The Four Seasons of Man

For way longer than I've been around, people have compared their lives to the seasons of the year.  I see parallels in Bible prophecy.

The Four Seasons of Life
Springtime brings new birth, fresh growth, and wonderful awe in the eyes of a young child who has nothing but hope and expectation for the future.  Springtime is bursting with innocence and trust; no doubt or fear is found here.

Summertime brings the fevered heat of adolescence and young adulthood.  Desperate searching for purpose, frantic pursuit of pleasure, and rebellion against authority accompany the lives of young people as they become adults.

Autumn brings a time of settling down; ambitions give way to wealth accumulation and retirement planning. The kids grow up and begin their own families; those in the autumn of their lives are left with an empty nest and silent hallways.  Some in this season of life are overcome by doubt and fear, and enter winter earlier than the rest.

As autumn ends the cold winter wind grows stronger. Our bodies begin to show the process of death that has been at work in us since the beginning of autumn. Winter white dusts whatever hair is left and we realize our own mortality. For those of us with eternal hope, new life grows within our hearts even as the body decays.

The Four Seasons of Man
The kingdom of man also has four seasons.

The first season of man is the age of authority. The people cry "Give us a king to rule over us!"  Peace is guaranteed by the king or the emperor.  One empire overtakes another until the domination of the final empire reaches to the ends of the earth.  Inevitably the worldwide empire becomes overstretched and grows weak from within.  Under worldwide imperial control, organization of a large opposing army is not possible. But discontented mobs and opportunistic gangs finally break through and plunder the lazy, overindulged empire.

In the second season mankind enters the dark ages. Chaos and war is the outgrowth that naturally follows in the wake of the washed-up empire.  In the post-imperial era, warring tribes eventually settle far enough apart or annihilate themselves until they live in isolated cloisters of well protected villages.  Enough of the centralized structure has been decimated to allow independent thinking.  Among those who are literate and have access to the word of God, some discover the concept of grace and liberty.

The third season of man could be called the Age of Reason.  It is characterized by regions that are liberated from the mental and spiritual bonds that remain from the empire, led by those that have found the light of salvation.  The light of salvation and liberty soon leads to increasing knowledge and scientific advancement. Without repression from the state or the church, mankind pushes the boundaries of knowledge to enrich themselves in ways only emperors could previously have known.  This continues until they reach that dreaded time when they declare themselves to be like God.

The fourth season of man begins when the dominion of wealth and knowledge suddenly collapses of its own weight. The tables have instantly turned and specialized intellectual and legal skills become worthless almost overnight.  It is this suddenness that prevents this season from reverting to a tribal warfare cycle. People simply aren't organized enough without the thin fabric of civilization to survive and organize.  Death and disease spread so rapidly that the entire social order is permanently destroyed.  Out of those ashes comes one who brings the final destruction.

Where Are We Now?
If you overlay the four horsemen of Revelation 6 on the four seasons above, you will see where I believe we stand.  The horseman on the white horse is like the springtime of mankind, the red horse like the fiery summer of chaos. The rider on the black horse is like the autumn of enlightenment and wealth, and the final riders like the winter of death.  We stand perilously close to the blasphemy that is the beginning of the end of time.  Is it inevitable that we become puffed up and reject God who has brought us this far, or do we gather together as a body of believers and pray God's mercy back into our fallen world? The end is prophesied, but the timing is not. It may still be possible that another great revival will delay God's wrath again.  Please join me as I pray for that outcome!