Pastor Greg Laurie on Bible's End Times Predictions in Revelation's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Pastor Greg Laurie pulled no punches in his warning to congregants of California-based Harvest Christian Fellowship Church Thursday night, explaining that Christians are living in the last days and tougher times lay ahead, in a message based on the Bible's book of Revelation 6-19 titled "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."
"We are living in the last days and, yes, the worst is yet to come," said Laurie, listing major signs of the end times: "Antichrist. Armageddon. The great tribulation period. The four horsemen of the apocalypse."
The historic Doomsday Clock is ticking ever closer to global catastrophe, Laurie explained, saying according to scientists, it registers "3 minutes 'til Doomsday," when it says the world will experience a nuclear Armageddon.
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The Harvest Christian Fellowship pastor likened the current state of the world to times referenced in the Bible, saying, "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be when the Son of Man comes," and indicated that the days of Noah we're marked by excessive violence and killing.
Laurie said Revelation 6 offers a "big picture look" at end times events, mentioning "21 judgements that will be unleashed on the world during the seven year Tribulation Period."
Revelations talks of seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bulls, and each series of seven described events that will take place during the great tribulation. The first of those sealed judgements is the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the pastor explained.
Laurie took a moment to outline some signs of the times currently unfolding in the Middle East. "The showdown between Israel and Iran, that the Bible actually predicts, by the way, seems to be entirely plausible — especially now that Russia is an ally with Iran, which had not been true even 100 years ago, even 30 years ago. But now they're staunch allies working together."
To bolster his point, the Harvest Christian Fellowship pastor referenced Ezekiel 37:38, which describes a "large force coming from the north of Israel," identified as Magog, attacking Israel. One of the allies of Magog is identified as Persia — the former name of Iran, the pastor said.
"We could see this happen before our very eyes. These are signs of the times. And Jesus said, 'When you see these things begin to happen look up, because your redemption is drawing near.'"
Laurie referenced a 1983 book by famed evangelist Billy Graham titled Approaching Hoofbeats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in which Graham wrote that some Bible scholars thought the revelations described by Apostle John were about past events, but Graham, and other theologians, maintain that those descriptions pertain to the future. "'In my view, the shadows of all four horsemen can already be seen gallopping through the world at this moment," Laurie quoted Graham. "' ... I can hear the hoofbeats of these horses much louder than even when I began writing this book.'"
Laurie said, "Billy wrote that in 1983. If he was hearing the hoofbeats of the horsemen [then], I'll tell you, they're thundering hoofbeats right now."
"Think of what has happened since 1983," Laurie continued, detailing major world developments, including the dawn of the information age, America's wars in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, the emergence of militant Islam, and extreme violence in the Middle East. "These are all things that are making this world a very dangerous place."
In Revelation 6-19, the Judgement of God is beginning to fall, the pastor said, explaining that the book details the beginning of the great tribulation led by none other than the "ultimate false christ," the Antichrist.
Listen to Pastor Greg Laurie's full message here.
