"New Millennium Testament" 

Chapter 1.3

From Four Riders to Apollyon
(Constantine - Napoleon)

 

After the seven letters to the seven churches, St. John saw the vision in heaven. The door of heaven was opened and he was lifted to heaven to see “what must taken place after this” (Revelation 4:1). He saw the Throne in Heaven, the twenty-four elders, four living creatures, and the Lamb. And then the Lamb opened the scroll to show the vision of “what must taken place after this.”

1. The Four Riders and the First Six of the Seven Seals in Chapter 6

The prophecies began with the Four Riders of the Seven Seals in Chapter 6 of Revelation.

The First Seal was opened: A rider on a white horse with a bow in hand. He was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. (Revelation 6:2)

This is prophesying the Roman King Constantine setting Christianity as the State Religion. Since then, Christianity has gradually taken control of most of Europe, never losing it to any gentiles or other religions.

The Second Seal was opened: A rider on a fiery red horse with a large sword. This rider was given the power to take peace from the Earth. (Revelation 6:4)

This is prophesying the rise of the Islamic movement starting in the seventh century, which was promoted mostly through military expansion in the early time. In the next two hundred years, Arab armies invaded and took control of a vast area, from India to North Africa and Spain, and built up a huge Arabian Empire.

The Third Seal was opened: A rider on a black horse with a pair of scales in his hand. I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wage, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wage, and do not damage the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)

This is prophesying the rise and prosperity of the second Islamic Dynasty, Abbasid Dynasty, which built a huge trading network reaching as far as China in the East through the Silk Route and as North as Scandinavia in Europe. The scale represents the fair trading practice and the voice he heard was like a market price quote.

Most Christians may not understand the significance of this period of time, but most Muslims remember this period as the Golden Age in Islamic history, with great development of Arabic culture and economic prosperity. And the Abbasid Dynasty used black as their national color. They all dressed in black robes and their armies all carried black flags. They were famous as the “Black Riders” in Islamic history. Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258) was also called the “Black Dynasty”, as the previous Umayyad Dynasty (661-750) was known as the “White Dynasty”.

The Fourth Seal was opened: The rider on a pale horse was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the Earth. (Revelation 6:8)

This is indicating the Dark Ages between the 11th and 15th centuries, which were filled with wars, like the Crusades, and famines and plagues, like the Black Death (1347-1350), in Europe. “The wild beast of the earth” is referring to the invasion of Mongolian Armies, which swept the world during the 13th century.

After the four riders in the first four seals, the rest of the seven seals also opened.

The Fifth Seal was opened: I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and testimony they had maintained. (Revelation 6:9)

This indicates the period of religious persecution from the 12th to 15th century. Beginning in the 12th century, Church Councils required secular rulers to prosecute heretics. In 1231, the Inquisition was established, and people of different opinions were killed or burnt to death in the name of heresy. This seal showed the souls of those Christians “being slain because of the word of God and testimony they had maintained” during the time of religious persecution.

The Sixth Seal was opened: great Earthquake, sun turned black and moon turned blood red and stars in the sky fell to Earth. Also the sky receded like a rolling scroll and mountains and Island were moved. (Revelation 6:12-14)

This vision indicated the “darkness” after the persecution and the shaking of confidence before the “Day of the Lord”. In Joel 2:30-31, there is a similar description of this: “the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

The sun turning black and moon turning red are the natural phenomenon of a solar eclipse and lunar eclipse. According to scientific discovery, during a total lunar eclipse, the moon has a red glow thus an eclipse paints the moon red. These signs of solar eclipse and lunar eclipse represented the darkest time before the Renaissance and Reformation in the Middle Age. During that time, the church was already corrupt and the spirit of priesthood was also contaminated. The Black Death and other disasters and wars made people think this was the judgment from God at the End of the World.

But when the Renaissance started, people’s knowledge about the Earth and the Universe increased. The old concept that the sky was like a curtain on Earth was removed. People gradually accepted the views of the Earth moving around the sun and the Earth as a globe instead of flat. The discovery of the American Continent also changed people’s ideas on where “the mountains and islands” were. The New Inspiration from God for Reformation soon followed.

