Join us as we journey through Revelation 6, a pivotal chapter unveiling the infamous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Our Bible teacher takes us through the biblical prophecy where a white horse promises false peace, followed by a red horse drenched in war, a black horse heralding famine, and a pale horse symbolizing death. This isn’t just ancient text; it’s a startling revelation of times ahead, offering viewers insight into God’s overarching plan.
00:00:00 Introduction to Revelation and the Four Horsemen
Take your Bibles and turn to Revelation 6. We’re entering the tribulation period. We’ve been up in heaven, enjoying the glories of heaven and the worship and praise of heaven. We come to 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. There are many people who say that we’re in the tribulation now. Quite a few people believe that. There’s some reason for it. There’s a lot of worldwide catastrophe. But I think you will see after we get into the tribulation period that we have not yet seen the terrible period of time that Jesus said would be like no other. The tribulation is coming.
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This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. A seal breaks and all of heaven goes silent. Then it happens. A white horse explodes onto the scene, offering a fake peace it can’t hold. Behind it, a red horse ignites war that drenches the earth in blood. A black horse weighs out famine, where food is scarce and hope even scarcer. And then the pale horse rides. Death itself claiming a quarter of the world. This isn’t fiction. This is Bible prophecy. And it’s even closer than we might think. Open your Bible to Revelation 6, 1 through 8, because David’s message, The Four Horsemen, is coming up next. Just before we dive in, a quick resource you’ll want to grab is David’s Revelation series sermon notes, detailed outlines for his teachings in our current radio series from this powerful book of Revelation. And they’re available… Sermon notes and outlines for all 48 messages, just $10. Listen, these are perfect for following along with David as he teaches to help you catch and remember important points. You can use these for your own study in the future or to share with others hungry for God’s word. The Revelation series sermon notes, call 800-75-BIBLE in the US or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 24253. Or you can make the purchase and download them right away. at DavidHawking.org. DavidHawking.org. Let’s get into the Word. Here’s David at Revelation chapter 6 with our study.
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And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red, and power was given to him that sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. And there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third bee say, Come and see. And I beheld in low a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four bees say, A measure of wheat for a penny or a denarius, and three measures of barley for a denarius, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, 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 Hell or Hades followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth.” Now the whole tribulation period is contained in a seven-sealed book or scroll. The seals are on the top, on the edges. So when you break one, you can unravel it a little ways and read something. And you break number two, unravel, and read something. When you come to the seventh seal, that’s most of the message. Most of the scroll unravels in the seventh seal. The others kind of go quickly. When you come to the seventh seal, that message contains seven trumpet judgments. The seventh trumpet will sound over the entire last three and a half years of the tribulation. And during the sounding of the seventh trumpet… One of the messages contained in the seventh seal. During the sounding of the seventh trumpet, you have the seven last plagues, which are called the bowls or vials of wrath, which are poured out upon the earth. So the great tribulation begins with opening of the seals. There are three sets of judgments, again, seals, trumpets, and bowls of wrath. And they contain the seven last plagues. Just flip over to chapter 15 for a moment and look at verse 1. Chapter 15 and verse 1. It says, I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. Now go back to chapter 6 and look at what it says in verse 17. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? Chapter 15, verse 1 says, These are the seven last plagues, in them is filled up the wrath of God. Look at chapter 10, verse 7. Chapter 10, verse 7. It says, in the days of the voice of the seventh angel. Again, this particular trumpet sounds over the entire last half of the tribulation. So everything up to the seventh trumpet happens before the middle of the tribulation period. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be, what? finished, done, as he had declared to his servants the prophets. What is that mystery? How long do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper? When is God going to vindicate us? When will God’s wrath come on the unbelieving of this world who have persecuted the righteous? And the answer is in the tribulation period. Look at chapter 11, chapter 11, verse 18. When the seventh angel sounds, verse 15, the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. Verse 17, we give thee thanks, O Lord God, who art and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come. Now, I’m giving you verses about God’s wrath that I have a reason for that is not obvious to you at this point. There are many, many people who believe that the wrath of God is only at the end of the tribulation. Some believe the wrath of God only applies to the seven last plagues. This has led to a belief that the rapture of the church will come sometime during the tribulation before the wrath. So it is called the pre-wrath rapture of the church. You see, the wrath of God is not simply the final seven last plagues, nor is it the final battle of the end of the tribulation period. The wrath of God applies to the whole thing. Go back to chapter 6, verse 17, and look at this again. We’ll just walk through it carefully so nobody misses it. It says, Then in chapter 10, verse 7, In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound, the mystery of God should be finished. It means it’s already started. In chapter 11, verse 18, thy wrath is come. Chapter 15, verse 1, that we looked at a moment ago, the seven angels have the seven last plagues, and in them is filled up… the wrath of God. The wrath of God has been poured out since you opened the first seal. It’s going to go on all through the tribulation period. Look at chapter 16, verse 1. I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, go your ways and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth. Well, the trumpets announced the wrath of God, and it says so. And the seals unveiled the wrath of God. And also the seven last plagues will demonstrate the wrath of God. Look at chapter 16, verse 17. When the seventh angel pours out his bowl, this is the final judgment. It says there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying what? It is done. Remember back in chapter 10? During