to “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: [who] . . . made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:5,7). And better is “he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Prov. 16:32). 

Yet another lesson and another comparison are to be seen, for two crowns are being contrasted here. Coincidentally, both were obtained or secured at the same time, namely, at the terminating point of the first-seal activity, which was the close of the Smyrna period. The first crown is the illegal, unlawful, unjust acquisition of earthly recognition and regal honor in the present life, referred to as “a crown was given unto him.” The second is the legitimate crown for the faithful, the crown being laid up in reservation for the Kingdom Age. 

The Second Seal (A.D. 323–539) 

Verse 3: 

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see! 

Apparently, the Apostle, after witnessing the scenario accompanying the breaking of the first seal, discreetly stepped back to the place he had formerly occupied in the throne room. But upon hearing again the words “Come and see,” he stepped forward at this request of the second beast—the living creature with the head of a calf (an ox), representing Power—to behold now a startling display of the perversion of power. 

Verse 4: 

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon . . . 

The particular shade of the color red possessed by the second horse is meaningful. More properly, the Greek word purrhos should have been translated “fiery red,” a color that is associated with the flamen¹¹ pagan priesthood of Rome. The flame-red horse seen here indicates the infusion of heathen philosophy into the body politic of the professed Church of Christ. It also points out the time period characterizing the second seal, which began when Christianity was adopted as the religion of the empire in A.D. 323.

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11. In remote antiquity the sun, under the name Baal, was worshipped as the great source of light and heat, as the great enlightener and purifier. As this luminary in heaven was the chief object of heathen worship, so fire, its counterpart, was revered as its earthly representative. Thus the oldest and probably the most important of the Roman cults was Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and its fire. Her round temple was centered in the heart of Rome at the south end of the Forum. There she was worshipped under the symbol of eternal fire. The latter was watched over by vestal virgins, whose duty it was to keep the sacred fire ever burning. Among other things, a College of Pontifices was formed to maintain this cult. These priests in ancient Rome were devoted to some special deity, such as the flamen to Jupiter or the flamen to Mars, both great national gods. The chief pontiff not only supervised these priests but usually assumed sole custodial care over the temple of Vesta. In the days of Julius Caesar, the king was considered the supreme religious officer of the empire. The pontiffs were installed in office by the supreme dignitary of the Roman religion: the chief pontiff with the title Pontifex Maximus, who thereafter was usually the emperor himself.
    (Note: Latin flamen is a diademed priest; one who wears a fillet around his head. Latin flamma is a flame, blaze, or flaming fire. The assignment of a red hat to a cardinal upon appointment by the Pope probably had its origin in the flamen priesthood.)