1 00:00:04,780 --> 00:00:10,119 Greetings, this is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:14,960 moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. 3 00:00:15,039 --> 00:00:20,160 And today, I want to challenge you to think through the issue of the four horsemen of the 4 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:27,820 apocalypse that we find in the book of Revelation in chapter six. And what meaning and application 5 00:00:27,820 --> 00:00:34,780 do they have to our world today, to the world and to the church, and not in some far-off 6 00:00:34,780 --> 00:00:40,899 end-time scenario. It just might be that God intended the book of Revelation to be applicable 7 00:00:40,899 --> 00:00:48,380 through all generations of the church, beginning with John's own generation. Oh, that might just 8 00:00:48,380 --> 00:00:54,520 be the case. But first, let me invite you to our Bible study on the book of Revelation that we're 9 00:00:54,520 --> 00:01:00,719 having week by week now. We've been rolling for quite a while, and we meet on Thursday nights 10 00:01:00,719 --> 00:01:10,120 at Starbucks on 17th Street in Idaho Falls. And we have been looking at the apocalypse. We are 11 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:16,560 doing a community Bible study on the apocalypse. This is not sponsored by New Geneva Orthodox 12 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:23,099 Presbyterian Church, per se, because I'm team-teaching it also, then, with Pastor Mike Gilea of Share 13 00:01:23,099 --> 00:01:28,439 the Sun Ministries. So it's been a team effort, and it's been so fun. We've been having people from 14 00:01:28,439 --> 00:01:35,159 a wide spectrum of backgrounds, anywhere from eight or nine to 15 or 16 people in the evenings 15 00:01:35,159 --> 00:01:41,459 at Starbucks on Thursday night, beginning at seven o'clock. And we run that class until about 8.15, 16 00:01:41,579 --> 00:01:48,000 8.15 sharp, by the way, so that we can get everybody in bed on time. So it's been fun, 17 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:54,099 and we've been answering a lot of questions, raising a lot of questions, and also gaining 18 00:01:54,099 --> 00:01:59,400 some good insight into the apocalypse, into the book of Revelation. So I would just invite you to 19 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:06,260 join us on Thursday evenings at seven o'clock at Starbucks for our community Bible study on the 20 00:02:06,260 --> 00:02:12,680 book of Revelation, 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings. Well, let's turn then to Revelation chapter six 21 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:18,740 and the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Oh, one of the favorite chapters in the book of Revelation, 22 00:02:19,199 --> 00:02:25,800 filled with a great deal of meaning. And last week, we looked at the first two of the horsemen 23 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:33,219 as they came out. First one came out conquering, and to conquer, right? And then the second one, 24 00:02:33,460 --> 00:02:38,599 on the second seal, when the second seal was opened, there was a red horse, a bright red horse. 25 00:02:38,599 --> 00:02:43,780 Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, given a sword he was. Well, let's look at 26 00:02:43,780 --> 00:02:49,860 the final two of those horsemen, shall we? The third and the fourth horsemen. But before we do, 27 00:02:50,099 --> 00:02:55,840 let's go ahead and read our text, shall we? Revelation chapter six, verses one to eight. 28 00:02:56,199 --> 00:03:01,379 Now I watched when the lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living 29 00:03:01,379 --> 00:03:06,780 creatures say with a voice like thunder, come. And I looked, and behold, a white horse, 30 00:03:06,780 --> 00:03:12,780 and its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him. And he came out conquering, and to conquer. 31 00:03:13,159 --> 00:03:18,360 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, come. And out came another 32 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:23,740 horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should 33 00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:29,860 slay one another. And he was given a great sword. When he opened the third seal, I heard the third 34 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:36,000 living creature say, come. And I looked, and behold, a black horse. And its rider had a pair of scales in 35 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,620 his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, 36 00:03:40,860 --> 00:03:48,020 quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius. And do not harm the oil and 37 00:03:48,020 --> 00:03:54,780 wine. