Living in the Last Days (11)

“The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”

Revelation 6:1-8 “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth…”

I. Intro

In chapter four, John is caught up to God’s throne room in Heaven, where the focus is on God’s rainbow-encircled throne. Then, in chapter five, the focus shifts to the seven-sealed scroll and the One worthy to open it. This scroll contains the terms for the redemption of earth and can only be opened by Christ, our Kinsman Redeemer. Beginning in chapter six, as the seals are opened, judgment takes place on earth. The judgments do not end until chapter nineteen. Therefore, thirteen of the twenty-two chapters of Revelation describe judgments. As Jesus opens the seven seals horrible judgments begin on earth. This is the fulfillment of the words of Jesus in John 5:22 “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:” The lost world likes to see Jesus as exclusively love, but He will mete out God’s judgment on earth. In this passage, as Jesus opens the first seal, the scene shifts from God’s heavenly throne room to earth. In this section, John recorded the opening of the first four seals, and as each seal was opened, one of the four living creatures summoned a rider on a horse. In other words, events take place on Earth because of the sovereign direction of God in Heaven. Horses represent God’s activity on earth, the forces He uses to accomplish His Divine purposes.

II. The White Horse (AntiChrist)

John sees the Lamb-Jesus-open the first seal and hears as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, ‘Come and see.’ John looks and sees a white horse. John describes the rider as having a bow (no arrows), a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. This crown (stephanos) [stef-an-os] is a victor’s crown, not a king’s crown. (diadema) [dee-ah-day-mah], from which we get the English word “diadem,” used in Revelation 19:12 “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.” Therefore, this is not Christ because He is opening the seals. The rider on this horse represents the AntiChrist. The combination of the rider having a crown and a bow, but no arrows indicates he will conquer through diplomacy. In the beginning, the AntiChrist will not appear to be the diabolical leader he is. Paul warns that the day of the Lord (judgment) so cometh as a thief in the night. 1 Thess. 5:2 “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” It will happen while people are saying, “peace and safety.” Then suddenly, destruction cometh upon them, as abruptly as a pregnant woman’s labor pain begins, and no one will escape. The future leader will come, promising peace and safety, and many will be deceived. Daniel states that there is a ‘prince that shall come.’ who will make a covenant with Israel to protect her from her enemies. Daniel 9:26-27 “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” In other words, the future world dictator begins his career as a peacemaker. He will go from victory to victory and finally control the whole world. Some have suggested the rider on the white horse is actually a symbol of the “conquering Christ” who today is defeating the forces of evil in this world. If this rider is indeed Jesus Christ, it seems strange that He should be named at the end of the book and not at the beginning. We would expect the AntiChrist to resemble Christ, because AntiChrist is Satan’s great imitation. Even the Jews who ought to know the scriptures will be deceived by him. 2 Thess. 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” This great deceiver will come as a peaceful leader, holding a bow, but no arrows. AntiChrist will solve the world’s problems and be received as the great liberator. Certainly, there is a sense in which Jesus Christ is conquering today, as He releases people from the bondage of sin and Satan. But this conquest began with His victory on the cross and certainly did not have to wait for the opening of a seal. We shall note later that the sequence of events in Rev. 6 closely parallels the sequence given by our Lord in His Olivet Discourse; and the first item mentioned is the appearance of false Christs. Matthew 24:5 “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

III. The Red Horse (War)

This begins the second part of the Great Tribulation we will discuss later. When the second seal is opened, a rider is allowed to take peace from the earth. As an indication of the extensive bloodshed, the rider on the red horse is described as having a great sword. While the Bible doesn’t give any details, it will be a time of unimaginable destruction and death, which could suggest the destructive power of nuclear weapons. Some interpreters think this could be a reference to one of the persecutions against Christians, like that of Domitian. However, this passage tells us that people are killing one another. During the persecutions, Christians did not kill their persecutors. During Jesus’ teaching of His disciples, they often represent end-time believers. For example, in Luke 21, Jesus tells them they will hear of wars and rebellions but not to be terrified. Luke 21:9 “But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.” The wars that begin with the opening of the second seal will continue for a brief period before the coming of the Millennial Kingdom. AntiChrist’s conquest begins in peace, but soon he exchanges the empty bow for a sword. The color red is often associated with terror and death: the red dragon Revelation 12:3 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” the red beast Revelation 12:3 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” It is a picture of wanton bloodshed. War has been a part of man’s experience since Cain killed Abel, so this image would speak to believers in every age, reminding them that God is ultimately in control, even though He is not responsible for the lawless deeds of men and nations.

