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The next event on God’s prophetic timetable
is the rapture of the church. But after the church is taken out of here,
meanwhile…back on earth, there will follow a 7 year period like this earth
has never experienced before. The Bible calls it the Great Tribulation.
Chapters 6-19 paint for us a graphic picture of this gruesome period…it is
so terrible / frightening / horrible that you will think I’m exaggerating,
overstating the matter, until you see these verses for yourself.
But remember what Jesus said about the
tribulation back in
Matt. 24:21 “Then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world, unto this time, no, nor
ever shall be.”
That is an amazing statement when you
think of all the wars/famines/diseases/earthquakes/
tornadoes/hurricanes/volcanic eruptions. You
think of all the atrocities that have taken place all over this earth from
the time of Adam and Eve, even until now…and Jesus said, add it all
together, and none of it can compare to what the world is about to
experience in the great tribulation.
In the OT, Jeremiah said this about the
tribulation: “I see every man w/ his hands on his loin as a woman in
travail, and all faces are turned into paleness. Alas, for that day is
great, so that none is like it, it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble.”
These verses teach us that in the
tribulation, men will wrap their arms around themselves like women giving
birth, and that everyone’s faces will be ashen gray at the terrible,
frightening things happening on this dust ball earth…and the whole world
will be focused upon what happens in the nation Israel.
Daniel 12:1, “And there shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time,
and at that time, Thy people shall be delivered, everyone found written in
the book.”
What God gave to John in Rev. 6-19 is a
vision of unspeakable horror.
Chapter 5 tells of a 7 sealed scroll…the
title deed to the earth. The question was asked, Who is worthy to open that
scroll, and reclaim ownership of the earth from Satan? We find that Christ
alone is worthy! The Lamb is also the Lion!
Now, in ch. 6, the scroll begins to be peeled
back…and 1 at a time the seals are broken. And as the seals are broken, the
horrors of the tribulation are turned loose upon the earth, and they unfold
before our very eyes.
The first four seals involve the 4 horsemen
of the apocalypse. Let’s look at them one at a time:
1.As we open the first seal and look at the first horseman on the white
horse, I want you to think of the word Dominion.
v. 1-2 “thunder”=indicates a storm is
coming. It’s the sound of heavy hooves galloping this way!
Who is this rider on the white horse,
unleashed on the earth at the beginning of the tribulation? Some might
think it’s Jesus Christ, but it’s not…that doesn’t come until the end of the
tribulation.
Rev. 19
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and
make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head
were many crowns
That’s Jesus Christ coming at the end of the
tribulation…but that’s not the description given here in ch. 6. Matter of
fact, the only similarity is the white horse.
So, if the rider on this white horse in ch. 6
is not Jesus Christ, then who is he? I believe him to be the anti-christ…a
phony!
In the Bible, a white horse
symbolizes conquest. A bow is a symbol of power and warfare, and a crown
symbolizes dominion. There is coming one last and final dictator to this
earth…he’s the antichrist…he’s coming on a white horse as an imitator of
Jesus Christ. He is Satan’s great imitator/deceiver…and his deception is so
convincing, that even the Jews, many of them, will believe him, and will
think that their Messiah has finally arrived.
He will come on a platform of peace,
(notice: no arrows, just a bow) but this last world dictator will bring
death and destruction to this earth.
You say, how is that possible? How is this
going to happen?
v. 2 “given unto him” Yes. His power and
his dominion are given unto him. They are given to him by God. It is God
who will allow it to happen.
Listen to Rev. 17:17
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and
give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled.
Acc’d to that verse, God will convince the
rulers of the world to give their power to the anti-christ.
Satan will think that he’s in charge. During
the tribulation, the devil will think he’s calling the shots/running the
affairs of earth…but it is God who will control it all. Even when chaos
seemingly rules, God is on the throne and in full control…but in essence,
what God is doing is He’s giving mankind enough rope to hang himself with!
Ill.—chess How did you learn to play?
By playing w/ someone who was better than you? If so, I’m sure you’ve had
that experience where you thought you were choosing all your own moves, but
by the end of the game you were right where your opponent wanted you to be,
and they are in full control.
In the tribulation, although man will still
have some freedom to choose, by the end of the game everything will be acc’d
to God’s sovereign plan.
