Revelation 6: Riders On The Storm: The White Horse, Part I (vs 1-2)
Over the next few months, we will be studying perhaps the most challenging of all Scriptures to interpret: Revelation chapters six through twenty two. I have been doing extensive study to prepare for these devotionals and the subsequent teaching from the pulpit, and will make a humble attempt to "rightly divide" God's Word. At some point I will provide a bibliography of the different resources used to arrive at the interpretations and observations you will see in these devotionals.
Let's just do a quick review of what we have learned over the past few months in these devotionals. John was transported spiritually to heaven to see God the Father on the throne, with a great display of majesty, beauty, glory and dazzling splendor. Surrounding the throne were four cherubim angels and twenty four elders, along with the Holy Spirit as represented by seven torches. These angels worshiped God for who He is, and the elders worshipped God for what He had done.
God the Father had a scroll in His right hand, and that scroll we found out was the title deed to the earth. No one in all of heaven, or on earth or in the earth was found worthy, and John openly and loudly wailed. John understood the consequences—that all of humanity would be lost if no one was found worthy. Jesus came forward and took the scroll out of the right hand of God. All of heaven breaks out in worship, and even the creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth and the sea loudly worshiped Jesus.
Now we will see this seven sealed scroll opened—in sequence—as the storm of the wrath of God will light on the earth.
Rev 6:1 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."
Here in verse one, we see that one of the four creatures—one of the cherubim—speaks in a loud voice. This was a voice that boomed like thunder. I remember back years ago setting off a quarter stick mortar on the hill above my friend the late Boose Smith's house near Rogersville. It was summer, and if you have ever heard a quarter stick mortar go off, you will not forget it. It was a very quiet night, and you could hear that boom roll and echo up the valleys near Rogersville. It was one of those things in life that I will never forget…and this reminds me of that sound. The voice, a booming voice said one word: "Come!". The words "and see" are inserted and not actually part of the original text and implied.
This announcement from the cherub is one that commanded the attention of John, and of us as well.
Two Common Misconceptions
There are people that say that Hell does not exist, that at best it is the invention of a cruel, controlling group of "religious people" to scare them into going to church. There are also those that say "If your God is so unloving that He would send people to Hell, then I want no part of Him." There are also those, and I have heard people actually say this, that Hell is what we are going through here on earth. These are lies that Satan has spawned to detract people from the idea of judgment and of the Final Judgment—Hell. If you don't believe in a literal Hell, then you must either believe that all people go to heaven or that you cease to exist. In either case, since you do not have to answer for bad behavior, why not just live it up? Tell me, would it be fair for men like Hitler, Hussein, Bin Laden and Nero to not have to face judgment?
Have you ever said "It can't get any worse than this?" I learned about 20 years ago that is not such a good idea, because it can—really fast. Sure, it seems like life is tough at times, and it is a "hell" to us because we suffer in some way or another. Truth is, until you read accounts of persecution and suffering such as found in Fox's Book of Martyrs we have no room to say that we have it so bad, or that "life is Hell".
Our work situation had gotten tough as we had just lost a secretary, and was training a new one at work that was about as green as could be. Drama sure did seem to be at it's highest, and I said "It can't get any worse than this". Well, it did..and it did in a hurry—a week later, we were in a car accident. Kay was suffered a lot of trauma including a badly broken ankle and lower leg, and I suffered a broken elbow; both of us required emergency surgery. Life for the next few months was harder than we could have imagined at that point in our life.
Life can, and often does, get worse. Any number of people will tell you that not only it can but it will. And what we view as "hell on earth" is nothing in comparison to not only how bad things can get for us, but will pale in comparison to what is coming for the people of earth in the near future.
We as Christians can rest in the fact that God has promised to save us from the day of wrath (1 Thess 1:10 ). First comes the Rapture of the Church, then the Tribulation that we are now beginning to study. So then, two important things to remember are these: Hell is real, and this is not hell that we are going through and that things can and will get worse—fast. So then, for as bad as things are in the world are now, they are going to get worse than this world has ever experienced.
Rev 6:1-2
1 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."
2 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. (NKJV)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Now there is a title that has gotten much publicity in the past, hasn't it? This title has been given to sports figures in football (the Notre Dame running backs Jim Crowley, Elmer Layden, Don Miller and Harry Stuhldreher in the 1920's) and professional wrestling; an alcoholic drink, characters in a video game and in comic books, and even in heavy metal music. It is a term that has become synonymous with judgment and death. This term originates right here in Revelation chapter six, with the commencement of the Seven Seal Judgments issued when Jesus opens the seven sealed scroll.
The first of these horsemen is riding a white horse. This has cause some consternation among bible scholars and teachers, as some jump to the conclusion that this first rider is Jesus Christ. They point to a passage in Revelation 19:11: "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war." However, this does not fit the context as Jesus is opening the scroll, and this would put him in two places at once. In addition, the crown given him is a stephanos crown, a laurel wreath signifying victory, not a diadema crown, a royal crown as Jesus wears in Revelation 19.
