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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Introduction- Commonly the 1st 4 seals are called the 4 horsemen of Revelation or the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse. There are 4 horsemen listed in Zechariah but not in the same order, There are differences in the horsemen and what they do. But they might give some insight into what is said in the Book of Revelation.
Focus Scripture 1 Jn 4:3 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
The spirit of Antichrist is already in the world. That means that evil is here and people here that do not want to serve the Lord or admit that Christ has come to redeem us is important. The Spirit of Antichrist says that Christ is not come. Do you believe that Jesus came for you and died for your sins? Do you believe that God and Satan both exist in this world? The Spirit of Antichrist is here which is to take you away from the work of God!
Zech. 6:2-8 2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.6 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.7 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.
Zechariah was a prophet who prophesied around 520 BC. Notice there are 4 horsemen and they are red, black, grey and white. The same colors as in Rev. 6 The difference is that the black horse goes north and the white go with them. In Rev 6 the white leads the 4 horses. The grey or grisled ( bay) here go to the south but in Rev 6 it represents Death. In Both cases the 4 horses are told to go throughout the earth. So there are differences and also similarities between the 2 passages.
The First Seal We know that White represents the saints and the Lord in Rev 19. White also represents purity. The Antichrist is the exact opposite of Christ. Jesus is life but the Devil brings death and destroys. This is talking about the Devil’s time and when he will have his day. Then after the time of trouble Christ will return to make things right! Satan is a thief and when the Antichrist is revealed he will seem to bring peace but since He is a deceiver and will in fact take peace from the Earth! The Antichrist is called the Son of Satan. John SAW the Antichrist on the white horse and what he looked like!
Steals Kills and Destroys John 10:10 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
One of the things we know about Satan is this: Satan is evil for you cannot spell Devil without the word evil. Satan is Evil! And wants to and wants to bring destruction to so many. He wants to steal, kill and destroy. IT does not matter who you are for that is his desire to hurt you! He especially wants to hurt you if you belong to the Lord! The Lord will protect you for God is with you all the time no matter what the Devil wants to do to you!
Antichrist Revealed Rev 6:1-2 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.2 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.
No one except for God alone knows who the Antichrist is or when he will actually be revealed. No one knows the day or hour when the rapture will happen. We do know that there will be a short time between the rapture and the revelation of the Antichrist for he will need to do some things and there will be some heavenly events that will take place before the 1st seal is opened. The Antichrist cannot be revealed until that 1st seal is opened! He wants to imitate Christ and make people think he is a man of peace when in fact he is not. Notice that the Antichrist comes forth to conquer and he rides a white horse with a bow but with no arrows! The crown is given to him so that means that he is not born a king! So he is not born royalty!
Wickedness of the Antichrist 2 Th 2:6-12 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The Antichrist will be the Most- evil person who ever lived. HE is called the Wicked One! He is the person who will deceive and cause people to be damned. He wants to bring people to hell! He will want to do wonders to deceive people. He cannot be revealed to the church is taken out of the way. (Some say this is the Holy Spirit but there are many who will be saved during the tribulation and no one can be saved unless the Holy Spirit. So, the he must refer to the body of Christ.) The Wicked one is the Antichrist for we know that the Antichrist will be destroyed at the end of the tribulation by the Lord! (Rev 19) So, Satan is behind the Antichrist for the Antichrist is part of the Satanic trinity!
The Second Seal- one of the things that will follow will be war. War will happen against the saints of the most- high and also against other nations. He will rule by fear not by obedience. He will rule by people who will feel they must obey or else. Christ brings peace and love but he brings fear and hate. These first four fear open soon after he comes or is revealed. This is a demonic spirit causing the war! Satan wants to get RID of the Church and to destroy those that are of God. Satan hates God and His people are becoming more and more hateful of the things of GOD!
Red Horse Rev 6:3-4 3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.4 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.
The Red horse here represents the flow of blood! The Antichrist comes to make war not peace. They are so full of anger and hate that they want to kill each other. They are full of anger and hate Notice that the horse is called the 2nd beast. He wants to remove peace not over a geographical area but over the whole earth. The Antichrist will try to become a world dictator. The other horsemen were sent to help the Antichrist in his rule and domination. The colors represent the job that they have to do!
In the World you will have Tribulation Jn 16:33 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
This is a promise from the Lord that during the times of our worst trouble we need to know that we are overcomers. IT does not matter what the Devil does we can know that we are able to overcome. God wants to give us peace and yet we can be of good cheer for God is with us and we will overcome! Do not focus on how bad the Devil is to us, instead focus on how good God is to us! In the world you have trouble or tribulation but in Christ you have a reason to celebrate for you have good cheer. God is for you and not against you!
Desolations are Determined Dan 9:25-27 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.26 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.27 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.
There are 70 weeks of years that were left at the time of this prophecy which means 490 years but it took 483 until the Lord died on Calvary. So there are 7 weeks remaining of these 490 in the Lord’s dealing with the Jewish people. The final week God reserved for the tribulation period. Some of these events may have already started. We are in the end times. We are getting closer and closer to this period of time. During this time the abomination of desolation will occur and the Great Tribulation will begin. The desolations will begin before the Great Tribulation starts and in fact have already started in preparation for the start of the tribulation.
