Greg Laurie - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
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Here's the question. Is the end really near? Haven't we heard this for a long time? Is Armageddon actually coming? Is the Antichrist close to appearing? Are we going to see the apocalypse in our lifetime? I mean, the very word apocalypse is a powerful word. It usually means something catastrophic. If something's really bad, we'll say, "It's so bad it's apocalyptic". There is a trend right now, wild theory floating around out on the internet about a zombie apocalypse, right? So we use this word a lot, but actually it's an interesting word. It's an interchangeable word with the word revelation. But what does it mean? That's what I want to talk about. But before we get to that in Revelation chapter 6, here in Revelation 5 we're going to go back to heaven for a moment and see what's happening in heaven before the four horsemen are unleashed.
So read with me from Revelation chapter 5. Verse 1, John says, "I saw on the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?' And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open this scroll or look at it". John writes, "So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or look at it. But one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.' And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as if it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp", so we will have harps in heaven, won't we?
"And golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the scroll, to open its seals; for You were slain, and you've redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.'" We'll stop there. So here now John is in heaven. A mysterious scroll is produced. It has seven seals on it. Look at verse 1 of Revelation 5 again. "I saw on the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals".
Now, we read this and we have no idea what this even means. So let me explain it contextually and historically and then apply it for us today. What is this scroll? Well, back in those days, important documents were written down on paper and rolled up in what we would call a scroll. This was something that was used back in this day to record wills, for instance. The will of the Roman emperors, Vespasian and Caesar Augustus, were on scrolls sealed with seven seals. So when you were opening this document, you would open it and break one seal, read a portion of it; then break another seal, read a little more of it; and break the other seal. So this was reserved for the most important documents. This is sort of be like having an encryption key to a highly-classified document today. So it was a seven-sealed title deed.
So what was it? What is this mysterious scroll? I believe it is a title deed of the earth. This is what Jesus has come to the earth for. This is why he was born in the manger at Bethlehem, this is why he dies on the cross of Calvary, and this is why he rises again from the dead. This is his mission; to buy back, to purchase back with his blood that which was lost way back in the Garden of Eden. When our first parents Adam and Eve sinned there was a curse that came upon humanity, and we lost paradise and all of the effects of sin came into the human race. For instance, if Adam and Eve had not sinned, we would have never grown old. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, we would never die. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, I would have hair right now, right? So the idea is simply this; that we lost something great in the garden. Jesus has come to purchase it back again, but there's only one way it can be done; and that is, if he comes as a lamb to be slain, if he will die for the sin of the world. And so when it's realized that Jesus is the Lamb, who was slain, who can open the scroll, there's an outbreak of praise and worship.
Revelation 5:9, "They sing a new song, saying, 'You're worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; for you were slain and you have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation". Now, this is very important. Out of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. I bring this up because sometimes the question is asked, what about the person who has never heard the gospel? Listen to this. Ultimately, the gospel will be preached in all of the world. Every tribal will hear. Every tongue will hear. Every race will hear. Yes, even the person living in the middle of the jungle, as it's sometimes presented, or the person out in the middle of a desert, they're all going to hear the gospel. So when we get to heaven, everyone is represented, from every background. And I think this is even a celebration of our distinctions, of our cultures, of our languages, of our races. We're altogether at the throne of God.
Now we shift gears to this powerful and ominous chapter, a key chapter to understanding the Book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 6. Now we're looking at the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Revelation 6, verse 1, "And now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, they heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And He that sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, '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. And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come and see.' And behold, a black horse, and he that sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand".
Now notice this is all happening after these things. That's how Revelation 4 began. After these things. After what things? After the things of the church. We looked at the words of Jesus and the seven love letters of Christ to his church in Revelation chapters 2 to 3. When we come to chapter 4, now we're in heaven and... also in chapter 5. So this is all happening after the church is removed. This is important because the first horseman of the apocalypse is none other than the Antichrist. This is Antichrist inaugurating the tribulation period. Now, some get confused, think maybe this is a reference to Jesus Christ becomes, because he rides a white horse, and we know the good guy always rides a white horse. Right? The old westerns, the good guy had the white hat. Well, it's true that Jesus comes on a white horse, but this rider is not the same as the description of Christ in Revelation 19.
Revelation 19, which is describing Jesus returning, it says, "I saw heaven open and before me was a white horse whose rider is called faithful and true. With justice he judges and wages war, and on his head are many crowns". So here comes Jesus on air horse one returning to planet earth. This is different with what we're reading about here in Revelation 6. This is not Jesus Christ, this is Antichrist masquerading as the Messiah. Antichrist wears a crown. In contrast, Jesus wears many crowns. Remember Jesus said, "One of the signs of the last days will be many will come in my name saying, 'I am Christ.'" So here is Antichrist. Now, the prefix anti can be translated instead of as well as against.