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, come. And I 38 00:03:54,780 --> 00:04:00,840 looked, and behold, a pale horse. And its rider's name was Death. And Hades followed him. And they were 39 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:06,379 given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence 40 00:04:06,379 --> 00:04:14,939 by wild beasts of the earth. Oh, ominous, isn't it? And ominous it should be. Now, we saw last time, 41 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:22,879 those first two riders, did we not? The action of our scene originates in heaven, but issues upon the 42 00:04:22,879 --> 00:04:28,740 earth, right? And we saw that this is the principle of oscillation. It's prompted by all that we've seen 43 00:04:28,740 --> 00:04:35,040 transpire before us. Oh, the seven-sealed scroll has initiated all of this, the four horsemen of the 44 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:41,379 apocalypse. The seven-sealed scroll, which we saw over the weeks, is the will and testament of the 45 00:04:41,379 --> 00:04:47,300 father to a son who is worthy to open it and receive the promised inheritance. And this is what we see 46 00:04:47,300 --> 00:04:54,160 transpiring before us as these seals are cracked and opened and revealed. We know this because we know 47 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,379 that a seven-sealed document in the ancient world could be none other than a will and testament, 48 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:05,079 right? As the scholar Zahn says, he says, the word biblion itself permits of many interpretations, 49 00:05:05,259 --> 00:05:12,100 but for the readers of that time, it was designated by the seven seals on its back beyond possibility of 50 00:05:12,100 --> 00:05:18,899 mistake. The most simple member of the Asiatic churches knew that a biblion made fast with seven 51 00:05:18,899 --> 00:05:25,959 seals was a testament that is a will, right? Unquote. Oh, and we saw that the only one worthy to open that 52 00:05:25,959 --> 00:05:32,060 seven-sealed scroll was the lion of the tribe of Judah, who, when John looked to cast his eyes upon 53 00:05:32,060 --> 00:05:40,120 him, saw instead a lamb looking as if it had been slain. And he was the one found worthy then to take 54 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:47,480 the scroll from the one seated on the throne and then begin to open it, right? And so he begins then 55 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:54,860 to take that scroll and to open it. And from here on, our narrative kicks into warp drive in the 56 00:05:54,860 --> 00:06:00,660 model of Joshua and the conquest. We saw that last time too, didn't we? We see Yeshua now, that is 57 00:06:00,660 --> 00:06:08,439 Jesus. Yeshua, whose name is the same as Joshua of the Old Testament. Yeshua is the new Yeshua. Oh, 58 00:06:08,540 --> 00:06:14,879 the new Joshua. And then we have also seen that from here on in as the riders go out and the one on 59 00:06:14,879 --> 00:06:21,300 the white horse goes out conquering and to conquer. That conquest is the new paradigm, just as the 60 00:06:21,300 --> 00:06:30,199 conquest of Canaan was the paradigm for Joshua and Israel. So now all of creation is in the paradigm 61 00:06:30,199 --> 00:06:38,939 of conquest and creation. And not just Canaan is our inheritance. Oh, this is what we saw then. And we see 62 00:06:38,939 --> 00:06:47,199 then the one opening after opening the verse, the first seal, excuse me, the first seal, we see that 63 00:06:47,199 --> 00:06:56,759 this one is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Lord Jesus Christ himself is the one who rides 64 00:06:56,759 --> 00:07:03,839 out conquering and to conquer, isn't he? Oh, John erases any doubt then that this is the one who is 65 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:12,019 conquering. We see in chapter 19, uh, recapitulation to that the rider on a white horse, Jesus Christ in 66 00:07:12,019 --> 00:07:19,079 chapter 19, uh, is the one who will be conquering all. And it's beyond a shadow of a doubt. We have 67 00:07:19,079 --> 00:07:24,779 here then, uh, one who's riding out to conquer is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we 68 00:07:24,779 --> 00:07:30,839 saw as well, the second horseman, uh, as we opened the second seal, the lamb opens the second seal and 69 00:07:30,839 --> 00:07:37,019 there is a red, bright red horse that rides out with a rider. And red is the color for bloodshed 70 00:07:37,019 --> 00:07:42,459 in apocalyptic. And as this rider does deliver this, doesn't he? Just as Zechariah's horse and 71 00:07:42,459 --> 00:07:48,439 rider in chapter one had a mission to take peace from Israel's enemy. So this rider does upon the 72 00:07:48,439 --> 00:07:55,279 lamb's claim to, to take peace from his claim. God is bringing war upon his enemies. Those who presume 73 00:07:55,279 --> 00:08:02,939 to, uh, sit on his land and to their squatters on his property, on his, our inheritance. We are 74 00:08:02,939 --> 00:08:08,079 co-heirs with Christ. It is a characteristic of a land about to be subdued by a foreign enemy. 