The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 6. This morning we're going to be looking at the subject of the Tribulation, also known as Daniel's 70th week, a time period lasting seven years.

The Tribulation and Daniel’s Seventieth Week

We'll probably only get through half of it this morning. But the topic of the Tribulation really makes up the bulk of the book of Revelation. It covers chapters 6 through 18. And then Jesus returns in chapter 19 to destroy his enemies at what we call the Battle of Armageddon.

Last week we ended in Revelation chapter 5 where the Apostle John sees events in heaven which precede the Tribulation period. And do you remember God the Father was seen seated on the throne and in his hand he held a scroll.

That scroll likely represents ownership or the title deed of the earth. And no one was found worthy to take the scroll except the Lamb who was slain. So God determined that Jesus and Jesus alone has the authority to judge the earth.

The First Seal and the Rise of Antichrist

Look at Revelation chapter 6 starting in verse 1. So Jesus has the scroll sealed with seven seals. John writes, now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one of the four living creatures, this is an angel speaking, saying with a loud voice like thunder, come and see.

And 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. This is the beginning of the Tribulation. So the Tribulation begins upon the opening of the first seal.

So what is the first seal? Well the first judgment that comes upon the earth is basically the rise of the man that we refer to as Antichrist. Now some people have seen this rider on a white horse and they assume, many have, that well this must be Jesus.

After all in chapter 19 Jesus is seen coming riding on a white horse. But remember who the Antichrist is. The word Antichrist does not just mean one who is against Christ. The Antichrist certainly is that.

But the prefix anti refers also to one who stands in the place of Christ. In other words the Antichrist is an imposter. He is a false Christ. He is an imitation Christ. And we learn a few things about this man.

First of all we see the fact that the crown was given to him. So he is able to rise to power with the support of many. And it says that he has a bow but you notice there is no mention of any arrows. So this would lead us to believe that his rise to power is relatively peaceful.

And he will have widespread support at least at first. But understand this peace that the Antichrist seems to have and bring in is a false peace. Since the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 3 when they say peace and safety then sudden destruction comes upon them.

And I want you to understand that up until chapter 4 events in the book of Revelation have already happened. Chapters 4 and 5 these are events in heaven. So the next thing basically put it this way the tribulation could start at any time.

We don't know when that will happen. The tribulation could start tomorrow. It could start 50 years from now. It could start 100 years from now. But these things are what?

Imminent.

These things are imminent. So this peace does not last long since the next seal brings widespread conflict upon the earth. Look at verse 3. Revelation chapter 6 verse 3. When he opened the second seal I heard the second living creature saying come and see.

Another horse fiery red went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth. And that people should kill one another and there was given to him a great sword. So it appears that what God is doing he is lifting his hand of restraint.

You know you may think things right now are bad. Well they could be a lot worse. God is restraining evil in the world. He does that through human government. He does that through the Christian church.

He does it through individuals. Ultimately it's the power of the Holy Spirit that restrains evil upon the earth. During the tribulation what is God doing? He's lifting his hand of restraint. To where the Antichrist who is empowered by Satan he is now able to rise to power.

I suspect in any generation Satan has certain candidates for Antichrist. Well now the Lord is in a sense saying to Satan okay now is your time. So what happens? Worldwide conflict breaks out. And shortly after that the Antichrist has rised to power.

There is this warfare. So the peace, whenever peace was there it obviously didn't last long. So the Antichrist appears to be a man of peace. But he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Here is the thing about false Christs and agents of Satan.

They lie.

You can't believe what they say. They'll say one thing and then do another. So he comes with peace on his lips. But really he's a man of blood and destruction. So the people of this world they will not realize it at first.

They will not figure out that he is the beast. That's what John calls him in Revelation. They will not realize that he is the beast or a beast until the middle of the Tribulation. So we believe the Church is going to be raptured.

Certainly before God's wrath falls. But the people of this world, unbelievers don't think along these terms do they? Unbelievers don't believe the book of Revelation. Unbelievers don't think that there is ever going to be an Antichrist.

