▼6:1 Four chariots: The four great empires of the Chaldeans, Persians, Grecians, and Romans. Or perhaps by the fourth chariot are represented the kings of Egypt and of Asia, the descendants of Ptolemeus and Seleucus.(Challoner)

▼6:3All the horses were strong, not merely the speckled ones. The symbolism of the horses is that of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The white horses represent a war, ordained by God, in which a vast territory is conquered (World War 3). The red horses represent civil disorder and violence during the war. The black horses represent a famine. The speckled (varii) horses represent death from a variety of causes. There are four of each type of horse representing the four directions, for these events affect the whole world.(Conte)

▼6:6The speckled horses, representing death from a variety of causes, has a greater effect in the Southern Hemisphere. The War (white horses) and the Famine (black horses) have a greater effect in the Northern Hemisphere. The civil disorder and violence (red horses) have a great effect throughout the world.(Conte)

▼6:6 The land of the north: So Babylon is called; because it lay to the north in respect of Jerusalem. The black horses, that is, the Medes and Persians: and after them Alexander and his Greeks, signified by the white horses, went thither because they conquered Babylon, executed upon it the judgments of God, which is signified, ver. 8, by the expression of quieting his spirit.(Challoner)

▼6:6 The land of the south: Egypt, which lay to the south of Jerusalem, and was occupied first by Ptolemeus, and then by the Romans.(Challoner)

▼6:7The red horses are the most strong and they roam throughout the whole earth. The red horses represent civil disorder and violence.(Conte)

▼6:10The word ‘transmigratione’ could be translated as ‘transmigration,’ except that in English, the word captivity more clearly conveys the fact the Babylonian captivity was forced upon the Jews. The word ‘transmigration’ could be applied even to a voluntary movement of peoples.(Conte)

▼6:12Or, ‘the East’ is his name. The sun rises in the East, so the word for rising and for East is the same. Since the rising of the sun in the East is a fact known to all, this correspondence between Rising and East is not merely a coincidence of the Latin language. The man named ‘the Rising’ or ‘the East’ is the one often called ‘the Angelic Shepherd.’(Conte)

▼6:13These two previous verses refer to the great monarch and the Angelic Shepherd, the great monarch rises to power under the guidance and after the Angelic Shepherd. The great monarch will build a Temple to the Lord, in Jerusalem, under the guidance of the Angelic Shepherd. The great monarch will sit on one throne and the Angelic Shepherd will sit on another (the throne of the papacy). And their will be peace and cooperation between them both: “¹² And you will speak to him, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: Behold a man [the Angelic Shepherd] ; the Rising is his name. And under him [the Angelic Shepherd] , he [the great monarch] will rise up, and he [the great monarch] will build a temple to the Lord. ¹³ And he [the great monarch] will raise a temple to the Lord. And he [the Angelic Shepherd] will carry the glory, and he [the great monarch] will sit and rule upon his throne. And he [the Angelic Shepherd] will be a priest upon his throne, and a counsel of peace will be between the two of them [the Angelic Shepherd &the great monarch].”(Conte)

▼6:13 Between them both: That is, he shall unite in himself the two offices or dignities of king and priest.(Challoner)

▼6:14Notice that in Latin, the second and third of these four names are feminine (ending in ‘æ’). These four names represent the four leaders who rule after the great monarch, when his vast kingdom is divided into four parts. Two of the names are feminine because two of the four leaders will be women, even though it is contrary to God’s will for women to have such positions of leadership in society. The fourth name is the man who will rule over the kingdom of the South (Israel, the Middle East, Northern Africa), which is the southern-most part of the great monarch’s kingdom. He will be the holiest of the four leaders; his kingship is a memorial to the Temple of the Lord. He is called the ‘son of Zephaniah,’ yet he is not the son of the great monarch. Rather, he is like the great monarch; he takes after him as a son takes after his father.(Conte)