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Psalms
101:1-8 A Psalm of
David. I will sing
of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises. I will behave wisely
in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house
with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work
of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart
from me; I will not know wickedness. Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor,
Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I
will not endure. My eyes shall be
on the faithful of the land, That they may dwell with me; He who walks in a
perfect way, He shall serve me. He who works deceit shall not dwell within my
house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. Early I will
destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers from
the city of the LORD.
Father God you are the Alpha and Omega! Through you, and
Jesus your Son, we are able to live. I pray and ask that you make a new person
in all that read these lessons, and everyone comes with a contrite heart and
gives it to your Son Jesus for eternal life. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Revelation 6:1-8 NKJV
This
chapter begins with the opening of the Seven Seals. As mentioned before the
Tribulation Period is portrayed in Chapters 6-19. This is the beginning of the
judgment that will be poured out upon the earth after the Rapture takes place.
It begins with four horsemen and what will take place during this timeframe. Why
do we have horses in the scene with the introduction of the woes of the
Tribulation? It is because horses played an important part in battles of
ancient times. The people in John’s day held the horse in high regards when it
came to conquering other nations. The more horses an army would have aided in a
swift take over. Horses are always mentioned in connection to battles; war
horses, chariots, knights, etc. We find God’s description of the horse in Job 39:19-25 "Have you given the horse strength? Have
you clothed his neck with thunder? 20 Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic
snorting strikes terror. 21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He gallops into the
clash of arms. 22
He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the
sword. 23
The quiver rattles against him, The glittering spear and javelin. 24 He devours
the distance with fierceness and rage; Nor does he come to a halt because the
trumpet has sounded. 25 At the blast of the trumpet he says,
'Aha!' He smells the battle from afar, The thunder of captains and shouting.
So
with the introduction of the Tribulation it is only fitting that this period be
introduced by the appearance of men on horses. With the use of horses, riders,
and color it symbolizes what Satan will orchestrate during the Tribulation. After
all the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth and there is nothing to restrict
Satan at this time to wage war on the earth. These first eight verses represent
what will happen during the seven year Tribulation.
1 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals;
and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder,
"Come and see."
The lamb of course is
Jesus Christ, He is the only one worthy to open the seals because he defeated
death and is the everlasting light for all that chose to follow Him. We know at
this time who the four living creatures are based on past lessons, but what about
the phrase, “Come and See”? Some theologians think the living creature is
calling the first horseman out and sending him upon the earth, but I don’t see
it this way based on studying this out. The living creature is calling John
over to look at the scroll. These horsemen and the color of the horses are
symbolic of what will take place
during the Tribulation. Each of these horses and riders are recorded in the
scroll.
2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who
sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering
and to conquer.
Many think a person on a
white horse depicts a hero someone that will save the day by defeating all the
bad guys. Some think this white horse and person is Jesus and get confused with
the description of the image painted in our minds with the rider on a white
horse in Chapter 19:11-16 This rider
is none other than the Antichrist that will rise up in the Middle East to go
out and conquer many nations. He is described here by John and we can see in the
picture this rider appears to be a good person and that is exactly how he will
appear when he rises up. He will be someone of eloquent speech, charisma, well
known, good looking to appeal to humanistic standards of leadership, an
established leader, someone that can tickle the ears of women and men of all
ages, etc. He will win the hearts of people around the world and sign a seven
year peace treaty with Israel and surrounding nations, supposedly guaranteeing
them peace and protection, but midway through the Tribulation (3 ½ years) this
covenant will be broken. (This is prophesized in the book of Daniel. Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for
one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and
offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even
until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the
desolate.") He
will be a hero, but after these things happen and he becomes ruler over 10
nations, things will change because he is controlled by Satan. Mid way through
the Tribulation things will turn ugly and war will be waged against God’s
people the Jews.
This is why he is pictured
on a white horse and appears to be a good guy. He will be a deceiver, a wolf in
sheep’s clothing. He wants to get people of all nations to trust and believe
what he says and does so they will follow him to destruction. This is why he
has a bow with no arrows, it’s a time if peace to win people over to his side
and his way of thinking. He is not declaring war, at least in the beginning,
but peace.
His crown represents the
leader that he will become over 10 nations, the once Roman Empire. In the
beginning he will win the hearts of these nations, conquer, and rule over them.
Look at the four horses and riders, to follow any would result in Spiritual
Death.
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The Four Horsemen
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the
second living creature saying, "Come and see."
4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was
granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and
there was given to him a great sword.
This next horse was red
and this symbolism cannot be mistaken. Just as the white horse denoted
prosperity, triumph, and happiness, this red horse denote carnage, discord, and
bloodshed. This is clear, not only from the red nature of the horse, but from
the explanation of the rest of the verse; “And it was granted to the one who
sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a
great sword.” This proclaims the beginning of the Antichrist’s real intentions.
