Powerful Images- more convincingly than any other new testament writing does revelation paint with powerful and memorable images. One of the best of these is the unforgettable four horsemen of the apocalypse that storm out with the opening of the first four seals in chapter 6 of John’s Revelation. It seems a bit out of order to start with them tonight, but it will serve as a good exercise for us to explore the imagery of the work. Trust me tonight you will never forget these horse and riders!

What is the interpretation of the four horsemen? There is no easy interpretation of the four horses of the apocalypse, however (according to Billy Graham) they have a striking relationship to Mat 24, especially when compared with the opening of the fifth seal which speaks of the persecution of the saints and the sixth seal which parallels Mat 24:29. The seals of Revelation can be considered as a comment on and expansion of Mat 24, which is a history of the world from heavens viewpoint.

So it’s not the end of the world.... or is it.. sometimes it is hard to know with everything going on, governments failing, nations warring, children starving, people hurting, babies crying, fish drowning, rivers spawning mutant animals... yup the world may not be ending but everything seems to be changing... so what do we do... where do we turn?... is this the end? WEEK 2 Horse and Rider

Jesus C

on

nec

tion

s

THEEND To Do:Week 2- ImagesWeek 3- WordsWeek 4- Beasts

“And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.But the one who endures to the end will be saved.And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:4–14 ESV)

Four Living Creatures (Rev. 4)“full of eyes and six wings”1st- Like a Lion2nd- Like an Ox3rd- Like a Man4th- Like an Eagle

Four Horsemen (Rev. 6) the first of the four sealsConquest- White Horse/BowWar- Red Horse/SwordFamine-Black Horse/ScalesDeath- Pale Horse/Plague

Four Gospels of the N.T.Matthew- Man- HumanityMark- Lion- BoldnessLuke- Ox- SacrificeJohn- Eagle- Eternity

Four Warnings Matt. 24Jesus’ warning statements 24:5- False Prophets24:6- Wars and Rumors24:7- Nations Against Nations24:7- Famines and Quakes

The Fours

Notes:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

X-tra Scripture to ReadMatthew 24:1-9Romans 8:28-39Zecheriah 6:1-8