 And this evening we return to Revelation chapter 6. Before we look at the text, there's a handout going out, and I want to read from John Flavill's The Mystery of Providence, if, as we have seen, God performs all things for you. God is to be owned by you in all that befalls you in this world, whether it is in a way of success and comfort or of trouble and affliction. Oh, it is your duty to observe His hand and disposal. When God gives you comforts, it is your great evil not to observe His hand in them. Hence was the charge against Israel, for she did not know that I gave her corn and wine and oil and multiplied her silver and gold. That is, she did not actually, artificially consider my care over her and goodness to her in these mercies. And so for afflictions, it is a great wickedness when God's hand is lifted up not to see it. The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib. The most dull and stupid creatures know their benefactors. Oh, look to the hand of God in all and know that neither your comforts nor afflictions do arise out of the dust or spring up out of the ground. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your mercy, the mercy that you've shown us in Christ Jesus. And we pray that this evening, as we look at Revelation chapter six, that you would give us a discerning eye, that you would help us to see, Lord, your goodness in times of blessing and in times of tribulation. In Christ's name I pray, amen. Revelation chapter six follows Revelation chapter five. And since that is the case, the events of Revelation chapter six begin to unfold after the Messiah is enthroned and the Messiah was enthroned at his ascension. It may seem like a very small thing to consider, but the events that begin to unfold from this point forward in the book of Revelation are governed by Jesus Christ. Look briefly at chapter six. Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a loud voice like thunder, come. And I looked and behold, the white horse and its rider had a bow and a crown was given to him and he came out conquering and to conquer. Verse three, and when he opened verse five and when he opened verse seven, when he opened verse nine, when he opened verse 12, when he opened, as the four horsemen and the martyrs and the cosmic events that occur in the book of Revelation, and then after what follows the seals, as all of these events unfold, providentially they are brought upon the earth as a means of blessing and as a means of judgment from the very hand of the risen Lord Jesus. What I wanted to do first is take a look at the Old Testament so that we can understand the imagery and the judgments in Revelation chapter six because the background for the imagery particularly of the horsemen and then the judgments that are coming have been coming upon the earth are being unfolded. We'll see that it's nothing new and then for the structure of Revelation chapter six, we'll take a look at the New Testament. So first let's begin by looking at the imagery and we'll begin with the book of Zechariah. Look at Zechariah and we're going to take a look at Zechariah chapter six. So Matthew, Malachi, Zechariah. First look at chapter one, Zechariah chapter one and beginning at verse seven. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat in the year, second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah the son of Barakaius, son of Edo saying, I saw in the night and behold the man riding a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen and behind him were red, sorrel and white horses. Then I said, what are these my Lord? The angel talked with me and said, I will show you what they are. So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, these are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, we have patrolled the earth and behold all the earth remains at rest. Now look at Zechariah chapter six and if we get anything from Zechariah chapter one is that these angelic beings that are revealed to Zechariah in the form of a rider and a horse, they patrol the earth for God. Zechariah chapter six beginning at verse one, again, I lifted my eyes and saw and behold four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses and the fourth chariot dabbled horses, all of them strong. In each instances there are these four sets of horses here there are chariots and multiple horses. In verse one, there are four horses here there are these four chariots but the number four, the first four seals that are broken unleash horsemen. Look at verse four, then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, what are these my Lord? And the angel answered and said to me, these are going out to the four winds of heaven after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot with the black horse goes toward the north country. The white one goes after them and the dabbled one goes toward the south country. When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go on and patrol the earth. And he said, go patrol the earth. So they patrol the earth. Then he cried to me, behold, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country. So these here, the chariots, they go out doing the same thing that the horses were doing right in chapter one. They're going to patrol all the earth and in essence to do God's will. Here the passage says, cause my spirit to rest. Some versions say something to the effect that they have dissuaded the wrath of God by their going out. These horses are sent out into all the earth to do God's will. And here in particular, in verse eight, you see the statement, he cried out, behold, those who go toward the north country, the chariots have set my spirit at rest in the north. More than likely what this is, this is a reference to the Persian conquest of Babylon. And the people after that conquest are able to return to the land. The same way that the angels functioned in Daniel, remember Daniel's praying, angel comes to him. He said, sorry, I was delayed. I