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.

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

9913. 'And its hole for the head shall be in the middle of it' means the course which the inflow from the higher source takes. This is clear from the meaning of 'the robe's hole for the head in the middle of it' as the place where the inflow enters from the higher, or what amounts to the same thing, more internal source, thus from the celestial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom; for the external good of the celestial kingdom flows into the internal good of the spiritual kingdom, see immediately above in 9912. The reason why the 'robe's hole for the head in the middle of it' has this meaning is that the spiritual kingdom, in particular the inward part of it, is meant by 'the robe', 9825, and the inflow, communication, and joining of celestial things to spiritual ones by the neck where the robe's 'hole for the head' was, 3542, 5320, 5328. For the head on a person corresponds to the Lord's celestial kingdom, and the body to His spiritual kingdom, so that the neck in between, which the robe's hole for the head encircles and clothes, corresponds to the mediation or inflowing of the celestial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom.

[2] That such things are meant by 'the robe's hole for the head in the middle of it' may seem to be absurd, altogether so to those who know nothing about heaven, or about spirits and angels there, and consequently know nothing about correspondence. The existence of a correspondence of all aspects of the human being with all things in heaven has been shown at the ends of a number of chapters, see the places referred to in 9280. In general the head corresponds to celestial things, the body to spiritual things, and the feet to natural things, 4938, 4939. From this it is evident that 'the neck' by virtue of its correspondence means the inflow, communication, and joining of celestial things to spiritual things. Therefore 'the robe's hole for the head', which was made to go round the neck, means the course which that inflow takes; for Aaron's garments represented in general those things that belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, 9814. From this it is evident that the reference in this verse to the hole or part of the robe that goes round the neck describes the actual inflowing. Furthermore it should be remembered that angels and spirits appear wearing garments, and that each one of their garments is representative, as everyone in heaven knows. So it is that each one of Aaron's garments too is representative of such things as exist in the heavens. For the Word from the Lord has been written in such a way that everything there even to the smallest detail has a correspondence with heavenly things, and in such a way that it is a means serving to join things together. The reason why the member of the Church does not know about all this, even though he has such a Word, is that he has turned his interiors round to the world, so far round that he cannot be raised towards heaven and learn about it, see 9706, 9707, 9709.