The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse — Keith Malcomson

I'm gonna ask you to turn to two books of the Bible, and as you turn there, I'm going to simply mention two individuals. I want you to turn to the book of Revelation chapter six, and we're simply gonna read that.

But I also want you to turn to the Old Testament, and this is where we're gonna concentrate tonight, is the book of Zechariah. And when you turn to the Old Testament, you have Zechariah, Malachi, and then Matthew in the New Testament.

That's how you can easily find it. But I'm gonna concentrate on Zechariah, but I do wanna read from Revelation chapter six. And as you find that, I wanna mention here tonight two very special ladies that have just gone to be with the Lord, and I think most of you know, but just to say a word about them.

I have been deeply impacted by certain people in my lifetime. I mean, straight up until this year. And some of these ladies that I've had to do with, I assure you, no preacher that I know will get a reward like they're gonna get as they enter the presence of God.

One of them is Janice Clendenin, sister Clendenin, brother Clendenin's wife, who went to be with the Lord last Saturday. She was a lady of 95 years old. Brother Clendenin died 12 years ago, and she stood by his side to put this school of Christ in 150 nations over a period of 18 years.

A phenomenal work, and she was a phenomenal woman. I mean, she was the embodiment of what scripture teaches. She was a meek lady, a woman of real faith, a woman of great stature and character. But I believe she embodies what the Bible talks about meekness and quietness in a lady.

And yet she was a remarkably strong lady who stood for the Lord all through those years. And do you know, we have the utter highest regard for her. Every time we ran a school, we always sent her a bunch of flowers and a card from the school, thanking her for the sacrifices that she made that are still affecting lives.

And I'm so glad for her life. She lived faithfully. She's now gone to her reward. Ladies, you have a challenge to fill the boots of some of the greatest ladies that I've ever known in my life who are now departing.

Their prayers are no longer gonna be in this earth. Their testimony has gone to be with the Lord. They've gone to their reward, but it leaves a gap in the wall, a breach. There's those that must stand up, come forth through the kingdom of God and take their place.

The second lady only got a letter yesterday from her niece, and that is Una McMillan, who she just recently turned 100 years old. She lived to one day enter 100th birthday to celebrate it. When Candice prayed with her last year, she said, pray that I'll reach my 100th birthday.

And she was a remarkable lady. We told you about her before. She actually served, her dad was a pastor with George Jeffries many years ago. She is a young girl of 13 years old, was baptized in the Holy Ghost at a George Jeffries campaign.

She was healed, I think about 13 as well. She had TB. She shouldn't have been out of her bed, but she said, I must get baptized in water. And her mom says, you can't get out of your bed. She says, I must, I must obey the Lord and be baptized.

Well, as she went down into the waters of baptism in that river, the Lord totally healed her. And she was raised up. She lived to 100 years old, walking with the Lord. And you know, I could have just wept yesterday as I received that letter and opened it.

And for the first time heard that she'd gone to be with the Lord. I'm not sorry for her. My tears are not for her, but it's that human natural element. I grieved, I could have wept to hear that my sister that I love, I'm gonna see her very soon again.

These saints are leaving and going home. They have served their generation very, very well. But ladies, and you men as well, but you ladies, will you not walk in the truth of God and take up the mantle?

When my great-grandmother died at a very great age, my mother had only got saved a few hours before. And three days later, as my mom only saved three days, stood at the graveside of her grandmother, my great-grandmother, and she stood there, the only member of the entire family born again.

She felt like the mantle of her grandmother had now been passed to her. She was saved hours before her grandmother went to be with the Lord. And now she had the responsibility to pray for every family member, to pray for salvation.

Saints, I pray that even in hearing about these great ladies, I mean, they're very normal. They're the most normal ladies you'd ever meet, but they were women that marked the kingdom of God worldwide.

Do you know, Sister McMillan, she phoned us when we were in the midst of great crisis and trial with School of Christ. I mean, we were in a crisis, and a phone call come and said, I need to speak to you.

First time I ever met her said, I heard Brother Clendenin preach, and I need to speak to you. Said, he is a man of God, just like George Jeffries. And she phoned us incessantly for a period of 15 years.

