The Four Horsemen – Part 1
Revelation 6:1-8 (1-2)
August 28, 2016
This morning I would like to welcome you all to the end.
We begin looking at Revelation 6 and the events surrounding the tribulation.
I would like to start out by reading Psalm 9
TURN TO: Psalms 9
It is safe to say that the cry of the Psalmist is about to be answered.
This is the time when the Lord is about to execute His judgment on
A sinful world bent on iniquity and the persecution of His people. The Lord is about to make the nations know that they are but men.
THE LAST TIME we saw a great worship service in heaven.
It was the worship of the Lamb.
John had spotted a book in the hand of the One who sat on the throne, and he recounted a search to find one who was worthy to open it.
• This book is the title dead to the earth.
• More specifically it is the contract which reveals God’s terms of eviction
regarding the usurper who has wrecked God’s earth.
And all of heaven eagerly sought the one who could take this contract and evict the enemy.
The only One found worthy to take the earth back from the enemy was the only One who had ever successfully taken anything away from him, and that is Jesus Christ.
• We know Christ can take what was once the property of Satan and redeem it
back to God because that is precisely what He did with the church.
This prompted the heavenly worship:
Revelation 5:9-10 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
It is now time for the Lamb to begin to open that scroll
And begin the work of reclaiming creation from the usurper.
And we see that work as a tremendous work of judgment.
Everything we are about to see here is because of God’s wrath
On the usurper and the sinful world he has corrupted.
(Don’t fall into the mindset that this is the devil’s wrath)
That point is clearly made even here in this 6th chapter.
Revelation 6:15-17 “Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
What you are about to read is not the wrath of the devil,
It is the wrath of God.
And it will serve as very important reminder.
Hebrews 10:31 “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Hebrews 2:3a “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
Certainly anyone without a relationship to Jesus Christ
Should read these passages in utter terror because of what they reveal.
HOWEVER, While this letter can certainly be a good warning to the lost,
It is not the lost that this book was written for.
Let me draw you back to the opening verses of this book one more time:
Revelation 1:1-3 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
This message is for the “bond-servants” of Christ.
This message is for believers.
And we are promised a blessing if we read and heed these things.
As we work our way through this amazing book you are going to see various points that are preserved solely for you as believers.
• Points meant to give you comfort in suffering
• Urgency in Evangelism
• Wisdom in Struggle
• Encouragement to Endure
• Hope in the Future
• And Awe of Christ and God
This book and this message are for you.
To strengthen your faith and solidify your commitment to Christ.
This is the story of God’s wrath
And it is a story that was recorded for your benefit.
THIS MORNING THE SEALS BEGIN TO OPEN.
You should know that the entire scope of God’s judgment is contained within these 7 seals.
It is true that we will also see 7 trumpets and 7 bowls
But these all come out of the breaking of the 7th seal.
As Jesus breaks the seals and unrolls this scroll
God’s wrath is unleashed, ultimately culminating in Christ’s return.
#1 THE FIRST SEAL: DECEPTION
Revelation 6:1-2
I’ve typically called this first seal FALSE PEACE for that is certainly what it is, but I still think a better description of why it is a judgment is to reveal it as merely deception.
“Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.”
I absolutely love the excitement that begins this entire demonstration.
• This creature is of course one of the cherubim who were described to us back in chapter 4.
• Cherubim are the protectors of the Holy and certainly they desire front row seats to the day when God sets out to defend His holiness.
• And no sooner does Jesus break the first seal then does one of those creatures bellow out the call “Come”
It’s time! Let’s Go!
There is excitement in heaven over this reality.
(2) “I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”
If you’ve been studying through Daniel with us on Sunday night
You already have a tremendous leg up here on what you are seeing.
WE HAVE HERE AN IMPOSTER.
WE HAVE HERE A PHONY.
I saw an old cowboy cartoon one time talking about a particular politician whom he didn’t like. The old cowboy said, “He’s a post turtle.” When asked what he meant, the old cowboy replied. “If you ever see a turtle sitting on a fence post, one thing you can be sure of is that somebody put him there.” That is to say, he didn’t earn the position on his own.
Well the man you see here is a post-turtle.
He is a man in a high position that he did not earn.
Now first we recognize that he is riding “a white horse” and this has led some to assume that it is Jesus.
And the answer to that is an emphatic “NO!”
