Between Two Comings

Lead Vocalist (Kelly?)

Welcome & Announcements (Hopson)

Announcements:

1) Video at 10:29 AM

2) Tasha share

Good morning family!

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3) Discover Class

4) Volunteers opportunity—One of our core values in our worship services at PBC is that this would not be some sort of consumer experience where you enjoy a religious service put together by a host of professionals. We want the worship gathering to be something that you’re contributing to and not just consuming. To make that happen, we need ladies to read our call to worship and then pray a prayer of praise to open our service and we need men to lead us in prayers of confession. If you’re willing to sign up you can talk to me after the service or scan the QR code on the slide behind me. And if you’ve never done anything like this before, don’t worry. We will help you if you need it.

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Psalm 46:1-7)

Prayer of Praise (Addi Figgers)

This Is Amazing Grace

Christus Victor (Amen)

Prayer of Confession (Jerry Brewton), Anxiety

Assurance of Pardon (Romans 8:37-39)

Christ The Sure And Steady Anchor

Come to Jesus (Rest in Him)

Scripture Reading (Revelation 6:1-8)—page 1222 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Hopson)

Prayer for PBC—Courage to witness

Prayer for kingdom partner—Carrollton Baptist (Lee Hess)

Prayer for US—For U.S. Foreign Policy Leaders and Ambassadors

Prayer for the world—Kazakhstan

Leader—_________

Social issue(s)—_________

Spiritual issue(s)—_________

Local churches—_________

Laborers—_________

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

A few weeks ago I went through my pharmacy’s drive-thru window to pick up some medication. After handing me my medication, the pharmacy tech asked me if I would like a special treat for my little one in the back seat of our van.

Now it’s not uncommon when I take my kids to the bank for the teller to offer lollipops or candy for each of my children.

And with me in the pharmacy drive-thru that day were my wife Holly, and our four youngest children. That’s it. No other living thing was in the vehicle.

So when the pharmacy tech asked me if I’d like a special treat for my little one, I answered, “Sure, that would be great! I actually have four with me today.”

She replied, “Well I always like to ask before I offer anything, just to be sure.”

And then she reached underneath the counter and what she did next still confuses me to this day.

She grabbed a box of Milk-Bone dog treats, counted out four, and handed them to me.

I replied, “Thanks!” with all the politeness I could muster, and drove away before she saw me burst out laughing.

I still have no idea why this woman thought my kids would want dog treats.

The only explanation I can come up with is that she completely misunderstood what was going on in that van.

She heard noise… and assumed dogs.

She saw a situation… and misdiagnosed it.

And I think that’s what many people do with the book of Revelation.

They come to Revelation with certain assumptions already in place. They see horses, war, famine, death, and global upheaval, and immediately assume John must be describing a short period of future tribulation right before the return of Christ.

But what if that assumption misunderstands the scene entirely?

What if Revelation 6 is not mainly describing a brief future moment, but the entire period between Christ’s first and second coming?

As Jesus opens the first four seals in Revelation 6, what unfolds is not a strange world unlike our own. It is the world we already live in. The gospel advancing. Violence spreading. Famine and economic hardship. Disease and death. This is life in the present age while the risen Christ reigns from heaven and moves history toward its appointed end.

Life between the first and second coming of Jesus is marked by both great good and great evil.

That’s the Big Idea I hope to show you with God’s help this morning.

Now it’s obvious that these first four seals are meant to go together.

Only these four are presented as horsemen—often called “the four horsemen of the apocalypse.”

But as we examine these horsemen, I want to show you Four Characteristics of life in every generation, until Jesus Returns.

In verses 1-2, we see how The Gospel Will Advance,

In verses 3-4, we see how Evil Will Abound,

In verses 5-6, we see how Disasters Will Afflict,

And finally, in verses 7-8, we see how Death Will Annihilate.

If my interpretation is correct—that these four horsemen represent characteristics of life between the first and second coming of Jesus—the book of Revelation is relevant for you.

Whether Christ returns in 6 years or 6000, the Word of God has something to say to you today.

Because this passage teaches us what to expect in our world until Jesus returns.

And the very first thing that we ought to expect is that…

1) The Gospel Will Advance

That might seem to be strange heading given what we think we know about the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Most people imagine the four horsemen negatively, as harbingers of destruction.

Even Metallica seems to get this...

