“’Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!'”
Matthew 24:32-33 NKJV
What exactly will happen during the Tribulation? A comprehensive study includes passages from several books in both the Old and New Testaments. Our survey will concentrate mainly in Revelation with occasional biblical references to deepen our understanding of future events. We may not understand everything we are about to read, but it is enough to prepare us for what is coming. As Jesus said in Matthew 24:25, ‘See, I have told you beforehand‘ (NKJV).
Before we begin, let’s remember some comforting words: DO NOT FEAR. The Bible declares this 365 times–once for every day of the year. For those who already know Jesus as Lord and Savior, there is no reason to fear the coming Tribulation. The wrath of God will be poured out only on the wicked as a final call to salvation and punishment for evil.
Do we know when the Rapture will happen?
No, we don’t know exactly when the Rapture will happen, but even if the church is on earth for the beginning of the Tribulation, God will protect us. Remember how God protected the Israelites in Egypt when He poured out judgments on Pharaoh and the Egyptians? We can trust God to protect us in the same way. God is in complete control, no matter what may happen.
On the other hand, those who aren’t saved need to pay close attention to what they will have to face on the earth during those seven years. Salvation will still be available, but the price paid to gain heaven at the hands of the Anti-Christ will require facing a guillotine. However, the ultimate price for following the Anti-Christ and taking the mark of the beast will be far worse: eternity in the lake of fire. For all of us, the time to accept Christ as Savior is NOW, before the Tribulation begins.
Now let’s examine the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and begin with a definition.
What does Apocalypse mean?
In Greek, this word means a revelation of things not previously known, or an unveiling of future events. This last book of the New Testament is the unveiling of Jesus Christ, who is coming again to the earth.
In our last post of this survey, we left John in the throne room of God, rejoicing with all of heaven. Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, was found worthy to take the scroll from God’s hand and open its seven seals.
The First Seal
Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Revelation 6:1-2 NKJV
Who is the rider on the white horse?
Although some claim it is Christ, there are several reasons why it couldn’t be Jesus. If we look at Revelation 19 when Christ returns at the Second Coming, He wears many crowns; He will rule with a rod of iron; and He comes to judge and wage war against His enemies (see Revelation 19:11-16). Most agree the rider on the white horse may be the Anti-Christ or an Anti-Christ spirit working through men that conquers by taking away political and personal freedoms.
The Second Seal
When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
Revelation 6:3-4 NKJV
Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24:6-7 about wars and killing in the last days. He said: ‘And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (NKJV).
But one interesting detail about the rider on the red horse is that he holds a sword to take peace from the earth. Even in our present day, a certain Middle Eastern religion still kills by the sword as its people wage vicious, interminable wars. Could that coincidence point to the rider on the red horse? Or could people killing each other be the logical result of losing political and personal freedoms?
The Third Seal
When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard 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 the wine.‘
Revelation 6:5-6 NKJV
What follows political oppression and violence? Economic depression and famine. The black horse represents death caused by starvation, and its rider measures out just enough food for one person per day. Will farms be obsolete? Will people be hoarded into crowded cities and their daily ration of food be controlled by the government?
Wheat and barley will cost an entire day’s wage, but barley will be a cheaper bargain at three times the amount. Consequently, runaway inflation will result in a huge amount of money necessary to purchase one loaf of bread. Although olives for oil and grapes for wine will still be plentiful, they will be luxury items only affordable to the very rich. Such will be the results of a worldwide economic depression and food shortage.
The Fourth Seal
When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6:7-8 NKJV
After war and famine, riots and lawlessness result, creating barbaric people. They will take the law into their own hands and kill each other for food. Pandemics and plagues will also wipe out vast populations on earth. As protective infrastructures dissolve, wild beasts will be able to attack the population.
A pale horse refers to the color pale green (coloris), the color of rotting flesh. The rider, Death, takes the body, and Hades takes the soul of one-fourth of the world’s population. As of 2023, the number of dead would be one-fourth of eight billion, equaling two billion people.
Summary
The effects of the four horsemen described in Revelation 6 are evident today. However, what is described here will be far worse than what the world is experiencing in 2023. As God releases these horses to gallop across the earth in the future, He is doing so to call all unbelievers to repentance. Some will wake up and heed the call to salvation, while others will not.
Have you heeded the call? If not, come to Jesus today. If you are a believer, witness to the lost. Let’s pack the ark of salvation so that when the clouds part and the trumpet sounds, we will all be with Jesus.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV
Dear Father, thank you for revealing what is to come in the future. Draw those who want to know You to the cross of Christ. May they repent of their sins, receive Your forgiveness, and ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Just as the disciples witnessed the beginning of the Church Age, are we witnessing its end?