2. The Seal of God and the Faithful from Every Nations in Chapter 7

After those signs of “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”, the Day of God did come. But instead of a severe punishment, God still wanted to give people one more chance to repent and turn their hearts to Him. In Chapter Seven of Revelation, there is one angel who brought the message of God, “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” (Revelation 7:3) So what is the Seal of God?

In the Old Testament, the Seal of God is the Sabbath (Exodus 31:13) and Circumcision (Roman 4:11) of Israelis / Jews. But in the New Testament, the Seal of God on people’s forehead is the faith on the Cross as the salvation and redemption from God. So here came the “Faith Only” Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther starting in 1517.

After the Reformation, people finally could have their own copies of the Bible in their own languages for individual study. Those who had different opinions on the Bible could have their own churches without worrying about persecution or excommunication.

“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

(Revelation 7:17)

What a wonderful thing for those people who wanted to learn and follow the Word of God!

With the increase of ocean-navigating skills and technology, and also with the discovery of the New World (Columbus, 1512), missionaries went out into the world as far as China, and the gospels were preached to different nations in different continents. And “a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language” turn their hearts to the Lord and the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9-10)

3. The Seventh Seal and Four Trumpets in Chapter 8

However, the great time didn’t last too long. During the first part of the 16th century, most of the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants were purely verbal. They both prayed to God in the same kind manner. But after 1550, religious conflicts flared up and blood was shed in religious battles all over Europe. Just like what the Bible said, “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Rev, 8:1). Then there were seven angels ready to sound their trumpets.

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, … The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the Earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an Earthquake (Rev.8:3-5). This represents the progress from peaceful argument to military conflicts between the people of different faiths.

The first four trumpets represent four different disasters, the hail and fire mixed with blood (Revelation 8:7), a third of the sea turned into blood (Revelation 8:8-9), a third of water turned bitter (Revelation 8:10-11) and a third of the sun, moon and stars turned dark (Revelation 8:12). These disasters sounded like the end of the world, but they were not.

These disasters happened before when Moses tries to lead people away from Egypt. When the Pharaoh of Egypt forbid Moses and his people to leave, the Lord brought down several plagues against Egypt, which included the Plague of Hail (Exodus 9:23-25), the Plague of Bloody Water (Ex. 7:20-21), the hardship of Bitter Water (Exodus 15:25) and the Plague of Darkness (Exodus 10:21-23).

These signs of similar disasters as in Exodus indicated the hardship of people coming out of the sins of corruption in the Dark Age. They also represented the conflicts and wars between the people of different faiths. From 1550 to 1648, religious conflicts and wars happened all over Europe and reached their peak during the “Thirty Years’ War” (1618 - 1648).

4. The Fifth and Sixth Trumpet in Chapter 9

Chapter 9 prophesied the next big events in European history: The French Revolution and Wars with Anti-French European Alliance.

When the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, a star fell from the sky and opened the Abyss. Smoke rose from the Abyss and darkened the sun and sky. (Revelation 9:1-2). This represented a new force coming out to deny and blaspheme against God.

Then out of the smoke locusts came down upon the Earth and they were told to harm only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. (Revelation 9:3-4) The locusts indicated the disaster of famine and also represented the people working in fields, the peasants. During the time of the French Revolution, most people of France were peasants who were not happy about unequal status in the Three Estates system and the unfair tax system.

In 1788, a hailstorm destroyed crops and France had the worst harvest crisis in forty years. But France’s government was in deep financial trouble, and the first two Estates, the clergies and nobles, still refused to pay tax to reduce the burden on the third Estate, mostly peasants, workers and merchants. In May 1789, during the national convention of the Estates General, delegates of the Third Estate broke away from the meeting of the Estates General and creating their own convention, which they called the "National Assembly." Then on July 14, 1789, a crowd of people in Paris, around 80,000, stormed an old fort in the city, the Bastille, which was the symbol of authority. The French Revolution began.

