Revelation 6:1-8 The Four Horsemen in Revelation/ Greg L Bahnsen {23 of 63}

I think we're ready to get started this morning. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for the rest that you have given us this day, this Sabbath morning. And we thank you that we can rest in Jesus Christ, our Savior, despite the turmoil of the world, the difficulties of life, that Christ does offer us an easy yoke, a light burden that he bids us come to himself for rest. We thank you that by your Spirit you have made us to answer call. We ask that you might nourish us this day as we rest in Christ, that we might understand your word better and that we might be strengthened for a week of warfare in the name of our Savior, for it's in his name that we pray. Amen. But last week we got just barely into the sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation and began looking at the opening of the seals and what the opening of the seals might represent. And I think it would be a good idea before we go on this morning and look at the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, to review that material briefly from last week. So let me begin by asking you, what are the various views that we surveyed last Sunday about the opening of the seals? What might this represent? The seven seals are broken. The seven seals of what? Let's begin there. Give you a second to wake up. Okay, now, the seven seals are sealing what? Okay, a scroll. Right. And the breaking of the seals is said to represent one or another things. And what would one of the theories be? Yes, the scroll might represent the Old Testament. But now the breaking of the seals, what might that represent? Okay. A progressive opening of the contents of the scroll itself. And what's the problem with that? Do you, Herb? That's right. It would stand to reason that as the seals line the outside edge of the scroll, that you'd have to have all seven of the seals broken before you could have any of the contents of the book. Whereas this view would have us understand that we're going through the contents of the scroll as each one of the seals is broken. Let's say another view of the breaking of the seals. I heard somebody say something, but I don't know who it was or what he said. An introduction. Okay. In what sense? Our preliminary review of the contents or anticipation of the contents. Yeah, now, that's the view that I favor. That's the last one we looked at last week. Let's fill in the others as well before we go on, though. That's right. The whole history of the Christian Church is being rehearsed for us here in the breaking of the seals, and then the whole history of the Christian church will be rehearsed again when we have the seven trumpets and then again when we have the seven bowls. In fact, there are various views of the organization of the Book of Revelation, but one of the popular ones is that the book is broken down into a whole series of recapitulations of the same period of history. Okay, another view. Yep, yep. What we have here in the breaking of the seals is what we have throughout the book. And that's just the revelation of various themes, various ideas, various forces that will be operative throughout history. Well, the one I'm looking for that you haven't touched on yet is that the breaking of the seals points to preliminary events before the tribulation and the second coming of Jesus Christ to establish his millennial kingdom. And the reason we mustn't forget to mention that one is because it's probably the most popular view among premillennialists and dispensationalists. All right, so we either have a progressive reading of the contents of the scroll and the breaking of the seals, or we have one scan of Church history from the first Advent to the second Advent of Christ. Or we have the preliminary events prior to the opening of the book itself, which points to the tribulation and the end time events, the coming of Jesus Christ, or as I suggest, the. Finally, it seems to me that the breaking of the seals is like looking at the fly leaf of a book. The fly leaf doesn't tell you everything in the book. It isn't the book itself, but it does rehearse for you some of the main contents of the book, the major forces or ideas of the book. And so that's what the seals do for us. Here they are broken in a series of four, and then two, and then one. And that pattern will be operative throughout the book of Revelation. Well, so much for review. I think, as we do this week by week, you might want to anticipate that. And maybe Saturday evening or Sunday morning sometime in your private study of the Scriptures, you might want to go over some of that material and prepare for the class. Let's read Revelation chapter 6 and look at the first four seals being broken, the section that is known as the fourth Horsemen of the Apocalypse. John says, I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, come. And I saw and behold a white horse. And he that sat there upon had a bow, and there was given unto him a crown and he came forth conquering and to conquer. And when he opened the second seat, I heard the second living creature saying, come. And another horse came forth, a red horse. And to him that sat thereon, it was given to take peace from the earth and that they should slay one another. And there was given unto him a great sword. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, come. And I saw and behold a black horse. And he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, a measure of wheat for a shilling and three measures of barley for a shilling, but the oil and the wine, hurt thou not. And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, come. And I saw and behold a pale horse. And he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence, and by the wild beasts of the earth. You know, really, it would be appropriate just to take a moment and reflect upon what John must have have been experiencing himself subjectively as he viewed this scene. You see as these four terrible horsemen come riding forth with the breaking of the seal and the loud, thunderous voice of one of the four living creatures bidding the horsemen to come. And then he sees. You see a horse, a white horse, going across the horizon, if you will, conquering and to conquer. And then a red horse taking peace from the earth, leading to warfare, and a black horse bringing some sort of economic distress upon the earth. And then finally, a pale horse. In fact, the very description of the pale