The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - 18

Well, I have returned. We have returned to the book of the Revelation. We are in chapter six.

So let me read chapter six and we'll read the first seven verses of this chapter. Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, come and see. And I looked and behold a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer. 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 it was given to him a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, come and see. So I looked and behold a black horse and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. I heard 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 the wine. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, come and see.

So I looked and behold a pale horse and the name of him who sat on it was death. And Hades followed with him and power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword, with hunger, with death and by the beasts of the earth. Well these are challenging portions of God's word and we are very dependent upon the spirit of God helping us to understand it aright. You know from previous messages in this series that I've drawn your attention to the fact that the throne of God is a dominant feature throughout the book of the Revelation. In fact, 38 times there is reference to the throne and 17 of those 38 times were confined to chapters 4 and chapters 5. And around that throne are worship scenes in chapters 4 and 5.

We've seen that. God the Father is worshiped for His creation and for His creating power. Chapter 4 verse 11, these words, you are worthy O Lord to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they exist and were created. And then again worship is dominant in chapter 5 and it's not God the Father who is worshiped but it is the Lamb, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And we are reminded that He is worthy of worship and He is worshiped not for creation although He participated in creation.

As Colossians would tell us in the book of Hebrews would tell us that He holds all things together by the power of His word. But He is worshiped in chapter 5 because He is the Redeemer, the Redeemer. In chapter 5 we have these words, they sang a new song saying you, the Lamb, you are worthy to take the scroll and open the seals for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made as kings and priests to our God and we shall reign upon the earth. Well, John, John saw God Almighty on the throne and he saw God Almighty with a seven sealed scroll in his hand and a search went out in all of heaven and all of earth and under the earth to find someone worthy to open the scroll and no one was found and therefore the Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 5 John wept. He wept because no one was worthy to open the scrolls and then one of the elders said to John, do not weep for, what does he say?

My memory failed me there for a moment. He says, do not weep behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed or has conquered to open the scroll and the loosed seals. It is the act of the Lamb approaching God Almighty on the throne to receive the scroll that provokes the worship in heaven of Him and we have taken a long look at that and rejoiced in it. And it's important to keep that picture before us because that is the end that all of history is moving toward. That is the great climax, that is the apex of all that God is doing.

That world history will end and consummate in this great wonderful scene. Here is worship and it's perfection and if we are a child of God we will be there, we will participate in this. When we come here to chapter 6, John is still in the spirit and he's in heaven but the vision that he sees now shifts from what he saw in heaven to what will transpire on the earth. Remember the context here, for the sake of context let me remind you of chapter 4 and verse 1. It says after these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking to me saying, come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. So John is still in heaven, he's still privileged to these visions, he's in heaven in his spirit, his body is still on the island of Patmos but here he is in the spirit and he is being shown visions of things which must take place after this.

So the things that are recorded here are future from his vantage point. We have no way of knowing how many of the things that are recorded in the book of the Revelation are past from our perspective but we do know that what he recorded was all future, at least from this point on, from his vantage point. I want you to listen to a quotation from Herman Hoeksema, a man who has written a commentary on the book of the Revelation and I like what he says here so listen to this quotation. He says, taking into consideration that the one important theme of the book of Revelation is the coming king and the completion of the kingdom and that the book of the seven seals must be taken as symbolic of the living and powerful decrees of the Almighty, the ultimate purpose of which is the glory of God's name through the coming of God's kingdom.

We are safe in drawing the conclusion that these seven seals are intended to reveal to us the main aspects and larger currents of the history of this world as they cooperate to bring the kingdom of Christ to its perfect consummation. Again, we're in chapter six and remember the four living creatures that were a part of the worship scenes in chapters four and five. They are the cherubim of God. They are these mighty, awesome, fearful, angelic guardians and attendants of the throne of God.

They serve God's purposes. They do God's bidding and they speak words of summons in the opening of each of the first four seals. Tonight we're going to look at the first four seals and they are in verse one, verse three, verse five, and verse seven. I want you to note that each of the four seals portray horses with riders.

They are symbolic. Only one of the riders is given a name and that is the fourth rider and we're told in verse eight, So I looked and behold a pale horse and the name of him who sat on it was Death. So of the four horsemen, this is the only one that's given a name.

