The Beginning of the Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Four Horsemen - Revelation 6: 1-8

1:48Well, welcome back to Revelation. You know, we actually come to the reason why the book of Revelation was written. Let me show you this. Look back at chapter 1, verse 1. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his bondservants the things which must soon take place. The revelation of Jesus Christ. It's a revelation that is revealing Jesus Christ to the world. And God gave it to him, to Jesus, to show to his bondservants the things which must soon take place. So it is something that Jesus is going to show. Then, look over in chapter 5 and verse 7.

2:46You remember the one is upon the throne, and he has a scroll in his hand. And then in verse 7, and he, the Lamb, came and took the book out of the right hand of him who sat upon the throne. So you have the revelation, the purpose to give, to show to Christ's bondservants the things that are going to take place. And then he comes and he takes the scroll out of the hand in chapter 5 and verse 7. And then, look at verse 6:1. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals. And so what happens is we actually come to the whole reason the book of Revelation was written, and that is to declare to us the things that are to come.

3:32And so when the Lamb begins breaking the seals, Revelation is going to continue. World events are going to continue in an uninterrupted fashion until Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. Not just to his bondservants, but to the world. All of the world is going to know. Just like we saw in the echo in chapter 5, the worship of the Lamb, all creatures, heaven and earth, under the earth, everywhere, is going to bow down and worship him. So this unveiling of Jesus Christ is going to take place. And once that first seal is broken, it's going to take place in a relatively short time. Time indicators, the time is soon, but also it will go swiftly. And so we come.

4:30This morning to the famed four horsemen of the apocalypse. You've probably heard it, or the four horsemen of Revelation. We just read about them. But these are the beginning of the events that will culminate in Christ's second coming. And so I just want to take time to give you an idea of how we're going to study this. As if you haven't already figured out by now, there are no shortcuts to understanding the book of Revelation. There really isn't a shortcut. We've been in a year already in the book, and we're just now coming to the whole reason why the book was written. And that is the opening of these seals. There are no shortcuts through this.

5:24And yet, I recognize the need to move through the material, so I want to take larger portions and go a little more quickly through it. And yet, the thing about Revelation is it's the confluence of all Revelation coming into. There are many streams of relevatory thought that flow into, provide a background for Revelation. It is the final word on the things that are going to take place. It systematizes much of what has been said, and it gives revelation and explanation in a very systematic way so you can get your mind around future events. Of the world. And there are no shortcuts to understanding that. And yet, in our time this morning, what I want to do, or in our morning times, is I want to spend time really paying far more attention to the details of the text in Revelation and related and internal to Revelation.

6:24I choose to do it this way because I think it's very important that your mind gets saturated with the details of the text. It's easy to bring another text somewhere else to bring to bear, and all of a sudden your mind is somewhere else. But it's very important that you make sense out of the details of the text before we can make sense out of its meaning, before we're able to live in the light of these truths. Prophecy is given so that we will arrange our lives and live our lives and think and act according to the revelation that is given. And so I want to move a little more quickly through these, but at the same token, I want to call attention to the details. However, I also recognize there is a lot of revelation on Revelation. And so in the evening services, what I intend to do is have a little more of an in-depth view of those. And so I call our evening service. Will be called Revelations on Revelation. And it will be that opportunity to, much like we did with angelology, to look at the things to come, eschatology, and relate other passages to the book of Revelation. And also give opportunity for questions and answers and also to orient ourselves to our times. You know, one of the dangers of Revelation is reading your times into the text. Another danger is not recognizing when prophecy speaks of your times. And so we want to carefully step through those.

8:10And so we need time to do it. There are no shortcuts. But this morning, I want us to look at the four horsemen so that we will live in the light of the coming realities that they prophesy. So the four horsemen. The first is the white horse. Let me read those words again. Verse 1. Then I saw when the lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a loud, with a voice of thunder, Come. I looked and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. Notice a couple of details. There's going to be a pattern with all. Four of these horses. One reason why we're trying to cover them all in one setting is because they do come as a unit. Each living being will open one. Each of the four will not open, will announce and summon the horse.

