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The "Coming" Four Horses
Revelation 6:1-8
Rev. 6:1-2 I watched as the Lamb opened the
first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures
say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a
white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode
out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
Man tells us that the world is getting better; God say they will become
increasingly worse. Man says that peace among nations is close at hand;
God says there will be wars and rumors of wars, kingdom against
kingdoms... Man expects to win the battle against disease, famine, and
hardship; God says there is to be fearful judgments of disease, famine,
and hardship.
The white horse brings a man of conquest. Notice who is opening the
seals of the scroll of the culmination of history: Jesus alone has the
authority and right to do this. Each seal is associated with a living
creature (zoa, one of the cherubim of Ezekiel 1 and 10) who calls out
come (or, it could be translated "go forth") to each horseman. The rider
on the white horse is not Jesus (we shouldn't be fooled just because he
is on a white horse!), but a satanic dictator who imitates Jesus. "The
whole context and character of these seals absolutely forbid our
thinking of this rider being the Lord Jesus, as so many affirm. His
reign shall not bring war, famine, and strife in its train." (Jennings).
The idea of a Satanic dictator over men goes back all the way to Nimrod,
the ruler over Babel in Genesis 10:8-14; it is said he was a mighty
hunter before the Lord, in the sense of being a mighty hunter of men in
the face of God, in an offensive sense. This final Satanic dictator over
men will be the most terrible; he will rule over men as a false Messiah,
and lead man in organized rebellion against God (in the pattern of
Nimrod, his first predecessor); he is the one often called the
Antichrist.
The political and social scene of today is certainly set for the
emergence of such a political leader; all that is waiting is for the
Lord to allow it in His timing - and after He takes His church out of
the picture. And now you know what is restraining, that he may be
revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at
work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the
way. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). Significantly, the first seal opened
brings this dictator to prominence; we are told that the seventieth week
of Daniel 9 begins when this dictator will confirm a covenant with [the]
many (the Jewish people).
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Rev. 6:4 When the Lamb opened the
second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another
horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace
from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large
sword.
The red horse brings war and conflict. All this rider must do is take peace
from the earth; men do the rest of the destruction among themselves. Peace
between men is a gift from God; it is not the natural state of relations
between men. This authority is granted to the horseman; this is, directly or
indirectly, the judgment of God. We live in the age of war and conflict;
since World War II, there have been more than 150 wars of one kind or
another, and right now there are some three dozen armed conflicts taking
thousands of lives yearly. The nations of the world spend more than $1
trillion on military expenditures a year.
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Rev. 6:5-6 When the Lamb opened the third
seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there
before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in
his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living
creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts
of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
The black horse brings scarcity and inequity. The scales symbolize the
need to carefully measure and ration food; it is a time of scarcity. The
prices reflect food costs that are about twelve times higher than
normal; it will cost a day's wage to buy the ingredients for a loaf of
bread. This describes "A time of famine when life will be reduced to the
barest necessities" (Walvoord).
Yet, (comparative) luxuries will be available for those who can afford
them; there will still be the oil and the wine, that should not be
harmed. We see great famine in the world today; yet fewer people suffer
from famine today than 100 years ago. However, understanding the
ecological balance, it would not take much to plunge much of the world
into the kind of scarcity and inequity mentioned here.
"Oil and wine": equivalent, in our culture, to toiletries, beauty aids
and liquor. Luxuries. This is more than famine alone. It describes
global rationing and controls. The Coming World Leader will control the
economy (Rev 13:17). Cf. Amos 8:11. |
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Rev.6:7-8 When the Lamb
opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature
say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider
was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were
given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and
plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The pale horse brings death. There will be a tremendous death toll from
the dictatorship, war, famine and other calamities. Our century has seen
hundreds of millions killed by dictators, wars, and famines; yet this
will pale in comparison to the death toll that comes in the wake of this
ultimate dictator. No wonder Jesus could say For then there will be
great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world
until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:21) Notice that
power is given to the horseman; though all hell is breaking loose on the
earth, God is very much in control.
To learn more about the book of
Revelation
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