Tribulation begins
We had a great time in chapters four and five. The
reunion was wonderful, the celebration, spectacular. Heavenly. Literally.
But then, with the turn of a page from chapter five
to six, everything changes. Like a soldier being deployed straight from his
wedding, to a war zone.
The Lamb, has taken the scroll from Him who sits
on the Throne. The seals are broken, one by one, as the scroll is unrolled. Each
of the seven seals reveal, more of that which is to come.
Thus begins three series of sevens. Seven seals.
Seven trumpets. Seven bowls. Each series worse than before. Unimaginable devastation
and darkness, and sores, and blood and misery. Before all’s said and done, over
two-thirds of the earth’s population will be destroyed. By God’s mercy, it’ll
all be crammed into seven years.
But, make no mistake, all of that, combined,
will be like a Sunday School picnic, compared to what follows, when time is no
more, and eternity begins, for those who reject, Jesus Christ as Lord.
Lord, help us to take this seriously, to care
enough, to love enough, to warn those You’ve given us, of the wrath which is
just around the bend.
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.” 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. Revelation 6:1-2.
Come and see. In my Bible I have a small little line drawn through, and see;
because those words aren’t in the original text. Thus, “Come” is calling
forth that which was written behind the seal, or the riders, not necessarily a
call for John to come and see.
White horse. We love white horses. Good guys ride white horses. Jesus, and the armies of heaven, ride white horses, in Revelation nineteen.
With a “Hi-yo, Silver, and away” the Lone Ranger rides, at
the speed of light, in a cloud of dust, on a fiery white steed.
Is Jesus, on a white horse, at the opening of the first seal? Let’s look at the clues and see.
Remember, scripture interprets scripture, and context is key.
In
context; we’re opening a scroll with seven seals. Six of which, are in chapter
six. As each seal is opened, the white horse rider, is followed by other riders.
One takes peace from the earth, the next brings famine, followed by death and
hell. Not exactly a Sunday school choir.
He who sat on it had a bow
Here,
the white horse rider is holding a bow. However, Jesus is seen on a white horse,
in Revelation nineteen, with a sword. He also has a sword in Revelation one and
two. Hebrews 4:12 tells us the Word is quick and powerful and sharper than any
two-edged sword. And Jesus is the Word, according to John 1:14.
It’s
easy to see Jesus on a white horse, with a sword. But with a bow? That’s a
horse of a different color.
The
devil on the other hand, can easily be seen with a bow.
In addition
to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16.
Consider
how a bow is used from a distance; like flaming words from an ivory tower, a
presidential perch, or media’s microphone.
and a crown was given to him
Jesus wears a royal crown, diadéma,
whereas this rider wears a stephanos crown. A crown given to overcomers
of Olympic games. A crown for man. Not God. Not royalty.
Notice
the crown was given. He didn’t earn it.
Who
gave it to him? I don’t know. It doesn’t say.
However,
back in the garden, Adam wore a crown, of sorts, given to him by God,
when He said, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, overcome
it, have dominion. Genesis 1:28.
But
alas, Adam, failed to overcome, and willingly gave his crown, his
authority, to the deceiver, the devil.
conquering and to conquer
Satan masquerades as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14.
Roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he
may devour 1 Peter 5:8.
The
devil deceives to be as an angel of light, or as a roaring lion;
and here he goes about, as a conqueror.
The
white horse rider is the antichrist, pretending to be the Prince of Peace.
When
He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying,
“Come and see.” 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. Revelation
6:3-4.
The word for sword
here, is not like the long swashbuckling sword of Zorro or The Three Musketeers.
It is machaira; a short sword, or dagger, perhaps where we get the word,
machete. It’s the weapon of choice for assassination, backstabbing and throat
slitting.
We see this type of peace
stealing evil already taking shape in our world, today.
This is not war, like
Russia invading Ukraine. This is the wretched evil of people killing one another;
like a Chicago weekend. Like the flames of Floyd in 2020.
All this week my flag has
flown at half-mast, due to the recent mass shootings.
You may have heard the ineloquent,
rough and raspy voice, stumble through the names of the slain. Each time a name was read, a bell was tolled. All else was silent; respectful, prayerful.
Another voice, eloquent
and poised, also floated over the airwaves addressing the Robb elementary
school shooting; “We must remember, it’s been two years, since George Floyd…”
President Trump’s raspy
voice, stumbling through the names, brought comfort, healing, peace.
With subtly of the serpent,
Obama eloquently floated flaming poison arrows into the heart of a combustible
nation—the seedbed for the fulfillment, of this peace stealing seal.