9:23The horse has a color, and the rider will be addressed. But just verse 1, notice the first of the four living creatures. When the lamb broke the first seal, the lamb breaks the seal, and then the living creature, which we've seen around the throne, says with a loud voice, a voice of thunder, come. It's a present, imperative command, you be coming. The first question I have to ask is: who is he addressing? And the options are: either he's addressing John, or he's addressing the horseman, or he is addressing the lamb. Well, it's pretty clear he's not addressing the lamb. He was just worshiping the lamb. He's not speaking to the lamb like this. You can rule that one out pretty quickly. Now, John, is he saying something to John? John, you come. I want to show you something. And if you have a King James Bible, you'll see that there is, in some of these verses, come and see.

10:27And see, the words and see were. Added later. They were, maybe a scribe was trying to clarify, thinking it is John to whom that the living being is speaking. John, with a voice like thunder, you come here. But the word here isn't there. And so the question is, is he speaking to John? Well, there's a couple reasons why I don't think he's speaking to John. Number one, John has already been summoned by the Lord Himself in chapter 4 and verse 1, come up here so that I will show you what will take place. Come up here. He has already come up there. He is already at a perspective to see what's going on. And he's at a pretty good perspective because he can see all that's going on up there in heaven. He can see, he's got enough detail to be able to see the scroll with the seven seals. He's able to, he's got clarity. He can see pretty well. Then the question becomes: if the living being is asking him to come here, where is he asking him to come? And then the other living beings are going to say the same thing. You come, you come, you come. And the question is, where is he moving around to? He already has a vantage to see that the Lord Himself called him to. So it's very unlikely, in my opinion, that the living being is speaking. To John, but he's speaking to the horseman. Come with the voice of thunder. Come. With the breaking of the first seal, something happens. Come, it's your time.

12:17The second one, come. You be coming. You be coming. And with that, a series of worldwide events are introduced. Let's look at the first one. The first one is given a bow. He's given, I'm sorry, he had a bow, and a crown was given to him. And he went out conquering and to conquer. Now, the crown that was given him is the word for a wreath, like a victor's wreath that you would win in a contest in the games, that victory champion type wreath.

13:02And he went out conquering. He's good at it. He's been given an ability to conquer, and that's exactly what he goes out to do. He's conquering, and he goes out to conquer. He's one active in conquering. That's his bent. He is bent on conquest, and he will be successful because he has been endowed to be successful. And the image may very well be described by a Parthian warrior, though I don't think it is a Parthians, or speaking about the Parthian warriors. But there's an image there that would certainly be called to mind, that is best captivated, perhaps, by a Parthian warrior. Who were the Parthians? Well, they were the ones who stopped Rome's easterly expanse in the modern-day Iran, Iraq. They were warriors, and they were feared even by the Romans. They were one of the most strongest military forces, certainly, the Romans had confronted. They were masters at archery, and they were master horsemen. And so they would charge the battle swiftly and skillfully. And so, this image of a rider with a bow is an image of conquering power and speed, something that even the Romans feared. But the question becomes: who does this horseman signify? To what or to whom? And there are many explanations. And I'm not going to take time to deal with the bulk of them, but I'm going to boil it down to what I think are two of the main concepts. Either it is a positive.

15:00Force, or it is a negative force. And in the positive category, there are those who would see this as Christ, see this as the gospel, or see this as the church. But there are several reasons why I do not believe this is Christ, or the gospel, or the church. First of all, I'll tell you why I don't believe it's Christ. Number one, as I alluded to earlier, I do not expect a living being or creature to summon Christ in this manner. You come.

15:33Second, I find it difficult, just, and I'm staying right here in the text, and relative to Revelation itself within Revelation, I find it difficult to believe that Christ, as the Lamb, opens the seal and then morphs into a writer without explanation. All other references to Christ in Revelation are unmistakable. He is the lion from the tribe of Judah. He is the root of David. He is the king of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He is the Alpha and Omega. You're never left wondering, is this Christ? Revelation doesn't want you to be left wondering, is this Christ or not? This would certainly, if this were a depiction of Christ, it would be the most obscure reference to Christ in the book of Revelation.

