The prophetic events described by the Lord in Matthew 24 are "not yet the end", "The beginning of birth pains," "Tribulation"' and "Great Tribulation." These are described as the four progressive beast kingdoms associated with the the seven seals. The lion, the bear, the leopard with four heads (authorities), and the diverse beast. The horses represent kingdoms, institutions, and movements in the world. The color of the four horses illustrate the nature of each horse, and the riders of the horses represent the controlling spiritual entity or entities over the horses (i.e. "rider"). Our revelatory understanding of these metaphors lets us know exactly where we are on the prophetic timetable, and exactly what happens during each progressive event. This was deliberately intended by our Lord to equip the body of Christ to overcome during the ride of each horseman, with the most important being the generation who will experience the ride of the pale green horseman, otherwise identified as the "antichrist man of sin."