The Complete 8-Book Guardians Adventure Saga

by Summer Lee

  “I believe that.” I truly did. “I believe the first horseman that rode forth when the Lamb of God opened the first seal signified the lust for conquest which is commonly the cause of war.”

  “So, the reason such curses are not pronounced on earth now is that God holds it back. It is grace.”

  “It has to be mercy and grace.” I tapped my fingers on the table. “After he was getting control, the red horse entered the scene and took peace from the earth. He made men slay each other. The rider on the black horse had scales to measure out food during a famine.”

  “Notice the phrases, ‘He was given a crown,’ and ‘He was given power.’ Next, it says, ‘Do not damage the oil and the wine.’” He looked at me for an explanation.

  “Oh, yes, we must not forget the oil and wine.”

  “Just the fact that he was given power indicates that the horsemen are under the sovereignty of God” he said. “What are your thoughts, my dear Martha?”

  “The fourth horse is a summary of the first three horses, and it clearly had evil intentions. Famine is represented by the third seal. The fourth seal describes death by sword, famine, plague and wild beasts. Every means of killing the innocent is used here.”

  “God has always known what is in the hearts of men, so he had this plan in place from the beginning of time. I believe it is at the end of the Bible so we would have a chance to study the plan in our generation. The four horses appear to still be future and cover the four directions of the compass of the earth. Not just the known world, two thousand years ago. This is in unity with the first four trumpets and bowls during the tribulation. They, also, affect the whole earth.”

  “The first four seals have been introduced by one of the living creatures that worship God constantly,” I said. “The first rider representing conquest is the straightest forward reading of the text, although the fact that he is riding a white horse raises problems for some.”

  “And what do your books tell you about that?” Walker asked.

  “They say John may simply be thinking of Zachariah’s vision, which had a white horse. That would not be true, because the Holy Spirit is the true author of the Bible.

  “In Revelation 14:15, someone ‘like a son of man’ is told to reap. Some say this verse refers back to Isaiah 49:2, which says, ‘He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.’”

  “It should also be noted that in the sixth seal the wrath of the Lamb falls on the kings, princes, generals and mighty men, among others who are responsible for war. Revelation 19:18 describes the kings, generals, mighty men, horses and their riders along with the rest whose flesh the birds flying in mid-air will eat. It should be noted that world powers caused pain to those they should have protected. But the persecuted will be vindicated. God says the Bible, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay.’ And trust me, He will repay.”

  “So, those who afflicted anguish will suffer from the hand of God in the tribulation.”

  “That is how it looks to me.”

  In my notes I wrote, “We have looked beyond the Four Horsemen to the Beast. It is quite obvious that the Beast is the Antichrist. It seems to me (and I am not alone) that the first rider on the white horse was not specifically the Antichrist, but rather the country or section of the world that the Antichrist comes from. Nevertheless, the horse will come forth with the others opening the door for the tribulation. He may be the Antichrist.”

  The horses are approaching now:

  Galloping, galloping, galloping.

  Interlude

  for the Bible student

  Isaiah said in 10:3-4, “What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain.”

  God called Assyria, the rod of His anger, and the staff of His indignation. He sent them against the people of His wrath to seize the spoil, to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets until they were few in number. This was so they would stop looking to humans to rescue them, but turn to God.

  The king of Assyria said, “As I have done to Samaria and her idols, shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?”

  But the choice was not theirs. It belonged to God. Isaiah said, “Therefore, it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks. For he says:

  By the strength of my hand I have done it,

  And by my wisdom, for I am prudent;

  Also I have removed the boundaries of the people,

  And have robbed their treasuries;

  So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.

  My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people,

  And as one gathers eggs that are left,

  I have gathered all the earth;

  And under his glory

  He will kindle a burning

  Like the burning of a fire.

  So the Light of Israel will be for a fire,

  And his Holy One for a flame;

  It will burn and devour.

  And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, but will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return; the destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

  For the Lord God of hosts will make a determined end in the midst of all the land. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.” And the Lord of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. “Behold, the Lord, The Lord of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.”

  Chapter Thirty-one

  “I want to go home for a day or two,” Amanda said. “I think my cat misses me.”

