Jesus said to His disciples, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see...” The scriptures contain a prophetic message, a message about the future. There is in the great heart of God a desire to share with His own children; that which He plans to do in this world. That fact surfaced very early in the scriptural record, in Genesis 18:17 we hear the voice of God saying, “And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?”
In the scripture we have FOUR OMINOUS WARNINGS of future events unfolding. We have FOUR AREAS where the stage is being set for prophetic events to be fulfilled. We have FOUR SITUATIONS developing that indicate that the end times are upon us. As we observe these things we are reminded of the words of Jesus, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see...” If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, the message behind these things and these events will be recognizable to you.
FOUR OMINOUS WARNINGS (HORSEMEN)
In Revelation chapter six John uses the metaphor of four horsemen to foretell the events of the early tribulation period. We are now seeing the shadows of these events being cast on our world today.
In each case we have a rider on the horse, the same rider is on each horse, and the rider represents the Antichrist and the different situations he brings with him as he comes to power on the world stage.
1. The White Horse – Here we have Antichrist riding onto the world stage as a conqueror. Daniel reveals that he comes to power over the nations with a great peace initiative. (Daniel 9:27 – 8:25 – 1 Thess. 5:3)
The stage will be perfectly set for that event to take place. For several decades now the world has been bending every effort to obtain a peace treaty in the Mideast, with conviction that peace in the Mideast will mean peace for the entire world. They believe it will end the reign of terror sweeping the world.
However the threat of disastrous war and nuclear catastrophe is growing by the hour. The nations have been totally frustrated and have now come to the end hope that peace can be reached.
After the war of Psalm 83 the stage will be set for a charismatic, wonder working, dynamic leader who can do the seemingly impossible and bring peace. And not only bring peace, but also solve the deep economic and monetary crisis now facing the world. (He that hath eyes to see)
2. The Red Horse – The red speaks of bloodshed, killing and war. Paul tells us that is what is awaiting the world after the great world peace treaty is signed by the Antichrist. (1 Thess.5:3) The world is literally filled with weapons of destruction. New and ingenious ways of killing people have been devised and facilitated by mushrooming technological advances. There are growing stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, such as biological, chemical and nuclear devises which are falling into the hands of more nations and terrorists and rogue states.
However I believe that the war of Revelation 6:4 speaks first of the war of Ezekiel 38-39 which will follow the false peace of Antichrist. After that, wars will break out all over the earth.
Never before in history has such a scenario been present. The stage is now set. (He that hath eyes to see)
3. The Black Horse – The back horse speaks of famine. The wars that will fill the earth will prevent food distribution and they will hinder agriculture endeavours. We have been warned repeatedly in recent years of the drying up of water sources and the problem of serious droughts. The prospect of wide spread famine has been looming over the world for some time. Skyrocketing food prices would put food beyond the reach of billions of people.
The stage is set for the black horse. (He that hath eyes to see)
4. The Pale Horse – The pale or green horse represents death. We have recently become more aware of the danger of pandemics that have the potential to sweep over the entire world and kill hundreds of millions of people. Death comes in the wake of the wars and the famines. We are told that early in the tribulation period one quarter of the earth’s population dies or are killed.
Later we are told another one third is also killed. By the midpoint of the tribulation one half of the population have been killed.
The stage is being set for these things to happen. (He that hath eyes to see)
FOUR AREAS – There are four geographical areas in the world that play a significant role in the end time events.
1. The EU – is the revived Roman Empire, they claim that themselves. Daniel lays out the scenario that will play out in Europe in the last days. The very scenario that Daniel gives us for the last days is now being readied before our eyes. There are now 17 Euro countries, Daniel tells us that there will be 10 rulers in Europe when the tribulation period comes. Daniel also tells us that when Antichrist appears there will a violent shake up of the European countries. Antichrist will uproot three rulers and take control of the revived Roman Empire. There is now in the EU unprecedented turmoil and economic problems. The EU leaders are saying that there must be a profound reorganization of the EU with more centralized control if the EU is to survive.
