The Four Horsemen Are Approaching

Awaiting His return in a world of war, disease, famine and death

In his 1984 book Approaching Hoofbeats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the late Billy Graham wrote about the apostle John’s vision of those riders in Revelation 6:

“In my view the shadows of all four horsemen can already be seen galloping through the world at this moment….I can hear the hoofbeats of these horses much louder than when I first began writing this book.” 

Billy Graham wrote those words 40 years ago. Today, the distant rumble of those hoofbeats sound more and more like thunder. 

Think how the world has changed in the last four decades. The computer age has dawned with global access, allowing people to get information on demand from everywhere. Militant Islam has emerged. A terrible plague has swept across the whole world, killing nearly 6 million people. As I write these words, a massive Russian army is marching into the neighboring nation of Ukraine, sending thousands of refugees fleeing, threatening neighboring NATO nations, and leaving devastation and casualties in their wake.

At the same time, Iran may be only months away from acquiring a nuclear weapon—and they have repeatedly vowed to wipe Israel off the map. China has been flexing its military muscle, sending its jets screaming over the neighboring country of Taiwan. The United States, after suffering a humiliating retreat from Afghanistan, seems hamstrung and distracted by political strife and a “woke” insurgency dominating our media and educational institutions. 

It is exactly as Scripture predicted it thousands of years ago. This is precisely how the Bible said it would be in the end times. 

The Four Horsemen

In Revelation 6:1-19, we read about John’s vision of four horsemen galloping across our world. The first rider sits astride a white horse:

He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to conquer.—Revelation 6:2

This rider may be on a white horse, but believe me, he is not one of the good guys. In fact, he is the Antichrist, the very embodiment of evil.

Following him comes a rider on a red horse:

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.—Revelation 6:4

This horse and rider represent a vast global conflict—and war gripping the whole world. 

On the heels of the red horse a black horse emerges, symbolizing global famine (Revelation 6:5-6). The last rider, on a pale horse, is Death itself:

I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.—Revelation 6:8

We can hear those hoofbeats already. We can see how technology and overbearing government restrictions have paved the way for Antichrist. We can track the onslaught of war, disease, famine and death with a few clicks of our smartphones. 

The horsemen are on their way.

Awaiting His Return

In view of all of these devastations, deceptions, and dangers lying just over the horizon, how should we as Christians live our lives as we await our Lord’s return?

I’m glad you asked.

In 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul writes a beautiful paragraph on how we ought to live our lives in these last days before Christ’s return at the Rapture: 

You yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.—1 Thessalonians 5:2-9

No, we are not “appointed to wrath.” We will not be here when God pours out those terrible judgments during the days of the Tribulation period. In fact, Christ will remove His bride, His Church, before the Antichrist is revealed. So how should we live in light of that? The apostle Paul gives us three instructions. 

1. Wake Up 

Let us not sleep as others do.—1 Thessalonians 5:6

There are people in the church today who have gone to sleep—and I don’t mean nodding off during a boring sermon. What this means is that they are lethargic, passive, even lazy, and don’t bother to watch the signs of the times. There seems to be a disconnect between their so-called spiritual life and their real, walking-around-on-earth life. Instead of walking in the Spirit as they ought to do, they are sleepwalking.

So the Bible is saying we need to wake up to the urgency of the time. We need to open our eyes to what is transpiring all around us, and give some thought to the nearness of our Lord’s return.

2. Sober Up 

Let us who are of the day be sober….—1 Thessalonians 5:8

I spent the first 17 years of my life around drunk people, so I feel I can speak somewhat authoritatively on this. My mother was a raging alcoholic, and I spent a good deal of time in bars waiting for my mom to get done drinking. 

The Bible is saying, “Sober up.” I think we interpret this both literally and figuratively. Moving beyond drunkenness is the first and obvious interpretation. But we can also be intoxicated with other things. I can become preoccupied with stuff. I can become distracted, wrapped up in, and sometimes distressed by what I’m going to eat, where I’m going to live, or what I’m going to wear.

I can be diverted from a simple walk with Christ by the pursuit of money, hobbies, vacations, politics, or a thousand other substitutes for God. Again and again, the New Testament tells us, “Don’t let yourself become overly preoccupied. Don’t make your life about the pursuit of fame or money or material possessions. Stay alert and wide-awake, so that you will be ready when the Rapture comes.”

3: Suit Up 

“Putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”—1 Thessalonians 5:8

Chained as he was to Roman guards during the latter part of his ministry, Paul had a lot of time to research Roman armor. Knowing Paul, I’m guessing that he struck up conversations with those guards. “What’s your name? Where are you from? So…tell me about your armor. How do these things work?”

In this passage, Paul is saying, “Suit up. Put on the armor of God.” Why? Because, as Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe once said, “Life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.”

As a Christian, you are in a battle whether you like it or not. Someone might say, “Well, I don’t like war. I’m a spiritual pacifist.” All right. Then prepare to be defeated—or devoured. Every believer needs to learn how to strap on his or her armor, and how to handle the “sword of the Spirit,” which is the Word of God. 

The Day Has Almost Dawned

So as you wait for the Lord to come for His church, wake up, sober up, and suit up.

I love the way Paul sums things up in Romans 13 from the Phillips translation of the Bible:

“Why all this stress on behavior? Because, as I think you have realized, the present time is of the highest importance—it is time to wake up to reality. Every day brings God’s salvation nearer. The night is nearly over, the day has almost dawned. Let us therefore fling away the things that men do in the dark, let us arm ourselves for the fight of the day!”—Romans 13:11-12

Hear those words:

The night is nearly over, the day has almost dawned!

If ever we needed to be wide awake, it is now.