16:31Third, it's clear that Christ returns at the end of the tribulation, not at the beginning. He returns at the end. Let me, you could turn there to Revelation 19, verse 11. There is another depiction of a white horse and one upon it. In Revelation 19, verse 11, you can turn or just listen. Verse 11, and I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a riot of iron, and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of Lords. See, the only similarity between this horse in 6 chapter 1. Or chapter 6, verses 1 and 2, and that of Revelation 19 is the color white.

18:06But the differences between the two are many. There are two white horses that you can think about in Revelation. There is the white horse of Revelation 6, what we're looking at right now, and then there is another white horse, the horse in Revelation 19, and the rider. And though the only real similarity between the two is the color white, which I'll talk a little bit about tonight. But the difference between the two are many. The crowns. The one in chapter 6 has a crown given to him, like a victor's wreath.

18:50But in 19, he has many diadems, diadems, rulership, something intrinsic to who he is, which we've already seen with the lamb. And the weapon is different. First horse has a bow. Chapter 19, he has a sharp sword coming out of his mouth. And the company that these two horse and horsemen keep are very different. The first horseman, you have peace is going to be removed from the earth. There's going to be scarcity, and there's going to be widespread death. After the reign of this second horse, when he comes on the scene, peace is going to be established, abundance, healing of the nations. It's a very different company that these two horses and riders associate with.

19:47You have the same problems if you start thinking about this as the gospel, that the gospel is going to go out. Well, the gospel or the church. You don't typically see death and misery and sorrow when the gospel has been victorious in its way. No, this is, I don't think this is the gospel either. Some would take this as the gospel. A bow is not the emblem of the gospel. At least not in Revelation. A loud voice is. And when the angel in chapter 4 is going to proclaim the gospel, he does so with a loud voice. And the gospel will be proclaimed with a loud voice. I don't think this white horse and its rider is an emblem of the church either. The church isn't bent on conquering. The church is bent on obedience. Very different.

20:47Now, it's true that the gospel and the church are going to overcome, but they're not going to overcome in the geopolitical, ideological sense that's represented here. Neither the gospel. Nor the church are militant conquering machines that are going to take over the world. They will conquer, they will prevail, but they will accomplish what God has sent them to do. It's a different image. There's no justification from this text for church amassing armies, crusades, etc. And one problem is: if this is Christ, if this is the advance of the gospel, the takeover of the gospel, the conquering of the church, one has to look around and see after 2,000 years, we lack a country today whose laws, customs, and manners are dominated by biblical righteousness. Even some of those centers where the gospel took hold, first took hold, like Italy, North Africa, Turkey, even Turkey, right now under Islamic control. These are not many of the churches turned into mosques where the gospel once thrived, even places like Germany, England, and now the United States. We don't see this conquest of righteousness in the laws and institutions. In fact, we see something very different. No, they won't. The white horse speaks of a different victor over the earth than Christ. He is clearly lesser than Christ. And the world left behind in his wake is no bueno.

22:47It's no good. It's not a good one. And it doesn't, it's not hard to see that. Yeah, Revelation anticipates this prophetic conflict between two very different writers. So, if that's the positive force, he's not the church, not the gospel, not Christ. Then, if other thought, well, then who is it? He's a negative on the negative side, a negative force. He is the antichrist or perhaps antichrist ideology. I would prefer to articulate it like this: it is a worldwide unified movement that opposes the one sitting upon the throne. That's what happens. There's one sitting upon the throne, God, creator, he is to be worshipped as creator. There is the lamb who is to be worshipped as redeemer. And this rider indicates the very opposite.

