The sea of glass like unto crystal before the throne is the clear and pure Spiritual Teachings of God. The beasts being full of eyes before and behind shows their receptivity to those Teachings.

In the Afterword of this Chapter Four there is an extensive discussion about the descriptions and nature of the Four Beasts.

This is symbolism of protecting their powers from being distracted to wrongful purpose, which later becomes a problem for the beasts. It is important to understand that the beasts represent the true purpose of humanity to serve God without resting, and being blessed with eyes within, insight, they should recognize this, and not fail to recognize the Manifestations, Prophets, Revealers of God - past, present, and future.

WE desire to mention him who hath set his face towards Us and to let him once again drink deep from the life-giving waters of Our gracious providence that he may be enabled to draw nigh unto My Horizon, be adorned with Mine attributes, soar in Mine atmosphere, be confirmed in that which will cause the sanctity of My Cause to be manifested amongst My people and to celebrate My praise in a manner that will cause every hesitating soul to hasten, every motionless creature to wing its flight, every mortal frame to be consumed, every chilled heart to be stirred with life and every dejected spirit to surge with delight.
(Baha'u'llah,
Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p. 262)

The key understanding that one must gain from the Message about the Seven Spirits that God sent into all the earth, is that they are the one and same Manifestation of God. To demonstrate against, profane, reject One, is to demonstrate against, profane, reject all.

As will be amply demonstrated in the chapters to come, much of the Book of Revelation is about Muhammad, and more particularly about the return of Christ in the Bab and Baha'u'llah. The Messenger to Whom this verse refers is the Bab, the return of the Lamb Who was slain, and the similarity of their Missions and Lives is remarkable.

The majesty of His gait, the expression of overpowering confidence which sat upon His brow -- above all, the spirit of power which shone from His whole being, appeared to have for a moment crushed the soul out of the body of those whom He had greeted. A deep, a mysterious silence, suddenly fell upon them. Not one soul in that distinguished assembly dared breathe a single word. At last the stillness which brooded over them was broken by the Nizamu'l-'Ulama'. "Whom do you claim to be," he asked the Bab, "and what is the message which you have brought?" "I am," thrice exclaimed the Bab, "I am, I am, the promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey My word and to pledge allegiance to My person."

(Shoghi Effendi,
The Dawn-Breakers,
p. 315)

The symbolism in this verse is about the relationship of The Bab to Baha'u'llah. While the Bab was the Forerunner, still the dominant figure of this dispensation is Baha'u'llah and so it is that it is The Bab that takes the Book, out of the right hand of the One (Baha'u'llah) 'upon the throne'.

May 23,1844 marked the first day of the birth of this New Revelation when the first chapter of the Bab's book was written. Three months later a scroll written by the Bab was presented to Baha'u'llah, from which Baha'u'llah joined the Babimovement immediately. At the beginning the Bab revealed that Baha'u'llah's Book was characterized as the "first, the greatest, the mightiest of all books".

(The Bab)... had placed His writings and even His ring and pen-case in a specially prepared box, put the key of the box in an envelope, and sent it by means of Mulla Baqir, who was one of His first associates, to Mulla 'Abdu'l-Karim of Qazvin...(who) opened the lid of the box and said, "I am commanded to convey this trust to Baha'u'llah: more than this ask not of me, for I cannot tell you." Then Mulla 'Abdu'l-Karim conveyed the trust to its destination.
('Abdu'l-Baha,
A Traveller's Narrative,
p. 25)

'Awake, for, lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal of His grace is open wide; enter therein, O peoples of the world! For He Who is your promised One is come!'

(Shoghi Effendi,
God Passes By,
p.6)

The New Song (Message) is for all mankind.

