There will be the vanquishing of his enemies, Antichrist. both politically and on battlefields. There will be natural disasters. There will be persecution and sacrilege committed against the Jews. And then there will be Armageddon, and there will be Christ.
That's a brief overview.
So, what we're getting here are how these things are going to play out with these horses and the seals, then the seven trumpets, and then the seven bowls. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Revelation chapter 6 as he begins a new study called Horseman of Horror. Revelation chapter 6. We'll take verses 3 through 8. Revelation chapter 6 verses Seven and eight. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creatures 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 beast of the earth, Those two verses out of our section have a lot of shock and awe. going with it and that's why I felt led to read those two.
particularly that part about a fourth of the earth.
Well, we'll come to that in a moment. The title is Horsemen of Horror. These are the three of the four horsemen. We covered the first one. last session, which was Antichrist.
Now, there's too much in too many places over the seven-year period of the Great Tribulation for John to be able to bullet point, or anybody else. A coherent sequence of events is only discernible sometimes. In other words, only sometimes do we see things in the order and we're really sure that's the order. But then there's these other moving parts that come in, and it's not very easy. Two.
bullet point a timeline. And that's why there are many different various interpretations. But there is still sequence. And there is still out of sequence, and you just have to pay attention and do the best you can. Cannot overstate that.
Now, I'm going to share my views. I am not at all telling you what to think, nor do I pretend that that's something I should be able to do. When it comes to The prophecies, I'm going to give it to you as I see it, and I'm going to disagree with a lot of folks out there, but. You know, prophecy is not something to argue about. You could disagree.
And you can disagree with me. Yeah.
So some people just are determined to be wrong.
So Can't stop them. Anyway, I'll try to um not No more disclaimers. I have one little one coming up. Anyway, the first horseman. That we covered last week on the white horse, that is Antichrist.
not Jesus Christ. When Christ comes, Uh we have other indicators. One of them That he mentioned from Matthew 24, which is a chapter about the end times. He says, For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. And of course he comes with his with the armies of heaven, the host of heaven along with him.
But we're now looking at events following The first one that rides in Following Antichrist's arrival.
Now, there are people who are against Christ, those are Antichrist, but there is only one character that is the Antichrist. And that central figure has already come in sequence of events that we're looking at in Chapter 6. The one who starts off with a false peace.
Well, Paul writing about the end times to the believers, he said to them, For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them. as labor pains upon a pregnant woman And they shall not escape. Very serious warnings that the Bible has given to humanity, to mankind. These four horsemen.
Of horror ride in with nothing good and everything evil. There's nothing about them redeeming.
Sort of like Islam. contributes nothing good to humanity, just strips it away. Jesus said again in Matthew twenty-four, See, I have told you beforehand. I'm giving you the future. And I'm giving it to you here in that Mount of Olive Sermon.
Amount Olivet, and then also in various other places in the Old and New Testament. A little bit more for this introduction before we start. Speaking of Matthew 24, they match the teachings of Christ in Matthew 24. Match The teachings, the revelation of John here in chapter 6, John gives a little bit more detail. There is the false Messiah that Jesus spoke about, Matthew 24, 5.
Well, verse 2, the Antichrist riding in on the white horse. The significance of the white, we'll come to that when we start opening up the color of these other horses. Jesus said there'd be war in Matthew 24, verses 6 and 7.
Well, verses 3 through 4 get right to that. Then there's famine, death, martyrdom, cosmic and terrestrial Turmoil. All of that called by Jesus will be in this chapter and then the time of judgment. Also called in Matthew 24, and here we'll get that hopefully next session. Very exciting things to talk about in Revelation because we're of the mind we won't be here.
But we are to be armed with these truths. We are to be a threat to the causes of hell. Because of the truths that we have. And we better it is better to spend our energy not arguing Prophecy. We're reaching the lost.
Well, verse 3, let's get right to it. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see.
Now I'm going to break this up a little bit. This is again the second horse. It brings war, great war. There's been wars, but this one. These are going to be different.
The second seal reveals the outcome of Antichrist's arrival. The earth is plunged into the terrors produced by his savage despotism. his belief that he should rule everything. It may not sound extraordinary, the wars, the famine, the death? And then we recall what Jesus said in Luke 21, which is also mirrors Matthew 24: Jesus on the Mount of Olives giving his.
End time preaching to his disciples when they asked for it. He said, There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars. and on earth distress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them from fear. and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Well But they're going to live through it. And they're going to know what many of them are going to know what's going on.
Some of them will convert to Christ, some of them will harden up against Him. These four horsemen have this in common. They bring Hora to the world unlike ever before. And the world is shaken and impenitent nonetheless.
Now we get a little deeper into what is being said here, verse 4. 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, Well, had only the white horse come, then it would just be. Business as usual.
