The 24 elders were chanting the song of verse nine: „Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign over the earth.‟ It is a great spiritual kingdom that the Lamb has created, a spiritual victory.

Verse 11: „And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was thousands of thousands.‟ „Thousands of thousands‟ stands for innumerable millions.

Verse 12: „Saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction.‟ The Lamb by His death is worthy to receive praise. Remember what was said at the time: He was a revolutionary, a carpenter, a madman. He was crushed like a worm, the scorn of everybody, dying on a gibbet, accursed.

We are now getting the list of what He really was, in contrast to what He was made out to be at the time. He was portrayed as a carpenter from Nazareth, a revolutionary who stirred up crowds, a fanatic. It was said He wasn’t „macho,‟ followed only by women and children. Now, the truth is presented: His virtue (virtutem), because many said He was a revolutionary and mocked His virtue, so He is worthy to receive praise for His very real virtue. His divinity, because many said He was simply a provincial, backwoods carpenter from Nazareth. Wisdom, because He was dressed up and mocked as a madman at the court of Herod. Strength, because He was crushed like a worm, appearing weak and defeated. Honor, because shame was heaped upon Him. Stripped naked and hung on a gibbet, covered in shame, therefore He deserves honor. Glory, because He died an infamous death like a criminal. This is the truth; the 24 elders know the truth about the Lamb, as opposed to His appearance on Earth.

Finally, blessing, because it is written, „Cursed is he that hangs upon a tree.‟ This is found in Galatians 3:13, where St. Paul, quoting Deuteronomy 21:23, writes: „Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us (for it is written: Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree).‟ So Our Lord appeared cursed, as the Old Testament stated (Deuteronomy 21:23), but in fact, He was blessed. This is the mystery of the Cross.

Verse 13: „And every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them: I heard all saying: To him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever.‟ Now the Lamb receives all due glory, whereas on earth He received shame and derision. „To him that sitteth on the throne‟ refers to God, Three in One. „And to the Lamb‟ refers to the humanity of Christ. Thus, they proclaim: „Benediction, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever.‟

Verse 14: „And the four living creatures said: Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down on their faces, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever.‟

This concludes chapter 5. It is quite mysterious, but commentators like Dom Mollat unlock the symbols at their own level, without delving into speculative applications.

The first four seals introduce the famous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The fifth seal concerns the appeal of the saints. The sixth seal involves the shaking of the heavens and the signing of the elect (12,000 from each tribe). Each of the seven seals portrays an important stage in the history of the Church.

The first seal is the birth of the Church setting out to conquer the world (the white horse). The second, third, and fourth seals represent successive persecutions. The history of the Church is one of persecutions, including the very clever persecution today by churchmen themselves, who are used to destroy the Church. For example, there are arguments that the Tridentine Mass should be, at most, a sentimental appendix to the „great chariot‟ of Vatican II—a magnificent mobile home, with the Tridentine Mass as a miserable, rinky-dink antique trailing behind the Novus Ordo Church. This is presented as its sole function.

The fifth seal (chapter 6, verse 9) is the glory of the martyrs. The sixth seal (verse 12) signifies the triumph of the Antichrist: „And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair…‟ The seventh seal (chapter 8, verse 1) is the beginning of eternal beatitude: „there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour.‟ This seal is just one verse before the vision of the seven trumpets begins.

The call „Come‟ means, „Come towards the mysteries instead of fleeing from them as most men do, and you will see.‟ John is invited to pay attention to the vision. Let us examine this: „And I saw: and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer.‟

The white horse: Irenaeus says it is Christ. Others say it represents the first preachers of the Gospel, the Apostles, who flung themselves like noble warhorses into the battles of God. This latter interpretation is preferred here, with Christ as the horseman. The Apostle is seen as a noble horse, flinging himself into God’s battles (compare Job 39:20-26). The horse is a noble animal, readily going into war.

The color white signifies the purity of early Christian morals. If Christ is not the horse, then Christ guiding the Apostles is the horseman on the white horse. „And he that sat on him had a bow.‟ The bow is Scripture, a weapon like a two-edged sword. „And there was a crown given him.‟ The crown signifies the right to rule over the whole world, the sovereignty of Christ the King. „And he went forth‟ (exivit). He went forth from Judaism with the Apostles. This relates to the Council of Jerusalem (c. 49 AD) and Christianity breaking out of Judaism, a theme prominent in the Epistle to the Galatians. He went forth from Jewry, „conquering that he might conquer‟—conquering the world, the flesh, and the devil, in order to conquer souls for Heaven. This is the portrait of the early Church.

The red horse signifies the bloody persecutions of the Church—the second age of the Church, the Age of Martyrs. This corresponds to historical periods, from Nero to Diocletian (the ten persecutions). The horseman on the red horse is the devil, receiving commission to take peace away and permission to slaughter, thereby showing forth the virtue of the Christians.

