Transcript

The Beginning of The End-Part One

Revelation 6:1-17
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Pastor Randy Smith

---

One of the comments I've repeatedly received is how many of you have been intimidated by the book of Revelation in the past. Some have mentioned how they have basically avoided the book altogether. I'm grateful for your kind words, that our sermons together have made this book that is indispensable for every Christian, much more understandable.

Yet as we turn our attention to chapter 6, the challenges that concern many people will become more evident. As a matter of fact, I read a number of great commentaries this week and most of them, to a variety of degrees, differ on their interpretations. This may sound like it disproves my prior comments, but it actually confirms the point I now want to make.

Throughout church history, countless debates have occurred and innumerable hours have been invested to determine the specific details in the book of Revelation. I'm not saying this is meaningless exercise, I'm only saying that the primary purpose in reading Revelation is understanding the big picture that the author is trying to convey. And that big picture should be evident to all Christians who open this book.

There is nothing wrong with sifting through and wrestling with the minutia of the details, but it's meaningless if it doesn't help you share Jesus with your neighbor or sing with passion on Sunday morning or strengthen your marriage or repent of known sin or attend Prayer Meeting or stop worshipping your possessions.

Our goal in this study is gospel-driven, Christ-exalting life transformation, not pure head knowledge that gets no further than fueling your ego and impressing your neighbor. I have witnessed from many in their study of Revelation not greater Christ-righteousness, but greater self-righteousness; not greater humility, but greater pride. My friends, this is not the end goal of studying Revelation, moreover of any Bible Study!

So this morning we'll take a look at chapter 6. We'll break down the details. We'll share some of the interpretative challenges, but our main goal will be the edification of our souls (1 Thes. 4:18; 5:11) that brings us closer to Christ in obedient living.

Yet before we dive into the new material, I believe a brief review is in order to help us better understand chapter 6. Permit me to set the context.

In chapter 4 we learned about the greatness of God. The appearance of God, identified as the One "who sits on the throne" (4:10), is awe-inspiring. We learned that He is surrounded by concentric circles of high-ranking angels that never cease to praise Him. Together they adore Him for His holiness and sovereignty and power and glory (4:8, 11). This God is majestic. This God is terrifying. This God is unapproachable.

Then in chapter 5 we learned how we as sinners are able to approach this holy God. We are introduced to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity; Jesus Christ. He is a Lion. He is a King. He is a Lamb, a Lamb who was slain and is now alive.

We also learned how only He was worthy to approach God and take the scroll from His hand (5:5). And not only was He able to take the scroll, but He was able to fulfill the contents in the scroll which is the judgment on unbelievers and blessings on believers because He (5:9) was "slain and purchased for God with [His] blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." Opening the scroll is fulfilling the end-time plans for all humans. Yet the scroll was closed with seven seals. Yet 5:9 says the Lamb is "worthy…to take the [scroll] and to break its seals."

This is now where we find ourselves in chapter 6.

We begin (over the next two weeks) with a close look at six of the seven seals from chapter 6. We'll have to wait until we get to chapter 8 to read about the seventh seal.

It is best to think of the seven seals as the events that will transpire that lead up to the Second Coming of Christ. Or in other words, if the content of the scroll is the judgment for unbelievers and blessings for believers, these are the things that need to occur before that can be realized. The seals must be broken before the scroll can be enacted.

If we consider the end of the end times as the final seven years of world history (as most people do) often called "Daniel's Seventieth Week," these seven seals will occur during that period. The first four seals, also known as the four horsemen, will occur during the first half of the seven years just prior to the revelation of the antichrist. These bring turmoil and unrest to the world, but also set the stage for a charismatic and evil world leader that promises peace. These four seals are not the end. They are simply "birth pangs" that prepare ultimately for the arrival of Jesus.

