The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Sermon Transcript
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Well, most of us can remember with the world changed on September 11th, 2001. If I were to ask you to recall where you were, you could probably do that. If I could ask you to recall some of the feelings that you had when you tuned into news stations that morning and you saw the images, you could probably recall some of those feelings. All these many years later, it’s hard for us to shake the feelings of shock that we had that day when Islamic terrorists attacked the United States of America in a predetermined, calculated and coordinated kind of way. The haunting pictures of 9/11 are still in our minds. The airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center. The buildings aflame. Desperate people jumping out of buildings and falling like rag dolls to their gruesome death. The Twin Towers collapsing to the ground in a pile of debris. Billowing clouds of dust. Incinerated human remains. It was all very apocalyptic to us, wasn’t it? I mean, the scenes are just staggering. And we’re wondering, are we looking at real life, or is this movie, or what is this? Well, I want you to imagine waking up to a horror like that or something worse every day for seven years. War, disease, famine, earthquakes, celestial disasters, and a cruel dictatorship that blankets the earth in seemingly an unending catastrophe, just one after the other cascading upon the inhabitants of planet earth. I want you to consider the most devastating experiences of human suffering in human history. And then multiply the intensity, the frequency, the length of those experiences. And then you might begin to understand what it will be like at a future time in Bible prophecy, where the almighty God of heaven and earth unleashes His wrath upon planet earth. It’s a period of time in Bible prophecy known as the Tribulation. I call it the worst of times on planet earth. Now, some of you came to church this morning hoping to hear a word of encouragement. And you’re saying, “Pastor, you just lost me on that one. Boy, what a way to say hello to the church family this morning.” You’re wanting a message about the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God. And, boy, would I like to deliver one about that. That’s the fun stuff, isn’t it? That’s the sweet stuff and sugar and spice, and we all love that. But a lopsided understanding of God’s nature and His person and His eternal plan, a lopsided understanding of who He is and how He operates in this world is as dangerous as a lopsided diet full of sugars and sweeteners. And you know what that does to the human body. And so we need a balanced understanding of the person and nature of God. Let me ask you a question. Do you have room in your theology for the wrath of God? You say, “Preacher, that’s not the God that I serve. No, the God that I serve is a God of love and kindness and tolerance.” Well, I don’t know the God you serve. Because the God of the Bible is all of that maybe—God of love and mercy and grace. But if we’re true to scripture, the whole of scripture, we also bump into something known as the wrath of God. And we do that in Revelation 6.
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Some people say Revelation 6 is where it really giddy-ups and goes in the book of Revelation. This is where some of those future events in Bible prophecy that mystify us and cause curiosity in our spirit really begin to get up and go. Revelation 6 through 18 give us the details of that seven-year period of time in future Bible prophecy known as the Tribulation, Jacob’s trouble, Daniel’s 70th week, a time when God turns His attention back to the nation of Israel, a time after—in my understanding of the ordering of Bible event prophecies—after the rapture of the Church takes place. And these chapters from chapter 6 through 18 unfold the wrath of God and the judgment of God upon the inhabitants of the earth and the nations of the earth in a series of three seven-fold judgments. Seven seal judgments followed by seven trumpet judgments followed by seven bowl judgment. Revelation 6 introduces the seven seal judgments. In fact, let’s go back to chapter 5 for just a moment. Remember that scene of the Church in heavenly worship? John relates the vision that he saw to us there in chapter 5 in verse 1 he says, “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.” A mysterious scroll appears in heaven. John goes on to say, “And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’” Great question. This was a very special scroll. A mysterious scroll. And the first question is, as he sees this scroll that is sealed with seven seals, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break the seals?” And when nobody responds, when it’s quiet in heaven, John says, “I wept.” Now, I don’t picture a little, you know, tear just kind of making its way above his eyelid and strolling down his cheek. No, the idea here is that John wept uncontrollably because nobody was found to be worthy. Nobody stepped forward and said, “I can open up that scroll.” Now, what was it about this mysterious scroll that caused the exiled apostle to weep uncontrollably? Many Bible teachers and scholars believe that inside this scroll contains the title deed to planet earth, something that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden that was stolen from him by Satan himself. And one of the 24 elders, it says in verse 5, goes on to say to John, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” In other words, the lion of Judah, who is Jesus, who later appears like a lamb who was slain—just park in your mind the imagery of the lion and the lamb for a moment—but it’s Jesus and Jesus alone who is worthy to open the scroll. Many Bible teachers say he is about to take back what was stolen from Him and what rightfully belongs to Him, and that was the title deed to planet earth. That’s why this mysterious scroll is so important. That’s why it stirs up some much emotion in John. By the way, the reference in chapter 5 to the lion of Judah and, just a few verses later, to a lamb standing as though it had been slain…Jesus is the lion who was slaughtered like a lamb. He was also the lamb who is coming back like a conquering lion. And if you understand those two images in the book of Revelation and in scripture, then you understand the two advents of Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago He came the first time as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But make no mistake about it, friends. He’s coming again, only this time as a conquering lion. And so the lion who looks like a lamb, the lamb who looks like a lion there in heaven in Revelation 5, He alone is the one who is worthy to open up the scroll.
