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"BEHOLD, A WHITE HORSE!" Revelation 6:1-2 ~ See note Pages 1336 and 1337 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. (NIV) SEAL NUMBER ONE: THE FUHRER! The command "come" in verse 1 of the King James Version and the New International Version should actually be translated "go". The translation of this word is determined by its context, and in this context one of Christ's servants (the Living Being – is giving the command for the action to start. He instructs the rider of the white horse to begin his campaign of conquest on earth. Who is the white horse rider? It is the Antichrist himself! In the symbololgy of the ancient world a white horse stood for conquest. When a victor triumphantly entered a newly-conquered kingdom he would invariably ride a white horse. The conquering Antichrist carries with him a warrior's bow, symbolizing his control over the weapons of war. On his head rests a crown, for he has succeeded in conquering more and more of the peoples of the earth. Eventually the whole world will claim him as its sovereign. It becomes obvious that the only person who could accomplish all of these feats at this particular stage of the seven-year Tribulation is the person called the Antichrist. He is the scintillating personality who will be personally indwelt by Satan and will have such spiritual magnetism that the whole world will actually worship him. The BIBLE indicates that there will actually be TWO Antichrists. One will be a European who will rule the political and religious world from Rome. The other Antichrist will be a Jew posing as a religious prophet. He will rule from Israel as a pseudo- messiah and will help establish the worship of the Antichrist of Rome. The white apocalyptic horseman of Revelation 6 is the EUROPEAN Antichrist. I personally believe that this man is now alive somewhere in the world at this very moment! At this point the important thing to note about this charismatic character is that he is presented as the FIRST of the great judgments of God upon the Christ-rejecting world. This person whom the world will view as its savior will turn out instead to be its Trojan Horse – its greatest possible curse! Much more will be said about this incredible conqueror and his conquests in Chapters 13, 17 and 18. SEAL NUMBER TWO: WAR! Revelation 6:3-4 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. (NIV) During the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation the Antichrist will bring a pseudo-peace to the world. Everyone will be singing his praises as the greatest leader in all human history. At the midpoint of the Tribulation the second seal is opened and, according to Ezekiel 38 and Daniel 11, Russia, the rider of the red horse, snatched peace from the earth. SRB 883 Ezekiel 38:1-23 The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. . ." Daniel 11:1-45 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.) "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, . . . " With her Arab allies she invades the Middle East and attacks Israel. The war escalates until it involves all the major powers on the earth and becomes the greatest battle in the history of mankind– THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON. This we will developed fully in Chapter 16. SEAL NUMBER THREE: ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE Revelation 6:5-6 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!" (NIV) The judgment symbolized by the rider of the black horse seems to be a worldwide financial catastrophe. With war spreading across the world from the Middle East, food, fuel, and other life-supporting commodities will become more and more scarce. The hungrier people become, the itchier become their trigger fingers! The "pair of scales" indicates scarcity of food, for the food is weighed out as carefully as gold. Numerous passages in the Old Testament associate the weighing of food with its scarcity. The frightening thing is that a day's ration of wheat will cost a denarius, the Biblical equivalent of an average worker's entire daily wage. Or, one day's pay could instead buy three quarts of barley (a lesser grain). In other words, during the Tribulation the average man will have to pay out his entire day's salary just to purchase food for his family. There is not much chance that the Antichrist will be issuing food stamps, either! Olive oil and wine were the luxury foods of John's day. The horseman was told not to tamper with these items. Evidently all the luxury foods will still be around to tempt people, but the common man will have no means to purchase such items. Only the rich will be able to function in a normal way economically. The saying that "the rich get richer while the poor get poorer" will really be true during the Tribulation. I have an idea that those who retain their wealth will do so as a result of a moral sell-out to the Antichrist. Although many countries of the world have experienced economic hardships for centuries, the United States (except during the American Depression of the 1930's) has had it pretty good. However, in the past few years there have been growing ripples of the coming storm. Prices have risen on so many vital consumer items that housewives have taken to picket lines. Unless there are AT LEAST two in a household working, it is nearly impossible for a family to merely pay the rent and put substandard food on the table (in America!) As this condition of spiraling prices, the shrinking dollar and the National Debt continues to accelerate, its not hard to see how the world could come to the condition of deprivation which Revelation 6 so graphically describes! Revelation 6:7-8 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. (NIV) Following close on the heals of the second and third horsemen is the pale horse. With his grim companion, Hades, he brings the inevitable aftermath of war and calamity– DEATH ON A MASSIVE SCALE. When I think about this awful judgment that awaits the Christ-rejecting world, it gives no satisfaction to my heart; it fires me up to get out the message that God has provided an alternative through His own son, Jesus Christ! We have such a short time left. CONTINUE> TOP Revelation ~ Index