Seal
Judgments: Revelation Ch 6; the Antichrist
It is in Revelation chapter six that the real momentum of prophecy takes
place, the actions that are going to characterise the Tribulation. In the very
first of the openings of these seal judgments we are introduced to the system
that will promote one of the major figures in the Tribulation, he who is known
as the Antichrist. One of the major themes that we see in Scripture related to
this personage who will come on the scene to develop his own kingdom and to
challenge God, to martyr millions and millions of believers, who is full of
deception. Many of the principles that we will see as we go through Revelation not
only relate to the specifics and details that will happen sometime in the
future—and we won’t be there—but these trends are still present today. We will
not see these things take place but we don’t know when this is going to happen;
it could be today, next year, the next decade or even the next century; but
just as we do not know when it will occur, Satan does not know hen it will
occur. Therefore in every year, in every decade in every generation he has to
have his man ready to go, He has to be ready to implement his system of world
government. So even though we may not be in the Rapture generation (and we can
never know) Satan always has his systems and individuals ready to move into
that vacuum once the restrainer is removed so that he can implement his
systems. Even though these things relate to the future, the principles, the
trends are just as true for today as they will be in that time. So we have to
fortify our souls with the Word of God, with doctrine, and apply it on a
regular basis.
As we move our way through these first four seals we will see that there
are four different coloured horses. This isn’t the first time that we have
coloured horses appear in prophetic texts. It is not the first time we have the
number four appear. We will see four angels holding back the four winds of
heaven at the beginning of chapter seven. Revelation doesn’t necessarily move
in a chronological order. Chapter six focuses on events from an earthly
perspective; the judgments are poured out on the earth. Notice at the end of
the chapter there is a question raised after the sixth seal judgment: Who can
survive these judgments? So chapter seven will shift our focus from what is
happening on the earth to what is happening in the heavenly realm and will
answer that question as to who will survive these tremendous judgments. So
chapter seven takes place at roughly the same time as chapter six. In 7:1
“After this I saw” doesn’t mean after this, it just means the next thing I saw,
just like looking and one picture and then another picture. So the order of his
visions are not the order of events necessarily. Often we have the number four
because is speaks of in a figure of speech the four corners of the earth, the
totality of the earth that is coming under judgment. It is interesting that in
Zechariah chapter six there is also a reference to four chariots pulled by four
teams of differently coloured horses.
Zechariah 6:1 NASB “Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked,
and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and
the mountains {were} bronze mountains.
As we put these chapters together what we will see in chapter seven are
events that will take place at the same time as the events in chapter six. In
chapter six the focus is on the six seal judgments. The seven seal judgments
take place during the first 21 months of the Tribulation period—less than two
years. We see the first seal is related to conquest, it is the rider on a white
horse. The second seal will be open warfare, the rider on the red horse. The
third seal, the rider on the black horse, will bring economic catastrophe which
is the natural consequence of world war. There is famine. Then the fourth horse
is death which follows from war and famine on the earth. Then the fifth seal
will be martyrdom and it relates to events in chapter seven. The sixth seal is
disturbances on the earth, geophysical disturbances that affect both the
heavens and the earth, and we are told that this is the wrath of the Lamb being
poured out upon the earth. The seventh seal is opened and it reveals a second
series of judgments, the seven trumpet judgments. All of this will take place
before the mid point of the Tribulation.
Revelation 6:1 NASB “Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of
the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a
voice of thunder, ‘Come’.” If we trace through the Scriptures in these kinds of
passages we find that thunder is associated with the throne of God, the voice
of God; it is so loud, it is overpowering, and it is foreboding, it portends
something drastic that is about to happen. These living creatures were
described in chapter four. These have similarities to both seraphim and
cherubim, special orders of angels that were associated with the holiness of
God. What we see here is that these four living creatures are each involved in
the execution of the first four judgments. This indicates one of the major
roles of angels in the book of Revelation and during the Tribulation as those
who carry out the judicial decrees of God. It is angels who bring about the
geophysical disturbances, it is angels who operate within the heavenlies
controlling various meteorological features, and so we understand from
Scripture that when we look at the world around us we can’t just look at it as
something physical but that all of the physical processes that we are familiar
with, that scientists study in the laboratory have an invisible and
supernatural background. These physiological processes are overseen by the
angels. God controls everything but he works through these intermediate causes
of the angels.
Revelation 6:2 NASB “I looked, and behold, a white horse, and
he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out
conquering and to conquer.” Just a little note here as to how to understand
these four horsemen. They are personifications of each one of these judgments.
