The Beginning of Birthpains

INTRODUCTION

We’ve finally arrived to the section in the book of Revelation that everybody loves to talk about (debate and build charts around.) There were many years that I wouldn’t have even dared to touch the study of the book of the Revelation and this section we’re about to enter was the reason why.

I thought it was confusing, controversial and required a deeper understanding of Old Testament prophecy than I had to give. Not to mention all the symbols and metaphors that’s we’ve already seen thus far in the book.

Add to that, guys way smarter than me - scholars I deeply respect - disagree strongly on how to interpret this chapter and beyond.

Teaching Then Preaching

On my sermon calendar I had us set to cover Revelation 6:1-8 as one sermon. However, the more I dug into this passage the more I began to realize sweeping over it in one week was going to rob many people from really comprehending what’s going on.

So today I’m going to try and give you a birds eye view not only of the four horsemen of the apocalypse but also a big picture of why so many people disagree on what these characters are.

Before we do that, though, let’s situate our passage in context with where we’ve been In the book of Revelation.

Context to Today’s Text

Chapter 6 opens with imagery and characters that were established in chapters 4-5.

Revelation 6:1 (CSB)

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!”

For those of you who were not with us, this Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ and these seals being opened belong to a scroll that is in the right hand of God who sits on the throne.

We saw all this imagery in Revelation 4-5. God was seated on this throne surrounded by light, glory, a sea of crystal and thunder and lightening. There were 24 elders and 4 living creatures and they were worshipping the God who sits on the throne “because he created all things...”

In Revelation 5 we see in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll. The right hand was the hand of authority and power. The scroll represents the future plan of God for the world (some think its the title deed to the earth). The scroll contains the purposes of God both for judgment and for redemption.

On this scroll are seven seals. Until the seals were broken the scroll could not be read and the will of God could not be unfolded. The question is raised “Who can break the seals and open the scroll?”

At first they could find no one. So John wept bitterly. The healing of his broken world would never come. But then someone is found. Who is this one who is worthy? Answer, the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, the Lamb who was slain: Jesus.

He comes from the throne (being one with God). Only HE is worthy. Why? Because his sinless perfect life and sacrificial substitutionary death make him uniquely worthy to do what no one else can do.

So Jesus takes the scroll and all of heaven begins to fall down in worship. The redeemed of God, the angelic heavenly host, all of creation bows the knee to sin “He is worthy. He is worthy!” That is what brings us into Revelation 6.

Jesus is uniquely qualified to break the seals and open the scroll thereby ushering in God’s purposes for redemption and for judgment.

Let’s read the text. Revelation 6:1-8

Revelation 6:1–8 (CSB)

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. Its rider held a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.

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 rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held 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 oil and the wine.”

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. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.

Big Picture Overview

Revelation 6 opens with a series of four horsemen who bring about four different types of activity on the earth.

They have come to be referred to as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Each horsemen represents a seal on the scroll. We only read four of the seals but there are actually seven.

These seven seals are followed by seven trumpet judgments and those seven trumpet judgments are followed by seven bowel judgments.

Symbolic Numbers in Revelation

The seals and trumpets are similar in that they are broken down into sets of four followed by three. We’ve already seen how the number seven refers to completeness or fullness in the book of revelation.

Chart - 7/7/7

A play on that is 4 plus three equaling 7.

We’ve seen the number four refer to all of creation as with the four living beasts (we’ll see it refer to all creation later in the book as well).

The number 3 is used throughout Scripture to refer to God (holy, holy, holy // was, is and is to come) There’s the three members of the trinity.

Very often four has a symbolic meaning of completeness in the sense of the entire earth. Three has a sense of completeness in terms of the fullness of God.

Putting them together is an even fuller expression of completeness which is why I think John uses the number seven to describe the judgments and breaks them down into four judgments followed by three.

Timeline Chart

Just to give you a look at how this all fits within the larger book of revelation you can see this timeline of how the book is divided by these seal, trumpet and bowl judgments.

Between each set of seven there are interludes or parentheses.

Within each interlude John adds details and fills in extra information to help understand what’s going on up in heaven and on the earth as these judgments are being poured out.

Each interlude gets a little longer as the book goes on. Finally, after the seven bowls are poured out we see the fall of Babylon and the return of Christ in chapters 19-20.

This brings about the final defeat of the unholy trinity (the dragon - satan - the beast - antichrist - and the false prophet).

Recapitulation or Sequential

There is disagreement on how to understand the seals, trumpets and bowls. Some think that the seals, trumpets and bowls function simultaneously (the same thing from different perspectives). Others think the 3 sets of 7 are sequential.

The view that the seals, trumpets and bowls are simultaneous or semi-simultaneous is called the recapitulation view.

