The Four Horses of the Apocalypse

THE FOUR HORSES OF THE APOCALYPSE Spring Valley Mennonite; January 27, 2019; Revelation 6:1-8; Daniel 7:7-8, 19-27; 9:24-27 Everyone is curious about the future. But the future remains clouded in mystery for most people unless they have a fundamental grasp of God’s Plan for the Ages as revealed in the Bible. God does have a plan, and He is working His plan; nothing can stand in its way! The Book of Revelation contains the most complete picture of what the future holds, and although some of the details can be debated, the broad strokes are clear. Let me give you some of those “broad strokes” of what will transpire in the future: I. AN OVERVIEW OF FUTURE EVENTS The Bible reveals that we presently are in a period that has been called the “Church Age”. It began at Pentecost with the birth of the universal church and will end at the Rapture. The seven churches in Revelation 2-3 represent successive periods of this age. Before the events we studied in chapters 4 and 5, the scene in heaven of God on His Holy Throne, and the taking of the Scroll of Inheritance by the Lamb of God, the rapture will have already occurred. The Lord Jesus has returned for His Bride, and we are in heaven, represented by the 24 Elders around the Throne. The future Kingdom of the Lord Jesus, described in the Scroll of Chapter 5, awaits the removal or breaking of the seven seals. The judgments of the seven seals constitute the what is variously called the Tribulation Period, Daniel’s Seventh Week, Jacob’s Trouble, or the Great and terrible Day of the Lord. The Tribulation Period ends with the Lord Jesus returning to earth; this is the Second Coming of the Lord (so don’t confuse the Rapture with the Second Coming). His Second Coming will bring an end to the Battle of Armageddon and will involve the consigning of the Antichrist and False Prophet to the Lake of Fire. At this time Satan will be bound for 1000 years. This 1000- year period is called the Millennium, and the Lord Jesus will rule all the nations from the Throne of David in Jerusalem. During the Millennium, the earth will be re-populated by those believers, Jew and Gentile, who have survived the persecution, war, and natural disasters of the Tribulation Period. The earth will enjoy great fertility and world-wide peace, enforced by the Lord Jesus’ physical reign, the “Rod of Iron” spoken of in Psalm 2. As those who go into the Millennium still have their mortal bodies, they will eventually die, although life-spans will be much longer. Their children will have to make the individual choice to be followers of Jesus; inexplicably, as the millennium progresses, many will remain unbelievers. All the Old Testament promises to Israel will be literally fulfilled during this 1000- years. The Church, the Bride of Christ will rule with the Lord Jesus during this time. The Millennium will conclude as Satan is unchained and he will lead a final battle of rebellious humans, a battle called Gog and Magog, against the Lord Jesus and the righteous. As difficult as it is to understand, even with the physical presence of the Lord Jesus ruling from Jerusalem, many on earth will not accept His salvation. This will end with the defeat of Satan’s army, and Satan’s eternal judgment in the Lake of Fire. All the wicked dead of all time will then be bodily raised to face final judgment at the Great White Throne, and thereafter consigned to the Lake of Fire for eternal punishment. A new heavens and new earth will then come into being and Christ will reign in His eternal Kingdom forever. It will be a kingdom of righteousness with no sin or no evil. So, we will live in peace and blessing and close fellowship with God forever. This is God’s eternal plan for the ages, made possible by Jesus’ redemption of mankind and the world by His death on the cross. This future is represented by the scroll, the deed of Christ’s Inheritance, which come to pass after the seven seals are broken. The seven seals are God’s judgment on evil and a sinful world. With that overview of what is to come, we begin to examine the events and personalities of the Tribulation Period. To help our understanding, consider the question: “What is the purpose of this seven-year period?” II. THE PURPOSES OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD There are two great purposes of this period; the first is to prepare Israel for her Messiah. At the end of this great time of tribulation, Israel will be regathered in belief. In this prophesy of Jeremiah, this is made clear, for it is “the time of Jacob’s Trouble”: Jeremiah 30:7, “Alas! For that day is great, there is none like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved from it. Ezekiel records in 20:33-34: “As I live declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out…v. 37 continues, noting that not every Jew will believe: And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant, and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me ; and I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus, you will know that I am the Lord.” In Daniel 12:1 we read, “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued.” The Tribulation Period is largely a time when God deals with His chosen people prior to their entrance into their promised Kingdom. So, the first purpose of the Tribulation is to bring about the salvation of a multitude of Jews, thus