24:02It signifies the rise of an evil federation. There are many who see this as the Antichrist proper, the rise of the Antichrist. I would see it not as an individual per se, but the movement behind the individual that will later show up as the preeminent one. But this is a, and I say that because all the other horses are personifications of events, worldwide events. And so I think we have the war, depression, death. There's no real debate. There's no debate about the other horses. They're all personifications of worldwide events. And I think this first one, in that same vein, as a group, is a personification of the rise of an evil federation. It's the coalescing of global anti-God mentalities into one federation, an emblem, if you will, of worldwide opposition to the one sitting upon the throne.

25:14It's like a Tower of Babel-type opposition. Only at the Tower of Babel, the Lord broke it up. But he's going to let this run its course and let Earth's opposition take its mature. Form. Lots to say on this. We'll talk more about it tonight, but just think about this. The anti-God of the Bible ideologies have been around since the beginning. There's nothing new under the sun. But what is new with the summons of this white horse is that they will begin to quickly coalesce into one central authority. They will be an evil federation or confederation, and they will not be about what they are for, but who they are against.

26:14So the white horse signifies a mentality that comes together to address the threats to their global village. And one of the threats, one of the greatest threats, the preeminent threats, is going to ultimately boil down to be the Word of God and those who believe it. It is, this horse is an emblem of a sweeping anti-God of the Bible ideology that unifies the world and encodes and enforces its Antichrist policies. See this vividly pictured in Psalm 2. Why have The kings taking their stand against the Lord and his anointed one. So, this horse, if I had to name this horse or summarize this horse with one word, this is what it would be: domination. You can clearly see with this horse, he is a figure that is bent on domination, dominating, conquering, and to conquer.

27:36The reason I chose a D is because the fourth horse, guess what his name is? Death. So, I kind of stayed with the Ds. Hopefully, that will help. Well, let's move on to the second horse, the second horse, second seal. Verse 3: When he broke the second seal, I heard the sound, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. And another, a red horse, went out, and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another, and a great sword was given to him. Again, you come, probably as thunderous as the previous. Doesn't really matter. Don't get hung up whether it's it's the horse or the, or, or, or John, but I think it's clearly the horse, but it doesn't change the prophecy.

28:31John sees red horse come out, and he is granted to take peace from the earth. And a great sword is given to him. You notice something about this? These horses? Something's given to them. They're dependent. They're dependent upon God. They're dependent upon God to allow them to run their course. And this is going to be true with all of them. But this rider seems to be in sequence to the last horse. A number of people would see these as simultaneous. The reason I would say it's in sequence is because he has the power to take peace from the earth. So at least for some time after that first horse gets out, there's a relative peace on the earth. This second horse comes and he takes the peace from the earth. So there is an establishment of peace, worldwide peace, or at least certainly peace in a relative sense, if not in a very worldwide sense. But then severe conflict breaks out, and the world escalates into turmoil. And the word notice that they take peace, and so he takes peace from the earth. So that men would slay one another, slaughter one another.

30:07So it's brutal. It's a brutal mentality that becomes the norm upon the earth. The great sword, severe, it's penetrating, it's widespread. It's a conflict that erupts on every level on planet Earth, on the international level, on the national level, upon the family level. I think those of us can understand that sometimes policies in high places can impact large numbers of people. Those of us who lived through COVID, which is just about every one of us, know exactly how this can happen. Think about the conflicts that took place during COVID. There was just a widespread turmoil and aggression, and we felt it here in the church. We felt it in our families. We felt it all around. It's not hard for there to be discord when something like this, family against family. Well, you can think about it. Whenever a new ideology is bent on conquest, it forces compliance. That's the nature of it. And there were those. Who will get the short end of the stick of it? There are those who will not buy in. There are those who will disagree.

31:37There will be those who will fight back on national, state, local, and personal levels. You see, this is the paradigm of fallen man. This is what happens. Man lives for himself. That's the paradigm. And when you go down this road, you protect self-interest. It's a survival of the fittest world. That's the paradigm of fallen man. And when earth rejects the Christ of Scripture, they reject the way of selfless sacrifice for the glory of God's wisdom and the well-being of their fellow man. And they live for self.