Horses are often shown in scripture as a symbol of war (Job 39:25; Ps 76:6; Prov 21:31; Ezekiel 26:10). Vincent, in Vincent's Word Studies of the New Testament, notes that "The horses of the Roman generals in their triumphs were white."; these generals would often precede the entrance of the prisoners of war into a Roman city showing their triumph over their enemies.
We also see that this rider on the horse carries a bow. What we see as conspicuous in absence are arrows; there are none mentioned. What does this mean? It means that the rider on this white horse has conquered, but has conquered not by sheer force or by military strategy but instead by diplomacy. The rider on this horse, then, will be more of a diplomat or seem to be so in the beginning. This rider will bring peace through diplomacy, and will end up being the ruler of the world by his smooth speech and his ability to motivate people to his thinking.
His name is not known at this time, but his title is: Antichrist.
There has never been a time in the history of the world where peace has lasted, has there? It's a fact that there is war or "military conflict" going on somewhere in the world at any given moment. It is the common plea of men and women across the globe that we hear often and loudly is "Why can't we just get along?"
People, by and large, want peace. Yes, you do have radical terroristic and even unbalanced people in the world that want to nuke everything, but they are actually a small number.
This character, Antichrist, is going to come on the scene when the world is in even more chaos than it is now. In other words, as bad as things seem out there right now, I believe things are going to get even worse. How, I just don't know, but it will. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that it will get worse. What is the number one reason people go to war? Food. A large scale famine could cause war. With all of the strange weather, natural calamities and the rising price of gasoline we have had even just this year, food prices have jumped significantly. People that are hungry will steal and even murder to stay alive.
The great uniting factor is pretty plain to see: the Rapture of the Church. The Rapture will cause the world to go into a tailspin the likes of which have never been seen before. I remember how, back 10 years ago, we saw the great turmoil caused by 9/11. Stock markets here and even abroad took a big hit. Some insurance companies actually went under. And, in financial terms the hit was relatively small--$73 billion—when you think about what the original plan for 9/11 was. Ten attacks were originally planned instead of four. In human terms, over 3,000 lost their lives. Tragic, yes, and we should never forget it or take it for granted. However, on a scale compared to the Rapture of the church, it will look puny. Like a flyspeck on the wall in comparison. Let's do some math.
As of July, 2009, the population provided by the U.S. Census Bureau topped just over 307 million people. Of that number, approximately 20 million are under age 5 are under the "age of accountability", in other words they are not able to make a choice for Christ. Also, let's say that half of the children between ages 5 and 9 (about 19 million) are under the age of accountability, that would make the number about 8.5 million. The remainder of the US population then would be about 275 million or so. I figure that perhaps as low as 10% of the US population are really saved, but remember that is just a guess. It might be lower. That would be 27.5 million. Add that all up, and you have over 66 million people that will be unaccounted for. Stock markets will crash. Grief will be unsurpassed. Property loss will be significant because people driving cars and piloting aircraft will disappear. Surgeons will disappear in the middle of surgery. Many, not able to cope with what has happened, will commit suicide. Groceries and fuel will not be delivered to the masses. The stage will be set for one man to unite a hurting, hungry world…and his title is Antichrist.
False Peace
So far, we have looked at the factors that make a favorable climate to usher in Antichrist as the world leader. Today, let's look at the actual mechanics of how this will happen, according to God's Word in Daniel 9:27. "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who is made desolate; even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate"
This particular scripture is at the end of a section of scripture concerning what is called The Seventy Weeks of Daniel. In short, a week is interpreted to be a "week of years", or each being seven years. The first sixty nine years or four hundred eighty three years are the span between the time of Daniel and the crucifixion of Christ. Next week we will do a bit deeper study of this passage, but it is important to note that this covenant will be a peace treaty.
This peace treaty will involve all nations but specifically with the nation of Israel. The Middle East has always been the focal point in Biblical history, and today it is again the focus of the world's attention. Why is this?
First, Israel is smack dab in the middle of the area and God's promises to Israel have yet to be fulfilled; the first and most dominant was the return of the nation of Israel to the land back in 1948 as recognized by the key nations of the world. Second, it's all about the oil.
A hundred years ago the thought of the Middle East being important in the scheme of things in the world was the height of absurdity. But with the discovery of oil in the Middle East—and in huge quantities—the attention of the world is upon that area. Driving the point further is the huge appetite for petroleum in the world as a whole.
Antichrist will make this peace treaty to satisfy the people of Israel, and also the OPEC countries as well. And because of this, the world will have a peace—or appear to have peace. This pseudo-peace will last only a short period of time, and the results will be disastrous for the people of the world.