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And He does so beginning in chapter 6 and verse 1. And we’re gonna get to four of the seal judgments today that are commonly referred to as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Because as each seal is opened up, a rider on a particular colored horse comes riding out, a picture of calamity and catastrophe and apocalyptic things that happening on planet earth. Let’s talk about each one of those for a moment. The first is a rider on a white horse, and he brings deception to the earth. Let’s read it in chapter 6 beginning in verses 1 and 2. John says, “Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.” So John sees this scroll. Ecstatic worship is taking place in heaven where glory and honor and wisdom and wealth and power and might and authority is given to the lion who looks like a lamb and the lamb who looks like a lion. This is Jesus Christ. The first seal is broken. And the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride into planet earth. And the first one rides in on a white horse. Now, if this were a Hollywood script…and the book of Revelation is no Hollywood script, but if it were we’d think, hey, this is a good guy. Because in Hollywood good guys ride in on white horses and they wear white hats. But this rider is a deceiver. In fact, the rider on the white horse is that figure in future Bible prophecy known as the Antichrist. He has many names, and we’ll get to that in a little bit. But this is the Antichrist. He is a deceiver. The devil has always been a deceiver. He has always been one who masquerades what the true Messiah does. And here this future world ruler known as the Antichrist is seen riding in on a white horse. But do not be deceived, friends. This is a really, really bad dude. He’s a bad dude.
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Turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians 2 for a moment. And I want to read what the apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonians. By the way, one of the first sets of letters that he writes in the New Testament, chronologically, he writes to the church in Thessalonica. And they had a lot of questions and a lot of concerns about the end of the age and the day of the Lord. Paul takes some time to answer those questions. And in chapter 2 he speaks in detail about this one we know as the Antichrist. Let’s pick it up in verse 3. He says, “Let no one deceive you in anyway. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness,”—one of the names of the Antichrist—“the man of lawlessness if revealed, the son of destruction,”—another name—“who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” Make note of that. “He takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” Paul says, “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” This one we know as the Antichrist is the man of lawlessness. He’s the son of destruction. He’s known by many names in the Bible, including the little horn in Daniels’s prophecies, the wicked one, the prince that is to come, the one who makes desolate, and the beast. And he comes in great deception. He comes, I believe, following the rapture of the Church. Why do I say that? Because Paul goes to great lengths to talk about how “he who restrains him must be taken out of the way before he appears.” Who is “he who restrains the Antichrist?” Well, as we’ve talked about in message past, antichristian sentiment is certainly on the rise and has been in every generation. It’s certainly increasing in our time. But what restrains the Antichrist from appearing is the presence of the Church and the Holy Spirit who indwells the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the restrainer. The Church, who is the salt of the earth, is here on earth to hold back the decay of planet earth through sin and evil and wickedness. To hold it back to some extent. When the Church disappears at the moment of the rapture, when the restrainer is taken away, Paul says, that’s when all hell literally breaks loose. And this first rider on a white horse comes riding in to deceive the world. But make no mistake, he comes to conquer and for conquering.