The horsemen are drawing nearer

On leather steeds they ride

They've come to take your life

On through the dead of night

With the four horsemen ride

Or choose your fate and die [1]

But what if, like the pharmacy tech giving my children dog biscuits, we’ve got it all wrong? What if the first horseman isn’t negative at all? What if it’s describing something that should comfort and encourage the Christian?

Let’s look at the text…

Revelation 6:1–2—Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

Some believe this first horseman symbolizes the Antichrist. Others believe it’s a general description of the lust for power and conquest that leads to war and destruction.

I hold the minority position, that this first horseman is symbolic of Jesus Christ Himself.

I know this might seem a strange view to some of you, so let me give you five reasons:

First, notice the context.

Remember in chapter 5, we were wondering if anyone was worthy to open the scroll.

Look at the answer John was given in...

Revelation 5:5—And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that He can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Doesn’t it make sense that the One who conquered in chapter 5 is the same one conquering in chapter 6?

Second, notice how the first horseman is unique.

The second horseman causes people to slay one another.

The third horseman causes people to suffer hunger.

The fourth horseman causes widespread death.

It is undeniable that these horsemen bring suffering and death. But does the first horseman?

The text says He comes conquering. But conquest is only a bad thing if the conqueror is bad.

Could it be that the conquest brought about by the first horse is Christ conquering the hearts of sinners so that they repent and believe the gospel?

Third, I believe this first horseman is Christ because of the word “conquer” itself.

It’s the word nike.(or Nike!).

This word is used 25 times in John’s writings (19 times in Revelation). In all but 2 instances it is referring to either Jesus or believers. [2]

Consider Jesus’ final words to the church at Laodicea…

Revelation 3:21—The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne.

The truth is, almost every time John uses this word he’s talking about the conquering King Jesus and His conquering people. It stands to reason he is doing the same thing here.

A fourth reason to believe this first horseman represents Christ is its description.

He’s riding on a white horse and He’s wearing a crown.

There is only one other mention of a rider on a white horse in the entire book of Revelation.

Revelation 19:11–13—Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but Himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God.

This is unmistakably a reference to Jesus Christ!

Now some people push back here because there are a few differences between the first horseman and Jesus in Revelation 19. Here the rider carries a bow. There He has a sword coming out of His mouth. Here the rider has a single crown. There He is wearing many crowns.

But in a book littered with symbolism, we should not expect Jesus to look the same every time. Sometimes He looks like a son of man. Other times like a slain lamb.

A final reason to believe this first horseman represents Christ is by remembering our biblical theology.

The New Testament is clear that the gospel will continue to advance until Jesus returns.

Jesus puts it this way in…

Matthew 24:14—“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Or as Jesus told Peter, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” [3]

No matter how dark the world looks, Jesus and His gospel are still conquering.

Joel Beeke puts it this way: “Let us be comforted by knowing that the greatest force—the leading power in this world—is Christ and His gospel. This horse and its rider first advanced into Jerusalem, then into Judea and Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. This horse and its rider have advanced throughout history through the preaching of the apostles, the early church fathers, the Reformers, the Puritans, and missionaries in China, Africa, and around the world. Nothing can prevent the white horse and its rider from advancing throughout the world.” [4]

Life between the first and second coming of Jesus is marked by great good.

The gospel will be preached. The church will not be defeated. Lives will be transformed. Christ will conquer.

And yet, we shouldn’t expect things to get better and better culminating in some golden age before Jesus returns.

Because life between the first and second coming of Jesus is marked by both great good and great evil.

So consider with me the second characteristic of life in every generation until Jesus returns…

2) Evil Will Abound

The remaining three horseman will be a bit more straightforward.

Look at the text…

Revelation 6:3–4—When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

The red horse symbolizes the evils of war.

In my lifetime, many American Christians have looked at every military conflict as evidence that the end is near.

But the truth is, wherever you turn in history, you can hear the hoofbeats of the red horse.

Ancient persecution under Rome. The brutalities that led to the crusades. Viking invasions. Mongol conquests. The Hundred Years’ War. The Thirty Years’ War. Napoleon marching across Europe. The trenches in World War I. Death camps in World War II. Vietnam. Rwanda. Sudan. Gaza. Ukraine. Iran. Century after century, nation after nation, the red horse rides on.

In the two thousand years since Christ’s earthly ministry, there has never been a generation without war.

So please, don’t look at the news in Iran as evidence of the end. It’s evidence that you’re living between the two comings, nothing more.