32:23And war is inevitable when each man lives for himself, protects his interests. About a hundred years ago, back in 1925, some of you have probably read about the Scopes trial, William Jennings Bryan. That's the trial that some have often said it made a monkey out of all of us. That was the battle, that the world stage in which evolution and creation were debated, and then. But I want to read to you a quote by William Jennings Bryan, his closing speech. He didn't get to give this speech. He passed it out. But he had a lot of insightful words here.

33:13In fact, he died a couple of days later. So this is some of the last thoughts that William Jennings Bryan, not to be confused with William Joel Bryan, the name of our city here. But listen what he said. Science is a magnificent force, but it is not a teacher of morals. It can perfect machinery, but it adds no moral restraints to protect society from the misuse of the machine. In war, science has proven itself an evil genius. It has made war more terrible than it ever was before. Man used to be content to slaughter his fellow man on a single plane, the Earth's surface. Science has taught him to go down into the water and shoot up from below, and to go up into the clouds and shoot down from above, thus making the battlefield three times as bloody as it was before. But science does not teach brotherly love. Science has made war so hellish that civilization was about to commit suicide. And now we are told that the newly Discovered instruments of destruction will make the cruelties of the late war seem trivial. And he was talking about World War I.

34:41Trivial in comparison with the cruelties of the wars that may come in the future. If civilization is to be saved from the wreckage threatened by intelligence not consecrated by love, it must be saved by the moral code of the meek and lowly Nazarene. His teachings and his teachings alone can solve the problems that vex the heart and perplex the world. I think he's right. And when a world is left to itself, when they reject the God of Scripture, each is left in their survival of the fittest mode. Well, the white horse signifies world domination by a globalist ideology. The red horse then is an emblem of worldwide discord. So if I gave this horse a name that started with the D, what would you name him? Discord, thank you. So we have domination to discord. But then let's turn to the third horse. Horse. Third horse, black horse. Verse 5. When he, and this would be the lamb, broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. I looked and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not damage the oil and the wine. So again, you come. Black horse comes out and rides. And the rider has a pair of scales in his hands. A scale, something to measure something with. Scale, so that it'd be like a balanced scale. And so it is food being sold by weight. It's a picture of rationing, really.

36:57But it's a time of food rationing. And it's very expensive. Listen to the voice. And the voice is not one of the living beings. It comes from the center of the four living beings. And we can be sure that that is the voice of God, whether the one sitting on the throne or the lamb, immaterial. But it is the voice of God limiting the power of the rider on the horse. And he limits him in two statements. First, A quart of wheat for a denarius, three quarts of barley for a denarius. And what's a denarius? His first, he limits what this writer can do to the food supply. What is a denarius? Well, it's a day wages for the average laborer. Probably in our area, that's a $15 an hour type thing, just in our area, which would be about $120 a day. So just think: if you have $120 and you go over to McDonald's and you want a Big Mac meal, which are about $8, how many meals can you buy? You didn't know you're getting a math test today, did you? Well, $15.

38:20So think about it, the average worker can buy about 15 Big Mac meals a day. Now, suppose that price of that Big Mac meal went up to $120. Then you and I, if we worked, earned a day's labor, we could buy one meal and have nothing left over to pay rent or any other things. So all of our money would pretty much go to just surviving. And there is a statement about Three quarts of barley. It's the same thing. Barley is cheaper grain than wheat. And so you could take the barley, buy the cheaper stuff. So you can either have three meals of the cheaper stuff or maybe one meal of the good stuff, better stuff.

39:20But the point here is that there's scarcity. It's not outright starvation, but a hyperinflation, a scarcity. And so most people are going to be reduced to bear survival mode. But notice that he makes a second statement that limits the damage done to the oil and the wine. He is commanded: you cannot touch, cannot harm the oil or wine. These items are typically seen as luxury items. They're not essential. So the writer's authority is limited. He cannot damage some of the luxury items.

