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will happen in our time, and al–
ready is beginning to happen.
It
begins in Revelation 6:2:
"And
1
saw, and behold a white
horse: and he that sat on him had
a bow; and a crown was given unto
him: and he went forth conquering,
and to conquer.
"And . .. there went out another
horse that was red: and power was
given lo him that sat thereon to
take peace from the earth, and that
they should kili one another: and
there was given unto him a great
sword.
.
"And ...
1
beheld, and lo a black
horse; and he that sat on him had
a pair of balances in his hand....
"And ...
1
looked, and behold a
paJe horse.... And power was
given unto them over the fourth
part of the earth, to kili with
sword, and with hunger, and with
death, and with the beasts of the
earth."
lt
all seems very strange and
hard to fathom, doesn't it? But
remember that this book is a book
of revelation, not concealing. Re–
member also that the Bible inter–
prets its own symbols.
J esus Christ is the one who gave
this prophecy to John.
lt
shouldn't
be surpri si ng then that J esus
Christ also gave the key to under–
standing these four horsemen.
You'll find it in Matthew 24:3:
"And as he sat upon the mount
of Olives, the disciples carne unto
him privately, saying, Tell us,
when shall these things be? and
what shall be the sign of thy com–
ing, and of the end of the world?"
J esus ' answer to this qtLestion is
the key to understanding the mean–
ing of the four horsemen of the
Apocalypse. Botb Revelation 6 and
Matthew 24 are referring lo lhe
same time, to the end of this age of
man before the return of Jesus
Christ and the establishment of
God's kingdom on earth. When you
put both passages togetber , you be–
gin lo see what tbe symbols mean.
The answer Christ gave about
the signs preceding bis return and
the end of man's civilization begins
in verse 4: "And Jesus answered
and said unto tbem, Take beed that
no man deceive you."
He continues in the next verse to
warn about religious deception,
sbowing that there would be lhose
20
who would claim to represent
Cbrist and yet be deceiving people."
In verse 5: "For many shall come
in my name, saying, 1 am Christ;
and shall deceive many."
Tbe borsemen in Revelation 6 are
not harbingers of good things. This
first horseman may seem at first
glance to represent Chríst, but he's
an impostor. He represents false, de–
ceiving religion, clothed in white,
but full of error and deception, and
spreading spi ritual confusion.
Tbis white horse of Revelation 6
then does not represent Christ, but
false religion, the first of tbe signs
that Christ said would lead up to
bis Second Coming.
Men have appropriated tbe name
of Christ for their activities and
have used religion as a cover for
their wrong actions. Cbrist warned
that false religion will again play a
part in tbe soon-coming near de–
struction of man.
Next in tbis parallel passage to
Revelation 6, in Matthew 24:6 and
7, we read tbis: "And ye sball hear
of wars and rumours of wars: see
tbat ye be not troubled: for all
tbese tbings must come to pass, but
the end is not ye
t."
See how this corresponds with
the next horseman in Revelation 6.
"And there went out anotber
horse that was red: and power was
given to him that sal thereon to
take peace from the earth, and that
they sbould kili one anotber: and
tbere was given unto him a great
sword."
War has been a major preoccu–
pation of man in this century- two
world wars, and 140 or more lesser
wars since World War
11.
Another world war would
tbreaten al! mankind.
Now let's look at the next sigo in
Matthew 24, the last part of verse
7: " ... and there shall be famines,
and pestilences, and earthquakes,
in divers places."
Put that together with Revela–
tion 6:5 and 6: "And when he bad
opened the third seal,
1
heard the
tbird beast say, Come and see. And
1
beheld, and lo a black horse; and
he that sat on him had a pair of
balances in bis band.
"And 1 heard a voice in the
midst of the four beasts say, A
measure of wheat for a penny [ora
day's wages back then], and tbree
measures of barley for a penny; and
see [that you] hurt not tbe oil and
the wine."
You have the black horse pictur–
ing famine. Millions are already
dying of hunger and disease in the
wake of natural disasters, in spite
of relief efforis. lt's going to get
much worse.
So finally these horses, symbol–
izing false religion, war and
famine, with accompanying earth–
quakes, are al! combined in the
terrible fourt h horse-tbe pale
horse- representing pestilences–
death itself.
Revelation 6:8: "And
1
looked,
and behold a paJe horse: and his
name that sat on him was Death,
and Hell [or the grave] followed '
with him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of
the earth, to .kili with sword , and
with hunger, and with death, and
with the beasts of the earth."
Fully one quarter of tbe earth's
geography and population will be
affected.
When we put this chapter in
Revelation alongside Matthew 24
and Jet the Bible interpret its own
symbols, we can see that these
horsemen represent the signs that
Jesus said were to be the " begin–
ning of sorrows"-the time leading
up to his Second Coming.
You need to face it, and then
you need to know how to escape.
Jesus did say it was possible to
qualify to escape wbat is coming.
In Luke 21:36 we read this:
"Watch ye therefore, and pray al–
ways, that ye may be accounted
worthy to escape all these things
that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of man."
Here's a warning to stay alert, to
watch world events and to start
making right choices. We have a
booklet,
The Book of Revelation
Unveiled at Last.
that will help you
get started. This age of man's
course is almost run out and you
need to escape these awful times
ahead. Christ promised a time of
protection for those who will heed
a way to escape. You need to find
out how.
The Book of Revelation Un–
veiled at Last
will help you grasp
the meaning of these prophecies
that at first seem so hard to under–
stand. o
The PLAIN TRUTH