02.20. LECTURE No. 20 -- Rev_6:3-8
LECTURE No. 20 -- Revelation 6:3-8 The Opening of the Second Seal - The Red Horse - Peace to Be Taken from the Earth - Universal War to Be Expected - Four Groups of Nations in the End Time of the Present Dispensation - The Roman Empire Will Be Revived - The Third Seal - The Black Horse - Terrible Famine - The Fourth Seal - The Pale Horse - Death and Hell to Have Power over One-Fourth of the Earth
IN the preceding chapter we considered the opening of the first seal of the seven-sealed book which the lamb of God took out of the hand of him that sat upon the throne. We have already pointed out that this seven sealed book represented man’s title deed to the earth which was forfeited when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. According to the vision which John saw Christ, as the Lamb of God, was the only one in heaven or upon earth or under the earth who was found worthy to act as man’s kinsmen redeemer and to open the seven seals thereof.
We have already discovered that the opening of these seals is to be a work of judgment whereby Christ as our kinsmen-redeemer will dispossess Satan as the usurper and restore unto man his lost inheritance.
In our last lesson we saw that under the opening of the first seal there went forth a rider upon a white horse: and it says that “he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to conquer.”
By comparing scripture with scripture we discovered that the rider on the white horse will be none other than the coming Antichrist, who as a mighty warrior will go forth conquering and to conquer. All this will be done in order to imitate the true Christ who is described in Revelation the 19th chapter as coming forth on a white horse in righteousness to judge and make war.
What we have represented therefore, under the opening of the first seal is the coming forth of the Antichrist, who as the final great leader of the atheistic, godless masses of the earth, will go forth conquering and to conquer.
All this, of course, will take place after the rapture of the church and during the early part of the tribulation period, and because it is to be the hour of darkness it means that for a short time, under the permissive will of God, those that are right will be dethroned and that evil will go forth conquering and to conquer! The Second Seal: The Red Horse
It is time now for us to advance in our study by reading what is written in Revelation 6:3-4 where it says:
“And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast, or living creature say, Come and see.
“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.”
In our last message we called your attention to the fact that horses in prophetic vision symbolize the going forth of God’s judicial power against the wicked.
In his book on the Apocalypse, Seiss says:
“In these four different horses and horsemen, we are to see four different forms of the coming forth of the judicial power of God upon the inhabitants of the earth, looking to the breaking up of the dominion of wickedness, the punishment and casting out of transgression, and the consummation of that long-pending revolution, whose accomplishment is at once the fulfillment of all prophecy and all prayer.”
We should have no difficulty whatever in deciding what is to happen under the opening of the second seal. The very wording of our lesson text would indicate that since the horse was red and that power was given to the rider who sat thereon to take peace from the earth, that the going forth of the red horse and his rider could represent nothing else but war!
Universal War Has Been Prophesied
Every careful student of prophecy knows from the word of God that universal war has been prophesied.
This is confirmed in Daniel 12:1 where Daniel said:
“There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.”
Jesus, as we know, was the greatest prophet of all times, and in Matthew 24:7-8 he said:
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famine and pestilences and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
And then again in Matthew 24:22 of the same chapter he said:
“For then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
Jeremiah also prophesied of universal conflict. This is confirmed in Jeremiah 25:27 where it says:
“Therefore thou salt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”
Also in Jeremiah 25:29 it says:
“I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth saith the Lord of hosts,” and again in Jeremiah 25:31 says:
“A noise shall come even to ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword saith Lord.”
And in Jeremiah 25:32-33 it further says:
“Thus saith the of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind (or tribulation) shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth, and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried they shall be dung upon the ground.”
The prophet Joel also prophesied Joel 3:9-11 as follows:
“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
“Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
“Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.”
Thus, my friends, do we have the combined testimony of the prophets concerning the fact that in due time when preparations have been made the rider on the red horse, as indicated in our lesson text, will ride forth to take peace from the earth by stirring up war throughout the world.
Current Events Confirm the Scriptures Not only do the scriptures confirm the fact that war is coming as indicated by the red horse, but current events also testify to the same fact.
Every student of world affairs knows full well the tremendous preparations that are being made by almost every nation for the continuation of the war which is now in progress.