was doing battle with, he says, with the Prince of Persia. And then he says, after I leave, I'm going to do battle with the Prince of Greece. These angelic beings revealed to Zechariah as chariots with horses and horse and riders with horses are sent out throughout all the earth to bring about peace in such a way as to bring pleasure to God. So this is where the imagery of horsemen comes from. And this is going to come up in Revelation chapter six. Now the judgments themselves are taken from two places. Look at Ezekiel chapter 14. In Ezekiel chapter 14, Ezekiel is one of the major prophets. So right before Daniel, you have Ezekiel. If you find Lamentations or Jeremiah went too far, just go back. Daniel and then Ezekiel. And we're going to go to Ezekiel chapter 14. And in Ezekiel chapter 14, beginning at verse 12, listen to the judgments. And the word of the Lord came to me, son of man, when a land descends against me by acting faithlessly and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it and cut off from it man and beast. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness declares the Lord God. So when God is preparing to come in judgment, particularly with the kinds of offenses that Jerusalem has committed against God, the righteous person saves his own life. There's no need to get into a discussion here about where that righteousness comes from, right? When I'm talking about people who justify themselves by their good deeds before God. That's not at all in view here. So it's God who comes in judgment. Now, verses 15 and 16, then listen to the types of judgment that come. If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they ravage it. So one of the judgments that God will use is wild beasts. Okay, verses 15 and 16. Look at verse 17. Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, let a sword pass through the land. So wild beasts, swords. Look at verses verse 19 through 20 is plagues or pestilence. Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood. So God uses wild beasts. He uses the sword. He uses plagues. Now look at verse 21. For thus says the Lord God, how much more when I send upon Jerusalem, my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beast, pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast. Now this is what God does. This is the way that God brings about judgment, sword, famine, wild beast, pestilence. And he uses these to cut off. And the my four disasters literally is our my four evils verse 22. But behold, some survivors will be left in it. Sons and daughters will be brought out. Behold when they come out to you and you see their ways and their deeds. You will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem. For all that I have brought upon it. Think about that, right? So God will bring these four evils upon Jerusalem for judgment and he will slay men and animals. But there will be certain people who will come out of that judgment. And it will be a consolation for believers. Verse 23, they will console you when you see their ways and their deeds and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it declares the Lord God. God purges sin from the land by means of these four evils. But he also in the midst of bringing those judgments, he purifies the people for himself. Those that are righteous are purified by means of the judgment. God does not bring the judgments upon his people to punish them, but to purify them. And all of these judgments really, I find a background in Leviticus chapter 26 verses 18 through 28 where you have the covenant curses and we are not going to, for the sake of time, we are not going to read those verses, but let me just walk through the sections for you. In 19 through 20, you have crop failure and drought, in essence famine. There's famine because of covenant breaking. In verse 22, beasts of the field again. In verses 25 through 26, sword, death, famine. This is from Leviticus 26. Verse 29 through 33, the desolation and the sword. So God uses these judgments to accomplish his will. And if we take into account Zechariah and of course Daniel, some of this is done by means of angelic beings. However it is that works, however it is that that works, God doesn't tell us. He doesn't say that they're, you know, that they cause hurricanes by flapping their wings. We're not told, right? But we are told that they are, they are ministering spirits and yes, they minister to us, but first and foremost, they serve God and do his will. And part of accomplishing his will is bringing about these calamities. Now the, and this is something that we have to sort of wrap our brains around, right? God has always been in charge this way, right? He is the sovereign of all the universe and Father, Son and Spirit, right? We have a good, robust, Trinitarian theology and we understand that you can't separate the acts of the Father, Son and Spirit right now. Yet after the resurrection, the God-man ascended into heaven and the judgments that are coming upon the earth, as Paul says in Romans 1, the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. In part, not in part, not in part. Those judgments now are being mediated through the sovereign will of the God-man. So there is a being, right, God himself, who is 100% God and 100% man, exalted as the Messiah in heaven and he is the one who is mediating judgment from heaven. Before the resurrection, God was doing that, right? And it's not that God is not doing it anymore. But what Revelation highlights specifically is that the God-man now does it. Before the incarnation, he was a spirit, he didn't have a body like man. After the incarnation, he forever has a body like man, now glorified. And consider this, that the one who is seated on the throne suffered at the hands of sinners. According to Psalm chapter 2, he heard them say, let us break the bonds that God has on us. Let's take advantage, the vineyard owner's son is here. Let's crucify him. Let's hang him on a cross. And