  I smiled, thinking of the Lion of Judah as a metaphor for Jerusalem. “You have been a big help and are free to come and go as you please. Please say hello to your ‘cat’ for me,” I said gently.

  “I will…” and then Amanda’s voice trailed off when she realized I was probably onto her, and had guessed her real form.

  Amanda cleared her throat, as if she were going to say something important. “As you know, I have been writing something to be published as well. I enjoy writing here, so I’ll be back.”

  “Certainly. Is it still about repenting?”

  “Yes. All humans must repent when they choose to follow God.” She smiled. “What about you?”

  “The first four seals are about the horsemen,” I said. “The fifth seal tells about those who were slain for witnessing. The two witnesses who are slain in 11:7 were from heaven. They had supernatural power.

  “In Revelation 20:4, the Apostle John saw in his vision those beheaded because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. They came to life and reigned with Christ for one thousand years.

  “We are asked to consider that the gospel has gone throughout the earth in the four directions of the compass just as do war, famine and death. Perhaps that is what I’m doing now. I am declaring the Word of the Lord. My o
nly assignment is to tell of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding onto the pages of history.”

  The hardest blog to write was going to be about the pale horse. I opened my Bible and read, “When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come.” I looked, and behold, pale horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.”

  This will be the horse of death. The last one to gallop out of heaven before all hell breaks loose.

  Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I could hardly breathe. The tribulation was going to be too horrible. So I listened to see if I could hear the horses coming forth. I heard them. Can you hear them? They are getting close now.

  Galloping, galloping, galloping.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Walker was with me. “You must tell more about the red and black horses,” he said. “And of course the pale horse will be most destructive.”

  “The black horse was the third one to ride out when the Lamb of God opened the third seal,” said the angel. “Apostle John said that he heard the third living creature say, ‘Come! He looked, and there before him was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then he heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’ Put this into your article, so that those reading it will understand why they have no substance at that time.”

  “Perhaps people should store food for such a time.”

  “Some are doing so even now.” He paused. “Others are confused. They still need to confess their sins.”

  “Repentance is more important than feeding the body,” I said. “I think most of us see covetousness, selfishness and greed as unrighteousness in others. However, for many humans, it is hard to see it in ourselves. We would agree this causes problems for the innocent. But that does not mean that we cannot trust God anymore.”

  “God knew the risk he was taking giving man the right to choose between right and wrong. He only gave Adam and Eve one commandment to obey.” He smiled. “Do you know what it was?”

  “That they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” I grinned. “In exchange, he gave them many choices of food that they could eat, including the tree of life.”

  “They were tempted to disobey God and gave in,” Walker said in a controlled voice. “The penalty was death, especially in the spirit. As result, all humans are born with a hole in their soul and given an opportunity to choose between life and death. Bad choices have been made throughout the centuries.”

  “Sin and death has been part of the world ever since, hasn’t it?” I tried to use a non-prophetic approach to the situation.

  “Yes.” His voice was slow and unwavering.

  I stopped and thought, “That is not the problem right now, is it?”

  “No. The thing that will make the tribulation noticeable is how widespread it will be.” Walker had a pained expression on his face.

  “Listen to this.” I opened my Bible and read, “When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider 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.’” I looked up. “What do you say that means?”

  The angel said, “Those weapons are general in character and will affect all of mankind. They are symbolic of all universal woes that affect believers in some countries, even now. For Christians, such woes are a picture of sanctification being worked out in the soul. It is the extension of the Kingdom of God in the hearts of mankind, which is shown by love, joy and peace. Masses will feel the effects throughout the coming dispensation. It will not end until Jesus comes in the clouds.”

  “Will there be more suffering in a particular part of the world than in others?”

  “No,” said Walker. “It will be a time of punishing those who forsook the Savior.” He moved across the room. “The place that the suffering begins is mostly Africa.”

  I realized that was true. “Apostle John saw the last horse. It is described as sickly, pale, yellowish, and greenish. It looks like death.”

  “The word in Greek is ‘chloral,’ from which the word chlorine comes.”

  “Chlorine is green.” And then, a thought hit me. “Islam uses green as their national color.”

  “Yes, green is the traditional color of Islam. The Arabic word for green is mentioned in the Qur’an several times,” Walker said.