75 00:08:08,579 --> 00:08:13,240 And indeed, just as Canaan was thrown into conflict and confusion at the appearance of Joshua in Israel. 76 00:08:13,420 --> 00:08:20,759 So now the world is going to be thrown into confusion and into conflict at the appearance of Jesus and 77 00:08:20,759 --> 00:08:27,540 his people. That is the church. This happened in Jerusalem when it fell in AD 70. It happened to the 78 00:08:27,540 --> 00:08:35,299 entire Roman empire then, which revelation will prophesy about as well. So we see these riders and 79 00:08:35,299 --> 00:08:41,940 their horses one by one as the seals are broken. What happens when the third seal is broken? This is in 80 00:08:41,940 --> 00:08:50,000 verses five and six, uh, issued from God's throne. A measure of economic deprivation awaits the 81 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:57,600 suffering poor in verses five through six. When the third rider appears all through the apocalypse, 82 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:05,139 the destiny of all things proceeds with an ineluctable order that majestically portrays 83 00:09:05,139 --> 00:09:10,000 God's outer sovereignty. Oh, if you don't believe in God's outer sovereignty by the time we're done with 84 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:15,220 the book of Revelation, then you don't believe in his utter and complete sovereignty. History is 85 00:09:15,220 --> 00:09:22,639 determined by God. It's not developed randomly by man. After reading any revelation, how can any sane 86 00:09:22,639 --> 00:09:29,159 person with his reading wits about him not be a Calvinist? Oh, this ineluctable order from God 87 00:09:29,159 --> 00:09:36,320 proceeds as the third seal is opened and boom, the third living creature sitting in state upon the 88 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:42,700 heavenly council calls forth a black horse and rider. Third creature calls forth a black horse 89 00:09:42,700 --> 00:09:49,460 and rider. Black is the color of death and famine in apocalyptic. See, John is using all these standard 90 00:09:49,460 --> 00:09:55,820 measures, standard features of apocalyptic. Black is the color of death and famine in apocalyptic. And 91 00:09:55,820 --> 00:10:03,000 just as we do today, scales were employed to weigh out portions of food to sell. And the price is given 92 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:10,179 for bare subsistence. These prices seem to echo conditions almost as bad as those of Venezuela 93 00:10:10,179 --> 00:10:17,100 today. A quart of wheat for a denarius and three quarts of barley for a denarius. Now, in the ancient 94 00:10:17,100 --> 00:10:23,519 world, this would have been barely enough to feed one man for a day, much less a family or the provision 95 00:10:23,519 --> 00:10:29,860 of other needs beyond. Even though a denarius was the average daily wage of a working man in the ancient 96 00:10:29,860 --> 00:10:36,440 world. So these prices are 10 to 12 times higher than they should have been. Famine and starvation 97 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:42,539 also characterized the siege of Jerusalem in its latter stages. We are seeing how the book of 98 00:10:42,539 --> 00:10:49,139 Revelation plays out in the day of John. John said all of these things are soon to transpire. And indeed, 99 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:56,019 they did in the siege of Jerusalem beginning in AD 66, culminating in the destruction of the temple 100 00:10:56,019 --> 00:11:02,480 and the entire city in AD 70. So famine and starvation, as you read the book of Josephus, 101 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:10,139 Josephus and his book, The Jewish Wars. Josephus relates several vignettes to illustrate the depths 102 00:11:10,139 --> 00:11:16,940 of depravity to which the Jews sunk and how famine and starvation haunted the entire city. For example, 103 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:24,679 he recounts how one woman cooked and ate her infant child and then in an act of generosity offered part 104 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:31,980 of that baby to her neighbors who were completely repulsed and revulsed by her actions. But this is 105 00:11:31,980 --> 00:11:39,240 what happened. This is the depths to which Jerusalem sunk in the