THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE

THE SEVEN SEALS

Revelation 6:1, "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."

The seals are opened throughout the time of the gentiles in order to indicate how close we are to the great tribulation and the end of the age. They are given to us as mile markers so to speak so that all we need ask ourselves is...

"Has this happened yet?"

THE FIRST HORSE AND RIDER
Revelation 6:1-2, "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."

The first seal is the white horse and rider went out conquering and to conquer.

Has this happened yet? Just in the time since Christ we have had military campaigns in order to set up or expand national borders. The New World was discovered and nations raced to grab as much land as possible. Since the colonization of the Americas most of the American nations have fought for independence from their original colonizers. Since the time of Jesus there have been incessant wars in one place or another.

The United States itself has had many conflicts. These include the American Revolution, the war of 1812, the Mexican war, the Civil war, the Spanish American war, World War I, World War II, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Gulf war and the War against Terrorism just to name the major conflicts. This does not include the Indian wars with many different Indian nations, the cold war or our "Peace Keeping" activities.

So, has this happened yet? We have had close to two thousand years of history testifying to the fact that, yes it has and it still is happening.

THE SECOND HORSE AND RIDER
Revelation 6:3-4, "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."

With the opening of the second seal peace was taken from the earth.

Has this happened yet? In my fathers day he could leave the house unlocked when we went out and he had the peace of mind to know that our belongings would be there when he got back. Can we do that now? Absolutely not! If I leave my home unlocked then I can just about count on not having any belongings there when I get back from wherever I go. If I were to suddenly remember that my home is unlocked while at the grocery store then I would have no peace of mind until I got home. Another sign that peace has been taken away is the amount of terrorism and senseless acts of violence that have taken place in recent decades. If peace has not been taken from the earth then why is there the need for "UN Peacekeepers"?

Can we say that peace been taken from the earth? Yet another yes!

THE THIRD HORSE AND RIDER
Revelation 6:5-6, "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."

With the opening of the third seal there is a great economic inflationary period.

Has this happened yet? Once my family were remodeling our home and stuffed into the walls were some old newspapers, which had been used as insulation. I was absolutely amazed that the price of a new automobile was only $800. Plows were on sale for $20 and a 50-pound bag of sugar cost just twenty-five cents. Back then a dollar went a long way. Now it is hard to find a vending machine, which sells a single piece of gum for less than twenty-five cents.

Have we seen inflation? Yes indeed we do.

THE FOURTH HORSE AND RIDER
Revelation 6:7-8, "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."

The opening of the fourth seal releases bloodshed, famine and plague upon the earth.

Has this happened yet? One only has to look at present day Africa to see all of these things happening at an alarming rate. Thousands die every day due to hunger (famine), The amount of AIDS cases in South Africa has reached such a number that it is considered a national disaster or (plague).This says nothing of the cholera epidemics, the black plague and other such devastating disease outbreaks of the past. Due to the great amount of sickness and poverty, there is also a great amount of crime in most African countries. People are committing genocide in Africa. Genocide is the systematic killing of a racial or cultural group.

Bloodshed, Famine and plague are all common occurrences at this time. So the answer is yes, this is happening.

The Christian Counter