  “So, it will be greenish.”

  “Yet, the horse itself will look like death,” Walker said with confidence. “The horseman will look like a dead person.”

  I wanted to be objective, but could not imagine such an angel. “The angel on the horse will be that ugly?” I asked.

  “The Bible says that ‘Death’ is the name of this rider.”

  “And Hades followed close behind him.”

  “Hades is the abode of the unsaved souls after death,” said Walker seriously. “So, those who have rejected Christ are the ones referred to here. As Hades follows closely behind death of the unsaved, heaven is waiting for those who accept Jesus.”

  “I wish everybody would accept Jesus,” I sadly said. “What stops them?”

  “Pride,” Walker said matter-of-factually. “An interesting point is Death and Hades have been personified here.”

  “But that is no problem for believers since Jesus has authority over both.”

  “That is right.”

  I thought about Death and Hades being given power over a quarter of the earth. That being true, the power may not be universal. I felt sick to my stomach. “Hopefully, evil will have limited power in those days,” I said. “The Scriptures says that death and Hades will be given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” I wiped tears from my eyes. “I hope everyone won’t have to suffer.”

  “Martha, Martha,” Walker said. “Read your Bible. That happens when the tribulation begins. Man will no longer be in control after the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth hold back the wind. The great day of the Wrath of God will come.”

  “It is a lot to take in.”

  “I know. That is why I am here now.”

  “But so many will never listen,” I said. “They don’t want to spend eternity in hell, but refuse to believe that Jesus is the only answer. So the punishments are inevitable.”

  “You understand that every new seal brings new calamity. The seven seals will all be opened, and then the trumpets will resound,” said Walker. “It only gets worse after that. The wrath of God brings on the rage of evil leaders. Believers will be beheaded. An earthquake will rock the land. Compare that with the trumpets, where one third of the earth will be affected. Hail, fire and blood will fall to the earth.”

  “That is so hard to grasp. I know that the apostle saw the seals opened, and the seven years of tribulation began.” I hadn’t thought about the trumpets yet. “I’ve been concentrating on the Four Horsemen.”

  “As you should.” He spoke with certainty.

  “The scenes in Revelation go back and forth between heaven and earth,” I said. “That does not make the study easy.”

  “And you’re right. Those who love and obey God are blessed in heaven, while the disobedient are being punished on earth,” he said. “Warn people not to fall in the hands of an angry God.”

  I frowned. “What exactly should I say?”

  “Tell them that planetoids are coming. One asteroid will strike the ocean and another one will hit the land like a bomb, contaminating the ocean and the environment.” His tone had a qualit
y to it that told me this was a sure thing.

  “I should tell them to prepare to meet their maker,” I said, “because asteroids are going to have a strong effect on the entire world when that happens.”

  I was surprised with his reaction. “You must make it clear in your writing. Make a website to grabs attention. Something powerful.”

  I nodded. “I know God is a God of justice as well as a God of love.”

  Amanda had entered room and was listening. “People will still have time to repent. If they will turn to God, they will avoid starvation and captivity.”

  “In Jeremiah 15, the prophet revealed four kinds of destroyers for people who deliberately reject God and his standards: “Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity,” Walker said.

  I was overwhelmed by the thought of such tragedies. Jeremiah was describing the earth when the pale horse would arrive. Perhaps it was now. I had to get back to basics. “The only hope of finding favor with God is to believe that his Son paid the price for sin. No one can come in their own strength.”

  The angel agreed. “The Bible has been shared in every country by now.”

  “The Bible is a thick book with intense short messages inside,” said Amanda. “But humans still need to inquire about it.”

  “Maybe it seems too hard to read.” That made sense to me.

  “Yet reading the Bible gives one understanding as to what God thinks of sin and righteousness.” Amanda seemed to have so much wisdom.

  “The Holy Spirit will give us power for revival.” I blinked my eyes to hide the tears of compassion. “And God will give us wisdom. Right?”

  “That is true,” said Walker, moving to a comfortable chair. “God once told Ezekiel that he was withdrawing his favor from his people. The reason was that the people were distracted by idols. Four dreadful judgments were given instead. They were, (a) a third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; (b) a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and (c) a third will scatter to the winds and be pursued with a drawn sword.”