Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Revelation chapter 6 as we continue our study through the Word of God. As we have seen in our study of Revelation, chapter 4 begins the last division of the book or the things that will take place after the Church Age comes to a close. Thus, Revelation chapters 4 and 5 are focused in heaven, as John, being a type or picture of the church, is caught up to heaven.
In heaven he sees God the Father with a scroll in His right hand and a strong angel proclaiming, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loosen its seals?” And as John watched and saw no one stepping forward he began to weep uncontrollably, why? Because the scroll is the title deed to the earth given to the usurper, Satan, when Adam sinned. And now it looked like this world was doomed but one of the elders encourages John by telling him, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5.
Thus, as John turned and looked he saw a little lamb as though it were slain, Jesus, and He is worthy to take the scroll and loosen the seals of judgment that will come upon the earth-dwellers or those who have rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And as Jesus steps forward the church beings to worship Him, the angelic beings worship Him and all of creation praise Him for what He is about to do – taking back creation from the usurper – Satan!
This evening we will first go through the first four of these seven seal judgments and then I will tell you where I believe they fit into the Tribulation Period or that last 7-year period of time where the Lord pours out His wrath upon a Christ rejecting world. With that said, let’s begin reading in Revelation chapter 6 starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening as the Lord steps forward and begins to open these seals that are upon this scroll!
REVELATION 6
VERSES 1-2
1. As John watches Jesus open one of the seals, one of the living creatures or Cherubim invite John to watch what happens when this first seal is opened. And as this first judgment is unleashed, a rider on a white horse goes forth!
This rider is not the Lord, as some may think. It is the Antichrist who appears as the Lord, but he is a deceiver. Paul makes that point of those that are in opposition to God and yet by their actions, by their behavior, they seem to follow the Lord. Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light . Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” You see, not only is Satan a deceiver but so are those who follow Him!
And as this Antichrist comes on the scene he does so as a man of peace. You see, he does not gain power, he does not gain this world leadership position by force but the world ushers him in. The reason I say that is because he has a bow but no arrows. He rises to power without blood shed, without force as the people welcome him with open arms to head this one-world government. And notice that he is not wearing a crown of a king, a DIADEMA, but a victor’s crown or a STEPHANOS. Only Jesus is worthy to wear the crown of a king and thus, this is not Jesus!
Now I believe this man of sin, the Antichrist is alive today, but he will not become a world leader until after the Church is removed and the Tribulation Period begins. How do I know that? Is there Scripture to support it? You bet. Paul makes this point in II Thessalonians 2:1-8, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”
That restraining force is the Holy Spirit at work in this world through the lives of believers and once the Holy Spirit is removed, then this man of sin will be revealed. Now, how can the Holy Spirit be removed, I thought He was in us once we got saved? He is and the only way this can happen is if we are taken home to be with the Lord and it is then this restraining force is removed. And if you think it is bad with Christians in the world, imagine what it will be like when we are removed!
2. How is this man of sin driven into this position? I believe the world will be on the brink of destruction. The war in the Middle East spoken of in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, I believe, will include nuclear weapons. Thus, the world will be on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. Is that possible today? You bet it is, look at the nations that have or are developing nuclear weapons and look at what they want to do with them, destroy Israel, just as the Bible says! There will be an economic collapse. There will be environmental disasters. There will be huge problems that mankind will not be able to solve individually, but globally, with the right man in power, they believe it can be done. Thus, this man of peace brings about a pseudo-peace and he controls the world. This is a judgment of God, the rider on the white horse who comes on the scene at the beginning of the Tribulation Period with a false peace – the first seal!
VERSES 3-4
1. The second horseman of the Apocalypse is riding a red horse and this represents war in the world. Even during this time of so-called peace, people will war with each other, why? James tells us, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” James 4:1. You see, wars come from our desire, our lusting after things we don’t have and we want. We want property, we want possessions, and we will do whatever it takes to obtain them. The heart of man is evil and it is only the Lord that can change that!
2. This rider has with him a great sword or MACHAIRA in the Greek, and it speaks of a small dagger or sword that is used in hand-to-hand combat. Thus, these wars deal with assassinations, massacres, all kinds of rebellion as this false peace dissolves quickly into battles!