IV . The Black Horse (Famine)

At the opening of the third seal, a black horse appears with a rider who has a pair of balances in his hand. The balances indicate everything must be weighed or rationed. That’s why John hears one of the four beasts say. “A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny.” A penny represents one day’s wages for an average worker. Matthew 20:2 “And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” It will take a day’s wages to purchase a measure of wheat to make a loaf of bread. Three measures of barley could be bought for the same price. Barley was readily available and much cheaper than wheat. Therefore, it was used as a major source of animal fodder. Some suggest the rich will be able to afford oil and wine, while the average person cannot. Whatever the reason, olive and grape crops will not be affected. The color black is often associated with famine. Famine and war go together. A shortage of food will always drive up prices and force the government to ration what is available. A measure of wheat was about 2 pints. However, during the Tribulation, a man will have to work all day just to secure food for himself. No wonder the AntiChrist will eventually be able to control the economy, as he promises to feed the hungry masses. Revelation 13:17 “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

V. The Pale Horse (Death)

When Christ opens the fourth seal, John sees a pale horse. The word translated ‘pale’ (chloros) [clo-ros] means pale green. It is the word from which we get the words “chlorophyll” and “chlorine.” The pale green symbolizes the color of a decomposing corpse. The rider’s name was death. Death on a massive scale is the result of widespread war and famine. Death claims the body and Hell the soul or spirit. The word hell translates the Greek word (hades) [hay-dees] Hades refers to the region of departed spirits of the lost.

Greek scholar W.E. Vine explains that in the NT, Hades “never denotes the grave, nor is it the permanent region of the lost; in point of time it is, for such, the intermediate state between decease and the doom Gehanna.”

2. The final location of the lost is the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15 “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” The rider of the pale horse is given authority over the fourth part of the earth. This seems to mean one-fourth of the population of the earth will die. At today’s population figures of more than 6 billion, the total death count would be more than 1.5 billion. Nothing like this has ever happened in human history. Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” The pale horse rider has authority to kill with sword, or make war. Before the atomic and hydrogen bombs, such losses were not thought possible. The hydrogen bomb is 1,000 times more potent than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. The war is followed by more hunger [food shortage] and death. Besides killing many people, others will be left alive but injured and helpless to defend themselves.

VI. Conclusion

No one can positively say exactly what this all means. However, it must not be overlooked that there is a remarkable parallel between the four horsemen of Rev. 6 and what our Lord says in His Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. In that passage, Jesus is talking about Jews who become believers during the Great Tribulation. The white horse represents deception and peace.Jesus says, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:5. The red horse rider has a great sword and takes peace from the earth. Jesus says there will be wars and rumors of wars, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6. The black horse represents famine. Jesus says, there shall be famines. Matthew 24:7. Famines are always followed by diseases, such as the bubonic plague that killed about 50% of the population of Europe in the 1340’s. The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed 600,000 Americans and 30 million people worldwide. That is more than all the casulties of World War I, which were about 15 million. The opening of the first four seals is only the beginning of the judgment. There are still three seals left to open. Jesus sums this up in Matthew 24:8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” The four horsemen of the apocalypse remind us it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31 “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Conquering tyrants who bring the world war, famine, and pestilence are certainly nothing new. Suffering people from the days of the Roman Empire to the most recent wars can easily recognize anticipations of these four dreaded horsemen. This is why the Book of Revelation has been a source of encouragement throughout history. As they see the Lamb opening the seals, they realize God is in control and His purposes will be accomplished.