Every time something was happening with Candice or me, she would phone, leave a message, and say, no, what's going on? And she'd always be very specific. Says, no, something's going on with Candice. What is it?

I'm praying. No, you need to phone me back and tell me. Every time, it was, I mean, without fail for a period of 10, 15 years, it was remarkable. A woman who said, I pray for you every single day. Do you know what?

With a couple of other older believers in their late 80s, they would gather up their pension, what they had of their pension, and send a check, maybe 100 pounds, maybe 200 pounds, and say, we want this to go to the work of the Lord.

They didn't have much. They had very little in this world. But do you know what? They sacrificed and they gave. And I tell you, we've got shoes to fill in a remarkable way. I do pray the Lord will challenge you and encourage you in these days.

Revelation Six as the Foundation for Understanding the Four Horsemen

Turning here tonight in our message, the first in this new series, to Revelation chapter six, and also the book of Zechariah. You're gonna realize tonight the importance of what I'm gonna do and teach in going and spending time in Zechariah in order to understand the book of Revelation.

And here tonight, I had three points. I've set aside two of them because the one point I'm gonna bring you tonight is so vital to understand Revelation six. I actually believe without what I preach tonight, if I don't teach this from Zechariah, you could never truly understand Revelation six.

What I'm doing is giving you a foundation. I'm giving you the keys, the ability to understand Revelation six. And there's no point me teaching or preaching on Revelation six and the four horses of the apocalypse, unless I begin to show you how to understand it.

And so that's what I had three points to help you to understand the whole context. But they are just an hour ago, I went, you know what? I'm gonna lose tonight. If I try to preach these three points, I'm only gonna concentrate on one single point.

But as you well know, as we go into this one point, I'm gonna give you an awful lot in this one point. And as we begin to deal with Revelation six next week, this message tonight is gonna help you. This will totally change your view of Revelation six.

And you know what? It will set aside many teachings of men and begin to help you to understand it. Read and first of all, hear from Revelation six. And as the message goes on, I'm gonna take you to Zechariah, to find Zechariah, Zechariah, Malachi, and then Matthew.

But I'm gonna preach from Zechariah chapter one and chapter six. And I want you to follow closely, but we're gonna read here from Revelation six. Our series on my first message tonight, the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Revelation chapter six and verse one, reading through to verse eight. And I saw the lamb opened. Sorry, let me start again. 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. And I saw on behold a white horse and he that sat on him had a bow and a crown was given onto him. And he went forth conquering and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, come and see.

And there went out another horse that was red and power was given to him that sat there on to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another. And there was given unto him a great sword.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, come and see. And behold, and lo a black horse and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beast 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.

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. 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. Let's pray together as we come to the word here tonight.

Father, I do thank you God for the word of God for the hour that you brought us the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to. Lord God, what a pivotal hour. We're so glad for the saints that have lived prior to us in this previous generation that preached to us, that prayed for us, that encouraged us, that remembered us before the throne of God.

Lord God, my heart breaks tonight and grieves that mourns for those that are leaving us in the body of Christ and going into your presence. And yet I say that with great joy knowing that they have received of their reward when you help us tonight to play our part in the body of Christ and our generation and this unique time in history.

Will you help us in this church listening tonight to this message? Will you help us to be upright, to walk faithfully, to play our part Lord God and to do the will of God in our generation before we see you face to face?

We do love you and we thank you for such a unique hour That we have the privilege, the blessing of seeing the entire stage of history set, of Biblical prophecy being come to its absolute fulfilment. Lord God, I pray tonight's message would put a sense of urgency and yet rest in the Lord.

Not being scared of what we see happening in the nations, but O God, as we see all that's happening in our world, Lord God, that our eyes would be fixed on Jesus with an assurance of faith that you are about to bring all things to fulfilment in the earth, that Jesus Christ might be glorified in Jesus' name, Amen.

Comparing Scripture with Scripture

My message to the four horsemen of the apocalypse, we are going to deal with the first four seals of the seven seals in Revelation 6. We're not going to deal with the other three seals, we're only going to deal with four seals because the first four seals uniquely have within them four horses.

