Revelation 6:1-8 -- The Four horsemen
6:1 And I saw when 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. 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.
The rider has a bow but no arrow. The rider had a crown and he came forth conquering and also to conquer. Some think this represents the antichrist, false prophets, and the false gospel. Others think it represents the gospel. Jesus has a crown, He is Lord. He came forth from the grave conquering sin and death. He has already shot His arrow. The gospel is going to be preached to the uttermost parts of the Earth. Everyone who participates in this ministry is led about in the victory train of Jesus. Finally, Jesus has conquered and He is going forth to conquer. Prior to Jesus resurrection and ascension this gospel was sealed up. Paul said that the prophets had longed to see what we see. Throughout the gospels you see that the apostles and the religious leaders did not have the vision, it was sealed up to them, yet the Lord fulfilled all the prophecies. On the other hand, wherever the gospel has gone so also have the false prophets, and the counterfeit gospel. This horse precedes the red horse of war and leaders have always made the reason to go to war as being a way to serve God. We have seen this time and time again. Hitler blamed the Reichstag fire on the communists as a pretext to go to war. The US accused Vietnam of firing a torpedo at one of their warships as a pretext for war. We used WMD's as a pretext for war. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So then another theory is that this horse represents both the gospel and the false gospel. Satan cannot come up with anything unique, he merely copies what the Lord is doing with his own counterfeit gospel just like Paul said in Galatians.
3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. 4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
The red horse is considered to signify war. That seems perfectly reasonable, he takes peace from the earth, they should slay one another, and he has a great sword. But, what about war was sealed up? At the time of Jesus' ascension many of these rulers were considered to be ruling by divine right. That came into question after people began to confess that Jesus is Lord. The persecution of Christians in the Roman empire was very much related to the fact that they did not recognize the emperors as having divine rule. Over the last two thousand years through the gospel people have come to question the rulers. That was unthinkable at the time of Jesus. The reason they call the US the “American Experiment” is because for the first time a country was going to allow the common man have a say in how they are governed. We have learned that these wars are fought over pretense and fabricated reasons. We made up reasons to fight the Spanish American war, as well as the Vietnam war. Hitler took power through a number of acts he perpetrated but blamed on communists, using that as an excuse to start WWII. JFK stood against ramping up the US involvement in Vietnam and he was assassinated, an inside job. 9/11 was an inside job allowing the US to totally revamp our military for the 21st century. Our invasion of Iraq the first time involved Bush signaling to Saddam that he could invade Kuwait, only to use Saddam’s invasion as an excuse for Bush to invade Iraq. These wars like Vietnam and Iraq are where we demonstrate our military hardware which we then sell. The military industrial complex is one of our most successful exports. The second Iraq war was also fought on the false pretenses that they had something to do with 9/11 and that we were looking for weapons of mass destruction. What these evil rulers had tried to hide, to seal up, was the deceitful reasons they actually went to war. We have been testing drones, and robots and many other new advances. Iraq has the largest reserves of oil on the planet to help defray the cost of the war. People used to think it was heroic to go and fight to defend your country, we have since learned that this is a lie. Accurate portrayals of war like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Hacksaw Ridge” have turned the whole concept of heroism on its head. Muhammad Ali’s statement that “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong” and “no Vietcong ever called me nigger” exposed the lie that we are fighting to defend our people. Once you see the gospel that Jesus is Lord and that we are all under the headship of God, it opens the door to hold your leaders accountable. Like Jesus said “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. When Jesus opened this seal He was telling us you shall know the truth. Very often the political leaders will start a war as a distraction. The White horse rides forth conquering and to conquer, the truth is coming out and this prompts the red horse as a last ditch effort by these rulers to hold power.
5 And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.
This black horse signifies famine. During a famine food becomes precious. Grain, oil and wine are the things of great value. If you look at the famines, the Great Famine in Ireland for example, it is a result of a blight that struck the potatoes. It was particularly devastating because of the monoculture of everyone growing the same crop. It was also devastating to the poor who were being exploited. Famines expose internal issues in a country. A lack of social justice, a lack of education, a lack of government oversight. We have made a number of adjustments. Today, if we discover a blight, or infestation in one farm the government can educate all other farmers before this spreads. We have government programs that encourage farmers to let some land lay fallow and to plant different crops. To me this is like doing finish work on a table. The first pass is a rough sandpaper to get all the major issues smooth, that is the unsealing of the horrendous crimes like JFK’s assassination and 9/11. After this you use a finer sandpaper. This is famine, often the errors that lead to famine are not as heinous as those that lead to war. In many cases like the Dustbowl it is a sin of ignorance.