it is that one who not only was handled in such an evil way by sinners, but who rose powerfully over sin and over the grave and lives now forever glorified. It is that one that now is mediating these judgments. James Corinthians chapter 15 highlights this point. Everything has been subjected to his authority until he exercises his will fully as Messiah, destroys all of his enemies and then hands over the kingdom to his father. So the imagery and the judgments, although consistent with imagery of judgment in the Old Testament, it is now exercised by the Messiah, the God, the God, man, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we see in Revelation chapter 6. And that is a powerful, very powerful image and truth for God's people. Next, the structure. I just want to take a look at the structure quickly of the seals, because we've seen this structure before. And if you flip over your page, really the New Testament background, there are a lot of texts. So when Paul speaks in, for example, look at 1 Timothy. If you look at 1 Timothy chapter 3, for example, Paul makes these kinds of statements. Oh, excuse me, chapter 4, 1 Timothy 4, Paul makes these kind of statements. Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to the seatful spirits and the teachings of demons. And again, in 2 Timothy chapter 3, 2 Timothy chapter 3. Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty, for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. So there are a lot of texts in the New Testament that speak about the nature of the last days, the days that we now live in according to the author to the book of Hebrews. He says that in these last days, God has spoken to us through His Son. So those are the days that we live in. And the New Testament has a lot to say about those days. But particularly when we're talking about the structure of Revelation chapter 6, verses 12 through 17, the structure is primarily taken from the Olivet Discourse. So there you have Luke chapter 21 laid out in comparison with the seals. Now, granted, I think that there's more flexibility sort of than a chart can provide. And as we work through chapter 6, we'll see that. But I think it's a fair representation there of how the Olivet Discourse, in essence, lays out the structure for the judgments. So you have in Revelation chapter 6, verses 12 through 17, you have wars, famine, pestilence, persecution, wild beasts, and cosmic disturbances, or cosmic disturbance. And in Matthew, Mark, and Luke's description of the Olivet Discourse, they have all of these wild beasts is missing from the Olivet Discourse. Pestilence is missing from Matthew and Mark. But Luke has war, famine, pestilence, persecution, and cosmic disturbances. That's why I laid it out there for you in that particular way. And what you see is what Jesus promised was going to happen in the Olivet Discourse has begun to unfold. And it began to unfold if you think about some of the statements Jesus makes. For example, if we go down to, you know, believe it's verse 12 in Luke chapter 21. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you and will persecute you, delivering you to synagogues and prisons and bringing you before kings and governors for my name's sake. It will lead you to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourself, for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. But look at what he says in verse 17, and you will be hated by all because of my name. Verse 18, yet not a hair of your head will perish. You ever thought about that? He says they could kill you, not a hair of your head will perish. You'll be fine, right? Because they can destroy the body, but God is the one who can destroy both soul and body in unquenchable fire. They can't do that. But these events, if you just read the book of Acts, already began to occur after the resurrection, you see? So you see how one of the important things to remember is that the book of Revelation is not primarily written to Americans 2,000 years after the cross. But it's written to specific churches in Asia Minor. And historical events that preceded the writing and will come shortly after, or maybe that are occurring at that very point in history, John addresses them. Now what doesn't mean that those historical events that are passed to us lock in what the text means? No, because as the Olivet discourse speaks of historical events that occur during the life of the apostles up to the destruction of the temple, there's also pointers and references towards the future. And Revelation chapter 6 functions in the very same way. So the basic structure and outline, you have that on your handout, so I won't walk through that handout point by point. You have it there to look at. So here, as we go back to Revelation chapter 6, we've already been doing this for a half an hour. So I get to preach Revelation chapter 6 next week. But I think it's helpful to have that background. I'll finish with this quote that is helpful by Beal. And G.K. Beal writes in his commentary on the book of Revelation, believers need to understand the dual role of these calamities so that they can accept them in a positive manner as tools of sanctification, yet also realize that these same trials are punishment upon unbelievers. Take the time this week to read Revelation chapter 6. Meditate upon chapter 6 and consider those judgments because as those judgments have unfolded and continue to unfold in history till the coming of Christ, it is the God, man, the Lord Jesus who is, in essence, opening those seals and displaying his wrath from heaven. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for this time in your word. I am grateful for this preliminary work as we begin to wrap our mind around the judgments that unfold as the seals are broken. I ask that you would prepare our hearts, Lord, to accept these things with a willing heart and with eager expectation of your coming. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.