The Great Tribulation: The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse & The Seven Seals
In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation is a period mentioned by Jesus in (Mathew Chapter 24) as a time of cataclysmic events that will occur during the end-times. This period of time will be marked by plagues, death, famine, and war. Have we entered the tribulation period? Crisis’ are crippling the nations. The entire world is feeling the ‘birth pains,’ just as Jesus said we would. Could we be in the final years before the second coming of Jesus Christ?”
Revelation 1:3:
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”
The Bible says that we are blessed for reading the Book of Revelation. So, let’s be blessed as we open its pages.
Today, let us take a look at the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the seven seals, the seven bowl judgments, and the seven trumpets.
Revelations 5:5:
“Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Jesus is the only one worthy to open the scroll. As the seals are broken things on earth really heat up.”
Just before the four horsemen appear in (Revelation Chapter 6), John shows us Jesus holding a scroll in (Revelation Chapter 5). In 2 Corinthians 2:4, the Apostle Paul says, that “Satan, the god of this world, has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.” The first man Adam, gave Satan the dominion to operate in the earth realm through his disobedience. However, Jesus reclaimed His dominion over the earth through His sacrifice on Calvary! Jesus is LORD over the universe! Jesus’ shed Blood gave Him the LEGAL RIGHT to own the TITLE DEED to this world! The enemy is defeated! The Lord God omnipotent reigns!
Therefore, the Book of Revelation, is a cataclysmic showdown of powers. As things crisis’ ravage the earth, some will ask, is this God’s judgement? Is this an onslaught of Satan’s wickedness? Is this the consequence of man’s rebellion towards God? The answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE! Throughout the book of Revelation we see the struggle between light and darkness; as Satan is finally defeated! “
The First Horseman: The Rider On The White Horse & The First Seal
The first seal is open. I believe that we are at the beginning of the “tribulation” period which will ultimately lead up to the great tribulation preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ.. The rider upon the white horse is the first of God’s judgments upon the world.”
As we go through our lesson, it is interesting to note that each of the four horsemen has a descriptive sentence pertaining to their assignment.
Revelation 6:1-2:
“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals… I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.”
The First Seal: Conquest-The Anti-Christ System
The entity riding the white horse will wear a crown, will conquer the earth, and bring the nations to their knees. It is interesting that “Corona” means crown. I believe that the rider of the white horse has begun ride upon the earth, conquering the world with his plague, i.e. Corona/Crown. Soon, the rider upon the white horse will conquer the sovereignty of nations.
Many Bible scholars suggest that the white horse will usher in the Anti-Christ system. Soon the Anti-Christ will be revealed. This rider represents a conquering power that no one can resist: (Matt 24:3-6), (Daniel 9:26-27); (Revelation 19:11-19).
The Latin word ante means: “in replace of.” He is Satan’s counterfeit of Christ. Therefore, the Anti-Christ will attempt to replace Christ, will perform miracles, be a charismatic individual, and will deceive many.
According to (Daniel 9:27), the white horse and rider will ride upon the earth for seven years, three and a half years of peace, followed by three and a half years of war.
2 Thessalonians 2:3:
“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
Many have pondered whether the four horsemen are released consecutively or together. We find the answer in (Zechariah Chapter 6).
Zechariah 6:1-3:
“I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains. The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful.”
According to Zechariah 6:1-3, it appears that the four horsemen are released together, which means that cataclysmic events will happen on the earth simultaneously, or one-right-after-the-other. Notice in the text that the four horsemen are released from heaven, which means that the events that will occur will be God’s judgement upon a fallen world before Jesus RETURNS to make ALL THINGS NEW.”
Time To Prepare!
This 2010 movie/documentary is a fictional description of the current pandemic and the possible aftermath over time. Even so Lord Jesus COME!”
The Second Horseman: The Rider On The Red Horse & The Second Seal
When the second seal is opened the rider upon the red horse will take peace from the earth through cataclysmic war.”
Revelation 6:3-4:
“When the Lamb opened the second seal… Another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.”
The Second Seal: War
Red represents blood. Blood represents WAR! War represents death! A third world war is coming! The aftermath will be devastating! Rain like fire will decend upon the earth causing much chaos and famine.”
Matthew 24:6-7:
The Third Horseman: The Rider On The Black Horse & The Third Seal
When the third seal is opened, the rider on the black horse will release famine upon the entire world bringing drought starvation, and death. The soil upon the earth will no longer tells its increase! Revelation 6:5-6, says, that it would take an entire day’s wage just to buy a quart of wheat.”