horse is worth looking at. We'll get to that in a few moments. And upon that horse is riding Death. And following death is Hades, sweeping up in its train all those who are devoured by the grave. Really an awesome sight. And if we're going to have an appreciation for the Book of Revelation, I think we need to try to put ourselves in the shoes of John as he goes through this kind of experience. Well, we've been calling this the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. And while that's a popular theme throughout Western literature, this imagery is drawn on by any number of writers. In fact, we could probably have a whole lesson just talking about that this morning. The fact is that the imagery is drawn from the Old Testament and the prophecy of Zechariah. And I think we do well to get our bearings by going back to The Old Testament, looking at Zechariah 1:8, 11. And then we'll look at Zechariah 6:1:8, Zechariah 1. Beginning at verse 8. The prophet says, I saw in the night and and behold a man riding upon a red horse. And he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom, and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel and white. Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these are. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, these are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth. And they answered the angel of Jehovah that stood among the myrtle trees and said, we have walked to and fro throughout the earth. And behold, all the earth sitteth still and is at rest. And then Chapter six, verses one through eight. And again I lifted up mine eyes and saw. And behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot black horses. And in the third chariot white horses. And in the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, what are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, these are the four winds of heaven which God forth from, standing before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot wherein are the black horses, goeth forth toward the north country. And the white went forth after them, and the grizzled went forth toward the south country. And the strong went forth and sought to go that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And he said, get you hence, walk to and fro throughout the earth. So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. Then cried he to me and spake unto me, saying, behold, they that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. Now, there's a great deal more to this imagery of the horsemen in Zechariah than we can discuss this morning. But this much I want to draw your attention to that's parallel to the Book of Revelation. First of all, of course, the horseman concept, the use of horses and horsemen to represent something, and then the mixture of colors. In the book of Zechariah, you have red horses, black horses, white horses, and then everybody differs as to what the fourth horse is like. Some say it's a bay horse, others a dappled gray. And so it's difficult to interpret but that in itself is interesting, because in the book of Revelation, you have white horses. Well, a white horse, a red horse, a black horse, the same three colors of Zachariah. And then a fourth horse, the color of which is difficult to the commentators. Some say it's a greenish type color. Others say it's pale. Others it's kind of an ashen gray. So the colors, the fourth color may differ. But the interesting thing is the fourth color is difficult to understand. In both the images, both the visions, and the same three colors, red, black, and white, are used between Zechariah and John the Apostle. Moreover, in the prophecy of Zachariah, the horses in categories two, three, and four, forgetting now the color breakdown, horses in categories two, three, and 4 appear to be in the service of the first horse. And the job of these horses and horsemen is to patrol the earth as instruments of God's wrath, in particular, God's wrath against the enemies of his people. Now, not only in the book of Zechariah, but throughout Scripture, you will find it pervasively the case that a horse is associated with strength and conquest. A horse is kind of a noble image, a strong image, an aggressive image. And so we have here in the book of Revelation, with that kind of background in mind, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. And before, before we look at each one of them in particular, you'll notice that one of the four living creatures, one of the cherubim, says successively the first says, then the second says, and the third says, with each of the four seals come. Now, in some of your translations, you're going to find come and see. And it should be explained that many early copyists thought that this particular seal summons was to John himself. And so that John was being called to come and behold, the sequel to the breaking of the seals. And therefore the copyist added the words interpretively and see, come and see John. What's going to take place? So the early Greek, some of the copyists seem to have done this because the earliest manuscripts that we have of this portion of Scripture clearly point to a reading that says merely come. The summons come is not to John at all, but rather to the rider on the various four horses. And that is similar to what we find in Revelation, the 22nd chapter, the summons to come, Revelation 22:17. And the Spirit and the bride say, come. It's a bidding someone to come forth to do his work. Now, I should mention before we go on also that there's a third interpretation of this come, summons. Another interpretation says that the four living creatures represent the powers of nature. And while that is not a majority opinion, or even I think, a very strongly supported opinion, when you trace it down exegetically, there are those who are think the four living creatures are in some sense symbolic of the powers of nature. Now we know from Romans the eighth chapter, don't we, that all of nature is groaning and travailing, wishing that the redemption of our bodies, that is the final coming of Jesus Christ and the renovation of all of creation, bringing with it the resurrection of the Christian's body, that all of nature is groaning and travailing, looking to that day. All right, so we know that from Romans 8. We know, well, some people think they know anyway that the cherubim represent the powers of nature. And so now we read the four living creatures saying come, and that's an expression of all of