In Zechariah 1:8-11, the Lord showed Zechariah a man riding on a red horse, and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white. Sorrel is a bright copper-red or reddish-brown. The Lord explained to Zechariah that, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
In Zechariah 1, the horsemen found the people of earth at peace with their sin. But in Zechariah 6:1-6, the four horsemen are pulling war chariots. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses. All of the horses are strong steeds or war horses. The Lord explained to Zechariah that these four horses are four spirits of heaven. They go out from the Lord to all the earth.
As in the Book of Revelation 6:2-8, the four colored horses bring curses based on the Law of Moses against those who break God’s Law.
The horses of the first chariot were red, signifying war and bloodshed. In Revelation 6:2-8, the red horse takes peace from the earth so that people kill one another. The white horse comes with a bow and a conqueror. The black horse brings famine and insufferable economic inflation. The pale horse is followed by Death and Hades.
Cumulatively, they bring forth sword (war), famine, pestilence and death. These four judgments are like four prescriptions designed to humble people and to bring them to repentance. The words, “sword, famine and pestilence” appear together in 26 different Bible verses. Death usually follows war, hunger and disease. Death is the fourth horseman.
Prophetic voices warn against dangers of false beliefs and point people to the importance of true beliefs about God. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Thus, it is important that we work to replace false beliefs about God with truth beliefs about Him.
God consistently warns people of His judgments against false beliefs before He applies judgments. For example, in Jeremiah 14:12, the Lord said to the people of Jerusalem through His prophet, “I will consume them by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence.”
In Jeremiah 27:8, the Lord said, “It shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish, says the Lord, with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.” In Jeremiah 29:17, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”
In Matthew 24:7-8, Jesus spoke of sword, famine, pestilence and earthquakes.
Many today erroneously assume that God is no longer the same toward sin as He was before.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 says, ”When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, these shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”
Hebrews 10:26-31 says, “If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Like a mother bear, God’s grace has two depositions, one of warmth toward those who receive and appreciate it, and the other of vengeance toward those who insult the Spirit of His grace.
In Romans 3:31, Paul wrote, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the Law.” This means faith in Christ doesn’t nullify God’s Law, faith in Christ fulfills the Law.
In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter wrote that God’s “divine power has granted us everything we need for life and godliness.”
In 1 John 5:2, John wrote that commandment keeping is an expression of love among God’s people. “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands.” God and His Word are one and the same. We love God by loving what He says and by applying His Word to our every day lives.
The four horses of judgment are comparable to the four winds of change mentioned in the Bible. In Daniel 7:2, the four winds of heaven churn up the Great Sea, from which four great beasts (worldly empires) emerge.
In Revelation 7:1, four angels stand at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds until God’s servants are sealed (Those who love and serve the Lord are protected from God’s wrath). When the four winds are released, disasters break out. The Hebrew word for wind (ruach) also means spirit or breath, connecting these winds to spiritual forces.
In Zechariah 6:7-8, we read, “Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, ‘Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.’ So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, ‘See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.”
The strong steeds refers to all four horsemen. After they complete their judgments on the first three empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Graeco-Macedonia, they walk to and fro the earth until the final foe of Israel arises, namely the Roman Empire. This empire will continue in various forms until the second advent of Christ. Hence they “walk to and fro through the earth.” The last great competitive empire against God shall fall as did the previous three.
Revelation 6:1-2: “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”
This conqueror on a white horse is an antichrist. The word “anti” means against or instead of Christ. He rides a white horse like the Messiah does in Revelation 19:14, but he is not the Messiah. He is a counterfeit. He conquers people militarily and ideologically. In John 5:43, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “I have come in My Father’s Name, and you do not accept Me, but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.”[1]
According to Jesus in Matthew 24:5, the appearances of antichrists are an indication that the end of the world is near. The world is looking for a hero. Currently, the largest money making films are about heroes who do great signs and wonders.
Revelation 6:3-4: “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.”
The rider on a fiery red horse has a sword in his hand. Red is the color of blood. The last days of earth will be filled with wars. There will be class, gender, race and religious wars. The rider on the fiery red horse takes peace from the earth so that people kill each other. Peace is God’s blessing. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. If we want peace, we must have Christ.[2]
Revelation 6:5-6: “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So, I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard 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 the wine.’”
The rider on the black horse has a scale in his hand. John hears a voice saying that a quart of wheat will cost day’s wage. Can you imagine having to work a whole day for a loaf of bread? Famine follows war as night follows day.[3]
Revelation 6:7-8: “When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ 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.”
Death rides a pale horse. The word for “pale” here is the Greek word “cloros.” It is a greenish yellow. The color of a corpse! Death sits on this horse and Hades follows him. Hades (the grave) collects what death leaves behind.[4] War, hunger, disease and calamities have snared his prey.
Did Jesus warn people about a worse tribulation than the tribulations experienced on the earth? Yes, He did. Yes, Jesus warned about hell more than any other in the Bible. Read Luke 16:19-31; Mark 9:43, 48; Matthew 10:28, 13:42, 25:30 for more details. Jesus used vivid words like unquenchable fire, outer darkness and weeping to describe hell. Jesus wanted people to repent of trying to save themselves and turn to Him (the Messiah) for salvation.
Think of it! If the consequences of sin are not severe, why did the Son of God have to die a cruel death on a cross to save us from our sin?
God’s earthly judgments are lesser tribulations intended to save us from a greater tribulation, namely an eternal judgment in hell. For example, in Acts 16:26- 31, the Lord called for an earthquake to open the prison cell where Paul and Silas had been locked up unjustly. The earthquake frightened the prison guard. He thought his prisoners had escaped. He was going to kill himself, but Paul stopped him and urged him to believe in Jesus. The prison guard and his entire family believed in Jesus. The earthquake prepared his heart to listen to the voice of God via Christ’s servants Paul and Silas. He believed in Jesus and acted upon His Word and was saved from the eternal consequences of his sin.
Have you believed in Jesus? I mean really believed in Him as though your eternity depended on Him because it does. It is eternally vital that you place all your trust in the merits of Christ for your salvation, and not in your own merits. Be like the tax-collector in Luke 18:13, who with humility and anguish for his sin, said, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” In Luke 18:14, Jesus said, “I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
[1] Sermon notes from a message by Adrian Rogers
[2] Ibid
[3] Sermon notes from a message by Adrian Rogers
[4] Ibid
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