When I say, "The Four Horsemen" What comes to your mind? If you are thinking like I use to, I'd say you're talking about a day, a single day in time where , well...all hell brakes loose. But is that what is "going" to happen or are we and have been there already? Have the Four Horsemen been traveling across the world stage and no one speaking about it?
The revelation given to John while exiled at the island of Patmos gives us a picture of an event(s). Jesus in Revelation 6 uses 4 horsemen to represent the first 4 of 7 seals that He opens from the scroll in His hand.
Aside from being an intrigue to prophecy students and prophecy teachers alike for generations; these images should other than be a perceived cast of terror, but should give each and every one of us pause, to consider what these things mean with regards to what we commonly call the "world stage."
What do the horses and their horsemen mean, and what does it mean to us now as believers?
Looking at the seals in Revelation 6, we need to examine chapter 5. John is experiencing a vision of the throne of God when he sees “in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals” (Revelation 5:1).
I believe special attention should be paid to the fact that there is no one in Heaven or on Earth that is able, or worthy to open the scroll and reveal its judgment. John curiously, is concerned about the absence of someone there and capable of opening the scrolls. But a voice from one of the elders around the Throne says, "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." (Revelation 5:5)
Continue reading we see John describe Jesus, in all glory-in a commanding position to receive and dispense the full power of God. When did that actually happen? When Jesus ascended to Heaven, leaving the earth (John 13:31 with Mark 16:19) "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne." (Revelation 5:6-7)
What follows from this awesome scene of angelic praise is the stirring anthem to Christ’s role in the plan of God. The four living creatures and 24 elders sing a new song. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;....”
To this scene is now added the voice of many angels, perhaps numbering into the hundreds of millions, all loudly proclaiming, “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” (Revelation 5:12).
With a thundering crescendo the next stanza arrives from “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." (Revelation 5:13)
Such is the scene that stands as a prelude to the opening of the seals. The fate of mankind rests in God’s hands, and His patience is at an end. Christ alone is pronounced worthy to open the seals that announce God’s judgments on the nations. The destiny of humanity is not a matter of chance or whim, but has been spelled out in the seals that He opens.
Setting For the Horsemen’s Ride
When the seals open before John, he sees the first four uniquely pictured. Four ominous horsemen arise in an eerie sequence.
To better understand what these horsemen represent, let’s look at another key prophecy Jesus Christ gave during His ministry.
The Gathering Storm
Jesus’ disciples were visiting Jerusalem with Him. After admiring the temple’s buildings, they crossed the Kidron Valley, climbed the Mount of Olives and paused to ask Christ for signs of His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:1-3).
Jesus gave four signs that correspond with the first four seals of Revelation 6: “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:4-8)
Here Jesus reveals an overview of trends and conditions from the first century until the end of the our present age. Take note of the four significant developments He foretold: Religious deception, war, famine and disease. Humanity has long suffered from the effects of these four signs.
Let’s now look more closely at what John saw...............
The first seal: Conqueror on a white horse
As the first seal opens, John writes the following: “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, 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.” (Revelation 6:1-2)
White is a symbol of purity and peace. Here is a rider who appears to come in the name of and bearing a message of peace.
But he is a conqueror, one who imposes his version of peace or using the prospect of peace but taking freedoms and peace from people in the world-some have called this democracy.
Possibly this rider will use the thought of peace and instead of peace takes freedom from people- and thereby using certain means to take peace and freedom from the inhabitants of earth; a condition described by the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:3: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
Some confuse this rider with Jesus Christ, whom Revelation 19 shows riding a white horse at His second coming. But a careful examination reveals important distinctions. Christ is wearing “many crowns” at His return, not just a single crown as worn by this first horseman. And instead of wielding a bow, Christ is brandishing a sword with which He strikes the nations.
To be consistent with Christ’s statements in Matthew 24, we must conclude that this rider represents not Jesus, but instead false teachers who appropriate His name while attempting to corrupt His plain teaching and leading many into destructive heresy/apostasy.
Remember His warning: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name … and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5).
A Different Gospel Takes Root
It didn’t take long after Christ’s death for a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6) to invade the Church, causing division and confusion. The apostles were forced to deal with this problem, as evidenced by their writings to the Church.
Paul warned the elders of the congregation at Ephesus to beware of false teachers: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28-30).
As the Apostle Peter neared the end of his life, God compelled him to give a stern warning about the apostasy that he saw looming on the horizon.