The Reality of the divine Religions is one, because the Reality is one and cannot be two. All the prophets are united in their message, and unshaken. They are like the sun; in different seasons they ascend from different rising points on the horizon. Therefore every ancient prophet gave the glad tidings of the future, and every future has accepted the past.
('Abdu'l-Baha,
'Abdu'l-Baha in London,
p. 29)

Arise thou to serve the Cause and say: I swear by the righteousness of God! Verily this is the Primal Point, (The Bab) arrayed in His new attire and manifested in His glorious Name. He at present beholdeth everything from this Horizon. Indeed He is supreme over all things. Amongst the Concourse on High He is known as the Most Great Announcement and in the Realms of Eternity as the Ancient Beauty, and before the Throne by this Name (The Most Great Name) which hath caused the footsteps of them that are endued with understanding to slip.
(Baha'u'llah,
Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p. 181)

Say, O followers of the Son! (Jesus) Have ye shut out yourselves from Me by reason of My Name? Wherefore ponder ye not in your hearts? Day and night ye have been calling upon your Lord, the Omnipotent, but when He came from the heaven of eternity in His great glory, ye turned aside from Him and remained sunk in heedlessness... We, in truth, have opened unto you the gates of the Kingdom. Will ye bar the doors of your houses in My face? This indeed is naught but a grievous error. He, verily, hath again come down from heaven, even as He came down from it the first time. Beware lest ye dispute that which He proclaimeth, even as the people before you disputed His utterances. Thus instructeth you the True One, could ye but perceive it.
(Baha'u'llah,
Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p.9)

For the centuries before the time of Jesus giving this prophecy - and more centuries before its Fulfillment - the world remained pretty much the same with horse, foot and sail transportation - but then it all suddenly changed at the Divine Springtime and every creature on the earth, under the earth or in the sea were affected one way or the other by this historic Declaration.

Blessing and honour and glory, be upon him that 'sitteth on the throne' and unto the Lamb forever and ever. We are to be very humble and accept God's new Prophets for this new day and age because They alone have the guidance that we need for dealing with the Power that has been released in this New Day.

The authority for the government of the earth and the conduct or religion derives from the New Teachings in service to God.

God testifieth to the unity of His Godhood and to the singleness of His own Being. On the throne of eternity, from the inaccessible heights of His station, His tongue proclaimeth that there is none other God but Him. He Himself, independently of all else, hath ever been a witness unto His own oneness, the revealer of His own nature, the glorifier of His own essence. He, verily, is the All-Powerful, the Almighty, the Beauteous.

(Baha'u'llah,
Prayers and Meditations
p.86)

From the seed of reality religion has grown into a tree which has put forth leaves and branches, blossoms and fruit. After a time this tree has fallen into a condition of decay. The leaves and blossoms have withered and perished; the tree has become stricken and fruitless. It is not reasonable that man should hold to the old tree, claiming that its life forces are undiminished, its fruit unequaled, its existence eternal. The seed of reality must be sown again in human hearts in order that a new tree may grow therefrom and new divine fruits refresh the world. By this means the nations and peoples now divergent in religion will be brought into unity, imitations will be forsaken, and a universal brotherhood in reality itself will be established. Warfare and strife will cease among mankind; all will be reconciled as servants of God. For all are sheltered beneath the tree of His providence and mercy.
('Abdu'l-Baha,
The Promulgation of Universal Peace,
p.141)

[1] And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

There are positive and negative views of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse although most modern literature stresses only the negative view. In the positive sense, the white horse is a symbol of the strength and purity of the religions of the world, as going forth to conquer. This horse, and its rider with a crown, brings a message from God. The Sabean (Native) Faith was the beginning of a religious cycle. The rider goes forth to conquer, symbolizing the Prophets who have come to continue to give their message from God to the peoples of the world.

It is not wrong to hold the traditional views of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that the Red Horse is the horse of war. There is plenty in the Book of Revelation to support that view. So much so, that 'The Apocalypse' is often the name given to the Book. However, those events will be dealt with in detail later in the book and it is also possible to see the Red Horse as being the horse of government and technology, which in their proper application bring order and advancement, but here death and destruction.

