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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.
原作者： 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.
(参考: Apocalypse Explained 315; Apocalypse Revealed 262-263, 301, 306, 314, 316, 320, 322-323)
185. I know thy works. That this signifies those things that constitute their life, is evident from the signification of works, as being those things, both good and evil that make up the life of man. The reason why works signify those things that constitute the life is, that they are the effects of the life, for they proceed from it; if the life be good the works will be good, but if the life be evil the works will be evil. The life which is in works is the intention of the will and of the thought thence, and this life is the life of man's spirit, for the spirit in man intends and thinks. Without this life in works, works would be mere movements like those of an automaton; hence it is that the wise do not look at the works, but at the life in the works, that is, the intention. This is especially the case with the angels who are in attendance on man; they do not see his works, but only the intentions of his mind, and thence conclude what is the quality of his state. From this it is evident that by works, in the spiritual sense, is meant the life; and because the life of man is varied, and depends principally upon his love, therefore his love is chiefly signified by works (see above, n. 98, 116). This now is the reason why it is said to the angel of each church in the beginning, I know thy works: by this is meant, that the Lord knows all that pertains to a man's life, and its quality as to love.