Each of the first four seals, when they're open, have a horse that rides out. In order to understand this, which we're going to begin to deal with, with each of these four horses, we need to understand the time because there's so many wrong teachings about this.

You see, I've heard for several years, and especially since the beginning of COVID for a year and a half, that the white horse has already ridden out, that all these things are already in place, are happening.

I'm going to tell you they're not happening yet. And that's why I want to teach you clearly that you understand it, that you know the hour that you're actually living in. I don't want you to be confused.

But here tonight, I want to lay the foundation before we go to the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelation chapter 6. It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 13, and we've said this before, the Holy Ghost teaches.

How does the Holy Spirit teach you? Comparing spiritual thing with spiritual. The word comparing there is subkreno. It's made up of two words. It means to compare one thing with another. It means to combine them, to collate them, and to make them one thing, not two things.

You see, how does the Holy Spirit teach us about any subject in the Bible? It is comparing Scripture with Scripture. You see, I cannot just teach you about Revelation 6 by only preaching from Revelation 6.

I've got to compare Scripture with Scripture. If the Holy Spirit is to teach you in this series, you won't understand it. That's why there's so many wrong teachings about Revelation 6. They go to it with their own mind, with their own understanding, or with what a popular preacher has taught.

They say it is this or it is that. I want to tell you we need the Holy Spirit to teach us, but how does he teach us about Revelation 6? He actually says go and compare Scripture with Scripture. Gather Scriptures together.

Go to other places in the Bible. Let the Bible interpret the Bible. Don't bring your own understanding to bear. Let the Bible speak. Let it teach you. Let it show you what I mean in Revelation 6. I'm tired of people with Bible prophecy giving their opinion, their ideas, their thoughts.

I think, I mean people who don't know, don't have a clue, and yet they'll try to teach you when they don't know themselves. But we want the Holy Spirit to teach us. How does he teach us? By comparing Scripture with Scripture.

It says in 2 Timothy 2 and 14, listen, there's Paul writing to a young preacher in the church in Ephesus, a young man that he trained up who's right in the heart of ministry. He says there in Timothy, of these things put them, the church, in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but the subverting of the hearers.

Paul is telling Timothy, you need to stop all of this talk in the church. There is striving about words and it's not profitable, arguing about Scripture, about things that aren't important, and it subverts or turns over the faith of individuals or those who are hearing the Word of God.

An awful lot less needs to be said in the church, I mean worldwide, an awful lot less. There's too many voices and you've got to be very careful who you listen to. So Paul says that, then listen to the next verse.

He says to Timothy, study to show thyself approved unto God. You're a young preacher, study, you need to study, you need to lay out the Word, you need to spend time in the Word of God in order to be approved of God.

A workman, that means when you study the Word of God, you're a workman. I want to tell you, I'll work as hard as anyone to prepare for a message. It is involving hours, days, years, decades of toil and labor.

It is an intensive job to study the Scripture. And so Paul is telling Timothy here, if you're going to be approved, be a good workman that needeth not to be ashamed. How do you do that? Rightly dividing the Word of truth.

I'm talking about comparing Scripture with Scripture, gathering the teaching of the Bible to be taught of the Holy Spirit. Paul says to Timothy, if you're not going to be ashamed on that day before Christ, you need to rightly divide the Word of truth.

What does rightly divide in it mean? It means to cut a straight line. As you study the Bible, as you labor over it as a workman, you're to cut a straight line or to find a path through Scripture. Use the study of Scripture to find a path, to hold a straight course, to make a straight line and to handle it rightly and teach in the church.

So Timothy, as you gather Scripture, as you study, as you research, as you pray over the Word of God, I want you out of that to actually steer a straight course that you can teach the church and keep them away from error and it's practical.

Then this in the next verse, after Paul tells Timothy about rightly dividing the Word of truth, because there's an awful lot of preachers do not rightly divide the Word of God. They will teach you things that will harm you.

They actually don't know what they're confused themselves. They actually split up the Word of God rather than unifying it. And if you listen to them, it will have serious consequences. That's why so many in the church, they don't know what error is.

They listen all the preachers and they do not know what error is because those preachers do not know what error is. Those preachers are wrongly dividing the Word of God. But here he's told rightly divide the Word of God.