3. Now I thought the Antichrist was a man of peace, why all these wars? Listen to what John MacArthur said regarding something that took place that seems to parallel what the Antichrist is going to do. He wrote:
It may seem incredible that the world, hovering on the brink of final disaster, could be so totally deceived. Yet that is precisely what happened on a smaller scale before the outbreak of the most devastating war to date, World War II. Adolf Hitler spelled out in detail his plans for conquest in his book Mein Kampf, published more than a decade before World War II began. Yet, incredibly, the Western allies (particularly Britain and France) persisted in believing Hitler’s false claim to be a man of peace. They stood idly by as he re-occupied the Rhineland (demilitarized after World War I), thus abrogating the Versailles Treaty, then annexed Austria, the Sudentenland, and Czechoslovakia. Desperate to appease Hitler and avoid war, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with the Nazi dictator at Munich in 1938. Upon his return to England, Chamberlain triumphantly waved a piece of paper (containing a worthless pledge of peace from Hitler) which he claimed guaranteed “peace with honor . . . peace for our time.” When Winston Churchill (one of the few never taken in by Hitler) rose in the House of Commons to declare that England had suffered a total, unmitigated defeat he was shouted down by angry members of Parliament. The deception was nearly universal; almost everyone misread Hitler’s intentions. Only after he invaded Poland in September 1939 did the allies finally acknowledge the truth. By then it was too late to avoid the catastrophe of the Second World War.
- John MacArthur, Revelation 1-11, p. 179
You see, the deception promoted by Hitler, his false peace plan, seems to parallel what the Antichrist is going to do as he now exercises his strength upon the nations and by the time we get to the midpoint of the Tribulation Period, he is a man out of control, his true colors are seen. We see nations fighting against themselves and he will try to stop it, but there will come a point when he will crush them into subjection. This passive man is not passive any longer! And again, please understand that at this point his fury is not fully unleashed, that is coming! This too is a judgment of God, this rider on a red horse representing these wars – the second seal!
VERSE 5-6
1. The third horseman of the Apocalypse is riding a black horse and this represents devastating famine that will take place in the world. What happens during times of war and during times when dictators are in control? Famine and when this world leader of this one-world government is in control, there is worldwide famine!
2. Now, let’s look at this verse a little closer. This rider on this black horse has a pair of scales in his hand and we are told that the cost to obtain just the basic necessities of life, food, is going to be very high. It would cost a denarius for a quart of wheat and a denarius for three quarts of barley. Now why did it cost more for wheat? Because it was better for you and barely had a lower nutritional value than the wheat. Barley was often fed to the livestock but if you had a family, you could purchase more barley than wheat and you needed to do what you could to feed your family.
To put this in perspective, a denarius was the daily wage for the workingman. So it would cost you a days pay to buy 3 quarts of barley that could feed a family of 3, but barely. A quart of wheat could feed one person. So the world is not living like they thought they would with this man in power, but they are getting what they wanted, they ushered this man into power!
3. John also tells us that there are some who are doing very well during this time. He tells us, “do not harm the oil and the wine.” Some will be living the good life and that is the very rich, the very powerful. We see that today, go to North Korea or even Russia and most of the people are in poverty, except the wealthy and they live in luxury and have what ever they want! On the other hand, the poor are having a hard time getting enough food to feed and sustain themselves and their families.
4. Let me tell you what I see going on here, something the world leaders are trying to do right now. They are trying to equal the wealth of the world and during this period of time there are only going to be two classes of people, the rich and the poor. I don’t believe we will have a middle class any longer and the wealth of this nation will dwindle down to nothing. The middle class will be absorbed in with the poor. Leaders today talk about balancing the world’s wealth but in the end there is no balance. You have the rich and you will have the poor! And so this too is a judgment of God, the black horse and his rider bringing about a devastating famine upon the earth – the third seal!
VERSES 7-8
1. The fourth horseman of the Apocalypse is riding a pale horse or an ashen horse; it is the color of death! And as this judgment of God goes forth, ¼ of the earth’s population will be killed by the sword, by hunger, by pestilence and by the beasts of the earth.
Let me put that into perspective for you. There are over 6 billion people living on this earth and if ¼ of them were killed that would mean 1.5 billion people would die! Some have estimated that by the year 2025 the earth’s population will reach 9 billion people. If that is the case, then this rider will destroy 2.25 billion people!
Again, to put that into perspective for you, if I were to count to 1 billion at the rate of 1 per second, it would take me nearly 32 years to count that high! And, can you imagine the devastating effects when 1.5 billion or 2.25 billion people are wiped out!
2. Notice how this devastation comes about. First we are told it will be by the sword or during warfare! We can look back into our recent past and see the millions of men, women and children that have been killed in the various wars that have occurred. In fact, it has been estimated that well over 100 million people were killed in wars on this earth just in the 19th century, and folks, as we can see, it is only going to get worse.
