The Four Horsemen and the Day of the Lord

Wrath of the Lord #1: The Four Horsemen

If you have your Bible, please turn to Revelation 6 and also to 1 Thessalonians 5.  

I want to begin today by reading the title of an article that I read after the Santa Fe High School Shooting a number of years ago. It is by author and pastor, Max Lucado.

Max Lucado: Texas high school shooting -- This evil will not last forever
I’m not sure how many more of these we can take. When I saw the words: students shot in Sante Fe school, my reaction was, “Not again.” We seem to lurch from tragedy to tragedy, shooting to shooting, bombing to bombing. The kids didn’t deserve such a death. Their parents don’t deserve such grief. And we received an all too common reminder: life isn’t fair.
When did you learn those words? It’s not fair. What deed exposed you to the imbalanced scales of life? Did a car wreck leave you fatherless? Did friends forget you, a teacher ignore you, an adult abuse you? Have you ever prayed the psalmist’s prayer? “O Lord, how long will you look on?” (Ps. 35:17). When did you first ask the question of the prophet, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” (Jer. 12:1)?

Why indeed? Why do drug peddlers get rich? Sex offenders get off? Charlatans get elected? Murderers get out? Cheaters get by? Scoundrels get in? Hypocrites get chosen?
How long will injustice flourish? God’s answer is direct: Not as long as we might think. Scripture reveals a somber promise: “For [God] has set a day when he will judge the world” (Acts 17:31).

He is not sitting idly by. He is not twiddling his thumbs. Every flip of the calendar brings us closer to the day in which God will judge all evil. A Judgment Day has been chosen. The hour is marked and moment reserved. Judgment is not a possibility, but a stark reality.

“Judgment Day” is an unpopular term. We dislike the image of a great hour of reckoning. Which is ironic. We disdain judgment but we value justice, yet the second is impossible without the first.

It is in moments like this, that our souls ache for judgment.

What should we expect when we talk about Judgment Day?  The Bible calls it The Day of the Lord, and it begins in Revelation 6 and is mentioned in a number of other places, in particular, 1 Thessalonians 5.

What I want to do today is give you a high overview of where we are headed in the book of Revelation and then zoom in a bit to what we can learn in Revelation 6.

Remember the flow of the book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:19
Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.

•The things that you have seen – John’s vision of Jesus in chapter 1.
•The things that are – the letters to the 7 churches in chapters 2-3.
•The things that are to come – Chapters 4-22.

Now, I see the rapture in Revelation 4:1.

Revelation 4:1
 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

The voice and the trumpet, and the door opening in heaven is very rapture-like, as we see the description of it in 1 Thessalonians 4.

If it is not the actual rapture, it is a picture of it.

WARREN WIERSBE SAYS: "John illustrates what will happen to God’s people when the Church Age has run its course: heaven will open; there will be a voice and the sound of a trumpet; and the saints will be caught up to heaven (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:13–18). Then, God’s judgment of the earth can begin."

And remember, in chapters 4&5 we are ushered into the throne room, seeing the saints and the angelic beings worshipping the Lamb. The question is then asked, “Is anyone worthy to open the scroll?”

And Jesus, the Lamb that was slain, stepped forward and takes the scroll from the hand of the Father, and then we see these words:

Revelation 6:1-8
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.

Here we have Four Horsemen and in this chapter SIX seals.

A scroll would have a number of seals in it, if someone was writing a letter to a number of subjects. The inner most seal would be to the most important person and the outer most seal would be to the least important. So, imagine a scroll that was rolled and sealed, more was written, and another seal, and then more to a more intimate audience, and another seal…and so on.

The opening of this scroll initiates the Day of the Lord, or the Day of God’s Wrath upon the earth.

Notice how the Apostle Paul speaks of it in 1 Thessalonians 5.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

The Day of the Lord…What is it?
•THE DAY OF THE LORD IS THAT TIME WHEN GOD WILL JUDGE THE WORLD AND PUNISH THE NATIONS. AT THE SAME TIME, GOD WILL PREPARE ISRAEL FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE EARTH TO ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM. (WIERSBE)

•ANOTHER WRITER STATES: THE DAY OF THE LORD IS A FUTURE PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH GOD WILL BE AT WORK IN WORLD AFFAIRS MORE DIRECTLY AND DRAMATICALLY THAN HE HAS BEEN SINCE THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST…THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL INCLUDE BOTH JUDGMENT AND BLESSING. THAT DAY BEGINS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH AND ENDS WITH THE CONCLUSION OF THE MILLENNIUM.

