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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse-The Evolution and Character of Government.
To help man’s brain acquire some comprehension of a world beyond time, God filled the earth and universe with physical parallels to the realm beyond time. When he resided in a physical body, Jesus used these parallels (parables) to explain the world from which he came and conditions on earth not visible to the eye. In the Book of Revelation he uses these parallels to help his people understand the strategy Satan uses to control and destroy people. In the first verse of the book Jesus states the purpose of the book is to reveal to his people the kind of people and systems Satan uses to deceive and destroy all but a remnant of the human race. He specifically says in his message to each church that understanding is attained by “listening to what The Spirit says to the churches.” This eliminates comprehension based only upon reason or observation of physical characters and circumstances. Revelation is not a book about the future it is a book about the now of every generation. Jesus speaks of his coming, not at the end of all time but the many times he comes to the aid of someone needing his help. If Satan can convince you Jesus is only coming at the end of all time, you won’t recognize him when he speaks to you today…and he will speak to you today.
The seals describe the systems and people of government. The first four seals describe the four horses, their riders and their significance and are introduced by four life forms. These life forms are not individual people or creatures, they represent all people and their presence in Heaven is proof of God's ability to get them there via the blood of Jesus. These people may have at one time been used by Satan to form corrupt governments. These in Heaven saw the error of their ways and obtained God's forgiveness. The four horses represent the spiritual force (attitude) that energizes or carries his agenda and the riders represent the means used to accomplish the agenda. The situations are not one time predictions of a future event but are true for every generation of man. The four life forms, representing different kinds of people, are mentioned in chapter five and they give the signal for each horse and rider to enter the scene in chapter six. History reveals the moral standard people use for conduct and decisions sets the stage for Satan to raise-up evil leaders. Evil leaders are spawned from evil, immoral and lethargic people. The life forms are not speaking to John but to the riders of the horses.
Remember, to see the truth presented here you must look past the physical objects and focus upon what the objects represent. When you look at a person you know, you don’t just see a physical body you also see what that body represents. What the body represents is communicated to you by means of spiritual (non-physical) perception.
<><>Leaders of Government<><>
6:1-2: I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals. I listened as one of the four life forms, (lion) sounding like thunder said, “Come.” I saw a rider on a white horse with a bow. He was given authority (crown) and he came with forces sufficient to be victorious.
Lion-This is the first life form. This represents the ferocity and strength of Satan (see I Peter 5:8) and the heartless, brutal people who work for him who see destroying life as a reasonable and necessary response to need.
White Horse: This is a symbol of the pride of a conqueror. Pride, the force that rules Satan, is the force energizing (carrying) this evil.
The Rider: The weapon of the rider is a bow, a weapon that kills without sound. This depicts the subtle, soft words of persuasion that convince a person to give his allegiance to a person or cause. The hunter is searching with the desire to find and kill (conquer) “game”, a word that defines some government leaders’ attitude toward citizens. (look again at I Peter 5:8)
Crown: This is a symbol of status and authority. This gives leaders in religion, government and commerce, the three systems Satan uses to control the people of the world, the ability to influence and control. The authority of Satan on earth is seen when he offered control of the earth to Jesus. He gives a portion of the earth, in the form of fame, fortune and power, to people who are too dumb to recognize the cost, then takes it back when he’s finished using them. The bow and crown represent armed authority which is the means used by a government to control its citizens.
Strategy: Continuous aggression until all overt resistance is quelled. Government will tolerate thought as long as thought doesn’t graduate to overt opposition.
<><>How Government Gains Power<><>
6:3-4: When he opened the second seal I heard the second life form saying, “Come.” Another horse like the first horse was fiery red in color and authority was given to his rider to remove peace from the earth and cause people to butcher each other. He was given a large butcher’s knife
Cow-This is the second life form. This represents people who are dumb and submissive. Professing Christians who are passive concerning evil are a part of this group. The level of intelligence of the cow is such that it is not an insult to call it “stupid”.
Fiery Red Horse: This is a symbol of anger; the force that energizes (carries) this evil. The word “allos” shows this horse is the same kind as the first, i, e, he energizes (carries) an irresistible force. He represents “red hot anger”.
The Rider: His means of removing peace from the earth can be seen in his weapon, a butcher knife. The KJV translates this word “great sword”. It is not a sword but a large knife used to cut meat. It is used to cut a whole beef into small parts so the parts can be separated and easily handled. “United we stand, divided we fall” is a principle well known to Satan who teaches government leaders to “divide and conquer”. To gain victory for themselves government leaders set citizens against each other.
The Strategy: Stupidity, represented by people willing to tolerate evil leaders, and fiery anger,
the tranquilizer of common sense, depict the two things needed to cause stupid people, not taught and coached by God, to slaughter each other in foreign wars and at home. Both places require government intervention and control.
