“The Four Beasts of the Apocalypse”
Dominion, Division, Depravation, Death
Revelation 6:1-8 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. 2 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. 3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal,
I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld,
and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
The next event on God’s prophetic timetable is the rapture of the church. After the church is taken out, there will be a
seven year period like this earth has never seen before.
The Bible calls it the Great Tribulation.
Revelation, chapters 6-19 paint a graphic picture of this gruesome, frightening, horrible period. Matthew 24:21
“Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, unto this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
Think of all the wars, famines, diseases, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions. Think of all the atrocities that have taken place all over this earth from the time of Adam and Eve, until now…and Jesus said, add it all together, and none of it can compare to what the world
is about to experience during the great tribulation.
Jeremiah said that in the tribulation, men will wrap their arms around themselves like women giving birth (pain),
and that everyone’s faces will be ashen gray (fear) and the whole world will be focused on what happens in Israel.
Daniel 12:1, “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there was a nation.
Rev. 6-19 is a vision of unspeakable horror. Chapter 5 tells of a 7 sealed scroll…the title deed to the earth. The question was asked, Who is worthy to open that scroll, and reclaim ownership of the earth from Satan? We find that Jesus Christ alone is worthy! The Lamb who is also the Lion!
In chapter 6, the scroll begins to be peeled back…
and one at a time the seals are broken and the horrors
of the tribulation are turned loose on the earth.
The first four seals involve the 4 beasts of the apocalypse.
1. As we open the first seal and look at the first beast on the white horse, I want you to think of the word Dominion.
Vs. 1 speaks of “thunder”= it indicates a storm is coming. It’s the sound of heavy hooves galloping this way!
Who is this rider on the white horse. Some might think it’s Jesus, but it’s not…that doesn’t happen until Rev. 19:11.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse;
and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. That’s Jesus Christ coming at the end of the tribulation…but that’s not the description given here in
ch. 6. Matter of fact, the only similarity is the white horse.
So, if the rider on this white horse in ch. 6 is not Jesus,
then who is he? I believe that it’s the anti-christ…a phony!
In the Bible, a white horse symbolizes conquest. A bow is a symbol of power and warfare, and a crown symbolizes dominion. There is coming one last and final dictator to this earth…he is the antichrist…he is coming on a white horse, as an imitator of Jesus Christ. He is Satan’s deceiver and his deception is so convincing, that even the Jews think that their Messiah has finally come. He will come on a platform of peace, (notice: no arrows) this is the last world dictator and he will bring Death and Destruction to this earth.
1. The beast on the white horse is “Dominion” a Dictator
2. The beast on the red horse is “Division”
v. 3-4 Red is the color blood and war. The anti-christ comes on a platform of world peace. He will do something which has never been done, he will bring peace to the middle east,
but after 3.5 years, the second seal is opened, and the rider of the red horse will snatch the peace from the earth.
When you look at current events in the Middle East you can see it coming. The warfront is the northern border of Israel.
Ezek. 38 & 39 are all about invaders from the north.
The Biblical land of Magog is Russia, predicted to be peaceful until they suddenly invade Israel. It will come,
first of all, in the form of nation against nation and will also come in the form of widespread violence. Magog will bring ‘many others’ with them, Arab Israel haters, Iran, Libya and Ethiopia. Hatred will take over mens hearts. Remember, at this point the church has already been taken away…and there’s no more salt to preserve, no more light to illuminate.
Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters, all divided. You think we live in a violent society now?…well, it’s nothing compared to the malicious slaughter that will take place during the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation.
1. The beast on the white horse is “Dominion”
2. The beast on the red horse is “Division”
3. The beast on the black horse is “Depravation”
v. 5-6 Here is a time of famine, economic disaster, starvation. War spreads across the world and food and fuel become more and more scarce. Food will be weighed like gold.
