We come now to the study of Revelation chapter 6. Chapter 6 begins for us the future element of the book of Revelation. Now we get into the prophecy regarding the time of the end. What we are reading tonight are the events that are going to happen momentarily. Based on the current condition of our world and the progression of global events, this scene in Heaven is nearing fruition, which means that the Church will be raptured. This is a timely study and we will see how what is happening today is leading up to what we are reading here in Chapter 6 and ongoing in Revelation. There is truth and application in every verse for us right now. It is not just a mystical trip into the future, it is not just a fascinating look at something of a distant time, it is happening or in preparation to happen at this very hour, and we’re going to allow the Holy Spirit of God to apply it as we go.
Before we read this passage, I want to make a comment about the events we are going to read and study tonight and the weeks to come. In every release, judgment, and verse, God is in control. This is not the prophecy of satan’s diabolical plan. These are not events that will happen ‘willy-nilly.’ This is God’s judgment on the world for the purpose of redeeming the entire world and extinguishing the damning effects of sin and evil forever. This is God’s plan, God’s power, God’s sovereignty. The four horsemen are released because God commands it so. The seals are opened because God opens the seals. Therefore, our faith and our hope must always remain steadfast in Him and Him alone.
Revelation 6:1–8 ESV
1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. 5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be 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 wine!” 7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
You will remember in chapters 4 and 5 are in the throne room of heaven. In Chapter 4, God is seated on His throne. The scene is of God about to unleash judgment. Around His throne are lightning and thunder. In the midst of this, there is glorious worship of God by the redeemed and raptured church and by the angels. Then as we come into chapter 5, God holds out in His hand a scroll sealed with seven seals. Those seven seals are hiding what was in the scroll. The seals cannot be broken without until except by the one who had a right to open it. This is indicative of a legal document. The scroll is the title deed to the universe, and Chapter 5 tells us that the only one who is worthy and able to open it is the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David. And in the midst of all of this glorious worship as God gets ready to act in judgment and as all those glorified beings celebrate His coming judgment, for it is right and just, and will be the exaltation of Christ and the glory of the saints; as they celebrate that, God puts out His hand, and in it is the little scroll which symbolizes the title deed to the universe. It has to be taken back from the usurper Satan and all his cronies. The Lamb, the Lion of the tribe of Judah comes forth and takes the scroll. He is worthy, and He is able. He has a right to inherit the universe; He has the power to take it.
Written in this scroll is a description of the judgment by which the Lord will take back the earth. At the opening of each seal, we will see the drama of the coming judgment as the wrath of God unfolds and He takes back His universe. The first four seals are the unleashing of what is known as the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse The first thing you will notice in the opening of the first 4 seals in Revelation 6:1-8 is a pattern:
1. Christ breaks the seal,
2. One of the four living creatures cries out “Come!”,
3. A colored horse and rider leap onto the world scene,
The fourth and fifth seal are related are martyrdom and cosmic disturbances. The seventh seal is the unleashing of the 7 trumpets. Tonight we’re going to look at the first four seals and the four horsemen associated with those seals. The Old Testament has a similar scene with these horsemen. Zechariah 1 features horsemen who patrolled the earth for God. The prophet later wrote of four chariots, whose horses mirror the colors of those in Revelation 6, that went out into the four corners of the earth to impose God’s will on his enemies (Zech. 6:1–8).
I. Seal #1 - The White Horse (Conquest/False Peace)
Revelation 6:1–2 ESV
1 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
First, notice that it is Jesus who breaks the seal and opens the scroll. Secondly, see that there is an invitation to John from the living creature to observe the events that will take place, and then John describes the horse and the horseman. Based on John’s description, we can quickly decide the identity of the ride with three main candidates?:
1. He is Christ going forth to deliver the gospel
2. He is the antichrist
3. He represents various conquerors who arise in history.
Let’s dive deeper into this identity and why.
You can tell much about how a person understands this book and God’s prophetic plan by seeing how they understand this first rider. Those who think Revelation is mostly a book of history believe that this rider is Jesus. Those who believe that this is a prophetic passage, yet to be fulfilled, often account for this rider to be the antichrist.
First, those who believe the rider is Christ point to the appearance of Jesus in Revelation 19 as a white rider who leads the armies of heaven. White is the color of righteousness, and in both John’s Gospel and Revelation Jesus is frequently said to conquer (John 16:33; Rev. 5:5). There are, however, reasons to doubt this view. The primary objection is that these four horsemen are all on the same team. Their purpose is tribulation, not salvation. Moreover, this rider wears the laurel crown of a conqueror rather than the “many diadems” that Jesus wears in Revelation 19:12. While the color white often speaks of righteousness, it can also represent the victorious warrior, such as the Roman conquerors who rode white horses.
The whole context and character of these seals absolutely forbid our thinking of this rider is the Lord Jesus, as so many affirm. His reign shall not bring war, famine, and strife.
Interpreting this as a historic (or even contemporary) rider could fit except for the context of interpretation. Throughout history, Christ has sovereignly unleashed men such as Attila, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Hitler to overthrow human claims to peace on earth while mankind was all the while at war with God. Vern Poythress writes: “Roman peace promised prosperity, but the reality was different. Conquest, bloodshed, famine, and death have stalked the human race throughout the church age.” John is clearly seeing future events in a post-rapture world. The satanic counterfeit of the Antichrist is another option, but the Antichrist shows up on the world stage to bring peace.
