The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Red Horse

Setting

So in these two verses what type of setting are we looking at?

The antichrist has brought worldwide peace, this was a temporary fake peace that quickly went away

War was going on and this guy walks in and straightens everything out, but before things have too long to settle war unlike anything ever seen breaks out and people killing one another like crazy.

Seal two has to happen withing a a 3 1/2 time period of the first seal.

The first five seals happen during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation

Permitted Violence

“Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth”

Permitted means to be given. the rider did not do this on his own authority. The rider was given the authority to take peace from the earth

How would this conversation look? Bible gives us insight to a similar conversation

Job 1:9–12 ESV

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Why was this allowed? God’s glory

What thoughts and questions arise at the fact God allows evil to happen?

Chaos does not surprise God, God was not surprised by Hamas’ attack on Israel

God has very intricate knowledge of chaos:

Chaos has a fence put in place by God, but it can not raise chaos by any amount past that limit

Know chaos does not last forever

God knows the flight path of chaos within that fence, and God knows the faces in that fence

Trust God’s knowledge in where to stand within that fence, where we stand in that fence can be either of great advantage or of great disadvantage

Chaos has further restraints put on it within the fence

Know chaos cannot endlessly grow

Questions on God permitting evil arise:

Why did God put the tree of knowledge of good and bad in the Garden (Genesis 2:17)?

Biting of the fruit imparted divine knowledge

In the moment they bit of the fruit they choose to reject God as the source of divine knowledge and looked to the creation rather than the creator

The reason of the tree was to introduce choice, to make our obedience of love and obedience not robotic

Why do you think God wants it to be choice?

We are made in his image (Genesis 1:27)

We desire to be wanted

Given love is better than obligated love

Why does God allow Hamas to exist?

We may get to a place where we alright with entering the world but then we still may be faced with the question of why does God allow such great evil to persist.

Revelation 22:12 ESV

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

Not wiping them off the earth is a form of wrath in itself. Each Jew they kidnap stokes the fires of hell, each day they torture Jews they stoke the fires of hell

The depth of evil is pain that shows the depth of the spiritual brokenness in this world

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 ESV

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

The chaos takes root in the spiritual world on a spiritual world.

Groups like Hamas are a physical affect of this brokenness, it shows how deep our world is scarred spiritually

they should serve as a warning sign of what the world can result to if we don’t stand for what is spiritually right

What nations would be left if God starting wiping out for great atrocities?

This year the United States is on track for 600,000 plus abortions

Hamas has killed 1,500 Israeli’s

Why did God cast the devil down?

Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

We cannot be fully sure why. We can only timidly speculate.

I think the answer is similar to the tree existing

How was the devil able to sin in heaven?

God gave the angels a choice like us, but they are not offered salvation I believe due to the fact of the exposure they had to God before they decided to rebel against him.

Heart of Slaying

The rider was permitted to take peace so people could slay one another

Matthew 24:5–12 ESV

For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

the heart of murder is hate, the absence of peace, the devil is a pro of cultivating hate.

During the tribulation the world will be as far as it has ever been from God since the flood, so hate will have reached an epitome

The depth of hate grows as the distance from God grows.

ultimate chaos is the taking of life, thus the further we get from God the more violent things will get. Murder is the epitome of rejecting God

Closing Statements

A world full of idols creates pseudo-peace that distracts our attention from the shadows where chaos is conspiring to wreck our world to the full extent of its power.

A worldview full of Christ brings peace that equips us to battle the chaos that is conspiring to wreck this world. Chaos will not stand victorious against the power of Christ