the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, which announces seven last plagues. During those days, the mystery of God will be finished. It will be done. And here at the end of the message of the seventh trumpet, in which there are seven bowls of wrath being poured out, that’s the announcement of the seventh trumpet. The last one says, it is done. The wrath of God is poured out. Now what is the wrath of God primarily doing in the tribulation period as it’s being poured out on planet earth? And the answer is that God is avenging the blood of saints. That’s what he’s doing. Go back to chapter 6 and look at verse 10. It says, “…they cried with a loud voice, these souls that were slain for the word of God under the altar.” They cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? So it’s avenging the blood of the saints. Turn to chapter 16, please, and look at verse 6. In chapter 16, verse 6, in talking about the seven last plagues, It’s interesting what we read in verse 6. Not meaning worthy to be saved, but worthy because of all they’ve done to receive this vengeance from God, lest anybody accuse God of being unfair. Look at chapter 17, verse 6. I saw the woman, this woman that sits on the seven-headed beast, I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great wonder. Look at chapter 18. When you see the fall of Babylon in chapter 18, you read in verse 20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. Verse 24. And in her, Babylon, was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. And if that weren’t enough, look at chapter 19, the scene in heaven at the end of the tribulation as all heaven breaks out in praise to God. Verse 2, “‘For true and righteous are his judgments, for he hath judged the great harlot who did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.'” So if somebody asked you, why does God pour out such tremendous volumes of wrath on the world during the tribulation? The answer is to avenge the blood of all the saints who have been killed by the wicked systems of this world. Payday someday. God’s going to straighten out all matters. The one who walked the hills of Galilee… our gentle, loving Savior, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again, will one day be executing wrath upon this world like the world has never seen. He will not need anybody to help him at the battle of Armageddon. The Bible’s very clear. The Messiah looks around in dramatic fashion, according to Isaiah 63, and says, I looked for those to help, and there was none. I trampled out the winepress of God’s wrath all alone, and my fury was poured out. And it’s the blood of all of those who had come against God’s people that the Lord is trampling out, and that’s our Lord Jesus Christ. He will come as King of kings and Lord of lords. He’s going to take over, folks. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And nobody will be questioning His decisions. Back to Revelation chapter 6. By the way, I hope you’re getting the point through this series in Revelation that I believe the coming world leader who we ought to be talking about is Jesus Christ. Now, we’re going to say a few things about a coming world leader, the Antichrist, but I don’t want to give him more attention than the coming world leader, Jesus Christ our Lord. He’s the King of kings and Lord of lords. I really don’t care who the Antichrist is. Whoever he is, we’re going to wipe him out. That’s all there is to it. So we’re not worried about the Antichrist, and we’re not trying to figure out who he is. Some people are scared to death. We’re not going to know who he is. Now we’re going to take his mark. You don’t have to worry about that. Here’s the good news. No believers ever take the mark of the beast. So relax. Just make sure you’re a believer. Okay? Now back to Revelation 6. And we start with the description of what happens when one of the seals was opened by the Lamb of God. Now we had a dramatic display in heaven back in chapter 5 in our last time together as the Son of God, the Lamb, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, goes up to him who sits on the throne, who has the seven-sealed scroll in his hand, and he is the only one worthy to take it. He’s the only one who’s redeemed, purchased all of it. by his own precious blood so he takes it in dramatic fashions and now it says and i saw when the lamb opened one of the seals and i heard as it were the noise of thunder you say well do we have to have it now can’t we wait The description of what happens is, to me, very interesting. When the lamb breaks one of the seals, you have the thundering of God Almighty’s voice, and one of the worship leaders of heaven, one of the four cherubim, the living creatures or beasts, says, come and see. The intensity of that moment hits me when I hear it’s the noise of thunder. Turn to chapter 11, verse 15. Chapter 11, verse 15. The seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, great, loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. Verse 19. The temple of God was opened in heaven. There was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant, and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail. Rather dramatic. Chapter 14, verse 2. And I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters and like the voice of a great, what? Thunder. How interesting. How interesting. In chapter 16, verse 17 and 18, when the last plague is poured out, the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. There came a great voice or a loud voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, obviously God himself, saying, it is done. You know, folks, I love the word of God. There are so many wonderful things in the word of God. And this is a beauty. For there was a day in past history when one hung on a cross and shouted out the words, It is finished. And how interesting that at the end of the tribulation there will come the voice from God the Father, accompanied by thunder and lightning and earthquake, the whole world shaking as God the Father says, It’s finished. When Jesus died, it’s finished. The plan of redemption is finished. When God the Father says it’s finished, we’re talking about the plan of God for the unbelievers of this world. How interesting. For the believers, it’s finished at the cross. For the unbeliever, it won’t be finished until the tribulation. And again, verse 18, there were voices and thunders and lightnings and a great earthquake. Look at chapter 19, verse 6. up in heaven. It says, Back to chapter 6, verse 1. I simply want to establish the fact that that the drama of the tribulation period has definitely begun. As the seal is open, it’s not quiet, it’s not insignificant. There’s an intensity in that moment. And there’s an invitation to John to come and see, which is repeated in verses 3, 5, and 7. And I find that very interesting. Go back to chapter 4, verse 1. After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up here, and I’ll show thee things which must be hereafter, or after these things, meaning after the seven churches. So how interesting. John, you come up here and I’ll show you. And now when we break the seal, it says to John, the angel says, come and see. So this is the tribulation period. These are the things that come after the church age.
