John Brown :: Revelation 6:7-12

Die, v.: To stop sinning suddenly.--Elbert Hubbard

Quotes from Eddie Marquez, a young man that I watched die of AIDS on Tuesday morning, July 20, 6:00 AM (1993). He was a hemophiliac and contracted the virus through bad blood.

"The dying collect moments, the living collect things."

"It is the dying that teach the living how to live."

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Genesis 19:12-14 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city -- take them out of this place! 13 "For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. (NKJV)

1. Last week we studied the 2nd and 3rd seals of God's judgment upon the earth.

a) We have determined that these supernatural horsemen, whoever they are, are instruments of judgment in the hands of the Lord!

(1) Each has a separate task and the authority to carry out that task.

(2) It should be kept in mind that they receive their instructions at the foot of the throne!!!

(a) God is in charge! He is the Lamb that is worthy to open the seals! It is at His hand that these judgments come as He reclaims the earth!

2. This morning we will turn our attention to the 4th and 5th seals and their respective "horsemen!

a) Both of these seals deal with death!

(1) All men must face physical death. It is the final curtain that no one will escape. Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, (NKJV)

Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives. --A. Sachs

(a) For those that have rejected Jesus, there will be a resurrection of torment. Luke 16:19-31 There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 "desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.' 25 "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' 27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' " (NKJV)

(b) And for those who have believed and trusted in Jesus as Lord and Savior there will be a resurrection into eternal life! John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (NKJV)

(c) 1 John 5:11-12 Puts it yet another way: 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (NKJV)

b) You will notice in the story of Lot, the Lord was there to rescue him from the judgment that was about to come upon Sodom and Gomorrah!

(1) He was even given the privilege of warning his relatives of the impending judgment, but some of them considered it a "joke"!

(a) So it is today, as believing Mom's and Dad's plead with their children and friends of the impending judgment; many consider it a joke!!

(b) I have often heard people say, "If I could just see a miracle, I would believe!"

(i) Based upon Luke 16:31...'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'

II. TEXT

A. Revelation 6:7-8 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." 8 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. (NKJV)

1. Pale horse = chloros {khlo-ros'} = (Chloroform)

a) This is the same word used in Mark 6:39 to describe the color of the grass that the Lord had the people sit on when He fed the 5,000 with the loaves and fishes.

(1) It actually has 2 meanings:

(a) The first is simply green indicating good healthy life!

(b) The second is yellowish pale. When my grass does not get the proper nourishment it needs it turns this dying color!

b) It is a term that usually indicates life but here it represents death!

(1) It is ironic that the world is seeking life outside of Jesus Christ.

(2) They are seeking life through pleasures and selfishness, but, they are not being fed! They are going to DIE!

(a) They are "yellowing up" and don't even know it!

(3) Ultimately, there is no life outside of Jesus Christ!

(4) Notice in our text this morning, that "hell followed! after death not "partying with your friends"!

(a) Most people today have themselves convinced that "you party 'till you drop cause this life is all there is."

(b) Some actually believe that they are on some "evolutionary journey" that will continue to give them "second chances".

(c) That is not what God says. Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, (NKJV)

2. The name of the rider of this "pale" horse is NOT party, it is DEATH! and he wipes out 1/4th of the earth's population. (in excess of 1 billion people)!!!

a) And this will all happen in 3 1/2 years!!

b) The first 3 scrolls have already been opened. Peace will have been removed, brother will rise up against brother, famine and drought will be prevalent, and the anti-Christ's kingdom will be gaining strength while people starve and kill each other as well as themselves!

c) "Beasts of the earth" will also play an important part in the deaths of many.

(1) The Greek word theerion used here for "beast" is also used in Acts 28:4-5 in reference to a poisonous snake!

(2) It is also used in Rev. 11:7 in reference to the beast that rises out of the bottomless pit to kill the two witness of Lord during the tribulation!

(a) Therefore, it could be some sort of evil, venomous wild beast used to take 1/4th of the world's population or more that likely it will be evil political dictators empowered by the beast himself to kill off 1 billion people who won't submit!

(b) Perhaps it is a disease more deadly that anything we could ever imagine.

(c) Perhaps it is among us today!!!

B. 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 testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. (NKJV)

1. These saints at the altar all had one thing in common; THEY HAD BEEN KILLED FOR THEIR BELIEF IN JESUS CHRIST!

a) The screen of the altar and the innocent blood of the saint is taken from Leviticus 4:17-18 where the Priest would pour out the blood at the bottom of the altar as an offering to the Lord for the sins of the people!

b) These saints proclaimed "innocent" by the Lord had their blood shed by those they sought to led to Christ! Matthew 24:9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. (NKJV)

c) During the tribulation there will be a tremendous hatred for the Bible and the things of the Lord!

(1) The Christians will have been removed from the earth by the Lord but their testimony remains as well as the testimony of the two witnesses placed here by the Lord! Revelation 11:3-6 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. (NKJV)

d) In spite of the tremendous persecution, there will be a great revival, thousands (or as Rev. 7:9 puts it, a 'great multitude') will be saved!

(1) Perhaps for the first time those Bibles and testimonies left behind by the raptured saints will become precious and very valuable!

e) The Lord dresses them in the white robes of purity and tells them to wait until their number is complete!! Then he will take care of their executioners!

III. CONCLUSION

A. Revelation 6:12-17 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (NKJV)

1. Too bad some thought it was a "joke".

2. The Lord is ever reaching out, sending messengers as He did with Lot.

a) For the Christian the provision has been made, he will be rescued!

b) But how about their friends and relatives? Will they believe while there is time, or will their reply be the same as Lot's son-in-laws to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

c) The time is now for us to witness