nature crying out for the second coming of Jesus Christ. That is, it's bidding Christ to come and finish the work of redemption. And so we have the powers of nature repeatedly calling on Christ to come and to accomplish the final redemption of of the world and nature included. However, I think you can see that's a rather awkward idea right here in the context of the four seals. Well, it's an awkward idea in the context of the breaking of these seals. You see, we haven't even gotten to the scroll yet, and we have all of nature supposedly crying out for the second coming and the consummation. But even if you could associate this with the seals in some sense, you wouldn't associate that with the full four seals, the first ones, because the first ones are, if anything, the sixth seal would point to the end times, to the judgment that Christ is going to bring on the world. But these four seals before that are preparatory. Well, anyway, the basic reading is come. And I would say that the summons, along with the vast majority of commentators, is a summons to the riders on the four horses. All right, enough preliminaries. Let's start looking at these four creatures and their riders and see what they might symbolize. Verse 2. And I saw and behold a white horse. And he that sat thereon had a bow, and there was given unto him a crown, and he came forth conquering and to conquer. Now, it turns out that the real dispute among the interpreters and the determinative point in understanding this passage, this chapter, has to do with this verse right here. How you interpret that first rider is very significant for how you will take the remainder of the chapter. And so let me stop for a moment and give you some of the ideas that have been advanced for the meaning of the first horse and its rider. There have been those who tell us that this represents the Antichrist. And one of the four living creatures says, come, and John sees a white horse, an Antichrist sitting upon the white horse with a bow. There was given unto Antichrist a crown, and he came forth conquering and to conquer. Now, anybody want to give me a guess as to what school of eschatological interpretation favors that view? That's right. The dispensational view, which sees the breaking of the seals and the trumpets of the scroll and all the rest as preliminary to and then leading into the tribulation period, naturally thinks that the one who is crowned and goes forth conquering and to conquer would have to be the Antichrist. But now keep in mind that for you to see that interpretation, you must already believe that the seals pertain to the end of history, right? That is, you've got to bring a certain dogmatic scheme to bear on the passage before you can see this writer as the Antichrist. I'd like to read for you one popular premillennial dispensational interpreter, Hal Lindsay, in his book There's a New World Coming. It's an interesting cover on it. When my son saw this cover, he thought it was about Star Wars. But Lindsay says, who is the white horse horse rider? It's the Antichrist himself. In the symbology of the ancient world, a white steed 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, 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. And one says, now, where did the seven year Tribulation come in? You see, that is a scheme brought to bear on the text rather than a scheme taken from the text. And there's all the difference in the the world and interpreting. He says that the only person that this could talk about, the only person who could do these things at this particular stage in human history, would have to be the Antichrist. He is a 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. Now Lindsay, you say where is he getting all of this? From this one little verse of Scripture. In his defense, he is probably reading back From Revelation, the 13th chapter in his understanding of it, that if this is the Antichrist in chapter six, verse two, then we can explain for you what you're going to find out later. There are really two Antichrists, a European and a pseudo Messianic Antichrist and so forth. The white apocalyptic horseman of Revelation 6 is the European Antichrist. That's what you've got to see here. And now this significant statement. I personally believe that this man is a livestock somewhere in the world at this very moment. That, by the way, is 1973 when this book was published. Alright, so that's one approach to the first horseman of the Apocalypse. It's the Antichrist, Lindsay tells us, in agreement with CI Scofield, who viewed it that way as well. In particular, it's the European Antichrist. Instead of stopping to refute this view, I think simply a stronger view can be presented later that has exegetical support and need not be read into the passage, for it can be taken right from the passage and its parallels. So let's go on to the second view. This is somewhat different. The second view tells us that the first horseman of the Apocalypse must be an evil power, and it must be an evil power consistent with the other three horsemen of the Apocalypse. That is, it must be similar in kind as the rider on the white horse is on a horse and the riders of the other horses are on horses, and the other horses are woes are some form of destruction and curse. So also the rider on the first horse must be an evil power, for instance. This represents conquest in general, the force of conquest in world history. Now seal number two is warfare in particular. So instead of this being just another way of putting seal number two, which is warfare in particular, this is conquest in general through all of its various agencies and so all kinds of conquest, the overturning of world empires and all the rest. And some support for this view has been claimed from the fact that the Parthian king. The Parthian king was always disturbing the Roman Empire from the eastern realm of Asia Minor, from the area that we now call Iran. The Parthian king at that time was noted for his horsemanship one and two, for his facility in using a bow. Okay, so the warfare of the Parthians was pretty much a bow and arrow warfare as they used horses. And so that would seem to tie in with this. What we have here is the symbol of the Parthian king constantly threatening the Roman Empire at that time from the East. Well, there are two arguments in favor of this. The first I've mentioned, that the horseman must be consistent with the other three. Well, I'm not sure that he must be consistent in any logical