Notice that Paul says in verse 2… “For you yourselves are fully aware…”

One of the reasons we are studying Revelation is that we might be fully aware.
What is it? What is this Day of the Lord?  

I want to put up a slide.  And this will serve as the overview portion of the message, helping us see where this story is going. So, I’ll teach you my understanding of the Day of the Lord, and then we will spend a brief moment zooming in on what we see in Chapter 6.  

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS TIMELINE GRAPHIC:


When you see, CG, think Church and Great Commission.



After the resurrection of Christ, he gave his disciples this commission.

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So, the Apostles, and then, subsequently, we, the disciples, have been given the task to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth, to the end of the age.

Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 24:14 and the preaching of the gospel.

Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

This is our task…The church carrying out the Great Commission…and when we take the gospel to the nations, this is when, I believe, that the Church is raptured.

Our next section on this timeline is 3 R’s.



3 R’s – Return, Resurrection and Rapture



1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
•Return of Christ
•Resurrection of the Saints
•Rapture of the Church

Now as you can see, I believe in what is called a PRE-Tribulation Pre-Millennialism.  I believe that Jesus comes for His Church prior to the Tribulation (Pre-Trib) and before His 1,000 year Millennial reign. Others on our teaching team hold to a Mid-Tribulation or Post Tribulation rapture of the church.  I’m going to teach it like I see it, but I will note that we don’t want to get hung up on that point.

But notice the shorter arrow.  I believe that Christ will return, and the resurrected saints and the raptured church will meet him in the air.

3 R’s – Return, Resurrection and Rapture



Now, in taking the church out of the world, this will begin the Tribulation.



7T – 7 Years Tribulation



Notice that the 7 years of Tribulation are broken down into two, 3.5 year, segments.  

Now, as I said earlier, some believe that the rapture of the church will take place at the mid-point.

One writer says that the first 3.5 years can be described as the wrath of man on the earth and the second 3.5 years is the wrath of God.

From Daniel 7, 9 and 12 we see 7 years and the time cut in half.  

Listen to how Isaiah describes the tribulation.

Isaiah 13:9-11
Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
    cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
    and to destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
    will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising,
    and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
    and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
    and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.

Whether the rapture is before the tribulation, mid-way through, or after, you want to be on Jesus’ side of this deal.  Because those who aren’t followers of Christ will experience God’s wrath.

Revelation 6-19 describes the Tribulation period.  And note that many will come to faith in Jesus Christ in this time of great trial.

And here is a big overview of what will take place. – Chapters 6-9
•The Opening of the 7 Seals – only Jesus is worthy to do it.
•The Sealing of 144,000 Jews who will witness to Jesus, 12,000 from each tribe of Israel.
•A great multitude is saved – Revelation 7:9-14 describes the people from every nation tribe and tongue that will gather around the throne. And notice verse 13-14.

Revelation 7:13-14
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

•7 Trumpets – These are judgments on the earth
•2 Witnesses who will testify of the Christ. – and notice how the first 3.5 years of the tribulation ends…

Revelation 9:20-21
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Chapters 10-14 – The actions at the mid-point:
•The emergence of the Anti-Christ
•People taking the Mark of the Beast
•The testimony of the gospel still going out in this time and many being saved.
•The emergence of 7 angels and 7 plagues – this is the beginning of the second half of the tribulation. And notice Jesus’ words in Matthew 24, where Jesus predicted a Great Tribulation.

Matthew 24:21-22
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.  

Chapters 15-19
•The 7 Bowls of the Wrath of God
•Babylon is Defeated
•There is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
•Revelation 19 – The Second Coming of Christ and the Battle of Armageddon
•The beast and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire.

And at the end of the 7 years of tribulation we see this:

Revelation 20:1-3
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Now we are into the Millennial Reign of Christ. Here is the bigger picture…



M1000 – Millennial Reign



Revelation 20:4-6
4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Here are some highlights of the Millennial reign:
•Satan is bound and thrown into a pit.
•1000-year reign begins.
•Resurrection of those in the Tribulation that did not take the mark of the beast and they rule and reign with Christ for 1000 years on the earth.

The Scripture describes this as a different time.

]WAYNE GRUDEM, IN HIS BOOK, SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, STATES: “Several Old Testament passages seem to fit neither in the present age nor in the eternal state.  These passages indicate some future state in the history of redemption which is far greater than the present church age but which still does not see the removal of all sin and rebellion and death from the earth.”  