When we enter the final half of the seven years, also known as "The Great Tribulation," the fifth seal is broken (martyrdom) and then this sixth seal (cosmic changes) and then the seventh seal (the Day of our Lord). Following the seven seals are seven trumpets (chapters 8-11) and seven bowls (chapter 15-16) which we'll get to in the later chapters of Revelation. Some have even concluded that the seventh seal is the seven trumpets and the seventh trumpet is the seven bowls, thus making all these events we'll learn about in the weeks ahead all wrapped up in the seven seals.

1. The First Seal

Verses 1-2, "Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, 'Come.' I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."

The first four seals are commonly called, "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." They are not the formal wrath of God. They are merely birth pangs, significant world turmoil that opens the final seven years and prepares the way for the Messiah.

It is also important to note that this theme of the horsemen was also employed in the Old Testament. Zechariah 6 speaks of four chariots, each led by different colored horses (Zech. 6:1-8). Ezekiel 14 doesn't use horsemen, but speaks of the same four judgments as the four horsemen from Revelation 6 (Eze. 14:12-23). Most interesting is Jesus in Matthew 24 when He spoke of not the horsemen, but also virtually the same events of judgment as Revelation 6 that will precede His coming.

So my point is this: it's hard to overlap all these prophetic passages in great detail since each biblical author spoke of it from his own perspective. It's also hard to be dogmatic on the exact events themselves because symbols are often used. Yet I believe we can agree that certain general events will occur before the return of Christ (Mk. 13:29), events that are both intensified events of things that have happened in the past (such as wars and earthquakes and famines) and events that are truly out of the ordinary (such as unparalleled cosmic disturbances in the heavens).

So the first seal - verses 1 and 2. Christ breaks the seal. The text says, one of the "living creatures" (a high ranking angel) says "with a voice of thunder, 'Come.'" He did not bid John (the writer of Revelation) to come. This was to call forth the first horseman, a white horse. He is described with a bow and a crown given to him. Verse 2 says, "He went out conquering and to conquer." So based on this description, what does the first horseman represent?

Some say it is Jesus Himself (Jesus rides a white horse in Revelation 19), giving people a final chance to repent and receive the Gospel. There are many reasons why that does not work, primarily because it's out of context with the other three horses. Some say it represents worldwide false peace. In other words, he has a bow, but no arrows - bloodless battles luring people into an unreal sense of security. The crown on his head shows he was victorious in this endeavor. Another very common option is that the first horseman represents war - the white horse representing conquest, the bow (a military instrument), the victor's crown.

Yet I believe the first horseman represents false teaching. The disciples came to Jesus and said, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?" To which Jesus said, "See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many" (Mt. 13:4-6; cf. 21-22). Our Lord's first warning was false teachers. Here we see a bow, yet without arrows and a crown showing a successful following.

One thing we'll see as we work our way through Revelation is the internal working of Satan. His mission is basically to ape or copy Jesus Christ. Christ's servants are marked; Satan marks his servants as well. Christ did miracles through His prophets, 2 Thessalonians says that Satan's primary will come "in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders" (2 Thes. 2:9). Christ commands worship, Satan commands worship. We have Christ and we have the antichrist. The works of Satan look very similar to the works of Christ. As Paul said, "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). If people are not careful they can be easily deceived. A great example we see here is the false teachers Satan uses in Christ's name.

There have always been false teachers throughout church history. Just before the return of Christ there will be an increase in them. Is the first horse what Paul predicted in the end times that "God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness" (2 Thes. 2:11)? Or as he said in 2 Timothy: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

I'm not seeking to imply we are in the final days, perhaps we are, but if you consider the Pope's recent heretical comments, the best sellers in the categories of Christian books, the largest church in America under the leadership of Joel Osteen (and I can keep going), it does raise some eyebrows.

2. The Second Seal

That was the breaking of the first seal. Let's move on. Verses 3 and 4, "When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, 'Come.' And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him."

So here we have a red horse that symbolizes blood whose rider with a sword himself takes peace from the earth whereby men would slay one another. Obviously this horse represents something in the line of bloodshed and war. The world has always known war, but in this case it is probably more prevalent and more intense.