You can read more about the anti-christ
in chapters 13, 17 and 18…but when you open that first seal, and see the
white horse ride by, think of that word Dominion.
2.Think of the word Division, as you watch the red horse ride
by.
v. 3-4 Red is the color blood/war. The
anti-christ comes on a platform of peace…and one of the things that will
propel him to power is his plan which seems to be workable for world peace.
He will do something which has never been done…bring peace to the middle
east…but it will not last…for at the mid point of the tribulation, after 3.5
years, the second seal is opened, and the rider of the red horse will snatch
the peace from the earth.
THIS IS HUGE when you consider current events
in the Mid East. Israel is now at war with Hezbollah, among others. The
warfront is the northern border. Ezek. 38 & 39 are all about invaders from
the north. The Biblical land of Magog is Russia, predicted to
be peaceful until suddenly they invade Israel. Now, somebody remind me of
the Middle Eastern nation that is the homeland and heart and soul of
Hezbollah. That’s right, Iran! And who is Iran’s most powerful ally?
Russia! That passage in Ezekiel talks of horsemen, bows and arrows…the same
language John used in his Revelation. Obviously, John is describing 21st
C. events using his 1st C. language. The signs of the times are
everywhere. Thank God if you are saved you will be long gone to heaven at
this point!
It will come, first of all, in the form of
nation against nation…and it will also come in the form of widespread
violence, man against man. Magog is prophesied to bring ‘many others’ with
them…possibly the Arab Israel haters from the entire Mid East. But
definitely Libya and Ethiopia, which are named in Ezekiel. The spirit of
hatred will enflame the hearts of men. Remember, at this point the church
has already been taken away…and there’s no more salt to preserve, no more
light to illuminate. The Comforter and restrainer, the Holy Spirit, is no
longer here. That spirit of hatred will be so severe that a man will slit
his mother’s throat w/out blinking an eye. Brother will stab brother in the
back, w/ no hesitation. Parents will turn against their own children!
Can you imagine the confusion, the chaos that
will rule. You think we live in a violent society now?…well, it’s nothing
compared to the malicious slaughter which will take place during the
tribulation. Dead bodies will lie in the streets/groaning and suffering
will be everywhere, and the stench of death will reak in the air.
The Red horse speaks of division.
3.Depravation…as
the black horse rides by.
v. 5-6 Here is a time of famine. Here
is a time of economic disaster/wholesale starvation. War spreads across the
world from the mid-east, and food and fuel become more and more scarce.
“Balances”=old fashioned scales…representing
scarcity of food. During the tribulation, food will be weighed like gold.
v. 6 measure of wheat/3 measures of barley
This represents one day’s
food supply in that day, and the penny represents one day’s wages at that
time. So, during the tribulation, a man will have to work all day—and it
will be all he can do just to buy enough food for that day. It will be all
a person can do just to keep body and soul together and alive.
Again, we already live in a world of
perpetual hunger. We tend to forget, or not even believe that here in the
land of plenty…but it’s true. 1/3rd of the world is starving/1/3rd
is underfed/and if you’ve got enough to eat, you’re in the upper third! But
a world-wide famine is coming in the tribulation on an unprecedented scale.
v. 6 “see thou hurt not the oil and wine”
These represent the luxury
foods of John’s day. The horseman was told not to tamper w/ these items.
In the tribulation, the poor will get poorer, and the rich will get richer.
The elite group of the wealthy will retain their riches thru a moral sellout
to the antichrist, and they will be the few who will carry on in normal
fashion, as the vast majority are totally deprived.
The black horse represents starvation and
deprivation like the world has never seen.
4. Let’s watch as the 4th
horseman rides by, and as we do, think of the word “death”.
v. 7-8 “pale” comes from Greek word
cloros (chlorine/chlorophyll), and speaks of a gastly green color…it’s the
idea of a body that has turned green and rotten w/ decay…and acc’d to v. 8
during the tribulation, 1/4th of the world’s population will
die. Think about that and let that soak in. Right now, that represents
well over a billion people, that’s a thousand million plus! How will this
happen? This is just speculation, but that could include something like
germ / biological warfare, or something nuclear in nature on a national
level.
Dr. Frank Holtman, head of Univ. of Tennessee’s bacteriological
department said, “While the greater part of a city’s population could be
destroyed by an atomic bomb, the bacteria method might easily wipe out the
entire population of the earth within a week’s time.”