40:10There's going to be plenty for some, but most are going to be in starvation mode, survival mode. But there will be some that seem to have plenty. They'll have plenty of opportunities. To share, but they probably won't. But there is a mercy in this, by the way. There's a mercy in this restriction. Mankind will be forced to seriously contemplate life and death, to contemplate heaven and hell, God and His Lamb. What is life? If you think about your working, and all I'm trying to do is make it to the next meal, you have to start asking yourself the question: what is life for? What is worth living for? And it's in that context that people are brought to the end of themselves, that out of the love of God, many will look up. You see, people don't really look for God when all things are going well. And sometimes, if you look back over the history of your life, it's sometimes in those difficult times, those challenging times, that God draws you to Himself, and you wake up and you learn of your need for Him.

41:34Well, the black horse is an emblem of a global depression, perhaps even mourning, with the black mourning after war and the global depression that follows. And this is typically a pattern we see: war, depression, scarcity. So I give the horse name depression. Let's look at the fourth horse. Fourth horse. Verse 7. When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. I looked and behold, an ashen horse, and he who sat on it had the name death. And Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. Again, the same pattern: you come, horse comes out, described as an ashen horse. Others text may say gray horse, others may say pale. Closer is green. The horse is, it's actually the word for chlorophyll, green. Sometimes it's used to speak about green grass. It's a green horse, probably a yellowish green.

43:03And it's, but it's, the idea is that of a sickly pallor, a deathly pallor. It looks, it's the color of a dead body that's been decaying for a few days. That's the color, death. But notice the grave, or Hades, is with him, following. Coming behind death, the grave. His authority granted. Again, it's granted to them is over one-fourth of the earth's population. Now, by today's standards, I noticed that we passed the 8 billion mark last year. So think about death to 2 billion people. That's the scale for word to happen today.

44:01It's interesting reading commentaries last hundred years. That would be, you know, 500 million people. And then the next commentary, that would be 750 million. Then the next commentary is written in the 90s. That will be 1.25 billion. And as I'm reading it, we're up to 2 billion and beyond. Yeah, you're not going to miss it. But notice their action is to kill. And they are given four means to kill by sword, famine, kill with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence.

44:42The word there is death, maybe plague, death by natural causes or the natural outcome of all these things, but plague, wild animals, wild beasts. Well, the first three are often a consequence of war. Scarcity, sword, famine, pestilence, plague, all these seem to follow big wars. But the last is interesting, the animals. Perhaps the severity of the war and the destruction and the famine completely denudes Earth's vegetation in a staggering amount. You know, mountain lions and bears usually don't come into city areas unless they're what? Very hungry. If there's been a fire or if there's been a drought, that's when animals come in and all of a sudden people, usually children, are on the menu. And so you have something horrific being described here. But it's not difficult to understand as you do a quick survey of these four seals that during these times the world will become increasingly desperate for anyone who can solve the problem.

46:16In fact, they will be ready to worship the one who can put an end to the war, to the conflict, the scarcity, and the chaos. They'll be able to worship anyone. Except Christ. So, who are these four horsemen? Oh, by the way, his name's Death. And that is authoritative because it's in the Bible. Well, the four horsemen. Who are these four horsemen? Well, they're emblems of the beginning of the end, the birth pangs of that which is coming upon planet Earth. The white horse, domination, a world domination by some figure, some school of thought that will ultimately produce a preeminent leader. The red horse, discourse. One can expect a regime like that, a globalist mentality now takes over. There will be discord at all levels, worldwide discourse, discord and conflict. Then there is the depression that inevitably follows. You know, man's not going to be able to solve his problems. That's the point of all this. A global depression. And then there's going to be widespread death all over.

47:53But just as we think about all these, I want you to keep in mind. That there is another horse and another rider who, when his career, when he comes and when he does what God expects of him to do, he is the king of kings, the Lord of the Lord. All this other will be done away with. So, what do we do with these truths? What do we do with really any prophecy of Scripture for that matter? Well, these truths are given to us so that we may inform our minds, instruct our hearts, steady our resolve, and be actively carrying out what God wants us to do.

