The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Bill Perkins - https://compass.org/the-four-horsemen/ The following article is framed by Revelation 6, the chapter that begins the Tribulation. As a point of reference, this is where the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls of Revelation6-18 fit together in the last days prophecies: Immediately after the Born Again Believers are rescued from planet earth and taken to heaven, the 7-year Tribulation begins with the release of God's wrath in the form ofSeven Seals of Judgment. The first four of these Seals each has a rider on a different color horse. They are usually referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because they usher in a new dispensation— the time of a future 7 years of horrible judgment on those leftbehind post-rapture. It’s important to note that Jesus Himself is the One Who is releasing these apocalyptic horsemen, one at a time. Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, Rev. 6:1 The amount of worldwide death happening so quickly is hard for American Believers to relate to. Consequently, it drives me crazy to hear people today cavalierly quoting Revelation6 verses about these four horsemen, as if they have already been released. They have not. Clearly all four horses are released AFTER the Rapture. So if you ARE seeing the Four Horsemen wreaking havoc on the earth, you missed the Rapture. You wouldneed to go read the Millions Missing! booklet about what to do now that you find yourself in the Tribulation.(2) One proof they're released post-rapture is because Church Age Believers are nowhere to be found after Revelation 5 and don’t show up again until the Tribulation judgmentsare over. Between Revelation 6 and Revelation 19, we’ll be high-fiving in heaven, enjoying a big dinner after the Bema Seat/Judgment Seat of Christ. I say “enjoying” because at the Bema Seat (Judgment Seat of Christ for Believers) we’ll readily see our salvation was secured by what Jesus did, not by what we did or didnot do. And anything we allowed Jesus to do through us while on the earth will be rewarded. fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he willsuffer loss; but he himself will be saved, 1Cor. 3:13b-15a Apparently, some people will go to the Christian judgment and have all their works burn up. Yet they are still saved. But those who miss the Rapture still have hope. We see innumerable people getting saved all through the Tribulation. Everybody knows someone who will miss the Rapture. Theyshould be told if people disappear, it's not over, it’s not too late to go to heaven! A person’s only hope in the Tribulation is by faith trusting Jesus Christ for their salvation, although the Holy Spirit will not permanently indwell them. So they have nospiritual enlightenment. A person gets saved in the Tribulation just like people got saved before the Church Age, by faith. (Hebrews 11) It’s not pretty trying to survive in the Tribulation, and those saved during that time mostly get pummeled. Still, it’s encouraging from an eternal perspective that so manypeople get saved in the Tribulation. It gives us hope for our family and friends who, for whatever reason, just can’t connect the dots prior to the Rapture. Not to mention proving the importance of being boldin our witnessing when the Lord opens a door of opportunity. The White Horse The first horseman out of the chute is on a white horse. We’ve written a great deal about him in the past. If you’ve not read our article on why the first horseman has a bowwithout arrows, the info is HERE. (1) But in a quick summary, the first horseman comes on a white horse, but he’s not Jesus. He is a sinister make-believe savior. Satan’s man does what Satan does best, lie. “… he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44b And, as you can see in the article "A Bow Without Arrows," he conquers with drugs. So depending on where we currently are on God’s timeline, it could be he just continuesdoling out the deadly va((ines. Or, it could be that he has the antidote for the deadly va((ine. Or he SAYS he has the antidote if you’ll just take another gene therapy treatment. Regardless, whoever trusts this guy at this stage will have hell to pay. The Red Horse On the heels of the white horse and the drugs, Jesus releases the 2nd horseman who ushers in World War 3. The remarkable characteristic of this horseman is that he comes usinga “great sword.” This verse in Zechariah probably refers to nuclear weapons. …their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. Zech.14:12 Since a nuclear bomb melts people’s flesh off their bodies before they fall to the ground, it would certainly qualify as being the “great sword.” It’s also likely that this war is the same war as the Ezekiel 38/39 war. In a previous article we showed this battle sounded like a nuclear battle.