Join us as we delve into the vivid imagery and grave warnings contained within the book of Revelation, chapter 6. David Hawking guides listeners through the prophetic descriptions of the red, black, and pale horses, representing war, famine, and death, and discusses their consequences on a global scale. With scripture as our guide, we reflect on the urgent need for spiritual preparedness and the reassurance provided by faith in Jesus Christ, offering hope amidst the forewarning of tumultuous times ahead.
00:00:00 Introduction and Current Global Conflicts
There are currently more ethnic and national wars and battles going on on the planet right now than has ever existed at any other previous time in history. Folks, we’re going into the tribulation period. It’s time that we got serious about what we’re facing.
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Thank you.
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This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. On today’s program, we’re continuing in Revelation 6, verses 1-8, and the scene here, in one word, is terrifying. The lamb breaks the seals and four horses burst into view. A white horse bringing conquest, a red horse dripping with war, a black horse spreading famine, and a pale horse… death itself, followed by hell. It’s a vision that shakes the earth and warns every generation. God’s judgment is real and it’s coming. Today, David continues this intense study and why these words matter now more than ever. Just before we begin, did you know that you can download a special book on our homepage called Your Quest for God? This is a 139-page book written by Hope for Today friend Richard A. Bennett, and it clearly explains what it means to truly know God and walk with Him, particularly in our difficult days. And this is available in multiple languages as well. Your Quest for God is a powerful resource that’s completely free, no strings attached. And you can download your copy today from the homepage at davidhonking.org. And here’s David.
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Revelation 6, the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse. As the seven-sealed book is opened, we begin to see the tragedies that will begin to happen on planet Earth. Look at verse 3 and 4 in the second seal as we look at the devastation which the rider on the red horse will bring. When he opened the second seal, I heard the second beast or living creature say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red. And power was given to him, so it’s a person that sat on it, to take peace from the earth. And that they, the people of earth, should kill one another. And it was given unto him a great sword, given unto him. I think it’s the same person who rides the white horse. It’s just describing it in a different way. The devastation which he’s going to bring. The color suggests a time of war and bloodshed. It’s literally fiery red or blood red. And I think that’s very interesting because that’s the same color of the dragon in Revelation 12.3. Blood red, war, bloodshed. Turn back to Matthew 24 again and look at verse 6 and 7. Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. Going to be reports from everywhere. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation, that’s ethnos in Greek, ethnic group. Jesus said, ethnic group will rise against ethnic group, and kingdom against kingdom. And there’ll be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places. My friends, the red horse is picturing blood, war, bloodshed, a time of war. Back to Revelation chapter 6. Notice not only the color, which suggests war and bloodshed, it is the same color of the dragon in Revelation 12.3, but notice the control he exercises. Again, just like in verse 2 under the white horse, it says, that power was given to him that sat on the throne. The end of the verse says there was given unto him. So his power comes from somewhere besides himself. And we do know that Satan energizes the Antichrist and works through him and gives him authority and gives him his power. Notice the consequences of this red horse rider. There are three of them. What is going to happen at the beginning of the tribulation is you have an immediate picture of peace, the white horse. But there’s a series of conquests in achieving that peace. The consequences of this red horse rider are threefold. Number one, world peace is ended. The first horse represents peace coming on the earth, the white horse, symbol of peace. But the second horse, it says point blank, he that sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth. And that matches with what the Bible says, 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 and 3. When they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. Jeremiah the prophet said when they say peace, peace, there is no peace. It’s a false peace. So we’re talking peace. Apparently there’s going to be an enforced peace. Folks, I cannot help but contrast this writer with our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. God’s peace is in the midst of a storm and the Lord’s peace he can put inside of us. A peace that passes all understanding that will keep our hearts and minds. Friends, I wish I could tell you the world’s going to get better. It’s not. It’s going to get worse. World peace is ended soon, according to the Bible. And the Bible says that when they say it, hey, they no sooner get the words out than the peace will be taken and sudden destruction will hit the world. And that’s what we find here in the second horse. World peace is ended. Number two, the second consequence of this red horse rider is that many people are killed. Many people are killed. It says that they should kill one another. Interesting, the word kill here, spazo in Greek, is the slaughter of animals that you get ready to sacrifice. When the Lord was led as a lamb to the slaughter, Isaiah 53, 7, the Greek translation of the Old Testament uses the same word. When you slaughter an animal, it’s a gruesome thing in many, many ways. And it’s interesting that the Bible would pick that word to describe what folks are doing to one another. Barbaric, torturous, murderous