Jesus explicitly commands us not to look at war as a sign of the end in…

Matthew 24:6—“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.”

I titled this section “Evil will abound” because war is perhaps the greatest evidence of evil in our world today.

I am not saying it’s always evil to fight in a war.

Christians have historically believed that there are just wars, and it is a righteous and noble thing to fight in a just war.

But the fact that war exists—that entire groups of people rally together to kill one another—is evidence that evil is abounding.

So if the evils of war are galloping through every generation like a red horse, we ought not to be surprised that lesser evil also abounds.

We shouldn’t be surprised when influencers prey upon the insecurities of our young people, when social media companies prey upon the anxieties of young girls, or when pornographers and bookies prey upon the weaknesses of young men. We shouldn’t be shocked when abortion, promiscuity, blasphemy, and suicide are celebrated.

We should lament all these things. We should work and pray against them when we can. But we should not buy the lie that the sky is falling just because evil abounds. This is what life looks like between the first and second coming of Jesus.

It is marked by both great good and great evil.

Yes, the gospel will advance.

But at the same time, evil will abound.

And that’s not all. The third horseman reminds us that…

3) Disasters Will Afflict

Revelation 6:5–6—When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

Now the language here isn’t particularly helpful for us because we don’t typically buy quarts of wheat or barley. Also, I doubt any of you ladies have a denarius in your purse.

The amount of wheat or barley here would’ve been enough food for one soldier for one day. And since a denarius was considered an average day’s wage, we’re talking about a situation where you would spend your entire day’s wages just for one item that you needed to survive. [5]

I know many of you have felt the strain of rising gas prices in recent years. But what if a gallon of gas wasn’t $5 but $100? Imagine if a loaf of bread or a dozen eggs cost your entire day’s paycheck. Imagine working all day long only to earn barely enough money to feed yourself, with nothing left over for rent, clothing, transportation, or your family.

That is the kind of economic devastation the black horse represents.

What’s especially interesting here is that we’re not given a reason why these prices have increased.

It could be inflation caused by war, much like we’re seeing in our world today.

But more often, this kind of skyrocketing inflation would’ve been caused by some level of food shortage related to a natural disaster.

History is filled with the hoofbeats of the black horse.

Relentless rains caused the Great Famine in Medieval Europe. Infected crops caused the Potato Famine in Ireland. Severe droughts caused famine across India and China in the nineteenth century. Dust storms devastated farms during the American Dust Bowl. And devastating earthquakes in Haiti disrupted food supplies and created severe shortages.

Throughout history, natural disasters, disease, and famine have repeatedly left food scarce and ordinary people struggling simply to survive.

Notice the difference between the second and third horsemen.

The second horseman—war—is an example of what theologians call moral evil.

It’s evil performed by human agents. Murder, rape, theft, deception, adultery—all of these are examples of moral evil.

But the second horseman—we could call it hunger or scarcity—is a good example of what theologians call natural evil.

These are sufferings not necessarily connected to a human agent, but rooted in the brokenness of creation itself.

These are things like famine, earthquakes, dust storms, hurricanes, diseases and plagues.

The point of this third horseman is that, until Jesus returns, we ought to expect both moral evil and natural evil. Don’t be surprised by war or inflation, by corruption or cancer, by promiscuity or pandemics.

We ought to expect both moral evil and natural evil until Jesus returns.

Again, Jesus told us to expect both in…

Matthew 24:7–8—“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.”

Do you see both horsemen here? Nation rising against nation is the red horse representing evil abounding. Famines and earthquakes are the black horse, representing natural disasters that afflict us until Jesus returns.

Now the fact that Revelation tells us to expect natural evil doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to avoid it when we can.

When Paul’s ship was crashed because of a great storm, he didn’t just let the ocean destroy him. He worked to rescue himself and all his shipmates.

It’s not wrong to fight cancer with medicine, or to insure your home in case of a flood or a hurricane, or to have an emergency fund to help if disaster strikes.

The point is that you shouldn’t let these things shock you. Hurricanes and heat waves shouldn’t shipwreck your faith.

The Word of God has told you that…

Life between the first and second coming of Jesus is marked by both great good and great evil.

The gospel will advance.

But at the same time, evil will abound and disasters will afflict.

And the end result of the second and third horseman is that…

4) Death Will Annihilate

Revelation 6:7–8—When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

The English word “pale” is not the best translation of the original language here. The word John actually uses suggests a sickly green-ish color.

