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)

4018. 'In front of the flocks; and they came on heat as they came to drink' means even to the point of an intense desire in the affection for truth that a joining [to the goods and truths within the natural] might be effected. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming on heat as they came to drink' as an intense desire. The meaning of 'being on heat' as an intense desire is self-evident; and for the meaning of 'coming to drink' as the affection for truth, see immediately above in 4017. The reason why 'in front of the flocks' means that a joining to the truths and goods within the natural might be effected is that this phrase implies seeing and consequent arousal of affection, for this is the manner in which spiritual things are joined to a person. What is more, every implantation of truth or good in a person, as well as every joining of them to him, is effected by means of affection. The truths and goods which a person has learned but for which he has no affection do indeed enter the memory, but they are lodged there as insecurely as a feather on top of a wall which is blown off by the slightest puff of wind.

[2] As regards the things that enter the memory the position is this: Those for which there is no affection pass into the unlit parts of the memory when they enter it, whereas those for which there is affection pass into the light there. Things present in that light are seen and appear clearly and distinctly when any matter of a similar nature is brought up, but not so the things lying around in the unlit parts. Such is the effect that affection belonging to love has. From this it may be seen that all implanting of truth and joining of it to good is effected through affection; and the greater that affection, the stronger the tie joining the two together.

[3] The intense desire of the affection is in this case inmost affection. But truths are not capable of being implanted and joined to good except by means of affections for truth and good, which affections well up from charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord as their sources. But evils and falsities are implanted by means of affections for evil and falsity, and these affections well up from self-love and love of the world as their sources. This being so, and the subject at this point in the internal sense being the joining of good and truth within the natural man, mention is therefore made here and in what follows of the flock being on heat when they came to drink, by which such considerations are meant.