6 A measure of wheat (one quart), 3 measures barley(grain). This is one day’s food supply in that day, and the penny represents one day’s wages. So, during the tribulation,
a man will have to work all day just food. ( 4 cups cereal )
v. 6 “see thou hurt not the oil and wine” In the tribulation, the poor will get poorer, and the rich will get richer. The wealthy will keep their riches thru a moral sellout to the antichrist, but the vast majority will be totally deprived.
The beast on the black horse represents starvation and deprivation like the world has never seen.
White horse beast is the Dominion of the antichrist
Red horse beast is Division, war and violence
Black horse beast is Deprivation and starvation
4. The beast on the Pale horse is “Death”
v. 7-8 “pale” comes from Greek word meaning, (chlorine/chlorophyll), a nasty green color, rot and decay.
In the tribulation, 1/4th of the world’s population will die. Right now, that’s over a billion people. How ? This is just speculation, but something like germ / biological warfare,
or something like a nuclear bomb or warhead.
The head of the University of Tennessee’s bacteriological department said, “While the greater part of a city’s population could be destroyed by an atomic bomb,
the bacterial method or germ warfare could wipe out the entire population of the earth within one week’s time.”
First, the antichrist will come taking dominion over the world, then war will come with division of families, then deprivation and starvation, then death will come to over a billion people. It would be impossible to bury them all, so there will be rotting bodies all over the world, the pale horse.
But that’s not the end of it…John saw 2 personalities associated with the beast on the pale horse…look again:
v. 8 Capital ‘D’ Death, and Hell followed. That means that death claims the body and hell claims the soul. After death, comes hell and judgment, and no one can escape.
You say, Pastor, you’re just trying to scare me! If you’re not saved, I wish I could. Fear is not the very best motivation to get saved but if it works, so be it. Wise is the man or woman who recognizes the wrath to come and asks God to save them from hell. Parents use fear to teach kids, “kid in road”.
The Bible says when Noah built that ark, he was moved with the fear of what was coming. If you’re not saved and this message scares you, you’ve got good reason to be afraid. These 4 beasts are ready to ride, they’re saddled up, and if you listen, you can hear them coming. The stage is set for the rapture of the church and these seals are ready to be opened.
George Borgstrom in his book “Hungry Planet” said, “it is sobering to realize that no part of the world, in the event of serious crop failure, is more than 1 year away from critical starvation and even in the United States, with all its wealth, we are not more than 2 years away from total starvation.” That’s not a Bible scholar, that’s the secular world speaking.
Doctors and scientists are continuously warning of new strains of bacteria that are resistant to all known antibiotics. The greatest outbreak of disease the world has ever seen could happen at any time. Animal viruses, the bird flu, the swine flu, mad cow disease, this pale rider of death uses ‘the beasts of the earth’ to carry out his “Destruction”.
Jesus said, in the last days there will be a great increase in earthquakes, famines, and pestilence (incurable diseases). And you cannot watch the news today without seeing all three regularly. If you’ll pick up your Bible in one hand,
and a newspaper in the other, it’s hard to deny that we are in the closing shadows of this age. The flames of judgment are on the horizon. Jesus is coming very, very soon.
The four beasts of the Apocalypse are ready to ride.
1. The beast on the white horse is “Dominion”
2. The beast on the red horse is “Division”
3. The beast on the black horse is “Depravation”
4. The beast on the Pale horse is “Death”
The bottom line, Total “Destruction”.
If you’re not saved, you’d better get saved.
If you’re not living right, you’d better start.
If you’re allowing other things to interfere with your faithfulness to the Lord, you better take heed.
If you’re not giving 100% of your life, time and recourses to the work of the Lord, you better take heed.
Why, because Jesus is coming soon, and just because you’re ready, doesn’t mean that your loved ones are.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 (KJV)
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Mark 16:15-18 (KJV)
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe;
In my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay hands on the sick,
and they shall recover.
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Respectfully,
William Poovey