It’s is attractive because there are a great deal of similarities between the 6th seal, trumpet and bowl. There is likewise a similar feeling of climax and finality in the seventh seal, trumpet and bowl. Those similarities do make a strong case that perhaps these judgments run along side or lay atop of one another. (that’s not to say the view doesn’t have its problems. It does)

There are reasons to think that the 21 judgments are sequential in nature. Just because the seals, trumpets and judgments end at the same time and in the same way doesn’t mean they all necessarily start at the same time.

Some even try and make a case for both models but in some ways it just makes it more confusing not less.

The thing I want you to take away is the overall structure so it’ll help you get a birds eye view of the book. Three sets of seven with interludes or parenthesis in-between.

Two Questions & Four Hermeneutics

With that framework in mind, I want to spend the rest of our time this morning answering two burning questions and then close with some application points.

The first question is - what do these four horsemen represent? The second question is - when will their judgments come to the earth?

The answer to those two questions - in large part - depends on how you interpret the book of the revelation. The reason there is so much disagreement and debate on this book is because of four competing theories for how it ought to be interpreted.

I know this feels very academic and may be boring to some of you but we really need to establish these before interpreting these four horsemen or else you’re going to be confused later on in the series.

There are four ways people try and understand the book of Revelation. Each way has it’s particular strengths and there is value to gain from every perspective but at the end of the day you have to pick one if you’re going to teach/preach the book.

The four approaches are

The preterist approach

The historicist approach

The idealist approach

The futurist approach

The Preterist Approach

The preterist approach interprets the book of Revelation with respect to the past. A preterist believes John wrote the Revelation early (63-68 AD) and that the prophecies detailed in the book deal specifically with events looming in the minds of first century readers.

For example they see the destruction of Babylon as the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.

They see Nero as the AntiChrist and so on and so forth.

The largest problem with this view is that the final judgment and end of the world (as described in Revelation) didn’t actually happen. Because of that, many scholars will refer to themselves as partial preterists (applying preterism to some things but not to other things).

BENEFITS: The historical insights by these scholars are unbelievably good and there are some eerily similar parallels between the facts of 1st century history and the prophecies in the book of Revelation.

PROBLEMS: The main problem I have with preterism is it cannot account for all of the prophecies in the book of Revelation and where it finds difficulty doing so it’s common for preterist to explain it away, spiritualize it or down play it in some other way.

Historicist Approach

The historicist approach relates the book of the Revelation to particular historical events. It’s similar to preterism in some ways but it finds the fulfillment of certain passages past 70AD and the fall of Jerusalem. Interpretations by Historicist scholars are incredibly diverse because with each epoch of history a new slew of interpretive solutions arises.

Generally the letters to the seven churches are thought to be seven epoch of church history.

Early historicists said the trumpet judgments applied to the attacks on the Western Roman Empire by the Goths (AD 395).

With each new generation comes a new slew of possible interpretations for how historical events line up with end times prophecies (in Revelation and other books.)

STRENGTHS: One strength of the historicist position is its creativity and its expectation for Christ to come back within the interpreters lifetime.

WEAKNESSES: However, the fact that there’s no widespread agreement and an ever changing interpretation depending on one’s location in time make the view difficult for most modern interpreters.

The Idealist Approach

One of the fastest growing approaches to the book of Revelation is the Idealist approach. I think the rise of this view is in response to the many failed attempts of the historicist view.

The idealist approach demotes questions of future fulfillment of specific prophecies and prioritizes the major theological themes of the book of Revelation. (victory of Christ over Satan, etc)

While some idealists may allow for future fulfillment of certain prophecies they mostly point to a form of “spiritual fulfillment” in the book of Revelation as the kingdom of God advances against the kingdom of Satan in a spiritual way through the activity of the church in the world.

I personally do not fully subscribe to the idealist approach in full because I think the future fulfillment of the prophecies in Revelation are real and important.

However, the insights provided by Idealist interpreters have pushed more future-oriented interpreters to focus on the main point of the book of Revelation which is the victory of Christ over Satan.

STRENGTHS: Its major strength is the ability to draw out principles of life-application from a book that exalts the supremacy of Christ over all and the triumph of Christians who are trusting in Christ for salvation. As a pastor those things are important to me in preaching this book.

WEAKNESSES: The weakness can come when one over spiritualizes the book or attempts to explain away things that don’t fit within their theological schematic.

The Futurist Approach

The last approach and the approach I’ll be taking as we move forward in the book is what’s called the Futurist approach. When most Christians think about the book of Revelation they think about it as a prophecy of the end time events surrounding the second coming of Christ.

But even within this tent there are different camps. There are some who might be partial preterist and they lean heavily on the idealist tradition of interpreting the book but they still hold to some form of future literal fulfillment of the judgments surrounding the second coming of Christ. (some forms of amillennialism)

STRENGTHS: To me, that’s the major strength of this position. It allows you to draw from the strengths and valuable insights from the other approaches but it doesn’t lock you into some of their weaknesses or denials.