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The prefix “anti” in Antichrist means “against” or “instead of”. The Antichrist is certainly against Christ, but he’s also a cheap substitute of the real thing. The first of the four horsemen has a bow but, if you notice, no arrow. He wears a victor’s crown. Remember the stephanos. He initiates war and starts the Tribulation. By contrast, the real Messiah strikes down the nations with a sharp sword that comes from His mouth. Jesus wears the diadem, the crown for the sovereign ruler. Many diadems, the scripture says. And He puts an end to the Tribulation by ending the war of all wars called Armageddon. It’s interesting that this deceiver known as the Antichrist rides in on a white horse. Again, the devil has always tried to masquerade what the real Messiah is all about. If you hold your place here in Revelation 6 and go to Revelation 19, which details the second coming of Jesus Christ, that glorious event that ends the seven-year Tribulation period, verses 11 and 12 in chapter 19 John says, “then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!” Oh, now we have another white horse. Only “the one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.” Who is this a description of other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, riding in on a white horse, the real good guy with the white hat. But the Antichrist is pictures riding in on a white horse too, only he’s a deceiver. He’s a masquerader. He’s trying to do what the real Messiah does. And he deceives the world.
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Now, like most dictators and despots throughout history, the Antichrist will come to power by making empty promises and by luring the world into his trust by a well thought through peace policy. And many believe he will do what no other leader in the world has ever been able to do, and that is to negotiate peace in the Middle East and put an end to global terrorism. But peace is always fragile, is it not? And in the case of the Antichrist it’s temporary by design. Because 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says of this time, “While people are saying there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman. And they will not escape.” The first three and a half years of the Tribulation period are a time of peace. The Antichrist negotiates a peace treaty on behalf of Israel and brings to rest all the unrest in the Middle East. And that way he just captures world attention because he’s able to do what nobody else in world history has been able to do. And we all know that the conflict in the Middle East has been going on for as long as anyone can remember. Peace negotiators have come and gone. Some have succeeded for a short period of time. Most have failed. Some wonder, how will the Antichrist be able to do what nobody else has been able to do? How will he accomplish peace in the Middle East? Well, remember the reference in 2 Thessalonians 2 to the time that he goes into the temple of God? Some see that as an indication that Israel will rebuild her temple during the Tribulation period. And perhaps this is the way the Antichrist lures the people of God into his trust. “Hey, I’ll get your temple built for you.” You got to Israel today. There are a lot of people who are making preparations for the return of the Old Testament sacrifices and the rebuilding of the temple, the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. And if you know anything about the conflict between Jews and Palestinians and Muslim jihadists, you know that the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem is no small deal. Many people see that as central to the peace policy (0:19:00.0) that the Antichrist will bring at that time.
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Just a quick history lesson about the temple, the Jewish temple. Solomon built the first temple in the fourth year of his reign around 960 B.C. Later, the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Jewish temple during the siege of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. This led to the 70 years of Babylonian captivity for the Jews. The famous Western Wall or the Wailing Wall, if you go to Jerusalem today, you can visit that famous holy site known as the Wailing Wall. It’s in Jerusalem’s old city. And it is what remains of the second Jewish temple built by Herod the Great. And when Herod rebuilt the temple 2000 years ago, he expanded the footprint of the temple to include what’s known as the Temple Mount. If you see pictures of Jerusalem today, you see a gold-domed (0:20:00.1) building that’s sitting in the Temple Mount. That’s actually a Muslim mosque called The Dome of the Rock. And it’s where Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe that Abraham sacrificed Isaac. And so you see the interest of the three world religions. But it’s controlled by Islam right now. That Temple Mount included the footprint of Herod’s temple. Now Herod’s temple was rebuilt 2000 years ago, the Jewish temple was. But in 70 A.D., that’s when the Romans besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. And it’s never been rebuilt since then. But many Bible teachers believe it will be rebuilt again during the Tribulation period, and probably play a central role in the peace negotiations that the Antichrist brokers between Israel and her enemies. You say, well, how does the Antichrist get Israel’s enemies to the table? Well, many have speculated that some sort of peace-for-land negotiations takes place. And there are world leaders today that are trying to get Israel to give up some of her land in response for some peace