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That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back in just a moment, but first, Matt’s here, and we want to share a great Bible study resource with you called Visions of the Future. Matt, tell us why this resource is such a game changer.
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You may not know what you’re missing in the book of Zechariah until you open up our book, Visions of the Future. It’s a study guide through Zechariah.
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Inside, your dad, David Hawking, applies his in-depth Bible study regimen, but your dad is always thorough, to reveal the powerful historical significance of Zechariah and to detail and explain its prophecies for the past, present, and future.
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And future. Yeah, and Visions of the Future is our featured resource for August. It’s a dynamic study of Zechariah chapters 1 through 14. And Matt, let’s take a quick look inside. Jim, part one is titled The Eight Night Visions and reveals marvelous prophecies showing the role and ministry of the Messiah in his first coming and the future second advent that will mark the beginning of the messianic age and millennial reign of Christ. And your dad refers to Zechariah as the gospel of the Old Testament.
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Amen. Amen. Amen.
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Well, part two? Covering Zechariah 7 and 8 has four essential messages to God’s people on rebuke, repentance, restoration, and rejoicing.
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And then in part three, your dad investigates the prophecies given to Zechariah, revealing… two burdens for the future, the rejection of the anointed king, and the return and reign of the king.
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And also in this section, we see teaching on the appearance of our Lord, judgment of Israel’s enemies, mourning for the one they pierced, cleansing from sin, the second coming, and more.
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Well, discover some outstanding treasures, outstanding treasures in Zechariah with David’s book, Visions of the Future, our featured resource for August. And Matt, how much is it? Just $15. You can purchase it at davidhocking.org or when you call. And consider adding a donation to your order to help us continue this ministry or become a regular monthly supporter and join with us in ministry. And please faithfully pray for hope for today. Yes, please do. To get your copy of Visions of the Future, again, just $15, call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, or visit davidhonking.org. We love hearing from you, especially when we can pray for you. We count it a privilege to lift up your needs before the Lord. And of course, we’re asking you to pray for us too, that God would guide every step of this ministry, provide what’s needed, and use these broadcasts to draw people to Jesus and draw them into God’s Word. Wow. When you pray, would you also consider something else? Every time someone gives to hope for today, something incredible happens. Lives are changed through the teaching of God’s word. Marriages find hope. People come to understand the passage that we’re studying that day. And those who don’t know Jesus suddenly see him for who he is. Perhaps hearing the gospel for the very first time and responding in faith. Wow, your support puts solid Bible teaching on the air and on the web and into the hands of people who need it most. That’s the kind of eternal impact your giving makes. If God is stirring your heart to stand with us, we would be honored to hear from you. Mail your prayer requests and any donation to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California. That’s in the U.S. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Again, you can call us in the U.S. at 875-BIBLE, in Canada at 888-75-BIBLE, and visit us online at davidhawking.org. And once again, here’s David.
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Thanks for listening to our broadcast on Chapter 6, The Four Horsemen. We’re just getting started. It’s going to take us a couple more broadcasts to finish this wonderful chapter of 17 verses. And it deals with the four horsemen right off the bat. And one’s on a white horse representing conquering and victory. we believe probably referring to the Antichrist. And the second seal is red, and it talks about people being killed. And the third seal is a black horse and a pair of balances in his hand. And the fourth one, we read this, that it’s like a famine. Come and see. And the fourth one has a pale horse. His name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him. Power was given them over a fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Folks, you don’t want to go into the tribulation period. And there is an escape. The Bible teaches that the Lord is going to snatch us away, the rapture of the church, before the tribulation ever begins, because God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation because of our Lord and what He’s done for us. Well, I hope you’re enjoying it and that you could be with us for every one of these broadcasts. We’ll be back next time in Chapter 6.
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Well, thank you, David. And if you missed any part of today’s program or perhaps a recent broadcast, just go to DavidHawking.org and you can listen again. On our next broadcast, the horsemen don’t stop riding, the fake peace shatters, war torches the earth, and famine tightens its grip. Death claims a quarter of the world. This isn’t Hollywood, it’s biblical prophecy. And it’s coming. Be sure to join us as David Hawking charges ahead with The Four Horsemen from Revelation 6. And we’ll see you then, right here on Hope for Today. Hope for Today
Join us as we journey through Revelation 6, a pivotal chapter unveiling the infamous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Our Bible teacher takes us through the biblical prophecy where a white horse promises false peace, followed by a red horse drenched in war, a black horse heralding famine, and a pale horse symbolizing death. This isn’t just ancient text; it’s a startling revelation of times ahead, offering viewers insight into God’s overarching plan.
