The scroll of history has been revealed in heaven. The Lamb has stepped forward to unseal it.
Revelation 6: 1-2, The lamb opens the first seal
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
The white horse and its rider are bent on conquest. (Military conquest, one nation over another?) Does this character affect history or merely prepare to affect history?
Surely the history of the human race have been an endless series of conquests, one nation after another.
Surely the history of the human race have been an endless series of conquests, one nation after another.
Revelation 6: 3-4, The second seal
When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
The rider of the red horse destroys peace and makes people kill each other. Surely these first two riders bring war in all its forms.
Revelation 6: 5-6, The third seal
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.
6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
The Greek word "choinix" (probably about a liter) is translated here as "quart" and the Greek word "denarius", representing a Greek coin that was roughly one day's wage for the common man, is translated as "a days wage" by the NIV.
This third rider, on the black horse, brings economic chaos? Or a world system emphasizing greed and manipulation?
This third rider, on the black horse, brings economic chaos? Or a world system emphasizing greed and manipulation?
Revelation 6: 7-8, The fourth seal
When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The fourth rider is on a pale horse. This rider brings death and destruction, killing a quarter of the population.
These are the "four horsemen of the Apocalypse." What is their role in history? Are they literal creatures? Or symbols?
Why are there four, and not seven? Does four have any meaning here, after the extensive use of the number seven?
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