actions. And I ask you, is this going on in our society? Oh, yes. They’ll kill one another. We are killing one another in senseless, brutal killings. We have young kids on campuses with firearms who are shooting and blowing away people just because they saw it in somebody’s movie or heard it in somebody’s musical score, and they are just for the sheer delight of doing it or the curiosity of wondering what it would be like, are blowing people away. It’s going to get worse. Many people are going to be killed. Many. Many. The third consequence is that military power is going to be placed into the hands of one man. Now, there are many passages dealing with this, but just right in this text, look at what it says. And there was given unto him a great sword. That sword… Romans 13.4 speaks of it, that a governmental leader has the authority to use it. He can execute power in and of himself. He needs no democratic process whatsoever. And apparently the world would be in such chaos that military power is going to be placed in the hands of one man. And Daniel describes that in great detail in Daniel 11. He’s going to literally worship the god of fortresses or power or might and armament. And he’s going to become the great military leader of the world, the military savior of the world. And we’re going to stop the process by which we need approval from several branches of government. And it’s going to all be placed in the hands of one man. Hey, it makes sense to a human secular mind when you’ve got great disaster and great catastrophe and you have to act quickly to place all the military power into one man’s hands. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen according to the Bible. Seal number three. I wish I could tell you it’s going to get better. I call this the deprivation which the rider on the black horse will bring. We started out by talking about the deception which the white horse rider will bring. And then we looked at the devastation, the war and bloodshed, which the red horse rider will bring. This will be deprivation, the rider on the black horse. The color of the horse. In verse 5, a black horse reminds us of famine and death, and there’s no doubt about it. We’re talking famine and death by everything that is being said here. You know, it’s hard to talk about this in a society where we don’t face the problems of hunger like most nations do. But friends, the famine belt that we have read about, remember all that action when we got all concerned about the starving people in Ethiopia? And then we had a little uprising about Somalia. But we forget, folks, that the famine belt is growing. It is wider now around the globe than it’s ever been. And it’s affecting millions and millions of people. We don’t want to see it. We don’t want it on our television every night watching people die. But thousands of people are dying. They’re burying them in giant burials where they just lump people together and throw the dirt over them. It is a serious worldwide problem. Thousands and thousands of people right now are dying of famine. Yes, I know that there are many projects to get food to the world. And yes, I know that there are many administrative difficulties in achieving that. And yes, I know there are political and military conflicts that hinder that. But folks, don’t you ever lose sight of the fact that there are millions of people who are hungry right now, so hungry they don’t know what to do. They can’t think. They can’t sleep. They’re starving. And there are millions of them. And it’s growing. It’s not lessening. It’s not getting better. It’s getting worse. It’s getting worse. The committees that deal with this in both the United Nations and in our United States government are so buried now in their facts, nobody wants to look at it anymore. The American people get tired of seeing it. But it’s now worse than it’s ever been. And it’s going to get worse. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 14. Judah mourneth, and its gates languish. What are we talking about? Verse 1. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Terrible drought, terrible famine. Judah mourneth, its gates languish. They are black under the ground. And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. Their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters. They came to, what is the cisterns, and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty. They were ashamed and confounded and covered their heads because the ground is cracked for there was no rain in the earth. The plowmen were ashamed. They covered their heads. Famine is occurring. Turn to Lamentations chapter 4. Lamentations deals with the cries and mourning of the people of Israel over the destruction of Jerusalem and their country by Babylon. It’s a very interesting book. In Lamentations chapter 4, verse 8 and 9, their visage is blacker than a coal. They are not known in the streets. Their skin is cleaveth or clingeth to their bones, it is withered, it has become like a stick. They who are slain with a sword are better than they who are slain with hunger, for these pine away stricken through for want or lack of the fruits of the field. We’re talking famine here, and again, their visage is blacker than a coal. Blackness has always been a picture of famine and death. In chapter 5, verse 10, our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine. So let’s go back to Revelation 6. