[the third seal]
When the third seal was opened,
John was again invited to 'Come
and see', symbolically denoting
another geographical area to behold. Then he saw a
black horse and its rider who had a pair of balances in
his hand. A voice then spoke saying, "A
measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of
barley for a penny; and see you hurt not the oil and the
wine.' (Rev. 6:5-7). In the same
period of time which saw the ascendancy of Mussolini and
Stalin, another 'mad'
dictator arose to plunge the nations into
conflict, unleashing forces which
have helped to pave the way for the final armageddon of nations. His
name was Hitler. In the strict
regimented social system of
Hitler's Germany, black became the
predominate emblem. The 'balances’ in the rider's hand, plus the
reference to the ‘measures' and their price,
indicate the extent to which the economy was
completely controlled and the means of
livelihood strictly rationed that all available
resources might be channeled to munitions of
war. This was even more so in occupied countries where
strenuous toil made possible only bare subsistence,
that the conquered nations might be made subservient to
the Nazi war effort. There will be
a more specific insight into the symbolism of these
economic factors a little later.
[side commentary on
first three horses]
Before considering the final horse
and rider, let me show you the significance of the first three as
they relate to the developing
world scene, for in one form or
another, the forces which were set in motion by the
opening of the seals continue to the end. In relation to
the gathering of the nations
to Armageddon, it is written that there
were 'three unclean spirits like
frogs' which came 'out of the mouth of the
dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of
the mouth of the false
prophet.' (Rev. 16:13).
These correspond to the first three horses and
their riders. That which came out of the mouth of the
dragon was Fascism (in close relation to an
authoritarian church), that which came
out of the mouth of the beast was Communism, and that
which came out of the mouth of the false prophet was
National Socialism (Nazism). Rome was the
seat of the dragon, Moscow was the home of the
beast, and Berlin
the dwelling place of the false prophet. These are
pictured as ‘the
spirits of devils' which go forth to gather the nations
to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. (Rev.
16:14).
Initially, as the seals were first
opened, they were personified in Mussolini, Stalin and
Hitler.
But note, says the Lord, a 'spirit,' or
demon power, is not confined to a specific
individual, but continues to work after he is
removed from the scene. Therefore the same powers which
were initially manifested in
Mussolini, Stalin and Hitler, continue
under modified forms and with varying
degrees of influence. They continue to create that
instability, power struggle, and ideological
conflict, which shall eventually lead to all-out war.
The tendency has been, ever since
the end of World War II, for the dragon, or rightest
fascism (as it
has worked in close harmony with the
authoritarian Roman church in
various countries) to give way to and be
absorbed by the socialist and communist ideologies.
This is
portrayed in Rev. 13:2 by the fact that the
dragon gives to the beast 'his
power, and his seat, and great authority."
Since Rome is the
seat of the dragon, this means that Italy will go
communist and be absorbed into the beast
system. Likewise, other Catholic dominated countries
will also be taken over by communist or socialist
elements. Another development is that
socialism and communism will tend to come closer
together in their ideologies. This will continue until
the communist, socialist and semi-socialist nations will
unite together in a United Nations World Government.
For a time the Roman Catholic church will work out an
accommodation with
communism’ and along with the apostate Protestant
denominations,
will give full support to the beast of World Government
(the second beast of Rev. 13). But eventually the
communist forces will turn on the church to
destroy her. This is pictured by the ten horns (puppet
nations) turning against the whore to desolate her.
(Rev. 17; 16).
You can now see how, in
the developmental process since World War II, that
National Socialism, as it was practiced under Hitler,
with its one man tyranny and
its super racism, has evolved in its
implementation and methodology into an
internationally orientated socialist
statism within many
countries. Yet it is still the same exalting of
paternalistic, 'keeper'
governments which rob men of their individual
responsibility under God, and regulate the lives
of all citizens in subservience to the tyranny of the
self perpetuating collectivist ruling
elite. Thus the stage is being set for the final
fulfillment of the 'false prophet"
who will head up a coalition
of socialist, semi-socialist,
and communist nations in
a United
Nations world government. At first such a Utopian world
government will appear very benign and lamb-like,
(see Rev. 13:11). But in time its true
nature will become apparent to many, for in actual
practice it will merely be a 'front' for
the beast of communism. This is seen in the fact that
the second beast of Rev. 13 causes an 'image' of
the first beast to 'live' for
the inhabitants of the world to be subservient to.
(13: 14-15).
This is an ideological image of a planned and controlled economic and
social system in every nation which is a part of the
world government beast. Since it is an 'image' of
the first beast (communism), it means that all nations
will be forced to increasingly communize
their economic and social
systems under threat of destruction. The man who heads
this world government of nations will be the final and
complete fulfillment of the ‘false prophet,’ of
which Hitler was the crude
prototype
.