sense, but he certainly must be similar. There must be some connection. John sees a connection. However, I would suggest that the connection is this, that the first horseman is really using the other three horsemen, that there's a consistency of that sort, that he's the leader of the other three horsemen, that they come in his train, that they come subserving his interest. That's precisely what you find in Zechariah. You have the first horseman and then the other three following serving the first. That the symbol is that of a Parthian king with his bow and arrow. Horse warfare is really too scant an illusion. I think here it's really trying to take blood from a turnip to get that much out of this one particular passage. And a number of commentators have noted that and have said therefore that it's not really the Parthian king, but any aggressor conquest in general. As I've said, let's look at a third view. And then finally, the one that I would suggest we entertain, a third view is held by the premillennialist George Eldon Ladd. In his commentary in the Book of Revelation, Ladd agrees with certain other commentators that this cannot be a symbol of Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you why people think it can't represent Jesus Christ when we come to that interpretation, but because it can't be Jesus Christ and yet it must have something to do with Jesus Christ. That is, the symbolism is so closely tied with Christ the white, the conquering and all the rest. Ladd says that this really points to the proclamation of the Gospel in all the world. It's not personally Christ coming forth to battle and conquering his enemies, but rather points to the Gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed. And Ladd says that there's a similarity in structure between the breaking of the seven seals and the Olivet discourse that we find in Matthew chapter 24 and Mark, chapter 23. I'm sorry, Mark 13. Now when you read the Olivet discourse. Jesus speaks of the beginning of woes, quote the beginning of woes. And that beginning of woes includes wars, famines, and persecution. So Laz says, what we have in the breaking of the seals is the beginning of the woes. Now it just so happens, on his interpretation of the Olivet discourse, again, see, we're going to read our interpretation of Matthew 24, understand it clearly, and then we'll be able to understand this obscure passage in Revelation 6 in the light of the more easier understood passage in Matthew 24. In Matthew 24, you not only have a beginning of woes, but you have a very positive note at one particular point. Ladd says, let's see what that positive note is. Let's look at Matthew 24, verse 14. In the midst of all the difficulties just prior to the tribulation period, we do have this encouragement. Matthew 24:14 and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all nations. And then shall the end come. So you see, there must be a proclamation of the Gospel in the midst of the woes preceding the tribulation. And so an act of evangelizing of the world by a persecuted church is symbolized. In chapter six of Revelation, verse two, John says, I saw behold a white horse. He that sat there upon had a bow there was given unto him a crown, and he came forth conquering and to conquer. And that points to the evangelizing of the church just prior to the full outbreak of the tribulation period. Well, what's the problem with this interpretation? First of all, it assumes that Ladd has understood Matthew 24 correctly. And I think we have reason to doubt that he's understood Matthew 24 correctly. And I'll give just two very strong reasons to summarize the whole case. This morning In Matthew 24 we find a description of what's going to happen with respect to the the destruction of Jerusalem, I think. And that interpretation is backed up by the parallel passage that Luke the Gentile gives us. Not understanding that Jewish imagery and all. Luke in chapter 21 of his gospel describes the same thing as Matthew in Matthew 24. And notice verses 20 through 24 of Luke chapter 21. At just the point where Matthew begins talking about the the abomination of desolation in the temple, Luke changes the wording. Luke in his parallel passage gives us an interpretation of that. And he says at verse 20 but when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee into the mountains, and let them that are in the midst of her depart out. And let not them that are in the country enter therein. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. For there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. So Luke makes it very clear that the abomination of desolation is the treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles, the encompassing of the city with the armies of Rome. And at that time those who believed Christ were to respond by fleeing to the mountains, which history of course, tells us they did. Moreover, if you look at Matthew 12, this is the second consideration that I give very briefly in Matthew 24, where we have all this description that Ladd is building on. We come finally to verse 34, where we read Jesus saying, truly, I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things be accomplished. You see, Jesus gives us in a drop, the bearing and the yardstick, the parameter by which we are to understand the prophecy. He says, I tell you, all these things will happen before my hearers pass away, before this generation passes away. So clearly the Olivet discourse up to this point is not talking about the end time events, as Luke tells us, and as Jesus himself makes it clear. He's talking about what would happen in Jerusalem at AD 70, when the Roman armies would destroy God's city, God's chosen city and his originally chosen people, because of the rejection of the Messiah. Okay, so the attempt to use Matthew 24 as the guideline for understanding the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 is foiled by the fact that Matthew 24 has been misunderstood. There's also this to be said. Wyatt wants to make this the proclamation of the Gospel and not Jesus Christ himself riding upon this white horse. However, there doesn't seem to be anything in the passage itself in Revelation to point to a proclaiming of the Gospel. It seems to be very personal. It's a rider who wears a crown and bears a bow that goes forth conquering and to conquer. Well, I've been suggesting throughout here there's another interpretation, perhaps one that avoids the difficulties of the others, and