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the black horse is representing worldwide famine and a serious hunger problem. The color reminds us of that. But the economic conditions that will take place, I’d like you to see four things there. The economic conditions that will take place. See if it doesn’t ring a bell. Number one, instability will characterize the economy. Instability will characterize the economy. It says in verse 5, he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. The point is that the economic balance is going to be altered radically. That’s why he’s carrying it. Many of you know that sometimes that’s a symbol of justice. It also is a symbol of famine sometimes. In past history, it comes right out of the Bible. The guy on the black horse has balances. But the point of that is that the economic balance in the world is going to be altered radically. And we’ll see that in a moment. Secondly, in addition to the instability that characterizes the economy, inflation will be out of control. Look at this, verse 6. A measure of wheat for a denarius. You know what that means? A denarius is one day’s wage. That means you’ll have to work all day for just a loaf of bread or one meal. That’s how bad the inflation is going to get. You say, oh, that’ll never happen here. Excuse me, it’s already happening in many countries of the world. Already happening. And if you don’t know what’s going on in the Commonwealth of Independent States all over, they have serious foods shortage problems. It’s happening in many countries of the world. Inflation is out of control. The third thing I notice is there’ll be an increase in substandard food products. Did you hear that? Increase in substandard food products. Who knows what we’ll be eating. It says three measures of barley for a denarius. Now barley is the food of animals. And there’s a lot of interesting things that are brought out by commentators regarding this. Three meals a day will be possible with barley but not with wheat. It’ll take one day’s wage to have three measures of barley, which is the food of animals. So we’re going to be eating stuff that the animals eat because of the problems economically. The interesting thing in the fourth case is the last phrase of verse 6. Hurt not the oil and the wine. Luxury items will still be plentiful. Talk about the blindness of our unrepentant hearts. When people need food and they need answers, we have the rich becoming more rich, and the luxury items are still plentiful. The oil and the wine. No, I don’t think that’s simply Arab oil. I think the oil there is not talking about the oil that runs our machines and our economy, but it could be. But I think it’s talking about the luxury items of oil and wine, and that is the normal connection of those two together. Finally, Just bear with me. Look at the death which the rider on the pale horse is going to bring. The death. When he opened the fourth seal, verse 7, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And his name that sat on him was Death, and Hades followed him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and with the beasts of the earth. By the way, the word for pale in Greek is a word you use in English. You have clorox or chlorine. It’s chlor-ose. And it’s a yellow-green in appearance. Pale horse, a symbol of death. A corpse. The identity of the rider, this is the only one with a name. The only one who has a name. And it says his name is Death. And behind him is another rider, and his name is Hades. Hades. When you die and you’re an unbeliever, you immediately are in Hades, the temporary abode of the wicked dead, a place of torment, according to Jesus, awaiting the final judgment and the final hell. Death and Hades followed. The mentioning of Hades here would indicate that this worldwide tragedy is affecting primarily unbelievers at this point. Unbelievers. The impact of this judgment power was given to him over the fourth part of the earth. If we have six billion by the end of this century, we’re talking 1.5 billion people being killed. And the instruments used to bring the death of 25% of the world’s population, and this is just the beginning of the tribulation, Sword, hunger, death probably means pestilence or plague there, and beasts of the earth. That’s exactly what God described would be his judgment in Leviticus 26 and Ezekiel 14. Exactly those four things. The sword, yes, there will be people killing one another. Hunger, yes, there will be millions starving of hunger. And pestilence and plague, we already have plagues killing thousands now. They’re estimating millions of people will be killed in a uncontrolled, untamed beasts. Folks, it is not a matter to joke about. Our world is experiencing the evidence and signs of what we read in Revelation. We are near the end. And what we’ve read so far, the believers are going to be out of here before the tribulation. And the things that we’re seeing now, we’re noticing the similarity with what’s in Revelation. Folks, we are very close. It’s not going to be long. I hope you’re ready. I hope you’re ready. Let’s pray. Father, thank you for your word. And God, as we read about these terrible tragedies that are coming on planet Earth, God, help us to know that there is a Savior who will deliver us from the wrath to come. He is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who died on the cross for our sins and rose again that we might live forever with him. Oh, Father, I pray for those in our audience right now who are not sure of their relationship with God. Lord, we feel like begging them if that would do it. We feel like pleading with them. But we know, Lord, it must be your Holy Spirit that does it. Lord, would you speak to every heart and draw folks to the seriousness of the hour that they might turn to faith in Jesus Christ before it’s too late. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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You know, one of our strong objectives here at Hope for Today is to proclaim the gospel, how you get born again. Well, folks, the first thing I would recommend is to repent of your sin. And I don’t know what’s going on in your life, but don’t try to hide. Come clean with the Lord. Secondly, Understand that a church, an organization, doesn’t save you. Hope for today can’t save you. The only one who can save you is our Lord. The Bible says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. The one who paid for your sin and will deliver you from sin, death, and hell— is our Lord Yeshua, our Lord Jesus Christ. And right now might be a good time for you to just open your heart to Him. Lord, I know I’m a sinner, and I need to confess my sin to You and to trust what Your Son has done for me. He’s my Savior. I receive him as my Lord and my King, and thank you for loving me as you do, and I give my heart to you. and I want to see you in heaven. God bless you.