Nothing about 2020 has been ordinary. This New Year’s cup has gushed over with one surprise after another. First, the Covid-19 Pandemic has gripped most of the world inside its tight fist. Then civil unrest around our country and the world has produced rampant lawlessness. Many lives have been turned upside down by fear of the future as jobs and businesses disappear overnight. The swiftness of these events occurring almost simultaneously have left us stunned, asking, “What’s next?” Could this be the end of our civilization and culture as we know it?
What did the disciples live through?
The disciples lived through frightening upheavals after Jesus’s arrest, torture, and crucifixion. Peter had sworn only hours before that he would never forsake the Lord, even if he had to die with Him. As Jesus had predicted, Peter denied Him three times out of his fear of man.
While the distraught disciples took refuge together, Judas hanged himself over the regret of his denial of Jesus. Only John stood with the Lord and the women at the foot of the cross where they witnessed His death.
Although Jesus had told his disciples several times that the Son of Man would be crucified, they still acted in surprise. And even though Jesus had explained that He would be resurrected to life on the third day, it took time for them to believe it—especially doubting Thomas.
Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
John 20:24-26 NKJV
Nothing turned out the way the disciples had planned a few days earlier when Jesus had ridden triumphantly into Jerusalem. Following His death, they sorrowed in deep depression as evidenced by the two men who had walked to Emmaus and encountered Jesus unaware.
And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
Luke 24:17 NKJV
2020 hasn’t turned out as we planned.
So we find ourselves in unexpected turmoil and sadness today, questioning God about what is going on. Separation from friends and loved ones, closed churches, masked faces, and the rise of lawlessness—nothing has turned out the way we had planned in 2020. Like the disciples, we are sorrowing in depression over what we have lost.
But just as the disciples joyfully realized that all wasn’t lost after Jesus had appeared to them, so should we. They found Jesus, who gave them newfound hope and victory through the power of His death and resurrection. Every word Jesus had spoken to them had come true. Then they understood, and Jesus took the next forty days to prepare and commission them to be the foundation of the Church Age. The Age of Grace entered the world with free salvation of eternal life for whoever would receive it.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
The curtain of this age is closing.
This Church Age of God’s grace has endured for two thousand years, but I believe the curtain is starting to close. We are entering the final phase before the Tribulation begins, and it is perfectly normal that we are shaking in our shoes as we wonder what to expect. We are so like the disciples, aren’t we?
But just as the disciples had Jesus to prepare them for what to expect, so do we. God has spoken to us in His Word, telling us what these last days will be like and not to fear.
“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.“
Luke 12:32 NKJV
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV
Read the words of Jesus as He explains the end of the age HERE. (Matthew 24: 3-44.)
We mustn’t waste time wringing our hands in anxiety and finding a place to hide until this evil time passes over us. We may feel lost like the men on the road to Emmaus, but Jesus will join us on our journey. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit in Acts Chapter 2 to give His disciples the power to witness to the world about Christ and His wonderful plan of salvation. Jesus is also giving us a new anointing, stronger than before, to live and witness in these last days before the Rapture.
As the disciples received this fresh anointing after they had gathered and prayed in the Upper Room, so we will also receive our fresh anointing as we gather to pray for revival.
We will receive a new anointing for these last days.
This is the hour to receive our fresh end-time anointing, just as in Acts Chapter 2. We are to use it to witness to the lost and invite everyone to enter the ark of salvation.
It’s also time for us to repent, wash our sins in the blood of the Lamb, and put on our white wedding clothes. We must get ready for our Groom to come to get us and take us to His home in heaven.
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:2-3 NKJV
Let’s rejoice that we are alive and participating in the end of this age. What a privilege to make ourselves ready to meet our King Jesus in the air! The time is short. Are you getting ready?
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 NKJV
As the world grows darker, the church grows brighter. As the world grows more evil, the church is growing stronger in righteousness and courage. Allow your faith to grow and sustain you during these transitional days. We may be mourning our past, but it doesn’t begin to compare to our future in heaven. Look up! The trump of God will soon be calling us home.
Are you ready to meet Jesus? If you’re not sure, you can be sure today. Please pray this prayer with me.
Dear Lord, I’m a sinner in need of a Savior. I confess my sins and ask you to wash them away in the blood of the Lamb. I receive You into my life to be my Savior and Lord. I thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to be my Teacher and Comforter. Thank you, Lord, for saving me and writing my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And I rejoice that I will live forever with You in Your kingdom. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