Yes Jesus will return riding on a white horse, but don’t get the two confused.
A “white horse” was an important message.
• When a king went out to battle he typically rode a red horse, if he won the battle and came home the conquering hero he came home on a white horse.
It was symbolic of victory.
Incidentally if you are letting your mind follow the imagery that was one of the problems Israel had with Jesus entering Jerusalem. They would have loved it if He had entered on a white horse, but instead He entered on a donkey’s colt; a beast of burden; which was symbolic of peace.
This man, whoever he is, comes in riding “a white horse”
As though he is the conquering hero.
Well that is interesting, especially when we read the rest of the verse.
We find that “he who sat on it had a bow”
• A bow is certainly a weapon of war,
• But if you’ll notice this rider has a bow with no arrows.
• It is like a sword which is merely part of the uniform.
• It’s part of the costume, it’s ceremonial.
• He is not fresh off of some battle, he just wants to look like he is.
And then of course we read “and a crown was given to him,”
• Important phrase here.
• That is certainly where the “post-turtle” reference comes to full fruition.
• He didn’t win a kingdom, he didn’t earn a crown, it “was given to him”
(It implies not only the world elevating him to power,
But also God bringing him to power)
Beyond that, the word “crown” here is NOT DIADEMA which would be a sovereign crown or a monarch’s crown like Jesus who will have on His head “many diadems”.
The word for “crown” here is STEPHANOS which is the victor’s crown.
It’s not a person who won a battle, it’s a person who won an award
And even then this crown wasn’t given to him until after he entered on this white horse.
The implication there being that he received the crown
Because he fooled the people who gave it to him.
But this man hasn’t accomplished anything yet, in fact his entire mission is before him.
It says “he went out conquering and to conquer.”
Now you can as: How we can say that this man brings peace, even false peace, when clearly his heart is set on conquering?
The answer is because of the next horse, which is the red one and John says in verse 4 that he would “take peace from the earth”.
So obviously peace (or at least the appearance of peace)
Is what this first man brings.
He is a man who somehow, despite his lack of credential,
Ascends to the highest level and is bestowed with great honor
All because of his supposed ability to bring in world peace.
Now that isn’t just me filling in the blanks.
This is where OUR STUDY OF DANIEL greatly benefits us.
Daniel had much to say about this particular man.
(Incidentally all four horsemen are the same guy)
Daniel had a lot to say about him.
(If you want the detailed versions you’re going to have to listen to those sermons online)
But let me hit the highlights for you.
When you study Daniel you are hit continually with TWO FIGURES.
• One of those figures is of course the Antichrist.
• The other figure is a man named Antiochus IV Epiphones who is a prophetic picture of the Antichrist.
Antiochus Epiphones was an actual ruler of the Greek empire
And the things he did historically are often cited as prophetic pictures
Of exactly what the actual Antichrist will be like.
For example:
Daniel 11:21-24 speaks of Antiochus Epiphones
Daniel 11:21-24 “In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue. “The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant. “After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. “In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.”
Daniel predicted the rise of this ruler.
After Alexander the Great died his kingdom was parceled out 4 ways under 4 generals.
• Eventually out of the kingdom of the north will arise this man named Antiochus Epiphones.
He will not be a natural successor to the throne, but will take the throne via intrigue.
• He actually holds off an attacking army and uses his popularity to sort of steal the throne.
• He then strengthens his position through a sort of socialism where he robbed the rich to distribute it to the poor
He is also remembered for his persecution of Israel.
• On the heels of an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Rome, this man came and took out his frustrations on Israel.
• He killed many, set up an altar of Zeus, and then sacrificed a pig on the altar to desecrate the temple.
• It was known as the abomination of desolation.
In short, his peace didn’t last:
Daniel 11:31 “Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.”
He was a historical figure that did awful things in Israel.
But Scripture is clear that this man was a “type” (a prophetic picture)
Of the actual Antichrist who is to come.
In fact Jesus said this:
Matthew 24:15-16 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.”
Jesus was there making it clear that in the future there is one coming
Who will do things much like they were done in the past.
So Antiochus Epiphones was a picture.
• The way he came into power untraditionally
• The way he swayed opinion through socialism
• The way he turned on Israel
• The way he blasphemed God
All of those were prophetic pictures.
But they were accurately fulfilled in history.
They were all pictures of the actual Antichrist, whom Danial also spoke of.