agreement. Some that is speculation. But whatever the case, make no mistake about the Antichrist’s intention, this rider on the white horse, this really, really bad dude. John says he comes “conquering, and to conquer.” And you go forward in Bible prophecy, three and a half years into the Tribulation period, and the Bible tells us the Antichrist breaks his brokered promise to Israel. He desecrates the temple. Remember the reference to the temple in Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians, that he goes into the temple, sets himself up as god and demands worship. Daniel refers to that scene as the abomination that causes desolation. Jesus referenced Daniel’s prophecy in Matthew 24, the abomination that causes desolation. It introduces the last three and a half years of the Tribulation period where the persecution of God’s chosen people, the Jewish people, is unleashed on this world that makes the Holocaust look like a day at the park. This is when the true colors of the Antichrist come through. Oh, he rides in on a white horse. Everybody’s friend. Everybody’s peace negotiator. But he has come to conquer and to be conquering, and eventually that happens. This is the first, only the first, of the seven seals and the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. It’s deception on a white horse.
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The second is destruction on a red horse. Let’s read on in verses 3 and 4. John says, “When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.” The rider on the white horse, the Antichrist, brings peace, peace to the Middle East. He brokers a world peace that the world has never known before. But the second horse come in. And this red horse is a war horse that was given permission to take peace from the earth. He’s given a great sword, John says. This introduces blood shed—obviously the red horse and indication of blood—it introduces blood shed to planet earth like history has never seen. You know, in 6000 years of recorded human history, somebody once noted there has only been about 260 or 70 years where there has not been a war happening somewhere on planet earth. That’s only about 5% of the time that we have of recorded human history. Every other time there has been some war happening on this earth. It goes to show that what Jesus said on the Mount of Olives just before He was crucified where He talked about wars and rumors of wars. And nations rising up against nations will be evident at this time and increasing in intensity and frequency as we get closer and closer to the end of the age.
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But this red horse rides onto the scene and introduces destruction to planet earth like planet earth has never seen before. He carries a great sword, John says. Now, the great threat to peace today, let me just tell you, is the sword of Islam or Islamic terrorism. And it’s interesting…and you want to link Revelation 6 and the red horse perhaps to another prophecy in the Old Testament found in Ezekiel 38-39. We don’t have time to go there, but read it on your own. It’s a fascinating text of scripture that describes a time in future Bible prophecy when Russia and her Islamic allies rage war against the nation of Israel. Most Bible scholars and teachers look into Ezekiel 38 and 39 and they look at the language there and the description. They say that war has never taken place up to this time. And many believe it will take place in the first three and a half years of the Tribulation period. You see, the Antichrist negotiates peace. That’s the white horse. The red horse comes though, and takes peace from the earth. Any many believe it’s at that time that this war in Ezekiel 38 and 39 take place. You go back to Ezekiel 38 and 39. You’ll read about some nations and the names of these peoples and the lands. And you don’t recognize them. Like Gog and Magog, Persia, Cush, Put, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and so forth. We don’t recognize those nations or those peoples today. But if you do some geology work or geographic work, and you look at those maps back then and the maps today, we do recognize the modern names of those nations—Russia, Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, Turkey, and so on. This is a war, a future war, which I believe happens toward the latter end of the first half of the Tribulation period where Russia and her Islamic allies go against the nation of Israel. And perhaps when Israel is at peace…not perhaps. That’s the one time-marker that Ezekiel gives to us. He tells us the one thing to look for is that “when Israel is at peace”, then Russia and her Islamic allies will wage war against her. That’s why scholars put it at this time in the Tribulation period. And what’s fascinating about that prophecy in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is God miraculously defends the nation of Israel. And Russia and her Islamic allies are defeated handsomely. And many people believe that that’s the time, when Israel’s allies are in a weakened state, that the Antichrist coalesces his power. He steps into the temple that has been rebuilt, proclaims himself to be god, demands worldwide worship. And the abomination of desolation takes place and introduces the second half of the Tribulation period, which Jesus called a Great Tribulation. Such that if those days were not ended by the second coming of Jesus Christ, there would not be a soul left on planet earth. And the world has never seen such destruction and devastation as during that time. That’s the second horseman. The second seal that’s opened. It’s destruction delivered on a red horse.