siege of AD 70. Famine and starvation 106 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:45,519 indeed haunted the entire city. And John is recounting that for us here. And famine and starvation was also 107 00:11:45,519 --> 00:11:52,820 widespread during the Dark Ages and the collapse of the Roman Empire, which the apocalypse also predicts 108 00:11:52,820 --> 00:12:00,320 and foreshadows for us in these chapters. So the black horse, the dark horse, the famine and starvation 109 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:07,120 horse does indeed characterize the siege of Jerusalem and the fall of Rome. And famine and starvation 110 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:15,019 always characterizes a people about to be conquered. Witness Venezuela. Venezuela conquered. Make no mistake 111 00:12:15,019 --> 00:12:21,159 about this. And it's been characteristic all through history as the church conquers. But in its place, 112 00:12:21,159 --> 00:12:28,899 we will find peace and plenty with the people of God. This is so very elegantly indicated in what 113 00:12:28,899 --> 00:12:34,879 is protected in our text to the oil and the wine. The horse and the rider are commanded. Do not harm 114 00:12:34,879 --> 00:12:41,120 the oil and the wine. This has apocalyptic significance, brothers and sisters. These are regular features of 115 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:47,299 blessing for the true people of God. And that is what revelation is indicating here for us. Not some far 116 00:12:47,299 --> 00:12:53,840 future event in the end times. No. Psalm 104, for example, says, wine to gladden the heart of man, 117 00:12:54,179 --> 00:13:00,980 oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man's heart. Oil and wine. It would have also 118 00:13:00,980 --> 00:13:07,759 triggered in the minds of that first century audience the remembrance that oil and wine were used in the 119 00:13:07,759 --> 00:13:14,539 rights of the church as well. For example, James says, is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the 120 00:13:14,539 --> 00:13:20,620 elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 121 00:13:20,919 --> 00:13:26,620 And then in 1 Corinthians 11, too. In the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying, 122 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:33,019 this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, that is, wine in remembrance 123 00:13:33,019 --> 00:13:40,379 of me. So all through the history of the church, I'm submitting to you, dear listener, not in some 124 00:13:40,379 --> 00:13:47,379 far-off future Great Tribulation event, but right there in that first century, all through the history 125 00:13:47,379 --> 00:13:53,100 of the church, from there on in as well, God has protected, nurtured his people, the church, causing 126 00:13:53,100 --> 00:14:00,279 them to triumph over the long haul. Ah, he protected his church by warning them of the coming fall of 127 00:14:00,279 --> 00:14:07,019 Jerusalem. When Jesus warned of the coming fall of Jerusalem in the temple, when not one stone would 128 00:14:07,019 --> 00:14:14,299 be found upon another, that he warned way back in Matthew chapter 24. Do you remember? And he warned 129 00:14:14,299 --> 00:14:21,179 them, when you see this day coming, don't wait. Don't go back to the house to collect your things. 130 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:28,399 No, flee immediately. So the church took this as a warning. When the siege came, they ran. The 131 00:14:28,399 --> 00:14:34,279 Christians fled Jerusalem for the village of Pella. All the early church historians, in fact, 132 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:40,659 described the flight to Pella. And you don't hear in Josephus' account of the fall of Jerusalem, 133 00:14:40,659 --> 00:14:45,580 of Christians being slaughtered because they weren't there. They had left. They were not there 134 00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:51,899 for the fall of Jerusalem. And then God has also prospered his church. That is, the oil and the wine 135 00:14:51,899 --> 00:14:58,379 figured here in this chapter, chapter 6 of the book of Revelation. He also prospered his church 136 00:14:58,379 --> 00:15:04,820 by building Western civilization on the ashes of the Roman Empire. Did he not? This happens 137 00:15:04,820 --> 00:15:10,940 throughout history, even as these four horsemen come sweeping through redemptive history, destroying 138 00:15:10,940 --> 00:15:16,340 God's enemies, clearing the way for the building of the church. He prospered his church by building 139 00:15:16,340 --> 00:15:22,179 Western civilization on the ashes of the Roman Empire, where we witnessed the most prosperous 140 00:15:22,179 --> 00:15:29,279 civilization in history. All the West, indeed, the church did begin to foster, plant the seeds of 141 00:15:29,279 --> 00:15:35,820 civilization as we know it now, the advancements, whether in science or in culture or in society 142 00:15:35,820 --> 00:15:42,379 or even in politics. We can make a claim that the greatest document ever written in government, 143 00:15:42,379 --> 00:15:49,059 that is, the Constitution of the United States of America, is indeed a product, and we can say a 144 00:15:49,059 --> 00:15:54,600 direct product of Christian culture, brothers and sisters, the envy of the world, the political 145 00:15:54,600 --> 00:16:00,700 establishment of the envy of the world, that is, a constitutional republic as found in the United 146 00:16:00,700 --> 00:16:07,480 States of America. Not perfect for sure, but indeed, the model of Western civilization is a direct 147 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:15,659 product of Christian culture, which indeed grew and was built on the foundations then of the 148 00:16:15,659 --> 00:16:21,600 destroyed Roman Empire, the destroyed temple. The church would not have flourished as it has unless 149 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:27,759 that temple had been destroyed. So in all of these things, we can say that God has protected his church 150 00:16:27,759 --> 00:16:35,220 through all of these times. He conquers. That rider on the white horse has conquered, and he's still 151 00:16:35,220 --> 00:16:42,240 continuing to conquer, is he not? Well, what happens then is the fourth seal is broken. Let's look to 152 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:49,720 it. The fourth seal, verses 7 and 8 of chapter 6, and we see that this horseman issued from God's throne, 153 00:16:50,139 --> 00:16:59,879 we see when it is all hell breaks loose to purge Christ's inheritance of its squatters, and that we can 154 00:16:59,879 --> 00:17:08,460 say, indeed, that on the earth, in all of creation, all pagans, all of those who are fighting against 155 00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:14,579 Christ and his church, all of those who hate God and hate Christ and fight against him, indeed, are squatters 156 00:17:14,579 --> 00:17:20,720 on his inheritance, even as the Canaanites were squatters on the land of Canaan when Israel and 157 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:27,839 Joshua, the first Joshua, and then Israel came in to take the land, right? So we see here, then, 158 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:35,359 in regular order, the fourth seal is open, and the fourth living creature, sitting in session with 159 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:42,640 the sons of God, he commands the fourth horse and rider, whose name is charmingly death. Oh, isn't it? 160 00:17:42,759 --> 00:17:52,420 His entourage is equally charming, right? Hell, Hades, all its companions. Oh, this pale horse, this pale 161 00:17:52,420 --> 00:17:59,359 rider, you remember, perhaps one of my favorite Westerns, pale rider, with Clint Eastwood, who 162 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:07,099 indeed symbolized and represented a death, did he not, to this village, this particular town that he came 163 00:18:07,099 --> 00:18:14,180 into? Well, in any case, here before us, then, as the fourth seal is broken, this pale horse, this pale 164 00:18:14,180 --> 00:18:21,920 rider, foreshadow much of what is to come. That's meant to be. He foreshadows, and Revelation will later 165 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:28,480 recapitulate what we see going on here. As the tendency of apocalyptic in general is to do, 166 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:33,839 Revelation in particular, we have things that foreshadow what is to come. That is, we will see 167 00:18:33,839 --> 00:18:41,059 soon, demonic hordes will ascend from hell in chapter 9, and we'll see beasts from land and sea. 168 00:18:41,519 --> 00:18:47,220 They, too, will emerge in chapter 13, all of them bringing death in their wake, even as this fourth 169 00:18:47,220 --> 00:18:53,519 rider does. The consequences that this rider brings for judgment, they are characteristic of God, too, 170 00:18:53,680 --> 00:19:02,160 when his fury is turned upon his enemies. Sword, famine, pestilence, wild beasts. Oh, the law and 171 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:08,220 the prophets all predict these things, do they not? Behold, they transpire before us. And here we see, 172 00:19:08,559 --> 00:19:16,019 in the book, a quarter of the land is so judged. That is what's going on here, a quarter of the land. 173 00:19:16,019 --> 00:19:23,259 And remember, then, brothers and sisters, numbers