So you might ask the question, is Antichrist as coming world leader against Christ or is he offering himself instead of Christ? Answer? Both. And if you contrast the white horse and rider in Revelation 19 with the rider here in Revelation 6, there's a lot of important differences. The Antichrist in what we just read here carries a bow without arrows; Jesus Christ has a mighty sword. Antichrist wears a victor's crown, singular; Jesus Christ wears many crowns. Antichrist initiates war; Jesus comes with his armies at the battle of Armageddon and ends war. Antichrist inaugurates the Great Tribulation period; Jesus Christ ends the Great Tribulation period.
Now, just as mysterious as the word apocalypse is the word Antichrist. Who is this person? Is it an actual human being? Answer? Yes. He has many aliases. In the Bible he's called the man of sin, the son of perdition, the little horn, the wicked one, the prince who is to come, the one who makes desolate, and of course the beast, but we pretty much know him as the Antichrist. He's not who you may expect. He is going to be suave. He's going to be intelligent, engaging, magnetic, and charismatic; but it's all a mask hiding who he really is, the most evil man who ever lived. If Satan were to have a son, this is him. The only man that I could even compare to the Antichrist would be Judas Iscariot. The Bible even tells us that Satan entered Judas' heart. But there are over 100 passages in the Bible that detail the origin, nationality, career, character, kingdom, and the final doom of the Antichrist.
Now, sometimes the question is asked, is the Antichrist alive right now? No one can say with any certainty. In a Newsweek poll that was done, 19% of Americans said they believe Antichrist is on earth right now. In a US News and World Report article, 49% of Americans said they believe that there'll be an Antichrist sometime in the future. But we don't know. We don't know if he's alive now, but let me say this. He could be. We know that when he emerges on the scene, he'll come at economically hard times. He'll do what no other president, prime minister, king, or world leader has ever done. He'll bring economic stability and global peace. He'll be hailed as the greatest peacemaker that ever lived, and this is going to be interesting because the Bible says in Daniel 8:25, "Through peace he will deceive many".
We all long for global peace. We want there to be no war. Here comes a man inaugurating the tribulation period with peaceful solutions, with economic solutions. We don't even know how evil he is until a little bit later in the tribulation period. By the way, I think it's completely futile and pointless to try to figure out who the Antichrist is because if you figured out who the Antichrist is, that means you miss the rapture. So don't waste your time. As I've said before; don't spend your time looking for Antichrist, spend your time looking for Jesus Christ. Because the Bible says when you see these things begin to happen look up, for your redemption is drawing near. So notice also it says in verse 2, his crown is given to him. This reminds us that even this evil man needs permission from God to do his evil work.
Remember in the Book of Job how the angels came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan was among them? Remember, Satan's a fallen angel. And God was bragging on Job saying, "Have you considered my servant Job, a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and shuns evil"? And Satan pushes back, says, "Why do you think Job fears you? He fears you because you blessed him". And in effect he says, "Let me have a little time with him. Let me have access into his life". And God gives him a limited permission in the life of Job and a series of calamities befall him. But just remember the devil always has to ask permission, and God will not let you be tested above which you are able. Now we come to horse number two. We can call him the war horse.
Revelation 6:3, "He opened the second seal. I heard this 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". So now Antichrist is showing his true colors. First he comes off like a good guy riding on a white horse, wearing a crown, bringing peace, but now we see his real agenda. A red horse, fiery red, would be a literal translation.
Remember later in Revelation 12:3 we read a description of Satan as being a great fiery, red dragon, and that reminds us that Satan is behind the wars and struggles on this planet. Jesus said of Satan he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But again, notice the difference between Jesus Christ and Antichrist. At the coming of Jesus Christ, we have peace on earth. That was the announcement to the shepherds keeping watch over their fox by night. "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among men with whom God is well-pleased". But Antichrist comes along to take peace from the earth. We read that he has a sword, and the Greek word here for sword speaks of the short stabbing sword that a Roman soldier would use in close combat. It was also used as a weapon by assassins. It speaks of something that is sudden and unexpected.
