Revelation 6:1-8
And They’re Off
John was translated to heaven in chapter 4. In chapters 5 and 6, he
described some of what he saw when he arrived in heaven. Beginning
with chapter 6, I believe John records the events of the Tribulation.
The Tribulation is a seven-year period of judgment on the earth. In a
nutshell, it is the cauldron of God’s stored-up wrath being kicked
over onto the population of the world.
John saw the Tribulation from heaven. It appears as though space
itself may be one gigantic dome theater for John as he will see not
only the sights of heaven but also some of the minute details of
what takes place on earth, including mankind’s reaction to those
events.
John’s focus was turned from heaven to earth as one of the four
beasts that stand beside the throne of God directed his gaze toward
what was happening there. Each of the beasts will likewise come in
his turn as another seal is broken.
I. \\#2\\ With the breaking of the first seal, the first horse and
horseman begin their journey.
A. The first carries a bow with no arrow, rides the white horse,
and goes forth to conquer.
B. Many think this is the Christ, Jesus Himself.
1. They think this mainly because later in the Book of
Revelation, Jesus will come to conquer and does ride a
white horse.
Re 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a
white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth
judge and make war.
2. There is no doubt that the Rider in Revelation 19 is
Jesus, but I have doubts about the rider in Revelation 6.
3. Why?
a. I do not believe Jesus is riding the white horse
because this is the wrong time. It is not time for
Jesus to come to the earth yet. The earth still
belongs to Satan. A major emphasis of the Revelation
is that God is taking back the world that mankind
lost, but He has not done so yet. I do not believe
this is Jesus because it is too early for Jesus to
return to the earth.
b. I do not believe Jesus is riding the white horse
because he is riding with the wrong companions.
(1) To begin with, Jesus needs no companions.
(a) Whenever Jesus is in the company of another,
He does everything for He is GOD.
(b) When God appeared with the two angel to
Abraham, as long as God was among them, the
angels didn’t do anything.
(c) When Jesus returns to the earth with the
church behind Him, we will do nothing!
(d) In this instance, whoever is riding the
white horse only does his part and the
other three riders then do theirs.
(e) There is something wrong with that.
(f) I do not think that is Jesus.
(2) Then again, Jesus would never be one of four
anything!
(a) Jesus is not ONE of the four horsemen for He
is not ONE of anything.
(b) Jesus is God, the All-in-all.
(c) He could not be compared to any others.
(d) So if Jesus were ONE of these horsemen,
there would only be ONE.
(3) I do not believe the rider on the white horse is
Jesus because He is riding with the wrong
companions.
c. I do not believe Jesus is riding the white horse
because he is carrying the wrong weapon. The only
weapon ever associated with God is the sword. This
rider carries a bow—and a bow with no ammunition, no
arrows.
4. Then who is the rider?
C. I think he is the anti-Christ.
1. This is the beginning of the tribulation and the Bible
tells us a key character that will be revealed soon
after the church is removed.
2Thess 2:7 …only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom
the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working
of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders,
2. You can call this one the wicked, the wicked one, or the
devil incarnate, but I most often call him the
antichrist.
3. I cannot prove to you the rider on the white horse is
the anti-Christ, but if this rider is not the Christ,
I would say that he is trying hard to look like the
Christ—and he is not.
D. Notice the rider of the white horse has a bow but no arrow,
yet he conquers.
Rev 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:
and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown
was given unto him: and he went forth
conquering, and to conquer.
1. If he had an arrow or arrows, we would figure he conquers
by some violence such as war.
2. But having no arrows, he cannot conquer by war.
3. How does he conquer?
(a) The anti-Christ will conquer through words.
(b) Daniel said he would use flattery.
Da 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile
person… but he shall come in peaceably, and
obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
E. Isn’t it amazing that one day the whole world is going to
let the devil be their king because they like his words?
1. The world is going to ASK—maybe even elect—the devil
to be their world leader!
2. The United States may not be very far from doing just
that in our next presidential election.
3. Why would the world elect the devil to rule over them?
(a) First, because people are not very bright. We do
not naturally have wisdom, discernment, or
understanding.
(b) Second, because the antichrist does not ride alone.
He comes into power with three of the most horrible
riders the world has ever seen, which means all four
of these judgments are happening CLOSE together.
(c) Perhaps not in the same day, the same week, or even
the same month; but they will be close together.
F. Let me deviate from the text to offer some commentary.
1. While I believe the release of this horseman officially
begins the Tribulation, I do not believe the anti-Christ
will wait until the Tribulation to set himself in place.
2. It is entirely possible and probable that the anti-Christ
is already a well-known political figure, and it is
equally possible and probable that he is already busy at
putting himself into his ultimate seat of power.
3. We do not and cannot know who the anti-Christ will be until
God reveals him, but it is possible that you and I already
know his name.
