Revelation 6:3,4

THE SECOND SEAL.

And when he had opened the second seal,. heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: 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. great sword.--6:3, 4.

Next in order, the second seal is opened by the Lamb. Next in chronological order to the history foreshadowed by the first seal, we may expect the events of the second seal to follow. Will the reader stand with John on Patmos and behold the vision? John beheld the Lamb open the second seal of the book, and the voice of the second beast was heard to repeat the command "to come and see." Immediately the first vision is replaced by. second, of. startling character. There appears in the field of view a, second horse, no longer white, but as red as blood. Upon the horse sat one with. great sword in his hand, to whom "was given power to take peace from the earth, and to make men that they should slay one another."

The explanations already given will assist us in determining what this symbolism must mean. The horse is the symbol of war, but the changed color indicates that the conditions of war are entirely changed. It is no longer triumphant war in the dominions of their enemies, while within all is peace, but the land is drenched in blood. During the period of the first seal the fertile provinces of the Roman Empire, never saw the face of. hostile soldier, unless borne is. captive from the distant frontiers, where the Roman generals waged triumphant wars in the countries of their enemies. All was peace within.

At no other period of the twelve centuries that passed from the foundation of the city of Rome, until it was taken by the Goths, was the condition of the empire so happy, or its population so prosperous. Golden streams flowed from every land into the coffers of Roman citizens. No fear of hostile invasion or internal disturbance ever troubled the tiller of the soil, and artisan. Under the firm but mild rule of Trajan, and the Antonines, security, peace, and plenty smiled upon the civilized world. The epoch of the first seat was one of triumphant war, but of internal peace.

It is not such. period which is predicted by the second seal. It indicates the existence of war, but that internal peace will exist no longer. The "earth" contemplated by John was the Roman earth, or empire. From it peace shall be taken away. Nor is it to be destroyed by foreign invaders. "They are to kill one another." In as plain language as symbolism can disclose, it is indicated that the next great feature of history is that the land shall be torn by civil war.

CIVIL WAR.--The meaning of the symbol is plain. If it has been fulfilled, we must look for an epoch of civil war, following soon after the events of the first seal. History ought to point out. period of civil commotion following the glorious period of conquest indicated by the first seal. That period of peace ends with the reign of Commodus, who was slain A. D. 102. Let me repeat. passage of history that will serve to illustrate the character of the next period.

Commodus, the son of the second Antoninus, ascended the throne in A. D. 182. He was one of the most contemptible tyrants that ever cursed. people, but was borne, with for ton years on account of the virtues of his father. At last his excesses could be borne no longer, and he was slain by the Prætorian Prefect, aided by various inmates of the palace, 'whose lives were threatened by the tyrant. His assassination took place in A. D. 192, and immediately, the Prætorian Prefect induced Pertinax to ascend the vacant throne. Eighty-six days after, he was murdered by the Prætorian soldiers whom he refused to bribe. The crown was then sold to the highest bidder, and was bought at auction by Didius Julianus. As soon as the news of this shameful sale of the sovereign power reached the army of the Danube, it proclaimed its general, Septimus Severus, Emperor, and marched upon Rome. After. reign of sixty-six days, Didius was defeated, dethroned, and beheaded. The army in the island of Britain and also that in Syria, each considered its right to make an emperor as good as that of the army of the Danube, and each nominated its general for the throne. For four years the empire was torn by civil war, and Severus, after. desperate contest, vanquished successively and put to death two rival competitors for the throne. Thus, the next period begins, but this is not the end. It is marked in the history of man by the most prolonged and sanguinary civil commotion that history records.

"Peace was taken from the earth" for ninety-two years. During this long period of nearly. century, the Roman Empire, that portion of the "earth" which was the seat of civilization and of the Christian religion, was constantly torn by bloody, civil contests between rival competitors for power. The history of this epoch is epitomized by Sismondi in the following language:

With Commodus commenced the third and most calamitous period, it lasted ninety-two years, from 192 to 284. During that period thirty-two emperors, and twenty-seven pretenders alternately hurled each other from the throne by incessant civil warfare. Ninety-two years of almost incessant civil warfare taught the world on what. frail foundation the virtue of the Antonines had placed the felicity of the empire. Sismondi's Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. I. p. 36.

