"When he broke the third seal, I heard the third animal shout, 'Come,' Immediately a black horse appeared, and its rider was holding a pair of scales; and I seemed to hear a voice shout from among the four animals and say, 'A ration of corn for a day's wages, and three rations of barley for a day's wages, but do not tamper with the oil or the wine.'"          -Revelation 6: 5-6    The book of Revelation was written towards the end of the first century AD, which means that the third seal comes closest in time to the celestial record we've been examining. But then why would Revelation, a book dealing with the prophecies of the future, be concerned with predictions which were already past?    The answer is actually very simple. Those who were telling the story of this map of heaven decided to begin at the start of the constellational picture, even though the first few stars had already been triggered. The majority of the stars still remained shrouded in the mists of the future when Revelation was written. This work is difficult enough to piece together when veiwing the whole, let alone having to start in the middle of a partial pattern. Nu Piscium 26 AD Revelation 5:1 has already told us that the scroll 'had writing on back and front and was sealed with seven seals.' The writing on back represents the time and seals that had already been broken.    The Vernal Equinox aligned with Nu Piscium (the third seal) in 26 AD, and while its precise symbolism is apparently lost to history, we know that this was during the reign of Tiberius, the second to rule the Empire following Augustus. The meaning of the lines would have made the most sense to those living at the time of its recording; and it is interesting to note that, as recorded by Suetonius, Tiberius's first commission in his early political career was 'to reorganize the defective grain supply' of Rome. Whether this represents some initial association with Tiberius for which he was remembered during the following generation is unclear. But in 26 AD, after having ruled as Emperor for twelve years, Tiberius left Rome never to return, even though he reigned for another eleven years. This is significant because he effectively vacated the helm, leaving the ship of state drifting aimlessly on the tide, a condition we will see repeated with the opening of the Seventh Seal. Tiberius    "On his return to Capri (an island off the coast of Italy) he let all affairs of state slide: neither filling vacancies that occurred in the Equestrian Order, nor making new appointments to senior military commands in any province. Spain and Syria were left without governors of consular rank for several years. He allowed the Parthians to overrun Armenia; the Dacians and Sarmatians to ravage Moesia; and the Germans to invade Gaul- a negligence as dangerous to the Empire as it was dishonourable..."          The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius    Tacitus reports that he retired to Capri and devoted himself to sexual extravagances, attempting to excite his waning passions. The opening of the third seal with its rider on a black horse, in spite of the vitality of the Pax Romana, demonstrated that the pillar of the Roman state was rotten at its core. Next week: The Fourth Seal

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