The "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"- - this latter term being the Greek name for the Book of Revelation - - have intrigued Bible readers for centuries. What do they represent? The implications for mankind are staggering.
In Revelation 6, Jesus Christ uses Four Horsemen to represent the first Four of Seven Seals He opens from the scroll in His hand. These Four Horsemen of the first Four Seals represent His righteous judgment upon a world that has rejected Him. These images have intrigued generations of Bible scholars and students. Thundering across the prophetic landscape, these dramatic images cast a pall of terror on the world.
More importantly, they signal the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week (or the final 7 years) and the start of the Tribulation (the first 3.5 years of the final 7 years). Yesterday, I boldly suggested that we are sitting on the very edge of the Tribulation, which could begin as early as mid-April.
To understand the Seals in Revelation 6, we first 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).
No one in Heaven or on Earth is able or worthy to open the scroll and reveal its contents. John bemoans the absence of anyone capable of opening the scrolls, but a voice from one of the elders around the throne says: "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals" (verse 5).
What John saw next was the sight of the glorified Jesus Christ in the commanding position to receive and dispense the full power of God. "And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne...stood a Lamb as though it had been slain...Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne" (verses 6-7).
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.
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.
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 4 signs that correspond with the first Four Seals of Revelation 6: "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 diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" Matthew 24:4-8 (emphasis added).
Here Jesus reveals an overview of trends and conditions from the first century until the end of the age. Take note of the four significant developments He foretold: Religious deception, war, famine, and disease.
I never realized it until just now, but the order he gives DIRECTLY CORRESPONDS to the order of the release of the Four Horsemen during the opening of the first Four Seals!
First Horseman - White Horse - First Seal = False Peace/False Religion
Second Horseman - Red Horse - Second Seal = War! War! War!
Third Horseman - Black Horse - Third Seal = Famine
Fourth Horseman - Pale Horse - Fourth Seal = Disease
What an amazing God!
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Ceres-ly? (Ceres Of Events Revisited)
12 Comments:
Could it be that the seals are already being opened? I don't believe there is anything in Revelation that indicates that the opening of the seals has to wait until the tribulation time. For since Christ ascended we have had Antichrists, wars, pestilence, and famine. Tradition has us to believe that the seals are not yet opened. The events of Revelation 5 occur right after the ascension of Christ to God's right hand. Then in Rev 6:1 the 1st seal is opened. Any amount of time or none at all could have passed between the end of Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6. These things are interesting in light of the sixth seal pre-tribulation rapture model (see the books by Peter Goodgame and David Lowe). Food for thought.
hey check this out:
http://www.prophecyinthenews.com/
click on the webcast from Feb 25, 2009 link under the screen. Very interesting!
I just looked up the word Colorado and it means red. I wonder if anyone knows what "Denver" means.
This is extremely interesting, and I'll tell you why. Our pastor is at the very end of the teaching of the Book of Matthew. He started it back in the fall, and these past two weeks have been Matthew 24 and 25. In his sermons, he told us to order the CDs from his message series that he did back in 1999 on the Olivet Discourse. It's a 9-CD set, and today... TODAY... I listened to the second CD (I heard the first one yesterday). Do you know what it was about?
The very thing you wrote about in this post. Down to a "T."
Strange coincidence??
Hey. Just found your site recently and am enjoying it. Just wanted to share that the correlation between Matt. 24 and Revelation 6 & 7 continues.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death"Matt 24:9 (Fifth Seal)
Then a warning about the "Great Tribulation"
Then in Matt 24:29 is the Sixth Seal.
Then the rapture in Matt 24:30-31 which corresponds to the sudden appearance of the multitude in Rev. 7:14 who "come out of the great tribulation".
I know this is very abreviated but I also know you'll go look it all up. It's awesome how it all fits together. Keep up the good work.
Doc, you are right. There is nothing in the book of Revelation that says the "opening of the seals has to wait until tribulation time;" although there are some principles in the seven seals that can be applied to all times, including ours.
I heard a long time ago about something called the 'law of double reference.' This states that Bible prophecies can have two meanings, that is, prophesying about two different events in the same prophecy. From what I have seen, it should be called the 'law of multiple reference,' because there are a lot of prophecies in the Bible that have applied to multiple situations in multiple time periods. (More posts coming)
The general context of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ goes as follows: John the apostle on the isle of Patmos in prison for the witness of Jesus Christ (then current times). Next, our Lord speaks to John through the Holy Ghost and gives John the message of the seven churches. At this point, the book of Revelation starts overlapping in time. When Jesus was talking with John on Patmos, there were seven churches in seven cities in Asia. I can't remember their names right now, so I won't try. (More posts coming)
In any case, not only does the message Jesus gives John refer to current events, it also refers to periods in, from our vantage point, history that speaks of the spiritual state of the churches from the time that Jesus ascended into heaven up to current time. All things written of the churches in the book of Revelation are verifiable. There are articles related to this very subject, so you can verify what I am saying for yourself.
The last church mentioned, which is in Revelation 3, is the Laodicean church. Jesus chastised this church for its moral relativism and spiritual bankruptcy. The church of Laodicea was more concerned with making money than with gathering spiritual truth. They said some things that were sin were not sin, which our Lord Jesus hates. They also were indifferent to doctrinal truth as Jesus being the only way to Heaven. Some people think that Jesus can get you and me to heaven, but Wicca is the way for them. (More posts coming)
Proceed now to chapter four starting with verse 1: 1 "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." Notice in verse one and two that John hears a voice that sounds like a trumpet him telling him to "Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." The Bible says John was "immediately in the spirit." This is our Lord Jesus Christ calling John to Heaven, a.k.a. the Rapture.
Given that chapters 1-5 are in a chronolinear order, with overlapping as I have already noted, the book of Revelation should be taken as chronologically linear, meaning that when one event occurs, the next event should be taken as happening after.
You are correct that that there have been antichrists, wars, pestilences, and famines in the past, even as they are now. However, the coming of THE antichrist in the first seal should not be taken to mean that it is the beginning of the tribulation. When Jesus opens the first seal, it is Satan's flesh and blood son being brought into world recognition. This, I believe, will happen very shortly after the Rapture, because a lot of people will be very scared, and looking for someone to tell them what is happening. (more posts coming)
The actual beginning of the Tribulation occurs when Antichrist gets Israel and the Muslim world to sign a peace treaty for seven years, i.e., Daniel's seventieth week: "...and the people of THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 AND HE SHALL CONFIRM THE COVENANT WITH MANY FOR ONE WEEK: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Caps type mine) Guess what? (more posts coming)
I haven't heard the tradition that Revelation 5 occurs immediately after Jesus ascends to Heaven to God's right hand. I believe it to be false, however, because Revelation chapter 5 does not show Jesus preparing a place for us. I think the most solid case would be that Jesus has finished preparing a place for us, as he said he would when he walked the earth, and is now, in Revelation 5, about to issue the judgments on mankind that we deserve.
Thanks for voicing your thoughts on the subject. It's very hard to find anyone who wants to talk about prophecy. I really enjoyed it. Guess what again.......
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. This is the last post! And you thought there were going to be more coming, didn't you?
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