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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Like ghostly spectres, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared to the apostle John in vision at the close of the first century A.D. What do these four horsemen really represent? Were they merely a vivid nightmare of the elderly John's imagination? Or are they a living prophecy soon to unfold in our generation? Here is how Jesus Christ himself revealed the true meaning---for our day, right now---of the four mysterious riders of the book of Revelation!

Historical famines are, by definition, "cyclical famines," meaning that they are caused by unusual weather conditions, plagues, animal or insect infestation or a similar interruption of normal cycles. These cyclical famines are far different from the "structural famines" which much of mankind is experiencing today.

Even righteous Abraham suffered temporarily from such cyclical famines (Gen. 12:10). When Canaan's rains failed, he went to Egypt for food. In the days of his great-grandson Joseph, the rains and rivers everywhere failed for seven years, "and the famine was over all the face of the earth" (Gen. 41:56).

The historical books of the Bible speak frequently of "a famine in the days of David," "a sore famine in Samaria," or a "great famine was throughout the land" (II Sam. 21:1, I Kings 18:2; Luke 4:25). One very graphic incident is described in II Kings 6:25-29: "There was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver [about $50], and the fourth part of a cab [a pint] of dove's dung for five pieces of silver [about $3]."

Between A.D. 1050 and 1350, severe famines struck all known lands, becoming especially severe in Egypt around A.D. 1065 and 1200, England around A.D. 1314, and all of Europe during the so-called "Black Death" of the 1350s.

Around 1065, the combined ravages of war and drought caused a famine in Egypt which must have rivaled in severity the seven-year famine under Joseph, approximately 2800 years previous. During the famine of 1065, a single cake of bread sold for about $40 (modern equivalent), eggs $30 a dozen, and bushel of grain for more than $50. One woman, according to a historian of the time, gave a necklace worth thousands of dollars for a mere handful of flour. Others flung their jewels into the street.

Finally, the desperate Egyptians resorted to cannibalism. Butchers of men actually "fished" for their victims, letting down ropes attached to meat hooks in search of unwary pedestrians. After the shrieking victims were "hooked" and cooked, they were sold on the open market to the most desperate of Egypt's hungered masses.

In the England of Edward II, a great famine struck in 1314 as a kind of prelude to the upcoming "Black Death." Food was so scarce that even the king had a hard time securing food for his table. Men ate dogs, horses, cats, and tragically, human babies as well. Thieves and cannibals were arrested, but when a new criminal was thrown into jail, he was quickly seized upon by the starving inmates and literally torn to pieces for food.

Good mornin' everybody!...My Christian brothers & sisters, the irresolutors & the heathens!, how is everyone today on this fine, beautiful Sunday, the 17th of July?...I'm fine myself thankyou!

Let me start today with the Lord's prayer. For you irresolutors & heathens, feel free to join in. Ok let's bow our heads and pray.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.----Matthew 6:9:13

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Book of Luke

The author was Luke a Gentile physician and associate of Paul, written around A.D. 60

Like an investigative journalist compiling a story from several informants, Luke composed his Gospel from the accounts of several eyewitnesses of Jesus' life. Luke, a Gentile physician who traveled extensively with the apostle Paul, wrote his Gospel for a man named Theophilus (1:3), most likely another Gentile believer. After consulting several witnesses and accounts of Jesus' life, Luke wrote this fresh account of his life and ministry. Since both Luke and Theophilus were Gentiles, it is not surprising that this Gospel has a very universal flavor to its stories and teachings of Jesus. Luke also highlights Jesus' concern for the oppressed and outcast, such as women and the poor, and there is a notable emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit. Luke was careful to give precise dates to the events recorded in his Gospel, beginning with an extensive account of Jesus' birth and the only canonical story from Jesus' childhood years. Luke arranged his account of Jesus' ministry in the same general order as the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, and he added a lengthy account of Jesus' trip to Jerusalem. After Jesus' death and resurrection, the book leaves the disciples rejoicing and waiting for God's Holy Spirit to fill them.

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Like ghostly spectres, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared to the apostle John in vision at the close of the first century A.D. What do these four horsemen really represent? Were they merely a vivid nightmare of the elderly John's imagination? Or are they a living prophecy soon to unfold in our generation? Here is how Jesus Christ himself revealed the true meaning---for our day, right now---of the four mysterious riders of the book of Revelation!

In 1845, the entire potato crop in Ireland rotted from an unexpected blight. Ireland was as dependent on potatoes as many Asian nations are now dependent on rice as a main staple of life. The hunger was so severe that the death toll in Ireland was between 200,000 and 300,000. A greater number emigrated to England and America, while thousands of others dies on board the emigrant ships. Ireland, a great nation of 8.3 million people in 1845, lost 2 million people to death and emigration in just five years. Even today Ireland has but one half of her peak population of 1845.