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And then here’s a third one. This is drought and famine that goes along with it that comes on a black horse. Let’s read on in verses 5 and 6. “When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come!’ And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!’” What’s that all about? Well, it’s another one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. This time a black horse comes riding in. Are you starting to hear the hoof beats of these horsemen and their horses? This time he brings along famine and drought and the devastation that goes along with it. It kind of sounds, from the voice that John hears here, that economic chaos is created in the commodity’s markets. You have the mention of wheat and barley and oil and wine. What is that all about? Well, in Bible times, a quart of wheat produced a single meal, and three quarts of barley, which was the cheaper commodity, would produce three simple meals. And during the Tribulation period each of those, a quart of wheat or three quarts of barley, will cost a denarius. You say, well, what’s a denarius? Well, that was the average worker’s wage for one day. In other words, because of the devastation of war, food will become scarce. Worldwide inflation will rise. The price of food will go up exponentially. The cost of wheat will rise so high that a man must work an entire day, let’s just say, for a loaf of bread. He can barely take care of himself, let alone his own family. And you say, “Well, what would cause such a spike in prices?” Well, severe drought and famine, partially the result of the devastating war that just took place. This, again, is a devastating time on planet earth, where food is in scarce supply, where drought and famine blanket the earth. Interesting, this voice says, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not harm the oil and the wine.” Wheat and barley were the basic necessities of the average worker. But oil and wine is the pleasure of wealthy people. And some take this to mean that war will produce what is often produces. The rich get richer. The poor, the weak and the downtrodden get poorer. And war is most devastating on those that are least powerful from the world’s perspective. But it’s economic chaos and devastation that impacts the supply of food and food prices on planet earth.
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Are you with me so far? I know this is a heavy message. These four horsemen are hard to digest, are they not? Well, let’s try one more. This next one is a pale horse. And he brings death with him. Verses 7 and 8. “When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.” Some of you might remember a Clint Eastwood movie back in 1985. He was the producer and the director and the lead role in a movie called “Pale Horse”. The title of the movie was taken from the fourth horsemen of the apocalypse. It was a Hollywood western. It’s a devastating scene here. This rider comes in, and he has a name. His name is Death. His name is Death, and he has a sidekick, who is also riding a horse, whose name is Hades. Now, following the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Hades, as I best understand the mysteries of the afterlife, Hades is that place where departed spirits, unbelieving spirits go to await the future resurrection of unbelievers before they face the Great White Throne Judgment. So picture Death riding in on a pale horse and creating death all across planet earth and tossing those inhabitants into hades. Fast-forward to Revelation 20, where Death and Hades are there at the Great White Throne Judgment, and all the inhabitants. And eventually they are cast into the lake of fire, a term synonymous with hell itself, and that is called the second death, separated from God forever in a place called the lake of fire in eternity. Death and Hades appear on planet earth. And the Bible says here…John’s vision says that they were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword and famine and pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
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Imagine this, friends. One fourth of the world’s population devastated and dead. Today we have 7.3 billion people on planet earth. If the world population growth continues at this rate, it won’t be long before we’ll be at 8 billion. Could you imagine 2 billion people on planet earth dead in a short period of time? The world has never experienced such devastation. And John in his vision mentions the tools that Death and Hades will use to produce such human carnage—sword, famine, pestilence, wild beasts. Dr. David Jeremiah writes, “History shows that there has been a close association between these four—sword, family, pestilence, wild beats—as a country is engulfed in war, the able-bodied men take up arms. Farmers leave their fields and food supplies become scarce. Soon there is malnutrition, followed by disease. Ultimately, the wild beast prey upon weakened people. Historians,” he says, “tell us that more people died of the epidemics of influenza and typhoid after World War I than died in the war itself.” And so Death and Hades use the tools of a sword—that is war—famine that follows, pestilence and disease, even the unleashing of wild beasts who prey upon weakened human people on planet earth to produce such devastation that one-fourth of the world population died in a very short period of time. It mentions disease and pestilence. Think about today, the virus-borne diseases that are breaking out at a rapid rate all around the world. These names are familiar to us now. HIV, AIDS, Ebola, now Zika. They’re common threats in the news today. Who knows what’s next? In 2009 we became familiar with the swine flu, or H1N1, which the Center for Disease Control estimates, listen to this, it killed between 150,000 and 575,000 people worldwide. Did you know that? I missed that. With all the H1N1 conversation. The World Health Organization estimates that during a typical flu season up to 500,000 people will die from the illness. And occasionally a new strain of influenza even comes out, like H1N1, and pandemic results. And a faster spread of the virus produces higher and higher mortality rates. Friends, the Tribulation will escalate those numbers. Up to 2 billion people die from war, from famine, from pestilence, and then John mentions, wild beasts that prey upon vulnerable people. It’s a sobering, sobering scene.
