Black Horse Of The Apocalypse VII

"To execute upon them the judgment written"

(Psalm 149: 9)
"the hour of testing to come upon the whole world" 
"to test those who dwell on the earth."

(Rev. 3: 10)

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts." (Jude 1: 14-18 KJV)

In the previous chapter we ended with showing how the judgments of the red and black horse riders (pale horse rider also, yet to be looked at in next series) were intended by God to give one final lesson (test or exam, we might say) to either learn God's lessons and be saved, or not learn them and be damned.

We ended by discussing those Apocalyptic "Hard Lessons For The Evil World" and "God's Lesson To Omega Man." One of those lessons is to teach men that God is Lord and Sovereign and that all the good man has is from him, they being gifts of grace, love, and kindness during this time of God's forbearance and longsuffering. In other words, it was designed so that, by the awful judgments of the four horsemen, men might learn that they "live not by bread alone but by every word of God." Let us now enlarge upon this before proceeding to other considerations of the prophecy.

In the prophecy of Enoch the subject of which he speaks is the coming of the Lord, chiefly his second coming. This coming is "with ten thousands (myriads) of his saints (or 'sanctified ones')" and so helps to show that the coming of the Lord is his second and not his first.

The purpose of the coming is to bring about trial and judgment, a "final test" for mankind. It is to "execute judgment" upon "the ungodly." Involved in this execution of judgment is the purpose "to convince all" the ungodly in regard to their sins. Teaching involves unteaching. The Lord will, via his coming Apocalyptic judgments, attack the false beliefs and false science of the world of ungodly men. He will attack "their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him" and "their great swelling words" which "their mouth speaketh," being "mockers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts." ("After their lusts" meaning in accordance with their hedonistic and narcissistic beliefs about life and pleasure). 

God will be speaking to the ungodly world through these judgments, prosecuting and witnessing to them, all the while attacking what they are saying through their words and actions. It will be a test, a final test, a time of trial and examination such as the world has only seen once before (in the Deluge, and that was but a type or prefigurement of the final deluge of fire and manifold judgment).

In the long ago the Lord by the prophet testified:

"Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not." (Isa. 66: 3-4)

This language is fully applicable to the times of the four horsemen. The Omega generation will be ungodly (the number of the elect, or godly, being few), a people who have "chosen their own ways" and who "delight in their abominations," and the Lord will bring upon them specified calamities, namely "delusions" and the objects of "their fears." It is because men did not answer God when he called them (via his prophets, Christ, and the apostles), did not "hear," or heed what God "spake" to them. They "did evil before mine eyes," that is, they acted brazenly as rebels against the rule of God and heaven, and for all this God promises to send judgment.

Do men not fear the possibility of final judgment? The Apocalypse? Do they not fear violence and the absence of civil peace? Do they not fear death and famine? Do they not fear pestilence and suffering? Do they not fear the very things described under the coming of the four horsemen? Yea, of all the judgments of the Apocalypse? We have already seen how the red horse rider's "taking peace from the earth" so that men are "killing one another" involves the world being under a delusion sent by God as a judgment trial, a kind of insanity or madness. Certainly the famine and death of the black horse rider and the pestilence, suffering, and death of the pale horse rider, are cases where God is bringing the fears of the world upon them.

Wrote the Psalmist:

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." (Psa. 2: 4-5)

God is speaking to the final generation through the judgments of the Apocalypse and the four horsemen represent the beginning of sorrows. This is God's language for the time of judgment. His message is to be read in these judgments. 

""He shall speak" - not in articulate words, not by a voice from heaven, not even by a commissioned messenger, but by accomplished facts." (Pulpit Commentary)

"shall at last speak out unto them, not in his word, but in his providences; and not in love, as to his own people, when he chastises them, but in great wrath, inflicting severe and just punishment." (Gill)

"Heb. He shall tell them, viz. a piece of his mind, to their small comfort." (John Trapp Complete Commentary)

"Shall he speak to them in his wrath; he shall severely rebuke them, not so much verbally as really, by dreadful judgments. For God’s speaking is oft put for his actions; and so here it is explained by vexing in the next branch. Or, he shall pronounce a terrible sentence against them." (Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible)

Notice that he will not only speak to them in wrath but will "vex" them in sore displeasure. "Vex" is from the Hebrew bahal means "to disturb, alarm, terrify, hurry, be disturbed, be anxious, be afraid, be hurried, be nervous." He will terrify the last ungodly generation with terrors of death and destruction.

Wrote the Psalmist:

"To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD." (Psa. 149: 9)

The words "to execute upon them the judgment written" is similar to the words of Enoch "to execute judgment upon all."

The difference is in the added word "written." He will execute judgment, "the written judgment." Where is this writing? The reference is surely to the general testimony of the law and prophets concerning the ultimate judgement of the nations, or of the world at the time of the last generation. It is that what is written in the law in general as what is threatened to wicked men, particularly in those scriptures (writings) of the Old Testament that preceded the time of the writing of the 149th Psalm. 

The various judgments connected with the Apocalypse (including the four horsemen) are exactly what is foretold in the Old Testament, being elaborated upon by the later prophets who wrote after the time when Psalm 149 was written. As we have seen God promised the very judgments that we see occurring under the four horsemen, such as the shooting of God's arrows of judgment, his sending civil war and terrible violence, famine and disease, and death by the beasts of the earth. 

There is much dispute about the implications of Psalm 149. This is because the prophetic verse, if taken out of context, has been used by some to justify the righteous in killing or slaughtering the ungodly peoples. The verse says that the judgment, though it is God's judgment, coming from him, is executed by the saints. 

"Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord." (6-9)

It is the saints, who have God's "high praises" in their mouths, who with a "a two-edged sword in their hand" and "fetters of iron" (prepared for binding the criminals of heaven) capture, arrest, and "execute" the judgment of heaven's court. The time for this is not now, for "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" but spiritual. (II Cor. 10: 4) It was true at times in the Old Testament when the Lord told Israel to slay the ungodly heathen, but it is not true now for Christians. The time for the fulfillment of this prophecy is in the time of the Apocalypse and second coming.

When the Lord delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, God said - "against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD." (Exo. 12: 12) Notice again the word "execute." God executes and he does this through judgments, through the agencies of angels and sanctified believers in Jesus. In Psalm 49 we have the words "to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people" (vs. 7) and in Micah we have God's promise: "And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard." (5: 15)

Thus, in the second and third horsemen, we have sword and famine and they are seen as parts of the promised written judgment. The intent of these varied and foreordained judgments and calamities is to convince all of God's sovereignty and the lordship of Christ, the incarnate and glorified Son of God. He will teach men by demonstrating the judgment lessons with power.