This is an age that no one desires to live in. We have heard some say:
• If I had my choice of times to live, I would love to have lived here during the Old Testament times.
• Some would say that if they had their choice of times to live, they would love to have lived here during the New Testament times.
• Others would say that if they had their choice of times to live, they would want to have lived during the days of the west, the industrial age, the middle ages, the renaissance, or the enlightenment age.
All of these ages had their appeal, but something you will never hear anyone say, is this; “If I had my choice of which time I could have lived, I would choose to live during The Tribulation Age”.
No one in their right mind would want to live here during this time, but there will be people who will be living here during this time.
WHO ARE THESE UNFORTUNATE PEOPLE?
• These are the people who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, and the rapture of the church has taken place, and they are left behind.
• These are the ones who thought they were saved, but now they are left behind to deal with the antichrist.
WHY IS IT THAT NO ONE WANTS TO LIVE HERE DURING THIS TIME? Because this is the age when men will suffer on the earth like they have never suffered before.
Look at Matthew 24:21-22, we read, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”
Did you get that? Look at verse 21 again, we see why no one would want to live here during this time. We read, “For then shall be great tribulation, (How great?) such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Never has there ever been sufferings on this earth like there will be during this time.
All the sufferings of the world today can be traced back to Satan. During the tribulation period, he will not have the restraint of the CHURCH and the HOLY SPIRIT to hold him back from doing what he desires to do.
His only opposition will be:
• The TWO WITNESSES
• The 144,000 Jewish Missionaries who will be spreading the gospel of the kingdom around the world
We have looked thus far at:
I. THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
II. THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
But today, let’s look at-
III. THE PLAGUES OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
The Tribulation Period is going to be divided into two sections.
• The last part of the tribulation period will be called the GREAT TRIBULATION PERIOD.
• The first three and a half years is going to be known as THE PEACEFUL PERIOD
Illus: The devil does not start off like some of these dragsters that you see at a drag race. From standing still, they are able to reach speeds of up to 100-200 mph in a matter of seconds.
The antichrist starts off slow, but three-and-a-half years into the Tribulation period, he begins to throw it into high gear, and the sufferings he is going to impose on mankind will begin to accelerate. But the first three-and-a-half years will be known as the “Peaceful Time” of the Tribulation Period.
Just as there are many names given to describe the Tribulation period, there are also many names given to the antichrist. Such as:
• The Bloody and Deceitful man in Ps. 5:6
• The Wicked One in Psalm 102:2-4
• The Man of the Earth in Psalm 10:18
• The Mighty Man in Psalm 52:1
• The Enemy in Psalm 55:3
• The Adversary in Psalm 74:8-10
• The Head of many countries in Psalm 11:6
• The Violent Man in Psalm 140:1
• The Assyrian in Isa. 10:5-12
• The King of Babylon in Isa. 14:2
• The Sun of the Morning in Isa. 14:12
• The Spoiler in Isa. 16:4-5
• The Nail in Isa. 22:25
• The Branch of the Terrible Ones in Isa. 25:5
• The Profane Wicked Prince of Israel in Ezekiel 21:25-27
• The Little Horn in Dan. 7:9
• The Prince that shall come in Dan. 9:26
• The Vile person in Dan. 11:21
• The Willful King in Dan. 11:36
• The Idol Shepherd in Zech. 11:16-17
• The Man of Sin in 2 Thess. 2:3
• The Son of Perdition in 2 Thess. 2:3
• The Lawless one in 2 Thess. 2:8
• The Antichrist in 1 John 2:22
• The Beast in Rev. 11:7
He will be a religious icon in the world.
NOTICE, HOW THE BIBLE SAYS HE WILL COME. Look at 2 Thess. 2:9, we read, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan WITH ALL POWER AND SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS,”
The Bible says he will come with, “…power and signs and lying wonders.”
We live in a society that is ready for such a man. That is, the devil is preparing the world for his entrance, POLITICALLY, MORALLY, and SPIRITUALLY.
HOW IS HE PREPARING FOR HIS ENTRANCE SPIRITUALLY? Through false prophets in the land today. Never in the history of this country have we had so many false prophets and teachers in the land.