In order to impress this upon your minds we wish to quote just here an article which appeared in the “Bible advocate” for January, 1938. This article was condensed from W. D. Herrstrom’s splendid new book, “War Preparations and International Suicide.” published by Fundamental Truth Publishers, and taken from the Christian Reader’s Digest. The article is entitled, DEADLY INSTRUMENTS OF DESTRUCTION and we quote as follows:
Giant Airplane Torpedo!
“The most appalling weapon of war ever devised by man, defying all defense and raining merciless death from the skies, is now being forged in secret in England,” according to the London Daily Mail.
“This new war terror is a giant torpedo operating without a crew, its engine and course controlled by clockwork and its hull a mere receptacle for bombs. The clock work control is set beforehand to operate at a certain moment and a specific place. On arriving at the appointed moment, the engine stops and the whole machine with its deadly load crashes to the ground.” The Human Torpedo! The Japanese have perfected a torpedo which is one of the most deadly instruments of destruction developed in recent times. A man is locked in the torpedo to guide it to the hull of the ship. Upon arrival at the ship, both the ship and the man are blown to pieces. With this deadly instrument of destruction every ship that sails the seven seas could be blown up in short order.
Gas That Stops Motors! The Germans have developed a gas that will stop the motors of airplanes. This gas can be released to bring down an entire fleet of planes.
Destructive Gases!
Deadly gases which will penetrate any gas mask and phosphorus which will burn the flesh to the bone almost instantaneously, will be used in the next war. Clothing and gas masks will afford no protection. More than 1,000 kinds of poison gases are now being manufactured.
Bacteria Emanations!
British scientists are experimenting with a “life-death” ray, “capable of projecting bacteria emanations which will destroy humans, animals and crops.”
J. J. DeBarry, a germ expert, says, “A single airplane could carry sufficient botulinus toxin to destroy the entire population of the world.”
Robot War Ships!
Robot war ships controlled from a keyboard on another ship can be manipulated to perfection. At the proper time the keys are touched, the guns go into action from a boat without a human occupant, and the enemy ship is destroyed. The Beam of Death!
Dr. Nikola Tesla has announced the invention of “a super death ray-a manmade, invisible streak of 56,000,000 volts, capable of destroying an army without a trace. He said it could cause an army of 1,000,000 men to drop dead in its tracks; bring down a fleet of 10,000 airplanes at a distance of 250 miles; surround an entire country with an impenetrable, invisible ‘Chinese Wall’”
These instruments of destruction are significant in the light of Bible prophecies concerning a war that will involve 200,000,000 soldiers and destroy one-third of the world’s population.
“And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.” (Revelation 9:16-19).
The world is evidently preparing for such a conflagration at the present time.”
Four Groups of Nations in the End Time
Now besides what has been stated here we must recognize also that the Bible teaches that in the end time of the present dispensation the nations of the world will be divided into four groups in preparation for the final conflict.
According to Bible prophecy these four great powers will exist contemporaneously at the close of the present age, and each group will have its part in the last great struggle of the nations. The alignment of these powers, which is now taking place, is a unique sign that the end of the age is upon us! The Roman Empire to Be Revived The prophetic scriptures foretell of the revival of the Roman empire. This is indicated in Daniel the second chapter, where, under the symbolism of the great image which Nebuchadnezzar saw and which Daniel interpreted, we have a prophetic foreview of the march of empire during the times of the Gentiles!
The last stage of the fourth world empire, which was Rome, is indicated by the ten toes of the image. Thus indicating that the Roman Empire will be revived and will be ruled over by ten kings which correspond to the ten toes of the image.
Just how the Roman Empire will be revived is given more in detail in Daniel 11:36-45 where it speaks of the rise of a willful king, who shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and who shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished.
King of the South - King of the North In this very same passage in Daniel 11:40, mention is made also of the king of the South and the king of the North.
The King of the South will no doubt be some ruler whose dominion lies to the south of Palestine which, as we know, is the geographical center of the earth. It is also understood that the King of the North is none other than the King of Russia, whose dominion lies to the north of Palestine.
Kings of the East And last of all, mention is made Revelation 16:12 of “the kings of the East.”
Opposing Ideas of Government
Now we haven’t time in our present lesson to enlarge upon the vast amount of prophetic material connected with the rise of these four groups of nations in the end time, but we do want to say that each group has a form of government which is in direct opposition to the other three groups.
- The Northern group headed up by Russia adhere to Communism,
- The Mediterranean grow headed up by the Roman Empire adhere to Fascism,
- The Southern group headed up by the King of the South adhere largely to the principles to Democracy.
