Controversial subjects are the staple of lots of today's television programming. From crop circles, to Bigfoot, to the book of Revelation and the end times, many suchlike things are presented and speculated upo.
And the Four Horsement of the apocalypse come in for their share of that speculation.
Here's the thing though. Much of Revelation is symbolic (there is much that isn't though as well), and do we really expect to see a great white horse, upon which a crown wearing, sword bearing man? Who will effect, in a large way, the whole of the earth?
Here are some thoughts about the matter. And I'd love to hear your thoughts upon it as well.
By way of introduction though, I want to point out that Revelation chapter six deals with the opening of six (the seventh comes later) seals, of which four of them concern the four horsemen. The fifth seal deals with the souls of those who've been killed for their testimony and the Word of God.
The opening of the sixth seal turns the page and ushers in a totally new direction. For while the first five seals deal with things that are generated by man, and which are then visited upon man (conquering, war, lack of peace, death, famine, commerce and so forth) sixth seal describes the very beginnings of God's judgments on mankind. It's as if God's judgments are His answer to those souls under the altar, who are crying out, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Rev 6:10.
While we're looking at what man does to man in the first five seals, from the sixth seal onward, those things coming upon the earth would be characterized, by your insurance company (in order to keep from having to pay you for them) as "Acts of God".
Looking at the first four seals, that is the four horsemen, and world history, what characteristics have defined man since the day Cain slew his brother?
Considering the first horseman, the white horse, haven't chief among the outstanding characteristics of man been 'going forth conquering, and to conquer'? Has there ever been a time in history when man hasn't been imperialistic, greedy, eager to take that which is another's, even if only to exercise and exult in the power to do so? Even the story of Cain and Abel is a recounting of a conquering. And not only so, but note that there was a way out for Cain. For if, after having been rejected in his sacrifice to God, Cain had repented, and sold or bartered with Abel in order to obtain a lamb for the proper sacrifice, all would have been fine. But in Cain, a drive to conquer, to kill, was greater than a drive to please God.
And the second horseman, who takes peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another...Has there ever been a time in history, even one day, when all of the earth was in peace? Conversely, has there ever been a time in history when man, somewhere on the earth, wasn't at war with man? or isn't at war with man?
Horseman three. And what lies behind much, if not most, or even all (for the love of money is root of all evil) of the conquering, the war, and the lack of peace on this earth? Isn't it a fascination with possessions, with owning stuff, whether those possessions be money, lands, kingdoms, slaves, riches, or a good stock portfolio and an SUV? Isn't the economic system both a cursing and a blessing? For without trade, and markets, and produce, and industry and commerce, where would we be? On the other hand, did we not have these things, wouldn't peace be more readily achieved? If owning something meant nothing, why would we, why should we, kill to obtain it? (And oh yeah, note the "And hurt not the oil and the wine" in Horseman number three, the black horse...and while we know he's talking about olive oil there...what about today's fascination with and dependence upon, not olive oil, but OIL? I suspect we haven't heard the last of OIL).
And finally, with Horseman number four, what is it that history has taught us is the outstanding trait of mankind, none but those taken into the hand of God and having been reborn, being excepted? Isn't it the commerce of death? History is just one chapter after another of man dealing death to man, of man killing man. How can we forget the endless succession of wars, the holocausts, the inquisitions, the Hitlers and Stalins, and even more so, the deaths of millions of unborn children in just this nation alone?
We not only deal in death, we WHOLESALE death, we celebrate it, watch it on television, read about it in fact and fiction, fantasize about it (what gun owner hasn't fantasized about wiping out a nest of Nazis or Zombies?). We pay for it (through taxes and a myriad of other ways), we countenance it, we legitamize it, we go far afield in order to facilitate it.
Face it, we are a bloody, bloody species.
So much so, that the fifth seal talks about those who've been slain for the Word of God and the testimony which they held. And who cry out to God for redress. And why are they dead? Because of their testimony and the Word of God...and the rest of mankind being unable or unwilling to accept, or who are intolerant toward, those who aren't represented by the four horsemen noted above.
And I believe their cry for, well, let's just go ahead and say it, 'righteous revenge', is heard by God. And He begins to set in motion His answer...which includes the plagues, the tribulations, the deaths, the famines and all the other things that come upon mankind from that moment on, with the sun becoming black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon becoming red as blood, locusts from the bottomless pit, mountains of fire cast upon the seas, the fountains of water, and earth, and on and on.
These things, we cannot blame upon man, or his ungodly traits and characteristics. These are from God. But they are in answer to the dead saints crying out for release, for peace. And they cry out for what man has done to man, and to them personally.