Isaiah 65:20
No more shall there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
    and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

Grudem says, “Here we read that there will be no more infants who die in infancy, and no more old men who die prematurely, something far different from this present age.  But death and sin will still be present, for the child who is one hundred years old shall die, and the sinner who is one hundred years old ‘shall be accursed.’”

Isaiah 11:6-9 speaks of the wolf dwelling with the lamb and the cow and bear feeding together.

GRUDEM SAYS, “This passage clearly speaks of a momentous renewal of nature that takes us far beyond the present age, a time in which, ‘the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’”

It is a time, as it says in Psalm 72, where all the nations of the earth will serve Jesus, as he rules the nations.

Zechariah speaks as the Lord who is king over all the earth, and yet there is still rebellion, sin, suffering and death.  

Many will outwardly bow before Christ, but inwardly not be saved.

Then Satan will be released from the pit after 1000 years.

h – Great White Throne Judgment


Revelation 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Judgment will take place.  Justice will be served.

And for those who have taken Christ as their savior, notice the beauty of the Eternal State.
That is the E.

E – Eternal State



Revelation 21:1-4
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

This is where it is all headed and where all things will be made new.

Now, for just a moment, let’s zoom in really close on these opening moments of the tribulation.

As we said earlier, the first half of the tribulation can be considered the wrath of man. Notice the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

We see the:
•White Horse carrying a bow, but no arrows, and wearing a crown — I believe that this is the initial emergence of the AntiChrist. He comes proclaiming peace. And it’s an imitation of Christ coming in Revelation 19.
•The Anti Christ is going to come looking like a Christ figure. He is going to broker peace for Israel. He is going to be their protector until the middle of the tribulation. Then he will be their oppressor.

WIERSBE SAYS… “The great deceiver will come as a peaceful leader…Antichrist will solve the world’s problems and be received as the Great Liberator. His conquest begins in peace, but soon he exchanges the empty bow for a sword.”

•Red Horse — This is War. The color red is associated with terror and death. War is very present in our age and more war is to come.
•Black Horse – The color black is connected to famine. Famine and war go together…and what we see described here is that the poor will suffer greatly, and the rich will retain their oil wine.
•Pale Horse — Death with Hades (the place of the dead) following behind. We saw in Revelation 1:18 that Christ has the key of Death and Hades and they will one day be cast into hell.

In the midst of all of this death and devastation, many come to faith and then many are martyred for the faith.

And in Revelation 6:9-17, we see two responses to the opening of the seals — one in heaven and the other on earth.

Revelation 6:9-11
“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. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 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.”

In verses 9-11, we see the Martyrs whose souls are under the altar. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, when the animal was sacrificed, the blood of that animal was poured out as a “drink offering” at the base of the altar.

The location of these Martyrs under the altar, indicates that their lives were given sacrificially for the glory of God.

And their plea is a cry for justice. Their question is, “How long before you will judge and avenge our blood?”

But notice something here, and we will prepare for the Lord’s supper…

Notice the plea for those who dwell on the earth.

Revelation 6:12-17
“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, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 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, 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, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
‭‬‬
WHEN THE WRATH OF THE LAMB COMES, IT’S GOING TO BE AWFUL. JUSTICE WILL BE METED OUT. ALL THE JUSTICE THAT IS LONGED FOR, WILL BE DISPENSED.

YOU SEE, THE DAY OF THE LORD IS EITHER JESUS OR JUDGMENT.

If you are in Christ, you will be spared from the wrath of God…as Jesus has already absorbed the wrath that you deserve. — And that’s what we will celebrate in just a moment with our Memorial Meal, as we partake of the Lord’s Supper.

But friend, if you are not in Christ and you do not believe, you need to know that Judgment awaits.

And the Bible describes it as:
•Severe – you’ve already heard the severity of it.
•Sudden  -- Like a thief in the night with sudden destruction
•Sure – verse 3 – they will not escape.

What do I need to do?

If you are not a follower of Jesus, you need to be saved.
Submit to him.  Receive him.  Take him as your Savior.
A – ADMIT
B – BELIEVE
C – CONFESS

IF YOU ARE A BELIEVER: 4 W’S
•WATCH – BE SOBER, BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE DAY IS COMING
•WAIT – BE READY – DRESSED IN THE ARMOR OF GOD
•WORK – SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS.
•WITNESS – LET OTHERS KNOW ABOUT JESUS.

BUT DON’T FEAR. THE APOSTLE PAUL SAYS IN 1 THESSALONIANS 5…

Slide: 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.


This recap is from the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, August 25, 2024.