John also speaks of hunger or famine and I do understand that there has always been a problem of famine throughout history, but this one is going to be the worst ever. Several years back Dr. D. L. Umali, who was the Assistant Director – General of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization reported that “about 460 million people are at the brink of starvation daily, some 200 million children slip into some form of mental retardation and blindness due to lack of food, another 10 million or so give way finally to hunger-related diseases.” The World Health Organization estimated that approximately one-third of the world is well fed, one-third is underfed, and one-third is starving. And yet, when compared to what is coming, this is nothing!
Next we see John speak of death and in this context it is referring primarily to various diseases that cause death. Did you know that more Union and Confederate soldiers died from disease during the Civil War than were killed in battle! The influenza outbreak of 1918-1919 killed an estimated 30 million people!
During this time pestilence will run rampant, especially with all the decaying bodies spread about this land. That was the concern a few years back when that devastating Tsunami killed millions of people! Even today, disease’s we thought we had under control, are now stronger and harder to treat, and sometimes there is no treatment at all because these bacteria have become resistant to our antibiotics. Listen to this report from December 10, 1993 and this is from the Daily Herald, “An estimated 3,500 Africans are infected with AIDS virus every day and the continent is moving toward a catastrophe – ‘a deluge of disease.’ . . . If the spread of the fatal disease is not arrested ‘it is possible that within 10 years the elite in African countries will be simply wiped out.’” Now even today, nations in Africa are on the verge of being wiped out because of this deadly disease!
The Ebola virus is deadly, killing its victims within 2 weeks. And it is a horrible death as the victims of this virus bleed to death and there is no known cure for it. We have the E. Coli bacteria that has killed many people, especially the young and the old and we saw the problems with this bacteria this past summer in our country. We have drug resistant Staphylococcus bacteria. We have the flesh-eating bacteria. We have rats that carry and spread all kinds of diseases and death. And with all the dead lying all over the place, it will be a great breading ground for rats and diseases. Today, over 5 billion rats continue to spread disease throughout this earth. Thus, there are almost more rats than people. And with favorable conditions and no deaths, two rats can produce 359,000,000 descendants in three years! I know, as soon as you get home you are going to call the Orkin man. But during the Tribulation Period, it won’t help!
And remember back in the fourteenth century and what is known as the Black Death that wiped out one-fourth of Europe’s population by this rat-borne disease known as the Bubonic Plague. So it is serious and we have seen nothing to compare with what this will be like, we only have a glimpse!
Now, besides deadly diseases, this can also be speaking of natural disasters like a flood, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and-so-on. And it may even speak of biological and chemical weapons that are unleashed. In any case, it is not good, it is devastating!
The last point that John makes here is that many will die by the wild beasts. You see, when famine strikes this land, humans are not the only ones affected. When devastating wars ravage the land, humans are not the only ones affected. All of creation is and they fight back just to survive. Let me give you this example and believe me, this is nothing compared to what is coming. We are told:
“Lurking vultures make for real-life reprise of The Birds. The L. A. Times reports, ‘With a loaded shotgun sitting next to her back door, Lynn O’Hara-Yates says she’s living in terror of the dozens of black vultures that gather each morning on her back fence to stretch their wings, sharpen their talons and wait for lunch. Recently, “lunch” has meant assorted pets in the Stafford County, Virginia neighborhood. When O’Hara-Yates tried to rescue one of her ducks last month, a vulture swooped down, whooshing within three feet of her head. The birds attacked again last week as she filmed them circling over children getting off the school bus. Local residents are frightened. In the past month eight ducks have been lost from the pond, all of them picked clean to the bone. A neighbor’s cat was grabbed by the tail and carried 25 feet in the air for a distance of 100 yards. Dog’s and horses have also been attacked.’”
Now, I am not trying to scare you, well, maybe I am. You see, if Jesus is not your Lord and Savior you need to be scared because this is what awaits you if you enter into the Tribulation Period. And if you die before, you have a even worse fate, Hell! But for those that know the Lord, this judgment is not for us, we will be removed before that first seal is ever opened. And so this too is a judgment of God, the pale or ashen horse with his rider who bring death upon this land, ¼ of the earth’s population will die in this judgment – the fourth seal!
2. Now, when do these things come to pass? How do they fit into the 7-year Tribulation Period? Turn to Matthew chapter 24 a section that is known as the Olivet Discourse because Jesus taught His men these things as they sat upon the Mount of Olives there in Jerusalem. And He is sharing the things that will take place before His second coming, the things that will take place during the Tribulation Period. In Matthew chapter 24, beginning in verse 4, we are told, “And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:4-8.