On national television, they blatantly preach and teach things that are not in the scriptures. And if what they are teaching is in the scriptures, they are misinterpreting what God’s Word teaches.
Illus: It never ceases to amaze people who know what this Bible teaches, when they see the crowds that go to see some of these hucksters that call themselves preachers. With their signs and lying wonders they are deceiving millions.
They are preparing the religious crowd for the biggest phony that is yet to come. And when he pops onto the scene to show them what he can do, they are going to fall for him hook, line, and sinker!
Look at Rev. 13:13 “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” Notice, the Bible says, “And he doeth GREAT WONDERS….”
The Bible says in verse 13, that in the sight of men, he will be able to make fire come down from heaven.
Illus: Listen, if people today that are looking for signs and wonders, could find such a man that could call fire down from heaven, the crowds would be so large that he would have to go on closed circuit television for all that wanted to see him.
Notice, the Bible says he did these things, “…in the sight of men.” People are going to be telling everyone, “I saw it with my own eyes, he is for real.” But the things he does will be as phony as he is.
Illus: Remember the magician, David Copperfield, on national television who made the statue of liberty disappear? There were people who said, “Yea man, I saw it with my own eyes!”
Well the fact is, they saw what he wanted them to see, because it did not actually happen.
And when the antichrist comes on the scene, he is going to make David Copperfield and these television preachers look like a bunch of amateurs. The devil is preparing the world politically, morally, and spiritually for the antichrist who will come with signs and lying wonders.
Let us look at the wrath of God that is preparing to be poured out on this earth. In the next weeks we are going to be studying:
(1) Seven Seals (Rev. 6 - 8:1)
(2) Seven Trumpets (Rev. 8:2 - 11:15)
(3) Seven Vials (Rev. 16)
Tonight we will begin with the seven seals.
A. THE SEVEN SEAL JUDGMENTS
These seals are the beginnings of the Tribulation period. In this sermon we want to look first at the FIRST FOUR SEALS that deal with the FOUR HORSEMEN.
These four horsemen represent the antichrist storming across the earth for these seven years. When the first seal judgment is opened we can see why no one will want to live here during this time.
(1) THE FIRST SEAL JUDGMENT
Look at Rev. 6:1-2, we read, “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. 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.”
Notice some things about the rider of the White Horse. The Book of Revelation reveals two individuals riding white horses.
• The Lord is riding a white horse in Revelation 19:11-16
• The antichrist is riding a white horse in Rev. 6:1-2
They are both riding white horses, but there is a vast difference between the two of them.
In Rev. 6, we see the antichrist riding on this white horse. He will DECEIVE people like no other politician has ever deceived people before.
a. He had in his hand a bow, with no arrows. He will not come in with great military power, but rather, through the words of his mouth, he will sway the nations. Daniel 7:8, 20 says that the antichrist will come onto the world scene speaking “great words”.
b. A crown was given to him, not given by God, but rather given by the world scene. He will be given authority in the world kingdoms by the world kingdoms.
c. He will go forth conquering and to conquer. Once again, not by might, but by mouth will he deceive the nations.
Once he gets the power in his hands, “He causeth” these things to happen.
WHAT WILL HE CAUSE TO HAPPEN?
1. HE WILL CAUSE PEOPLE TO TAKE THE MARK OF THE BEAST
Look at Rev. 13:16, we read, “And he CAUSETH all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.”
Look at the word “Causeth”. WHAT WILL HE CAUSE TO HAPPEN? He will make it so that if you do not have the mark in your right hand or forehead you can not buy or sell.
2. HE WILL BE THE CAUSE OF PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Illus: Every president in modern history starts trying to make peace between Israel and the Arabs as soon as they take office. The leaders of these two nations come to Washington, D.C., and sign a declaration of peace, and before the ink is dry on the paper they are fighting again.
Every president wants to go down in history as the president who brought about peace in the middle East. But none have been able to accomplish this task. But the antichrist will be able to bring the nations together. He will bring Israel and the Arab nations together to sign a peace treaty.
Look at Daniel 9:27, we read, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (The week here speaks of Daniel’s seventieth week, this week represent three-an-a-half years) 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.”
