The Coming Birth Pangs and the Pale Horse: What the Bible Says About the End Times

The modern world is obsessed with the end. From the box office hits of Hollywood to the dystopian novels that fill our bookshelves, there is a deep-seated fascination with a coming cataclysm. The world sees this as a "zombie apocalypse" or a chaotic, meaningless finale. As believers, however, we are given a divine revelation, a glimpse behind the curtain of history, to see that these terrifying events are not random but are part of God’s meticulously scripted plan for judgment and redemption.

​Our Lord Jesus Christ, in His Olivet Discourse, provided us with a prophetic road map to the end of the age. When asked by His disciples about the signs of His coming, He declared, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Matthew 24:7-8).

​This phrase, “the beginning of birth pangs,” is profoundly significant. It tells us that these events—wars, famines, and natural disasters—are not the end itself, but the initial tremors that precede a greater and more intense series of judgments. They are labor pains, heralding the imminent arrival of a new creation and the glorious return of our King. While many have pointed to historical events like the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 as a fulfillment, the global scale of these prophecies suggests a future fulfillment that affects all humanity.Today, we see these “birth pangs” intensifying with rising tensions between global powers, widespread food insecurity, and increasing natural disasters. These are not random coincidences but are divinely orchestrated signs, setting the stage for the dramatic unfolding of God's final plan.

​The Four Horsemen and the Pale Horse of Death

​The prophecies of Matthew 24 find their terrifying and specific fulfillment in the book of Revelation, where the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, opens the seals of a scroll of judgment. With the breaking of the first four seals, four horsemen are unleashed upon the earth.

​The first three horsemen bring a progression of judgment that directly expands upon the "birth pangs" Jesus described.

  • ​The White Horse of conquest introduces a false imitator, the Antichrist, who rises to power through deceit and violence.
  • ​The Fiery Red Horse follows, taking peace from the earth and causing a great war that pits mankind against one another.
  • ​The Black Horse then arrives, bringing a devastating famine and hyperinflation, a tragic consequence of the war that precedes it.

​Finally, the fourth seal is opened, and we are confronted with the most terrifying of all: the Pale Horse. The color of this horse is not simply "pale" as many translations state. The original Greek word, χλωρὸς (chlōros), can be translated as "pale green" or "yellowish green," a visceral color that evokes the image of a decaying, bloated corpse.


​The rider of this horse is given a name: Death. He is not alone, for his constant companion, Hades, follows close behind.This partnership is a chilling theological statement: Death claims the physical body, while Hades, the realm of the dead, receives the soul of the unsaved.

​The scope of this judgment is staggering. Power is given to them "over a fourth of the earth, to kill". While this may not be a literal census, it is a profound statement of the scale of the impending catastrophe—an unimaginable number of human lives that will be lost in this final judgment.

​The pale horseman is a culmination of all the judgments that came before.The passage states he has the authority to kill "with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and by the beasts of the earth".The "sword" and "hunger" are the explicit consequences of the red and black horsemen (war and famine), while "death" here refers to pestilence and plague.Finally, the judgment "by the beasts of the earth" is a direct fulfillment of Old Testament curses (Leviticus 26:22 and Ezekiel 5:17), where widespread depopulation allows the natural world to turn against humanity. The inclusion of this detail demonstrates the theological consistency of God's judgment throughout history.

​A Call to Stand Firm and Witness

​As overwhelming as these prophecies may seem, they are not a cause for despair but a source of profound hope and a call to action.

  • ​Do not be troubled: Jesus Himself said, "See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" (Matthew 24:6). Our peace is not found in the absence of chaos, but in the presence of our sovereign God who sits on His throne and has already "scripted the play to the final drama".
  • ​Persevere and Remain Faithful: The pale horse judgment is directed at the "earth dwellers," those who love this world and its systems more than they love the Lord Jesus Christ. While we, as believers, will face the "birth pangs"—the wars, famines, and earthquakes—we are not the object of God’s final, unmitigated wrath. The book of Revelation reveals a powerful and reassuring truth: before the full fury of the final judgments are unleashed, the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads. This spiritual seal signifies that the faithful are set apart from the world and protected from its ultimate consequences.
  • ​Proclaim the Everlasting Gospel: Our mission is to be a faithful witness to a world that will soon be crying out for the mountains to fall on them. The final sign before the end comes is the preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom to all nations. We must stand firm on the inerrancy and infallibility of God’s Word , living lives so distinctly marked by Jesus that our witness becomes a light in the darkest of times.

​The pale horse is riding, and with it comes a stark choice for humanity. But for the believer, it is a glorious sign that our redemption is closer than ever before. Let us be found faithful until the day the true Rider returns to establish His righteous and everlasting kingdom, conquering Death, Hades, and all evil forever.


DMMC 8-21-25

Location: Peru, IN 46970, USA

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