The other three are simply, we get descriptions of them and we are to draw some conclusions as we seek to identify who they are portraying. But these four living creatures, they speak words of summons in the opening of each of these four seals. Notice with me the repetition, verse one. Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, Come and see. And you'll see that again in verse three. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. Verse five, When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come and see. And then verse seven, Then he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. And the question is, who is this summons given to? And it might help if you are made aware that there is a textual variant here and the word see has been added to our translation.

My Bible I'm reading from the New King James. But in the original, in many of the manuscripts, it's just come. It's the summons of come. Not come and see, but simply to come.

I think it's doubtful that the summons is directed to John because John has already been summoned by way of vision in the spirit and he's there. Everything he's seeing has captured his attention. He doesn't need, hey, look here, behold, come see.

He's engaged. He's riveted on what's transpiring. So I don't believe that the summons is directed to him. I think the summons is directed to the horsemen. That they are being directed to ride out through the earth and to accomplish their purposes that has been ordained by them by the decrees of God. Remember, what's going to unfold are the things that must take place.

They must take place because God has decreed that they will take place and here we see the exercise of that. So I want us to think tonight about the relationship between these first four seals. They're unique. There are seven seals that make up this scroll, but the first four have such similarity. Each of the seals has a horseman. Each of them have this summons that you do not see in the fifth seal, the sixth seal, and the seventh seal. So I think we need to see them as a unit, see their relationship one to the other, and I will proceed in my interpretation along those lines. These descriptions of the first three horses, well there's a description of the fourth, but the fourth has a name, Death, the rider of that horse. The other three have descriptions, but again, not names, and these descriptions lead us to interpret what's being portrayed and what is being described for us.

And my Bible has some headings. The first seal, it says the conqueror. The second seal, conflicts on earth. The third seal, scarcity on earth.

The fourth seal, widespread death on earth. Now again, those headings aren't inspired, but they help us to understand, I think in part, what is being communicated here. So the first horse, the white horse, I'm going to suggest to you is symbolic of victory. It's symbolic of victory.

Why do I say that? Because it says, I saw the lamb open one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, come and see, and I looked and behold a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow and a crown, was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. So that language, he's on a horse, he's on a white horse. It's horse is a means of war, and he goes out to conquer, he goes out conquering and to conquer. So I want to assign a word of victory to the first rider. The second is symbolic of what?

War. It says the second horse is a red horse. Notice with me, 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. So again, symbolic of war. The third horse, rider on that horse, is a black horse. It says, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand, and I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, a quart of wheat for Denarius, and three quarts of barley for Denarius, and do not harm the oil and the wine.

Language we'll look at in a moment, but symbolic of famine. So white for victory, red for war, black for famine, and the pale horse for death. I think it's important that we take note that the horses are not independently just running wild, doing whatever. They have a rider, and that rider directs the horse according to a predetermined course and purpose.

And they will portray the unfolding events of human history that have as their end the coming of the kingdom of God in its fullness, its victory, and its consummation. Again, the question, who is controlling these forces? Who is controlling these events that must take place? Well, it should be obvious to us. I've spoken to it.

It's here in the text. It's the one who has been given all power and authority, both in heaven and on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one who is directing and controlling all things after the counsel of his own will.

And that should be a source of great comfort to us. So let's begin to look at these four horsemen. And if you're looking for a title tonight, we will entitle it The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Again, now I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, with a voice like thunder, come and see. And I looked and behold, a white horse, he who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him. And he went out conquering and to conquer. A white horse with a rider who has a bow and it says a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. Now, there are very diverse interpretations of the identity of this white horse and the rider on it. And just trying to get my mind around the various interpretations and the background and the reason why various scholars believe it's this or believe it's that.

It's so diverse. People who are contributing to study Bibles are scholars, they're theologians, they're study people. And if you have a couple of different study Bibles, take a look at the ESV study Bible. Take a look at the Reformation study Bible.

Take a look at the MacArthur study Bible. And you will see how diverse interpretations are and they all have what they believe to be justification for their interpretation. So, let me give you three of the most prominent interpretations of the identity of the rider and the white horse. Number one, there are those who have the interpretation that this is the antichrist, the antichrist. That the white horse is the first of the four horses, that he must be seen as part of a destructive force of war, of famine and of death. And again, what they're seeing is a connection between the four horsemen. There's war, there's famine, there's death. And they're saying that this first one has got to have an element of destruction and opposition to God and His work and His kingdom.

