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 #636

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636. And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days.- That this signifies that they shall teach, and what shall be taught, even until the end of the old church, and the beginning of a new, is evident from the signification of prophesying as denoting to teach. Concerning this see above (n. 624). In this case it signifies both to teach and to be taught, for it is said of the two witnesses, who signify the good of love and of charity and the truth of doctrine and of faith, for these are those things with man that teach, and that are also taught. For those who are in goods of love, and in truths of doctrine, are they who teach, while the goods of love and truths of doctrine are what are taught by them. And from the signification of a thousand two hundred and sixty days as denoting even to the end of the old and the beginning of a new church. For a thousand two hundred and sixty days have the same signification as three and a half, because a thousand two hundred and sixty days make three years and a half, reckoning three hundred and sixty days to the year, and by three and a half is signified the end of a former state and the beginning of a new one, here, the end of the former church and the beginning of a new one, the subject being the last time of the church. Because that number has this signification, it is therefore said, in the ninth verse of this chapter, "They shall see their bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer them to be put in sepulchres"; and afterwards in verse eleven; "And after the three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them." In these passages by three days and a half is signified the end of the old church, when the good of love and the truth of doctrine will not be received at all; and also the beginning of a new church when they will be received. The end of the former church is signified by the beast ascending out of the abyss to kill the witnesses, while the beginning of a new church is signified by the spirit of life from God entering into them.

[2] The reason why the number a thousand two hundred and sixty has a signification similar to three and a half, is, that in the Word ages, years, months, weeks, days, and hours have a similar signification, for these simply mean times, and times generally and particularly, or times greater or less, equally signify states, for a period greater or less designated by numbers does not change the signification of the thing, as was also shown above (n. 571, 633:1). The same number of days in the next chapter of the Apocalypse has a similar signification -

"And the woman fled into the wilderness where she hath a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days" (12:6).

The woman there means the church. The wilderness where she shall be nourished signifies where non-reception of good and truth exists; and the accomplishment of those days signifies a new state of the church.

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