7 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. 8 And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
This pale horse is considered to be similar to a pandemic. Generally following a war you will have a famine because no one has been able to work the fields and because any food that was there was given to the army. After this we get plagues like dysentery. People crammed into refugee camps with unsanitary conditions. We have had several pandemics prior to Covid19. Some were a result of unsanitary conditions with rats running everywhere and sewage in the streets. Cities learned to build sewers and install running water. Garbage collection and sewers are considered standard today, that was not the case a few hundred years ago. Wars are a result of sins that people try to hide. Famines are often a result of sins that people commit without being fully aware that they are sinning. A plague is a result of uncleanness. In every case an epidemic is always the result of unclean practices. AIDES, Bubonic Plague, Covid19, Sars, Swine Flu, Spanish Flu, etc. The Lord is going to build His kingdom on Earth and it is essential that these truths be unsealed. This is why I see this book as a blueprint for the kingdom. Forgive us for the things we have done that we shouldn’t have done (Vietnam war is a good example). And forgive us for the things we should have done but didn’t do (Covid19 is a good example). Why is it that some countries did not get hit with Covid19, while other countries like the US did? It turns out that if you were exposed to SARS in 2004 then you probably have at least partial immunity to Covid19. Taiwan, China and Vietnam were hit hard with SARS, but have seemingly not been hit hard at all by Covid19. We were well aware of how dangerous SARS was in 2004, why didn’t we make a vaccine for it? If we had a vaccine for SARS we could have had a vaccine up and running before colleges and schools reopened in the Fall of 2020. We could have nipped the pandemic in the bud. This is something we should have done but didn’t. Now we are paying the price for not having done this.
6:1 And I saw when 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. 2 And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.
The rider has a bow but no arrow. The rider had a crown and he came forth conquering and also to conquer. Some think this represents the antichrist, false prophets, and the false gospel. Others think it represents the gospel. Jesus has a crown, He is Lord. He came forth from the grave conquering sin and death. He has already shot His arrow. The gospel is going to be preached to the uttermost parts of the Earth. Everyone who participates in this ministry is led about in the victory train of Jesus. Finally, Jesus has conquered and He is going forth to conquer. Prior to Jesus resurrection and ascension this gospel was sealed up. Paul said that the prophets had longed to see what we see. Throughout the gospels you see that the apostles and the religious leaders did not have the vision, it was sealed up to them, yet the Lord fulfilled all the prophecies. On the other hand, wherever the gospel has gone so also have the false prophets, and the counterfeit gospel. This horse precedes the red horse of war and leaders have always made the reason to go to war as being a way to serve God. We have seen this time and time again. Hitler blamed the Reichstag fire on the communists as a pretext to go to war. The US accused Vietnam of firing a torpedo at one of their warships as a pretext for war. We used WMD's as a pretext for war. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So then another theory is that this horse represents both the gospel and the false gospel. Satan cannot come up with anything unique, he merely copies what the Lord is doing with his own counterfeit gospel just like Paul said in Galatians.