Those martyrs are a glory of the Church; their sacrifice led to the moral and spiritual conquering of the Roman Empire, achieved without swords. This is always God’s way of conquering, not the world’s. There is no use hoping to conquer by the media today; such a victory would be worthless.

It is quite possible that future victory will also come through persecution or a divine intervention. God will not act without human cooperation. Souls from all quarters will respond when God intervenes, hopefully a higher proportion from among traditional Catholics, but also from elsewhere: „Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring‟ (John 10:16). Yet, there will always be traitors from unexpected quarters. Let him that thinketh himself to stand, take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). The following verse (10:13) assures us: „Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.‟

So, the horseman on the red horse (symbolizing blood and persecutions) is the devil. The phrase „that they should kill one another‟ refers to mutual killing, which we see today and will see more of. Compare Matthew 10:21-22: „The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.‟

„And a great sword was given to him.‟ The great sword was the secular power of the Roman Empire, turned upon the Christians from Nero onwards. Humanly speaking, they were crushed, but as Tertullian said, „The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.‟ (Tertullian, a brilliant mind, later fell into the Montanist heresy).

The black horse represents heresy. The third age of the Church (c. 313-500 AD), following the bloody persecutions, was the age of the Doctors, as it was also an age of great heresies. The devil shifted from persecution by blood to persecution by heresy. Black signifies the blocking out of light and grace.

„And he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand.‟ This horseman is the heretic, who weighs and judges all things for himself, deciding what he will and will not believe, instead of docilely following Tradition and the Fathers.

Verse 6: „And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying: Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the wine and the oil.‟ The voice from „amidst the four living creatures‟ (the Gospels) is Mother Church, reassuring the faithful.

The „penny‟ represents simple, trusting faith. For this „penny,‟ one receives „two pounds of wheat‟—the literal and mystical senses of the perfect wheat of the New Testament. The commentators drawn upon here, like Dom Mollat, are often medieval, situated between the Fathers and modern Scripture scholars. For the penny of simple faith, one also receives „thrice two pounds of barley.‟ Barley signifies the rougher Old Testament. „Thrice two pounds‟ refers to the literal and mystical senses of its three divisions: the Law, the History, and the Prophets.

„And see thou hurt not the wine and the oil.‟ The devil is not to corrupt the force (wine) and sweetness (oil) of Scripture. Though heretics will try to corrupt Scripture, Mother Church will protect its true meaning. Provided people keep their simple faith, they can always draw upon Scripture for the true Word of God and the mind of the Church, protecting them from heretics.

A major part of Modernism was the corruption of Scripture by rationalist exegetes who deny miracles and God. The falsification of liturgy played a huge part in Neo-Modernism, while Scripture falsification was common to both.

The fourth persecution is the fourth horse. Verse 7-8: „And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying: Come and see. And behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and hell followed him. And power was given unto him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.‟ This is Death, one of the famed Four Horsemen.

This horse is „pale‟ (verse 8). „Pale‟ signifies appearing white or stainless, but not truly so—an „off-white.‟ It represents an imitation of Christian purity, thus, hypocrisy. This is the fourth persecution: looking Christian in appearance, but not in reality.

The age of hypocrisy can be linked to the fifth age of the Church, the age of apostasy, which is our current age. After a thousand years of Christendom established that being Christian is good, many now pretend to be Christian but do not live up to it, preferring to go their own way.

This is key to understanding Rousseau. He provided an age weary of Christianity’s demands with a sentimental, sensual content under a Christian veneer. This sold like hotcakes because people, particularly in the corrupt 18th century, wanted to fall away from their noble heritage. Such an age listens to those who allow them to pretend to be Christian while acting otherwise. This results in an appearance of Catholicism with a rotten core. This is seen today in Modernism and Neo-Modernism: rotten, sentimental, sensual, corrupt insides under a virtuous appearance, which people embrace—like „The Sound of Music‟ phenomenon.

This is Rousseau, who had an enormous influence. Dr. Koinowski identified Rousseau as the number one error, encompassing the denial of original sin, the pretense that everything is lovely and nice, and a sticky, gooey sentimentality. It sells because people love the idea that everyone is nice and sweet. Rousseau himself exemplified this: claiming innocence while abandoning his five children to a workhouse, then writing a book on child education without practicing his principles. His beautiful French prose is another of his seductions.

Similarly, Luther wrote beautiful German; his Bible translation was foundational for modern German. The devil gives beautiful style to his servants, but the content is rotten. Conversely, God’s servants, like St. Thomas Aquinas, may prioritize profound content over polished style. Rousseau’s attractive style is part of his seduction. He is sick, and our age, steeped in this „feely-feely‟ sentimentality, is sick. Rousseau’s influence is linked to the denial of original sin, the totalitarian state, and Modernism. It is incredible.

Understanding Rousseau provides a real handle on understanding the modern world.