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That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David’s back in just a moment, but first, if you’d like to know more about what it means to be a Christian, not just a member of a church, as David said, but a follower of Jesus Christ, committing your life to Him according to the Bible, then let us send you two free gifts to help you with that. The first is a booklet by David called What is Christianity? And the second is a Bible study by mail. If you don’t know Christ as Lord, if you’re not yet a Christian, or maybe you’re a new believer, well, we’d like to send these to you free. Call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. and 1-888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 24253. And I’ll have that contact info for you again in just a moment. First, David’s son Matt’s here, and we want to share a wonderful Bible study resource with everyone. Matt, what do we have?
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Zechariah is an exciting prophetic roadmap that points clearly to the coming of our Lord and the restoration of Israel.
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It speaks of nations gathering against Jerusalem, Zechariah 14.2. The Lord returning and standing on a Mount of Olives, Zechariah 14.4.
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And of the day when the Lord shall be king over all the earth from Zechariah 14.9. Clear, literal prophecies given by God about what is yet to come.
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Visions of the Future was written by David Hawking to help believers understand the connection between biblical prophecy and the events we see unfolding in our world so that we might be prepared and watchful and strengthened in our faith. This month, we’re featuring David’s book, Visions of the Future, for $15. And when you purchase, would you prayerfully consider adding a donation to help us continue the work of Hope for Today or send a contribution by itself, either a one-time gift or a regular monthly gift? And as always, please faithfully pray for Hope for Today. Amen. To get your copy of Visions of the Future, call 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., that’s 800-75-24253, or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, 888-75-24253. You can also make the purchase at DavidHawking.org, DavidHawking.org. And before David returns, let’s be clear about why your support for this ministry matters. Every prayer, every gift puts fuel in this ministry, keeping these broadcasts on the air, streaming online, and getting Bible teaching into the hands and hearts of those who desperately need it. What does that look like? Well, it looks like families that were ready to give up finding hope again. It looks like marriages that were on the edge being pulled back together through the power of God’s word. It looks like people who are so discouraged in their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ that they just feel like giving up. It looks like unbelievers finally seeing Jesus for who he really is and responding to him. Your giving isn’t just funding a program. It’s changing eternity. Every dollar extends the reach of the gospel, deepens the faith of believers, and puts hope in places where it felt completely lost. If you believe people need to hear this kind of teaching, solid, biblical, uncompromised, then take a step today. Pray for us, and as God directs, send your gift to Hope for Today. Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. That’s in the U.S. Or in Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7OAKS, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. Or call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And of course, our website again, davidhawking.org. And here’s David.
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I sure love teaching Revelation. I hope you love it too. And here at the end of Chapter 6, we’ve been looking at what’s going to happen when the sixth seal is open and a great earthquake hits the planet. And it is amazing. Every mountain and island moved out of its place. And all the kings and great men and mighty men of the world are panicking, asking the mountains to fall on them and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, that would be God the Father, and from the wrath of the Lamb, that’s our Messiah, our blessed Lord Yeshua. And it’s the great day of his wrath that has come. That’s what the tribulation is, the wrath of of the Messiah of Israel, and the question, who shall be able to stand? And the answer is, nobody. We need to remember that if you put your faith in the Lord Yeshua, one day we’re going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, along with all those who have died, who are resurrected, and we will be with the Lord all during the tribulation. Praise God. God bless you.
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Tomorrow the sixth seal breaks, the earth shakes, and the sky tears apart. The great day of God’s wrath has come, and no one can hide. Don’t miss the beginning of David’s message in Revelation 6, 9-17. Next time on Hope for Today.
Join us as we delve into the vivid imagery and grave warnings contained within the book of Revelation, chapter 6. David Hawking guides listeners through the prophetic descriptions of the red, black, and pale horses, representing war, famine, and death, and discusses their consequences on a global scale. With scripture as our guide, we reflect on the urgent need for spiritual preparedness and the reassurance provided by faith in Jesus Christ, offering hope amidst the forewarning of tumultuous times ahead.