"great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Matthew 24:21

"a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:"
Daniel 12:1
(King James Bible)

All the peoples of the world are concerned about justice, and many of the old systems are seen as deficient. The caste systems and customs of ancient India are seen to be non-applicable for the present day. These black robed judges of the black horse are faulty, as their balances are no longer balanced. While British law, based upon a foundation from the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments, a pure source, was taken to India, it is evident times have changed and the legal system in the Western world has strayed into strange and oppressive paths. The problem for the 'End of Times' is that justice in the law has become legalisms that are not effective, but a New World and New System is about to be established.

These are the appointed days which ye have been yearningly awaiting in the past -- the days of the advent of divine justice. Render ye thanks unto God, O ye concourse of believers.

(The Bab,
Selections from the Writings of the Bab
p.161)

The present system has brought a threat to the world that there will be such great poverty and starvation that most will not be able to afford food or the other necessities of life in the midst of the GREAT blessings of bounty and plenty that the Lord has bestowed upon on this earth.

Zoroaster appeared in Persia and Persia appears to have a special role in the End Times. It is where The Bab and Baha'u'llah appeared of course, but in addition to also being where Zoroaster appeared it is the home of most of the remaining declared followers of the Sabean religion. Moreover, Iran, as it is known today, is the source and seat of the Shiite branch of Islam.

The intolerance of each Muslim sect towards all other Muslim sects, and towards all other religions, has caused death and hell to spring forth in that part of the world. Continuously we hear of hangings, beheadings by the sword, even crucifixions and burning alive. Even shrines and the cemeteries for the dead cannot avoid destruction.

It bothers many people that the Book of Revelation is a Holographic presentation - presenting the same subject repeatedly from different perspectives. Thus it is that we see the thread about the Seven Churches repeated six times, and that we shall see the theme presented by the Four Horsemen presented more that once again.

At this juncture we are wanting you to see that the qualities of the Horsemen like the qualities of the Beasts and many other archetypes, can be seen from a positive or negative point of view. The Yin and Yang of reality, if you will.

BY the righteousness of God! The Mother Book is made manifest, summoning mankind unto God, the Lord of the worlds, while the seas proclaim: The Most Great Ocean hath appeared, from whose waves one can hear the thundering cry: 'Verily, no God is there but Me, the Peerless, the All-Knowing.' And the trees raising their clamour exclaim: O people of the world! The voice of the Divine Lote-Tree is clearly sounding and the shrill cry of the Pen of Glory is ringing loud: Give ye ear and be not of the heedless. The sun is calling out: O concourse of the divines! The heaven of religions is split and the moon cleft asunder and the peoples of the earth are brought together in a new resurrection. Fear ye God and follow not the promptings of your passions, rather follow Him unto Whom have testified the Scriptures of God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. The episode of Sinai hath been re-enacted in this Revelation and He Who conversed upon the Mount is calling aloud: Verily, the Desired One is come, seated upon the throne of certitude, could ye but perceive it. He hath admonished all men to observe that which is conducive to the exaltation of the Cause of God and will guide mankind unto His Straight Path.
(Baha'u'llah,
Tablets of Baha'u'llah,
p. 247)

'Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship.' Whatsoever hath led the children of men to shun one another, and hath caused dissensions and divisions amongst them, hath, through the revelation of these words, been nullified and abolished. From the heaven of God's Will, and for the purpose of ennobling the world of being and of elevating the minds and souls of men, hath been sent down that which is the most effective instrument for the education of the whole human race.
(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 87)

We have abolished the law to wage holy war against each other. God's mercy hath, verily, encompassed all created things, if ye do but understand.
(Baha'u'llah,
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 25)

The Cause of Baha'u'llah is the same as the Cause of Christ. It is the same temple and the same foundation. Both of these are spiritual springtimes and seasons of the soul-refreshing awakening and the cause of the renovation of the life of mankind. The spring of this year is the same as the spring of last year. The origins and the ends are the same. The sun of today is the sun of yesterday. In the coming of Christ, the divine teachings were given in accordance with the infancy of the human race. The teachings of Baha'u'llah have the same basic principles, but are according to the stage of the maturity of the world and the requirements of this illumined age.
('Abdu'l-Baha,
Baha'i Scriptures,
p. 461)