Visions of Judgment: The Ride of the Fifth Horseman

Most Bible students focus only upon the first four horsemen of Revelation 6. The phrase, "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is synonymous with frightening prophecies. But there is another horseman—a fifth, whose ride signifies a much different future. This horseman brings the hope and promise of a better age to come.

by Darris McNeely

In early June U.S. President George W. Bush put the prestige of his office into the quest for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Meeting in Aqaba with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, a new effort, dubbed "the road map for peace," was initiated. The Israeli and Palestinian leaders shook hands, expressed regret for the suffering of the peoples, stated their desire for peaceful relations and committed to travel the road to peace.

But within days of this highly heralded meeting, another wave of violence broke upon the streets of Israel. Sniper attacks and homicide bombings took Israeli lives. Seventeen were killed in one grisly bus attack. Israeli counterattacks took the lives of Palestinian leaders as well as innocent children. No sooner were the hopes for peace raised than they were dashed to the ground, leaving many to wonder if there is any peaceful solution to this problem.

Diplomats shuttle between nations, while new solutions to age-old enmities are tried and found wanting. One U.S. senator went so far as suggesting that the United States may need to commit troops to Israel as a peacekeeping force. The last thing Israel wants is the death of American soldiers in defense of its territory. The imposition of a foreign army into Israel sounds ominous notes, which students of prophecy easily hear.

Where do we find the way to genuine peace? Beyond the Middle East, other areas of conflict continue to flare up. In the Congo, a little-noticed war has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Africans. While attention is focused on Iraq, Iran and Korea, this war has been all but ignored by the world powers. It is a sad and discordant commentary on those who claim to work for peace in the world.

In this series of articles, we have focused on the ride of the four horsemen of Revelation 6. These horsemen, who make up the first four of the seven seals opened by Christ, show the coming destruction caused by false religion, war, famine and pestilence. Christ said these seals would herald an unparalleled time of sorrow and great tribulation "such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:7-8,21).

The prophecies show dark days ahead for this world and its inhabitants. Revelation 8 shows the effect of further plagues, which affect the earth’s vegetation (verse 7) and cause the waters of the rivers and seas to become bitter and bloody (verses 8 and 10). Men will seek the escape of death in that day, but it will not be found (Revelation 9:6). Why will all this come upon the earth and where will it lead?

God’s righteous judgment

There is a basic principle of God’s judgment upon man. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would rather see man live righteously and enjoy the blessings that come from obeying His way. But when the way of man becomes too wicked, there follows a time of righteous judgment, the end of which is ultimate restoration. Notice Ezekiel 18. In verse 23, God rhetorically asks, "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?...and not that he should turn from his ways and live?" Again in verse 30 He says, "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways...Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin."

The book of Revelation shows that God will bring a time of righteous judgment upon the world that in the end will result in peace. It is the only way this warring fractious world will be brought to a state of harmony. Notice what is sung at the throne of God in anticipation of the seven last plagues. A song of Moses and the Lamb carries these words: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For you alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested" (Revelation 15:3-4).

Another angel, holding a bowl of judgment says, "You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due" (Revelation 16:5-6).

To the human mind, unaccustomed to thinking about divine judgment, these words strike a discordant and harsh note. How can a loving and merciful God do this to His creation? Yet our judgment must be guided and shaped by the words of another spirit being from God’s altar, who says, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments" (Revelation 16:7).

However, the fifth horseman of Revelation, Jesus Christ, rides not with famine, pestilence or a false gospel. His ride is not the fifth seal of Revelation 6. Instead He is the returning King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Christ rides onto the world stage at the moment of earth’s greatest crisis and "makes war." But it will be the war to end all war. And it will be a war waged in righteous judgment. Notice the description in Revelation 19, "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war" (verse 11).

Like the first horseman of Revelation 6, Christ sits astride a white horse. But here the similarity ends. Unlike the deception of the first rider, Christ comes with truth. His name is "The Word of God" (verse 13) and He wields a sharp sword, which in other places is used to symbolize the Word of God. Indeed, there will be a literal battle, after which the true way of God will replace the governments of this world and nations will be subject to the Kingdom of God. Unlike the previous four horsemen, which foreshadowed increasing world turmoil and tribulation, Christ’s ride will lead to a time of peace upon the earth.

Christ will rule the nations according to all the prophecies that foretold His righteous government. Revelation 19:15 carries forward the thought recorded in Isaiah 11:4, "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."

Christ’s second coming, with power and great glory, will be a time of great conflict and a final battle of the nations gathered in Jerusalem. These armies gather for what will seem to them to be an earthly, temporal matter. But God will have another purpose. An angel, emblazoned against the sun, appeared to John with this ominous command to the fowl of the skies: "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God" (Revelation 19:17). Plainly, after Christ destroys those who hurt the earth—the kings and captains and mighty men—there will be nothing left but food for the scavengers.

Read in your own Bible the words describing this dramatic scene at the end of this present age. While not pretty, it is the only solution to the continual warring of mankind. When giant oil wells are burning out of control, the only way the firefighters can extinguish the flame is by igniting an explosion in the well head. The explosion sucks out the oxygen, thus taking away a key element needed for the fire. Similarly, the righteous war Christ will wage is like a massive explosion of force that brings the raging flames of war to a halt. Only then will the conditions be set for the peace of the Kingdom of God.

The Desire of All Nations

Through the prophet Haggai, God sent a message of comfort that echoes through the ages. It speaks to the world at the time of great calamity mentioned in Revelation. "‘My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’ For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts...‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts" (Haggai 2:5-9).

Clearly, the Messiah is the "Desire of All Nations." What do all nations long for? Is it not peace? Is it not the chance to live and love and grow old through the generations without fear of war, wasting diseases and want? Mankind throughout the ages has looked for one who would bring universal peace to the world. The first century world looked for a golden age that would bring justice and peace to mankind. They sensed the time was right for restoring a time of prosperity and wisdom when the physical and spiritual world worked together in harmony.

The poet Virgil spoke of the return of justice from "a new breed of men sent down from heaven." "Only do thou at the boy’s birth in whom The Iron shall cease, the Golden Age arise...He shall receive the life of gods, and see Heroes with gods commingling, and himself...reign over a world of peace" (Eclogue 4.5-13,15-18). Of course, the Roman Empire did not bring a "Golden Age"—it was more like iron than gold. The peace of Rome was achieved at the end of the legionnaire’s short sword—war, but not a righteous one. No leader or nation since then has brought lasting peace to any age of man. Where can you turn for a reliable promise of peace and justice?

A lasting peace

The search will continue for a lasting peace within today’s world. Conferences will be held and treaties and accords produced and signed. There will be short periods of calm giving the illusion of peace, but in the end, the only real peace must be brought by the hand of God through the ride of the fifth horseman of Revelation. Today the world awaits the voices that will declare, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15.) —WNP

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