The word apocalypse means revelation. In the Revelation of St. John, chapter 6, four horsemen are pictured. Many and varied have been the explanations of their meaning. The Orthodox Fathers associated them with the four Gospels and believed that they had to do with the present ministry of Christ and the Church in this world.By that view the horse is the war horse and the horsemen are warriors that are sent out from throne of God to makes various kinds of wars in the earth.Each of the horses and riders has something to reveal about the involvement with the throne of God in the affairs of time and history during the Age of the Church.Only the White Horse correlates to the mission of the Church and actively involves the Church in the battle.The saints of God, clothed in white robes, armed with swords and bows, and given white horses of their own, follow Christ the Rider on the White Horse and become involved in the righteous war.None of the other horses are followed by an army of the saints and the children of God do not become involved in the battles being waged or the judgments being meted out by the other horsemen.
Early Christian Interpretations
Some early expositors saw a correlation between the four faces of the Cherubim, also mentioned in Revelation, and the color of the horses.
The face of the Lion
The Lion is Christ the King, come to wage war in righteousness by the Gospel preaching. By this interpretation, the correlation is the Face of the Lion and the White Horse. White is always used in the Bible, and particularly Revelation, to signify the Righteousness of Christ and the righteousness of saints.There are no legitimate exceptions.
The Face of the Ox/Calf
The Face of the Ox relates to the Red horse. It speaks of the suffering of the sacrifice and the violence of war and persecution which is a judgment of God against those who reject truth.
The Face of the Man
The Face of the Man is identified with the Black Horse. Black is contrasted to white and is used in the Bible to represent the antithesis of, and the absence of light. Because the world rejects Christ the Son of Man and chooses their own humanistic concepts of what it is to be mankind, the illumination has gone out in their minds and instead of light there is darkness in the moral, intellectual, social, and religious realms.
The Flying Eagle
The Face of the Eagle identifies with the Pale Horse and foretells of death and judgment as the Sovereign God rains down from heaven wars, pestilences, famines, and natural calamities against a creation that rejects His Truth, His Son, and His Church.
Efforts to Interpret Revelation's Symbols Literally
Some expositors attempt to take these figures literally and look for a future literal manifestation of them, but they are unable to make the case. There has yet to be a credible teaching that presents death literally riding on the back of an actual horse, pulling hell along behind with a rope.
A More Definitive Understanding
A fuller understanding of the meaning of what is going on here and what the various colors, figures, and instruments are projecting depends on a thorough study of the symbols of the Book of Revelation, a practice that is recommended to St. John and to the Church in Chapter 1.
By the orthodox interpretation the struggle has been fully engaged during the era of the Church in this world and is intensifying as the forces of good and evil battle toward the climax at the consummation of the ages when all evil people, things, and forces will be finally and forever destroyed.
Earl Cripe, Phd
No comments:
Post a Comment