The thief comes to steal, kill, destroy, I have come that you
may have LIFE and LIFE more abundantly John 10:10
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. 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.” Revelation
6:5-6.
This seal is no surprise. Run-away inflation,
is the result of run-away crime and political corruption.
A quart of wheat for a denarius, is equivalent
to one day’s food, for one day’s pay. How will a person feed their family?
Inflation is at historic highs in America. But compared to other countries, we still have it made. Not always. We’re paving the way for this third seal when all the world will be on welfare; except, the oil and wine, the ultra-wealthy elite.
When
He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature
saying, “Come and see.” 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.
Revelation 6:7-8.
Some
translations use “green” instead of “pale” for the color of this
horse; which is more accurate. The original word is: chloros; where we
get, chlorophyll. Like the pale, green color of death.
This
seal might’ve sent shivers up and down John’s spine. Thus far the seals
followed the natural progression of the sinful nature of man. But now, the serpent slithers out from the
shadows; the mask comes down, the fangs come out, the gloves come off. One out
of four people on the planet are killed.
with
sword: People killing each other, as in the
second seal.
with hunger: As we just discussed in the third seal, the natural result of corruption.
with death: To kill with death, sounds a bit wonky. However, this word in the original text is, thanatos; also defined as, plague, or, pestilence. You know, like an invisible enemy virus that spreads throughout the entire world.
by
the beasts: This is scary, but
understandable. It’s easy to see how animals could get a taste for human flesh
considering the masses of dead bodies, lack of food, and the unleashing of demonic
activity.
When
He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those
who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which
they held. And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and
avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was
said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the
number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as
they were, was completed. Revelation 6:9-11.
This passage could be a
sermon or two or ten, in itself. We’ll delve into it deeper when we see these
folks again in the next chapter, but for now let’s just look at their correspondence.
They ask God how long until
He avenges their blood.
That tells us they remember.
When folks get to heaven (or hell), they don’t lose memory, or mind. Our soul,
is our mind, will and emotions. John says, I saw under the altar the souls,
of those who had been slain.
The answer given to these
souls reveals the powerful, love and patience of Jesus. They were given white
robes and told to rest until, the number, of their fellow servants, and
brethren were martyred, just as they were.
God is omniscient. He
knows everything. The end from the beginning. But, please know and understand,
just because He knows something is going to happen, doesn’t mean He makes
it happen.
As much as He hates evil
and longs to bring it to an end; as much as He loves His family and wants to be
united forever and ever, amen. He will not take short cuts. He will not
compromise Divine Justice. Furthermore, He knows every single soul that will
eventually turn to Him, and so He patiently waits, because it’s not His will
that any perish.
The souls under the altar
are crying out for their own blood. He hears them, doesn’t ignore them,
actually goes into action for them, when He opens the next seal.
But for now, He waits.
Because He knows, that the day after tomorrow, that son of yours, the one that
missed the rapture, the one you prayed for until the day you died; well, God
knows that in two days, Johnny’s going to bend his knee and surrender his
heart, and life, for Jesus. After that, there’s the bully from across the
tracks who always laughed whenever you prayed. But now, in just a few minutes,
he’s going to change his tune, and realize you were right. And then, there’s Susie,
and Cheryl, and Bakari, and Chad, and the guy who changed his name to Allah…
Don’t you ever, ever,
ever, ever, stop praying, believing, seed planting. The Word of God will not
return void. Your greatest harvest, your most powerful answers, may be during
the most trying time in world history, but the greatest harvest in HIStory.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not
willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance. 2 Peter 3:9.
I
looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to
the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty
wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up,
and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich
men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid
themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us
from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has
come, and who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:12-17.
We close chapter six with the sixth seal.
Remember, during the fourth seal, the devil dropped
the mask, slithered out from the shadows, and killed a fourth of the people on the
planet.
God took care of the slain during the fifth seal. And now
in the sixth, He steps out into the open as well.
Everything that can be shaken, quakes. Those who dwell
on the earth feel as exposed as the very first couple, the day they realized they
were naked. Only they don’t have a fig tree to hide under, so they dive under
rocks, and mountains and caves, in hopes they fall on them to hide them from Him
who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
Chapter six closes with their desperate cry and
question, “Who is able to stand?”
Who is able to stand?
Do you know?
Lord willing, we’ll answer that question, next week.
Let’s pray.
Lord, thank You.
We love You.
Help us to stand, and never, ever, ever give up, praying
and believing for those You’ve given us.
Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Amen.
1 comment:
Amen
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