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In
the years
1970 – 1980
artist & teacher
Jacque Richard
Sassandra
created a series of
thirty-six apocalyptic
images based on the
book of Revelation
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The
Revelation
is a vision recorded
by Jesus’ apostle John
while he was on the
Isle of Patmos
.
It describes
the final chapter
of our life here
on Earth
.
The story
is too dense to
try to summarize, but
I will add a bible verse
to set the stage for
each scene
:
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I looked,
and there before
me was a pale horse!
Its rider was named Death,
and Hades was following
close behind him
.
They were given power
over a fourth of the earth to
kill by sword, famine and
plague, and by the wild
beasts of the earth
.
Revelation 6:8
The Four Horseman
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From the throne came
flashes of lightning, rumblings
and peals of thunder. In front
of the throne, seven lamps
were blazing. These are
the seven spirits
of God
.
Revelation 4:5
Vision of the Seven Candlesticks
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Enter
through
the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads
to destruction, and many
enter through it
.
Matthew 7:13
The Gate In Heaven
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When he
opened the fifth seal, I
saw under the altar the souls
of those who had been slain
because of the word of God
and the testimony they
had maintained
.
Revelation 6:9
The Martyrs
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They called
to the mountains
and the rocks, “Fall on
us and hide us from the
face of him who sits on
the throne and from
the wrath of the
Lamb
!
Revelation 6:16
“Mountains, Fall on Us!”
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Then I looked, and
there before me was the
Lamb, standing on Mount Zion,
and with him 144,000 who had his
name and his Father’s name written
on their foreheads. And I heard a
sound from heaven like the roar
of rushing waters and like a
loud peal of thunder. The
sound I heard was like
that of harpists
playing their
harps
.
Revelation 14:1-2
The 144,000
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The second angel
sounded his trumpet, and
something like a huge mountain,
all ablaze, was thrown into the sea.
A third of the sea turned into blood,
a third of the living creatures in the
sea died, and a third of the
ships were destroyed
.
Revelation 8:8-9
Mountain Thrown into the Sea
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The
fourth angel
poured out his bowl
on the sun, and the sun
was allowed to scorch people
with fire. They were seared by
the intense heat, and they
cursed the name of God,
who had control over
these plagues, but
they refused to
repent and
glorify
him
.
Revelation 16:8-9
Scorched Earth
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The third angel sounded
his trumpet, and a great star,
blazing like a torch, fell from the
sky on a third of the rivers and on
the springs of water— the name of
the star is Wormwood. A third of
the waters turned bitter, and
many people died from
the waters that had
become bitter
.
Revelation 8:10-11
The Star Wormwood
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As
I watched,
I heard an eagle that
was flying in midair call out
in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe
to the inhabitants of the earth,
because of the trumpet blasts
about to be sounded by
the other three angels!”
Revelation 8:13
The Eagle and the Sun
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And out of the
smoke locusts came
down on the earth and
were given power like
that of scorpions
of the earth
.
Revelation 9:3
The Abyssal Locusts
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The horses
and riders I saw in
my vision looked like this:
Their breastplates were fiery
red, dark blue, and yellow as
sulfur. The heads of the horses
resembled the heads of lions,
and out of their mouths
came fire, smoke
and sulfur
.
A
third of
mankind was
killed by the three
plagues of fire, smoke
and sulfur that came
out of their mouths
.
Revelation 9:17-18
The Lion Horses
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The dragon stood
on the shore of the sea.
And I saw a beast coming out
of the sea. It had ten horns and
seven heads, with ten crowns on
its horns, and on each head
a blasphemous name
.
Revelation 13:1
The Beast that Rises from the Sea
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Then God’s temple
in heaven was opened,
and within his temple was
seen the ark of his covenant
.
And there came flashes
of lightning, rumblings,
peals of thunder, an
earthquake and a
severe hailstorm
.
Revelation 11:19
The Ark in the Sky
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Then I saw
a second beast,
coming out of
the earth
.
It had two horns
like a lamb, but it
spoke like a
dragon
.
Revelation 13:11
The Beast that Rises from the Earth
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The nations were angry,
and your wrath has come
.
The time has come for judging
the dead, and for rewarding your
servants the prophets and your
people who revere your name,
both great and small— and
for destroying those who
destroy the earth.”
Revelation 11:18
The Wrath of God
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Then
I heard a
loud voice from
the temple saying
to the seven angels,
“Go, pour out the
seven bowls of God’s
wrath on the earth.”
The first angel went and
poured out his bowl on the
land, and ugly, festering sores
broke out on the people who
had the mark of the beast
and worshiped its image
.