one that I think is to be preferred. And I would suggest that what we have here is in fact Jesus Christ, the rider upon the white horse. I saw, behold a white horse. And Christ was sitting thereon with a bow was given to him a crown that he should come forth conquering and to conquer. And there's every reason to think that this is in fact Jesus Christ. First of all, notice the color white is dominant, that he rides the white horse. Now, in each one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, the color of the horse is somehow significant. What does white symbolize? Well, in the book of Revelation, you notice how white is pervasively associated with Christ. Chapter one, he has white hair. Chapter 14, he rides on white clouds. Chapter 19, he rides a white horse. Significantly, chapter 20, you see the great white throne judgment. In chapters two, three, six, and seven, Christ is seen as giving something white to his followers. A white stone or a white gown, something like that. And so white, which is a color of holiness and triumph throughout the book of Revelation and elsewhere in Scripture is, in this book always is associated with Jesus Christ. And so we begin with the assumption that it could very easily be another reference to our Savior. But then notice how he is described conquering and to conquer. You know, in the context of chapter six, you can't help but see that as Jesus Christ, because in chapter five, verse five, we have this description. And one of the elders saith unto me, weep not behold the lion that is of the tribe of Judah. The root of David hath overcome to open the book, and the seven seals thereof. Now, that word overcome in my translation is the same Greek word for conquer. In chapter six, you could actually say in chapter five, verse five, the lion of the tribe of Judah hath conquered to open the book. And then what's the remainder of chapter five but a description of Christ and his appropriate praise? Immediately we come from the description of Christ as conquering, the praise of the conquering Christ, to a description of one coming forth, conquering and to conquer in chapter six. And as in context, it's quite clear that there's an association between this conquering lion and the one who rides upon a white horse, conquering and to conquer. Notice also Revelation 3, verse 21. To him that overcometh, I will give to sit down with me in my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father in his throne. The word overcome is in some translations used, but it's the same Greek word for conquering. So Christ says, even as I conquered, I will give to you to conquer. Chapter five goes on. He's the lion of the tribe of Judah who has conquered. Chapter 6 speaks of one going forth, conquering and to conquer. John, who wrote the Book of Revelation, of course, also wrote the Gospel of John. Look in the Gospel of John at chapter 16, verse 33. The only time, as I recall, the only time in the Gospel that the word conquering is used. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome or I have conquered the world. So Jesus is the one who proclaims, I've conquered the world. He's the one who conquers and therefore gives to us to conquer. He's the lion of the tribe of Judah who has conquered so that he can open the book. And so, with this kind of context, it's quite clear that I think that the association with white holiness and triumph, always seen associated with Christ throughout the Book of Revelation, and now the association with conquering belongs to Christ as well. The idea of a conquering Christ, in fact, runs throughout the Book of Revelation, chapter 17, verse 14. This is just one example. These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Okay, so this is a theme throughout the Book of Revelation, that Jesus Christ, Christ is the conquering one. It only stands to reason that the horsemen described as conquering and to conquer would be Christ, especially in light of the association with the white horse. But now, going beyond the elements of the description, the whiteness of the horse and the conquering description, the crown being given to him, conquering and to conquer, you'll notice that we have parallel passages from the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation itself, which make it very clear how we are to understand this description. Look at Psalm 45, 3, 5. First of all, remember, of course, that the Book of Revelation is immersed in Old Testament symbolism. And so we turn to the Old Testament, the Book of Psalms, chapter 45. And there, beginning at verse three, we read, Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one. Thy glory in thy majesty, and in thy majesty. Ride on prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness. And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp. The peoples fall under thee. They are in the heart of the king's enemies. Let's notice a couple of things about this description of Christ in the Psalms. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one. And in thy majesty ride on prosperously, conqueringly. Ride on with conquer to conquer because of truth and meekness and righteousness. And then in the Septuagint, which is the Greek version of the Old Testament. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, you actually find these words, and in thy majesty ride and be, bend the bow and prosper in reign. Now, I don't know exactly why the bending of the bow was added in the Greek translation, but the fact is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was available to the Jews in Palestine and to John himself, had the notion of a bow there, which is probably appropriate in light of verse five of our Psalm. Thine arrows are sharp. So whether you see it in terms of the Septuagint bringing in the idea of a bow are just inferred from the sharpness of the arrows used by this writer. In terms of the ancient Hebrew manuscript, the fact is that the thought of a bow and conquering and a horseman are all found in Psalm 45. And I think it's clear enough to most of the people in this class that that is a description of Jesus Christ. But if it isn't, let's turn to Hebrews, the first chapter, and look at verse eight. But of the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Now, that's a quotation from the 45th Psalm verses that we didn't happen to read. We probably should have made this clear, but my point is of the Son he saith. And so clearly in the New Testament, we have Psalm 45 being applied to