Who are the
four horsemen of the apocalypse?
The four horsemen of the
Apocalypse are described in Revelation chapter 6, verses 1-8.
“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!’ 2 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.
3 When
he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say,
‘Come!’ 4 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.
5 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. 6 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!’
7 When
he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature
say, “Come!” 8 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.” Revelation 6 English Standard
Version (ESV)
The four horsemen are symbolic descriptions of
different events which will take place in the end times.
- The first horseman of
the Apocalypse is mentioned in Revelation 6:2 “2 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.”
This first
horseman likely refers to the Antichrist, who will be given authority and will
conquer all who oppose him. The Antichrist is the false imitator of the true
Christ, who will also return on a white horse (Revelation 19:11-16).
- The second horseman of the Apocalypse appears
in Revelation 6:"4 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 second horseman refers
to terrible warfare that will break out in the end times.
- The third horseman is described
in Revelation 6:5: “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. 6 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!’
The third horseman of the
Apocalypse refers to a great famine that will take place, likely as a result of
the wars from the second horseman.
- The fourth horseman is mentioned
in Revelation 6:8, "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.”
The fourth horseman of the
Apocalypse is symbolic of death and devastation. It seems to be a combination
of the previous horsemen. The fourth horseman of the Apocalypse will bring
further warfare and terrible famines along with awful plagues and diseases.
What is most amazing, or perhaps terrifying, is
that the four horsemen of the Apocalypse are just “precursors” of even worse
judgments that come later in the tribulation (Revelation chapters 8–9 and 16).
"9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood onthose who dwell on the earth?”
"9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood onthose who dwell on the earth?”
“11 Then they were each given a white robe and told
to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow
servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed
as they themselves had been.
“12 When
he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great
earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon
became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to
the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a
gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is
being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its
place.
“15 Then
the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the
powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves
and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling
to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him
who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day
of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” Revelation 6: English Standard Version (ESV)
The Book of
Revelation contains an account of several powerful visions. Whether or not
these visions were real experiences of the author or simply literary
conventions is an open question.
The Four Horsemen in
particular have presented the Christian world with a fearful sense of
apocalyptic foreboding, in which the world will be struck by the horrors of
war, famine, plague, and death before the Second Coming of Christ.
Periods of wars,
famines, and plagues have thus often been interpreted as evidence of the Last
Days, stimulating both Messianic hope and widespread fear, together with the
rise of various millenarianism sects.
This much, however,
is certain: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse cannot be adequately understood
except against the historical background in which the Book of Revelation was
written.
Like the Book of
Zechariah and other Old Testament apocalypses, it is composed as resistance
literature to meet a crisis, which was the ruthless persecution of the early
Christian church by the Roman government.
This book is thus
seen as an exhortation and admonition to Christians of the first century to
stand firm in their faith and to avoid compromise with paganism, despite the
threat of death.
The early Christians
were encouraged to wait for the fulfillment of the promises made by Jesus,
which would be the triumph of God's sovereignty.
This book remains
just as valid for present day Christians, who believe that the prophecies in
Revelation apply to events of today.
They are thus encouraged, as the first century
Christians were encouraged, to remain faithful to the end, in the face of the
serious problems confronting today's world, and to have faith and trust in the promise
of Jesus, "Behold, I am with you always, until the
end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
Are you struggling
with a big decision or wondering how your eternal future will play out?
Why not talk to the
God of the universe and let Him work in your behalf?
He says, “I will instruct you and teach you the
way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
Ask God to show you
what to do. Pray the following prayer: .
“Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and begin a new life with You.
I receive Your free gift of salvation.
Please forgive me. I now receive your Son, Jesus Christ as my
Savior, my Master and my Lord. I believe and confess that Jesus Christ died for
my sins, was buried, and rose from the dead.
I want to receive all that Jesus Christ has provided for me as my
Savior. Your Word says, ‘Whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).
I believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and
the Life, and no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my heart and be Lord
of my life. I thank You that you have given me eternal life, and according to Your
Word, I am born again and I am now a child of God.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who is
in me now to help me do Your will for the rest of my life. I surrender my life
to You. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
If you have just put your trust in Jesus Christ, you have
been born into God’s family.
As a spiritual baby, you need to grow by feeding on God’s
Word – the Bible (1 Peter 2:2).
You must have a good modern translation Bible and begin
prayerfully reading it. Start in the New Testament, such as the Gospel of John
or Paul’s letters to the Ephesians.
As you read,
ask two questions: “What are You, Lord?”
“What do You want me to do?”
Also, you need to join a Christian fellowship where the
Bible is taught and where God is truly worshiped.
God bless you as you begin your new life with Him!
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“Lord I Offer My Life”
lyrics
(Verse 1)
All that I am, all that I have
I lay them down before you, oh Lord
All my regrets, all my acclaims
The joy and the pain, I'm making them yours
I lay them down before you, oh Lord
All my regrets, all my acclaims
The joy and the pain, I'm making them yours
(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
(Verse 2)
Things in the past, things yet unseen
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my hopes, all of my plans
My heart and my hands are lifted to you
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my hopes, all of my plans
My heart and my hands are lifted to you
(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
(Bridge)
What can we give
That you have not given?
And what do we have
That is not already yours?
All we possess
Are these lives we're living
That's what we give to you, Lord
That you have not given?
And what do we have
That is not already yours?
All we possess
Are these lives we're living
That's what we give to you, Lord
(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
(Chorus)
Lord, I offer my life to you
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
Lord I offer you my life
Everything I've been through
Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you
Lifting my praise to you
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
Lord I offer you my life
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