http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn50/editorial50.htm
Ready to Ride?
by Scott Ashley
I remember quite clearly when I first heard the term four horsemen.
I was in eighth grade, and "new math" was coming into vogue. Our
math teacher apparently was having a tough time helping a class of
rambunctious, attention-challenged eighth-graders grasp the finer
points of the concept.
Much to his relief, four of us finally caught on. He promptly
dubbed us "the four horsemen." At the time I thought it was a
compliment.
Several years later, when I came to understand the biblical
significance of the term, I wasn't sure what to think.
I've long wondered about the connection in his mind. Perhaps, this
being his first year out of college and being stuck with trying to
teach math to junior-high students, he felt the end of his world
was imminent. I certainly wouldn't have blamed him. And, now that I
think about it, he lasted only that one year at our school.
But the four horsemen of the Bibleor, as they are often called,
the four horsemen of the Apocalypseare no trivial matter. They are
deadly serious, and according to the Bible their disastrous ride
marks four overlapping waves of catastrophe, spiritual and
physical, that devastate the world in the time leading up to Jesus
Christ's return.
Who are these four mysterious horsemen found in Revelation 6? What
do they represent? Should we take them seriously?
Many people misunderstand the first of the four, and thus become
totally confused about the most important trends prophesied to
overtake the earth before Christ's second coming.
But maybe we shouldn't be surprised that
so many misunderstand this first horseman. After all, as you'll
learn in this issue of The Good News, he represents the very thing
billions of people are victims offalse religion, particularly
false Christianity.
Does this sound surprising to you? It's certainly a jarring
concept, but it shouldn't be. After all, Jesus Christ Himself
clearly told His followers and us todaythat many false teachers
and religious figures would arise, claiming to represent Him, and
would deceive many.
He repeats this warning three times in one prophecy alonethe major
prophecy He gave shortly before His death (recorded in Matthew 24)
in which He explained to His disciples the major trends that would
dominate the period leading up to His return. Those sobering
warnings clearly should get our attention!
In fact, Christ's prophecy is key to understanding the identity of
these four horsemen. Jesus clearly told us what they portend; those
trends are represented symbolically by the four horsemen of the
book of Revelationwhere many additional details of end-time events
are spelled out for us if we're willing to understand and accept
what it says.
It's difficult to properly understand end-time events and where
they are headed without an understanding of what these four
horsemen represent. To help you better grasp these prophecies, and
to see their clear meaning from the pages of the Bible, in this
issue of The Good News we're beginning a series of articles that
will cover the meaning of each of these four horsemen in great
detail.
If you want to understand Bible prophecy as it applies to our age
and the times ahead, few things could be more important to you. We
hope you'll study this article series carefully and prayerfully.
GN