Ancient Words —
Revelation: The Seals, Four Horses and Riders
The Lamb at the throne opens each of the seven seals beginning in Revelations chapter 6 through chapter 8. Referred to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by many commentators, a variety of meanings have been given to the opening of the first four seals. Each seal when opened by the Lamb, follows with one of the four creatures saying “Come!”
Then, in succession, four horses are described as a white horse, a red horse, a black horse and a pale horse come out of the scroll as each creature issues the invitation. Rev. 6:1-8 “I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword. When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.”
Jesus, as the Lamb, opens the seals. Jesus, the Lamb, sends forth the four horses and riders. Jesus, the Lamb, authors the mission for each horse and its rider. The white horse: Good will always conquer evil and goodness or righteousness will always win the victory and Jesus is the author of all that is good and righteous. The red horse: Jesus, the Lamb, controls peace and war on the earth. Jesus, the Lamb, is ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus, the Lamb, controls nations and kingdoms, their rise and fall, their failure and success. Jesus, the Lamb, controls all authorities. The black horse: Jesus, the Lamb, feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field. Jesus feeds 5,000 with five loaves and a few fish. Jesus turns water to wine. Jesus controls the life of a fig tree. Jesus, the Lamb, oversees the commerce of the world. The pale horse: Jesus calms the raging sea with his voice. Jesus walks on the water of Galilee. Jesus speaks and the wind obeys. Jesus controls all of nature and the winds and the waves and even life obey his will. Jesus controls famine, disease, events of nature and even wild animals.
When Jesus left the earth after spending 40 days after his resurrection, he gave this message — “All authority (all power) in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18).” The Four Horses and Riders are commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ. The events are pre-ordained as they have been written down on the scroll by the Father, God. The Lamb releases each of the seals on the scroll and thereby exposes to John to write what he sees and hears. The world that exists today is due to the written scroll as displayed by the incredible power displayed by the opening of each seal and in particular the seals of the four horsemen.
Zechariah 6:1-5 reads, “I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains — mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, and the fourth dappled — all of them powerful. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel answered me, ‘These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world’.”
(Scott Johnson is pastor at East Faulkner Church of Christ and author of the BRG Bible).
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Sparks From The Gospel Anvil
2 Timothy 1:7
We live in a world of fear and fear is a powerful thing. Whether you know it or not everyone is afraid of something. We are in the midst of the foxholes of fear having our emotions shell-shocked by different events that constantly surround us. The confident spirit that once prevailed has been replaced by the spirit of fear and uncertainty. Instead of the bold, confident, One Nation Under God, seems to be one nation under fear. We live in a generation in which we are fearful of man and fearless of God. Yet, the scriptures tell us that “the fear of the Lord tendeth to life and he that hath it shall abideth satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil” (Proverbs 19:23).
But if we can discern the author of our fear and understand the action of our fear, then we would have a better position to choose the alternative to our fear. To begin with, the devil is the author of all fear. Paul tells Timothy that, “God is not the author of fear…” so if God is not the author or source of our fear, who is left? Either our fear is self-inflicted or is a great weapon of the devil. The devil uses fear to distract and destroy the testimony of many Christians. Maybe this past week the devil has used fear to disrupt your thoughts. Don’t be afraid of him!
Many Christians are like the Israelites about to enter the promised land in Numbers 13, until they saw the giants that possessed the land. If you remember, only two tribes entered the promised land, Caleb and Joshua. Also, fear gives us the exact opposite to what God wants to give us. When given the chance to run its course fear can do terrible things to us. Physically it steals our energy; spiritually, fear can capture and dominate our feelings, crowding out healthier emotions such as love, joy and peace. In other words, if the devil can control our emotions, he renders us ineffective because the fruit of The Holy Spirit cannot shine through and mentally, fear completely takes us over if allowed to run its full course. Just like weeds in a garden, fear grows quickly and there are many that suffer disorders that come from fear and a state of fearfulness. What kind of actions are many taking?
The Apostle Paul reminds us that our alternative to fear is found in God. Two questions that are imperative to this conclusion is this. Does God care? Does God have power? The Bible says yes to both questions! God does care about our fears, there are 365 fear nots or be not afraid. And there are only two roads that are traveled in life, the road marked with fear or the road marked with faith.
Romans 8:31 tells us, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” and also, 1 John 4:18 reminds us that “there is no fear in love; but perfect (that is Holy, Divine) love casts out fear – because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect (Holy, Divine) in love.”
Faith in God also brings peace of mind, Paul had written, under divine inspiration, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6,7).
(Lieutenant Charles Smith is commanding officer of the Salvation Army of El Dorado).