(3) The Black Horse With the world reeling from the aftermath of the Rapture, drugs and world war, the Black Horse naturally follows—economic collapse. With the world currently using fiat currencies, a worldwide collapse is totally understandable. Supply lines will collapse so food supplies will dwindle. The cost to purchaseany of what is available will be sky high. In fact, it takes an entire day’s wage just to purchase food, with nothing left over for fuel, housing, etc. (Rev. 6:6) Food would eventually be worth more than money—evenhard assets like gold and silver. Rich and poor alike will be starving to death. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silverhave rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! James 5:1-3 The Ashen Horse The result of all this carnage brings massive and unimaginable worldwide death—2 billion people die! This is 1/4 of the earth’s population dying from the nuclear effects ofwar, drugs and starvation. Not a pretty sight. The scale of this amount of death is hard to grasp. People will be dying faster than they can be buried…and few will even have the strength to do the burying. Bodies willbe everywhere. An interesting characteristic of this time is scripture mentions people dying from attacks by “wild beasts." (Rev 6:8) Apparently the ravages of nuclear war causes vegetation to be severely reduced. Hungry animals will be a lot worse than hungry people—and only the strong survive. With humansweak from lack of food, the carnivorous instincts of animals will have them trolling for easy prey. I can’t imagine being eaten alive. Just saying. Now we’ll look to see the results of the Four Horsemen’s havoc on the earth. Martyrs The upside to all of this is that an immensely large group of those who missed the Rapture will be a part of the largest revival in the history of the world. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, Rev. 7:9a They either have access to Bibles or they heard enough in church through the years to know exactly what happened when the Rapture occurred. That they missed it. Confused andshaken, they're not about to go along with the system. They will buck the new system that would provide them with food, energy and shelter and instead recognize that their only hope is in trusting Jesus…even unto death. Revelation 7:9-17 is a worthwhile read discussing these amazingly sold-out-for-Jesus martyrs. The passage concludes with: …“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are beforethe throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the centerof the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Rev. 7:14-17 Reading that gives me the chills. These are people who we know today. Very likely they THOUGHT they were Believers but for whatever reason, missed the Rapture rescue. I betthey’ll have some incredible stories to tell one day! Worldwide Earthquake and Signs in the Sky I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and thestars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Rev. 6:12-14 When you think it couldn’t get worse, it does. With the earth reeling from one calamity after another, Jesus releases a massive worldwide earthquake. Experiencing even a small earthquake will shake you up, but this is no small one…it’s a doozy. It’s worldwide and is so severe the mountains and islands around the world aremoved out of their places. I’m guessing that would be about 1000 on the Richter scale. But don't confuse this one with an even bigger earthquake at the end of the Tribulation when all the mountains are shaken to the ground. Luke is probably writing about one of these two events here: “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and theexpectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Luke 21:25-26 Those who have survived up to this point will be numbed by the events coming on the earth. Those who are woke today might find temporary safety in Satan's system he offersto survive. They can continue their hatred of all that is good… for a while. But there are others, including kings, rich guys and military leaders who come to the rational conclusion that God is judging the earth, and who can stand against Him? Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks ofthe mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” Rev. 6:15-17 This is interesting because you have all these kings and rich guys hiding in caves together. So most of the dwellings must have fallen in the worldwide earthquake. Since theearthquake was big enough to move ALL mountains it definitely would move and collapse buildings. But the most amazing comment is that they recognize it is Jesus Christ’s wrath they’re dealing with. This is still early in the first half of the Tribulation so people canstill get saved by faith and join the martyrs. All they—these kings, military commanders, rich men who are terrified in those caves—have to do is bend their knee to Jesus Christ as Lord and their sins will be forgiven forever. This brings to mind an apropos verse about the future: ...so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, Phil. 2:10 So sooner or later they will ALL eventually bend their knees to Jesus. And there’s definitely an advantage in sooner! CQLJ! BP (1) https://compass.org/a-bow-without-arrows/ (2) https://compass.org/millions-missing/ (3) https://compass.org/nuclear-bombs-and-the-bible/