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Revelation 6 : The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Estudio

1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Comentario

 

The Meaning of the Book of Revelation: the Four Horsemen

Por Jonathan S. Rose, Curtis Childs

Transparency is needed to sort things out. Before big change happens, God first reveals what’s really going on.

In the Book of Revelation - the last book of the Word - the apostle John describes a series of apocalyptic visions that he experienced during his exile on the Isle of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea.

In one of these visions, he saw four horsemen, the first riding a white horse, the second a red horse, the third a black, and the fourth - named Death - riding a pale horse. These "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" - oft-pictured - are described in Revelation 6:1-8.

What do these horses, and their riders, represent? What do they have to do with us, today? Watch as Curtis Childs and Jonathan Rose explore the hidden Bible meaning of the Four Horsemen in the Book of Revelation, in this video from the Swedenborg and Life Series, from the Swedenborg Foundation.

Plus, to go straight to the source, follow the links below to the places in "Apocalypse Revealed" where Swedenborg explained the inner meaning of this famous Bible story. A good place to start would be Apocalypse Revealed 298.

(Referencias: Apocalypse Explained 315; Apocalypse Revealed 262-263, 301, 306, 314, 316, 320, 322-323)

Tocar Video
This video is a product of the Swedenborg Foundation. Follow these links for further information and other videos: www.youtube.com/user/offTheLeftEye and www.swedenborg.com

De obras de Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #921

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921. 'Noah built an altar to Jehovah' means a representative of the Lord. This is clear from what has been stated just above. All the religious observances of the Ancient Church were representative of the Lord, as also were those of the Jewish Church. But the chief representative in later times was the altar, and also the burnt offering, which, because it was made from clean beasts and clean birds, represented the same as that of which it was the meaningful sign. Clean beasts represented goods that stem from charity, and clean birds the truths of faith. And when offering these, members of the Ancient Church meant that they were offering gifts of those goods or truths to the Lord. Nothing else can be offered up to the Lord that will please Him. But their descendants, like the gentiles, and also the Jews, corrupted these offerings, for they did not even know that these had such a meaning. They confined worship solely to things of an external nature.

[2] That the altar was the chief representative of the Lord becomes clear also from the consideration that there were altars even among gentiles before all the other religious observances were established, before the Ark [of the Covenant] was made, and before the Temple was built. This is clear from Abram's going on to the mountain east of Bethel, erecting an altar, and calling on the name of Jehovah, Genesis 12:8; from his being commanded to offer Isaac as a burnt offering on an altar, Genesis 22:2, 9, from Jacob's building an altar in Luz, which was Bethel, Genesis 35:6-7; and from Moses' building an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai and offering sacrifice, Exodus 24:4-6. Each of these events took place before the establishment of the sacrificial system and before the construction of the Ark, the place where worship was at a later time celebrated in the wilderness. The fact that gentiles too had altars is clear from what is said about Balaam telling Balak to build seven altars and to prepare seven young bulls and seven rams, Numbers 23:1-7, 15-18, 29-30, and also from the command to destroy the altars of the nations, as in Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 2:2. Consequently Divine worship involving the use of altars and sacrifices was not something new when it was established among the Jews. Indeed men were building altars, especially those for commemorative purposes, before they ever knew of immolating young bulls and other animals on them.

[3] That 'altars' means a representative of the Lord, and 'burnt offerings' consequent worship of Him, is quite clear from the Prophets and also in Moses where Levi to whom the priesthood was entrusted is the subject,

They will teach Jacob Your judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nostrils, and whole (burnt offering) upon Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

This stands for the whole of worship. 'Teaching Jacob His judgements, and Israel His law' stands for internal worship, while 'putting incense in His nostrils, and whole [burnt offering] on the altar' stands for corresponding external worship, and so for the whole of worship. In Isaiah,

On that day a man will look to his Maker and his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands. Isaiah 17:7-8.

Here 'looking to the altars' clearly means representative worship in general, which was to be abolished. In the same prophet,

On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border to Jehovah. Isaiah 19:19.

Here too 'altar' stands for external worship.

[4] In Jeremiah,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abhorred His sanctuary. Lamentations 2:7.

'Altar' stands for representative worship which had become idolatrous. In Hosea,

Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have been to him altars for sinning. Hosea 8:11.

'Altars' here stands for all representative worship separated from internal, and so stands for what is idolatrous. In the same prophet,

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will grow up on their altars. Hosea 10:8.

Here too 'altars' stands for idolatrous worship. In Amos,

On the day I visit Israel for his transgressions, I will visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar will be cut off. Amos 3:14.

Here also 'altars' stands for representative worship that had become idolatrous.

[5] In David,

They will bring me to Your holy mountain, and to Your dwellings! Then I will go in to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. Psalms 43:3-4.

Here 'altar' clearly stands for the Lord. So the making of an altar in the Ancient and the Jewish Churches stood for a representative of the Lord. Because worship of the Lord was carried out principally by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and these principally meant representative worship, it is clear that the altar itself means representative worship itself.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.