Revelation 6:7-8

7 When the Lamb broke open the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature call out, Come!

8 So I looked, and behold, an ashy pale horse [black and blue as if made so by bruising], and its rider’s name was Death, and Hades (the realm of the dead) followed him closely. And they were given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with plague (pestilence, disease) and with wild beasts of the earth.

• ¾ of the earth is covered with water, so a ¼ is land. The effects of the end times will affect all mankind. 
• The wrath of our Father against sin will felt by the whole world and sin will be punished.
• Our Father will allow many to die. But it will be just their flesh that dies. He will do this to save their souls. 
• Jesus has rescued people from Hades and forgiven them and He will do it again, 1 Peter 3:19-20.
• Hades corrects and changes people, Luke 16. The Rich Ruler who was cast there began to intercede for others when he realized his punishment.
• Notice what Jesus tells us here in these verses, that death and Hades, the things that only He holds the keys to, were allowed to only harm a fourth of the earth! These four horsemen are empowered to hurt men and nations, to take peace from them, and to influence men to slaughter one another. None of these things can happen until every chosen one of God is sealed. 
• AFTER THIS I saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth, firmly holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind should blow on the earth or sea or upon any tree. Then I saw a second angel coming up from the east (the rising of the sun) and carrying the seal of the living God. And with a loud voice he called out to the four angels who had been given authority and power to injure earth and sea, Saying, Harm neither the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we have sealed the bond servants of our God upon their foreheads. Revelation 7:1-3
• Remember in Revelation 1, that John refers to Himself as a bondservant. Here we see that no wrath can come until the bondservants of Jesus are sealed. Let me ask you this, if we are raptured before the Great Tribulation, why would we need sealed, is our Father’s wrath going to extend into Heaven? The only reason that we would need sealed, is if we were still here on the earth.
• Also for Jesus to come as a thief I am becoming more and more convinced that the death and destruction is that people will not be able to accept Jesus as Lord while they are here. If there was a major war that was literally killing off half of the human race people would be expecting Jesus’ return like crazy. But if it was a spiritual thing, as people were celebrating themselves and human accomplishments, then no one would be expecting Jesus to return.