Notice how Jesus opens up this discussion. He speaks of many claiming to be the Messiah, the Christ. This could be speaking of man thinking that he is god, which we see happening today. But there is going to be one man who steps forward who is going to make this claim and that is the Antichrist. And many will be deceived by his claims, his false peace that he is proclaiming because sudden destruction is going to come. Thus, I believe this speaks of the rider on the white horse, the Antichrist – the first seal.
Next Jesus speaks of wars, World Wars, civil wars all kinds of conflicts that are going on. This, I believe speaks of the rider on the red horse as wars break forth on the earth – the second seal.
Then Jesus speaks of the devastating famine that will come upon this land. This, I believe speaks of the rider on the black horse where food is scarce for the poor, but not for the wealthy – the third seal.
And then Jesus speaks of pestilences, and earthquakes that will take place. Again, I believe this speaks of the rider on the pale or ashen horse – the fourth seal.
Now, the $100,000 question is, “When do these four horsemen of the Apocalypse come onto the scene? Where do they fit into the Tribulation Period?” Please hear me out on this. I don’t want you to think I am dogmatic about this because I may not have this timetable down. In fact, since I did this study back in 2000 I have changed my view a little. But I do believe this is how it will take place.
I want you to notice what Jesus said in Matthew 24:8, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish].” The Living Bible puts it this way, “But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come.” And The New American Standard Bible says, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”
Notice that this is the beginning of sorrows, the beginning of birth pains, the early pains, it is just the beginning of what is to come, the horrors to come! You see, the Tribulation Period is divided up into two sections. The first 3½ years of this 7-year Tribulation Period is known as the beginning of sorrows while the last 3½ years of the 7-year Tribulation Period is known as the Great Tribulation!
Ladies, if you have ever given birth to a child you can understand what is being spoken of here. When the labor begins the contractions are mild and they are far apart. But as the birth of the baby gets closer, the contractions get harder and they get closer together. And before the baby is born the pain is intense. The first 3½ years of the Tribulation Period are bad, but they are just the beginning of sorrows. You see, those last 3½ years we will see a rapid fire of God’s judgment upon a Christ rejecting world – the Great Tribulation!
Amos tells us, “Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?” Amos 5:18-20. It is as Joel said, “ . . . For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?” Joel 2:11b.
And so, I believe that these first four seals that Jesus opens occur during the first 3½ years of the 7-year Tribulation Period or during a time that is called the beginning of sorrows. And then, beginning with the fifth seal being open we are moving into the Great Tribulation or the second half of the 7-year Tribulation Period! We will look at those last 2 seals next time and then in a few weeks, when we get to chapter 8, we will pick up with the seventh seal judgment. You see, I wanted to take the time tonight to help you understand the events that are taking place during this period of time and when they occur.
3. Some fifteen years before Gandhi=s death, he wrote:
“I must tell you in all humility that Hinduism, as I know it, entirely satisfies my soul, fills my whole being, and I find a solace in the Bhagavad and Upainshads that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount.”
Then, just before his death, Gandhi wrote:
“My days are numbered. I am not likely to live very long - perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in fifty years I find myself in the slough of despond. All about me is darkness, I am praying for light.”
Folks, outside of Christ there is only death and destruction, and we will see that as we continue our study through the book of Revelation. But you don’t have to go down that path, God has done everything possible to save you from these things, all you must do is receive that free gift of life by faith, ask Him to be Lord and Savior of your life. As Isaiah 55:1-3 says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you‑‑ the sure mercies of David.” Come and drink from Him and He will give you that everlasting life that is only found in Him. He will give to you that peace with God so you may experience the peace of God in your life! Don=t be like Gandhi, who all of his life believed he was in the light, the truth, until the time of his death came and he found himself in darkness, believing a lie, and looking for the LIGHT!
4. As I close this evening I hope you can clearly see that the Bible teaches that this world is not heading towards peace and unity, but utter chaos until the light of Jesus breaks through the heavens and He sets up His kingdom on this earth after the battle of Armageddon. This world is moving farther and farther away from God and into depravity, into confusion, into chaos, into sin! And God is going to judge them for it as Paul tells us in Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The Amplified Bible puts it like this, “It is a fearful (formidable and terrible) thing to incur the divine penalties and be cast into the hands of the living God!”
But folks, we don’t have to face this judgment or even worse, the terrors of Hell because we are IN CHRIST! But for those who refuse to come to Him and ask Him to be Lord and Savior, Paul said in Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]? For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself], and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak].” The Amplified Bible. May we not neglect the salvation that God has given to us and keep our eyes upward because our redemption is drawing nearer!