Daniel 11:36-39 “Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. “He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all. “But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures. “He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.”
That passage was not about Antiochus Epiphones,
That passage is about the actual Antichrist,
But you clearly see the similarities.
• The actual Antichrist will also magnify himself as God
• He won’t care for God or the Messiah
• He will love power and crave power
• He will distribute wealth and power to those who follow him
NOW I BRING ALL OF THIS TO YOUR ATTENTION
BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO SEE THIS
IF YOU ARE TO UNDERSTAND THIS FIRST HORSEMAN.
This first horseman is a man who appears to be the victor
• He rides the white horse
But all of his glory and authority does not come the traditional way
• He has a bow, but no arrows
• He is given a crown, but not the right one
• He is attributed honor, but he didn’t earn it
• And he brings the appearance of peace
THIS MAN IS THAT MAN THAT DANIEL SPOKE OF!
Let me give you another one of Daniel’s prophecies
Regarding the Antichrist.
Daniel 9:27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
• Daniel saw that this man would come and “make a firm covenant” with Israel for one week (7 years)
• But Daniel also saw that he would break that covenant halfway through with an abomination that would make things desolate.
The point is that when this guy comes
It will be under a banner of peace.
People will promote him to power as one who has ability to bring peace.
We’ll see it a little later in our study, but what will actually occur is that you will have a sort of rejuvenated Roman empire (10 kings of the European confederation) and they will just hand over their power to him.
He is the guy that will have the answer for world peace.
He is the guy that will get the world to put down their guns
(or at least to drop their arrows)
And the world will love him for it.
Not only that, but Israel will love him for it.
Now think about it with me for a second.
Think of some of those Old Testament promises regarding the coming Messiah.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
Israel was constantly looking for that mighty ruler,
That mighty king who would return Israel to a place of prominence
And bring peace to the world.
Jesus addressed this expectation in Matthew 10
Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
Jesus confronted that notion reminding that
His peace was peace with God, not necessarily peace with men.
But you have here a world ruler arising who is everything that Israel thinks their Messiah should be, and they will love him.
He’s on that white horse
He’s bringing peace
The world has given him a crown
HE IS EVERYTHING ISRAEL EVER WANTED
HE IS EVERYTHING THE WORLD EVER WANTED
AND THERE IS THE DANGER!
Why?
Because his “peace” is false peace. It is really only deception.
You are going to see that when the next seal opens
This man is going to reveal his true colors.
He’ll go from riding the white horse to riding a red one.
Revelation 6:4 “And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.”
World peace is very soon to lead to world war.
Now we’ll talk about that more next time,
• As Daniel pointed out this man will revoke his peace and break his covenant
• What promised to be peace will turn into a war like the world has never known.
• In fact this man will be responsible for the death of ¼ of all mankind.
He doesn’t bring peace, he brings death.
• His promises of peace were false claims.
• His promises of prosperity were false claims.
• He is a liar and a deceiver and he will literally deceive the whole world.
NOW ON TO THE BIGGER QUESTION
How is this the judgment of Christ?
It really appears like this is the work of Satan.
But we already established that the opening of these seals is the work of Christ,
Not the work of the devil.
So how is this the judgment of Christ?
IT IS CHRIST GIVING MEN OVER TO WHAT THEY DESIRE,
AND THE CONSEQUENCES THAT ULTIMATELY FOLLOW.
Bring Romans chapter 1 up into your mind for just a moment.
Romans 1 is a great chapter on the wrath of God.
But in Romans 1 God’s wrath is not revealed by what He does to man,
But rather by what He allows to happen to man.
Three times in the chapter we read the same phrase: “God gave them over…”
• “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity” (Idolatry)
• “God gave them over to degrading passions” (Homosexuality)
• “God gave them over to a depraved mind” (Wickedness)
In all of those cases God didn’t specifically do anything to man,
He merely let them have what they craved
And then allowed them to suffer “the due penalty of their error”
He in effect said,
“You want it? You got it. But be careful what you wish for.”
THIS IS THE PATTERN OF THE TRIBULATION
At the beginning Jesus doesn’t do anything to humanity,
He just allows them to have what they crave.
And couple that with the fact that the church is now gone, there is no moral presence on earth to slow the decay. There is no “pillar and support of the truth” to hinder the desires of the wicked.
