The four horsemen of the apocalypse speak of serious global crises that seem to be very imminent..Revelations 6 speaks of the opening of the great seals of a book. The book is opened in heaven by a lamb, a prophetic picture of the great redeemer, Jesus.
A proper reading of scriptures in the gospels of John, Colossians and other relevant scriptures, reveals Jesus as the creator and the one who holds the universe together. Thus John said, He is before all things and by Him all things consist, for without Him was nothing made.
He is the same one with the exclusive power to open the seals of the great book, just as Arthur had exclusive power to withdraw Excalibur from stone. The book describes the unfolding of history, a process determined by Jesus who was commissioned by His Father, before the worlds were formed, to restore all things and destroy death.
The first seal of the book, released the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Those horsemen may well have ridden through history, being the agents provocateur of world events, throughout the ages. That would be one interpretation and my next comment does not minimize that, for the bible is layered into many parallel expressions. Thus both that interpretation and an eschatological or end-time perspective would be valid interpretations of Revelations 6.
The end-time perspective suggests that the four horsemen would be released in the climax of the ages. It implies that “we ‘aint seen nothing yet”. The worst is yet to come. The entire book of Revelations confirms that idea. It is going to get far worse here below, but if we look at each judgment of God we will ultimately have to accept that we merely brought disaster upon ourselves, for every judgment reflects the folly of humankind.
That was as true when God judged Egypt with plagues. Each plague targeted the specific offences of Egypt, but the last plague recompensed them for an earlier pogrom of the Hebrews. But hey, don’t rely on my warnings about the consequences of our folly, go chat to Al Gore or UN chief Banki Moon – they have been actively warning us about coming world crises.
The first horseman was mounted on an imperial white war-horse. All conquering Napoleon also rode a white mount, so this prophesy again conveys layered meanings. This horseman is not just a provoker of conflict, but an instigator of war. The vision speaks of a rising threat of world conflict. The daily news suggests that clouds of war are gathering over the Middle East and with that threat is a risk of nuclear warfare. Syria, Iran and Pakistan are currently developing nuclear capabilities, so this threat is very real and imminent. The real tragedy here though, is that we just never will learn from history about how to preserve peace and prevent the sufferings of war – there is always some fool who hitches onto the apparent glamour of war until the first shot cuts off his tongue and close his widened eyes.
The second, fiery red horse is not imperialistic, but disruptive. It provokes the world into states of conflict and tensions between people and probably refers to national crises, where brother will go up against brother. Again we can see parallels in the great civil wars of history, but there is a wave of internecine violence sweeping world cultures as never before. Crime, insurrection, lawlessness and terrorism, are becoming commonplace and pose a major threat to global security and stability.
The third, black horse, rides out with scales. It has judicial and economic undertones, implying a breakdown of order and increasing economic distress. That is happening right now, with the world facing economic woes from rising oil prices, global inflation, a weak dollar, US public debt, sub-prime crises and falling stock prices. Yet, the prophecy could again refer back to other great economic crises, such as the great depression. I think here I need to make the point that maybe the great depression was a bow-shot, a warning to all of us about what will happen if we don’t right our wrongs and a threat of worse to come if we don’t repent.
The last horseman rides a pale horse and has power to destroy a quarter of the world. The bubonic plague killed millions, the great Spanish flu of 1918/19 killed tens of millions and there have been other great pandemics. But changing climates and the threat of a major avian flu outbreak now threaten a world that is hopelessly ill-prepared for a cataclysmic crisis. The Spanish flu was spread globally by soldiers returning from the Great War, but new outbreaks would spread much faster. Climate changes could carry infected birds around the world and introduce new diseases that could not survive outside of global warming. But global travel systems will also help to transmit any airborne or patient-to-patient viruses. This also represents a real and present danger.
