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Behind che horse and ics rider, ir
was as if a vast borde crudged along.
Their armamenrs glisrened in che sun.
Charior-like vehicles roared across che
landscape. John became a wimess co
an incredible bloodbath. This vast
borde was slashing helpless children
ro ribbons, killing old men, ripping
up pregnanr women, murdering
babies. There was slaughrer every–
where. J ohn saw che whole earth en–
gaged in ghasrly orgies of barde.
Black Is che Color
ofMy Horse
Then, jusr as quickly, rhe scene
vanished. On bis Jefe, a black horse
suddenly popped into view.
le
was a
scraggly beast of a horse, frothing at
che mouth, its head drooped low. The
horse's rider possessed rhe form of a
human. Bur just barely. He looked
like sorne vicrim of a prolonged fam–
ine. His skin was black, bis bones
were prorruding, and his eyes were
bulging. As rhe rider passed by, his
empty, dying eyes gazed moumfully
ac John. A voice from somewhere in
che midst of che vision chanred in a
doleful caneara: "A measure of wheat
for a penny, and three measures of
barley for a penny; and see rhou hure
not che oil and rhe wine" (Rev. 6:6).
Then che voice ceased. The black
horse and irs scarving rider dissolved.
J ohn lifced bis eyes ro che horizon.
His glance became a scare of utter
frighc. Ic was che mosc terrible sighr
he had ever seen.
Ir
was che fourth
horse of che Apocalypse. Like che re–
accion of an earlier comparriot, Dan–
iel (Dan.
10:8),
J ohn's knees clattered
rogecher from fear ; he cried ro run,
buc bis legs failed him. He tried ro
close his eyes. Bur che ghoulish sight
would n0t disappear because che
fourrh horse and irs recinue was in che
vision of his mind, not in che realiry
of che landscape.
An
Apparition
in
P ale
The horse John saw was pale and
sickly pallid. le was covered with
boils and pus-fiJled sores. Behind che
horse scampered raes, scorpions and
8
ocher living chings represenring pesri–
lence and deach. John cried co stop his
ears ro che chorus of innumerable
voices ·screaming in agony. Then he
saw chem, millions of them. They
muse have been humans. The flesh
was being eacen off their bodies. Ho l–
low sockecs represenred eyes. Bellies
procruded, ready to explode. And che
scench.
le
was che srench of rotting
human flesh.
Finally, che ghasrly sighrs, sounds
and smells ceased. For a momenr
notbing happened. John collecced his
rhoughrs, and rhen he pur ir all ro–
gether in his mind. There had been
four of them, che Four Horsemen of
che Apocalypse. And rhey repre–
senred ...
fa/se prophets, wars, famines,
pestilences.
Somehow, he rhoughc chat
he
had
heard whar they represenred. John's
mind rried ro recall sorne old experi–
ence thar would explain these horses,
and r.hen che answer exploded inro
his consciousness.
John remembered a previous expe–
rie!lce. He had heard about these
horsemen then. Of course, he hadn't
known then rhar rhey were che Four
Horsemen in his vision. But our of
his consciousness
he
remembered that
che Master had rold him of che cir–
cumstances which che horses repre–
senced.
John rhoughr of rhac rime long
ago, cwo generations earlier. He was
in che city of Jerusalem. Actually, he
was on a mounrain called Olives,
which overlooked che ciry. He re–
membered che Master, J esus Christ,
sitting in che cool shade of a rree on
chis mounrain. He remembered ask–
ing chis man, who was also che Son of
God, che question rhac now filled bis
mind: "Whac will be che sign of your
coming and of che close of che age?"
(Mace. 24:3, RSV. ) Yes, he now re–
membered che incidenr wirh clariry.
The Meaning of che Four
Horsemen
J ohn remembered che words of che
Master. He quored them co himself:
"Take heed thac no man deceive you.
Por many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many" (verses 4-S). As he l isrened co
che choughrs of his mind, che
rhought flashed through his brain -
"of course, che white horse! "
John returned bis thoughrs ro che
words he had heard long ago. Jesus
had inscructed John and che other dis–
ciples that day about
"the
time of che
end." He had cold rhem: "And ye
shall hear of wars and rumours of
wars: see that ye
be
not troubled: for·
all these chings muse come co pass,
but che end is not yer. For narion
shall rise against nacion, and kingdom
againsr kingdom" (verses 6-7). John
again interrupred bis own choughrs
wich che fleeting realizarion - "che
red horse!"
But che Masrer's words once again
crowded inco John's mind, "And
there shall be
famines,
and
pestilences,
and earrhquakes, in divers places. Al1
these are che begi nning of sorrows"
(verses 7-8). Inscanraneously, John
rhought, "T hac's che black horse and
che paJe horse."
John's choughrs raced on beyond
rhe memory of rhe Four Horsemen ro
again recall che words ofJ esus. "Then
shall rhey deliver you up ro be af–
flicred, and shall kili you : and ye shall
be haced of all narions for my name's
sake. . . . Bur he rhar shall endure
unco che end, che same shall be
saved" (verses
9,
13). "What does
chac mean?" he asked himself.
The Great Tribulation
Before che words of bis thoughcs
were finished, John was again thrust
inco a vision. He would soon under–
stand whar Jesus meant. For John
now saw rhe bone-cbilling vision of
che time of che Great Tribulacion.
John looked out and saw Chrisc
tear off che seal, rhe fifrh sea! of che
scroll he held in his hand. (The firsc
four seals revealed che Four Horse–
men.) As che sea! was ripped off and
che words became visible, anorher vi–
sion macerialized. John gazed upon an
incredible alear. Bur ir was che scene
of terror
untkr
che airar char shocked
PLAIN TRUTH
Jonuory
1973