The four horsemen seem to me to be glimpses of the conditions of things to come with the judgments starting with the 6th Seal. It’s like each horseman pulls back another curtain to show the trouble they bring to the 70th Week. They remind me of a “Forward” written in a book which is the preliminary groundwork to the story coming up. Do you see my reasoning? If not, can you help me reconcile these things that don’t seem to fit with each other?
Each of the four horsemen represents one of the seal judgments. So they are all judgments in and of themselves, not preludes to a coming judgment. 1 Thes. 5:3 is where the phrase “peace and safety” comes from. I think Paul was referring to the first horseman (the anti-Christ, who will appear as a man of peace) not to all four horsemen. I don’t believe the time of peace will last very long because both the Seal judgments and the Trumpet judgments will take place in the first 3 1/2 years of Daniels 70th week. We know this because the Great Tribulation that constitutes the second half of the 70th Week begins in Rev. 13, after the Seals and Trumpets are over.
For what it’s worth, I believe the world is experiencing the prelude to the seal judgments right now. They haven’t begun yet but the conditions necessary for them to happen are rapidly being met. It won’t be long until everything’s in place.