Now, well, let me go on and then I'll offer some rebuttal to this position. They say that the color white points to the ancient customs of having the victor ride on a white horse at his return from battle. That the crown denotes victory. I want to read to you from Matthew chapter 24 because this is, well, Matthew chapter 24 is the Olivet Discourse where Jesus is discussing the end times.

And listen to what He says and hear the language and the similar themes being communicated. Jesus went out and departed from the temple and His disciples came up to show Him the building of the temple. And Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things?

Assuredly I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them, take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name saying, I am the Christ and will deceive many. And there are those who have an interpretation here of Revelation chapter 6 of the white horse that he is that one who is the antichrist. He is the deceiver.

He is the one who is portraying himself as a savior but he is the antichrist. And they're getting that from what Jesus is saying here. And then listen as it goes on, and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you're not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet. For nations will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. And then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another and will hate one another.

And it goes on. So you see the language there of wars and pestilence and of killing that is similar to the language here of chapter 6 here of Revelation. So what do we say about this interpretation that here is the portrayal of the antichrist? Well, I agree that we must look at these four horsemen together and see the relationship to one another.

I'm not opposed to the desire to do that but I think the attempt is misguided. Chapter 19 reveals the conquering and the victorious Christ who cast the antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire. So the one who rides on the white horse, the one who wears a crown, the one who is moving through the earth to conquer is not the antichrist. The antichrist is not a victor, he's not a conqueror, he's a loser.

He's frustrated at every point. So we must understand that. The color white here in the New Testament and especially in Revelation almost always denotes holiness and purity and victory and justice and righteousness. I don't believe that that is consistent with a portrayal of the antichrist.

It's not used anywhere white to depict or to portray Satan or his helpers or his workers or his work for that matter. It says a crown, notice, I looked and behold a white horse he who sat on had a bow and a crown was given to him. A crown was given to the rider and I believe it's God who is the agent of the one who is giving the crown.

Well God is not going to crown our adversary, the antichrist. And the text does not unequivocally state that this rider portrays evil forces. I think for you to come to hear and say well the scroll and the seals are going to reveal God's worldwide judgment on an unbelieving, Christ rejecting world. And in part that's true but to say that in every detail I think again is misguided because if you, again that's what's driving I think part of this interpretation. It's got to be a form of judgment and part of that judgment is God giving deception to an unbelieving world. And the antichrist is the one who's riding on this horse and making his way through the earth to deceive many.

Well again, for instance, we're not going to look at it tonight but for our purposes right now I want to show you. If you want to say all these seals are going to portray judgment, God manifesting his judgment, pouring out wrath, what are you going to say about the fifth seal? Verse 9, when he opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice saying how long O Lord holy and true until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. Then a white robe was given to each of them and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were was completed. You can't read judgment into that fifth seal. So you see the problem if you impose that paradigm on all the seals. I don't think that that's what's going on here.

There is a possibility as we are considering commentators and those who have wrestled with these issues that the identity of the rider on the white horse is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now folks, I want to explain to you how serious I'm taking this. I had an occasion to be with some folks a week or two ago and some music people that Carly spends time with and I went with her just to support her and to interact with one of the men whose wife plays a dulcimer and he's a woodworker so he and I got together to talk. Anyway, there was a man there and I had remembered him from a previous occasion and I called him Dave. And when I said, well, good to see you Dave and he said, well, my name is actually Jeff. Well, I was embarrassed simply because I called him by his wrong name.

Now, we've all had that experience. Here, if I misidentify who this is on this white horse and I'm so far afield, I don't just mispronounce or call him one name or another, that let's just say I'm going to direct you to what I think is the correct identification here in a moment. So, for purposes that I'm trying to make here in this illustration, if our only two possibilities are the Lord Jesus Christ is the one riding on this horse with a bow and with a crown and he's moving through the earth conquering and to conquer, if that's who it is, or is it the antichrist?

I mean, could you be any further apart? Could you be more mistaken? If it's Christ and you say it's antichrist or it's antichrist, then it's Christ. I do not want to misidentify who this is.

