Portrait of the Antichrist -
Revelation Chapter Six

     In the book of Revelation’s Chapter Four, we were shown that the Apostle John had been called up to heaven. Previously he had been receiving his instructions from the Lord verbally and directly. John’s calling up to heaven is showing us that there is going to be a change in the method by which he is to be receiving his instructions. From Chapter Six on he is to be given the bulk of his messages visually through prophetic visions.

The sealed book that Jesus receives from the Father in Chapter Five, represents the book that John is about to write. The seals are opened to reveal prophetic revelations and principles. We tend to think that when these seals are opened, the events begin to happen. That’s not the case. When the seals are opened, we are being shown principles that will be operating in the latter days.

Chapter Six is in three parts, the persecutors (seals 1-4, verses 2-8)
The persecuted (seal 5 verses 9-11)
The future avenging of the persecuted – (seal six, verses 12-17).

We have to remember that the Book of Revelation was written to encourage a persecuted church. This message has application to every generation. But when we finally reach the generation before Jesus returns, then everything in Revelation will apply to that generation. There are more Christian’s being martyred today than at any other time in the church’s history.

The persecutors of the Christians in the latter days are revealed by the opening of seals one through four. The horses represent systems, their riders are the demonic forces operating those systems. While each horse and rider represents entire systems, individually they portray the characteristics that help us to identify the antichrist.

Seal 1 - The white horse.

The white horse represents apostate Christianity. Jesus said, the enemies of His disciples would be members of their own house (Matthew 10:36). With the exception of objects like the sheep gate and sheep skins, etcetera, the word sheep is used exclusively in the New Testament to describe the Lord’s people – except for the wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). The antichrist appears as a lamb (Revelation 13:11) but speaks like a dragon, in other words, he is lying through the father of lies, the devil. Thus we may conclude that the antichrist will appear initially to be a Christian, which is a façade.

As history attests, the antichrist’s predecessor was Antiochus Epiphanes. He was supported in his persecution of the orthodox Jews by Hellenized apostate Jews who resented orthodoxy’s intrusion into their secularized lifestyles. Likewise, we will see this same parallel in the latter days. The antichrist will be joined by other liberal apostate Christians who also oppose true Biblical Christianity.

Seal 2 – The Red Horse

This horse represents governments, specifically communism. The antichrist masquerades as a Christian, but his political ideology is communism. The red beast he directs the people to worship in Chapter Thirteen (Rev. 13:12) is communist inspired. The antichrist when he is revealed, sits in the temple showing that he is god (11 Thessalonians 2:4). The worship of man or state leaders is a characteristic of communism. The abomination that makes desolate mentioned in the book of Daniel (Daniel 11:31) is the worship of man in the place of the One True God of Israel.

Seal 3 – The Black Horse

This horse represents an imbalanced, inflated and manipulated economy. The antichrist has been engineered into a position where he has control over the world’s economy. In Daniel’s description of the antichrist we see that he has been given control of the "treasures" (Daniel 11:43).

Seal 4 – The Pale Horse.

The word “pale” is actually green (chloros) which is the word’s primary meaning. It can also mean a “Yellowish pale.” The translators chose the word pale because the context indicated death, which to them did not match the description of green which can represent life. However, the color green is associated with Islam. When we look at the history behind the emergence of the last world empire, we can begin to see the link between Islam and the antichrist.

The future red communist one world government is the fourth beast/empire in Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 7:7, 2:40), which also represented the Roman Empire. This same empire which dissipated, never really went away. The Roman Empire began as a republic and disintegrated into a dictatorship. Its principles remained hidden in the ashes until its reemergence in the latter days. It is seen in operation in Daniel Chapter eleven (verses 36-45) just prior to the Lord’s return in Daniel twelve.

The Romans enlisted many Arabic people in its army. They were instrumental in the destruction of the temple in 70AD. Likewise, in the future the communist beast system will unify with apostate Islam and will wield its sword against the Christians. Evidence of this alliance is already taking place in many countries. Therefore the antichrist will be in union with some Islamic nations as indicated in Daniel 11:43.

So far we have seen that the first four horses reveal the antichrist and the principles that the devil will use to persecute God’s people. –
Apostate Christianity,
communism,
the economy,
and apostate Islam.

The antichrist will be a communist posing as a Christian in union with Islam and the antichrist’s union with the communist one world empire will place him in control of the world’s economy.

Seal Five. The fifth seal is opened to reveal the victims of the devil’s evil stampede upon the Christian church. We see that these martyrs are crying out for their vindication( Rev.6:9). God responds and the sixth seal is opened (Rev. 6: 12-17), to reveal their future avenging. The beginning of the martyr’s vindication is announced by a great earthquake. There are two great earthquakes that occur in the future before the Lord returns. The first signals the beginning of the great tribulation which is initiated in Chapter Eleven, verse 13, after the rapture of the two witnesses and the seventh trumpet sounds. The second great earthquake, the likes of which have never before been seen of men (Rev. 16:18) occurs as the progressive judgments that have been released during the warning period of the seven trumpets (Chapters eight through eleven) have come to their fullness in Chapter Sixteen. It is most likely that this earthquake is the earthquake referred to in Chapter Six. This earthquake is accompanied by a simultaneous supernatural eclipse of the sun and the moon that is a sign that precedes the “Day of the Lord” and God’s final judgments upon the wicked.

In other words, children, no matter what havoc the devil causes through his four puppet horses, the stampede is only temporary and the Lord will throw the horses and their riders into a lake of fire when He returns in victory to avenge His people (Rev. 19:20,21). While we await that final moment of triumph, be strong in the grace you have been given in Jesus, children. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

For more details please check out our feature Revelation Times

copyright 2013 by H.D. Shively