Jesus Christ, Christ, the Son of God. And that description seems to be drawn upon by John in Revelation chapter six, the horseman who rides forth conquering, and to conquer with a bow. And so, in terms of the Old Testament parallel, we would suggest that this is Jesus Christ. But then, even stronger now, if we can confirm our interpretation, revelation itself, chapter 19 recapitulates this description of Jesus Christ. Chapter 19, verse 11. And following. There, John says, I saw the heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And he that sat thereon called faithful and true in righteousness he doth judge and make war. Then he goes on to describe, his eyes are a flame of fire. Upon his head are many diadems. He hath a name written which no man knows but he himself. As we go through this description, chapter 19, you'll see that he rides forth conquering, so that all those who oppose him will be slain. All those who oppose him will be overcome. So chapter 19 tells us of a rider on a white horse who wears many crowns and goes forth conquering. And there's no question in any interpreter's mind, but in chapter 19, that's Jesus Christ. Let's read again our description in chapter six, verse two. I saw and behold a white horse. He that sat there upon had a bow, and there was given unto him a crown. He came forth conquering and to conquer. I suggest we should let Revelation explain its own imagery. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. In fact, let one author of Scripture interpret his own words in the very book in which he writes. The rider on the white horse is Jesus Christ. Everything in fact points to divine victories that Jesus Christ is going to gain. The white horse a symbol of victory in the ancient world. Chapter 19 of Revelation, the bow that is in his hand. Let's just look at the Old Testament again here before we go on. Habakkuk, the third chapter, Verses 9 and 13. Habakkuk 3, verse 9 and 13. Thy bow was made quite bare. The oaths to the tribes were a sure word. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. Thy bow is made quite bare. Verse 13. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, for the salvation of thine anointed. Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked man, lying bare the foundation even unto the neck. Here in the book of Habakkuk, the riding forth with a bow symbolizes the divine victories for the people of God. And So in Revelation 6, you have the white horse a symbol of victory, the bow a symbol of victory, the crown put on his head, going forth conquering and to conquer. The whiteness associated with Christ, the conquering associated with Christ, Old Testament parallels and parallels within the very book of Revelation itself. Now, that's why I didn't bother to refute all the other theories so much as I think there's so much evidence in favor of this interpretation that the others just have to wither. I think in comparison, quite clearly, John is describing our Savior, Jesus Christ. Why have some people resisted that interpretation? Well, very quickly, three reasons. We've been told by some that a representation of a victorious coming of Jesus Christ is out of place in this context. George Eldon Ladd says you can't have the second coming of Jesus Christ, Christ portrayed at this point. My answer to that is, well, I don't know what you can or can't have when you come to the Bible, but the fact is that we're not saying this is the second coming of Jesus Christ. We're not making this the second coming of Christ or the final coming of Christ in glory. In fact, this is the Coming of Christ in history and what Christ is doing in history, conquering and to conquer. The second reason why some interpreters have resisted this. They say it's difficult to conceive of Christ returning in summons to the call of one of the four living creatures. It's hard to believe that Christ could be coming in his final advent at the call of one of the four living creatures, the cherubim. They say, come, and then Jesus Christ comes forth. Well, that's very inappropriate to have the Lord of the glory, the Lord of glory respond to just the mere creature in that way. Well, again, we're not talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ. That has to be made clear. But it's not inappropriate for a creature to say that. Look at Revelation 22:17 again. And the Spirit and the bride say, come, and he that heareth, let him say, come. The bride of Jesus Christ, the church, and every reader of this book is supposed to respond by saying, come, Lord Jesus. We are to summon him and call upon him, plead with him and pray for him to come. So it's not inappropriate for creatures to do that and someday Jesus will respond to that prayer. And so this is an objection that is simply not to be entertained. Then finally it's been suggested. Well, I guess there's two more things to be said. Third, we are told that Christ cannot both open the seal. Notice it's Christ breaks the seal. He can't both open that seal and then be the contents of the seal. I mean, if Jesus breaks the seal, he can't also be the horseman that's portrayed by the seal. To that I say, why not? In chapter one, verses 16 and 17, you see that Jesus in his right hand has seven stars. In the very next verse, with his right hand he picks John up prostrate from the ground. How can Jesus have seven stars in his hand and then pick up John with the same hand? It's inappropriate, you say, but of course, it's not at all impossible in light of the symbolic nature of the book of Revelation. In the one verse, the symbol is telling us one thing and the next verse something else. Jesus is the one who breaks the seals. He's overcome, you see, to be the one who can give us the course of world history. But he's also a factor in world history, a very dominant factor. There's nothing inappropriate about it at all. In a symbolic book, then the fife. I'm sorry, the. The fourth and final consideration is the simple statement of Lee and Morris. It just seems inappropriate to have Jesus be one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Well, I say that that's an objection that arises out of the history of Western literature. That is, in terms of the way that imagery has been used in novels and poems and so forth throughout Western literature. Maybe it would seem inappropriate, but in light of the way the Bible uses the imagery, there's nothing inappropriate about it at all. We've taken a long time in that first horseman. But as I've