China is another land in which periodic famines strike unexpectedly. Severe famines in 1906 and 1911 were caused by the flooding Yangtze River basin.

The well-trod path of 1) false religion, leading to 2) war and revolutionary struggle, leading to 3) famine is an oft-repeated chapter of man's sordid past. The India-Pakistan war of December, 1971 was a prime example. Conflicting religions led to conflicting political and social demands, which led to war, after which famine and disease ran rampant (aggravated by horrible natural disasters: in this case a typhoon which killed 500,000). More recently, other chapters of similar grief have been written in Cambodia and in Ethiopia and the Republics of Mozambique and the southern Sudan, where famines killed more than a million as the direct result of war.

This principle of war-caused famines is described in grisly detail in two parallel chapters of the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. The nation Israel was here warned that if they did not obey God (that is, if they practiced false religion and neglected God's Commandments) they would be overtaken by national curses leading to war. Read it in Leviticus 26 in a modern translation:

"If after all this [internal, domestic curses] you have not learnt discipline but still defy me, I in turn will defy you and scourge you seven times over for your sins. I will bring war in vengeance upon you...you shall be herded into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be given over to the enemy. I will cut short your daily bread until ten women can bake your bread in a single oven; they shall dole it out by weight, and though you eat, you shall not be satisfied.

"If in spite of all this you do not listen to me and still defy me, I will defy you in anger, and I myself will punish you seven times over for your sins. Instead of meat you shall eat your sons and daughters" (Lev. 26:23-28, New English Bible).

This prophesied pattern of national decline and deprivation has been followed many times in history, and it will be followed again! Less than 40 years after Christ uttered this prophecy of famines, a Roman war siege on Jerusalem caused such severe famine that even cannibalism reared its ugly head in the so-called "holy city".

Throughout the Middle Ages, such war-caused food shortages forced whole cities periodically into starvation, often followed by the bubonic plague or other diseases. At the very close of the Middle Ages, the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) was especially ferocious in this regard. Whole cities were sacked and destroyed, starvation was widespread, and there was even cannibalism.

Though such war-caused famines still strike the earth periodically (note Cambodia, and East Africa today) a new famine threatens the 21st Century.

Good afternoon everybody!...My Christian brothers & sisters, the irresolutors & the heathens!, how is everyone today on this fine, beautiful Tuesday, the 19th of July?...I'm fine myself thankyou!

Let me start today with the Lord's prayer. For you irresolutors & heathens, feel free to join in. Ok let's bow our heads and pray.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.----Matthew 6:9:13

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Book of John

The author was John the apostle, son of Zebedee and brother of James the apostle, written around A.D. 90

Each Gospel was written with a different agenda in mind, but only John, "the disciple Jesus loved" (21:20), made his agenda explicit: "But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life" (20:13). Because of this goal, John's Gospel has a different flavor than the other three Gospels. John was less concerned with Jesus' actions than with what his actions said about him. John speaks of Jesus' miracles as "signs", and he records lengthy teachings of Jesus, including seven "I am" statements about himself. John opens his Gospel with an account of the preexistent Christ---"the word," the unique Son of God---who became human and made God the Father known to us. After recounting some details of John the Baptist and his ministry, John describes Jesus' baptism. At this point the general outline of John's Gospel breaks sharply from those of the other three Gospels, rearranging some of the events and including different material. For instance, John's Gospel records more than one trip to Jerusalem by Jesus, unlike the other Gospels. After a lengthy description of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, John's Gospel records Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. The book closes with some encounters between Jesus and his disciples.

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Like ghostly spectres, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared to the apostle John in vision at the close of the first century A.D. What do these four horsemen really represent? Were they merely a vivid nightmare of the elderly John's imagination? Or are they a living prophecy soon to unfold in our generation? Here is how Jesus Christ himself revealed the true meaning---for our day, right now---of the four mysterious riders of the book of Revelation!

Despite the occasional war-caused famines, many today face a different kind of famine, which is built into their lives and societies from birth. It is fueled by the twin problems of the population explosion and dwindling food supplies in poor lands.

The very day you read this---and repeated each day---hundreds of thousands of new babies cry their way onto planet earth. The tragic fact is that most of those infants are destined to live out their brief lives in one of the dirt-poor "have-not" nations. During the same 24-hour period, nearly half as many human beings will die. The tragic footnote to this statistic is that over half of these deaths are children under five.

While food production has maintained a pace of increase roughly equal to population, the unequal distribution of food increase is the primary problem facing our hungry planet.

Food often is not being harvested where it is needed, and the excess food of rich nations cannot be bought by the poor nations.

This is the dileman of food distribution. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer. And ironically, the rich few within the poor nations increase their ownership of the rich parts of their land, while the poor masses have their already poor lot diminished.