And in that time, when God makes answer to those cries, may God help us...
And the Four Horsement of the apocalypse come in for their share of that speculation.
Here's the thing though. Much of Revelation is symbolic (there is much that isn't though as well), and do we really expect to see a great white horse, upon which a crown wearing, sword bearing man? Who will effect, in a large way, the whole of the earth?
Here are some thoughts about the matter. And I'd love to hear your thoughts upon it as well.
By way of introduction though, I want to point out that Revelation chapter six deals with the opening of six (the seventh comes later) seals, of which four of them concern the four horsemen. The fifth seal deals with the souls of those who've been killed for their testimony and the Word of God.
The opening of the sixth seal turns the page and ushers in a totally new direction. For while the first five seals deal with things that are generated by man, and which are then visited upon man (conquering, war, lack of peace, death, famine, commerce and so forth) sixth seal describes the very beginnings of God's judgments on mankind. It's as if God's judgments are His answer to those souls under the altar, who are crying out, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Rev 6:10.
While we're looking at what man does to man in the first five seals, from the sixth seal onward, those things coming upon the earth would be characterized, by your insurance company (in order to keep from having to pay you for them) as "Acts of God".
Looking at the first four seals, that is the four horsemen, and world history, what characteristics have defined man since the day Cain slew his brother?
Considering the first horseman, the white horse, haven't chief among the outstanding characteristics of man been 'going forth conquering, and to conquer'? Has there ever been a time in history when man hasn't been imperialistic, greedy, eager to take that which is another's, even if only to exercise and exult in the power to do so? Even the story of Cain and Abel is a recounting of a conquering. And not only so, but note that there was a way out for Cain. For if, after having been rejected in his sacrifice to God, Cain had repented, and sold or bartered with Abel in order to obtain a lamb for the proper sacrifice, all would have been fine. But in Cain, a drive to conquer, to kill, was greater than a drive to please God.
And the second horseman, who takes peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another...Has there ever been a time in history, even one day, when all of the earth was in peace? Conversely, has there ever been a time in history when man, somewhere on the earth, wasn't at war with man? or isn't at war with man?
Horseman three. And what lies behind much, if not most, or even all (for the love of money is root of all evil) of the conquering, the war, and the lack of peace on this earth? Isn't it a fascination with possessions, with owning stuff, whether those possessions be money, lands, kingdoms, slaves, riches, or a good stock portfolio and an SUV? Isn't the economic system both a cursing and a blessing? For without trade, and markets, and produce, and industry and commerce, where would we be? On the other hand, did we not have these things, wouldn't peace be more readily achieved? If owning something meant nothing, why would we, why should we, kill to obtain it? (And oh yeah, note the "And hurt not the oil and the wine" in Horseman number three, the black horse...and while we know he's talking about olive oil there...what about today's fascination with and dependence upon, not olive oil, but OIL? I suspect we haven't heard the last of OIL).
And finally, with Horseman number four, what is it that history has taught us is the outstanding trait of mankind, none but those taken into the hand of God and having been reborn, being excepted? Isn't it the commerce of death? History is just one chapter after another of man dealing death to man, of man killing man. How can we forget the endless succession of wars, the holocausts, the inquisitions, the Hitlers and Stalins, and even more so, the deaths of millions of unborn children in just this nation alone?
We not only deal in death, we WHOLESALE death, we celebrate it, watch it on television, read about it in fact and fiction, fantasize about it (what gun owner hasn't fantasized about wiping out a nest of Nazis or Zombies?). We pay for it (through taxes and a myriad of other ways), we countenance it, we legitamize it, we go far afield in order to facilitate it.
Face it, we are a bloody, bloody species.
So much so, that the fifth seal talks about those who've been slain for the Word of God and the testimony which they held. And who cry out to God for redress. And why are they dead? Because of their testimony and the Word of God...and the rest of mankind being unable or unwilling to accept, or who are intolerant toward, those who aren't represented by the four horsemen noted above.
And I believe their cry for, well, let's just go ahead and say it, 'righteous revenge', is heard by God. And He begins to set in motion His answer...which includes the plagues, the tribulations, the deaths, the famines and all the other things that come upon mankind from that moment on, with the sun becoming black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon becoming red as blood, locusts from the bottomless pit, mountains of fire cast upon the seas, the fountains of water, and earth, and on and on.
These things, we cannot blame upon man, or his ungodly traits and characteristics. These are from God. But they are in answer to the dead saints crying out for release, for peace. And they cry out for what man has done to man, and to them personally.
And in that time, when God makes answer to those cries, may God help us...