They relate the circumstances attending the opening of the first four seals, and doubtless typify various phases of the trials which are permitted by God to afflict Christians on earth in common with all mankind.

As Cooper moved away from the Ufology community and toward the militia and anti-government subculture in the late 1990s, he became convinced that he was being personally targeted by President Bill Clinton and the Internal Revenue Service. Anthony Quinn had initially requested the role of Artiguez, but Zinnemann, wishing to avoid typecasting, instead awarded Quinn the opposing role of the villain Viñolas. Columbia suffered heavily through the Franco ban on their films because of 'Pale Horse' but they were wonderfully good about it.They were given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword and with famine and with plague (pestilence, disease) and by the wild beasts of the earth. There is a close resemblance between the first horse and Jesus mentioning the many false prophets and teachers.

Famine's mission to make wheat and barley scarce but "hurt not the oil and the wine" could be an allusion to this episode. Lear, the son of Learjet founder Bill Lear, identified as a pilot who had flown missions for the CIA. It may be assumed by some Christian interpretations that when the tribulation begins, the peace is taken away, so their job is to terrify the places in which they patrol.

In the middle of a presentation on topics like Cointelpro, Cokely would pick up a copy of Behold a Pale Horse and say, “Let’s see what the white boy has to say about this. A few months later, William Cooper gave a listening party for his new album, God’s Will, at New York’s Quad Studios. J. Frankovich estimated that the studio had lost millions of dollars for having proceeded with production against the wishes of the Spanish government. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, and famine, and plague, and by the wild animals of the earth. The above passage is a common English translation of the rider of the White Horse (sometimes referred to as the White Rider).

The black horse rider is instructed not to harm the oil and the wine, which signifies that this scarcity should not fall upon the superfluities, such as oil and wine, which men can live without, but upon the necessities of life—bread. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

On November 5, 2001, Apache County sheriff's deputies attempted to arrest Cooper at his Eagar, Arizona home on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and endangerment stemming from disputes with local residents. In this school of thought, Conquest, the white horse's rider, is sometimes identified as a symbol of Parthian forces: Conquest carries a bow, and the Parthian Empire was at that time known for its mounted warriors and their skill with bow and arrow. A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them. Red can certainly be associated with blood and the red horse seems to symbolize war so the parallel between the red horse in Revelation 6:3-4 and Matthew 24:6-7 seem to be about the very same thing and that is war and rumors of other potential wars to come.