The world is on the brink of major apocalyptic events. It is tottering to and fro like a drunken man. The evil one will soon take his place on the world stage and that stage is being prepared through events that will establish a ten member permanent security council in the UN. The rise of Europe will also provide a vital platform for a new, antichrist world order.
(c) Peter Eleazar @ http://www.bethelstone.com/
He is the same one with the exclusive power to open the seals of the great book, just as Arthur had exclusive power to withdraw Excalibur from stone. The book describes the unfolding of history, a process determined by Jesus who was commissioned by His Father, before the worlds were formed, to restore all things and destroy death.
The first seal of the book, released the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Those horsemen may well have ridden through history, being the agents provocateur of world events, throughout the ages. That would be one interpretation and my next comment does not minimize that, for the bible is layered into many parallel expressions. Thus both that interpretation and an eschatological or end-time perspective would be valid interpretations of Revelations 6.
The end-time perspective suggests that the four horsemen would be released in the climax of the ages. It implies that “we ‘aint seen nothing yet”. The worst is yet to come. The entire book of Revelations confirms that idea. It is going to get far worse here below, but if we look at each judgment of God we will ultimately have to accept that we merely brought disaster upon ourselves, for every judgment reflects the folly of humankind.
That was as true when God judged Egypt with plagues. Each plague targeted the specific offences of Egypt, but the last plague recompensed them for an earlier pogrom of the Hebrews. But hey, don’t rely on my warnings about the consequences of our folly, go chat to Al Gore or UN chief Banki Moon – they have been actively warning us about coming world crises.
The first horseman was mounted on an imperial white war-horse. All conquering Napoleon also rode a white mount, so this prophesy again conveys layered meanings. This horseman is not just a provoker of conflict, but an instigator of war. The vision speaks of a rising threat of world conflict. The daily news suggests that clouds of war are gathering over the Middle East and with that threat is a risk of nuclear warfare. Syria, Iran and Pakistan are currently developing nuclear capabilities, so this threat is very real and imminent. The real tragedy here though, is that we just never will learn from history about how to preserve peace and prevent the sufferings of war – there is always some fool who hitches onto the apparent glamour of war until the first shot cuts off his tongue and close his widened eyes.
The second, fiery red horse is not imperialistic, but disruptive. It provokes the world into states of conflict and tensions between people and probably refers to national crises, where brother will go up against brother. Again we can see parallels in the great civil wars of history, but there is a wave of internecine violence sweeping world cultures as never before. Crime, insurrection, lawlessness and terrorism, are becoming commonplace and pose a major threat to global security and stability.
The third, black horse, rides out with scales. It has judicial and economic undertones, implying a breakdown of order and increasing economic distress. That is happening right now, with the world facing economic woes from rising oil prices, global inflation, a weak dollar, US public debt, sub-prime crises and falling stock prices. Yet, the prophecy could again refer back to other great economic crises, such as the great depression. I think here I need to make the point that maybe the great depression was a bow-shot, a warning to all of us about what will happen if we don’t right our wrongs and a threat of worse to come if we don’t repent.
The last horseman rides a pale horse and has power to destroy a quarter of the world. The bubonic plague killed millions, the great Spanish flu of 1918/19 killed tens of millions and there have been other great pandemics. But changing climates and the threat of a major avian flu outbreak now threaten a world that is hopelessly ill-prepared for a cataclysmic crisis. The Spanish flu was spread globally by soldiers returning from the Great War, but new outbreaks would spread much faster. Climate changes could carry infected birds around the world and introduce new diseases that could not survive outside of global warming. But global travel systems will also help to transmit any airborne or patient-to-patient viruses. This also represents a real and present danger.
The world is on the brink of major apocalyptic events. It is tottering to and fro like a drunken man. The evil one will soon take his place on the world stage and that stage is being prepared through events that will establish a ten member permanent security council in the UN. The rise of Europe will also provide a vital platform for a new, antichrist world order.
(c) Peter Eleazar @ http://www.bethelstone.com/
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