fulfilling all the eternal, unconditional covenants God has made with the Hebrew nation. These believing Jews will populate the Millennial Kingdom, along with a multitude of other non-Jews. He will accomplish this revival through the efforts of 144,000 Jewish evangelists, spoken of in Revelation 7. The second great purpose of the Tribulation Period is to pour out judgment on a wicked unbelieving world in rebellion to Him. Revelation 3:10: “…I will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.” Does studying about the wrath of God make you feel uncomfortable? The earth and its inhabitants will experience the full impact of His wrath in the Tribulation. The evangelistic message we share emphasizes the love of a Heavenly Father who so loved the world that He sent Jesus to pay our penalty for sin. In practice, most Mennonite churches do not emphasize the wrath of God toward sin. But the Word of God is not silent about how God feels about sin. Romans 1:18: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Rom 5:9: “…having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Ephesians 2:3 tells us that we were, “by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” We need to be clear in our Gospel message that unless we accept the forgiveness purchased by the blood of Jesus, we will eternally experience the wrath of God through eternal punishment in hell. Before a person can be saved, he must realize he is lost. Without Christ, we are lost and without hope. Since Jesus is going to establish His earthly Millennial kingdom, all those who reject His gracious offer of salvation will be eliminated. This will happen through the effects of the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments, as well as the final battle of Armageddon. God’s wrath will be tempered during these seven years by the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. Grace and Mercy will be available, though at a high personal cost, to those who will believe. God is certainly a gracious God of love, but He also is holy and righteous and those who reject His offer of salvation will suffer the dire consequence. Those consequences begin to exert themselves as the seals on the scroll are broken. III. THE FIRST SEAL: A CONQUEROR ON A WHITE HORSE Read 6:1-8. One way Revelation is confusing is our tendency to read the events as happening in sequence, as in the first event happens, followed by the second, then the third and so forth. We expect the chapters to present consecutive events. This pattern is not strictly followed, but each chapter introduces events or personalities that continue or have great influence during the seven year period. This is especially true of the first four bowl judgments. Perhaps you have heard of the “Four Horses of the Apocalypse”. This refers to the first four seal judgments: the colors of the horses are significant: white, red, black, and “pale, ashen, or sort of a sickly green color”. These horses and riders represent conditions which will come to pass during the next seven years. These conditions are: white—representing world conquest, led by its rider. More in a moment on this rider; the second horse is Red—representing war; black—famine; and ashen—death. These conditions will be building, coming to a climax in the final 3 ½ years. The color of the first horse, white, is significant. Conquering generals in the Roman Empire rode into Rome on a white horse. This horse and rider represent a conquering ruler who will come to dominate the whole world. This is the first mention in Revelation of the Antichrist. He rides a white horse, in imitation of Jesus Who comes back to earth triumphantly, described in Revelation 19:11: “And I saw heaven opened; and behold a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.” The reason the Antichrist sits on a white horse is that he is Satan’s counterfeit christ! He comes promising peace and prosperity to a terribly confused world. Why would the world be in so much turmoil? I personally believe it is the result of the Rapture, when all the believers will suddenly disappear. Author Dave Hunt describes the panic that will result: “To be confronted with an event that one knows is absolutely impossible, yet at the same time to see evidence that it has actually happened in violation of all known laws, would drive most persons insane. When it is not merely a personal event in one’s private life, however, but worldwide—the disappearance of perhaps hundreds of millions of people from every part of the globe—then there exist all the ingredients for an epidemic of mass hysteria as no one can imagine.” He continues about the effect in the United States: “In the United States…the consequences of the rapture would be devastating, putting this country into a state of total chaos and collapse.” He describes the economic chaos, as “a second wave of fear takes over. People by the millions begin to use credit cards and identification belonging to those who have vanished, as an epidemic of hoarding sweeps across America created by fear of the unknown. It is impossible to conceive the full consequences in a modern society where everything has depended upon credit and identification, and of suddenly not knowing who is missing and who is still here. Eventually, out of the chaos, a completely new society, new structures, new standards, a new world order will painfully emerge, as the inconceivable