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And you say, “Pastor, what do I do with a message like this?” Well, you know, none of the future devastation on planet earth happens without God’s permission. Did you see that in verses 6 and 7? “And they were given authority over planet earth.” If we could go a little bit further today—and we don’t have time to—but go onto the sixth seal that is broken in this mysterious seal. This is one that introduces all kinds of celestial disasters in the heavens and so forth. And earthquakes, and the sun becoming black as sackcloth. And the full moon becomes like blood, and the stars of the sky fall to the earth and so forth. It’s such devastation on planet earth that the leaders of planet earth cry out to the mountains and rocks. Look at in verse 16 and 17. “Fall on us,” they say, “and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” That’s a great question, isn’t it? I mean, who can stand against the wrath of God? The wrath of this lamb who looks like a lion, this lion who looks like a lamb. I told you the Jesus of Revelation is not the sweet Sunday school Jesus you remember, playing stickball with His friends in Nazareth, holding the lambs over his shoulder and gathering the little children to Him. Oh yeah, that’s the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. The Jesus of Revelation is a conquering lion, and He pours out his wrath. You see, we’re living in what many people call the age of grace, the church age. A time that Jesus described as when the sun rises on the evil and the good, and when our heavenly Father sends the rain on the just and the unjust. It’s an age of grace. It’s a time when God’s anger, which is always just and righteous and holy and justified, is tempered. It’s held back. Restrained, as it were, by the presence of His Church, the bride of Christ, and the Holy Spirit who indwells. But when the Church is gone at the rapture, when the role of the Holy Spirit changes, when the Restrainer is lifted, the wrath of the Lamb pours out. And it’s a devastating time. There’s no movie that could depict the apocalypse that takes place here. The catastrophe.
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You say, “Pastor, what do I do with a message like this?” Well, I think there are two things. First of all, remember Bible prophecy is not meant to just scratch our curiosity. If that’s all it ever does, is just scratch your curiosity, and you fill up some notebooks and you have some interesting conversations, you miss the point of Bible prophecy. Future events…remember, 25% of the Bible when it was written was prophetic in nature. God, who is the great revealer of secrets and mysteries, chooses to pull back the veil and show us some of those mysteries and explain things to us. He gives us a glimpse into the future, for believers in Jesus Christ, to purify His people and to get us prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ. To wake up the sleepy slumber in us as we just kind of go through life and, you know, “Hey, dude,” you know, do our church thing. No, when you read God’s Word and you see what’s coming, it makes us look into the mirror of our own spiritual life and say, “God, if there’s anything in me that is not rightly related to You as a believer in Jesus Christ, ‘search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’” That’s David’s prayer in Psalm 139:24. It’s a courageous prayer to pray, but it’s the kind of prayer we pray as we understand the future that lies ahead.