Revelation 16:1-2
Malignant Ulcer
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The fifth angel
poured out his bowl on
the throne of the beast,
and its kingdom was
plunged into
darkness
.
People gnawed
their tongues in agony
and cursed the God of heaven
because of their pains and their
sores, but they refused to
repent of what they
had done
.
Revelation 16:10-11
The Reign of Darkness
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They
were seared by
the intense heat and
they cursed the name of
God,
who had control over these
plagues, but they refused
to repent and glorify him
.
Revelation 16:9
The Great Heat
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The
second
angel poured
out his bowl on the
sea, and it turned into
blood like that of a dead
person, and every living
thing in the sea died
.
Revelation 16:3
Sea of Blood
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The third angel poured out
his bowl on the rivers and
springs of water, and
they became
blood
.
Revelation 16:4
The Great Pollution
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Then they
gathered the kings
together to the place that
in Hebrew is called
Armageddon
.
Revelation 16:16
Armageddon
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The seventh angel
poured out his bowl into
the air, and out of the temple
came a loud voice from
the throne, saying,
“It is done!”
Then
there came
flashes of lightning,
rumblings, peals of thunder
and a severe earthquake. No
earthquake like it has ever
occurred since mankind
has been on earth, so
tremendous was
the quake
.
Revelation 16:17-18
The Great Earthquake
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They were trampled
in the winepress outside
the city, and blood flowed
out of the press, rising as high
as the horses’ bridles for a
distance of 1,600 stadia
.
Revelation 14:20
The Four Horsemen
The War
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I saw the Holy City,
the new Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband
.
And I heard
a loud voice from
the throne saying, “Look!
God’s dwelling place is now
among the people, and he
will dwell with them. They
will be his people, and
God himself will be
with them and
be their God
.
Revelation 21:2-3
The New Jerusalem
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I looked, and
there before me
was a pale horse!
Its rider was named
Death, and Hades was
following close behind
.
They were
given power over a
fourth of the earth to kill
by sword, famine and
plague, and by the
wild beasts of
the earth
.
Revelation 6:8
The Pale Horse
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Therefore in one
day, her plagues
will overtake her:
death, mourning
and famine
.
She will
be consumed
by fire, for mighty
is the Lord God
who judges
her
.
Revelation 18:8
Famine
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The beast was given a
mouth to utter proud words
and blasphemies and to exercise
its authority for forty-two months.
It opened its mouth to blaspheme
God, and to slander his name and
his dwelling place and those
who live in heaven
.
Revelation 13:5-6
Tyranny
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The angel said to me,
“These words are trustworthy
and true. The Lord, the God who
inspires the prophets, sent his
angel to show his servants
the things that must
soon take place.”
Revelation 22:6
The Faithful and the True
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The sea gave up the
dead that were in it, and
death and Hades gave up the
dead that were in them, and each
person was judged according
to what they had done
.
Revelation 20:13
The Final Judgement
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He said in a loud voice,
“Fear God and give him glory,
because the hour of his judgment
has come. Worship him who made
the heavens, the earth, the sea
and the springs of water.”
A second
angel followed
and said, ‘Fallen! Fallen is
Babylon the Great,’ which
made all the nations drink
the maddening wine of
her adulteries.”
Revelation 14:7-8
The Fall of Babylon
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In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and
wisdom and strength and
honor and glory
and praise!”
Revelation 5:12
The Lamb Slain
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A great sign
appeared in heaven:
a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet and
a crown of twelve stars on her head.
She was pregnant and cried out
in pain as she was about
to give birth
.
Then another
sign appeared in heaven:
an enormous red dragon with
seven heads and ten horns and
seven crowns on its heads
.
Revelation 12:1-3
The Woman and the Dragon
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And
I will appoint
my two witnesses,
and they will prophesy for
1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
They are “the two olive trees” and
the two lampstands, and “they
stand before the Lord
of the earth.”
Revelation 11:3-4
The Two Witnesses
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Sassandra
believed that his
art should glorify God,
expressing the invisible
through visible forms
.
He hoped that the
church would recognize the
potential of art to enhance
the communication of
the Gospel
.
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self-portrait
Jacque Richard
Sassandra
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The
icon for
this article is
a detail from Jacque
Richard Sassandra’s painting
“Apocalypse, Polluted Waters”
:
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!!! BONUS !!!
The following two studies
were not part of Sassandra’s
Apocalypse series, but since
they share the same theme
:
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The Triumph of Death
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The Triumph of Death
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Here is the study for the
artwork that was later renamed
“The Four Horsemen, The War”
:
Red Rider
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