And I don't think you want to misidentify who this is. So, let's consider the possibility that this rider on this white horse is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ and William Hendrickson in his commentary goes to quite extent to make this point to prove this to us. And these are some of the points he makes. He says, number one, the context favors it because John is told to weep not, look, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed or he has overcome. And the language here is that he's going throughout the earth doing what? Conquering and to conquer. The symbolism of white in Revelation refers to that which is, again, holy and pure. The crown refers to Christ who is wearing a crown of gold in chapter 14 and verse 14, chapter 19 and verse 6. The verb to conquer that's used here always, he says, points to either Christ or his followers. He says throughout the book of the Revelation, John unfolds the design that Christ is the one who has conquered, is conquering and will conquer. And that really is a theme of the book of the Revelation.

In fact, it could perhaps even be called the purpose of the book. I'm reading one verse here from Revelation chapter 17 and verse 14 where we're told about the woman and the beast. And verse 14 says, these will make war with the lamb and the lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful. These will make war with the lamb and the lamb will overcome them. There it is. There's that theme. It runs throughout the book of the Revelation.

And then he gives some other reasons, but I'll stop at that point. What is said to refute Hendrickson's insistence that this is the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, the biggest one is that the Lord Jesus is the one who has taken the scroll from the right hand of God Almighty. He's the one who's opening the scroll. So how can he be at the same time the one who is holding the scroll and unfolding the scroll and the one riding on the white horse?

That's what is pointed to is he can't be functioning in both roles here. What is the third possibility? The third possibility and the one that I believe and I am the most comfortable with is that what is being portrayed here is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That Christ is sending forth his gospel that in the history of the church has always proved to be unstoppable. What does the gospel do? It conquers. It conquers rebellious men.

It brings them in subjection to King Jesus. That's the work of the gospel of Christ. The gospel is set on conquering the world.

That's what we see. All of history is moving toward that end. Jesus speaks about his gospel in the context of the upper room discourse. I read to you there from Matthew chapter 24. It said disciples were asking questions.

What will be the signs of the times of the end of the age? And Jesus said similar language that we find here, but in that same context in verse 14, Jesus said this, that this gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the nations and then the end will come. So it is, I believe, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that is being sent forth into all the earth. Jesus speaks also of war and famine and death there in Matthew chapter 24. The proclamation of the gospel creates reaction. It creates hostility.

It creates a response. They've killed the Lord Jesus Christ. They've killed his followers.

They've killed his messengers. There's bloodshed associated with the proclamation of the gospel. Yet, this gospel goes forth to conquer. Now, for what it's worth, this is the dominant interpretation of the early church.

This is what the early church believed was being portrayed here by this rider on the white horse. So I will leave it at that. There's more that can be said, but I'm comfortable, I think, in my own mind in suggesting to you that the identity of...

Here's one more thing. There's no names given to any of these horsemen. They're forces. They're entities.

They're impersonal. There's death. There's war.

There's famine. And so rather than to try and find a name, I think we have the force, the power of the gospel of Christ sent forth by Christ into this world to do what? To do the very thing that it says here.

Conquering and to conquer. It's a good way to think about what the gospel does. And my friend tonight, if the message of Christ and his gospel has not had that effect upon you, it has not subdued you, it has not conquered you, then there's real question whether you really truly have been converted, whether you truly are indeed saved. Because where the gospel comes, it comes to conquer, it comes to subdue, it comes to overcome. And I trust that you can find joy in that and knowing that that's indeed what's happened. God has come to you and he has subdued you. He has overcome you.

And he's done that for your good and for his ultimate glory. Well, I knew that we would probably spend a lot of time there. Let me try and move quickly now through these other seals. The second seal, the red horse.

Notice what he says. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, come and see. And again, I think the summons is just to come. Come and do your bidding.

Come and move through the earth. Come and fulfill the decreed purposes that have been ordained for you. So, what do we 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 it was given to him a great sword. Well, the color red signifies bloodshed and it points to warfare. Wherever the gospel is introduced, particularly in areas where it has not been preached before, there is conflict, there is a pushback, there is hostility, there is often bloodshed. Jesus said as much. He says in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 34, I did not come to bring peace but a sword. And he said in Matthew 24 verses 6 and 7, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

Nations will rise against nations and kingdom against kingdom. So, the rider on this red colored horse personifies evil. Evil that opposes God, his word and his people. You see, I'm trying to understand that in relationship to the first horse. If the first horse is the gospel, then the second is opposition to that gospel and there is bloodshed associated with it.