We have watched the EU develop over the years with an eye as to how it would morph into 10 nations. We are astounded as to how the situation has so rapidly changed and is now set for Antichrist to appear and fashion the Revived Roman Empire according the Biblical pattern. (He that hath eyes to see)
2. Russia, Iran and Turkey – In Ezekiel 38-39 we have the details given of a war that will take place early in the tribulation period. There is an alliance of six nations that will be formed to come against Israel to destroy her. Russia will be the leader of that alliance. Today that alliance is being fashioned before our eyes. Russia is now aliening with Iran and Turkey. Iran has been preparing to wipe Israel off the map. Turkey has just recently become a sworn enemy of Israel and is rapidly becoming a radical Islamic Fundamentalist anti Israel state.
Just recently Israel has discovered trillions of cubic feet of Gas off her shores, and billions of dollars of oil. Turkey is openly challenging Israel`s ownership of those resources and would welcome Russia’s help to obtain and share that wealth. It is for just such a spoil that Russia will be drawn into the war of Ezekiel 38-39. Ezekiel 38:11-12 reveals that scenario, “And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” (He that hath eyes to see)
3. Israel – It is astounding the way the scenario of the war of Psalm 83 is now set up. Every detail is now in place. There is an alliance of nations named in Psalm 83, for the purpose of destroying Israel. That alliance has now come together and they are now preparing to do just that. This group is doing what the scriptures said they would do; they are claiming the land of Israel as their own. They are claiming Judea and Samaria, biblical Jerusalem and the temple mount as their own. They have petitioned the UN to give them much of Israel`s land as a state of their own. This is an astounding fulfilment of prophecy that is unique to our own day. (He that hath eyes to see)
4. China – China has exploded onto the world scene as a power to be reckoned with. They are rapidly expanding their navy and using their newfound wealth to insert themselves into world affairs. They are gaining influence in every area of the world. This situation is a new development and certainly seems to be preparation for China's involvement in the battle of Armageddon. (He that has eyes to see)
FOUR SITUATIONS – There are four situations in our present world that are driving the people of the world toward world government, which is another end time scenario.
1. Economic and Monetary – The economies of the world are on the verge of collapse. The whole world faces recession and probably a great depression. The economies of the world are linked together and what affects one also affects the others. The nations of the world have been working together to solve the problem. The more they meet and set rules and regulations the more interdependent they become. The world has arrived at the place where only world-wide controls can remedy the problem. The world is rushing toward a world government, a world economy and a world monetary system.
The stage is being set. (He that hath eyes to see)
2. Environmental – Real or imagined, the world is very troubled about the environment. There has been for sometime concerted efforts to bring the world together to regulate and control pollution. This ongoing effort is pushing the world toward one world government. This is a situation that is unique to this hour. (He that has eyes to see)
3. Drive for Peace – This drive has brought the nations of the world together in a way never even imagined making huge compromises. These compromises are always at Israel’s expense. The world is happy to sacrifice Israel for the sake of its own peace and safety. The desire for peace is a unifying force that is promoting UN solutions and world government. (He that hath eyes to see)
4. Exponential Growth of Evil – Paul tells us that in the last days evil will greatly increase. He tells us that when the church is raptured all restraints on evil will be lifted and evil will be seen in its ultimate fullness. Today evil is flooding over the world in an alarming and fearful way. We are shocked and revolted at the flood of evil on every side. If you dare turn on your TV set, evil will flood into your living room. Its’ hard to describe the extent of vileness we are being exposed to! Everywhere we look we are assaulted. We cry out how long Lord Jesus? Come now and rescue us from a wicked and perverse generation! We feel like lot, of whom it was said, “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds”(2 Peter 2:8).
The stage is set for Satan to attempt his final assault on God.
He that hath eyes to see let him see - Blessed are your eyes for they see.