[Rick Shabi] The four horsemen of Revelation, they portray a time of havoc, misery, and death that mankind brings upon himself. So far in this series, we've discussed the first three horsemen. Let's briefly recap their meaning before we go on to the fourth. The first horse, the white horse of false religion, leads to a one-world religion that forces its will on mankind and kills people who follow and trust in the God of the Bible. The second horse, the red horse of war, portrays a time of wars and rumors of war leading to the ultimate battle of a multimillion-man army that's assembled to fight the returning Jesus Christ at Armageddon. The third horse, the black horse of famine, foretells a time when an autocratic, domineering world government controls its subjects by limiting food and charging exorbitant prices for it, a case of tremendous inflation. Those are the first three horsemen of Revelation.

Today, we will speak of the fourth horseman, the one who represents pestilence or disease and pandemics as we understand that word today. Let's read about him in Revelation 6:7-8. There we read, "When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, 'Come and see.' So I looked and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power, power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth."

You know that phrase, "with death," in that verse? It comes from a word sometimes meaning disease in the Greek Old Testament. Along with Hades, which is the grave, we see a horse that's marked with disease that leads to death. Christ Himself specifically cited this fourth element as sign of the end times as pestilence in Matthew 24:7, where we read, "There will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places." It's no secret that serious deadly disease as indicated by this fourth pale horse, is an enemy of mankind. Today, death by disease is rampant around the world. Cancer, cholera, malaria, and heart disease are among the killers of mankind.

And in recent times, we've seen some new, never-heard-of-before, diseases that have become killers. COVID-19 killed a reported 3 million people around the world. And according to the World Health Organization, somewhere between 40 and 50 million people have died of AIDS. While cancer and cholera are diseases that have been around for millennia, COVID, AIDS, and a few others have been foisted on man in recent years through unnatural and maybe even suspicious means. They are diseases that could have been avoided. There's still controversy concerning COVID, for example, was it deliberately or even accidentally leaked from a lab in Wuhan, where scientists were working with strains of coronaviruses in order to develop a growth of function virus that could lead to disease or pandemic that could kill millions?

This brings us to the subject of bio-terrorism and biological warfare, which has been discussed for decades. The research and development in this area isn't always done for altruistic reasons, but it can be done to create weapons of killing that could be used against your enemy or to gain control over the population. A good example is what happened with COVID. That global pandemic emanating from that lab in Wuhan, China showed just how terrible and yet how effective a manmade super-coronavirus could be in shutting down the world and killing millions. But that infamous lab in Wuhan, which brought us COVID, is just 1 of 59 such labs dedicated to the study of these super pathogens which are super-deadly and super-powerful.

Notice this quote from a research article from the King's College in London that was published in 2021. "The focal point of this lab leak discussion is the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It is just one of 59 maximum containment labs in operation, under construction, or planned around the world. Known as Biosafety Level 4 labs, these are designed and built so that researchers can safely work with the most dangerous pathogens on the planet, ones that can cause serious disease and for which no treatment or vaccines exist, spread all around the world."

The same article goes on to say that only about one-quarter of the nations with these labs received high scores for biosafety and biosecurity. That last sentence is a bit concerning, isn't it? At any point in time, another deadly pathogen could be released on the world either accidentally or deliberately. So in these labs, scientists and researchers can take viruses from animals and manipulate them into something that the human immune system cannot fight because they're not naturally occurring in humans. People can die painful, lingering deaths from these manmade diseases. It makes you wonder who would deliberately prescribe pain, suffering, and death on their fellow man.

Well, like we've seen in the end time, this hate comes from only one source and that's Satan. God is love, and He is not willing that any should perish. It tells us in 2 Peter 3:9. But Satan is the author of hate, destruction, lies, and murder. Diseases that are manufactured in bio-labs, which are then released on mankind for the purpose of bringing about suffering and death is nothing short of murder. This fourth horseman and its effect on mankind like the other three are inspired by Satan. It's his spirit, not the Spirit of God that is riding on the earth during this time.

Christ Himself calls Satan a murderer in John 8:44, where He says, in speaking to the Pharisees, "You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand in the truth because there's no truth in him." And we are seeing what God inspired the Apostle John to write in 1 John 5:19. There he writes, "The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one."

And of the end times, the Apostle Paul writes that perilous times will come. He talks about that in 2 Timothy 3. He cites the love of money, blasphemy of God, slander, and without natural affection as just some of the traits of this time. Without natural affection, it means that they don't care how much others suffer. They just inflict pain and death simply to advance their missions and to satisfy their evil lust for complete control over their subjects. My friends, this fourth horseman, like the others, is evil. It will inflict pain, it will inflict suffering, and misery unlike at any time before in history.

So with this coming upon us, where do you turn if you want to live and avoid all this misery? Do you turn to the government that tried to force you to take unproven and inadequately tested mRNA vaccines, vaccines that have shown questionable outcomes in the years since the COVID pandemic? Do you turn to a government which tried to censor and cancel anyone who spoke any warnings about these or other treatments? Do you turn to healthcare or doctors forbad you to take certain medicines? If we've learned that we can't put our faith and trust in the government or healthcare, where do you turn? Well, as always, and as we all must learn, we turn to God. He is the healer. He is the protector. His Word is truth, and in Him is life.

When considering the use of pandemics as deadly weapons of warfare, remember that God gives us assurances of His protection during the time of disease, pestilence, and plagues. Notice these verses in Psalm 91:5-6, it is written, "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday." Same Chapter, verses 9 and 10, "Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling." Verses 7 and 8, "A thousand may fall at your side and 10,000 at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look and see the reward of the wicked."

Everyone listening, can there be any more encouraging words than those I just read? Can anyone on earth give you the assurances that God has just given us? Jesus Christ is life. In Him is light and hope. In the world, there is only darkness, despair, suffering, misery, and death. Under man's governments and control, inspired by Satan's spirit of hate and autocratic total control over you, you will perish. Turn to God, turn to life. Open your Bible and listen to what He says.

At ucg.org, you can find resources that will teach you the truth of the Bible. It shows you the way to live. It reveals what will happen through prophecies that have a track record of 100% accuracy down through history. It is the living powerful Word of God. It is truth. These are the words of life, and it is the Word by which Jesus Christ will rule the world when He returns. He will save mankind from the utter destruction and misery that Satan and his lying men will foist on mankind. Living by these words, mankind will then enjoy a time that is filled with peace, joy, and abundance. You can have that now by turning to God and living His way. Why delay any longer? Check us out and learn more about this way of life and the fourth beast at ucg.org/pestilence.