are symbolic in apocalyptic. They are symbolic and 174 00:19:23,259 --> 00:19:30,000 not literal. That is what is characteristic of apocalyptic. And the genre we have before us in 175 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:35,440 the book of Revelation, or the apocalypse, is precisely that apocalyptic. The very book is named 176 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:41,039 after genre that is apocalyptic. And when we come to apocalyptic, we've seen this all through the book 177 00:19:41,039 --> 00:19:46,480 so far. We've seen it in the book of Daniel. We've seen it in the book of Ezekiel. We've seen it in the book 178 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:54,119 of Zechariah, that numbers are symbolic. And so, it means that when we say that a quarter of the land is so 179 00:19:54,119 --> 00:20:01,299 judged, that means that God's hand is measured in judgment. It's not total. It's not total destruction. 180 00:20:01,299 --> 00:20:08,220 Here, God is calling to repent by his judgments. We'll see, upcoming, that in the trumpets, a third 181 00:20:08,220 --> 00:20:14,140 of the land will be destroyed and judged. But we'll see in the bowls, indeed, as we see a pace, 182 00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:19,619 the earth does not repent. The men of the earth do not repent, but rather harden their hearts like 183 00:20:19,619 --> 00:20:26,779 Pharaoh and the Egyptians did. We'll see, then, in the bowl judgments, that all of the land is therefore 184 00:20:26,779 --> 00:20:35,720 judged. Numbers are symbolic and apocalyptic. Death and Hades here have no inherent authority. You see, 185 00:20:35,799 --> 00:20:42,160 they're given keys, right? It was granted them by the one with the keys of death and Hades hearkening 186 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:48,240 back to chapter one, where, indeed, it is Christ who has the keys of death and Hades. And, indeed, 187 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:53,079 keys are symbolic. Are they not of authority? That was so in the ancient world. The one who possessed 188 00:20:53,079 --> 00:21:00,940 keys possessed access and egress to important places, like the temple or the throne room of the 189 00:21:00,940 --> 00:21:08,559 king, these kinds of things. So, then, death and Hades, they have been granted authority by the one 190 00:21:08,559 --> 00:21:16,779 with the keys of death and Hades. So, keep in mind that God is not only merely allowing and permitting 191 00:21:16,779 --> 00:21:24,420 these awesome events. No, he is carefully and sovereignly and majestically ordaining all of 192 00:21:24,420 --> 00:21:30,720 these events, dear brothers and sisters, even as he did throughout the conquest of Canaan. Indeed, 193 00:21:30,859 --> 00:21:37,819 we have seen, once again, that conquest. The conquest is the new paradigm, right? Joshua, 194 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:42,680 the book of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan is the new paradigm now for the book of Revelation. 195 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:48,180 And this has now been kicked into warp drive with the breaking of the first four seals, 196 00:21:48,380 --> 00:21:52,799 and especially that first one. The rider on the white horse is none other than the Lord Jesus 197 00:21:52,799 --> 00:22:01,339 Christ himself, who went forth conquering and to conquer. That idea of to conquer anticipates the 198 00:22:01,339 --> 00:22:07,619 entire book of Revelation, as we see this book unfolding now before our eyes. And these are one 199 00:22:07,619 --> 00:22:11,819 of the means of conquering. Are they not? And this is one of the consequences of conquering, 200 00:22:11,819 --> 00:22:19,859 is that you have pestilence, you have famine, you have death as well. And these things all transpired 201 00:22:19,859 --> 00:22:27,200 in the fall of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. And they also transpired then in the fall of Rome 202 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:32,759 over the centuries, all of which the book of Revelation will predict. But we can see the pattern 203 00:22:32,759 --> 00:22:39,539 developed in Canaan as well. All these things transpired in Canaan as the first Joshua. Joshua 204 00:22:39,539 --> 00:22:47,200 and Israel went forth in the land of Canaan conquering. So this is what we're seeing transpire before our 205 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:55,119 eyes. Christ is now about subduing his inheritance. That's the sense of the breaking of the first four 206 00:22:55,119 --> 00:23:03,579 seals here, that Christ rides forth and he begins now to subdue his inheritance. As one commentator puts 207 00:23:03,579 --> 00:23:12,240 