Now the question here is, it says, it was given to him to take peace from the earth and that people should kill one another and it was given to him a great sword. People that people should kill one another. What is that?

Who is that? Well, again in a gospel context, I think it's those who have given their lives for the sake of the gospel, those who have been martyred, those who in John's day, three or four of the churches had working guilds and men needed to join the guilds in order to have employment and with being a part of the guild, you had to give allegiance to the idols and they refused to do that because they were giving their allegiance solely to the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore they were cut off from the labor force at a tremendous price economically. There's all kinds of explanations here. There's civil wars and world wars. So, bloodshed. The word in the Greek is probably better translated instead of kill, to slaughter. And that word slaughter, that Greek word occurs eight times in the book of the Revelation and listen to some of those references. The reason I'm telling you this is that it's a reference to the killing and the death of Christ's followers.

Here are some of those references. Here is a lamb standing as though it had been slain, Revelation 5, 6. You were slain and with your blood you brought them. You were slain, chapter 5, verse 9. Were these lamb that was slain? I saw under the altar the souls of the ones slain, chapter 6 and verse 9.

So, there is continual conflict in this world because of the animosity and the hatred of Christ and his gospel and there is death because of it. The third seal, there in verses 5 and 6, when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, come and see. So I looked and behold a black horse and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand and I heard 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 the wine.

This black horse is symbolic of famine, pictured with the scales that weigh grain. And there are four things mentioned there, wheat, barley, oil and wine, all precious commodities, all necessary for the sustaining of life. But he says, a quart of wheat for a denarius and if you remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard, a denarius was a day's wages. What he is saying is there is a time of famine coming in which it will take a day's wages in order to purchase a quart of wheat to make a loaf of bread. So there are terrible economic crises that are being portrayed here and the question is, well, from John's vantage point, obviously that was future. From our vantage point, have we seen that or is that yet future as history unfolds? Depends on your point of reference. I suppose if I was talking to the brethren and the believers in Zimbabwe, they would say, hey, we've seen this. We've seen where a dollar bill, where $10 billion couldn't buy a loaf of bread. Seriously, remember those stories where people would stand in line with a wheelbarrow load of money, American currency, dollars and be there for four, five or six hours, have to leave and go to the restroom and come back and the money is still there but somebody stole the wheelbarrow.

The wheelbarrow was worth more than the money. So times of great famine. What do we make of the reference there where it says, and do not harm the oil and the wine.

Do not harm the oil or the wine. Again, who is controlling these things? Who is in charge? Who is superintending?

It is Christ Jesus. These are the things that must happen. And He is ordering all these things for a glorious purpose, the consummation, the ushering in of His kingdom. And He is saying, yes, there's going to be a famine but I'm going to put limits on that famine. So as this writer goes out into the earth to execute the decrees of God and bring to fulfillment that which has been determined, there's limits set.

And what is that limit? Do not harm the oil and the wine. So as hard as things may be, we can rejoice that there is a God who is limiting and controlling all events for the good of His people and for His own honor and His own glory. That's what I see there. And then there is a fourth seal, verse 7. When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. So I looked and behold a pale horse, and the name of him who sat on it was Death. And Hades followed with him, and power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Wow. A pale horse. The rider on that horse whose name is Death. And notice what it says there about Hades. The name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. Now Hades is not the grave. Hades is the place where the souls of unbelievers are kept, while the souls of believers are what? Absent from the body, present with the Lord.

So this is speaking of spiritual death. The passive voice here, it says, was given. Notice again. I looked and behold a pale horse, and the name of him who sat on it was, and followed with him, and power was given to them over a fourth of the earth. Power was given. Again, I think it's clear that God is the one who gives power.

God is the one who controls these matters. What's being pictured here is mass destruction and disease that kills a fourth, that will kill a fourth to them over a fourth of the earth. We've all been affected to some degree or another by this pandemic that has come upon the world. And there have been, and I'm not making light of this number at all, but there have been a little over four million people who have died from COVID across this world. Here in the United States, north of 600,000. That's a lot of people.

Four million deaths is a lot of deaths. But, what's the population of this, of our world? There are six billion people living on this planet.