Then the next verse, but shun profane and vain babblings for they will increase onto more ungodliness. Now much talk, debate, arguments, theological strivings in the church, it leads to ungodliness. Any talking over scripture that leads you to go, hey, I can live as I want is a very dangerous thing.

And there's a lot that goes on in the church. It doesn't lead you to holiness and purity and perfection and sanctification. It is very dangerous. You've got to be very careful. And so when we come to these things, it's not to create arguments.

I don't care about arguments of scripture. I want to know truth and to handle it rightly because I don't want to be ashamed one day. I really don't. But I believe that even these messages can be to your holiness, your sanctification, to lead you closer to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so Revelation 6, as we see the four seals open and the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride out, how are we to interpret them? I'm going to take you to the book of Zechariah here tonight. We want to understand the horses and the horsemen on these four horses.

The Bible mentions horses well over 300 times in our Bible. Sometimes they're symbolic. Sometimes they're prophetic. Sometimes they are literal. And so we want to compare scripture with scripture. We don't want to just read Revelation and try and understand it.

That's not good to do. I want to read Revelation 6, then compare scripture with scripture so I understand it. This is how the Holy Spirit will teach you. And tonight we're going to look at horses elsewhere that are similar to Revelation 6.

Zechariah’s Visions of Horses and Chariots

If you go to Zechariah 1 here tonight and chapter 6, you're going to see that there's a similar vision to what we find in Revelation 6. Zechariah, the prophet, his name means the Lord remembers. It's an entire prophecy of hope of 14 chapters.

And Zechariah was a remarkable prophet. And I want to show you that in bringing Zechariah to bear, we're going to understand Revelation 6. Do you remember how earlier in the year we looked at Daniel? And to understand Daniel, the beasts, you've got to go to Revelation.

And to understand Revelation, the beasts in Revelation, you've got to go back to Daniel. You can't understand the book of Revelation without Daniel. You cannot do that. You will come out with crazy ideas as you see the beasts and the horns.

And as you see all of these things, you will have very strange ideas. You won't know how to apply it. But if you go back to Daniel and compare and put all of this together, collate it together, combine it under the help of the Holy Spirit, you begin to understand what is happening in this hour of history.

It's the same with Zechariah. We're going to bring it in and let the Holy Spirit simply... I'm not going to teach a lot. I'm literally laying it out. You can actually tell me by the end of this message, what does this begin to tell us about Revelation 6?

I want you to be convinced in your own heart, not me giving ideas and opinions and telling you what I think. I want you to become convinced in your own heart of what the Bible says about it. In Zechariah 1 and chapter 6, we see different colored horses and chariots.

We have two visions and it's a spiritual vision, but they also need interpreted. When we go to Zechariah 1 and verse 1, listen to what it says. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah.

This was his first prophecy that the Lord began to speak to Zechariah. If you're going to speak to the church, you better have God speak to you. Why give something if God hasn't given it to you? I don't want to preach if God doesn't speak to me.

I really don't. But here in Zechariah 1, we get the date, not the day, but the month and the year that God spoke the first prophecy unto Zechariah. It was the second year of Darius. This was the first prophecy and it was a message of repentance.

Then look at verse 7. We have the second prophecy coming to Zechariah. It says, upon the fourth and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Sabbat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah.

This second vision and prophecy that Zechariah received was three months later than the first prophecy. He had a prophecy and a vision and he spoke that prophecy. Three months later, here he is. And we actually get the date of the prophecy.

And it's very important for what I'm going to say. He gives us the date. Now, so that you can understand it tonight in our time scale, the date of it is the 15th of February. 519 BC. 15th of February, 519 BC.

We're given the date when this vision is actually given to Zechariah. He had a prophecy three months before, but now he is receiving his first vision from God. And it involves horses, actual spiritual horses.

In fact, from chapter one all the way through to chapter six, we read that there's eight distinct visions that Zechariah receives. Eight different visions. He receives them all in one night, one single night on this date.

And they're all different. It begins with horses and it ends with horses and chariots. And I believe these two visions at the beginning and end will help you to understand Revelation chapter six. Let's look at us here tonight.