<><> Government Intelligence<><>
6:5-6: When he opened the third seal I heard the third life form saying, “Come.” I watched and saw a rider with a yoke in his hand riding a black horse. I heard what sounded like a voice coming from the midst of the four life forms saying, “A day’s rations of wheat for a day’s wages and three day’s rations of barley for a day’s wages. Don’t misuse the olive oil and wine.”
Man: This is the third life form: This represents most of the people of every generation who
have potential to think with the intelligence of God but instead, embrace the knowledge of the world and trust their earth-bound brains to tell them what to do and how to live.
Black Horse: This is a symbol of death. The meaning of the Greek word for death is “darkness” which is the primary characteristic of ignorance or flawed knowledge. This is not referring to a dead body because a dead body is not active. This is a reference to ignorance and flawed knowledge which remain active and are the primary reason evil is able to gain control. Ignorance and flawed knowledge is what energizes (carries) this evil.
The Rider: He is carrying a yoke which is the symbol of slavery and servitude. People without skilled knowledge are usually the ones serving others. People who don’t have knowledge of God are the most easily deceived and the most submissive to Satan and the evil of government because they don’t see the difference in good and evil or have the will to resist evil when they recognize it. People with a servant’s permissive attitude are the means for this evil. This is in contrast with the attitude of an informed Christian (see Revelation 5:9, 10).
The Strategy: Enslave the people so all life forms, including people, have to use all their efforts
to survive, thereby making efforts to survive equivalent to slavery. Poverty sets the stage for government to become a “savior” who only requires “freedom” as a fee for its services. All four life forms (all the people) judge a person’s value and intelligence by the value of his earnings, making Mammon (money) Lord. Poverty, in substance, character and faith in God now reign. This is the product of “government intelligence”.
<><>How Government Power Grows<><>
6:7-8: When he opened the fourth seal I heard a voice from the fourth life form saying, “Come.” I watched and saw a rider named “Ignorance” (death or darkness) upon a green horse who was followed by blindness (without sight-the meaning of the word Hades). Authority was given to them to kill with weapons, famine, ignorant conduct and beast-like people over one fourth of the earth.
Vulture: This is the fourth life form: This word represents either an eagle or a vulture. Since the
rider is named death (ignorance), a vulture more accurately represents the action. These are people, especially young people who, like a vulture are constantly looking for something that “stinks” to satisfy mental and physical desires. They reject God’s moral standard as Satan removes all semblance of humanity from them and reduces them to the moral level of dogs. (See Revelation 22:15). Their mental food is filth.
Green Horse: The word for “green” not only means a color but also represents the young life of plants, animals or humans. This is evil energized (carried) by the youth who refuse God’s offer of life in favor of what Satan can give them now. Some naively think the words “I’m sorry” will eliminate the damage done by their foolishness. They are either ignorant of or indifferent to the law of God and nature which establishes this fact, “What a person sows that is what he must reap.” Preoccupation with self makes them a pliable tool for Satan and government.
The Rider: The Greek word used for his name is usually translated “death” but it also means
“darkness” or “ignorance” which is a state of death. This refers to mental and spiritual death, the essence of ignorance which, as with Satan, permits the ignorant to remain active as he stumbles around in the darkness of his brain.
Blindness: The word “Hades” translated in KJV as “Hell” literally means “without sight”. Many
are ignorant of truth and many others are made sightless to truth by religious, philosophical or personal beliefs which act as a blindfold to truth. Both ignorance and blindness put a person at risk for death in one of the ways listed in the above scripture.
The Strategy: Excuse the evil of the young by persuading them and their parents their evil ways are just a stage all young people experience. When these youths become adults they will condone a level of evil more un-Godly than the previous generation. This process continues evolving downward in immorality, permissiveness and lethargy until God is reduced to a religious teaching and, for all practical human purposes, God is dead. In the absence of God’s authority, everyone feels he has a right to his own opinion. Without God as the designated center point, the billions of circles of human life on earth are continually on a collision course with someone.
These are the systems and people of government Satan uses to capture, control and destroy his victims. It is a challenge to stay focused upon the word and ways of God in such a confused and hostile world. The promises of Jesus to church members in chapters two and three are only for those who overcome. Peter, one experienced in battle with Satan, warned to stay focused and steadfast. The fifth seal tells what can happen to people who live by the words of God and bear witness to Jesus, who, according to God, is man’s only means of redemption. Persecution of Christians has always been done by the authority of Government swayed by the influence of
people who don’t know God. Often, as with the Jews, these are religious people who believe they are acceptable to God. Don’t permit Satan and/or your government to use your desires, convictions and allegiances to arouse your emotions and suck you into the quagmire of this world’s beliefs and conduct. Life isn’t a movie. In life scripts are not rehearsed and there are no
re-runs.
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