WEAKNESSES: The problem is that there isn’t even agreement among the futurist about what’s what. There are different camps among futurist interpreters on where to put the rapture of the Church and how to understand the nature of Christ’s millennial kingdom.

There are futurists who disagree on where to put the rapture of the church (before the seals, in the middle or somewhere at the end). There is also disagreement on how the seals and trumpets play out in relationship to ethnic Israel. And on and on we could go.

The Approach We are Taking

I’m tempted to say the approach I’m taking is going to pull a little bit from each of these four but that would be some what misleading. While I do believe a form of partial preterism is possible with the seals we’re looking at today I reject that the bulk of this book was fulfilled in 70AD.

I am most aligned with a futurist approach that finds the ultimate fulfilment of these cataclysmic 21 judgments at some point in the yet future.

However, I also think the idealists have properly challenged the future oriented interpreter to not get so caught up in the charts and timelines that they miss the practical application of the book which which is the triumph of Jesus and the covenant people of God over sin, death and the devil.

Revelation 6 and Matthew 24

With that in place we have only a little bit of time left to discuss the actual contents of our passage today. We’re going to do a brief overview of all four seals today and then we’ll spend next week drilling down a little bit deeper.

My interpretation of these first four horsemen and the subsequent three seals after that are shaped by Jesus’ teaching on this same subject in Matthew 24. Jesus is the source of both prophecies but John seems to be putting pictures to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24.

Let’s read them side by side so you can see the parallels.

For those of you who don’t know, Matthew 24 contains Jesus’ teaching about the end of days to his disciples. He had just made a prediction about the destruction of the temple (an end of days event for the disciples) and so they come and ask him when these things are going to happen.

Matthew 24:3 (CSB)

3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Notice what Jesus doesn’t say. He doesn’t say...

“Oh you silly sign seekers. Don’t worry about that! Just live for me and let it all pan out. Stay away from those people who are trying to figure out the signs of the times - just love people and share the Gospel.

That’s not what Jesus says at at all (even though that’s sometimes the vibe you get from certain teachers when it comes to a focus on the end times.)

Instead, Jesus gives them some tangible and concrete things to look for leading up to the sign of his second coming.

Matthew 24:4–8 (CSB)

4 Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. 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. 8 All these events are the beginning of labor pains.

Jesus continues in verses 9-14 to talk about the persecution of Christians. He says we will be hated by all nations and some even die. False prophets will lead many astray, lawlessness will increase and the love of many grow cold.

As you’ll see - each of these references by Jesus have a parallel with the seven seals in Revelation 6. The first four things mentioned by Jesus (and the first four horsemen of the apocalypse) bring about activities on the earth that Jesus describes as the beginning of birth pains.

The beginning of labor pains. That’s where I got the title for today’s message.

These four things characterize the last days leading up to what Jesus calls “the abomination of desolation.” (Matthew 24:15)

We’re not going to go down that rabbit hole today but I want you to note the four things mentioned by Jesus.

False Christs

Wars

Famines

Death (martyrdom)

With those four things in mind let’s re-read the first four seals in Revelation 6:1-8

Revelation 6:1–2 (CSB)

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. Its rider held a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a conqueror in order to conquer.

Now at first glance there doesn’t seem to be any parallel between Jesus’ reference to false Christs and this rider on a white horse. (some actually define this first rider as Christ himself or to the triumph of the Gospel but that doesn’t fit the context)

White Horse = False Christ(s)

For this reason most commentators believe this to be a reference to false Christs in general or to THE false Christ (aka the Anti-Christ) that read more about in Revelation 13. Depending on how you understand the timing of these seals will determine whether you think it’s many false Christs in general or the anti-Christ in particular.

While there have certainly been many examples of false messiahs between the first coming of Christ until now I do believe this refers to a particular individual. Revelation 13 calls him the beast. He’s popularly known today as the Anti-Christ. He has many names in the Scripture.

It’s also interesting that he has a bow but no arrows.

Many think this means he accumulates power and influence in the world but he does so without the shedding of blood. The idea is that there is some kind of a cold-war scenario and diplomatic political maneuvering that positions this false Christ to gain such power.

Red Horse = War

The second seal is in Revelation 6:3-4

Revelation 6:3–4 (CSB)

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 rider was allowed to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.

The first seal represents false Christs or the anti-Christ. The second seal represents war. The rider was given authority to take peace from the earth so that people would slaughter one another.

If you remember back to Jesus statement in Matthew 24:6-7 he speaks about “wars and rumors of wars… Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom...”

Again there’s a thematic parallel between the words of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse and John’s Vision of the seven seals.