The 2nd chapter of his second epistle is a powerful rebuke of those who would bring false teaching into the Church: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1).
He went on to say, “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” (2 Peter 2:2). Peter calls the Church’s doctrine the “way of truth.” It is like a trail of truth along which the faithful have always walked. Christ called it a narrow and difficult way that few find (Matthew 7:13-14).
The Church Corrupted by Deception
Near the end of the first century the Apostle John, last of the original 12 apostles, saw a rapid escalation in the heresy, apostasy and persecution that was plaguing the Church. During the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian a virulent strain of antagonism was unleashed on Christians. For a time, the government even exiled the aged Apostle to the Aegean island of Patmos. It was there that he received the book of Revelation in vision.
The three epistles bearing his name reveal the mounting tension in the churches and John’s desire to warn the members of the devastating impact of false teaching. He wrote of their individual and collective responsibility to examine those teachers who presented themselves as Christians (born again) spiritual guides and experts.
He knew it was easy to claim divine authority and thereby deceive people into following ideas that were spiritually destructive. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1).
We see the Apostles warning of the corruption of the true faith brought by Jesus Christ. Jude summed it up perfectly when he wrote of the need to “ contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
Within decades, the truth of God was gravely corrupted by false teachers. The result was teachings that no longer resembled the Gospel brought by Christ.
In Galatians 1:6-7, Paul had to reprimand the Galatians for “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.”
From the teachings of these corrupters evolved a church bearing Jesus’ name, but vastly different in doctrines and practices from the Church we see in the New Testament. In fact, two vastly different “Christian” faiths were now locked in a struggle—the true followers of Jesus’ teachings and the tarnished followers of a spiritually corrupt, counterfeit Christianity!
Over the centuries, persecution from the Roman Catholic authorities took its toll. This counterfeit church further compromised the faith under threat of death from the state.
Roman Emperor Constantine combined the power of the state with the ecclesiastical structure and authority of the false church. This created a union of church and state with the ability to create order by squelching dissent (Protestants-those in protest against the Catholic cult). Thus, Constantine and succeeding Roman emperors allied themselves with a deceptive religious system represented by the symbolic white horse of peace.
Their mission was to conquer, in the name of Christ, all those who opposed them. "They" are still doing this today; and their numbers have increased.
A Final Great Deception Ensues
Christ’s prophecy of false teachers coming in His name, claiming Jesus is the Lord (the Christ) but deceiving many, indeed came to pass and is coming to pass daily on this earth.
Church history is largely a story of teachings and practices of the counterfeit Christianity, with its system of beliefs and practices fundamentally different from what the early New Testament Church believed and taught. The story of those who held to or at times recaptured the essence of true Christianity is not easy to follow through history.
Today those who strive to practice the teachings that Christ put into His Church are few in comparison to the thousands of churches that call themselves Christian but are in fact descendants of the counterfeit movement begun in the first century (Catholics, Jehovah Witness, Mormons, etc).
Christ said that “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Yet even for these few, there is danger from a coming deception—satan’s end-time effort to defeat and enslave humankind.
Christ’s (as it has become known as) 'Olivet Prophecy' progresses, in concert with the book of Revelation, toward the final events before His return. He said, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (Matthew 24:24). Even the elect, the people of God who “keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17), will be susceptible to this great deception.
An Unparalleled Deceptive Religious Movement
The ride of the first horseman, false religion, has been greatly impacting the nations since Jesus left the Earth to what we call the last days. It's marking the expansion of a religious movement without parallel in history. Part Christianity, Part islam, part judaism, part catholicism, part new age and all apostasy.
Religion continues to be a powerful force among nations. A great wave of religious change is moving continually throughout the world. Not only are the large world religions, such as Christianity, islam, judaism and buddhism, growing and changing, but countless other new faiths are springing up, almost on a daily basis.
Scholars who keep track of the world religious scene identify more than 9,900 distinctive religions. Despite predictions at one time that religion would become extinct, it continues to grow, reinventing itself after the personal interests and whims of people.
False religion-false Christianity marches on at the same time that the world’s citizens are desperately in need of hope and solutions for survival. Their desperation provides fertile ground for religious extremism.
Jesus spoke of false religion as the precursor to “wars and rumors of wars.” The second seal of Revelation 6 is a rider on a red horse described as taking peace from the earth. Religious strife has often been the cause of war. We will see the connection between the two as we look at the ride of this next horseman. The Red Horse..........