The 4 Horsemen of the Apocaplypse

There are songs and paintings and a multitude of teachings about this subject.

One of the preachers I follow talks about “demystifying” The Revelation. I like the thought of that.

After all the book is called “Revelation” not “Confusion” For sure there are things in the book that are not easy to understand, but for the most part, we can understand the Revelation.

So as we come to Revelation 6, I believe the church has been raptured. New Testament believers who have died are resurrected in what the Bible calls the “first resurrection” and now Jesus begins to peel off the seals from a seven sealed scroll. Each seal is sequential. And with each seal God carries out his plan to judge the world, and to make all things new.

First Horse: A Preview of Antichrist

Revelation 6:1–2 HCSB

1 Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there was a white horse. The horseman on it had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a victor to conquer.

White Horse= King… cheap imitation of Jesus in chapter 19

Bow, but no arrows- Victory without a shot fired… how

IF you believe in the rapture it would stand to reason that somehow Antichrist becomes the great unifier after an untold number of Christians leave this world suddenly.

has a victor’s crown and goes out as a victor TO conquer.

As hings unfold we see

Second Horse: War

Revelation 6:3–4 HCSB

3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its horseman was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.

War breaks out. loss of peace… slaughter… world war ?

Third Horse: Famine

Revelation 6:5–6 HCSB

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman on it had a set of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius —but do not harm the olive oil and the wine.”

Famine where even the basic necessities are impossible to purchase because the cost is so high. The world has seen famine many times, but this is a world wide famine like the world has never seen. Jesus told us in Matthew 24.6-7

Matthew 24:6–7 HCSB

6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

There will always be these things. Don’t think thats the end. When the real deal hits, you will know it!

Fourth Horse: Death

Revelation 6:7–8 HCSB

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and there was a pale green horse. The horseman on it was named Death, and Hades was following after him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.

All this culminates in death. 25% of the population dies.

When something like COVID comes people become hypervigilant wondering if its the end. As bad as it has been, it has not touched anywhere close to 1 in 4 people.

Think for a moment. How many genuine, born again Christians do you think there are around the world right now? There are almost 8 billion people in the world. By the way, many people in upper levels of world leadership want to see the population controlled. It is the real reason why so many are for a “woman’s right to kill her baby”.

The fourth seal takes out 1/4 of the population. Every way possible. Not since Cain killed his brother has 25% of the population died.

8 billion people when the rapture comes. Lets say that removes a billion people.

That leaves 7 billion, and now 1 3/4 billion die at the end of the first four seals.

Application:

Know Him

And Make Him Known

2 Corinthians 5:11 HCSB

11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well.

Seek to persuade men. We have to keep the main thing the main thing. Time is short. This is a matter of heaven and hell. It is of most importance.

Worship Him- let me remind you that the worship of Revelation 4-5 is in anticipation of Jesus opening the seals. Why? Why would they worship God for the judgement that is about to come? Because it is through the judgements that God will make all things right in the world.