Jesus Christ predicted this condition when he said, "And there shall be famines..." But he meant more!

The third horseman of the Apocalypse doesn't primarily refer to the cyclical famines of the past, or the "structural famines" of the present, but to a specific great famine now beginning to stalk Africa, and destined to spread to other continents later. Following great religious confusion and war, the "have" nations of even the restored 10-nation Roman Empire in Europe---will have their turn to suffer want and deprivation. These prophecies are yet ahead of us.

This great famine will spread to all peoples and nations of earth until mankind turns to God in total surrender. These dire plagues are allowed by a loving God to teach man obedience. Peoples and nations will have brought this pain upon themselves, by man-devised religion and man-devised war. God is allowing man to reap what he sows, so that mankind will learn the bitter lesson that sin brings pain! After man learns this lesson, God will shower down a world of plenty once again, in the wonderful World Tomorrow.

But first, the fourth horseman must ride.

Good afternoon everybody!...My Christian brothers & sisters, the irresolutors & the heathens!, how is everyone today on this fine, beautiful Thursday, the 21st of July?...I'm fine myself thankyou!

Let me start today with the Lord's prayer. For you irresolutors & heathens, feel free to join in. Ok let's bow our heads and pray.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.----Matthew 6:9:13

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Book of Acts

The author was Luke, written between A.D. 63 and 70

Nearly two thousand years ago, a match was struck in Palestine that would eventually ignite the whole world. Soon after Jesus' ascension, the Holy Spirit descended at Jerusalem, and about three thousand people became followers of Jesus Christ. This marked the birth of the Christian church. The book of Acts chronicles the birth and spread of the church, highlighting the deeds of some of its most influential leaders, such as Peter and Paul. Acts continues the story begun in the Gospel of Luke, showing how the church continues the work that Jesus began. After recounting Peter's sermon and the birth of the church, Acts describes the life of the church in Jerusalem, the spread of the gospel to Samaria, the activities of Peter, and the early persecution of the believers. After the death of James, the focus of the book shifts to the apostle Paul and his missionary work throughout the Gentile world. His three missionary journeys are described in some detail, and the first major council in Jerusalem is recorded as well. Acts concludes with Paul's trip to Rome, where the book abruptly ends.

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Like ghostly spectres, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared to the apostle John in vision at the close of the first century A.D. What do these four horsemen really represent? Were they merely a vivid nightmare of the elderly John's imagination? Or are they a living prophecy soon to unfold in our generation? Here is how Jesus Christ himself revealed the true meaning---for our day, right now---of the four mysterious riders of the book of Revelation!

As the fourth seal is opened, John sees a pale horse. "And I looked," he recorded, "and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth" (Rev. 6:7-8).

What is this fourth horseman of Revelation 6:8? A clue is found in the word "pale."

The word "pale" is translated from the Greek word chloros. It is the same root word from which we derive the term "chlorophyll" ( a substance which helps make leafy plants green). It means, in biblical usage, a pale-green, the sickly yellowish-green color of disease.

Notice the descriptive terms of various modern Bible translation: "a pale-green horse" (Beck), "an ashen horse" (The New American Standard Bible), "a horse sickly pale" (The New English Bible), "a horse sickly green" (Phillips), "a pale-colored horse" (Weymouth), "an ashy pale horse" (The Amplified Bible), and a "livid horse" (Rotherham).

Jesus Christ the Revelator, fills in the most correct word to interpret the meaning of this pale green horse: "...and there shall be...PESTILENCES..." (Matt. 24:7). The pestilences referred to by Jesus are disease epidemics of world proportion---pandemics!

As the fourth horseman follows the third, worldwide disease epidemics will strike hard on the heels of famine. Millions more will die. This last of the four horsemen will bring the total death toll of all four to one fourth of mankind (Rev. 6:8). This death toll represents more than one billion (one thousand million) human beings.

Good mornin' everybody!...My Christian brothers & sisters, the irresolutors & the heathens!, how is everyone today on this beautiful, humid & hot Sunday, the 24th of July?...I'm fine myself thankyou!

