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Must Read:the Four Horsemen In Revelations -who Are They by philpwresh(m): 11:02am On Mar 03, 2017 |
The Four Horsemen—Who
Are They?
The four horsemen may seem
mysterious and terrifying, but that
does not have to be the case. Why
not? Because the Bible and the
events of modern history help us
to identify clearly what each
horseman pictures. And although
their ride has signaled calamity on
earth, it can also mean good news
for you and your family. How so?
First, let us determine the identity
of each horseman.
THE RIDER OF THE WHITE
HORSE
The vision begins this way: “I saw,
and look! a white horse, and the
one seated on it had a bow; and a
crown was given him, and he went
out conquering and to complete his
conquest.”— Revelation 6:2.
Who is the rider of the white horse?
The key to his identity is found in
the same Bible book, Revelation,
which later identifies this heavenly
rider as “ The Word of
God.” (Revelation 19:11-13) That
title, The Word, belongs to Jesus
Christ, for he acts as God’s
spokesman. ( John 1:1, 14) In
addition, he is called “King of kings
and Lord of lords” and is described
as “Faithful and True.” ( Revelation
19:16) Clearly, he has authority to
act as a warrior-king, and he does
not wield his power in any corrupt
or abusive way. Yet, some
questions arise.
Who gives Jesus the authority to
conquer? ( Revelation 6:2) The
prophet Daniel saw a vision in which
the Messiah, likened to “a son of
man,” was given “rulership, honor,
and a kingdom” by none other than
“the Ancient of Days,” Jehovah
God. * (Daniel 7:13, 14) Thus, it is
Almighty God who grants Jesus the
power and right to rule and execute
judgment. The white horse is an
appropriate symbol for warfare
justly carried out by God’s Son, for
the Scriptures often use the color
white to symbolize righteousness.
— Revelation 3:4; 7:9, 13, 14.
When did the horsemen begin their
ride? Note that the first rider,
Jesus, begins his ride when he
receives a crown. ( Revelation 6:2)
When was Jesus crowned as King in
heaven? It was not when he
returned to heaven after his death.
The Bible shows that a period of
waiting began back then. ( Hebrews
10:12, 13) Jesus gave his followers
a means of recognizing the end of
that waiting period and the
beginning of his reign in heaven. He
said that at the beginning of his
rule, world conditions would take a
decisive turn for the worse. There
would be warfare, food shortages,
and pestilences. ( Matthew 24:3, 7;
Luke 21:10, 11) Soon after World
War I broke out in 1914, it became
apparent that mankind had entered
that era, a troubled time on earth
that the Bible calls “the last days.”
— 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
But why have we seen conditions
that are worse, not better, since
Jesus received his crown in 1914?
Because at that time, Jesus began
ruling in heaven, not on earth. War
then broke out in heaven, and the
newly installed King, Jesus,
referred to as Michael, cast Satan
and his demons to the earth.
( Revelation 12:7-9, 12) Confined
here, Satan has been full of rage
ever since, knowing that his days
are numbered. Indeed, it will not be
long before God will carry out his
will against Satan here on the earth.
( Matthew 6:10) Now, let us see how
the other three horsemen help to
confirm that we are, in fact, living
during the troubled “last days.”
Unlike the first horseman, who
clearly pictures a specific individual,
the three that follow represent
global conditions that have swept
across human society.
THE RIDER OF THE RED
HORSE
“Another came out, a fiery-colored
horse, and it was granted to the
one seated on it to take peace away
from the earth so that they should
slaughter one another, and he was
given a great sword.”— Revelation
6:4.
This rider represents warfare.
Notice that he takes peace away
from not just a few nations but the
whole earth. In 1914, for the first
time in history, a global war
erupted. It was followed by a
second world war, which was even
more destructive. Some estimates
place the total number of deaths
due to wars and armed conflicts
since 1914 at more than
100 million! In addition, vast
numbers of other individuals
suffered debilitating injuries.
To what extent does warfare
characterize the present time? For
the first time in history, mankind
appears to have the ability to
extinguish all human life. Even so-
called peacekeeping organizations,
such as the United Nations, have
not been able to stop the rider of
the red horse.
THE RIDER OF THE BLACK
HORSE
“I saw, and look! a black horse, and
the one seated on it had a pair of
scales in his hand. I heard what
sounded like a voice in the midst of
the four living creatures say: ‘A
quart of wheat for a denarius and
three quarts of barley for a
denarius; and do not harm the olive
oil and the wine.’”— Revelation
6:5, 6.
This rider represents famine. We
find here a picture of food rationing
so severe that a quart (1.08 L) of
wheat would cost one denarius, a
whole day’s wage in the first
century! ( Matthew 20:2) The same
coin could purchase three quarts
(3.24 L) of barley, a grain viewed as
inferior to wheat. How far would
that go to feed a large family?
People are then warned to be frugal
even with daily foodstuffs, aptly
pictured by such basic staples of
that time and culture as olive oil
and wine.
Since 1914, have we seen evidence
that this rider of the black horse
has been on the move? Yes! About
70 million people died in famines
during the 20th century. One
authority estimated that
“805 million people—about one in
nine of the world’s population—
were chronically undernourished in
2012-14.” Another report states:
“Hunger kills more people every
year than AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis combined.” In spite of
many earnest efforts to feed the
hungry, the rider of the black horse
continues to ride.
THE RIDER OF THE PALE
HORSE
“I saw, and look! a pale horse, and
the one seated on it had the name
Death. And the Grave was closely
following him. And authority was
given them over the fourth part of
the earth, to kill with a long sword
and with food shortage and with
deadly plague and by the wild
beasts of the earth.”— Revelation
6:8.
The fourth rider represents death
due to plague and other causes.
Soon after 1914, the Spanish flu
killed tens of millions. Possibly
some 500 million people were
infected, about 1 out of every 3
humans then alive!
But the Spanish flu was just the
beginning. Experts estimate that
hundreds of millions died of
smallpox during the 20th century.
To this day, the lives of millions are
cut short by AIDS, tuberculosis, and
malaria, despite intensive medical
research.
The result is the same, death—
whether due to war, famine, or
plague. The Grave relentlessly
gathers up the victims, offering no
hope.
BETTER TIMES ARE AHEAD |
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