said, that's the crucial part of this vision, to understand that I saw behold a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow there, was given unto him a crown, and he came forth conquering and to conquer. Jesus Christ in history rides forth conquering, his enemies fall under him, and in his train he brings warfare and scarcity and death. And that's something that's hard for us to understand. We think of the conquering of Jesus Christ in terms of the Gospel, and that is appropriate. Revelation 19 will stress that from his mouth proceeds a sword, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and with it he slays all opposition. But Jesus also comes forward treading the winepress of the wrath of God the Almighty. And those who will not respond to the gospel, those who are rebellious against his word and his law, they shall be subdued in another way. All those who will not submit to the Gospel will be broken upon the law of God. And so Jesus comes forth conquering and to conquer. And he brings in his train, the second, third and fourth horse. But before we look at them in closing today, I thought that it would really be good to read for you the words of George Eldon Ladd about the conquering imagery here. Now, we've already said that Ladd is wrong to confine this simply to the preaching of the Gospel and not the work of Jesus Christ himself personally. He's wrong to say this pertains to the end time events only and not to all of history. But with those qualifications, I think it's interesting to hear a premillennialist write these words about conquering. He says the details with which the first horseman is described do not weaken this conclusion. For a bow is often used in scripture as a symbol of divine victories. And he quotes Habakkuk as we have. The crown is a symbol whose meaning is expressed in the words he went out conquering and to conquer. Now listen, this does not necessarily mean complete and utter conquest. You say, why not? All these qualifications coming in from premillennialists. You don't know why they don't want you to say that. I mean, the image says conquering and then stresses and to conquer. I mean, that's the whole nature of Christ's work in history after his redemptive work on the cross and his ascension. He says it doesn't necessarily mean complete and utter conquest, but it does mean that the proclamation of the gospel will win its victories. It will be preached effectively, and of course, we agree with that. In all the world and in spite of an evil and hostile environment characterized by human hatred, strife, and opposition, the Gospel will make its way victoriously in all the world. You see, you can't escape what this passage is telling you, even if you bring a system of thought to bear on it. Here is a word of confidence combined with a realistic note for the church of the first century and every other age. How can any people be devoted to a cause which they believe will experience only defeat? I want to remind you this is a premillennialist writing. How can any people be devoted to a cause which they believe will experience only defeat? The first generation of believers suffered, and at the hands of some of the later emperors, they met determined efforts to root them out and to destroy them completely. But in spite of every form of opposition, the church effectively and victoriously established the gospel in all the Roman world until the empire ceased its violent opposition. We do not look for the coming of God's kingdom and the righting of the world's evils short of the return of Christ. But we are, as the modern bearers of the gospel of the kingdom, expectant of seeing victories won by the power of this gospel. Well, you know, I admit qualifications on some of the things he said. I've already indicated that. But that's right. That's what this is all about. We expect to see victory in history. We expect to see Jesus riding forth, conquering, and to conquer. In the very midst of the realism of our woe and the realism of our persecution, and sometimes even the most pessimistic of days, we still expect to see Jesus ride forth, conquering and to conquer. What's the second seal and rider? And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, come. And another horse came forth, a red horse, a symbol of blood. And to him that sat thereon, it was given to take peace from the earth that they should slay one another. And there was given unto him a great sword. Warfare, you see, will follow when people don't submit to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's interesting that Isaiah tells us that those who do submit to the gospel, that the world will become like what a lion and a lamb lying down together. And the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and they will not learn war anymore. To those who will not submit to the gospel, they must submit to the sword of warfare. It's the only way to have peace. If we come to the prince of peace. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, come. And I saw and behold a black horse. And he that sat there upon had a balance in his hand. A balance was for measuring out of grain in the ancient world. He had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, it seems to be from the throne of God a voice comes forth telling us what the conditions will be like. A measure of wheat for a shilling or a denarius, and three measures of barley for a shilling. And the oil and the wine hurt thou not. A denarius was a silver coin worth about 16 cents, and it was the average day's pay for a working man. So if you were a common worker in the ancient world, you would make about 16 cents a denarius a day. And grain, as you're aware, was the main food in the ancient world, grain being the main food. Barley is referred to here because barley was the food that poor people bought. It was cheaper than grain. And a quart of grain a measure of wheat. A quart of wheat was the daily average consumption for one person for one worker in the ancient world. So what are we being told? And I heard, as it were, a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, a quart of wheat for a day's work, just enough to eat for one full day's work, and three measures of barley for the poor. But the oil and the wine hurt thou not. The scarcity that is being referred to here is a limited scarcity. We should see that, because while the barley and the wheat will be very low and will sell for exorbitant prices, a man will have to work all day long to get just