The Beginning of the End pt. 1

I’m not going to sugar coat this, Revelation is a difficult book to wrap your mind around. We are beginning the longest section of this book, chapters 6-19, all of which deal with the tribulation period. While there are a lot of questions regarding the tribulation we are not able to answer, there are some truths we can know for sure:

A. It’s duration - 7 years.

B. It’s chronology - While we don’t have exact dates, we know it won’t happen until after the rapture, when the first seal is broken and the “man of sin” is revealed.

C. It’s judgments - there are three chronological judgments:

i. The Seals - dealing with the first 1/4

ii. The Trumpets - dealing with the second 1/4

iii. The Vials - closing out the final 3 1/2 years

D. It’s Purpose - God is dealing directly with the nation of Israel for the first time in 2000 years.

Our message today comes from chapter 6 and deals with the seal judgments. Read with me beginning in verse 1...

Look very closely at the beginning of verse 1, John says, “I heard as it were the voice of thunder...” My friends a thunderclap in the distance is an indication that there is a storm coming.

The first four seals deal with the appearance of the infamous Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.

What will it be like when these begin to ride?

The the horsemen of Revelation 6 begin to ride they will bring with them:

A False Sense of Peace

Revelation 6:1–2 KJV 1900

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. 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

My friends the one riding on the white horse is none other than the “Man of sin, the son of perdition, the willful king, the little horn, known simply as the antichrist.”

Some have declared that this is actually Jesus, the claim this becasue in Revelation 19 Jesus is seen on a white horse. This cannot be, however, becasue it is a bit out of order. This suggestion has Jesus coming back to conquer at the beginning of the tribulation, but the Bible teaches He will not return to conquer until the end.

No, the one in Rev. 6 is the Satan-inspired political leader, known as the antichrist.

We do not know who he is, no one does, and if they say they do, they’re a liar and you tell them I said so.

He rides on the scene in the aftermath of the rapture, remember last week we mentioned the world-wide confusion of what will happen in the days following the rapture? This man comes on the scene and as a military-political leaders, brings in some form of peace, but its a false peace, and it is a temporary peace.

The white horse represents a victorious general, what victory? He has done something no other leader in all of our history has been able to do: He will bring peace to the Middle East. Listen to what Daniel says: Daniel 9:27

Daniel 9:27 KJV 1900

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This man will come on the scene and will take the position of the defender of Israel. He will sign a peace treaty with them and put his entire military might behind the treaty, but will do so through diplomacy - we see this because he is carrying a bow, a weapon of war, but with no arrows.

There is a two-fold truth to his weapon choice - a bow is a long range weapon, and it speaks of, not only his long range plans, but also of his long reach. He will gain political power over the entire world. They will give him a crown - not a diadem -that belongs to God, but a victor’s crown. They will fall all over him. But it will not last.

As Christ breaks the second seal, the second horseman rides, and with him comes...

Global War

Revelation 6:3–4 KJV 1900

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

Friends, there will never be real peace on earth until the prince of peace sits on His throne.

This man coming in the name of Satan will give the appearance of peace, but it will not be genuine. Someone has said that there have been more wars since the year 1900 than all the wars of history combined. Listen to me, none of this will begin to compare with what is going to happen when the second seal is broken.

Notice...

The color of the horse

Red = color of blood.

This will be a bloody time like nothing we’ve seen before.

Peace will be taken from the earth

The Antichrist will come on the scene and bring in a false peace, a false sense of security

It may be that while he is pretending to be Israel’s protector, that they will be safe under his “care”, while the rest of the world is tearing itself apart.

I would imagine that this would further emphasize in their minds that this man defending them is truly the Messiah

We know that that in just 3 1/2 years they will change their mind, but put yourself in their current position - they have never truly experienced peace so any period of peace will be welcomed by them.

The world-wide violence associated with this rider

“that they should kill one another” speaks of not simply national military action, but violence in the street

The entire world is going to be a war zone

Friends, is this so hard to believe?

Our neighborhoods are war zones

Our nation is as much divided today as it was in the 1850’s, the days leading up to the Civil War.

The only difference is that this will be on a global scale.

The weapon he wields

This is not the sword of solider, it is the sword of a murder

The word could be translated as dagger

Something that can be concealed

Something that would be used to murder someone.

Suffice it to say, this will be an awful time to be alive on the earth!