What an unbelievable chain reaction will take
place:
First, the antichrist will come w/
dominion/then war will come w/ division/famine will come w/
deprivation/then death will come to over a billion people…it
would be impossible to bury them all! But that’s not the end of it…John saw
2 personalities associated w/ this pale horse…look again:
v. 8 Capital ‘D’ Death….and Hell followed…
This means that while death claims
the body, hell claims the soul…after death comes hell and judgment, and no
one will be able to escape…no one will be able to pull the dirt over their
face.
You say, Bro. Jerry, you’re just trying to
scare me!…
…if you’re not saved, I wish I could!
Although fear motivation is not the very best
motivation to get saved…it’s not a bad motive…matter of fact, wise is the
man or woman who recognizes the wrath to come and and asks God to save them
from it (saved from hell!)
The Bible says when Noah built that ark he
was moved w/ fear of what was coming. If you’re not saved and this message
scares you, you’ve got good reason to be afraid!…for these 4 horsemen are
ready to ride…they’re saddled up, and if you’ll put your ear to the ground I
think you’ll hear them coming!
The stage is set for the rapture of the
church…and these seals will begin to be opened, and these 4 horsemen will
ride.
Now, it’s not just the religious world that’s
warning that the world is headed for chaos. Even the secular world is
feeling a sense of impending doom.
George Borgstrom in his book “Hungry
Planet” said, “it is sobering to realize that no part of the world, in
the event of serious crop failure, is more than 1 year away from critical
starvation. And even in the rich United States, with all it’s surpluses, we
are not more than 2 years away.” That’s the secular world speaking there.
Doctors and scientists are
continuously learning of new strains of bacteria which are resistant to all
known antibiotics…and doctors around the world are becoming alarmed at the
possibilities of the greatest outbreak of disease the world has ever seen.
SARS contains animal viruses, and then you’ve got things like this bird flu
which has the CDC in a panic, and v. 8 says this pale rider death kills w/
‘the beasts of the earth.’
Jesus said, in the last days there will be a
great increase in earthquakes, famines, and pestilence (incurable
diseases). And you cannot watch the news today w/out seeing all 3
regularly. If you’ll pick up your Bible in one hand, and a newspaper in the
other, it’s hard to be blind to the fact that we are in the closing shadows
of this age. The flames of judgment are on the horizon…things are nearing
the conclusion.
The bottom line?
If you’re not saved…you’d better get saved.
Let me tell you something about
salvation/forgiveness of sins:
It is so precious/valuable, that God
refuses to allow you to buy it/earn it/work for it…but if you’re willing to
receive it as a free gift, God will give it to you! Fear of these future
events is not a bad reason at all to get saved, but there’s so many positive
benefits to salvation that I have to confess, even if there was no hell, I’d
still want to be a Christian!
Part 2
Heaven and Earth’s Response to the 4 Horsemen
Rev. 6:9-17
Tribulation…it begins in Ch. 6 w/ frightening
symbolism.
This AM we watched these 4 horses ride by:
white—Antichrist—Dominion
red—war/violence—Division
black—starvation/economic
collapse—Depravation
pale green—1/4 of world’s population
dies—Death
Then there’s 2 responses to the 4 horsemen…1
in heaven, 1 on earth [heavenly perspective/earthly perspective]
The 7 sealed scroll has been opened to the
first 4 sections, now let’s see 5 and 6.
Heaven’s Response:
v. 9-11 During the trib., many will die
for the cause of Christ. The antichrist will require worship as God, and to
take the mark of the Beast as a sign of that, many will refuse, and will
die…the method will be guillotine…they will lose their heads for their
stand. (Will any people get saved in the tribulation? Yes. Some who had
not heard the gospel before the rapture will choose to believe, and will be
killed for it.
Many died for Christ before the tribulation
(Smyrna/dark ages/crusades/modern day persecutions)
From the portals of glory they watch the 4
Horsemen ride, and they see the terrorist reign of the antichrist…and they
cry out to the Lord to avenge them.
And the Lord says, it won’t be long, there’s
just a few more of you to arrive.
v. 11 This is a picture of a God in
heaven still in full control…even during the tribulation. To these saints,
martyred for their faith, it looks like all hell is breaking loose on the
earth…and it is…but they soon see that God is not pacing the floor, or
wringing his hands in despair, wondering what to do. He turns to them and
says, take it easy, it won’t be long!