a quart enough to eat for he himself, what's his family to do right? The poor people must buy three quarts of barley for the same one day's work. The oil and the cheap wine, however, were also common necessities of life for poor people. In fact, throughout the Bible you will find the staple of biblical people being described as grain, oil and wine. This is not the luxurious wine of the rich. I don't think it's the cheap wine of the poorer classes. The oil that was their staple, along with grain, while the wheat and the barley will be in short supply, will be very low in measure. We have here a description that God's judgment will not be total. The oil and the wine will not be hurt. That's just, I think, in symbolic language, a way of saying that God will bring economic deprivation, but he will not so destroy the culture by it. That is, that the oil and the wine, some of the staples will be there, but there's going to be scarcity elsewhere. It's a time of economic scarcity, a time of economic disturbance, but it won't be a total destruction. And that ties in with the fourth seal as well. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, come, I saw and behold a pale horse. And he that sat upon him, his name was Death. And Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority, notice not over the whole earth, but over a portion of the earth, one quarter of the earth, one fourth of the earth. The destruction of death in Hades is limited. The authority of death and Hades is a limited authority. They are not autonomous. Authority is given to Death and Hades to do their work. It's interesting. In chapter one, verse 18, Jesus says, I have the keys of death and Hades, death and hell. Christ is the one who has the keys of death, the authority over death. And he gives to death only that it might have a quarter of the earth. The bounds of the activity of death and Hades have a definite restriction. And that's, I think, what the. What this thing about the oil and wine refers to in the previous seal. There's going to be economic problems, there's going to be scarcity, but it's going to be limited. It's always going to be under the sovereign hand of God. He'll let it go only so far. And so also with the fourth seal. Now, what is this fourth seal? Quickly, in closing, the color of the horse is either a very pale greenish color, the sickly color of disease, or it could also be a pale gray or ashen color, the color of fear. Either way, if you've ever seen a corpse, you recognize that a corpse, the pallor of death about it, is kind of a grayish and greenish color. It's a sickly sort of thing that John is seeing. This color of this horse, this pale horse. And upon the horse Death rides slaying men. And then these men are gathered up by Hades or by the grave, trotting behind Death on the fourth horse and the means at their disposal. It's interesting. It's all kinds of use of the sword. Murder, intrigue, warfare, assassination, whatever it may be. The sword is used, famine is used, pestilence. The word here being the common word for bubonic plague and wild beast. Ezekiel 14:21 should be read in this connection, the association of these types of death. Ezekiel 14:21. For thus saith the Lord, Jehovah, how much more when I send my Father four sword judgments upon Jerusalem. The sword and famine and evil, beast and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast. So the same four described. The Lord brings against Jerusalem the sword and famine, and bubonic plague and wild beast. War, of course, associated with the besieging of a city often leads to famine, doesn't it? Which is often associated with pestilence and plague. Jeremiah 21 and Luke 21 bring together the famine and the plague aspects as affecting one another. And then finally, besieged city that has been driven to famine and pestilence has brought upon it the ultimate humiliation of devouring by wild beast. And throughout the Old Testament, 1st Samuel 17, 1st Kings 14, 16, 21, the 79th Psalm, Isaiah 18, Isaiah 56, Jeremiah 7, 12, 15, 16, 19 and 34, Ezekiel 32, 33 and 39, throughout the Old Testament you will find the curse of the covenant always coming. That wild beasts will devour those who break the covenant. Wild beast is the ultimate humiliation. The people won't even have the dignity of a burial, that beasts will devour their bodies. And so upon the fourth horse we see death riding. And death uses the following instruments. There was given unto him authority by Christ over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, plague, and by the wild beast of the earth. In conclusion, what John has set before him in the four horsemen of the Apocalypse is Jesus riding forth, conquering, and to conquer the one who is crowned with might and glory. And those who will not submit to him will know the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty in the train of Jesus Christ. Those who will not submit to the Prince of Peace, you will find warfare, economic scarcity and death in Hades. Pestilence, violence, the tearing of wild beasts. Riders 2, 3 and 4. The red, black and pale horses are subservient to Christ throughout history. And I think an appropriate ending to our lesson this morning is Psalm 93, which teaches us the purpose for these destructions. The psalmist says, thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, return, ye children of men. God exercises his fierceness and his wrath in history. But the purpose of his destructions is to bring men to the Lord. He chastens the earth. He brings destruction. He brings warfare. And he brings scarcity. And he brings pestilence and death. But the message of the Lord is, return, ye children of men. These destructions are calculated to lead you to repentance. And so that the one who is conquering and to conquer will conquer you not in this way, but rather by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you will have encouraged us and given us confidence and steeled us in the face of persecution by the truth of your word. This day. We pray that we might ever see Jesus as the conquering one, the line of the tribe of Judah who has conquered and overcome. That he might open the scroll of history, that he might determine all events, that all things might take place for the advance of his kingdom. We pray, Father, that as we see the use of warfare and economic deprivation and pestilence and wild beasts and all violent things throughout history, that we might see them in the light of your overarching sovereignty.