The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

[Arlelumbe]

Are there only Three Horsemen in the Revelation of John the Divine? Here is evidence for this thesis:

Revelation 9:17-18 (King James Version)
17And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Verse 9:18 begins with “By these three”. This obviously does not fit in with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as proposed in Chapter 6 of the Revelation. Why did the editors of the New King James Version add the word “plagues” after “By these three”? Did they want to hide the inconsistencies in the extant Revelation? The editors of the New King James Version even italicized their added word “plagues”! However, “By these three plagues” is an obvious non sequitur.

Revelation 9:18 (New King James Version)
18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.

It is clear that the (Three) Horsemen of the Apocalypse caused the fire, smoke and brimstone. Verse 9:18 has nothing to do with plagues. Since when do plagues have mouths? It doesn’t make any sense!

There are many Theologians who interpret the White Horse as Jesus Christ. The suggestion according to A.S. is that Jesus Christ was indeed revealed in the First Seal but was not on a horse. The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse would therefore consist of the Three Horsemen revealed in the Second, Third and Fourth Seal.

Many will say that this is not enough evidence to question the validity of the extant Revelation. To these people I suggest to also take a look at verses 22:18-19.

Revelation 22:18-19 (King James Version)
18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

According to A.S.: These verses contain a curse upon those who would dare to make any changes to the book! These two verses contain the threat of dark arts, which is pure sorcery. This contradicts many of the warnings against sorcery and all forms of dark arts that appear throughout the Bible. These two verses, in and of themselves, should have alerted any thinking theologian that something is very wrong with the extant version of the Revelation.

Incidentally, in the case that verses 22:18-19 are indeed the word of god as revealed to his servant John the Divine, then the editors of the New King James Version as well as many other bible editors are in deep trouble, as they added the word “plagues” to the Revelation. Ironically, this would add plagues unto the editors according to verse 22:18. This curse would then possibly also affect all the Churches that promoted/accepted various Bibles with the added word "plagues", as they knowingly or unknowingly assisted the Bible Editors in going against the Word of God.

 

[Arlelumbe]

The Uncorrupted Revelation as Experienced by John the Divine

The Uncorrupted Revelation as Experienced by John the Divine

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:

John, grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

I, John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what thou seest, write in a book.

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.

And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.

These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of the living God, and the seven stars. Be watchful. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast. If therefore thou shalt not watch, thou shalt not know what hour I will come.

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith. These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith.

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. The book was shining white with a life-sized image of the Lamb on the front. The book was taller than it was wide. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not.

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb having the seven Spirits of the living God. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels of Light round about the throne saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb.

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder. And I saw, and behold Jesus, majestically radiant, and clothed in white raiment and he had a sword; and a warrior’s protective helmet was given unto him.

And he opened the second seal. And there went out a rider in brown raiment on a horse that was light chestnut brown: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

And when he opened the third seal I beheld, and lo another rider in black raiment on a black horse; and he that sat on him held in his hand a black lantern that shineth not.

And he opened the fourth seal. And I looked, and behold a rider in silvery-grey raiment upon a grey horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

And three of the riders had with them huge armies. The army led by the rider on the brown horse was exceedingly strong and fresh. The rider on the black horse fell to the ground, as if dead. Then cometh the rider in the silvery-grey raiment to lift up the black rider. The black rider and his army mingled with the silvery-grey army led by the rider in silvery-grey raiment. Together, they fought against the rider in brown raiment and its army. The army of the silvery-grey rider and the army led by the rider in black raiment were determined yet tired. As the brown, black and silvery-grey armies engaged in battle, Jesus calmly watched on.

And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of the living God, and for the testimony which they held: And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season until their fellowservants also and their brethren join them.

And I beheld when he opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the Lamb: For the great day is come; and who shall be able to stand?

And after these things I saw four angels of Darkness standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

And I saw an angel of Light ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels of Darkness, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our living God in their foreheads.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation from our living God which sitteth upon the throne, and from the Lamb. And the Lamb showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 

[Arlelumbe]

The Uncorrupted Revelation as Experienced by John the Divine

And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven. And I saw the seven angels of Light which stood before the living God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

And the seven angels of Light which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: And the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

And the second angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

And the third angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

And the fourth angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

And I beheld, and heard an angel of Light flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels of Light, which are yet to sound their warnings!