As bad as things are today, right now, they are NOTHING compared to what is about to come.

When Christ breaks the third seal and the third horseman begins to ride, his arrival will bring with it...

Famine and Inflation

Revelation 6:5–6 KJV 1900

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

The color black represents famine.

Here is a verifiable historical fact: famine always follows war.

In times of war while the men are away fighting, there is no one left to work the fields. Crops go ungathered, left to rot on the vine. In war torn countries crops are devastated and fields are ruined.

In addition to famine we notice the scales. Following war often comes inflation. During the Civil War, a pound of bacon in the South would cost around $20. That is nothing compared to this!

A penny was the average daily wage of a working man. A measure of wheat was considered a daily ration. Barely was the cheap stuff, it went a lot further, but it was considered animal food. In John’s day, in Jesus’ day, a penny would buy around 8 measures of wheat, not in the tribulation! A penny will buy one measure of food. In other words, a man will work an entire day just to feed himself, not his family, himself. Imagine the hungry kids, elderly. What an awful day this will be.

There will be a scarcity of food which means food will be more valuable than your money. We’re all paying more now for gas and groceries than ever before, but as high as inflation is today, in the tribulation, some have calculated inflation to be 800%!

But don’t worry, it won’t affect the wealthy elite class. This rider is told not to hurt the oil or the wine, that is the “staples” of the wealthy class. Staples at our house are PB and J, and pinto beans!

Just like today, in times of famine, in times of inflation, the elite class will be fine, while the poor and working class will be the ones to suffer. What a time of suffering this will be.

Let me tell you, when the Antichrist sets up his world-wide government and is sitting on the throne in Israel, these starving people will be lined up for miles to receive his mark! The promise of food, a daily ration, that will be more than they can deny!

But we’re not done yet! Jesus next breaks the fourth seal and we see the fourth rider come riding, bringing with him...

Death and Destruction

Revelation 6:7–8 KJV 1900

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

This rider is pictured on a “pale horse”. The word pale means green, or sickly. Signifying that death will follow in the wake of this horseman.

Not only do we see the rider on the horse, but notice he has a companion, “hell”. Did you know the word and the place we refer to as hell is actually not the final destination of the damned. The Greek word is “hades” and it means the realm of the dead. When a lost person dies and their spirit and soul go to hades (hell), they are merely entering a temporary holding cell.

Here we see this rider coming forth and having the power to kill 1/4 of the world’s population, a population already decreased due to the rapture. But during the tribulation it will be decimated even further by this rider. Sadly, as we see from his companion, all those killed, their souls will be claimed by hell.

1/4 of the population killed. There are 7.8 Billion people on the earth right now, give or take. One fourth of that number would be roughly 2 billion people dead.

How will they die? The Bible describes four ways:

War - the sword is different here, it is a solider’s weapon, but we cannot rule out murder and civil uprisings. Especially as people begin to fight over necessities.

Hunger - resulting, no doubt from the famine and the inflation, not able to buy necessary medicine.

Death - this is not a redundant phrase here. Most scholars agree the word death here refers to pestilence, disease. In light of the wars and famine, rats will no doubt play a big role in this.

Did you know rats are known to carry around 35 different diseases!

Historians agree that fleas from rats were responsible for the death of 1/3 the population of Europe during the bubonic plague from 1347-1351!

Beasts of the earth - scarcity of food will cause the natural fear animals have for humans to break down as they begin looking for new food sources to survive

I can’t speak for you, but this is not a world I want to live in!

Guess what, you don’t have to live in it either!

Conclusion:

False peace, global war, famine and inflation, and death and destruction…what a terrible time the tribulation period will be!

My friend, as awful as this world may seem today, it is NOTHING compared to what is coming in the end!

There is only one way to avoid this terrible time, and that is by knowing Jesus as your Savior!

You say, “I have plenty of time. I’ll wait until after the rapture, if that happens, I’ll repent and be saved then.” No you won’t. When that happens, you won’t be able to be saved. Your only hope is to trust Jesus now!

Let’s bow our heads together. How many of you here today can say with zero doubt that you are saved and on your way to heaven?

If you couldn’t raise your hand this morning, then you need to ask yourself why? You say, “How can I be saved?” Simply by admitting you are a sinner, believing that Jesus died for you,and calling on Him to save you....