Sermon Tone Analysis

#. *OPENING OF THE FIRST SEAL—RIDER ON A WHITE HORSE*

 

*T*he Lord Jesus Christ takes the seven- sealed book, and He breaks the first seal.

*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 [Rev.

6:1–2].*

#.

Christ is going to break all the seals, /ad seriatum/, right in order.

He is in full charge, and every creature in heaven is moving at His command.

So the four horsemen are now to ride forth.

He breaks the seal, and says, “Go.”

#.

It is restated by John that he “saw” and he “heard.”

This is television that we are looking at.

#.

Attempts to determine the symbolism of the rider on the white horse have given rise to many differences of opinion.

The preponderate interpretation among commentators is that he represents Christ.

They use Psalm 45 and Revelation 19 in support of their position.

But most of the contemporary Bible expositors of the premillennial school say that the white horse and the rider is Antichrist.

That is the position of Scott, Ironside, Chafer, Walvoord, Woodbridge, and Pentecost.

And it happens to be my position also.

It would be pretty difficult for the Lord Jesus, who is the One opening the seals, now to make a quick change, mount a horse, and come riding forth.

#.

We are moving today in the direction of a world dictator.

More and more is this true.

All the nations of the world are disturbed.

Lawlessness abounds, and governments are not able to control as they should.

This is all preparing the way for the coming of one who is going to rule.

#.

Antichrist does not appear as a villain.

After all, Satan’s angels are angels of light.

He is not going to have horns or cloven feet.

Rather, he is going to be the most attractive man the world has ever seen.

They will elect him, and the world will acclaim him because he has come in his own name.

But when he takes over, it sure is going to be bad for the world.

#.

This is not just the ravings of a preacher here in California.

This is something that other men in other walks of life, who apparently make no great claims to being Christians, have said.

Professor A. J. Toynbee, Director of Studies in the Royal Institute of International Affairs, said:”By forcing on mankind more and more lethal weapons and at the same time making the whole world more and more interdependent economically, technology has brought mankind to such a degree of distress that we are ripe for deifying any new Caesar who might succeed in giving the world unity and peace.”

#.

That will be the platform that Antichrist will come in on—world unity and peace.

I think that if anybody appeared on the scene now and offered the world that, the world wouldn’t ask whether he came from heaven or hell.

I don’t think they would care, because they want peace at any price, and we have spent billions of dollars trying to obtain it.

#.

G. K. Chesterton observed in his day: “One of the paradoxes of this age is that it is the age of Pacifism, but not the age of Peace.”

There is a great deal of /talking/ about peace.

#.

In a news item some time ago, we read of a woman in Fayetteville, Arkansas, who named the United Nations as the beneficiary to her $700,000 estate “in the fervent hope that this relatively small contribution may be of some effect in bringing about universal peace on earth and good will among men.”

I want to say that she poured that money down a rat hole, because you are not going to buy peace with $700,000 or even millions of dollars.

We have given away /billions/ of dollars throughout the world, and we do not have peace.

#.

The Ford Foundation, one of the world’s wealthiest private organizations, has announced that their money eventually will be used to work for world peace and better government, living and education conditions—yet the world gets worse all the time.

#.

When Antichrist comes to power, he is going to talk peace, and the world will think that it is entering the Millennium when it is actually entering the Great Tribulation.

The Great Tribulation comes in like a lamb, but it goes out like a lion.

A promise of peace is the big lie the world is going to believe.

#.

This rider could not be Christ, therefore, in view of the fact that Christ is the Lamb in the midst of the throne who, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, is directing these events from heaven and is giving the orders to the four horsemen to ride.

Christ is /clearly/ identified in Revelation 19, while here the identity is certainly obscure, which suggests that it is not Christ but an imitation of Him.

 

#.

*OPENING OF THE SECOND SEAL—RIDER ON A RED HORSE* *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 [Rev.

6:3–4].*

a.

And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Go.

And another horse, fiery red (flame colored) went out.

And there was given to the one sitting on him to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill (violently) one another, and there was given to him a great sword.

b.      *T*he first horseman could not be Christ, because when /He/ brings peace to this earth, it is going to be permanent.

This is a short-lived peace.

Immediately after the white horse went forth, here comes the red horse of war on the earth.

The peace which the rider on the white horse brought to the earth was temporary and counterfeit.

The Antichrist presents himself as a ruler who brings peace to the world, but he cannot guarantee it, for God says, “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isa.

57:21).

And that passage of Scripture certainly has been fulfilled.

c.       Isn’t peace exactly what every candidate for office in our country has promised?

Certainly that has been true in my lifetime.

I never shall forget the candidate who said that our boys would never again go across the ocean to fight.

What baloney that was!

We were promised peace, and every candidate since then has promised peace.

One of them dropped two atom bombs, and immediately afterward we began to talk about peace.

Every candidate since then—no exception and regardless of party—has said he was going to bring peace.

My friend, we are as far from peace today as we have ever been.

Already the clouds are gathering for World War Ill.

d.      Antichrist will be a phony.

He won’t bring peace because here goes the fiery red horse of war riding throughout the earth again.

And this is going to be a /real/ world war.

Don’t say that this has been fulfilled—it hasn’t been.

It is future.

* *

#. *OPENING OF THE THIRD SEAL—RIDER ON A BLACK HORSE*

*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 when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Go.

And I saw, and behold a black horse, and the one sitting on him having a balance (scales) in his hand.

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say, a choenix (a quart) of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix (quarts) of barley for a denarius; and do not hurt the oil and the wine.

#. *J*ohn again says, “I heard” and “I saw.”

He just wants to make sure that we know that.

The color of the black horse indicates mourning (see Jer. 4:28; Mal.

3:14, “mournfully in black”), and it also speaks of famine.

In Lamentations 4:8–9 we read: “Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.

They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.”

#.

The black horse represents the worldwide famine that is to come on the earth.

Always after a war there is a shortage of foodstuff.

#.

The Greek historian Herodotus says that a choenix (quart) of corn was a soldier’s daily supply of food.

A denarius was a day’s wage (see Matt. 20:2).

Therefore, a working man will be unable to support his family in that day.

#.

The oil and the wine are luxuries that are enjoyed by the rich.

Oil would correspond to our toiletries, the beauty aids and the body conditioners that we use today; that is, the luxuries of life.

The wine corresponds to the liquor that will be in abundance.

Isn’t it interesting that there will not be enough foodstuff, not enough barley for food, but there will be enough barley to make liquor!

They will make it in that day, and the rich are the ones who will get it.

#.

The rich are going to get theirs, but the poor won’t be able to get theirs.

That is the way it has always been.

I feel like saying, “Ho hum,” when I hear these sincere egg-headed boys talking about how they are going to work out the poverty problem.

All that it has accomplished is that it has given a good job to a lot of /them/, but so far it hasn’t filtered down and been a blessing to the poor.

It has never helped the poor to lift themselves up with any degree of pride.

Why?