Again, he comes first as a man of peace, but actually he's a man of war and now he's going to bring the misery and havoc. That is part of his plan. Following the white horse and the red horse, we have the pale horse and the black horse. Death, plagues, and misery follows. This is the Great Tribulation period. The first half of it, the first 3 1/2 years begin peacefully. The second half of it, Antichrist pursues his agenda and the judgment of God ultimately falls on the planet. By the way, God takes no pleasure in bringing judgment. That's why even during the tribulation period, the Lord gives opportunity for people to repent. We read that he sends his angel in the heavens, preaching the everlasting gospel and warning people to not take the mark of the beast.
That's why it's so crazy when people get hung up thinking, "Oh, if I take the vaccine for COVID-19, is that the mark of the beast"? No, it isn't. 'Cause when the beast is here, when Antichrist is revealed, you're going to know it. You're going to know he's that coming world leader. And if you're a Christian you shouldn't be around to know it any way, and I'll tell you why I believe that in just a moment. So this is not something we have to be worried about. But the angels are telling us not to take in the mark of the beast and proclaiming the gospel, and I call this an angelic mop-up operation. The angels will reach the ones we missed, flying through the heavens proclaiming the gospel.
We also read of two powerful witnesses that will be raised up in the tribulation period. They'll perform miracles, calling fire down from heaven, stopping the rain. Some believe these two witnesses may be Moses and Elijah. Then we read of another 144.000 people who are called by God to preach the gospel. We know that these are Jewish people. No, they're not Jehovah's Witnesses. It's very clear that they're from the 12 tribes of Israel. So these are Jewish people that have embraced Jesus as their Messiah. So it's like 144.000 kosher Billy Grahams proclaiming the gospel. So you combine that with the angelic message in the heavens, you combine that with a witness of the two prophets, that we'll get into later, and you realize God is going out of his way. God is bending over backwards to help people to repent of their sin so they don't have to face this judgment.
The Lord says, "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked". That's why he sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sin. Antichrist, why has he not been revealed yet? The only thing holding him back is the presence of the church on the earth. Here's a very important verse: 2 Thessalonians 2:7. Says, "The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restraints will do so until he is taken out of the way, then the lawless one will be revealed". That's Antichrist. "Whom the Lord will consume with a breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming".
Who is the one that is now restraining? Sometimes people say, "Well, it's the Holy Spirit who's restraining. And when the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth, then Antichrist will be revealed". But the Holy Spirit is not going to be removed from the earth, and the reason for that is people are coming to Christ during this tribulation period. In fact, some of the greatest spiritual awakenings and revivals are going to happen during the tribulation period, and the Bible is clear in pointing out that no one can come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit draws him. Right? So it's not the Holy Spirit that's taken from the earth, it's the Holy Spirit working through the church. He who now restraints speaks of this Spirit working through you and me.
Listen to this. The reason things aren't worse right now is because believers, followers of Jesus are the restraining force on the planet keeping things at bay. I mean, imagine how bad it will get when we're caught up suddenly and thousands, even millions, of Christians disappear, how all hell could break loose, no more restraints, no more people pushing back, no more people protesting it. "We can just do whatever we want," non-believers will think, and they will. So what are we to do in the light of this teaching of the imminent return of the Lord? Hey, Jesus told us we're to be both salt and light in our world. Salt and light. He says, "You're the salt of the earth. You're the light of the world".
So what does that mean? Well, salt back in the 1st century was used as a preservative. They didn't have refrigerators like we have today, so they would rub salt in their meat and it would last longer. Our modern equivalent would be something like beef jerky, right? So we're a restraining force. You know, we go and we permeate, we make a difference. But another thing that salt does is it stimulates thirst. And I think when you're walking with Jesus as you ought to, you will stimulate in others a thirst for God. When they're around you, they'll see something in you that they want.
Why is it that stolen food always tastes better? You ever notice that? You're in a restaurant, somebody orders a burger and fries, and you say, "I'll just have a salad". You know, and you're eating your little salad, and then you say, "Can I have one of your fries"? And they say yes. And then that fry turns out to be the greatest French fry you've ever eaten in your life. There's something about watching someone enjoy a meal that makes you want to have the same meal, and there's something about watching a Christian walk with God that makes a non-believer say, "I want what you have".
Case in point, remember when Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for preaching the gospel? Their backs are ripped open with a Roman whip, their feet, their legs were fastened in stocks in a dungeon, and we read at midnight Paul and Silas began to sing praises to God. Not long after that, an earthquake came and the Roman jailer thought he was in big trouble because all of his prisoners would escape. But they didn't run away, and Paul said, "We're still here. Don't harm yourself". And that man, that hardened Roman jailer said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved"? He saw something in Paul and Silas that he wanted so badly, and I just pray that you and I could be like that. We could be salt in our culture, we could be light in our culture and draw people to Christ.