it, the holy war begins. God is about his holy war in the life of his church. He's been doing this now 208 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:19,460 for millennia. He conquers in order to conquer. And if you cast your eyes over redemptive history, 209 00:23:19,819 --> 00:23:24,799 you see indeed how the Lord Jesus Christ has conquered. And he's meant to conquer in every 210 00:23:24,799 --> 00:23:31,140 single generation. We are meant to conquer in every single generation. This is our inheritance too. 211 00:23:31,140 --> 00:23:37,099 We are heirs with Christ, co-heirs with him, are we not? Since we are indeed sons of God, 212 00:23:37,339 --> 00:23:45,339 we, indeed the church, are sons of God by adoption. We are sons by virtue of being united to the Son by 213 00:23:45,339 --> 00:23:53,059 nature, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are his, and we are consequently heirs, co-heirs with Christ, as Paul 214 00:23:53,059 --> 00:24:01,220 says. And so we are conquering with the Lord Jesus Christ. This book is not meant for some far-off future 215 00:24:01,220 --> 00:24:07,880 day. Rather, it is meant for our day. It was meant for the first century saints to ride forth and to 216 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:13,559 begin to conquer and to take the inheritance of all creation. It is not meant for some far-off future 217 00:24:13,559 --> 00:24:17,859 generation. And we're meant to just fold our arms and tap our foot on the ground saying, oh, I'm going to 218 00:24:17,859 --> 00:24:22,799 wait for the rapture, maybe save a few souls here, but wait for the rapture. And then in some future 219 00:24:22,799 --> 00:24:28,759 thousand-year, literal thousand-year kingdom, these things will transpire. No, these things are to 220 00:24:28,759 --> 00:24:36,559 transpire now and today. And if you are not about taking possession of all of creation for Christ now, 221 00:24:36,660 --> 00:24:44,140 then you are not fulfilling the Great Commission. Because indeed, all of creation is ours, and ours to 222 00:24:44,140 --> 00:24:51,079 take and conquer, even as our forefathers did, all the way from Charlemagne to now, all the way 223 00:24:51,079 --> 00:24:59,079 from the Reformation to now. The Reformers indeed saw this as their mission as well. And the weapons of 224 00:24:59,079 --> 00:25:04,279 our warfare, how about those? What are we supposed to do? Then send in the Marines to take all of 225 00:25:04,279 --> 00:25:11,680 creation? No, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but rather they are mighty. They are spiritual to 226 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:17,700 the pulling down of strongholds. Indeed, the book of Revelation has already hinted and shown us what 227 00:25:17,700 --> 00:25:24,779 the weapons of our warfare are. Indeed, they are the powerful weapons of the blood of the cross. 228 00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:33,339 Four, Mao said famously that political power comes out of the barrel of a gun, but we say spiritual power 229 00:25:33,339 --> 00:25:38,619 comes out of the blood of the cross. The weapons of our warfare are the word of our testimony. We will 230 00:25:38,619 --> 00:25:44,440 defeat the beast with the word of our testimony and the blood of the saints. Oh, we'll see, and we've already 231 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:50,339 seen as well that worship is one of the weapons of our warfare. As we worship on Sunday mornings, we are 232 00:25:50,339 --> 00:25:57,259 taking dominion of the creation around us. Indeed, as we participate in the sacraments of baptism and the 233 00:25:57,259 --> 00:26:04,420 Lord's Supper, we take further possession of creation around us. We take dominion. And brothers and 234 00:26:04,420 --> 00:26:12,460 sisters, dominion is our destiny, even as we have seen here unfolded for us in these four horsemen as 235 00:26:12,460 --> 00:26:18,240 the four seals are broken. Oh, brothers and sisters, join us for worship on Sunday morning as we go over 236 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:23,359 these things, as we recount these things. We're preaching through the book of Revelation, and I look 237 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:29,180 forward to seeing you with us on Sunday morning. New Geneva Meets for Holy Worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. 238 00:26:29,180 --> 00:26:35,079 at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Please come and join us for worship on Sunday, 239 00:26:35,279 --> 00:26:41,640 10 a.m., 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, and you can call us for more information 240 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:50,400 at area code 208-523-0196. 208-523-0196.