consequences of the rapture are faced up to by a stunned world.” (Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust by Dave Hunt; Harvest House Publishers; Eugene OR; 1983; page 189-190) Have you ever thought about the simple issue of “who will get your stuff” if you would simply disappear? Here sits my house, my farm, my machinery, all my possessions, access to all my financial assets, my automobiles—all just sitting there, open for the taking! Which of my unsaved neighbors will figure it out first? Don’t think that there won’t be open conflict in neighborhoods as people fight over our belongings! Multiply this chaos, confusion and conflict nation and world-wide. Then, into the chaos steps a strong, winsome personality who will have a plan to sort it all out: a world leader we know as the antichrist. He won’t take over all at once but will take his time to consolidate his power. The Prophet Daniel tells of a 10- nation confederacy in Daniel 7. (Turn there with me) Daniel is presented with a vision of four terrifying beasts, which represent four world empires: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Look at this fourth beast, described in verse 7 (read vv. 7-8). Note the ten horns on this beast. Now look at verse 19 and following: (19-27). The ten horns are ten members of a world-ruling political body; The antichrist is the larger horn which eliminates three of the 10, leaving seven members, led by antichrist. As the leader, antichrist has the authority to make a covenant of peace with Israel, a fact given to Daniel in chapter 9 within the prophesy of the 70 weeks. By the way, Israel has to exist as a nation for a covenant to be made; this is the extreme significance of the 1948 United Nations mandate re-establishing Israel as a nation with a homeland. Turn to Daniel 9, verse 24 (read 24-27). The weeks are weeks of years. It would be 483 years between the command of Artaxerxes in 444 B.C to rebuild the Temple to the coming of Jesus the Messiah. Taking into account the Jewish calendar, which is lunar, and including leap years, the date of Jesus’ entering the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, being proclaimed as Messiah by His follower, is exactly 483 years! There is a gap between the 69th week, which ended with Jesus’ death and the beginning of the 70th week, which is the Tribulation Period, the 2000-plus year-gap in which we now live. The Rapture ends the church age and signals the soon to come beginning of the Great and Mighty Day of the Lord. There will be most likely a time of transition between the rapture and the beginning of the Seven Year countdown, during which antichrist comes to power. This countdown begins with the covenant being made with the many (Israel)—a covenant which will be broken at the 3 ½ year mark, thus beginning the Great Tribulation. Jesus spoke of the time following the breaking of the covenant with these words in Matthew 24:21: “…for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.” Back to the description of the first horse and rider: The bow held by the rider is significant, but it does not mention any arrows. It is probable that this means that he takes power without war. A crown—not a diadem, but a crown that comes from winning—a “stephanos”-- is given to him as he conquers and takes power. The seven-year countdown begins with a covenant of peace being made with Israel by the antichrist. His authority to do so hints of a time of preparation between the Rapture and beginning of the Tribulation Period. IV. THE NEXT THREE HORSES A few details become clearer as we examine the next three horses. The second red horse represents war which “takes peace from the world, as men slay one another.” In contrast to the bow with no arrows, a mighty sword was given to the rider.” The Tribulation is divided into two parts, each 3 ½ years long. The first half seems to be relatively peaceful, as antichrist consolidates his power by political maneuvering. The second half is designated as the “Great Tribulation”. The world-wide conditions brought about by the breaking of these next three seals, represented by the red, black and pale horses, will greatly accelerate during the last three and a half years. War comes first, followed by famine, both resulting in widespread death, death to an extent never before seen. One fourth of the population of the earth will die as a result of these judgments. The consequences of unbelief and rejection of Jesus by the nation of Israel resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. and the world-wide dispersion of the Jews. God is fulfilling the Promise to Abraham that in his seed all the world would be blessed. This is being accomplished through the creation of the Church at Pentecost and the growth of the Church over the last 2000 years. After the Rapture until Christ returns, the focus returns to Israel. As a nation, they will accept Jesus as their Messiah, although not all individual Jews will believe. All the earth and its population will undergo great judgment, although there will be many who believe. As believers, we will be in heaven, our eternal reward will be reality. These things are not fantasy; they will come to pass. We are nearer to these events than ever before. It will be dreadful for those left behind by the Rapture. This should be motivation to reach our neighbors and friends with the Good News of the Gospel.