For centuries, humanity has looked at the stars and wondered how it all ends. The Bible, specifically the Book of Revelation (The Apocalypse), does not give us vague metaphors. It gives us a precise, terrifying, and ultimately hopeful roadmap. It describes a dismantling of the current world order through a series of judgments— Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls.
To understand the future, we must look at the nature of these judgments. It is a process of purification. Just as the ancient world was baptized in Water, the future world must be baptized in Fire.
The Breaking of the Seals: The Four Horsemen
The beginning of the end is marked by the opening of a scroll with seven seals. As the first four seals are broken, four riders are released onto the stage of human history. These are the famous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6).
1. The White Horse (Deception and Conquest)
“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 often mistaken for Christ, but it is a counterfeit. This rider likely represents the Antichrist or a global spirit of false peace and conquest. He has a bow but no arrows—suggesting diplomacy backed by threat, a “cold war” takeover.
2. The Red Horse (War)
“Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other.” This is global conflict. The “cold war” turns hot. It represents the collapse of international relations and the shedding of blood on a massive scale.
3. The Black Horse (Famine and Collapse)
“There before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.” War destroys supply chains. The scales represent rationing. A voice cries out, “A quart of wheat for a denarius”—a day’s wages for a loaf of bread. It describes hyperinflation and economic collapse, where the poor starve while the rich (who buy oil and wine) remain temporarily untouched.
4. The Pale Horse (Death)
“I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.” The result of the first three is mass death. The text says they are given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague.
The Cosmic Stoning: When Heaven Falls
YYou asked if the Bible speaks of the earth being “stoned” by God. The answer is a terrifying yes.
In the ancient biblical law, the punishment for ultimate blasphemy was stoning—being pelted with heavy rocks until death. In the Book of Revelation, the Earth itself undergoes a cosmic stoning from the heavens.
The most literal fulfillment of this occurs just before the end, during the Seventh Bowl judgment. The atmosphere collapses, and God executes the punishment:
“From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a talent, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.” (Revelation 16:21)
To understand the horror of this, we must look at the weight. A biblical “talent” is approximately 35 to 40 kilograms (75-100 lbs).
Imagine blocks of ice the weight of a heavy sack of cement falling from the clouds. This is not weather; this is a bombardment. It is a crushing execution from above, destroying cities and armies, fulfilling the prophecy that the rebellious world would be “stoned” for its rejection of the Creator.ns literally crushing the rebellion of earth, reminiscent of how God cast down stones on the enemies of Joshua in the ancient days.
The Two Baptisms: Water and Fire
Why must this happen? The Apostle Peter provides the theological key. He explains that the Earth is a vessel that requires cleansing.
The First Baptism: Water In the days of Noah, the world was washed.
“By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.” (2 Peter 3:6) This was a surface cleansing. It suppressed the evil, but it did not burn out the root of sin.
The Second Baptism: Fire Peter continues:
“But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 3:7)
This “Baptism of Fire” is the ultimate purification. The “elements will melt with fervent heat.” This is not just destruction for the sake of destruction; it is a refining fire. It burns away the corruption of the Watchers, the blood of the wars, and the decay of death.
The Return and The New Beginning
The climax of this drama is not the death of the planet, but the arrival of the King.
In Revelation 19, the heavens open again. But this time, it is not a deceptive rider with a bow, but the True King on a white horse, with eyes like fire. He ends the war at Armageddon and establishes His kingdom.
After the fire has finished its work, we see the result in Revelation 21: A New Heaven and a New Earth.
The sea (symbol of chaos and separation) is gone. The tears are wiped away. The “stoning” has ended, and the building of the New Jerusalem begins.