At first, the people of France and the National Assembly had done some good jobs. They announced the end of feudalism and serfdom in France. The feudal privileges of the Nobles were abolished. They also issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which declared man's natural right to liberty and their equality before the law. These were great advancements in human history. However, when human goodwill and enthusiasm were unguided by the Holy Spirit of God, it could lead to the opposite result of good intentions.

In November, the National Assembly started to confiscate the land of churches in all France and issued paper money backed by these lands. Then, in 1791, they wanted to put all religions under their control and required the clergymen to swear loyalty to the state's authority over the church. They put human interest above God and committed the big sin of blasphemy. That was when they provoked the wrath of God, and the disaster began.

Violence broke out between supporters of the revolution and defenders of the church across the country. Then, in 1792, the French declared war against Austria. On January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was sentenced to the guillotine. All the European countries formed an alliance against France. The economy of France plunged, food shortage came again and prices were skyrocketing. The government turned into the Reign of Terror and people began to kill each other in the name of Revolution. During 1793-1794, more than 20,000 people were sentences to the guillotine, including the leaders of the revolution like Danton and Robespierre. The Reign of Terror replaced the initial goodwill of liberty and the right of man. It led to more death and casualties for the French in future wars against other European countries.

The King Named Apollyon

Then the Revelation pointed out that they would have a new king, the angel of Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon, which means Destroyer. (Revelation 9:11) Who was this king named Apollyon? I think anyone who has just a little bit of knowledge of European history can answer this question now. Yes, he was Napoleon, the First Council and then the Emperor of the French. He was a great warlord, but also a great destroyer. He had many military victories and conquered large territory in Europe at first, but in the end he caused more death for the French than all the deaths during the French Revolution.

Napoleon also disrespected God and exalted himself by grabbing the crown from the hand of Pope Pius VII during his coronation as the “Emperor of the French” on December 2, 1804 at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. As the result, disregarding his brilliant military talent, Napoleon was doomed to fail. His defeat in Waterloo was purely out of luck, or out of the blessing of God, because one of his general did not stop the Prussian army and come back to help him in time. He was that “angel of the Abyss” prophesied in Revelation 9:11. “Apollyon”, or “Napoleon”, - what an amazing prophecy God revealed to St. John 1,700 years ago. God even identified the name of this king with such closeness.

Then the sixth trumpet was sounded. The four angels bounded at the great river of Euphrates were released, ready to kill a third of men. The number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand. The riders’ breastplates were fiery red, dark blue and yellow as sulfur and the horses had fire, smoke and sulfur came from their mouth. (Revelation 9:15-18) These pictures are very similar to the picture of the Battle of Waterloo in the war between Napoleon and his four opponents, Britain, Prussia, Dutch, and Austria. Britain and his alliance against Napoleon had an army around “two hundred thousand” and Napoleon had an army of one hundred and twenty thousand.

There is one thing that needs to be pointed out here. The number of “two hundred thousand thousand”, which later was translated into “two hundred million”, in Revelation 9:16 was a pen error of repeated words. It should be “two hundred thousand” only, which was about the number of troops in the European Alliance against the French. There has been no battlefield big enough to hold two hundred million soldiers. And now with the high cost of transportation and the power of weapons of mass destruction, it’s impossible for any nation to put two hundred million soldiers into one battlefield. Any nation who puts two hundred million soldiers into one battlefield is not there for war, but for suicide. It never happened before, and it won’t happen ever.

During that time, Napoleon’s army lost about one third in casualties. The horses with fire, smoke, and sulfur, which came from their mouths, indicated the cavalier and their artillery, which were the main forces of the war at that time. In the first century, John never saw a thing such as a gun or artillery. This is the best description regarding the gun and artillery John could give.

After that war, the Era of Napoleon ended. Everything went back to normal and nothing significantly changed in religious aspect until the two witnesses for God came. In Chapter 10 of Revelation, the Angel and the Little Scroll indicated the New Revelation from God would come soon.

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