Jesus continued in His sermon forecasting the end times. "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (Mk .13:7-8).

In the context of the end times we read an interesting verse from 2 Thessalonians 2 about a restrainer being removed which ushers in antichrist and lawlessness (2 Thes. 2:6-7). Could this possibly be the same as the second horseman? Could the second horseman simply be God's common grace?

The human heart is evil and apart from a conscience and civil authorities there would be bloodshed happening at mass proportions. Yet God gives what we call a common grace upon all humanity. What would happen if that grace were removed? Destructive instincts run amok. Greater wars. Greater civil unrest. Greater bloodshed. Is this what will happen when that second horseman "takes peace from the earth?" Zechariah in the Old Testament predicted, "It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another's hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another" (cf. Isa. 19:2).

3. The Third Seal

The third seal is now broken. Verses 5-6, "When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, 'Come.' I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.'"

Interpreting the third horseman is fairly straightforward. It's always been there, but prior to the return of Jesus there will be great famine. Jesus Himself predicted that also in Mark 13:8.

The black horse itself represented scarcity. The scales in the rider's hands represent the way food was weighed out when it was scarce prior to its distribution. A "quart of wheat" would feed one person for one day. A denarius was a day's wage. It is estimated that selling that amount of food for that price was 10-12 times the normal going rate. Food is scarce. The prices are driven up. People are starving. Famine. Yet as bad as the famine will be, verse 6 says it is limited as the "oil" (the olive trees) and the "wine" (the grape vines) are not permitted to be damaged at this time.

4. The Fourth Seal

And we'll wrap it up today with the fourth horseman as our Lord broke the fourth seal.

Verses 7-8, "When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, 'Come.' I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth."

The horse is described as being "ashen" - that's a sickly, pale, yellow-green color. Basically it's the color of decomposing corpse. And not that we really even need to take an educated guess because verse 7 names this rider "Death."

Specifically, verse 7 says that the death resulted from the "sword," "famine," (these first two mentioned in the first three seals) "pestilence," and "the wild beasts of the earth." Authority was given to this horse regarding his murderous activities to rule over a fourth of the earth.

As the Lord permits, we'll cover the fifth and sixth seal next week from chapter 6, but what can we take away from this passage? A few thoughts I'll leave with you.

One, you had better be on the right side with this God. In Mark 13, Jesus said, "These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs." You think this is bad, as we read on in Revelation we'll see it's only going to get a lot worse. And none of this compares to the terror of hell. If Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Savior, you are not on God's side. Will you trust the only One who died for sin to bring you eternal forgiveness? Will you give Him your life today? According to the Scripture, it is your only hope to escape the wrath of God.

Two, regardless of where you fall with your perspective on the timing of the rapture, God's children can have peace because Revelation clearly teaches us that God is the One in control when the world is spinning out of control. The Lord teaches us these things not to scare us, but so we will "not be quickly shaken" (2 Thes. 2:2). Let's remember, God is the one who orchestrates these end time events. Verse 2, "a crown was given to him." Verse 4, "a great sword was given to him." Verse 8, "authority was given to them." All things good and evil derive their being, permission and authority from God. That is the only way Satan can operate. That's why the elders in heaven (4:10) cast their crowns before the throne when they worship. And that's why only those on God's side can have peace. He is in control!

And three, keep the big picture that I mentioned in the introduction in mind. Live by God's grace as our Lord expects us to live. Be encouraged that the day will come when His people will be vindicated. Look forward to your future blessedness in heaven.

Again, the goal of this instruction is not mere head knowledge or the disputes over the specific details. The goal is godly living. The goal is allowing the Lamb to live His victorious life through you. The goal is Gospel-centered, Holy Spirit-empowered transformation. And my friends, if you are living like that day-to-day, you will always be ready for whatever happens and whenever our Lord chooses to return (1 Thes. 5:4).