Therefore, it is probably best to see the first rider as neither Christ nor the Antichrist, but as the calamitous woe conquest. The rider on the white horse will be bloodless conquest – false peace and security. Notice that he carries a bow without arrows. The type of crown on his head is a Stefanos or victor’s crown, not a crowd of kingly authority (Jesus is described as wearing many diadems, cf. Rev 19:12). The tribulation period will begin with a deceptive piece accompanied by a counterfeit and false religion. We see the same general counterfeit condition described in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 “3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”
We see this emerging even today. First, consider the war in Ukraine happening right now. Let me ask you, is the US at war with Russia. I dare say yes! Just because we do not have soldiers on the ground firing rifles does not mean we aren’t engaged in some kind of combat. Talk about “rumors of wars!” We know that a period is on the way that will be a continual world deterioration. Now the dollar is not the only currency being used by OPEC as the standard for trade for oil. This is the end of the period of pax America.
And we see the coming of false religion in crisis on description at the end times in Matthew 24:4-5
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Matthew 24:4–5 ESV
4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.
Jesus said, “When is it going to happen? First, there’s going to be deception. That deception will be followed during the time that we all the tribulation with wars, with famine, with natural disasters, with persecution.” And even with all of that going on – now follow this – verse 11: “Many false prophets will continue to arise and mislead many.” They’ll still come along, and what they will say? Just like the prophets of old, they will come along and they will say, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. This will always be their message: “Peace is just around the corner,” even far into the final judgment.
This peace is based on Satanic worship. Worship of the false, world religion. I will tell you where we see it today and where it will erupt into satanic fervor. Environmentalism, Humanism and Socialism (to include sexual debasement and child sacrifice or abortion), and governmental control. Where have we heard that before? E.S.G. scores that are being instituted by banks. With the institution of the digital dollar or currency, the antichrist will be able to know and control everything the money is used for by all people.
This is going to be a time of great deception and the days of deception we are living in today are gearing up for his coming. 2 Thess 2:9 “9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,” it says he will come with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish. And God will send a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false in order that they may be judged.”
God’s going to delude the world. He’s going to let the delusion run. They’re all going to fall into the false peace, bow down to this great world ruler who epitomizes it. And it’s a trap in which they will be caught and killed. The world is headed for war; but first, it’s headed for peace.
II. Seal #2 - The Red Horse (War)
Rev 6:3-4 “3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.”
This horse is red as opposed to white; red like fire and red like blood speak of the holocaust, of war, the war in its most frightening and devastating form. We know it’s war because it says he takes peace from the earth, men slay each other, and a great sword was given to him. We also know it’s war because it parallels what Jesus said about war and rumors of wars, and nations rising against nations. God then sends as a judgment on the short-lived peace, the false peace, immediate war.
No doubt the Antichrist comes in peaceably. Probably solves some problems in the Middle East, and even worldwide global problems. He becomes the protector of Israel, with whom he makes a covenant. He heads up the revived Roman Empire, probably a European confederacy, the revived Roman Empire having occupied Europe. He will come as some great leader out of Europe. Israel is under his protective umbrella and under the protective umbrella of the Western confederacy, the European power. And Antichrist will rule the world. The Antichrist at the beginning of the tribulation is going to bring world peace and sometime after his world domination, he brings war as this world has never seen.
There’s only one thing you could call it biblically, and that is the wrath of God. It comes from the throne in the little scroll in the hand of God and is executed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is God’s unfolding wrath. It is God who has granted this red horse, the authority and the power, to move and bring war. It was God who allowed the false peace; it is God who starts the wars. God allows it.
As we read in Matthew 24, they’re going to involve nations all over the earth: nation will rise against nation, kingdom will rise against kingdom. I don’t know how it happens, but just when everybody’s sort of breathing in the air of euphoria, war is going to start to break out, and it’s going to escalate all over everyplace.
III. Seal #3 - The Black Horse (Famine)
Revelation 6:5–6 ESV
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be 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 wine!”
Hunger is the result of the wars that come. When there is this kind of war all over the globe, people stop producing; the slaughter is massive, as we shall see in a moment; food supplies are destroyed, and you can imagine, war at this level, with the kind of weaponry we have today, will be devastating. And as a result, rationing is going to take place because of the scarcity of food. The measuring scales bring food desolation to the earth and he proclaims: “a quart of wheat for a denarius,” meaning a loaf of bread will cost an entire day’s wages. We look at today’s war between Russia and Ukraine and 43% of the world’s wheat is in Jeopardy. Additionally, there are projections of drought this year in the United States that is predicted to harm US wheat production.
“Do not harm the oil and wine!” (Rev. 6:6). The preservation of olives and vineyards may indicate that only the poor are afflicted by the famine, with the more wealthy able to preserve their luxuries. It describes the global elite’s control of worldwide commodities and the economy. That’s why it says in verse 5 that the rider on the black horse also has a weapon of sorts. It isn’t a great sword like the other rider, but it is a pair of scales in his hand. And that is used for measuring. And what it means is that food is going to be rationed, it’s going to be measured out, weighing out food, food lines.
Seal #4 - The Pale Horse (Death)
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Revelation 6:7–8 ESV
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
The Greek word is chloros from which we get “chlorophyll” or “chlorine.” is associated with the color green, pale green. In Leviticus, it is the color of leprosy. War follows ungodly rulers, famine follows war, and death follows famine. It is a repeating pattern throughout world history and it will be on a scale like never recorded in history. Partnered with death is hades. Remember this is a continuation of God’s judgment; this is the unrolling of the scroll.
These four have been predicted by God to be His means of final judgment in a number of Old Testament passages. Jeremiah 14:12
Jeremiah 14:12 ESV
12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
Jeremiah 44:13 ESV
13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,
Ezekiel 6:11 ESV
11 Thus says the Lord God: “Clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
What I want you to understand is that these are just not tragic events, but they are means of deception and control unleashed by the antichrist and his systems and ultimately God's judgment on a world that has rejected Him. The same way we saw world control over the COVID pandemic. Every single one of these seals is setup for opening at this very moment: Conquest, War, Famine, Death.