And the fifth angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to an angel of Darkness was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

And the sixth angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and I heard a voice saying to the sixth angel of Light which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels of Light who were imprisoned by Darkness which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels of Light were loosed.

And the seventh angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

And thus I saw the three horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

And I saw a mighty angel of Light come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write down those things which the seven thunders uttered, which were: The Lamb will defeat the dragon and its beast at the end of time in the battle of Armageddon.

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against the living God, to blaspheme his name, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

And the angel of Light which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel of Light, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of the Anunnaki God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

 

[Rob]

Indeed, I was thinking the exact same thing ...

 

[Thomas]

What about the four horses of Chapter Six?

"(2) ... and behold a white horse ... (4) ... another horse that was red ... (5) And behold a black horse ... (7-8) I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying: Come, and see. And behold a pale horse ..."

Four seals opened, four horses ...

God bless,

Thomas

 

[Aardvark01]

Are there only Three Horsemen in the Revelation of John the Divine? Here is evidence for this thesis:

Revelation 9:17-18 (King James Version)
17And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Verse 9:18 begins with “By these three”. This obviously does not fit in with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as proposed in Chapter 6....

Three horsemen went off to do one thing, the other went off to do something else. To say this behaviour "does not fit" is to assume there is some reason, some narrative imperative, that should have kept them together. It would make more sense to ask "what makes the first horseman different?" than to assume an inconsistancy.

... Why did the editors of the New King James Version add the word “plagues” after “By these three”? Did they want to hide the inconsistencies in the extant Revelation? The editors of the New King James Version even italicized their added word “plagues”! ....

The word "plagues" was italicised because it is absent in the Greek at verse 18 but present in verse 20:

20The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues...

...It is clear that the (Three) Horsemen of the Apocalypse caused the fire, smoke and brimstone. ...

There is a principle of delegation at work. The plagues come from the mouths of the horses which are under the control of the horsemen which, in turn, are summoned at the command of the four living creatures:

7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. Revelation 4:7

1Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!" 2And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

3When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 4And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
5When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!" 7When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" 8And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. Revelation 6:1-8

It would appear that the lion summons the conqueror on a white horse, the ox (the second creature) summons war on a red horse, the man (the third creature) summons the un-named rider of the black horse and the eagle summons Death on a pale horse.

... Since when do plagues have mouths? It doesn’t make any sense!...

In dreams this sort of thing happens all the time, and this vision uses the language of a dream. A dialogue between the unconscious and the conscious mind need not make literal sense but the archetypes, none the less, carry meaning.
If the author were here I could ask him what he associated the creatures with rather than assuming the ox, horse or eagle was simply an ox, horse or eagle.
I can make certain guesses based on my own and widely held associations, for example we often associate lions with courage and oxen with work. I associate the human face with 'horizontal' or interpersonal communication (smiles and tears are only expressed in the human face) and the eagle with 'vertical' communication (between heaven and earth).

Correspondingly the first horseman could symbolise Valour ("conquering and to conquer go") or nobility ("King of kings") which is why some people associated him with Jesus and (the horse?) with the gospel.

The second horseman is named as "War", which is what happens when work fails and nations turn their energies (their 'horses') from the ploughshare to the sword.

The third horseman carries scales and a voice declares "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius..." which is a minimal ration of food for a day's wage, such as happens in wartime. I think he may represent trade or the breakdown of the same and his horse would be market forces like the recession we're in now.

The fourth horseman is named as Death (who is followed by Hades) but that does not have to mean just the death of living things but the death of things like hope and joy, which we take for granted in times of peace and/or prosperity.
I think Yeats's poem expresses this idea, although he does not use the symbol of an eagle summoning a horseman but a falconer and falcon to show what happens to societies where man no longer aknowledges a higher power:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand...

W.B. Yeats - The Second Coming​