Wars, rumors of wars, tribulation, but not the great tribulation. This is uncommon all of this. Men will now plunge into World War III. Antichrist will take power. And now I come to Ezekiel chapter 38, and here again, I disagree with many.
Of my beloved teachers On their position.
Now, for those of you not familiar with Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39. They are the last wars before Christ comes back. Most commentators, the majority, and the common opinion is that this is Armageddon. My view, and there's a few others that share it. Although I don't recall at the moment.
But anyway, I see chapter 38 in Ezekiel. As the Russian-Islamic Alliance Against Israel. put down by Antichrist. And well, NATO. the Atlantic Alliance.
And I'll tell you why in a little bit. And then chapter 39 is Armageddon. Where the nations surround Israel, as opposed to chapter 38 in Ezekiel, where they come from the north. And that, of course, Armageddon Christ ends that. Daniel said, and in the latter time of their kingdom.
When the transgressors have reached their fullness when God's about had it. A king shall rise. having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes.
Well, that's Antichrist. And he's going to rise up. within the Western civilization, NATO. which Israel is not a part of. And I'm just going to get into the covenant that he makes with Israel as I see it based on the collective information that we have.
The people living through these things, they'll be much more on top of what's going on than we could be, but they'll be right there.
So, I respectfully again disagree with the majority of opinions about. Ezekiel 38 and 39. And the reason why they're pertinent to what we're talking about here is because. They're all about the wars that are going to be taking place. The nuclear exchanges that we're going to come to as we move through the revelation.
the mass carnage That even in this chapter we'll get.
So I see them as two separate wars. And Prophecy students, again, be careful. Don't get so caught up in your prophecy that you forget to be gracious. I think a lot of the students get caught up with gog and may gog and rosh that are mentioned in. Revelation These are anti- Israel, humans satanically influenced.
They symbolize those forces. That's why it shows up in verse 38 and 39 of Ezekiel.
Some of you said, You've lost me.
Well, when you go back and read Ezekiel, it is your homework tonight. You'll say, oh, okay, now I get it. There are two nasty wars, and there are some differences here that you just can't dismiss, and you can't. You can't join them either. They have to be separate, just like my beloved pastor said.
Yeah.
That's not funny. All right, coming back to this. That Russian Islamic alliance. Western civilization. is omitted.
So when you look at Ezekiel 38. Ezekiel names the nations coming from the far north and that alliance. Almost All of them. are well the majority of them are Islamic nations. and the others belonged to the Communist bloc, the Soviet Union.
Where's Western civilization? Where's Rome? Where's, you know, Gaul? Where are any of the places that belong to NATO? You can't just dismiss that.
You have to account for it. That's how you get to the meanings of prophecy and how relevant these things are to us.
Well, that's that Russo Islamic alliance coming against Israel and they will be defeated. An Antichrist. coming to the aid of Israel with NATO. will then be able to make his covenant that he will break Halfway through the treaty with Israel. Daniel 9:26, the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
Whoa, what are we talking about there?
Well, Daniel is telling. future generations That the people who destroy the tabernacle, the second Jewish temple, Those people, who were they?
Well, they were Rome. Yes, they were, but what does that mean? Western civilization. The people that produced the Western civilization that we know today, Rome. From those people will come this prince.
Who is Antichrist?
Now that doesn't mean he's Italian. In fact, the ancient Romans, the ancient Romans and the Italians are not identical. There are some serious differences there. But it does mean It does point to. The civilization of the West, in contrast.
to everything else. And from there comes Antichrist, and then Daniel continues, he stamps a date onto it. The end of it shall be with a flood. Until the end of the war desolations are determined.
So Daniel said, this is going to be an end time event. There's coming someone from the people that destroyed the second Jewish temple. From those people, he will come out, and he will be what we know as Antichrist.
So then Ezekiel 39 again is Antichrist then coming against Israel. And one of the differences is that Israel is surrounded by armies. Ezekiel thirty-nine. I go back.
So these four horsemen of Revelation 6. They call for so much war and carnage Early into the revelation of Jesus Christ, that you have to presuppose that World War and Antichrist rise to power are related. Ezekiel thirty eight, verse twenty one. This is God dealing with the Russo-Islamic alliance. I will call for a sword against Gog.
Throughout all my mountains says the Lord Yahweh, every man's sword will be against his brother. That's World War. This does not mean that there are not other wars, battlefields, taking place.
So we look at Ezekiel thirty eight, we see this Russo-Islamic alliance coming down on Israel.
Well, that doesn't mean there's not wars elsewhere in Western civilization or other parts of the world. The Bible is just focusing on Israel. And so, when you begin to say, yeah, well, you know, they're going to be the war for trade routes, for supplies. The Malacca Straits is a big deal for China, for example. They would like to have control over the Malacca Straits.