So when he rises to power, the people of the world will not recognize it or see it that way. But how will they see him then? As a great man. A wise leader. A man who has the solutions to the world's problems.

He will be a God-like figure. He will be seen as a man of peace. I just want to try to help you to maybe understand the type of figure the Antichrist will be. I want you to consider for a moment. Don't read into what I'm saying.

But I want you to consider for a moment the papacy. The Pope is regarded by world rulers as a great man. He is almost universally recognized all over the world as a great man of peace. Every nation he visits, people look to him.

They bow to him. They kiss his ring. If he touches an object and blesses it, that is now a sacred object. So don't misunderstand me. I am not saying the current Pope is the Antichrist. You heard me say that.

Okay.

That's not what I'm saying. But that is likely the type of figure the Antichrist will be. He will be seen like a God-like figure with great influence over the kings of the earth. But, of course, as with any person who rises to power, there's going to be, at least at some point, some opposition.

War, Famine, and Death in the Second Through Fourth Seals

So this is how the tribulation begins. The rise of this world ruler. After that comes warfare, which is what you would expect. After that comes famine. We see this in verse 8. So I looked, and behold, the next horse was a pale horse.

And the name of him who sat on it was Death. And Hades followed him. And power was given over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. So I think I accidentally skipped over the third seal.

But the third seal is a black horse. That brings famine. And then the pale horse brings death. How many people in the world die? We're talking about one-fourth of the earth's population. So things are getting bad.

But you know what? This is just the beginning. And if you think, well, this sermon sounds like a real drag. This is really negative. You know what? There's going to be some positive things God is doing during the tribulation.

So we're going to touch on that. So there is the rise of Antichrist. There is warfare. There is famine. And then one-fourth of the earth's population are killed. Now we get to the fifth seal, starting in verse 9.

Martyrs Cry Out for Vengeance Under the Altar

This refers to events in heaven. Those who have been martyred for the faith, what are they doing? They're seen under the altar, and they're crying out to God, saying, How long, O Lord, until you take vengeance?

And this is one of the reasons why, as Christians, we are not to take vengeance on others. We've all been wronged. We all see evil things happening in the world. Why are we not supposed to take vengeance?

Because vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. So that's God's job. So God will answer their prayer to take vengeance, but it's going to be on His terms and His timing. And we learn something else from this.

The first half of the tribulation, while it is God's judgment, that's true, God is not yet taking vengeance. Do we see that? They're calling out to God, Lord, how long until you do it? That means up until the fifth seal, God is not taking vengeance.

So the point is, God's wrath, God's vengeance upon this earth will not be poured out until at least after the sixth seal. So I want you to visualize this. You have the seven-year tribulation, okay? The first half of the seven years are bad.

The second half of the seven years, known as the great tribulation, that is outright horrific. So the second half is God's wrath. The first half is not necessarily God's wrath. God's wrath has not yet started as of the fifth seal.

And you know, thankfully, as we talked about last week, what did we see last week? The faithful church will be spared from all of this because we saw in Revelation chapter 4, the church is already in heaven.

So God has raptured his church, we believe, before the tribulation began. So if you are saved, this is nothing to get all anxious about.

Why?

Because if you're saved, you will not be going through this. But if a person is not saved and these events are right around the corner, potentially, those people would be certainly in a lot of trouble.

Okay, so understand, up until the fifth seal, God is not pouring out his wrath. What we are reading about, basically, is more like Satan having his way with the world. Of course, to some degree, Satan is having his way in the world right now, right?

Amen.

That's obvious that that's happening, but God is still restraining things. Things could be a lot worse. What is Satan called? Right now, in this age, he is called the God of this world, the prince of the power of the air.

So, as of now, the Holy Spirit, through the church, is restraining evil upon the earth. But once the church is removed, once the ministry of the Holy Spirit is removed and the church is taken to heaven, then all hell, so to speak, will start to break loose.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Moores Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, moorescornickchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.