3 And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. 4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
The red horse is considered to signify war. That seems perfectly reasonable, he takes peace from the earth, they should slay one another, and he has a great sword. But, what about war was sealed up? At the time of Jesus' ascension many of these rulers were considered to be ruling by divine right. That came into question after people began to confess that Jesus is Lord. The persecution of Christians in the Roman empire was very much related to the fact that they did not recognize the emperors as having divine rule. Over the last two thousand years through the gospel people have come to question the rulers. That was unthinkable at the time of Jesus. The reason they call the US the “American Experiment” is because for the first time a country was going to allow the common man have a say in how they are governed. We have learned that these wars are fought over pretense and fabricated reasons. We made up reasons to fight the Spanish American war, as well as the Vietnam war. Hitler took power through a number of acts he perpetrated but blamed on communists, using that as an excuse to start WWII. JFK stood against ramping up the US involvement in Vietnam and he was assassinated, an inside job. 9/11 was an inside job allowing the US to totally revamp our military for the 21st century. Our invasion of Iraq the first time involved Bush signaling to Saddam that he could invade Kuwait, only to use Saddam’s invasion as an excuse for Bush to invade Iraq. These wars like Vietnam and Iraq are where we demonstrate our military hardware which we then sell. The military industrial complex is one of our most successful exports. The second Iraq war was also fought on the false pretenses that they had something to do with 9/11 and that we were looking for weapons of mass destruction. What these evil rulers had tried to hide, to seal up, was the deceitful reasons they actually went to war. We have been testing drones, and robots and many other new advances. Iraq has the largest reserves of oil on the planet to help defray the cost of the war. People used to think it was heroic to go and fight to defend your country, we have since learned that this is a lie. Accurate portrayals of war like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Hacksaw Ridge” have turned the whole concept of heroism on its head. Muhammad Ali’s statement that “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong” and “no Vietcong ever called me nigger” exposed the lie that we are fighting to defend our people. Once you see the gospel that Jesus is Lord and that we are all under the headship of God, it opens the door to hold your leaders accountable. Like Jesus said “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. When Jesus opened this seal He was telling us you shall know the truth. Very often the political leaders will start a war as a distraction. The White horse rides forth conquering and to conquer, the truth is coming out and this prompts the red horse as a last ditch effort by these rulers to hold power.
5 And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A measure of wheat for a shilling, and three measures of barley for a shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.
This black horse signifies famine. During a famine food becomes precious. Grain, oil and wine are the things of great value. If you look at the famines, the Great Famine in Ireland for example, it is a result of a blight that struck the potatoes. It was particularly devastating because of the monoculture of everyone growing the same crop. It was also devastating to the poor who were being exploited. Famines expose internal issues in a country. A lack of social justice, a lack of education, a lack of government oversight. We have made a number of adjustments. Today, if we discover a blight, or infestation in one farm the government can educate all other farmers before this spreads. We have government programs that encourage farmers to let some land lay fallow and to plant different crops. To me this is like doing finish work on a table. The first pass is a rough sandpaper to get all the major issues smooth, that is the unsealing of the horrendous crimes like JFK’s assassination and 9/11. After this you use a finer sandpaper. This is famine, often the errors that lead to famine are not as heinous as those that lead to war. In many cases like the Dustbowl it is a sin of ignorance.
7 And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. 8 And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
This pale horse is considered to be similar to a pandemic. Generally following a war you will have a famine because no one has been able to work the fields and because any food that was there was given to the army. After this we get plagues like dysentery. People crammed into refugee camps with unsanitary conditions. We have had several pandemics prior to Covid19. Some were a result of unsanitary conditions with rats running everywhere and sewage in the streets. Cities learned to build sewers and install running water. Garbage collection and sewers are considered standard today, that was not the case a few hundred years ago. Wars are a result of sins that people try to hide. Famines are often a result of sins that people commit without being fully aware that they are sinning. A plague is a result of uncleanness. In every case an epidemic is always the result of unclean practices. AIDES, Bubonic Plague, Covid19, Sars, Swine Flu, Spanish Flu, etc. The Lord is going to build His kingdom on Earth and it is essential that these truths be unsealed. This is why I see this book as a blueprint for the kingdom. Forgive us for the things we have done that we shouldn’t have done (Vietnam war is a good example). And forgive us for the things we should have done but didn’t do (Covid19 is a good example). Why is it that some countries did not get hit with Covid19, while other countries like the US did? It turns out that if you were exposed to SARS in 2004 then you probably have at least partial immunity to Covid19. Taiwan, China and Vietnam were hit hard with SARS, but have seemingly not been hit hard at all by Covid19. We were well aware of how dangerous SARS was in 2004, why didn’t we make a vaccine for it? If we had a vaccine for SARS we could have had a vaccine up and running before colleges and schools reopened in the Fall of 2020. We could have nipped the pandemic in the bud. This is something we should have done but didn’t. Now we are paying the price for not having done this.