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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse                                                        43



                     The visions of these four seals represent the going forth of mighty powers YEHOVAH God
              has used to shape the course of affairs throughout the entire age. They are to reach the very height of
              their activities in the closing days of this era, and show to us that the end is near -- even at the door!


                                                   The White Horse


                     Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living
                                                                   creatures saying with a voice like thun-
                                                                   der, “Come and see.” And I looked and
                                                                   behold, a WHITE HORSE. And he who
                                                                   sat on it had a BOW; and a CROWN
                                                                   was given to him, and he went out con-
                                                                   quering and to conquer (Revelation
                                                                   6:1-2).

                                                                       The identifying symbols in this
                                                                   passage are (1) the COLOR of the horse,
                                                                   white; (2) the BOW; (3) the CROWN; (4)
                                                                   the fact that the rider went forth
                                                                   conquering (gaining victories from the
                                                                   very start) and ultimately “to conquer”
                                                                   (i.e. to finally triumph over all enemies).
                                                                   These marks or symbols are more than
                                                                   enough to show there is but one event or
                                                                   epoch in the history of the world that fits
                                                                   accurately into the scene we are now
                                                                   viewing. And that is the going forth of
              YEHOVAH’s truth with the power of His holy spirit. There is nothing else in the past, and nothing
              that has been revealed concerning the future, that can be made to harmonize with this scene -- or
              with these symbols. The SENDING FORTH of YEHOVAH’S TRUTH perfectly fits the scene and
              perfectly explains the symbols without any manipulation whatsoever.

                     The words by which this vision is described suffice to put before us the entire sweep of the
              gospel from its amazing beginning to its triumphant end. The indisputable fact is that whatever
              explanation of the vision you may adopt, it is clear that of all the influences that have combined to
              shape the character of Western Civilization, and have controlled the course of human affairs from
              the beginning of the age until now, the most potent by far has been, and is today, THE GOSPEL OF
              YEHOVAH GOD as proclaimed by Yeshua the Messiah and the apostles. In reality, the history of
              the leading nations of the world is in fact the history of Christianity -- whereas those nations which
              have been uninfluenced by the gospel are virtually without a history, and without any contributing
              part in the development of civilization. Their condition has been, at the best, one of age-long
              stagnation.

                     The other three influences -- which have operated in the affairs of men throughout this age --
              had their rise in the SAME historical events that occasioned the going forth of the gospel. We will
              look into this shortly. It makes a strong statement for the UNITY of this group of visions.




              The Berean Voice September-October 2002
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