Revelation 6:1-2 - The False Peacemaker

“Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” John just witnessed a worship scene in heaven in chapters 4 and 5. But almost immediately in chapter 6, John watches as the Lamb begins to open the seven-sealed book and the judgment of God begins on earth. When the first seal is opened, John sees a white horse with someone sitting on it with a bow, but no arrows and he began to take authority over peoples and nations. We believe that this person on the white horse is the Antichrist, who first shows up as a peacemaker signified by the white horse. Before we explain this, we need to give a little more background for why we believe this person to be the Antichrist. When Daniel was given his vision of end time events concerning Israel in Daniel 9, he was told that “seventy weeks were determined upon Israel” (Daniel 9:24). Our understanding of this is that because one week represents one year in Bible prophecy, that a specific time period of 490 (70 x 7 = 490) years was on God’s time calendar for Israel. It was divided into three periods: seven weeks (49 years), sixty-two weeks (434 years, and one week (seven years). This time clock begins to tick when Artaxerxes the Persian king allowed Israel to go back to the Promise Land to rebuild Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time after their captivity. The seven weeks (49 years), and the sixty-two weeks (434 years) added together (483 years), was the time that Jerusalem was being rebuilt up to the time Messiah was “cut off”. At this point the God’s time clock stopped with Israel and there is one week (7 years) left to fulfill this prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 9:27). What starts the clock ticking again, is when Antichrist makes a peace treaty with Israel. “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate." (Daniel 9:27) This period of time is what we believe to be the seven-year tribulation and in the middle of it the Antichrist will break his peace treaty with Israel by committing the “abomination of desolation”. (Daniel 11:31) And then the last three and half years will be the Great Tribulation on earth. Jesus Himself prophesied of this: "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand)…For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:15-21) By referring to John's outline (Rev. 1), you will see that his description of the tribulation is in three parts: the first three and a half years (Rev. 6-9), the events at the middle of the period (Rev. 10-14), and the last three and a half years (Rev. 15-19). I remind you, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, that the Antichrist cannot be revealed until after the “restrainer” is removed, which we believe is the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers. Which means Antichrist can’t be revealed until after the rapture of the church. And when he shows up, he comes “on a white horse” with a bow but no arrows, meaning he comes as a peace maker specifically in the Middle East and Europe. This is why I believe we are living in the last of the last days. With the atrocities that are taking place in Ukraine and all the conflict surrounding the Middle East and Israel, the world is crying for peace! My friends, we should be looking up! Jesus is coming soon!