Look, coming down the road! Why its four pretty horses -- a white horse, a red horse, a black horse, and a golden-haired horse. How awesome. Oh, wow, now that they are closer, they don't look so pretty. Matter of fact, that last horse looks positively pale green, not golden-haired. Woe, Woe, Woe, Woe. They are not pretty at all . . .
The White Horse And Its Rider
Revelation 6:1-2 – "Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."
The rider on the white horse cannot be Yeshua, as Yeshua is the one sending forth this horse and rider. Therefore, the rider appears to be the antichrist, whom the people of the world are convinced is the messiah. But scripture calls this person a beast: a thērion [G234 – θηρίον], a venomous or poisonous snake! Not Yeshua at all.
The rider of the white horse will rule with a bow, not a sword. Scripture tells us this person deceives many through peace: "By his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed . . . and he will destroy many while they are at ease" (Daniel 8:25). It is not until the middle of the tribulation period that he begins to rule with an iron fist. However, even at the start he has a crown that has been given to him, which he uses to wield dominion over all the peoples of the earth. The antichrist will be a dictator the likes of which humankind has not seen since the rule of Nimrod, whom scripture depicts as a mighty hunter of men, a despot who was in Yahweh's face (Genesis 10:9)! Today's political landscape is certainly ripe for the emergence of such another despot.
All that waits is for Yahweh to allow it in his timing after Yeshua takes his bride from this earth: "And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way." (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7)
The Red Horse Brings War And Conflict.
Revelation 6:3-4 – "When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword."
The rider on the red horse, perhaps the False Prophet, simply takes peace from the earth – yet another judgment from Yahweh against those who live on the earth. It is the next horse that brings war and destruction. Scripture tells us that this rider may indeed be the one that causes all to take the mark of the beast: "He provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark of the beast" (Revelation 13:17). This rider, too, cannot be blessed of Yahweh, nor one who is called a son of God, for he is no peacemaker (Matthew 5:9).
The rider on the red horse removes peace, picks up a mega-sword, and the people begin to kill one another. At this point, the world is past rumors of wars and is actively engaged in warfare, likely nuclear in nature. Today's political landscape is certainly ripe for the emergence of such a devastating war or wars to take place.
The Black Horse Brings Famine, Scarcity, And Inequity.
Revelation 6:5-6 – "When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard 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 the wine."
The rider on the black horse is granted the ability to ration daily needs, such as food, medicines, housing – yet another judgment from Yahweh against those who live on the earth. A quart of wheat, or three quarts of barley are the ingredients needed to bake a single loaf of bread. A denarius is equivalent to a single day's wages. Today, a loaf of bread costs around $3.00, and a day's wages are around $40.00. So during this part of the tribulation period a single loaf of bread will cost nearly fourteen times what it does today!
The oil and wine are not to be harmed. Man does not live by bread alone, Vitamins, minerals, and liquids are also necessary. However, even though these items are available, most will be unable to afford these items as their entire daily wage will only buy the flour to make the bread! John Walvoord describes this time as "a time of famine when life will be reduced to the barest necessities; for famine is almost always the aftermath of war." Today's ecological landscape is certainly ripe for such a devastating famine to emerge.
The Pale Horse Brings Death.
Revelation 6:7-8 – "When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death[G2288], and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with the dead[G2288], and by the beasts[G234] of the earth."
The rider on the pale horse is granted to bring forth death on a global scale, and the denizens of Hades (Hell / Sheol) are released to help accomplish this goal – yet another judgment from Yahweh against those who live on the earth. This rider, named Thanatos [θάνατος - G2288], is likely also to named Abaddon, or Apollyon – two alternative names for Nimrod (Revelation 9:1-11), who is believed to be the "Lord of the Underground"! The death toll caused by this rider is simply staggering. No wonder Yeshua said of this time "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:21).
The rider on the pale horse brings death with the sword, with famine, with the dead who are released from Hades, and the thērion [θηρίον G234] (beasts) of the earth. As noted above, thērion can be a a venomous or poisonous snake! Modern scientists are well aware that the ebola virus looks snakelike! Sharon Gilbert puts it this way in her book "Ebola and the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse": "Thanatos, the Angel of Death who rides the fourth horse in Revelation 6 is given permission to use a biological weapon or therion when he begins his hellish ride." Today's biological experimentation certainly creates a scenario wherein these weapons could be introduced into the population of the entire globe by the rider of the fourth horse.
Conclusions
The untying of the four seals is just the beginning of the trauma that is about to come upon the earth. The white horse is followed by the fiery red horse of war, the black horse of famine, and the pale horse of death. What is even more terrifying is that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are just "harbingers" of even worse judgments that come later in the tribulation period (Revelation chapters 8–9 and 16). Power is given to the riders of the four horses by Yahweh. Though all hell is breaking loose on the earth, Yahweh is very much in control. Yeshua still holds the scroll and opens the seals.
Final Thought
Prophecy continues to unfold as foretold by the Hebrew Prophets. Today we are one day closer to the return of Yeshua than we were yesterday and tomorrow we will be even one day closer. For almost two thousand years the Jews would proclaim "Next year in Jerusalem!" I now proclaim "Next Yom Teruah in the clouds!" Time is short – Yeshua Ha'Mashiach is coming soon – get busy reaching the lost.
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