- The Far East under the leadership of Japan the people are being compelled to adhere to Emperor Worship!
Now with these four groups of nations already in existence and each one adhering to a form of political power which is diverse from the other three and each one extremely antagonistic to the other, what can we expect but War?
BBB Comment: Even though this book was written in the forties, as the war clouds were forming for the Second World War, the principles have never really changed. These events are yet very possibly on the horizon even now as we see a world threat arising, except that in this era we are seeing Islam as one of the players. Despite the “dated” aspect of this book, his facts regarding the full scope of the Book of Revelation is quite worthy of a serious study. An Inevitable Conclusion Our conclusion therefore is that war has been prophesied and that unusual preparations for war are being made, and that war, therefore, is inevitable, and the time will come, sooner or later, when the rider on the red horse will go forth to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. The Third Seal: The Black Horse
Now in Revelation 6:5-6 it says: “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
“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.”
Here again we should have no difficulty in understanding what is symbolized by the going forth of the black horse and of him that sat thereon. The fact that the rider on the black horse had a pair of balances in his hand would indicate that a time of famine and scarcity will come upon the world following the terrible conditions which will come to pass under the opening of the second seal.
This is the natural order in which we would expect things to occur. War always results in scarcity and high Prices!
The rider on the black horse cried saying, “A measure of wheat for a Penny, and three measures of barley a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”
Now in the margin of my Bible I am told that the measure deferred to here was about the equivalent of one quart and that the penny deferred to here was the word “denarius” of the penny which was used in New Testament times. The “denarius” was worth about 24 cents American money. According to these figures, when the rider on the black horse goes forth wheat will be worth about $7.88 a bushel or thereabouts, and barley will be worth about one-third this price.
So here we are reminded again of conditions as they were during the World War, only, when this time comes, they will be very much worse than they were then, and there is no doubt but what many will perish because of hunger.
Famine
Black is the color of dearth and famine. This is confirmed in Jeremiah 14:1-2 where it says: “The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Juda mourneth and the gates thereof languish. They are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.” Also in Lamentations 5:10 it says: “Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.”
Also in Lamentations 4:8-9 it says:
“Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
Thus are the words of the prophet and thus were the conditions which existed in Jerusalem and Palestine, long centuries ago.
Now imagine if you can what conditions will be like under the opening of the third seal when the black horse rider goes forth with a pair of balances in his hand, announcing that scarcity and famine have returned to the earth on a world wide scale!
Hurt Not the Oil and the Wine
It is interesting to note that it says in this passage, “See thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Oil and wine as we know would be listed as luxuries which only the rich could afford, especially in a time of scarcity and hardship.
This would seem to indicate that during these early judgments of the tribulation period the poor of the earth will suffer first, and that the rich, because of their hoarded wealth, will escape the pains of hunger for a time, but this does not mean that they will escape forever, because of their riches! For the scriptures teach that they will not escape, but will suffer in due time. The Apostle James said in James 5:1-5 :
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
“Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
“Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
“Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
“Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.”
Thus, my friends, we see that when a time of scarcity comes, both the poor and the rich will suffer. The poor will suffer first and in due time the rich shall not escape, as we shall see later on in our study. The Fourth Seal: The Pale Horse Now in Revelation 6:7-8 it says,
“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death and with the beasts of the earth.”
Here again, we can see, that coming events occur in consecutive order.
Conditions Will Grow Worse
What is stated here under the opening of the fourth seal seems to indicate under the ongoing of God’s judgment conditions will continue to grow worse and worse! To war and famine will added pestilences such as followed World War, only worse. We know the awful plague of the “flu” which follow the World War which we are told killed more than three times as many people as were killed by the war itself.
And so we do not wonder that it says, when the rider of the pale horse goes forth that death and hell followed with him. We know that death and hell, or Hades, are not persons, but we do know that they are powers which follow as a natural consequence upon the heels, in the wake of war and pestilences and famine.
And so this is what we may expect under the opening of the fourth seal.
Now in this lesson we have considered the opening of the second, third, and fourth seals of the seven-sealed book which the lamb of God took out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne; and by such terrible works of judgment our kinsmen-redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, will begin the great task of redeeming and restoring unto man his lost inheritance whose right it was to have dominion and rule over the earth.
Three more seals yet remain to be opened so far as our present study is concerned.
~ end of lecture 20 ~