Notice the word “Cause” again in verse 27. He will be the cause of peace in the middle east, but after three-and-a-half years, he will break the peace treaty, enter the temple in Jerusalem and set himself up as God, and require people worship him.
But remember, when he first comes on the scene, he will be riding a white horse.
(2) THE SECOND SEAL JUDGMENT
Look at Rev. 6:3-4, we read, “And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 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.”
This is the Red Horse judgment. This is the same rider, but he has now changed from a WHITE HORSE to a RED HORSE.
The White Horse probably represents the first three-an-a-half years known as the Peaceful tribulation. The Red horse most likely will take us into the last three-an-a-half years of bloodshed.
He is now changing gears from PEACE to BLOODSHED. He was seen a minute ago as the great “PEACEMAKER”, but now he begins to show his true colors. He has been able to gain the power he sought and now it looks like no one can stop him.
Notice, he actually brought about a false peace on the earth, but he had the power to:
a. Take peace from the earth
b. The power to empower men to kill one another
c. Possess a great sword
But the 144,000 witnesses during this time will be preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and many will be saved during this time. Most likely the Jews.
Look at Matthew 24:6-14, we read, “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 divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Look at verses 9-10 especially, we read, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”
By the time the red horse enters the scene, living on this earth is not going to be very pleasant. It does not get any better, let’s look at-
(3) THE THIRD SEAL JUDGMENT
Look at Rev. 6:5-6, we read, “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. 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.”
The rider on the black horse is the same rider, the antichrist. This leader will bring famine upon the earth, world wide hunger.
We know that it will be world wide, because he has been given authority upon the earth, (crown - verse 2) and he himself holds the balances, instead of any one country. This hunger will be world wide, and the world will have to submit to him if they are going to buy or sell.
The antichrist knows that the best way to get everyone under his control is to control the food supply of the world. Why? When people get hungry they will do things they have never done before, and even take the mark of the Beast.
And “He causeth all” the Bible says, to take the mark of the beast in their right hand or forehead. If they do not take the mark of the beast they are in trouble. The Bible says in Rev. 13:17, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
Remember that the 144,000 Jewish missionaries will be spreading the gospel of the kingdom all over, saying, “Do not take the mark of the beast, no matter how hungry you are, do not take the mark of the beast because if you do you are doomed.”
Do you realize how difficult that is going to be for Americans who are living during this time? We have people who do not know what it means to be hungry.
Illus: They can eat, and an hour later they are talking about being hungry. But the fact is we do not know what it is to be hungry.
We have such an abundance of food, that each day in the average home, we throw away enough food to feed a family of six.
But during the Tribulation period, people are not going to be able to BUY FOOD unless they take the mark of the beast.
(4) THE FOURTH SEAL JUDGMENT
Look at Rev. 6:7-8, we read, “And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 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 Pale Horse represents death. Here, the devil is doing what he is best at doing - killing and destroying. Notice, when this rider comes on the scene, one-fourth of the world’s population will be destroyed.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT DEATH AND HELL FOLLOWED THE ANTICHRIST?
Are death and hell literally two personalities?
Many theologians believe that death and hell are actually two fallen angels, based on Revelation 20:14, we read, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
Now, we understand that hell today is in the middle of the earth.
• We find where heaven and earth flee from the presence of Almighty God (Revelation 20:11).
• We also see where that Hell empties itself of the dead that are there (Revelation 20:13)
There is a possibility that these are distinct personalities that descend upon the earth, to actually set the stage to destroy mankind with death.
Conclusion:
If you are not saved, you do not want to be here when these four riders appear. Again, I want to remind you, no one in their right mind would want to live here during this time called the tribulation period.
Anyone who knows anything about this Bible, knows it can not be long before these things take place, and if you do not know the Lord, you need to immediately call upon the Lord Jesus to saved you from the “Tribulation” period, but even greater, from an eternal hell that is to follow.
Our outline for the tribulation is:
I. THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
II. THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
III. THE PLAGUES OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
A. THE SEVEN SEAL JUDGMENTS
B. THE SEVEN TRUMPET JUDGMENTS
C. THE SEVEN VIAL JUDGMENTS