They don't. The English Channel That's the busiest channel in the world for shipping supplies. And you say, well, what does that have to do with this? We're going to come to that when we get to the black horse, if I ever get past this first one. God uses the armies of Western civilization against.
the Russian Islamic Alliance. Uh you know, Russia tried to left communism and and got to this capitalistic state, but they've not lost who they are. They still think the same way. And they have no problem invading other lands. And all their neighbors know it.
So ask the Poles, do you think Russia might ever attack you again? Yeah.
Ask the Finns from Finland. They'll tell you the same thing.
Well, in fact, Russia is already meddling with those countries on their borders, and they've been doing so for years.
Well, where was I here? God using the armies, solidifying the power of Antichrist. giving him opportunity to get in good with the Jews. Daniel 9, 27, then he shall confirm a covenant. with many For one week.
Even until the consummation. And there again, Daniel says this is an end-time event, the consummation of all things when it's all finished up. This is the last days. No one has ever conquered the entire world. They've tried, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, they've tried.
The man of sin will, the scripture tells us that he will trample the world. It won't be short-lived, but he'll pull it off.
So this horse, this second horse. This fiery red. That's the bloodshed coming out of EZECIAL thirty eight, WORLD WAR THREE Now some colours, like black and white and red, have universal significance. They show up in the majority of cultures For instance, white is usually viewed positively. symbolizing peace and purity.
Well, look at the white dove, for example. It's just a common symbol.
Well, Revelation is a forest of symbols. And red, the fiery red, Is war. It is violence. The second horse is red. The color of the Fiery dragon when we get to chapter 12.
is red. The Scarlet Beast. And Revelation 17 is read, and the woman Upon the scarlet beast, also bedecked in with red.
Well, this horse went out. From hell spiritually, the source of the world's evil. And it was granted. To the one who sat on it. To take peace from the earth.
So maybe you've been saying, well, I don't think a fiery horse is war.
Well, it is the answer right there. Can you argue with that? It was granted to take peace from the earth. That's violence. Through tyranny.
Through intrigue, which Antichrist will be a master of. And the people should kill one another.
Well, that's what's going on in Ezekiel 38 because Ezekiel 39 at Armageddon, God comes down and puts an end to that. Another distinction between the two chapters. The Gentiles are warring with each other at this point. Nothing new about that. And there was given to him a great sword.
This Rider on the Fiery red horse. In every age, a sword also speaks of War. And the rippling Horrific effects of war. are famine, death, of course, misery, At this point I I'm going to read from again Ezekiel 38, this time, two verses. I will call.
For a sword against Gog throughout all my mountains says The Lord Yahweh, every man's sword will be against his brother, and I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed. I will rain down on him. on his troops. And on the many peoples who are with him: flooding, rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Well, that could be munitions. That could be weapons of war. How else is Ezekiel? And these profits to Use Ancient understandings and languages to describe what's coming in worlds of different languages and Greater technology.
So let's overview this real very quickly. Right now, We're in the church age. The next prophetic event. Visible is the rapture. I say visible because There are other little technological things that have to be in place to allow for The reign of Antichrist, for instance, global economic accountability, where you can't buy or sell without the market of the beast.
We're almost there, if not there.
So, there might be little things here and there that have to happen, but overall, the next thing on the prophetic clock is the removal of. The Christians. Then the arrival of Antichrist on the white horse. Uh his Peace. Through NATO.
Uh would likely Again So NATO's rule is this: if you attack one of the members of NATO, all of NATO is going to come get you. Which is one of the reasons why NA Israel is not part of NATO. They all don't want to run to her rescue if she's ever attacked. But in the end times, things are going to change a little bit. It's Christians to be out of the way.
There will be persecution of the converts. There will be the 144,000 Jews that will be preaching the gospel throughout the world. There will be the vanquishing of his enemies, Antichrist. both politically and on battlefields. There will be natural disasters.
There will be persecution and sacrilege committed against the Jews. And then there will be Armageddon, and there will be Christ. That's a brief overview.
So what we're getting here are how these things are going to play out with these horses and the seals, and then the seven trumpets, and then the seven bowls. You see, all of this information is why some people become prophecy buffs. Like, oh, yeah, then what happened? They start digging in, and they're not an insult. But just remember, as much time and energy as you may put into prophecy.
You are basically an evangelist first. Before you are anything else, after your own salvation, you are a preacher of Jesus Christ. Verse 5. When he opened the third seal, I heard the living creatures Say, come see.
So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. Verse 6, and I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A court of wheat for denares. and three quarts of barley, for a dinaris. and do not harm the oil and the wine.
Well, this is the third horse. Supply chains collapse. economic strife. Famine. The worst global financial collapse ever known to man.
The upper class may escape some of that. Mm-hmm. Uh This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand.
Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings. While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Yeah.
