The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Black and Pale Horses

Setting

The third horse:

black horse brings a need for rationing

The second horse had brought war, and what does war often bring? famine and supply chain issues

Russia/Ukraine conflict: Gas prices shot up; fertilizer went up, driving food prices up.

Communist governments in Russia and China have caused famines since the end of WWII

During the end times the average worldwide income cannot properly meet the needs of the family

these real world examples shows us how possible it is for this predicament to happen rapidly

“oil and wine”

Basic cooking and basic medical supplies

This stuff will be very valuable and you will have to be very wise with the use of it

The fourth horse:

Pale horse: Death

Hades followed (aka hell, the realm of the dead)

earth will not be pleasant

25% of earths population will die in this time period (shorter than 3 1/2 year period)

Earth currently sits at 8 billion, 2 billion would die if the fourth seal occured now.

Number wise that would be like Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean being all wiped out at once

or

USA, Canada, and Europe being wiped out twice

Death will come by famine, disease, and wild beast

Wild beast could be something like the bubonic plague

Middle ages black death plague:

Over 5 years killed more than 20 million people in Europe, almost one-third of the continent’s population

Wild beast could be something like COVID-19

COVID-19 is believed to have originated from bats

Will all this be enough to turn people to God? Will people plea for God?

Physical Famine Points to Spiritual Famine

What was the ultimate factor that brought this famine on?

(Famine is when a lack of food occurs rather from war [Spiritual point: spiritual war clouds decision making, causing reckless decisions to be made that have a domino affect on surrounding circumstances] or weather events [Spiritual point: God holds back on pouring out blessings; God pours out storms of wrath])

Spiritual depravity / spiritual famine

The world becomes steadily more wicked as the end times approach

As spiritual grace is removed and wrath is applied, God’s common grace is removed

The physical world can give us a glimpse into what is going on in the spiritual world.

Violence points to spiritual hate

Scarcity can point to a lack of care

Fighting can point to unbridled pride

The way someone carries themselves and responds to situations reveals a lot about them

What does your character reveal about your spiritual state?

What spiritual famines are you aware of in the world?

How Do We Minister to Those in Famine?

Through this talk of famine, the question arises how do I help others in famine?

We don’t need to just recognize issues, but also be willing to act

James 4:17 ESV

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Our human side makes our knee-jerk response be well if it is famine I just need to watch out for myself and then when I am ok I can check on others, but that is not what scripture calls us to

In the trials of life great peace is found in seeking out others well being more than your own

Philippians 2:3 ESV

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

1 Corinthians 10:24 ESV

Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

The concept of denying self (Luke 9:23) goes so much deeper than what we tend to think at times

How do we deny self?

Physically

Mentally

Spiritually

Ways to help:

Spiritual:

Offer scriptures of hope

Don’t always know the whys, but we can always cling to the promises

Share testimony

Pray for and with

Physical:

Is there a physical need you can meet?

meeting needs gives us a doorway to conversation

Be present

Be there in tough times

give people your attention

give people your ear

Is there a financial need you can meet?

What spiritual famine is going on in your school, and how can you minister in that situation?

Spiritually?

Physically?

The Source of Death and Hade’s Authority

This fourth horse is death, and their one phrase mentioned with this horse I want to focus on “they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill”

Last week we hit on God permits evil to occur so this can be a similar conversation but is a different conversation

Death answers to God

2 Kings 19:35 ESV

And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

Exodus 12:23 ESV

For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.

Death was given perimeters on who could be killed and who could not be killed

Revelation 9:6 ESV

And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

In the end times things will be so bad and people will want to die, but God will withhold death from them

All this on death what perspective does this give you on death?

Death does not have control over us, God does

Death should not be feared, only a healthy fear of God should be present

Why do Christians fear death?

I think we have more of fear of the unknown and fear from doubt

This fear should not control us, we cannot help but to feel fear to an extent but we can control how much it affects us

Reading my Granny’s journal it showed how peace doesn’t come sometimes until you walk into a storm

Beginning she was fearful, but then peace settled in

With God granting Hades authority, what does that tell you about hell?

Hell is not the devil’s domain to do with what he pleases, hell is just as much a place of punishment and torture for the devil as it is for the rest of us

Hell is where the only part of God’s character that is present is His wrath

The wrath of God is poured out on the lost person and the demons in Hell.