The Bible

 

Revelation 6 : The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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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?

Commentary

 

The Meaning of the Book of Revelation: the Four Horsemen

By 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.

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

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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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #351

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351. (Verse 1) And I saw. That this signifies the manifestation of the states of those who belong to the church where the Word is, is clear from the things seen by John, treated of in this chapter, and in those immediately following, as denoting manifestations of the state of those who belong to the church, where the Word is. For the opening of the seals of the book which was in the Lord's hand is treated of, and the things which were then seen, which were four horses, one white, another red, the third black, and the fourth pale, and afterwards the souls of those that were slain for the Word of God, also an earthquake, and at length seven angels who had seven trumpets. By all these things are signified manifestations of the state of those who belong to the church, as is evident from the particulars viewed in the internal sense. It is said, the church where the Word is, because the Lord's church is in the whole earth, but specifically where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known. The state of those who belong to this church, is especially treated of in this prophetic book, here in general, but afterwards specifically. The reason why this church is especially treated of is, because the presence of the Lord, and thence of the angels of heaven, with the men of this earth, is by the Word, for this is written by pure correspondences; hence it is, that the presence of the Lord and of the angels of heaven, is also with those who are around or outside, and who are called Gentiles. (This is evident from those things that are mentioned and shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, concerning the conjunction of heaven with the man of the church, by the Word, n. 114, 303-310; and in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 244, 246, 255-266.)

[2] For the church in the whole earth appears before the Lord as one man, for it makes one with the angelic heaven. (That it appears before the Lord as one man, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 59-102.) In this man, the church, where the Word is, and whereby the Lord is known, is like the heart and like the lungs. With those who are in celestial love, the church is like the heart; and with those who are in spiritual love, like the lungs; therefore, as all the members, viscera, and organs of the body live from the heart and from the lungs, and from their influx and thence presence, thus also all in the whole earth, those who constitute the universal church, [live] from the church where the Word is; for thence the Lord flows in with love and with light, and vivifies and enlightens all who are in any spiritual affection of truth, wherever they are. The light of heaven, or the light in which the angels of heaven are, who are from this earth, is from the Lord by means of the Word; thence light is shed forth as from the midst into the circumferences in every direction, thus to those who are there, who, as stated, are the Gentiles who are outside our church. But this shedding forth of light takes place in heaven from the Lord, and what is done in heaven also flows into the minds of men, for the minds of men make one with the minds of spirits and angels. Now this is the reason why, in this prophetical book, those are especially treated of who belong to the church where the Word is; those also are then treated of who belong to the church where the Word is not, although not proximately; for the arrangement of those who are around, is according to the order in which those are who are in the midst.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.