A full history of this dark and unhappy period is also given in the first volume of Gibbon. That the reader may form. better conception of this era of blood,. will give. table of the emperors, indicating those who died violent deaths. The first column of figures indicates that the emperor whose name is opposite died by violence. The second column, with figures at such rare intervals, indicates when an emperor died. natural death.

NAME OF EMPEROR. WHEN SLAIN WHEN HE DIED

Commodus 192
Pertinax 193
Didius 193
Severus 211
Geta 212
Caracalla 217
Macrinus and his son 218
Elgabalus 222
Alexander Severus 235
Maximin and his son 237
The Two Gordians 237
Maximus 238
Balbinus 238
Gordian the Third 244
Phillip and his son 249
Decius and his son 251
Gallus 253
Volusion 253
Æmillianus 253
Valerian 260
Gallienus 260
Nineteen Tyrants 260-8
Claudius 270
Aurelian 275
Tacitus 276
Florianus 276
Probus 282
Carus 283
Numerianus 293
Carinus 284

In this list are thirty-four emperors, besides nineteen pretenders, known as tyrants. Of these all but two died violent deaths. What could more strikingly represent such. period of civil contention, of incessant civil warfare, of fratricidal bloodshed, than the red horse and its rider, "to whom was given. great sword, and the power to take away peace, that men should kill one another?". suppose that no such prolonged and terrible period of civil warfare can be pointed out in the history of the world, and there is certainly. wonderful correspondence between the vision and the events of history.

There is one feature of the vision that has not yet been considered. There was given to the rider of the red horse a great sword. It has been found that the bow under the first seal had. special significance, and there is reason to believe that the sword marks particularly some feature of the fulfillment of the second seal. It is easy to understand that such. symbol points to the military order as the class "to whom it was given to take peace from the earth." Wherever there is. standing army there is. class whose profession is war. To this bloody trade their whole lives are devoted, as those of others are devoted to commerce, or to agriculture. They are men of the sword. At this period Rome kept immense standing armies upon all the frontiers, in the outlying provinces, in the great cities, and in the capital itself. It was the quarrels of this class among themselves, that filled the earth with blood and desolation.

Civil wars arise from various causes. Our own was. conflict of the citizens of the Republic over the extension of slavery; the last great civil contest in England was concerning the prerogatives of the crown, and divided the nation into two great parties, under Parliament and king; at an earlier date in Roman history,. mighty contest between the popular and aristocratic factions had convulsed the state for generations; but this terrible period of civil commotion, without parallel in the history of. civilized state, was due solely to the jealousy and ambition of the men of the sword. No principle was involved in the fearful struggles, and the nation had no interest, save in being ruled by the least ferocious of the contending generals. It is an era of the sword, of the total abeyance of civil rule for that of the sword, of the earth drenched in blood by the contests between the men of the sword. What could more appropriately describe such all epoch than the giving of. great sword, the military emblem, to the figure that marches before the vision of the prophet?

It is possible that. still more particular fact may be indicated. There was stationed at Rome an army corps which outranked all others, received the highest pay, and peculiar privileges. This band of soldiers was called the Prætorian Guards, and their commander was styled the Prætorian Prefect. When he was inducted into his office, by the emperor, there " was given to him. sword. " This was. symbol of the fact, that he had jurisdiction over the life and death or citizens for one hundred miles around Rome. He was the only officer, besides the emperor, who had the right to inflict death at the capital. It was this Prætorian Prefect, inducted into office by the public investment with. sword, and the Prætorian Guards, who inaugurated this long period of blood. It was the Prætorian Prefect who secured the death of Commodus, and made Pertinax emperor. It was the Prætorian Guards who slew Pertinax eighty-six days after, and sold the crown to Didius Julianus. It was the Prætorian Prefect who slew Caracalla, the son of the successor of Didius. It was these lawless soldiers of fortune who precipitated the era of blood.

Those who dissent from this interpretation of the second seal, must admit that the imagery of. prophetic vision never received. more striking fulfillment.