The fact that war breaks out in seal two leads many people to assume that some kind of widespread peace was gained in seal one. Whether that was an artificial peace secured by the antiChrist or an artificial peace secured by an abundance of false Christs the point is that it wasn’t real or lasting peace.

That’s actually how Paul contrasts it in 1 Thessalonians 5:3

1 Thessalonians 5:3 (CSB)

3 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Black Horse = Famine

So seal one is false Christs, seal two is war, Revelation 6:5-6 talks about the third seal

Revelation 6:5–6 (CSB)

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held 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 oil and the wine.”

So you’ve got two forms of bread here: wheat and barley. Wheat was the preferred source whereas barley was more like poor people food or food you’d give the animals. A quart was basically one serving size large. A denarius was roughly equivalent to “a day’s wage.”

So a full day’s wage would get you one serving of wheat.

If you had a family you were either going to go hungry or eat the junk food barley. In essence, the daily necessities of life had skyrocketed in price.

For that reason, I think this horse is actually a reference to some form of hyper inflation and subsequent food shortage because of the economic problems.

It parallels closely with what Jesus says will follow the wars and rumors of wars in Matthew 24:7-8

Matthew 24:7–8 (CSB)

7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these events are the beginning of labor pains.

It’s not uncommon to see problems of inflation and food shortages after a war.

The comment about not touching the olive oil and the wine could mean one of two things.

It could be a reference to some sort of relief in the inflation on certain products.

Or it could mean that the disparity between the poor and the rich gets worse and worse after this particular seal of judgment is broken.

Olive oil and wine were considered “indulgences” of a sort. People of means availed themselves to those forms of higher culture. So perhaps they’re not as negatively impacted by the famine and food shortage which just makes the absence of peace even stronger.

In fact, the OT prophecies about these kind of judgments speak to a civil war within nations not just a war between nations. (Isaiah 19, Zechariah 14)

If the economic disparities got that bad it’s not unrealistic to think that civil war breaks out between the rich and poor throughout all the countries of the world. (we already see this mounting with the fallout from COVID)

Pale Green Horse = Death and Hell

The last of the four horsemen is a pale green green horse representing death and hell.

Revelation 6:7–8 (CSB)

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. Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following after him. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.

Notice how these seals of judgment are growing in intensity. Now 1/4th of the earth is being affected by this last horsemen.

Comparing this horsemen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 shows a looser parallel but but there are still touch points.

Matthew 24:9 (CSB)

9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.

The killing in Revelation 6 is authority to kill 1/4 of the earth. It’s a killing that is done “by the sword, famine, plague and wild animals of the earth.”

That sounds more like a killing in general whereas Jesus’ focused on the killing of disciples. What makes me think there’s a connection between this killing and the martyrdom of Christians is the fifth seal which has believers crying out for God to avenge their blood.

Four Horsemen & The Anti-Christ

We will develop this more fully next week but if the parallels between Revelation 6 and Matthew 24 really are what they look to be, then it’s very likely that seals 1-4 revolve around the anti-Christ: his rise to power, his administration and the consequences on believers.

To even say the word is triggering to some people. It also raises the questions “are Christians going to be on the earth when the anti-Christ rises to power? They obviously are.

But what about the rapture? We don’t have time to address that question today. But we will. So come back next week. It’s only starting to get to the good stuff!

God’s Devil God’s Leash

I want to close by making a two points of application.

There’s really so much to say but let me start with those of you who are listening who are not Christians.

Maybe you are a Christian but you’ve been living for the world. You’ve been believing the lie that “submission to Christ is a fools errand...” I’m better off doing my own thing or following this other savior.

That’s what the first horsemen was all about. He was successful in getting people to follow and submit to him instead of following and submitting to God.

But not everything that starts well ends well. There’s a way that seems right to a man but it’s end leads to destruction. And that’s certainly true for people who decide to do life outside of the Lordship of Christ. Repent.

But for those of you who are Christians I want to close with this idea. “Even in Satan’s fury, God is still sovereign. He may be the devil but he is GOD’S Devil and he’s on God’s Leash.

How many times did we see in this passage the word “given?” It was “given” to the horsemen.

verse 2 - a crown was given to him...

verse 4 - it’s rider was allowed to take peace...

verse 4b - a sword was given to him...

verse 6 - the voice from the throne said a quart for a denarius...

verse 8 - given authority over a fourth of the earth...

Certainly it could be Satan was giving that authority and power to the antiChrist (as we see in Revelation 13). But Jesus Christ is the one opening the seals. The voice from the throne is qualifying what is and what is not allowed to take place on the earth.

So even in our suffering let us be reminded that God is sovereign. Christ is breaking the seals and the sovereignty of God will finish what he began. Nothing takes our God by surprise. And so we can rest in him, no matter how bad things may get no mater how uncertain we may feel.

Trust him! Love him! Follow him. Worship him.