart for a denarii. In AD 270, the price of wheat was still well below this, but late in Diocletian's reign in AD 301, there is documented evidence of the price exceeding this value due to inflation. It was the only time in history that I can find this price with the denarius as the currency. Therefore, the Roman tetrarchy matches this fingerprint evidence which hypothetical islamic caliphs do not.

I would imagine that disappointment with uncertain historical guesses have caused many people to give up finding a specific fulfillment altogether. But conquests, civil war, high prices, and death have been happening before Christ and after Christ, throughout history, so a general prediction of these things is meaningless. So yes it sounds like the birth pains in Matthew 24, but the four horsemen also just sound like world history in general: wars, famines, pestilences.

One-fourth of the "earth" --> the Greek word is "ge", which can mean soil, land, earth, and does not always mean the entire planet earth. Let me give two examples: Matthew 2:6 says "land of Judah"; Matthew 9:26 says the report of the raising of the dead girl went out into "all that land". So I think one-fourth of the empire is a reasonable fulfillment of "one-fourth of the land".
 
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