The End Times - Chapter 3
In part one of this series we began by laying the foundation of the historic patterns of prophecy and we refuted the idea that Matthew 24 was for the Jews only. In part two we looked at the initial sign of His coming which is the overwhelming prevalence of false teachers and false (anti) christs. We will now continue with the signs of His coming comparing His words here with other scriptures to show a clear picture of the timing of the tribulation and the rapture of the church.
Let’s look at the progression of signs given by Jesus in Matthew 24 starting with verse 5.
First false christs deceive many – verse 5
Next comes wars and rumors of war – verse 6
Then comes nation against nation, famine, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places – verse 7
Then we have a break of sorts as in verse 8 Jesus says all these things are the beginnings of sorrows.
I should make clear here that these signs will occur simultaneously. While false teachers are deceiving many, there will wars and famine, and earthquakes. The word sorrows in verse 8 is the Greek word odin {o-deen'} which means to travail as in childbirth. That would seem to indicate that all these things will intensify as the time of Jesus return draws nearer.
Now lets look at another place where the same progression of signs is foretold.
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 thereon 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 beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo 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 beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; 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 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. Rev 6 :1-8
The opening of the seal judgments of Revelation begins with a progression of signs identical to those given by Jesus in Matthew 24.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Math 24:5
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. Rev 6:2
There have generally been two schools of thought as to the identity of the white horse and rider. Some have said he is Jesus while others contend that he is the antichrist going forth to conquer. I say he is neither.
All four of these horse/riders represent distinctive spirits that are loosed in the earth immediately preceding and during the time of the tribulation. So while the white horse and rider represents the anti-christ spirit, he is not THE Anti-Christ. I likewise do not believe that one should attempt to attach any personal identity to these riders. They are spirits, not individual persons.
So, in Matth 24:5 Jesus says many will come in his name (claiming His authority and anointing) and will deceive many. Rev 6:2 shows a white horse and rider holding a crown and a bow (but no arrows) going forth to conquer.
The white horse and rider is a clever deception. The crown and the color white give the appearance of righteousness. But a bow with no arrows is not a real weapon. It has no real power, just like the false prophets and false teachers who come in Christ’s name yet have no real power.
Is this not the spirit of the church that we see today? Isn’t this what the dominionists and latter rain adherents are proclaiming, that the church is destined to conquer the world in the name of Christ? Hasn’t this idea infected most of the western church world including evangelical churches?
In his best selling book The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren makes the following statement “ If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy.”
The idea that our actions or inaction determines God’s prophetic timetable is a direct manifestation of this spirit.
Evangelical leaders like Jerry Falwell and James Dobson are reveling in their new found political power. Having played a major role in the election and re-election of George W. Bush, they are determined to reclaim this nation for God! They believe they are advancing the
This great deception that began in the church has found its way into the foreign policy of the
In an audacious paraphrase of Isaiah 61:1 George W. Bush’s inauguration speech included these words, “
Compare Bush’s words to Isaiah’s
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; Is 61:1
Embodying the spirit of the white horse and rider, urged on by the false teachers and lying prophets of an apostate church, the United States of America is going forth conquering and to conquer.
Of course you understand we are doing it for a good cause. We are fighting a righteous war here. We are bringing liberty to the world. We will end tyranny and establish peace! Again, let me quote our president.
”The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
We are going forth in self righteousness conquering in the name of a false god called democracy! A god which has at its root the rule of man, not by God, but by man. It is the tyranny of the majority over the minority.
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 2Thes 2:10-11
Oh what deception has taken hold of our nation! What strong delusion has come upon us? It started in the church and has taken hold throughout our society. We have rejected the Prince of Peace. We have cast aside the spirit of the Lord by which liberty is found yet in our pride we think we can impose peace by means of war, and we can proclaim liberty by the power of our own might! May God have mercy on this land!
Now please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not making a political statement. I am not one who makes excuses for
I believe that God is using this nation, not as a vessel of honor but of dishonor. We will be used of God to bring judgment to the wicked Islamists but ultimately we will reap what we have sown. In the end, this crusade that we have begun will bring the same fiery judgment upon us that we visit upon others.
True peace comes not by military might but by the Prince of Peace.
The deception brought forth by the white horse and rider leads inevitably to the release of the red horse and rider. Our self righteous war to bring democracy to the
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Rev 6:4
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars….. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom……Math 24:6-7
The red horse brings war to the earth. Unlike the white horse which has no real weapon, this rider is given a sword. Peace is taken from the earth and people kill one another.