And that certainly fits this final horseman, who alone is given a name: Death.

And isn’t it true that death often follows on the heels of moral evil and natural evil?

Much in our world is different from the way things were in John’s day.

We’ve harnessed atomic energy, sent man to the dark side of the moon, invented televisions and satellites and smartphones, and cured countless diseases that would’ve killed our great-great grandparents.

But we haven’t cured death. And in our world today, wars and natural disasters will kill you just as easily as they did in John’s day.

The poet James Shirley puts it like this...

There is no armour against Fate;

Death lays his icy hand on kings:

Sceptre and Crown

Must tumble down,

And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

Some men with swords may reap the field,

And plant fresh laurels where they kill:

But their strong nerves at last must yield;

They tame but one another still:

Early or late

They stoop to fate,

And must give up their murmuring breath

When they, pale captives, creep to death. [6]

As the author of Hebrews states…

Hebrews 9:27—… it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment

Are you ready for that day, friend? Death is coming for all of us.

Because life between the first and second coming of Jesus is marked by both great good and great evil.

The gospel will advance, and at the same time evil will abound, disasters will afflict, and death will annihilate.

So how are we supposed to respond to all this?

First, and most importantly, you need to get ready to die.

If evil, disaster, and death are galloping throughout every generation until Christ returns, you need to be ready to die.

And the only way to do that is to surrender to the One riding on the white horse.

Stop fighting against Him. He will win in the end.

Trust that He really lived a sinless life and really died a sinner’s death in your place.

Trust that He conquered death and the grave by rising on the third day.

Turn from your sins and surrender control of your life to Him.

Show the world that you’ve surrendered to King Jesus by obeying His command to be baptized.

Commit to a local church like PBC that preaches His Word.

If you want to talk to someone about what any of this means, I would love to talk with you after the service.

What about for those of us who have already surrendered our lives to King Jesus? How should we respond?

If you’re a Christian, you should faithfully and fervently proclaim the gospel as you have opportunity.

Whether or not you agree that Jesus is the rider on the white horse, we know we have a responsibility to tell people about Jesus.

But if you agree with my interpretation this morning, there’s one more reason to do this: Jesus is going to conquer.

Not everybody is going to respond positively to the message of the gospel, but some will. After all, you did.

As Charles Spurgeon once said, “If sinners be damned at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” [7]

If we really believe Christ is drawing sinners to Himself, shouldn’t we be about the work of faithfully proclaiming the gospel? Shouldn’t we be talking to our children and grandchildren and neighbors and co-workers and friends about Jesus?

Finally, if you’re a Christian, you should respond to this passage by repenting of “Chicken Little Syndrome.”

Chicken Little was convinced that the world was always about to end. Wherever he looked, it seemed like the sky was falling.

You and I live in a world that tempts us to think the same thing. If you’re always afraid you’ll post a lot more on social media, watch a lot more news, or stockpile a lot more stuff—making a lot of people a lot more money.

Even in Christian circles, there’s an approach to Revelation that tempts us towards Chicken Little Syndrome—always looking at our newspapers or social media feeds for the next bit of evidence that the sky really is falling.

But if this passage tells us anything, it’s that we have nothing to be afraid of.

It’s Jesus who is opening the seals, unleashing each of these four horsemen.

It’s Jesus who gives the red horseman his sword, the black horseman his scales, and the green horseman his authority.

And it’s Jesus who tells each of these horseman exactly how must destruction they can unleash.

The black horseman can cause severe scarcity, but he can’t cause absolute scarcity. He cannot harm the oil and the wine.

The green horseman can kill, but he can’t kill everybody.

These horses can only ride as far as Jesus permits.

Christian, the One opening these seals is not a cruel tyrant. He is the Lamb who was slain.

The hands that unleash history are the same hands that were pierced for your salvation.

The One who governs war, famine, disaster, and death is the same Savior who entered our suffering, bore our judgment, and conquered the grave.

And that is what we remember at this table.

Communion reminds us that before Christ comes again on a white horse in judgment, He first came as a slain Lamb in mercy.

The world between the two comings is filled with suffering. But this table reminds us that our sins are forgiven, our King reigns, and our future is secure.

The horsemen may ride for now, but we can rejoice because the Lamb reigns.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Keep the Feast

CELEBRATION OF COMMUNION

Doxology

Benediction (Jude 1b-2)

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.