And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth. - Rev.6:7-8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously we had Seal 2 – representing peace being taken from the earth, with the result being people killing one another and Seal 3 representing world-wide famine. The fourth seal appears to be the culmination of those two seals, as well as the fact that it is said that Death and Hades kill by sword (second seal) and by famine (third seal). This is supported by the fact that Death and Hades are the riders, Death representing those who will be killed and Hades representing the destination of those killed, which again is the same location under the earth where the rich man went and was in torment in flame.
As previously stated, the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] seal is one of two places where a percentage is given of the number of fatalities as a result of God’s wrath, which is a fourth of the earth’s population. Based on the current population of the earth, a fourth would be over 1.7 billion fatalities which will take place during the first 3 ½ years.
There are expositors who insist that the seals are not apart of God’s wrath. But the fact is that the Lamb/Jesus is the One opening the seals and is therefore the One responnsible for these fatalities, as well as the fatalities that result from the trumpets and bowl judgmentes which follow.
I might also take the opportunity here to mention that Death and Hades, one being a state being and the other being a location, they also appear to have entities representing them, as can be garnered from the following:
“The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.”
The lake of fire is a place of final and eternal punishment, where the beast, the false prophet, Satan and his angels and everyone who else who rejects Christ, will be thrown into. That Death and Hades are also thrown into the lake of fire would infer that they are also existing entities representing the state of death and the location of Hades.
Regarding the last part of the verse which says people are killed by “the wild beasts of the earth,” I can only take a guess at this and that guess is that, after the flood God put the fear of man into the animals because they had also become mankinds food. It may be that at the opening of the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] seal that God removes the fear of man from wild animals and where they will begin to attack and kill people on a large scale.
· 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Seal – The revealing of the antichirst
· 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Seal – Peace taken from the earth so that people kill each other
· 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Seal – World-wide famine
· 4[SUP]th[/SUP] Seal – Death and Hades given authority over a fourth of the earth resulting in over 1.7 billion fatalities
http://christianchat.com/blogs/ahwatukee/
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth. - Rev.6:7-8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously we had Seal 2 – representing peace being taken from the earth, with the result being people killing one another and Seal 3 representing world-wide famine. The fourth seal appears to be the culmination of those two seals, as well as the fact that it is said that Death and Hades kill by sword (second seal) and by famine (third seal). This is supported by the fact that Death and Hades are the riders, Death representing those who will be killed and Hades representing the destination of those killed, which again is the same location under the earth where the rich man went and was in torment in flame.
As previously stated, the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] seal is one of two places where a percentage is given of the number of fatalities as a result of God’s wrath, which is a fourth of the earth’s population. Based on the current population of the earth, a fourth would be over 1.7 billion fatalities which will take place during the first 3 ½ years.
There are expositors who insist that the seals are not apart of God’s wrath. But the fact is that the Lamb/Jesus is the One opening the seals and is therefore the One responnsible for these fatalities, as well as the fatalities that result from the trumpets and bowl judgmentes which follow.
I might also take the opportunity here to mention that Death and Hades, one being a state being and the other being a location, they also appear to have entities representing them, as can be garnered from the following:
“The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.”
The lake of fire is a place of final and eternal punishment, where the beast, the false prophet, Satan and his angels and everyone who else who rejects Christ, will be thrown into. That Death and Hades are also thrown into the lake of fire would infer that they are also existing entities representing the state of death and the location of Hades.
Regarding the last part of the verse which says people are killed by “the wild beasts of the earth,” I can only take a guess at this and that guess is that, after the flood God put the fear of man into the animals because they had also become mankinds food. It may be that at the opening of the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] seal that God removes the fear of man from wild animals and where they will begin to attack and kill people on a large scale.
· 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Seal – The revealing of the antichirst
· 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Seal – Peace taken from the earth so that people kill each other
· 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] Seal – World-wide famine
· 4[SUP]th[/SUP] Seal – Death and Hades given authority over a fourth of the earth resulting in over 1.7 billion fatalities
http://christianchat.com/blogs/ahwatukee/