We have the first vision of Zechariah in chapter one, verse 17 to verse, sorry, verse seven to verse 17. Read with me, follow with me in verse eight. It says, I saw by night and behold a man riding upon a red horse.

And he stood amongst the myrtle trees that were in the bottom. And behind him were there three horses speckled and white. Then said I, Oh my Lord, what are these horses? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these be.

Do not make up your own interpretation of Bible prophecy. Listen to what it says. The prophet Zechariah didn't say, Now I think this is what I'm seeing. He never done that. He didn't say I've had years of experience and I know what I'm seeing.

Do you know what he said? He said, he asked, he said, What am I looking at? I don't understand this. If you try to be smart with the word of God, you'll come out with an awful lot of foolishness. With Bible prophecy, you've got to inquire of the Lord.

Teach me what I'm looking at here. He had a vision of these horses and they were not natural horses. In verse 8 it says, First of all, a man riding upon a red horse. This is why we're here. It's very similar to the red horse in Revelation chapter 6.

There's a revelation. There's a horse there with a man on it. And here in Zechariah chapter 1, we have a man riding a red horse and it's not natural. It's in a vision. It's spiritual. It is God showing something that is happening in the nations.

And so we see that there is a comparison here in verse 11. Just a few verses later in verse 11. Listen to what it says. It explains who this man is on the red horse. And they answered the angel of the Lord.

Who is the man on the red horse? If you read this in context, he is the angel of the Lord. In other words, the man on the red horse in Zechariah 1, what is he? Is he a man? Is he a prophet? Is he a demon?

He is an angel of the Lord. He's not a fallen angel. He's not a mystical spirit. It's not just a picture in a dream. It is an actual angel of the Lord that is in this vision that he is seeing. And it says that the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees.

You see, what is an angel? He is a messenger. He is one dispatched by God on a mission, on a task to fulfill it in the world. That's what this angel is. And so we see the man on the red horse is an actual angel in the midst of this.

It goes further and it says among the myrtle trees in a hollow. That's where you see him on his horse. He's in a hollow. That means a deep valley, a glen or a ravine. So I want you to see this. A man on a red horse in a valley or a hollow or a ravine.

And he's on his horse. And you know what it says? Among the myrtle trees in the hollow, inside that hollow, inside that valley, were all of these myrtle trees. Now, if you know anything from the past year and a half with Candice, with her oils and all that we've spoken about in this church, the myrtle tree has a very fragrant perfume that comes off it.

It has beautiful blossoms, white blossoms on it, and beautiful berries that are medicinal. So look at this man, this angel of the Lord, in the midst of a valley surrounded by all these myrtle trees. And you can smell this fragrance.

This is not a bad vision. It's a good vision. And in fact, the myrtle tree is evergreen. In other words, it blossoms all through the year, in winter as well as springtime. And it brings forth its blossom and it brings forth its berries.

What does the myrtle tree represent? It represents humility. I think it doesn't grow more than eight feet. That's not a big tree. That's not a tall tree as far as trees go. So you have a very short tree, a medicinal tree, a beautiful tree.

And imagine being in this valley and you smell the fragrance, but you've got an angel on a red horse, literally seated in the midst of all of this. Do you know Esther? Do you know the book of Esther in the Old Testament?

You know, another name for her is Hadassah. Do you know Hadassah is the same word for myrtle tree, the exact same word. That lady embodied humility, loneliness, meekness, carefulness. In fact, she is a beautiful picture of the myrtle tree.

So the myrtle tree is not a bad thing. It is actually a beautiful thing. And you have this man on the red horse surrounded by these beautiful, humble trees. And so we know this is a good picture. It is a good vision that we are seeing here.

It is something that we want to admire. In verse 9 it also, the prophet says, what are these? Nine times in Zechariah he said, what are these? He's shown a vision. He said, what are these? Oh, since that we'd be humble in the house of God, that we'd be taught of the Holy Spirit, that we'd be slow to speak.

If you don't know something, don't try to teach others. If you're merely learning the ABCs, don't you go and confuse other people. Just sit on it. It's better to listen. You know, if you keep your mouth shut, you sound wise.