The evidence is that he will first of all attack Egypt, and Israel will come
later, as he turns on her with a fury. The book of Daniel gives us information
about this verse. Daniel
11:40-43 "At
the time of the end the king of the South (Refers to Egypt, because that’s who is
referred to at the beginning of Chapter 11 in Daniel, which speaks of the
breakup of the Grecian Empire.) shall
attack him; and the king of the North (Meaning Syria, so more than likely the Antichrist will rise up from
Syria because of the breakup of the Grecian Empire spoken of in Daniel. It is
possible the Antichrist could be a Syrian Jew)
shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many
ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, (meaning Israel) and many countries
shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the
prominent people of Ammon. (These countries comprise modern day Jordan and ancient Petra is
located within Jordan. Revelation 12:6)
42 He shall stretch out his hand against the
countries, and the land of Egypt (King of the South) shall not
escape. 43
He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the
precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. (With
the Antichrist being controlled and powered by Satan, ancient mysteries of
Egypt will be revealed, regarding the tombs, the pyramids, etc.)
This rider is of an evil
nature as is his horse. The picture portrays this very well. A great sword
signifies a time of great killing. More than we can imagine possibly billions. Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third
living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black
horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four
living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three
quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."
This black horse and rider
depict a time of famine which will undoubtedly take place in the first half of
the Tribulation (3 ½ years). The pair of scales indicates a scarcity of food
and the measuring out of what food there is available. If one has no money they
will receive no food. This rider portrays famine very well by his appearance of
skin and bones. This famine will be one of such magnitude that it is beyond
comprehension.
A denarius was a Roman
silver coin (Referred to as a penny in the KJV.), in the time of our Saviour
and the Apostles, worth about 15 cents. It took its name from its being first
equal to ten "asses," a number afterwards, increased to sixteen. It
was the principal silver coin of the Roman commonwealth. From the parable of
the laborers in the vineyard, it would seem that a denarius was then the
ordinary pay for a day's labor.
This time period is one
which will require a day’s wage to purchase food for one person to live on for
one day.
Black is often times
regarded as a symbol of severe famine. With the distress and calamity of the
rider of the red horse, famine, pestilence, oppression, heavy taxation, and tyranny
will follow. Lamentations
5:10 Our skin was black like an oven
because of the terrible famine.
What about the phrase, “do
not harm the oil and the wine”? What could this possibly mean? This is a very
good question and there are many interpretations like not trampling the grape
vines and destroying the olive trees, or it represents wealthy people having
money to by what is needed, or a command from God not to place anymore distress
on His children, the Jews represented by oil or saved Gentiles represented by
wine. None of these makes any sense nor does anything else that I studied. If
you look at the verse in its entirety it is speaking of death by starvation so
it is crops like grains, vegetables, and fruits that support life. Not just our
life, but also animal life which produce protein and dairy products we consume.
What do the five food groups consist of? Dairy, cereal, meat, fruits, and
vegetables; can we live without them? Are any of these the meaning of this
phrase? My spirit tells me no so I’m going to continue to seek the meaning of
this phrase and when it is revealed to me, I will pass it on to you.
Vegetables
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Fruits
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Grains
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Dairy Protein
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the
voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see."
8 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 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.
This pale horse signifies
death. The word “pale” in the Greek
is “chloros,” meaning “pale-green,
yellowish-green”. This color would be an appropriate color to denote death, one
of the most striking effects of death is paleness.
The name of the rider is
Death and is fitting for the color of the horse, but did you notice this horse
and rider are followed by Hades. Go back and look at the picture and notice the
flames of Hell following them. What could this mean? Remember God’s people have
all been Raptured up to Heaven when this is all taking place here on earth.
Those remaining on earth are unbelievers. They have rejected Jesus and the
Cross. Hades is following close behind because those that die will be going to
Hell for eternity. (I will expound on this next week.) There will be millions
dying because of what this Death rider is allowed to do. That sounds like a
lot, and it is, but the verse states ¼ of the earth will be affected. The area
referred to here is basically the Middle East territory, taking in Northern Africa,
and most, if not all, of Europe. We know this because this is the area of the
old Roman Empire territory, which the Book of Daniel tells us will be the
primary area of the Antichrist.
This last phrase coincides
with (Matthew 24:7-8 For nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines,
pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are
the beginning of sorrows.) and (Ezekiel 14:21 For thus says the Lord GOD: "How
much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the
sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from
it?)
Death will kill by four
means, wars, starvation, death by diseases/pestilences, and beasts of the
earth. The first two are pretty clear, but death would be referring to things
like cancer, aids, Parkinson’s, drugs, alcohol; the list is extensive. I ask
you, does it seem these things are on the rise?
What about the death by
beast? When we think beast we think of a large creature, but what about a small
beast that can reproduce at a tremendous rate and would carry many types of
disease. What about a rat? Would it be possible for rats to multiply to a state
of contributing to human death? One pair of rats can produce up to 72 little
ones per year and they are capable of spreading Bubonic Plague. Hmmm?
It
doesn’t sound like a time period I would want to be around for. God will remove
His children with the Rapture and I have one question for you. If the Rapture
happens tonight are you going up? If you’re not sure then get on your knees
right now and tell Jesus you don’t want to live like you do anymore and ask Him
into your life.
Romans 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is
the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…...
Romans
3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John
3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say
to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Last
Week’s Trivia: Who
was Ahuzzath?
Answer: Ahuzzath was a friend and advisor of
the Philistine King Abimelech of Gerar. He was present and active in the treaty
negotiations between Isaac and King Abimelech at Beersheba. Genesis 26:26.
This
week’s Trivia: Who
was Ahzai?
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