Let me start today with the Lord's prayer. For you irresolutors & heathens, feel free to join in. Ok let's bow our heads and pray.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.----Matthew 6:9:13

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Book of Romans

The author was Paul, written around A.D. 57

Like a skilled lawyer presenting his case, Paul established a solid framework for understanding the broad scope of the gospel in his letter to the Romans. Of all the epistles of Paul, this is the longest, the most elaborate, and the most systematic in design, reading more like a theological treatise than a personal letter. After a lofty introduction, Paul opened his discourse by discussing humanity's relationship to God. Once he established the basic concept that all human beings are violators of holy law, Paul offered a solution---the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Those who believe in Jesus Christ receive forgiveness for sin and gain new life in the Holy Spirit. Paul also examined Israel's place in God's grand scheme of history and discussed the future roles of Israel and the Gentile nations in the Kingdom of God. Returning to his earlier train of thought, Paul discussed some practical applications of redemption through Jesus Christ. He concluded his lofty discourse with heartfelt salutations to several believers in Rome. Paul's epistle to the Roman church provides the Christian church with a systematic understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Like ghostly spectres, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared to the apostle John in vision at the close of the first century A.D. What do these four horsemen really represent? Were they merely a vivid nightmare of the elderly John's imagination? Or are they a living prophecy soon to unfold in our generation? Here is how Jesus Christ himself revealed the true meaning---for our day, right now---of the four mysterious riders of the book of Revelation!

The only reason for such global genocide is man's disobedience to God. Notice the principle underlying the parallel prophecy in Deuteronomy 28, "....if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God," warns man's Creator, "The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The LORD will strike you with consumption [wasting, degenerative diseases], with fever, with inflammation [communicable diseases]...with tumors, with the scab [deficiency diseases], and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed [incurable diseases]. The LORD will strike you with madness [mental illness] and blindness and confusion of heart [emotional trauma]" (Deut. 28:15, 21-22, 27-28, New King James Version.

That's quite a medical listing of what "pestilence" actually means in fulfillment! But there is more. God further warns that, "I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number, and your highways shall be desolate" (Lev. 26:22).

This Old Testament prophecy is echoed by the apostle John in his last words concerning the four horsemen vision. Man will also be killed, he said, "with the beasts of the earth" (Rev. 6:8). This refers to animal -borne epidemics as well as animals literally attacking human beings for food. In fact the very word "pestilence" is derived from its animal-borne origin, "pest."

Good mornin' everybody!...My Christian brothers & sisters, the irresolutors & the heathens!, how is everyone today on this beautiful, humid & hot Tuesday, the 26th of July?...I'm fine myself thankyou!

Let me start today with the Lord's prayer. For you irresolutors & heathens, feel free to join in. Ok let's bow our heads and pray.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.----Matthew 6:9:13

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Book of 1 Corinthians

The author was Paul, written around A.D. 56, near the end of Paul's three-year ministry in Ephesus during his third missionary journey

Surrounded by corruption and every conceivable sin, the Christians in Corinth felt pressure to adapt to the low standards around them. Many who had already compromised asserted that they were free in Christ, but what did this freedom mean? In order to resolve this confusion, Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthian church. The letter covers a wide variety of topics, including rival factions, incest among believers, public lawsuits between fellow Christians, abuses of spiritual gifts, and disorderly conduct during church meetings and the Lord's Supper. Paul addressed each of these problems, pointing to Christ as the ultimate solution. Paul also gave answers to some specific questions asked by the Corinthians. Some of these topics include marriage, eating food sacrificed to idols, and the resurrection of Christ and his followers. Throughout the letter, Paul repeatedly emphasized that Jesus' followers should let Christ shape their lives, beliefs, and values so that they would not be shaped by the world around them. First Corinthians provides the Christian church with an actual example of how specific problems were addressed and corrected in the early church.

Praise the Lord Almighty!!

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Like ghostly spectres, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse appeared to the apostle John in vision at the close of the first century A.D. What do these four horsemen really represent? Were they merely a vivid nightmare of the elderly John's imagination? Or are they a living prophecy soon to unfold in our generation? Here is how Jesus Christ himself revealed the true meaning---for our day, right now---of the four mysterious riders of the book of Revelation!

It is a recognized historical fact that the greatest plagues mankind has ever experienced have been animal-borne. When food is scarce for man, it is scarce for wild animals too. They not only attack humans for food, but they also become weak and disease-ridden themselves, carrying historically mass killers such as bubonic plauge ("The Black Death"), or rabies.

Even in modern civilized Western nations, rats, skunks, foxes, bats, and other rabid animals are often found in close proximity to large cities. If, in a future time following war and famine, such animals came in contact with multiple millions of household pets, people would be outnumbered by rabid or ravenous beasts.

Such massive plagues are not now happening due to existing sanitary standards, medical science, and the organized security measures which separate "civilization" from wilderness. But the point is that the potential for epidemic is always there, dormant, latent, ready to strike when such protective conditions break down.

Witness again the modern examples of disease epidemics in the wake of war in Cambodia and East Africa.

Good mornin' everybody!...My Christian brothers & sisters, the irresolutors & the heathens!, how is everyone today on this beautiful, humid & hot Thursday, the 28th of July?...I'm fine myself thankyou!

Let me start today with the Lord's prayer. For you irresolutors & heathens, feel free to join in. Ok let's bow our heads and pray.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.----Matthew 6:9:13

Praise the Lord Almighty!!