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 #384

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384. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill. That this signifies deprivation of all good and thence of all truth from the Word, and thence also in the doctrine of their church from the Word, is plain from the signification of power as denoting effect, because to be able denotes to effect; from the signification of killing or slaying, as denoting to deprive of good and truth (concerning which see above, n. 366); from the signification of the fourth part, as denoting all the good and truth thence, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the earth, as denoting the church, and everything thereof (concerning which see above, n. 29, 304). And because a church is a church from the doctrine there, and from a life according to it; and because every doctrine of the church should be from the Word, hence the doctrine of the church from the Word is also at the same time signified. From these considerations it is evident, that by power being given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill, is signified, the deprivation of all good and the truth thence from the Word, and, consequently, in the doctrine of the church from the Word. By its being said that "power was given unto them," is meant, that [it is] in the evils and the falsities thence, which also are signified by death and hell. That those who are in evils and falsities deprive themselves of all perception of good and understanding of truth from the Word, and thence in the doctrine of their church from the Word, is quite clear from those who are in falsities of doctrine from evils of life. Such, although they read the Word, either do not see the truths therein, or falsify them by applying them to the falsities of their own principle, and to the evils of their own love. For the sense of the letter of the Word is of such a nature, that those who are in good see truths therein, and those who are in evil see falsities; for the sense of the letter is adapted to the apprehension of children, boys, and simple people, and therefore is written according to the appearance; but still in that sense truths lie hidden which none see but those who are in good, while those who are in evil do not desire to see them, but by perverse interpretations apply all things to the evils of their own loves and to the falsities of their own principles. This is quite evident from so many heresies within the church, especially from the wicked Babylonian heresy, and also from the Jewish heresy.

[2] The reason why the fourth part signifies all good and the truth thence, is, because the number four signifies the conjunction of good and truth, and hence the fourth part or a fourth signifies the all of conjunction. Mention is frequently made in the Word of a third part, and also of a fourth part, and those who do not know that all numbers signify things, may suppose that a third part signifies a third part, and a fourth part a fourth part, or that they signify something; whereas by a third part is signified all truth, and by a fourth part all good; and because all truth is from good, hence by a fourth part are signified all good and the truth thence, here the deprivation of these, because it is said that power was given to them over the fourth part of the earth to kill. That three, and hence a third part, is said of truths, will be seen in the following pages where that number is mentioned. But that four, and hence a fourth part, are said of goods and the truths thence, is, because they signify their conjunction. That this is the case has been made evident to me by much experience from the spiritual world. For when the discourse with the angels there has been concerning the conjunction of good and truth, or of love and faith, and that discourse has been directed to numbers, the number four has been shown, and sometimes also the number two, or the number eight, or the number sixteen, because these numbers signify similar things; for numbers multiplied and divided into themselves, signify the same as the numbers by which they are multiplied or divided (see n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973). That angelic speech also falls into numbers, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 263). That four signifies the conjunction of good and truth, derives its origin from the four quarters in heaven, in two of which, namely, in the east and west, dwell those who are in the good of love, and in the other two, namely, in the south and the north, those who are in truths thence (as may also be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 141-153). Hence by the four quarters, or by the four winds, are signified all good and the truth thence, and by four the conjunction thereof. The reason why the fourth part signifies the all of the conjunction of good and truth, is, because the fourth there makes the all, and the fourth is significative of conjunction; hence by killing the fourth part is signified the all of conjunction, consequently, all good and truth; for where there is no conjunction things are not, for good is not given without truth, nor truth without good; they are in their essence one, because truth is of good, and good is of truth (as is evident from what is said, and the passages adduced concerning good and truth in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 11-27).

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