Revelation 6:5-6:
“When the Lamb opened the third seal… I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand… Saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
The Third Seal: Famine
“Balances” reveal scarcity. We do not tend to worry about the availability of food in times of plenty. During the tribulation, the price of food will skyrocket, while millions will have no access to food at all.
Worldwide famine is not hard to imagine. We can witness this now throughout Africa. In the event of serious crop failure, no part of the world is more than one year away from critical starvation.
The Fourth Horseman: The Rider On The Pale Horse & Seals 4-7
What is the result of plagues, conquest, famine, and war? DEATH… Our scripture text below says that ‘one fourth of the people on earth die.’ Currently, that’s about 2 billion people. This is an incredible amount of death. It’s estimated that only 100 million have died in all of the wars on earth to date. The rider upon the pale horse will release wrath upon the earth for a period of time. However, God will preserve His remnant during this time of affliction!
The Fourth Seal: Pestilence:
Revelation 6:7-8:
“And I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.”
When the fourth through seventh seals are opened, the rider on the pale horse will cause great sorrow through pestilence, persecution, and cataclysmic events.”
Matthew 24:22:
“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
The Fifth Seal: Persecution:
Revelations 6:9:
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.”
The Sixth Seal: Astronomical Anomalies, Earthquakes, & Weather Catastrophes:
Revelations 6:12-13:
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.”
The Seventh Seal: The Great Tribulation: God Releases The Seven Trumpets & Seven Bowl Judgments:
According to (Revelation Chapter 8 / Chapter 9), God will release His wrath upon the earth when the seventh seal is opened, the seven bowl judgments are released, and the seven trumpets are sound. Bible scholars refer to this period as the GREAT TRIBULATION!”
Revelation 8:1-3:
“When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”
These are going to be some very tough times on the earth, but God shall preserve His people. We must lean into God during this time. God will have a remnant that will escape the judgement that will come upon the world.”
Matthew 24:21:
“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”
The Preservation of God’s People:
The scriptures tell us that a remnant of God’s people will be spared during this time of wrath; just as the children of Israel were protected in Goshen in the land of Egypt Exodus 8:22).”
In Matthew 24:31, Jesus ensured that the elect will be preserved: “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Revelation 14:14-16:
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.”
Isaiah 11:11-12:
In that day the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.”
The Seven Trumpets:
Revelation 8:6-13:
“Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them:
The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
Revelation 9:1-4:
The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Revelation 9:13-16:
The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.
Yet sadly, throughout these plagues, war, death, and famine, mankind will refuse to repent.”
Revelation 9:20:
The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
The Seven Bowl Judgments:
During the sounding of the trumpets, seven angels are given seven bowls of God’s wrath which will be poured out on the wicked and the followers of the Anti-Christ.”
Revelation 16-1-20:
“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
The sixth bowl judgement will make way for the battle of Armageddon. In this battle, the Lord will DESTROY, the Beast and the False Prophet, casting them into the lake of fire!
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
The Last Trumpet:
The blowing of the seventh trumpet, announces the completion of God’s redemptive plan, the culmination of judgment on the ungodly sinners, and the establishment of the eternal Kingdom of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 11:15:
“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18:
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
The Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ:
At the last trumpet, Jesus Christ Himself will return to this Earth! Jesus will rule and reign on the earth throughout all ETERNITY. Many call this period Christ’s millennial reign, because Satan will be bound for 1,000 years. This will precede the FINAL JUDGEMENT! Jesus will take over this world in crisis. Jesus will rule and bring peace, joy, happiness, and success to everyone on Earth. This is the kind of prosperity mankind really wants, but has never been able to achieve!”
The Dragon Defeated:
Satan will be bound for 1,000 years. Then utterly destroyed in the lake of fire!”
Revelation 20:1-3:
“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.”
Satan’s release at the end of the thousand years results in mankind’s rebellion once again. This is a sad commentary on man’s limitless ability to reject God and follow his own stubborn pride. Even after a thousand years of peace and righteousness, led by Christ Himself, many will be willing to follow Satan. Once again, those who oppose God will be soundly defeated—this time, however, Satan is cast forever into the LAKE OF FIRE…. FOREVER!”
Revelation 20:7-10:
“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Everlasting Life:
“In the beginning Father God created humanity to dwell together with Him in a garden paradise. At the end of this age, God will ultimately restore humanity to dwell together with Him in an EVERLASTING PARADISE!”
Isaiah 65:17-24:
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.
“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.”
Related Article: The End Game: The Anti-Christ System – CLICK HERE!
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