There is a tendency to say the first refer is the Antichrist but we have jumped
the three steps of logic. That is the conclusion but he is the only one anybody
identifies as a rider. We have three more riders to go and they don’t represent
individuals. Each rider on a horse is bringing about a series of judgments that
will take place in that stage in the Tribulation period. The white horse rider
is the one who oversees the judgment that allows the development of the
Antichrist’s political power and his kingdom during this early stage of the
Tribulation period. He comes on a white horse. Some say this must be Jesus
Christ. No, this isn’t Jesus Christ; this is representing the false Christs
that will dominate the political system at that time. There will be a
proliferation of pseudo messiahs and they will promote pseudo righteousness. So
the rider on the white horse is one who is promoting a pseudo righteousness. It
is not the pure righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is what His white horse
represents, but the pseudo righteousness which is the false system of the
Antichrist. A crown was given to him which was more of a reward or a
recognition. It is not a diademos
crown, it is a stephanos crown.
So what we see in this first seal and the rider on the white horse is
that he comes with a bow, indicating the threat of military power. He has the
power but there are no arrows in the quiver, indicating that he conquers
through intimidation or some other means other than through military conflict.
The military conflict comes in the second seal. The second thing we see is that
he is awarded the victor’s crown, a stephanos
which is a wreath of recognition for accomplishment. So he has been honoured
and recognised by those over whom he rules. He goes out conquering and to
conquer, and this is a summary of what we read in other passages in Daniel 7,
11; 2 Thessalonians 2, that after the Rapture this individual will be revealed.
We will not know who the Antichrist is until Jesus Christ has returned for the
church because what we are looking for next in prophecy is the return of Jesus
Christ, the blessed hope of the church. When He comes for the church and the
church is removed then that will create tremendous disorder and it is in that
chaos that nations will realign themselves and into the vacuum of power that is
created at that time one will come forward who will bring a pseudo peace and
promise order out of chaos. He is the one who is going to realign the nations,
especially those in the west.
What we see here in the first seal is a personification of the
Antichrist’s conquest as he pulls his kingdom together to give him a political
base from which he will seek to rule the world. The Antichrist will then enter
into a peace treaty with
The Antichrist: 2 Thessalonians 2
is an extremely significant passage on the Antichrist. 2 Thessalonians 2:1 “Now
we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our gathering together to Him [the Rapture],
The word “apostasy” is the noun apostasia [a)postasia], and so people
say we have to have this great end-times apostasy and then Jess will come back.
But wait a minute! That would be a sign. How can it be imminent of there is a
sign of the Rapture? The word apostasia
means departure. It can mean departure from truth and that is what we call
apostasy, or it can mean departure as a ship leaving a port, a departure if you
leave from your home and depart on a trip. So the word should be translated
here as departure, that the day will not occur unless the departure [the
Rapture] comes first. Then the man of sin is revealed. The word “perdition” (as
in some translations) is a term that is used of those who perish, the same
Greek word that we have in John 3:16, “that none should perish.” It is also
used to describe Judas Iscariot and of those who are completely and totally
lost because they have rejected Christ as saviour. This man of lawlessness will
exalt himself in God’s place as a substitute messiah. He takes his seat in the
2 Thessalonians 2:5 “Do you not remember that while I was still with
you, I was telling you these things?
2 Thessalonians 2:9 NASB {that is,} the one whose coming is
in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false
wonders,
We have to look very carefully to make sure that we are not deceived by
the wolves that come in among the sheep. So when Jesus warned of the false
messiahs and the false prophets He distinguished those categories in Matthew
24. He said there will be false Christs, and the word christos [xristoj] is a translation of the
Hebrew word for Messiah, which is the anointed or appointed one. There will be
the two beasts who appear in Revelation, the first being the one we normally
refer to as the Antichrist and the second is the false prophet. So He warns
that there will be many false messiahs and they will take on a messianic role.
It is the role of the messiah of
The terms “Antichrist” is used only in one chapter in the Scriptures,
but it has become the most common title for the first beast of Revelation. It
is used in 1 John 2:18, 22 NASB
“Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is
coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is
the last hour.” Satan has his antichrists; he has his system and his man in
place in every generation. The term “antichrist” refers to a substitute Christ,
not just one who is against Christ but one who claims to do only what the
Messiah can do, and so he comes in promising messianic things. People are
attracted to him because they think he will solve their problems.