No wonder we have a problem w/
patience/worry, if even saints in heaven struggle w/ it, until redemption is
complete! But God makes it clear to them that their death was not an
accident, but an appointment!
And no matter what you’re going thru,
even if you think God has forgotten you/seems silent, He says, take it easy,
I’m in control. The storms churn around us at times, but the peacespeaker
says, remember, the waves which seem over your head are under My feet!
Earth’s response:
v. 12-14 Worldwide convulsions/catastrophies…all
of nature will be upset.
The Bible tells us elsewhere that all
of nature is held together by Jesus Christ…and in the tribulation, it’s as
though He removes His hands from it, and it all falls apart.
“great earthquake”—first of 3 major quakes in
tribulation period…and this one is so fierce and ferocious, that v. 14 says
entire mountains and islands are moved, or disappear.
Imagine ABC News, and Charles Gibson (likely
to be here), reporting that the Philippine Islands have disappeared/Hawaii
gone!
In the last 4,000 years, an estimated 13
million have died in earthquakes, but acc’d to this verse, the granddaddy of
them all is yet to come!
v. 12 …the reference to the sun and
moon
(some Bible scholars believe this
earthquake may be triggered by a nuclear explosion of such magnitude)
Ever seen a red moon (thru
smog/pollution/dust)?
v. 13 Could be referring to
meteors, or…something else?
How about Russia’s Fractional Orbital
Bombardment System? Consists of a dozen or more nuclear tipped missles
which can be fired from an orbiting space platform…and because they come
straight down from the sky, and can strike several cities simultaneously,
with virtually no warning, it might look much like a meteor shower entering
the atmosphere, or “falling stars”.
v. 14 The heaven’s depart as a
scroll
Know what happens during a nuclear
explosion? The atmosphere actually rolls back on itself. Much of the
destruction of a nuclear explosion is caused by massive amounts of air
rushing back into the vacuum that was instantly created at detonation.
It is quite likely in my mind, that what John
is describing in these verses is an all out nuclear exchange (20th
C. events in 1st C. language)…but whether we have all the details
figured out is not really imp’t. Much of this is speculation, and it could
happen in a number of different ways than we can even imagine, but clearly
it is horrible…clearly, the world will be shaken apart.
And what is the earthly reaction to all of
this, what do the humans remaining do?
v. 15-16
Notice whom they pray to! The mountains and
rocks…not to God, even tho’ they just acknowledged His existence!
There’s no such thing as an atheist,
esp. when faced w/ death. The problem w/ atheists is not a head problem,
but a heart problem! They would rather hide from God in fear, than run
to Him in faith.
If the rapture comes and you are not
saved…never been born again, then you will become part of this great prayer
meeting on earth…praying for the rocks and mountains to fall on you, but you
will not be able to hide.
Vance Havner said: some day the most
expensive piece of real-estate on earth will be a hole in the ground! But
it won’t be enough:
v. 17 If you don’t avail yourself
today to the grace of God, then you will someday come under the wrath of
God.
And rank and wealth will not deliver
you in that terrible day. Kings and captains/rich and poor/slaves and free,
who shall be able to stand?
Christians, opportunities are all around us.
And our church is poised to become a true soul-saving station. Signs of the
times point to the fact that the end is drawing near.
Ill.—Scotland: When the tide comes in, it
comes in fast and full. One day a man walked the beach in Scotland. As he
progressed, he noticed the cliffs growing on his left, until perpendicular,
jutting straight up in the air, right on the beach…but it was ok, it was low
tide.
He came to a sign which said, do not
progress past this point…it went on in small print to explain that once the
tide comes in, you will not have time to retreat back to where the cliffs
recede. Every little bit there was another sign like the first.
He looked at the ocean, it was yards
away…he had at least 30 feet of beach to walk on…it was low tide! He soon
noticed that the water was lapping at his ankles, then suddenly to his
knees, he turned around and began walking back, but angry waves immediately
surrounded his torso, he tried to run, but it was too late, the water pushed
him against the cliffs, he tried to scale, but it was impossible. Onlookers
reported seeing him slammed repeatedly against the sharp rocks until he
died!
He had seen the signs, he just ignored them!
“Do not progress past this point!” That was
a warning sign!
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