Do you realize that? Even a fool, if he keeps his mouth shut, will say, man, isn't she wise? Isn't he wise? No, it's just they keep their mouth shut. So you don't know. Oh, we need an awful lot more of it, I can assure you.

People giving, well, I think. You know nothing. That's what you think. Your thoughts chew an awful lot. But look at this vision. We see three different colors of horses, three different colors. And I believe these colors represent three different groups.

In verse eight, we read about red, speckled, and white in order. What is the speckled? We know what red and we know what white is, but what is the speckled? Speckled means dappled or colored gray. Just imagine the horse for a second, a horse that's colored gray, but it's many colored or it's white spotted.

That's what this horse is. So you've got a red horse and that red represents something. You've got a white horse. The white represents something. But you've got this many colored horse or speckled horse.

He also represents something. All of this has meaning. I'm not gonna teach you everything in Zechariah. I'm only giving you enough so you understand Revelation 6. And this will help you. Who are these various horses?

These three groups of horses? We don't have all the details here, but they're all in the myrtle trees in the valley. And we know that the riders on these horses are angels of the Lord. That's what they are.

That's the interpretation here. It says in verse 10, these are they whom the Lord has sent to walk to and through through the earth. We are actually seeing them at the end of their mission. You see, their mission has just been finished.

They were sent into all of the earth, all of the nations of the earth, not just Israel, not just to Jerusalem. These horses, these that we see in this vision had been sent out into all of the nations to go to and through.

They're angelic beings on horses and they're riding to and through. They've been given a mission. Now they've finished the mission. Who are they? They are emissaries sent out onto the world stage of history and politics.

They are patrolling the earth. They are the Lord's scouts to go and investigate. They actually affect and control world history and politics and world society. They represent God's activity in the earth and our generation.

They are supernatural forces used to accomplish God's purpose on the earth. Do you understand why we're going to Zechariah under Stan Revelation 6? I hope you see this here tonight. You see, they represent God.

They're sent out and now they've finished their mission. They speak about His worldwide dominion, His control, His plan on the earth. And what we see when we look at these horses is the future purpose of God for Jerusalem and Judea.

So when you see these four horses, they're all related to Jerusalem, but it's what happens in the nations. That's why they're riding out across the world. So what report do they come back to? To the Lord with.

We read here at the end of this verse, and behold, all of the earth sit is still and is at rest. They're reporting back to the Lord. And they're saying the entire earth, very few times the world's been at peace or at rest in all of world history.

But it was at this point. They're saying we've investigated, we've gone from nation to nation, government to government, society to society, continent to continent. We've gone through all the earth and now we're reporting to the Lord.

And do you know what we have found at this time in history? This is our report. And it's a spiritual report. All of the earth sit is still. It is seated down like it's seated in a seat. It's not out at war.

It's sitting down in its home and it is at rest. This word rest in the Hebrew means to lay back on a couch. It means inactivity. It means you're really enjoying ease of life and idleness. It is the embodiment of laziness and idleness.

Of no activity. They're reporting to the Lord what the nations are doing. And you know what he's saying? The nations are at peace. There's no war. It's a unique art. There's no war. Everything is at peace.

In fact, the armies of the world, the politicians are lying back in utter idleness. You remember in Jeremiah 48, it speaks about Moab. And it talks about Moab being at ease. Being at rest, lounging around.

And you know what? Because of that, there was no spiritual work in Moab's heart. Do you know what God said to Moab? I'm going to have to pour you from vessel to vessel because there's a smell about you.

You stink. The wine that is in your vessel really is becoming stinking. Whereas if you'd been poured from vessel to vessel, you'd have a sweet taste and a sweet smell. That's what he's saying about Moab.

Do you know what God is saying here? All the nations are at rest, but it's not good. The nations are inactive. I have a plan for my people, for Jerusalem, for Judea. And you know what? All the earth is at peace.

And that is not good. I can prove it here. It says in verse 15, the Lord says, I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease. So notice all the nations are at peace. They're all settled.

They're utterly inactive. All the great emperors and leaders, there's no action. And you know what? The Lord says he is actually displeased or angry with this. Isn't this remarkable what we're seeing here?

Look at verse 12. It says, Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem? So all the nations are at peace. There's no activity. There's nothing going on.