48:46And even as we look upon these things, we need to first of all remember who's in control. God is in control. And throughout Revelation, you're going to see over and over that before any havoc is really wreaked upon the earth, something has to be allowed. All of these horsemen have to be given the opportunity, much like Job. Let me at Job, says Satan, and God says, Fine, go ahead. So God is in control. So settle your hearts in this truth.

49:27And to understand, listen, we are not called. To stop the Antichrist from coming to power. That's not our calling. He is going to come. He is going to be an expression of a world in rebellion to God. We are called to minister the gospel. Minister truth. Proclaim biblical truth to nurture the biblical community and to engage in worldwide evangelism as these things come about. Whether it's in our lifetime or a thousand years from now, we should always be active in these things.

50:12I'd say another thing we need to do as we look at this prophecy is be thankful. Be thankful for the little things. Be thankful for your friends. Be thankful for living in a time of peace, relative peace. Be thankful for the truth. Relish these things while you can. Let me get more on a personal level. You know, one of the most frightful judgments that God issues against a person is to hand them over to their own ways. This is what Romans 1 is all about. Look, you want to go after your sinful pursuits? Go ahead. You want to give yourself a sense of God. To substance, you want to give yourself to pleasure, you want to give yourself to you, fill in the blank, and God says, Go ahead. You will become what your flesh transforms you into. Listen, your flesh was given to you, your body was given to you to serve you. It was not given so that you could serve it. Your body was given to you so that it may serve you as you serve your God, the King of kings. Your body is a tool, but when you elevate your flesh to the status of God, you can be sure that you're going to reap a bad way.

51:52The same is true on a global level. One of the most fearful judgments is when God says, Okay, fine. I'll hand you over to your ways. Since you will not retain the truth, you will be given over to your ways. Those who will not listen to God will be given over to their own ways, and they will reap the rewards of their foolish speculations and their arrogant inability to govern themselves. That's where it goes. In fact, listen to what God said. Through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 2:19, your own wickedness will correct you, and your apostasies will reprove you. Know, therefore, and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God.

52:47That happens on an individual level, that happens on a global level. Your own wickedness will correct you, and that's why God allows some to go, and even the nations and the world to go. You see, we're not masters of our fate, we are dependent upon God for His protection, His pardon, His guidance, and we're dependent forever. And you know what? This conflict that we just depicted here, you see with the four horsemen, we all should be pretty familiar with it. In fact, if we're honest, we are very familiar with it.

53:28It's going to erupt on a global scene, but the dynamics, we're very familiar with it because we deal with this on a daily basis. What is the message of Revelation? Worship God. That's the message. Worship your Creator. And as you go through each day, there are things that come against you, there are temptations that pull you, there are pressures that come upon you that would. Entice you not to worship God, but to worship self or some other gods of the earth. The message of Revelation is something we deal with on a daily basis. Worship God. We feel the pressures. We feel the challenges.

54:16And then the question of Revelation comes down to each one of us on a very personal level. Who will you worship? Who is going to worship? Who is going to win the worship contest in your life? There's a global scene. But when the pressure is turned up, who are you going to yield? You're going to serve God or the gods of the earth? I hope you will bow your heart and worship Him. That's the invitation of Revelation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do come before you this morning, thanking you for the truths that we can see these dynamics at work in our world. We can see these dynamics at work in our own heart. So it's not hard for us to conceptualize the horror of being given over to our own ways, to discover by our own personal experience that we are inadequate to govern ourselves. Be the masters of our fate. And so, Father, we recognize that the world is going to learn this on a global scale. But, Father, even now, we, by faith, want to learn this on a personal scale. Father, forgive us where we have chosen to go down a path of thinking that worships ourselves or worships something else other than you. Help us, forgive us for the ways we've engaged in serving ourselves and not worshiping you. Father, may you be exalted. May our cry here at Emmanuel echo that worship scene in heaven. Worthy are you to receive glory and honor and power and riches and dominion over us. May it be so, and may your Spirit accomplish it in Jesus' name. Amen.