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Revelation第6章 : The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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1 I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, "Come and see!"

2 And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come!"

4 Another came forth, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come and see!" And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand.

6 I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don't damage the oil and the wine!"

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see!"

8 And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had.

10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

11 A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.

12 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.

13 The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.

14 The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.

16 They told the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

17 for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?"

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The Meaning of the Book of Revelation: the Four Horsemen

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)

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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

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Apocalypse Revealed#305

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305. And another horse, fiery red, went out. (6:4) This symbolizes an understanding of the Word among them extinguished as to goodness and thus extinguished as regards their life.

A horse symbolizes an understanding of the Word (no. 298), and a fiery red color symbolizes good extinguished. To be shown that the color white is predicated of truths, because it takes its origin from the light of the sun in heaven, and that the color red is predicated of goods, because it takes its origin from the fire of the sun in heaven, see nos. 167, 231 above.

A fiery red, on the other hand, is predicated of good extinguished, because a fiery red means a hellish red, which takes its origin from hellfire, which is a love of evil. A fiery red, being a hellish red, is hideous and dreadful, because it has no spark of life in it, but is totally lifeless. So it is that a fiery red horse symbolizes an understanding of the Word extinguished as to goodness. This, too, can be seen from the description of its rider, that it was granted him "to take peace from the earth, so that people might kill one another," as said next.

Moreover, it was the second living creature, which was like a calf, symbolizing the Divine truth of the Word in respect to its affection (no. 242), that said, "Come and see," thus showing that the people described had no affection for good, thus no goodness, among them.

That redness is predicated of both a love of good and a love of evil, can be seen from the following passages:

Who... washed his garment in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes, with eyes redder than wine, and teeth whiter than milk. (Genesis 49:11-12)

This is said in reference to the Lord.

Who is this who comes from Edom..., red as to apparel, and apparel like that of one who treads in the winepress? (Isaiah 63:1-2)

This, too, said in reference to the Lord.

Her Nazirites were whiter than snow and brighter white than milk. Redder were they in their bones than rubies... (Lamentations 4:7)

Redness in these places is predicated of a love of good. In the following places it is predicated of a love of evil:

The shield... is made reddish, and the... men are in crimson. The chariots come with flaming torches...; their appearance is like that of torches... (Nahum 2:3-4)

Though your sins have been like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they have been red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)

This is also the symbolic meaning of the fiery red dragon in Revelation 12:3, and of the fiery red horse standing among the myrtle trees in Zechariah 1:8.

Similar meanings are predicated of colors that derive their hue from the color red, such as scarlet and crimson.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.