And it says a fourth of the earth. That would be one and a half billion people. I think we could say without any question that whatever cataclysmic event that would usher in that kind of devastation and death, we have not seen. Now, the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed about 220 to 250,000 people. Again, that's a lot of people. But that's less than, well, roughly about half as many people who have, not even half as many people who have died from COVID here in the United States. So, just trying to give you a sense of what's being referred to here. Half, those who have died of COVID, less than a quarter of 1% of the world's population across this world. Here he's talking about 25%. Now, the bubonic plague that entered Europe in the 14th century killed 26 million people between 1346 and 1352.

20 million people died in World War II in Europe. So, I'm saying all that to say this, what's being referred to here is a future catastrophic event and it is a warning of God's forthcoming judgment. There is judgment awaiting all who will not bow the knee to King Jesus because he's coming, conquering and to conquer. And for those who resist and for those who will not be subdued, there is judgment that awaits. So, that would be my first application. It would be amiss not to challenge my listeners tonight to be absolutely certain that you are a recipient of saving grace.

And what does that look like? And again, it's being subdued by King Jesus, brought into submission to his lordship. You are not in rebellion toward him. You are a glad follower of his. You're seeking to represent him in this world. You're not a Christian in name only.

You have been changed. Christianity is not something that's external. It's not something that is on the exterior and works its way in.

True biblical Christianity is a work of grace in the life. It's not exterior, it's interior. It's internal and it works its way out. There's a huge difference. Too many people have a Christianity that's merely external. It's shallow. And for many, it's a counterfeit. It's a deception.

It's a lie that they've bought into. But true Christianity, true saving faith is being subdued. And we have recognized that King Jesus is Lord. We have put down our arms. We have surrendered and we are a glad follower of his.

Second application. What we're studying here reveals that history is completely under the control of the Lamb that stands as though he had been slain. He's the one who's unfolding these scrolls. And it's not just revealing what's in the scrolls. It's the power to execute the eternal decrees that are confined in the scrolls. That's why these horsemen are being sent out across the earth. Not to communicate things that are going to happen, but to actually execute the eternal decrees of God that relate to the consummation and the fulfillment of his kingdom.

So, that's what I see. I'm very thankful for those of you who have expressed your appreciation for this study. For those of you who have conveyed your promise to pray for me as I lead us in this study. And I find it interesting that the preaching in 1 Thessalonians is dealing with issues of eschatology that we're dealing with here in the book of the Revelation. And I would echo what Pastor Barkman said. I am avoiding being dogmatic. As I've suggested to you, good men. Men who have contributed to study Bibles and written commentaries are of very different opinions about a lot of these matters.

And they have their biblical rationale and justification for it. And rather than just totally dismiss something out of hand, I've been working hard to try and get my mind around, okay, now, how did you get there? What are you bringing to the text that directs you in that vein? So, it's a lot of work to not only rightly divide the Word of God, but to understand if this is what I believe, why do I believe this, why don't I believe that, why don't I believe this? So, I want to try and help you in this.

Let me conclude with a short paragraph by, again, one of the commentators that I've been benefiting from, Herman Hoeksema. He says this, Be not afraid, therefore, ye people of the kingdom. All these things must needs come to pass. In times of war and trouble, famine and pestilence, when the red horse drives through the earth and the black horse appears in your streets, or the pale horse enters into your homes, let your hearts rest in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ who holds the book with the seven seals and controls all things in heaven and on earth unto the ultimate completion of His glorious kingdom. Shall we pray? Father, how we thank You for Your Word, and we confess that some of these things are very hard for us to understand. Lord, You know my heart. I do not want to misrepresent truth.

I want to know truth as it truly is. And Lord, it has caused an earnest dependence upon You, and I trust that that will continue and prevail upon all of us as we continue to study Your Word, not only here, but in other places. Lord, keep us humble.

Keep us looking to You. Protect us from any divisiveness or any spirit of argumentation. Help us, Father, to love our brother and our sister and to join arms as we seek to represent our Lord Jesus Christ in this world. Lord, how we thank You tonight for Your conquering gospel, how it is changing cultures and changing people groups. I think of what You are doing there in Papua among these tribal people. What else could we say?

How else could we describe that? The powerful gospel of Christ conquering, subduing, and bringing life and blessing. Father, we ask that that would continue, that You would give success to Your gospel. And now, Lord, we would say even as these gathered around the throne said, that the blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne of who I am forever and ever. Amen.