So now that I have presented my thoughts on the first seal and some background I can move on to the other seals. The first seal represents the conqueror, called out by the Lion, and shows Christ as the conqueror of the conqueror. A man who is both priest (mediator between man and god) and king (agent of God's punitive authority on the earth). The second seal represents war. But not just nation against nation, in more general terms it represents strife between men, discord and anger. The color red is obvious, it is the color of blood, indicating bloodshed with the sword as the instrument that slashes and stabs through the outer layers of flesh to open the veins and arteries beneath releasing blood to flow. This is easy to see because we see it in the news daily, and many have lived in the shadow of this curse on men. The fact that these riders are released upon the earth is significant because it affects ALL men, both the evil and the righteous. Which leads me to my next point about this particular seal. War is not just some mindless instrument of evil, though it may seem that way. God has historically used this curse to bring judgment upon His people. God led foreign armies into the heart of Israel and later into Judah in order to destroy the wicked from among them, leaving a purified remnant who could start over. In this is the principle that the sword that destroys is also the sword that saves. A double edged sword with dual purpose, used by God to bring about His will on the earth.
Another, perhaps less obvious representation that can be learned from this seal was hinted at in my earlier post. It is the malice that exists between the righteous and the wicked. that the wicked, in their jealousy, will rise up and out of hatred, will slay the righteous. This was first acted upon when Cain slew Abel. Jesus stated this explicitly in Mat 10:16 and Mat 10:34. However it is important to realize that this malicious curse does not represent Christ. And it is significant that the Bull calls this rider. In most cultures the Bull is seen is seen as the embodiment of cosmic power from whose body comes the seeds of life. The killing of the Bull symbolized the death of the life force, releasing its vitality so that the earth can be fertilized, reseeded and raised in a resurrection cycle. Therefore the death of the righteous has purpose, beginning with the death of Christ, including the deaths of ALL the righteous from Abel to the last martyr yet unknown to us. Not only is it an act of holy sacrifice, it is also a preparatory act that allows God's full unmitigated judgment to fall on the wicked. Now that I have stated this I must say that this is not the purpose of this seal, the idea of the holiness of martyrdom and Christ's identification as one of them will come later. This seal focuses on the curse that stems from the jealousy and hatred of the wicked, acted out on the righteous.
In identifying Christ we must see this curse as the problem to which He is the solution. Christ will eventually bring peace upon the earth but it will not be a general peace based on current philosophical principles of ethics which have no religious foundation. It will be based on a personal relationship with God the Father, so that the spirit of God fills every person and our actions toward one another will be based on Godly wisdom and love. First a fiery love of God that gives us a greater love for one another than we can possibly experience in our present state. This is the identity of Christ in this seal, the one who brings a perfect peace, a true Utopia.
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