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Four Horsemen Of The
Apocalypse
CompellingTruth.org
"Apocalypse" is another word for "Revelation",
and means "the unveiling" in the Greek language.
The Apostle John was given a vision by
God about things that would occur in the last days immediately prior to the
second coming of Christ, so in a sense God "unveiled" to John what
will occur in the future.
One of the things God disclosed to John was that a triune series of judgments will occur at some point that will bring great destruction upon the world.
One of the things God disclosed to John was that a triune series of judgments will occur at some point that will bring great destruction upon the world.
These are described in chapters 6-18 in
Revelation and consist of what are called the seal, trumpet, and bowl
judgments.
These collective judgments are also
described by Jesus in Matthew 24 (cf. also Luke 21 and Mark 13) and are often called the "great tribulation,"
a term used by Jesus:
"For then there will be
great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until
now, no, and never will be" (Matthew 24:21).
The first series of judgments that are
revealed are the seal judgments.
In chapter 5 of Revelation, John sees
God the Father holding a scroll that is sealed with seven seals.
The scroll itself represents the title
deed to the earth and is Christ's inheritance, which belongs to Him alone.
Chapter 5 clearly states that only Jesus
is worthy to open the scroll, and with each seal that is broken, a
corresponding judgment occurs as Christ reclaims what has been stolen from Him
by Satan and an unbelieving world.
The first four seals are portrayed as
four different horses and riders. Each is commanded to come forward from four
beings that are likely special angels called cherubim.
The first horseman is
described in this manner: "Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of
the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice
like thunder, 'Come!' And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider
had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to
conquer" (Revelation 6:1–2).
Horses in Scripture are typically
associated with triumph, majesty, power, and conquest.
The first horse is white, which is what
a conquering king would use to ride into a nation/city that he had just
successfully defeated.
The horse's rider wears a special crown,
which in the first century was made of foliage and signified extremely high
status.
The rider carries a bow, but no arrows
are mentioned, which communicates that the rider is a warrior, but that he will
initially conquer not through force, but by peace.
Most theologians agree that the rider
represents the Antichrist, who will be "given" his crown by a world
that elects him to bring about the peace and safety they desperately crave.
The Antichrist will promise peace and
make a peace treaty with Israel (cf. Daniel 9:27), but in the end it proves to be a false peace that he uses to
entrap an unsuspecting world.
This fact is described by
the prophet Daniel: "And through his policy also he shall cause craft
to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and
by peace shall destroy many" (Daniel 8:25 KJV,
emphasis added).
It will not be long before
that peace is shattered, but by then it will be too late – a truth described by
the Apostle Paul: "While people are saying, 'There is peace and
security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon
a pregnant woman, and they will not escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
War is unleashed upon the
earth with the coming of the second horseman: "When he opened the
second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come!' And out came
another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the
earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great
sword" (Revelation 6:3–4).
The second rider specifically takes the
false peace from the world that the Antichrist established.
No doubt the Antichrist himself will be
involved in war and bloodshed, which the red horseman depicts, although other
wars will break out apart from the Antichrist.
The adjective "great"
that describes the sword given to the rider of the red horse illustrates the exceedingly
great carnage that will result from this judgment, while the term used for the
sword itself refers to a short, dagger-like sword used by assassins and those
involved in close fighting.
Jesus described this
period of time in His Olivet discourse: "And you will hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the
end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (Matthew 24:6–7).
The third horseman
represents horrible famines that will come upon the earth: "When he
opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come!' And I
looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his
hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living
creatures, saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley
for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!'" (Revelation 6:5–6).
A denarius represented a day's wage back
in the first century, and a quart of wheat was about the portion for one
person's meal.
Barley was normally used to feed
animals, but was sometimes eaten by the very poor. Oil and wine were typically
used for cooking.
The scales carried by the black horse's
rider represent a measuring system that will give a person barely enough to eat
for a full day's labor.
This shows food costing 8–10 times its
normal price in the first century. Clearly, famine conditions are showcased by
the third horseman of the apocalypse.
The fourth horse and rider
are the natural culmination of the first three: "When he opened the
fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come!' And I
looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades
followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill
with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the
earth" (Revelation 6:7–8).
The word "pale" or "ashen"
as in some translations in the Greek is chloros from which the
word "chlorophyll" is derived.
The yellowish-green horse is the color
of a corpse. Death is the natural result of war and famine, with Hades, said to
follow the rider, representing the grave.
A full one quarter of the earth's
population will perish from the four horsemen, which showcases why Jesus says
in Matthew 24:21 that the time of
tribulation will be something that the world has not seen up to that point.
And what's worse, it is only the
beginning of God's judgments that will come upon the earth.
However, the wrath of God described in
the book of Revelation can be escaped by putting one's trust in Jesus Christ.
It is only through His death and
resurrection that deliverance can be found.
But for those who reject
Christ, there is no deliverance, only certain judgment, which is a truth the
writer of Hebrews may have had in mind when he wrote, "how shall we
escape if we neglect such a great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).
CompellingTruth.org is an outreach
of www.GotQuestions.org.
The purpose statement of CompellingTruth.org is: "Presenting the truth of the Christian faith in a compelling, relevant, and practical way."
Our mission is to take the questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements that exist within the Christian faith and shine the truth of God's Word on them. We believe the truth of God's Word is compelling. If we would all truly and fully submit ourselves to the truth of God's Word, most of our questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements would disappear. God's Word does not directly address every situation we face in life, but it does contain truth that can apply to anything and everything we deal with.
Whether it is theology, apologetics, or the practical Christian life - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word. Whether it is about God, Jesus, salvation, the Bible, sin, or eternity - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word.
The purpose statement of CompellingTruth.org is: "Presenting the truth of the Christian faith in a compelling, relevant, and practical way."
Our mission is to take the questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements that exist within the Christian faith and shine the truth of God's Word on them. We believe the truth of God's Word is compelling. If we would all truly and fully submit ourselves to the truth of God's Word, most of our questions, issues, struggles, and disagreements would disappear. God's Word does not directly address every situation we face in life, but it does contain truth that can apply to anything and everything we deal with.
Whether it is theology, apologetics, or the practical Christian life - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word. Whether it is about God, Jesus, salvation, the Bible, sin, or eternity - we want to present the compelling truth of God's Word.
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