Man is free to run after the sin they desire and the plans they make
Without any restraint from the church or from Christ.
It is a “You want it? You got it” time.
And the world will immediately flock to an immoral man
Who claims to be able to bring peace to the world.
WE KNOW HE IS IMMORAL
• Daniel says he has no concern for God.
• Paul calls him “the man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3
He is a man who promises happiness and prosperity and fun.
He’ll be the ultimate “Make Love not War” leader.
The world will not only flock to him but they will give him full control.
They won’t even realize that
They are giving this control to the devil and his puppet.
They’d have been wise to remember what Jesus taught about the devil
John 10:10a “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”
• It may look like peace today…
• It may be fun today…
• It may be fulfilling today…
But this guy never keeps his word. There is an absolute storm coming.
AND THE WRATH OF JESUS IS HERE SEEN IN THE FACT THAT
HE JUST LETS HUMANITY HAVE WHAT THEY CRAVE.
Paul described it like this:
TURN TO: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
• Thessalonica was afraid they had missed the rapture and were now in the
tribulation
• Paul reminded that the tribulation wouldn’t come until you saw “the man of
lawlessness” that is Antichrist.
But Paul also reveals why God allows this man to come to power
And why God allows this man to deceive so many.
Paul says this man will come (10-12) “with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”
Paul references people who were confronted with the gospel.
They were confronted with the true gospel which called them to repent of their sin,
Deny themselves, forsake the world and run to Christ.
But these people chose wickedness over Christ.
They did not love the truth, they loved sin.
When given the choice they said, “thanks, but no thanks” I’ll keep the sin.
Do you suppose God just dropped it and said, “Oh well”? NO
We find that God then sent upon them “a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false”
Do you know WHY SO MANY PEOPLE WILL FOLLOW the Antichrist even though Scripture is clear that this man will only bring destruction?
Because God’s wrath will cause them to believe him.
IT IS GOD’S JUDGMENT!!!!
You say, “Does God really do that sort of thing?”
TURN TO: 1 Kings 22
• In 1 Kings 22 we have two kings.
• We have King Ahab in the north over Israel
• We have King Jehoshaphat in the south over Judah
• Ahab wants Jehoshaphat to join him and go to war against Aram.
• Jehoshaphat wants Ahab to seek God about it.
• So Ahab seeks all of his false prophets who always tell him what he wants to
hear. (READ: VS. 6)
• Jehoshaphat says, “That’s all good, but is there a real prophet we can seek?”
• Ahab says there is 1 but I hate him because he always speaks evil about me.
• Jehoshaphat says let’s give him a try anyway.
Long story short Micaiah eventually gives the reality for Ahab
And it is not a pretty one.
(READ 17)
Ahab would die.
But that is not all that Micaiah had to say.
Micaiah also sought to address the issue with why all those other prophets spoke so favorably to Ahab.
(READ 18-23)
THAT IS THE SAME THING.
You take a man like Ahab who is not interested in God’s truth
So God purposely sends a deceiving influence to him.
WHY WOULD GOD DO THAT?
• So that he will be deceived
• So that he will make the wrong decision
• So that he will suffer the consequences of his wrong decision
THAT IS HOW GOD’S WRATH IS DISPLAYED
That is precisely what is happening here in the opening of this first seal.
It may not sound so terrible that the first seal is merely peace that won’t last,
• For some would say, “Oh well, at least it’s peace for a while.”
But do you understand that this first action
Is the catalyst for everything that comes?
If the world doesn’t give this guy his power
Then none of the other atrocities follow.
No war, No famine, No death, No mark of the beast, none of that.
All of that comes because the world put this guy in power.
This is an awful judgment at the hand of the Lord.
He begins by giving sinners what they always wanted so that they can have the full consequence of their sin.
CAN I REMIND YOU AGAIN OF THE DANGERS OF CHOOSING SIN BECAUSE IT’S FUN?
THAT IS A HORRIBLE DECISION.
We are out of time this morning, I really intended to make it much farther,
But let me just leave you with this.
When God calls you to repent of your sin and follow Christ
You had better do it.
Trust me, the last thing you want is to so persist in your sin that God finally says, “Fine, just let them have it.”
That is a horrible reality.
So I most certainly appeal to you today again
To leave your sin and to follow Christ.
Sin may be fun for a season
But I promise you that you won’t like where it takes you.
Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