It is worth noting that the word nation in Matthew 24:7 is the Greek word ethnos. It is the word from which we get our word ethnic meaning a “multitude associated or living together”, “a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus”, “a tribe or distinctive group of people”
Are we not currently seeing tribe against tribe? Have we not seen groups pf people bound together by religion and ancient customs fight against one another. Isn’t that what happened in
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo 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 beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. Rev 6:5-6
…… and there shall be famines…… Math 24:7
The black horse represents economic collapse. Economic collapse brings famine.
The word penny in Rev 6:6 is the Greek word denarion {day-nar'-ee-on}. The denarius was the principle silver coin of the
So, the clear meaning here is that during this time it will take a days wages just to provide food for oneself. Forget the nice house, the new car, say goodbye to those credit cards. You’ll work all day just to make enough to physically survive.
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell 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. Rev 6:8
……. and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Math 24:7
The pale horse brings death and hell to one fourth of the earth. Earlier I said the signs of Mathew 24 occur together. The same is true for the seals. While they are opened one at a time, once opened they continue to run concurrently throughout the tribulation period.
The pale horse proves this because he is given power to kill with the sword (war) hunger (famine) death (earthquakes and other natural disasters) and with the beasts of the earth (pestilences). All of the previous seal judgments are occurring together.
The word pestilences in Math 24:7 is an interesting word. It is the Greek word loimos {loy'-mos} meaning a pest or plague. Have you heard anything in the news lately about terrorists possibly using biological weapons? Anyone worried about smallpox or anthrax, or anything like that?
And what about the beasts of the earth mentioned in Rev 6:8. I’ll bet you thought that was going to be wild animals like tigers and bears, maybe rabid dogs. Well, it could be. But it also could be beasts of the earth like bacteria and viruses. Ever heard of ebola virus? How about the plague a.k.a. the black death which is carried by rodents or the Bird Flu carried by the fowls of the earth. Hasn’t West Nile Virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, killed a few people? These are just a few of the beasts of the earth that are capable of bringing death to large numbers of people.
We might as well say a few words about earthquakes here. The Greek word is seismos {sice-mos'} which means a shaking, a commotion, and can also mean a tempest. It is interesting to note that the parallel scripture in Luke 21 says this;
And great earthquakes shall be in divers places…. Luke 21:11
I believe that scripture is precise. It is no accident that the term great earthquakes is used here. The U.S. Geological Survey defines a “Great Earthquake” as one of 8.0 or greater on the Richter scale. While the USGS claims that overall earthquakes are not on the increase, their own statistics tell a slightly different tale.
According to USGS data, in the 25 years from 1969 to 1993 there were 13 great earthquakes recorded throughout the world or about one every other year. In the last eleven years (1994 through 2004) there have been 11 great quakes, an average of one each year. Also from 1969 through 1993 there were 325 major quakes. A major quake is one that scores between 7.0-7.9 on the scale. That was an average of 13 per year. From 1994 through 2004 there were 157 major quakes, an average of 14.3 per year.
Are earthquakes on the increase? Are we seeing wars and rumors of wars? Is nation rising against nation? Have the beasts of the earth been loosed to kill? Are the birth pangs increasing in intensity?
Let’s recap. The disciples asked Jesus in Mathew 24:3 to tell them when he would return and what signs should they look for. He told them there would be;
False prophets – White horse conquering
Wars and rumors of war – Red horse brings ethnic & national wars
Famine – Black horse brings economic chaos and lack
Pestilence and earthquakes – Pale horse brings death from multiple sources.
I believe these signs encompass the first half of the tribulation period. Next we will continue with the comparison of Math 24 and Rev 6. These scriptures show the second three and one half years of tribulation which include the persecution of the saints.
I know that some of this is not what has been traditionally taught. As we continue, I know that many of your traditional beliefs will be challenged. I don’t claim to have it all figured out and you don’t have to agree with everything I say. All I ask is that you consider what the scripture is saying. Set aside all the things that the so called prophecy experts have taught you and look at the bible for yourself. Remember, you can hear from God yourself. You can understand the bible for yourself. Ask God to reveal the truth to you. James 1:5 says God gives wisdom to those who ask and He gives it liberally. So ask and allow God to be your teacher.
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 1John 2:27
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Steve Lumbley 2005 www.apostasywatch.com
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