II. \\4\\ The second rider rides the red horse and takes peace
from the earth.
Rev 6:4 And there went out another horse that
was red: and power was given to him that sat
thereon to take peace from the earth, and that
they should kill one another: and there was
given unto him a great sword.
A. If you will remember, I told you earlier in the series that
prophecy had to be studied through several lenses, one of
which was current events.
1. In years gone by, I and others have always assumed that
the taking of peace meant war, and it still may.
a. Some believe this will be fulfilled by the Battle of
Gog and Magog as prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39.
(1) I do not.
(2) However, it is possible.
b. But notice there is nothing in the verses that
actually demands a war.
c. What it says is that peace is removed which leads to
people killing one another.
2. The last time I preached through this book, I pointed out
that our nation—and our world—were moving into a state
of anarchy or chaos which could lead to the fulfillment
of this passage.
a. Workers committing mass killings at work…
b. Kids entering our school and killing dozens…
c. Shooters with sniper rifles on building randomly
killing people.
d. Riots over nothing with looting and destruction.
e. Since that time, things have not gotten better but
worse.
(1) Police officers being ambushed.
(2) Rocks and bricks being hurled from bridges.
(3) Elected officials threatening to take away more
civil rights.
(4) Open calls for communism and socialism throughout
our nation.
3. But now, In addition to war and anarchy, we are seeing how
a pandemic or plague might be the means of fulfilling
this passage.
a. Thankfully, I have not heard of riots or looting or
mass hysteria, but after what we saw happen during
Hurricane Katrina, I would not be surprised if it
had.
b. And things are far from finished with the virus
so it may happen yet.
c. It seems to me that this virus illustrates yet another
way the rider of the red horse could remove peace
from the earth and cause man to kill one another.
B. Let’s consider our pandemic for a moment.
1. I do not believe—in the history of our world—there has
ever been a time quite like this.
a. There have been pandemics before.
(1) 1968 - The Hong Kong Flu killed approximately 1
million people worldwide.
(2) 1918 - The Spanish Flu killed more than 50
million people.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/24/coronavirus-covid-19-global
pandemic-closed-borders-market-crash/
b. However, to my knowledge, the world has never reacted
as it has in this situation.
c. I am not sure that the world ever COULD have reacted as
it is reacting now.
(1) The knowledge of the threat has raced far ahead of
the threat itself.
(2) So much so that in some cases, the virus has been
met with apathy.
2. We are experiencing one of two things:
a. We are either facing a legitimate pandemic or we are
facing an intentional and deliberate effort of some
to crash the world’s political and economic
structure.
b. I will tell you the truth.
(1) I am not smart enough to know which one it is.
(2) I suspect the truth lies somewhere in-between the
two.
c. Either way, I believe we are seeing something Biblical
take place.
(1) If it is a legitimate pandemic, then it is the
same as a Biblical pestilence.
(a) God sends pestilences as judgments.
(b) Look up the word "pestilence" in the Old
Testament.
(c) I believe you will find that in most cases
if not every case, pestilence is a judgment
from God.
(2) If this is some kind of intentional effort to
topple world powers and economies, you can bet
the rider on the white horse is somehow behind
it.
III. \\5\\ The third rider rides the black horse, has a pair of
balances in his hand, and deals with food and money.
Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the
four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny,
and three measures of barley for a penny; and see
thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
A. A penny in Bible days was a day’s wage.
B. A measure of wheat would be like a cup or sack of flour.
C. Once the third horse comes out, you might work all day for
a sack of flour or three cups of meal.
D. To work all day for a cup of flour is not a just recompense.
E. It describes a failed economy, most likely due to a food
shortage.
F. This famine is likely a result of the first two horses.
1. The anti-Christ wants a world-wide famine so he and
his treaty will be needed.
2. The lack of peace—regardless if it is from war, anarchy,
or pestilence-—will cause a disruption in food production
and distribution.
G. And a famine will cause more bloodshed, making a bad situation
even worse.
IV. \\#8\\ The fourth rider’s name is given.
A. He is Death and Hell followed behind him.
B. Death rides the pale or gray or ghostly horse.
C. Is there any wonder that death rides among the three?
1. Something or someone has taken peace from the earth.
2. War, anarchy, or virus: it does not matter now.
3. Fear and fighting are running rampant.
4. The Bible says 1/4, 25%, of the world’s population
dies from the first four seals of the Tribulation.
D. But why is Hell following behind him? Because everyone on
the earth at this time is lost. The church is gone and
that means all the believers were taken.
Friend, this is how the Tribulation begins, the first days, weeks,
months of a seven-year period of judgment. You cannot do enough in
preparation to last through it. You must decide to leave before it
starts. That is only by rapture and only through Jesus Christ.
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