In the Book of Revelation, four horsemen ride out after the Lamb opens the first four seals. Revelation 6 describes one rider emerging after each of those seals is opened.
The riders appear on horses of different colors. The first rides a white horse, the second a red horse, the third a black horse, and the fourth a pale horse. The fourth rider is named Death, and Hades follows him. Their appearance forms one of Revelation’s best-known visions.
The text associates the riders with conquest, conflict, famine, and death, although interpretations vary across Christian traditions and later art. The passage does not present them as four human apostles or historical kings.
The horsemen are distinct from the seven angels who sound trumpets later in Revelation. They also differ from the Lamb, who opens the seals. The number four comes specifically from the first four seals, not from the total number of seals on the scroll.