Session 7 Evil on a White Horse (Part 1)
In Session 6 we have seen that as Christians leave this world, a single individual
enters the world’s stage. Why should we care? We are gone and a world deserving of
God’s Wrath is close to receiving it. In this session we start seeing what awaits people
that do not know Jesus. Dear friends and family that we have prayed for and
witnessed to over the years to receive Christ are now “left behind” in the common
Christian vernacular. Seven years that lead to the worst moment in history begin. Will
the seeds that have been planted in our loved ones we left behind grow so that we
might still have a chance to see them in
heaven? What will the Jewish nation
encounter at the hands of the Antichrist?
Before we delve into the topic of who
arrives at the beginning of the Tribulation
please read Revelation 10:9-11.
1. Why do you think the scroll (The prophesy of Revelation) effected John the way it
did?
I have heard people, even Christians infer that those that believe in a Pre-Tribulation
Rapture is simply an escape hatch. That such people with such beliefs are rather naive
to believe in such an “easy solution”. I personally view what I see in prophesy similar
to John. While it is sweet to hear that Jesus will take us away from his Wrath, it makes
me almost sick to my stomach to think of how unsaved coworkers, friends and loved
ones might suffer during the Tribulation. Many terrible things will be done to people
by this beast of man we are about to study. The prophetic knowledge we learn here
should push us towards reaching our lost loved ones. I personally would not want to
see my worst enemy go through these horrific things. Let this knowledge enable you
to tell your story of how Jesus has changed your life for the better to those that need to
hear that good news.
In part 1 of this study of the Antichrist
we will look at the traits of this person.
What he will be like and what his goals
will be. To start please read the
beginning of the “overview of the
Tribulation”, Revelation 6:1-2 once again.
2. What was given to the rider of the white horse?
Revelation 10:9-11 NIV
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll.
He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but
‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a]” 10 I took the little
scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in
my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11
Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples,
nations, languages and kings.”
Revelation 6:1-2 NIV
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I
heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder,
“Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its
rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a
conqueror bent on conquest.
This is a symbol of victory. It was given to the winners of the ancient Greek
Olympics.
21
3. What is the rider’s prime goal at this point of his story?
This crown typically represents victory in the scriptures. So, it would appear that this
person is handed victory and power initially and then proceeds to go and conquer for
more power. We have seen that Revelation 6 paints an overview of the Tribulation but
there is also one other scripture that performs the same function. This is Matthew 24.
I believe these verses will be used by future believers during the Tribulation to warn
them how things will proceed. Let’s look at the beginning of that chapter to see a
glimpse of another characteristic of this man.
Please read Matthew 24:4-5
4. What is the first aspect or trait of
the Tribulation that Jesus warns
about?
Does this trait apply to the Antichrist
as well? Let’s read another scripture
in the old testament prophecy of
Daniel that many scholars believe is
referring to the Antichrist. This is
found in Daniel 8:23-25.
5. What does the king cause to
prosper?
6. What is this leader a master of?
7. He is strong, but how did he become that way?
8. What is the appearance of this person?
Matthew 24:4-5 NIV
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many
will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will
deceive many.
Daniel 8:23-25 NIV
23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become
completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will
arise. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He
will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he
does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. 25 He
will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior.
When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand
against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by
human power.
9. Who are the holy people?
10. Who is the Prince of princes?
11. From this passage what can we see of another goal that drives this leader?
12. Some people have interpreted part of Daniel 8:25 to read like “Through peace he
will deceive many.” If this is an accurate description, how will the Antichrist first
appear to the world?
Here we will explore some more
detail on these traits. We saw that
his strength and a crown of victory
were given to him. Please read
Revelation 13:1-9 for more details
of what kind of person this is.
13. In questions 2 and 7 we saw
that he will be given victory and
strength but not of his own power.
From this scripture what do we find
as the source of his victory and
strength?
14. Daniel 8:25 and Revelation
13:5 describe an important personality trait of this king. What attitude does he
display?
15. How does the Antichrist speak about God?
Please read 2 Thessalonians 2:4 for
even more detail on these last two
traits.
Revelation 13:1-9 NIV
1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast
coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten
crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The
beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear
and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power
and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast
seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been
healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the
beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given
authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked,
“Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?” 5 The beast
was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to
exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to
blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and
those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against
God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority
over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of
the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been
written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the
creation of the world. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
2 Thessalonians 2:4 NIV
4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is
called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s
temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
16. What do these last two aspects of the Antichrist cause him to do?
Wrap up
One could easily write a book on this single topic. The bible contains even more
information about this person that was not covered here. As Greg Laurie has put it:
The sheer volume of information about the Antichrist in Scripture is enough for us to
understand who he is and what he will do.
So here is a summary of the aspects/traits of this person we have looked at in this
short study.
A. He will enter the world stage as a conqueror, but likely one with a reputation for
diplomacy or peace making.
B. He will be deceptive and will deceive many to their downfall.
C. He will be successful at pretty much everything he sets his mind to.
D. He will be a fierce person that understands the intricacies of palace intrigue.
E. He will be extremely strong (politically & militarily). This will be strength given
directly from Satan himself.
F. He will have a hatred of God’s Holy people (New Tribulation Christians and Israel).
Remember the Tribulation is also called Jacob’s (Israel’s) Trouble.
G. He will be very proud and egotistical.
H. He will be very blasphemous towards the true God.
There is likely even more about this person’s character we could explore. As also
described by Greg Laurie:
There are over a hundred passages in scripture that detail the origin, nationality, career,
character, kingdom and final doom of the Antichrist.
Now we have an idea of what kind of person the world will suddenly be presented
with after the Rapture. We have seen people like him before (especially in their hatred
of God’s Holy People):
The story of Pharaoh in the book of Exodus and his final attempt to destroy the
Israelite people as they left Egypt.
The story of Haman from the book of Ester and his desire to commit genocide on
the Jewish people.
Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) - Desecrated the Jewish temple in 167 BC
Hitler
Stalin
This list could probably be added to. It seems like Satan has been practicing creating
for himself an Antichrist “son” since the earliest of history.
Now that we know who we are talking about, we will study what he will do during the
Tribulation and his final doom.