The Third Seal Once war happens then famine also follows. So many things are put into a country preparing for war that the nations may not have the resources for other things. Famine comes for there are so there are food shortages and the disruption of economic activities and makes it possible for nations to have a hard time surviving. Remember this is a demonic spirit causing this famine. This is a BIG problem in the Tribulation for so many will die from this. Even know Famine is spreading through the Earth!
Black Horse Rev 6:5-6 5 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.6 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.
Black is a color that represents darkness. It also is a color that says if you are in the black you are doing well. Yet here the black horse represents economic ruin. There are a pair of balances which represents finances. So it would cost about a days wage for a pint of wheat. So, you could barely feed your family for your daily salary. That does not include mortgage, or other needed expenses like clothing or heat or utilities. The oil and wine were luxury items. So the rich could manage but not the middle class or poor during this time.
I Will Choose Deut. 30:19 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
This is a promise that God will provide for you no matter what. God provided for Abraham and Isaac during a famine. God wants us to choose life and blessing and not death and cursing! When you choose life then God can still provide no matter what is going on in the world! God’s promises are eternal and that means that God provides no matter what the Devil does. God’s power to provide is greater than the devil’s power to destroy. This promise is part of the blessing of Abraham!
God Protects You in Famine Job 5:19-23 19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
Job said that God will deliver us in famine and that we should not be afraid of the destruction that comes. There is nothing that the devil can do to a saint of God that should make him fear. We can laugh at the works of Satan for God is greater! Do not be afraid of the beasts of the field either. Nothing can defeat you! Nature will be at peace with you when you are at peace with God. No evil can come against you. Satan can try but he will not win!
The Fourth Seal- when there is famine and war then death will follow. People die in war. There are many more who die because of the war and famine that come. Death is the result! Here it says ¼ of the earth will die. That means that ¼ of the remaining that was not raptured. To kill with the sword, hunger, death and the beasts of the field. These are not just things that follow but spirits that come to help the Antichrist in his demonic intents. The CAP he wears is a badge of honor!
Covenant with Death Isa 28:15-18 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
I want to point out that unless you are born again you have a covenant with death/ You are either born from above or born in darkness. The antichrist will make lies the refuge. God makes Jesus our rock and refuge. But in this passage when you make lies your refuge then you have a covenant with death and you will have death, your covenant with death is not disannulled and your agreement with hell stands until Jesus comes into your life. SO in the tribulation death and hell are a part of your life! Come to Jesus before the tribulation comes so death and hell will not have to be part of your life!
Adversary wants to kill you 1 Peter 5:8 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
We have an adversary who is Satan and he wants to destroy you in every way possible. He wants to destroy your finances and health and wants to destroy your witness. He goes about as a roaring lion but he cannot defeat the Lord and is only a deceiver and imitator. He wants to steal kill and destroy and devour the church but even though he seeks that does not mean he is able to do so!
Pale Horse Rev 6:7-8 7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
The Pale horse represents Death and hell. It is pale because it has no life in it. Notice that the rider of the horse wants to kill and does kill ¼ of the earth. This figure is in the millions for many have already left because of the rapture of the church. Satan wants to kill but God wants to give life and give it more abundantly!
Conclusion The 4 horsemen start the destruction and terror of the tribulation period. IT is not peace but the Devil wants to destroy and deceive many. Only the saints of God will not be deceived. The Holy Spirit will lead the saints so they will not be deceived but this will be the worst time ever on planet Earth. When you focus on how bad things are and how bad things will become then you might lose sight of the goodness of God! I want to encourage you that even when things are bad God is still good for there is a bad Satan and a Good God so let us learn to focus on the grace of God and his goodness!
Application- You have a choice you can make. The choice is either to follow the Lord and bring others to Christ or to follow the world and be deceived by the false peace and joy that the Devil tries to dangle in front of you. The Devil only shows you imitations but what he has is not real! So, today I want you to share the gospel with someone. Bring someone to the Lord and to do that you should copy and paste the prayer and our website address. Tell them about Christ and ask the Lord who you can speak to! God will lead you and bring them to church next Sunday!
Prayer for healing- (pray in faith believing) Expect a miracle and see yourself as being healed. Find a Scripture for your healing and speak that forth. Heavenly Father I pray for healing. I thank you for manifesting healing in my body today! You took all my sickness, disease, pain, sorrow for you paid for it on the cross of Calvary. I speak healing into my body and command ______________ to leave my body! No weapon can defeat me! I call myself healed because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Devil take your hands off of me for I am the child of the living God! Now thank the Lord for healing you!
Prayer for Salvation- I pray that all of you will come to know Jesus. Pray with me: Heavenly Father I recognize my need for you for without Jesus, I cannot make it in this life. I need you! I know I am a sinner and I need your SON. I recognize that Jesus died for my sin when Jesus died for me on Calvary. I believe that he rose again so that I can go to heaven and live with you there. Thank you for paying for my sin and bringing me into your forever family. So, Jesus come into my heart and live in me today! I am now a Christian!
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The Throne a
Introduction- In the
sunday March 19, 2023