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Now, the good news for the believer in Jesus Christ is we don’t go through this time. My best understanding of the ordering of events in Bible prophecy…and I understand there’s a lot of debate and discussion about it. Some people have the rapture happening at the midpoint of the Tribulation or later in the Tribulation. My best understanding is the next event on God’s calendar is the rapture of the Church. The Church disappears. The Restrainer is lifted. As a true believer in Jesus Christ, you won’t be here. You’ll be the Church in heavenly worship if you know Jesus, while all of this catastrophe is happening on planet earth like human beings have never experienced before. So the good news is if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ you escape the coming night of evil that will blanket this world. But that’s not something to, you know, click your heels in glee and happiness and say, “Well, I won’t be here. That’s okay.” No, it should produce great sorrow in you, sorrow in your heart for those who have yet to believe. We have a job to do, friends. We’re here as the Church of Jesus Christ, yes, to be that restraining force. You’re the salt of the earth, Jesus said. But He also said you’re the light of the world. Don’t put your light under a bushel. No, shine your light. Shake your salt wherever God has given you a place of influence in your neighborhood, in your community, in your place of work, in your family, in your extended family. You may be the only Jesus and the only person who has any understanding, any clue of what God has revealed to us in your sphere of influence. You have a responsibility and I have a responsibility to share the good news. Yes, sometimes to share the sobering news of what God has revealed to us about the future.
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And a word for those of you are maybe a bit skeptical of all this Jesus stuff, and if not skeptical, just a little indifferent about it. Bible prophecy is meant to provoke unbelievers and, yes, give you an opportunity before the day comes to respond in faith believing to the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t take my word for it. My authority for anything I have to say is right here in the pages of God’s Word. And, yes, Bible prophecy can be a complicated tedious study. So check everything that I say, where we’re speculating about some things. You know, I’ll say, you know, scholars or I or others speculate about this. But God has given us a great deal of detail if you’re willing to do the hard work of studying this. And not just studying it to satisfy curiosity and to get a big head about it or to feel good about yourself. But to take what your ears here today, what the Spirit of God is saying to go, grasp it in your mind, and absorb it into the good soil of your heart before the devil snatches it away. But more importantly, let it drip into your hands and into your feet where you put it into practice. Where you don’t walk away from here the same that you came in, in your slumbering, sleepy state. Because my understanding is the rapture of the Church in Paul’s language happens in the twinkling of an eye. It happens so fast that the world misses it except for the disappearance of millions of people who believe in Jesus Christ. Then we’re the Church in heavenly worship while all of this, the wrath of the Lamb, is poured out on planet earth. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a single friend or loved one or coworker to miss the opportunity. I don’t want a single one of us today to miss the opportunity to hear the truth and to respond in faith believe. To say, “Lord Jesus, save me. Save me from the wrath to come, and give me eternal life. Because you were the Lamb who was slain on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. You rose triumphantly from the grave. You’re the lion that looks like a lamb. You’re the lamb that looks like a lion.” And if you don’t understand both, you don’t understand Jesus. But meet Him today. Come to faith in Christ today, like every other humble, repentant sinner does, on their knees before the cross of Christ to say, “Lord Jesus, save me.” And do that today before it’s too late. Before the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ are raised first. And we who are alive and remain are caught up in the air with Him all in the twinkling of an eye. Seven years of devastation before the conquering Lion returns at His second coming with His Church to set up His eternal rule and His kingdom rule on this earth. Let’s pray together.
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Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for just telling us the truth and giving us the opportunity to interact with it in this way. We ask you to give us ears to hear what the Spirit of God would say to us. What the Spirit of God has been saying for 2000 years. Father, awaken us from our sleepiness and from our slumberness. Place within us a brand new sense of urgency for the gospel in this place, in our Jerusalem, in our Judea, our Samaria, even the uttermost parts of the earth. Father, help us to be diligent and urgent in the sharing of Your faith. And I pray, Father, for anybody here who’s been skeptical, who’s been sleepy and indifferent to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, I can’t persuade them, but only You can. You said that Your Word would not return unto You void. And I hold You to that today. I just ask You, Father, to use Your Word to bring about the decision, the spiritual decisions that every one of us need to make today. And we pray this in Jesus’s name and for His sake, amen.
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