Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:54 — 20.4MB)

Revelation #12

Today, we will continue our study of the Book of Revelation. We have finished Chapter 5 so far. We have seen the work of praise taking place in the heavenly throne where all things praise God and the four beasts around the throne respond with Amen. Before we start Chapter 6, let’s take a moment to review what we have learned so far. First, in Revelation 4, along with the command to “Come up hither”, the apostle John sees himself ascended to heaven. Our Lord will appear in the air to command the church to “Come up hither”. At that time, the members of the church, the body of Christ who have been regenerated as saints, will be raptured. There are several local churches (consisting of many or few saints), but when the Lord comes, they, The Church of God, will become one and become one body, and they will be attached to the Lord who is the head. And we saw the Lord taking the book with seven seals. But in chapter 6 He begins to open the seven seals one by one. Every time the seal is broken, various things begin to happen on the earth. The tribulation immediately begins. Therefore, the future events during the 7 year tribulation on earth is written in chapters 6 to 19, just before Jesus Christ comes down to this earth on a white horse. Regarding this coming tribulation, prophet Daniel in   Daniel 9 calls it the 70th week, and through the prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah 30:7 calls it the time of Jacob’s trouble, the time of the Israelites’ suffering. Also in Daniel 12:1, the trouble that will take place in the book of Revelation is a time of tribulation, a great tribulation. This time of tribulation will be an unprecedented period in which Israel will be persecuted. In fact, until now, after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the people of Israel suffered a series of hardships. Ever since the destruction of Jerusalem by Roman general Titus in A.D. 70, Israel faced series of hardships, especially during World War II through Hitler,  millions of Jews were persecuted and killed, until Israel regained independence in 1948. Still, it is a miracle that more than 18 million Jews are still living in this land. However, this tribulation period refers to the last time Israel will be subjected to persecution incomparable to the previous persecutions. Hitler is just a model of the coming antichrist. The Bible tells us that once all the children of God are raptured,  there will be such persecution where no one on earth can help Israel and only a few will be able to survive,  the 144,000 who have received the seals on their foreheads. Even now, Israel is scattered all over the world, but nations established by the word of God like the United States are still avoiding various difficulties they face because they do their best to help Israel. But when the time of tribulation comes, terrible tribulation and judgment will be upon them. Several places in the Psalms testify to pray for the peace of Israel, as those who pray for the peace of Israel will prosper. Also in (Romans 1:16 KJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.   The Jews need to be saved first. Therefore, we must pray for them so that they do not fall into the great tribulation, pray for Jerusalem, evangelize and pray they realize that Jesus is the Messiah, and pray for them to receive salvation by receiving Him. Chapter 6 verse 1 shows how the future tribulation will start. Therefore, when we realize how terrible it will be for those who will be left behind in the tribulation period, we have to preach the gospel of salvation to the unsaved people around us.

            And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. (Revelation 6:1-2 KJV) The first beast said to come and see. The first beast is a lion (Revelation 4:7 KJV)  representing the wild beasts. A rider on a white horse shows up with a bow wearing a crown and He went forth conquering and to conquer. There are many opinions about who the rider of this white horse is. It’s not difficult. There’s no need to add our opinions to it. You will find all the answers in the Word of God. I do not lead the Bible according to my interpretation as I think, but the words of the Bible are interpreted by the Bible and the Bible clearly shows us that. Unfortunately, however, there are many people who believe the rider on the white horse is Jesus Christ, and I want this to be a time to understand it correctly once and for all for everyone. In fact, we must know clearly that after the Council of Nicaea, in the Vatican, Vicarius Filii Dei, Also known as the Pope ascended to the throne to reign for a thousand years on behalf of Jesus Christ. So, at the end of this millennium, Jesus Christ will come. That was their initial claim. Unfortunately, even after a thousand or two thousand years have passed, the Lord has not yet come. If the Lord does not come after the end of the Pope’s Thousand Year Reign, isn’t that a problem? The Lord has not yet come. Only when the Lord comes will His millennium reign on this earth be accomplished, and we must know that what Catholic church proclaims is a deception. That is why the church does not rule now in this world, but can reign only when the Lord comes, and no one can claim to an emperor or king. The Lord said to them all,…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23 KJV)  No one gets to be a king today. The church isn’t to enjoy the world, but the church must suffer with the Lord and preach the gospel unto all nations. This is the message the Lord gives us. So then, who is riding this white horse? We must know this only through the Bible. In Revelation 19, another man riding on a white horse appears, and his name is called Faithful and True. He wore many crowns on his head. This is definitely Jesus Christ. By comparing between Chapter 6 (the rider on the white horse) and Chapter 19 (the person riding the white horse), as the first seal is broken, you need to realize and know who the rider on the white horse, the person holding the bow is. First, the white horse in Revelation 19 comes down from heaven as the gates of heaven are opened. However, the origin of this white horse in 6:2 is unknown. Second, in Revelation 19, Jesus wore many crowns. But the rider in 6:2 wore a crown. different? Then third, in chapter 19, our Lord had a sharp two edged sword. It’s the Word. It’s the word that turns the whole world upside down. But in Chapter 6, he had a bow. There are no arrows. He just had an empty bow. Fourth, in chapter 19, the armies of God in linen clothes follow after our Lord riding on a white horse. What follows after the rider on a white horse in 6:2? Death, hell, and famine. The devil holds the power of death. The man of sin, the son of perdition. By Comparing between chapters 6 and 19, even if you are not a theologian, as long as you are at a proficient reading level, even an elementary student can understand this without being a theologian. We need to know that the book of Revelation is not difficult to understand, but difficult to believe. God never speaks difficult words. Therefore, we can clearly see that when the Lord came to this earth, he made disciples out of ignorant people, put the Word into them, and sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to begin the work of preaching the gospel throughout the earth through them. Satan is a deceiver. For this reason, we may misunderstand Satan’s work and our Lord’s work. That is why we must know God’s word and stand firm in the word of truth, and put on the full armor of God, we can escape from Satan’s deception. Satan deceives people even with the Word of God. We’ll look through the Bible for deceptive scene of how the devil, Satan, and Christ—that is, the Antichrist and Christ—look alike. First, Jesus has the city of the bride. In Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven. This is the New Jerusalem in heaven, where the children of God saved through Jesus Christ and the bride of Jesus Christ will live forever. This is the place our Lord mentioned in John 14, In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2-3 KJV)  The New Jerusalem will be 1500 miles wide and tall. We can see through the Bible that there are 12000 furlongs, furlong is 1/8 mile, roughly 1500 miles in width and height, and this is the house we will live in. Jesus Christ has prepared the city of His Bride. Likewise, Satan also has the city of his bride, which is Babylon the Great, the city shown in Revelation 17. A great city that rules over all the kings of the world. Where is this great city today? It is Rome. You need to know that. Christ has the city of His bride, and the Antichrist also has the city of the bride. Since the book of Revelation clearly teaches what the city of the children of God, the bride of Jesus is, and what the city of the devil is like, Satan uses various methods to prevent people from reading and hearing of this book to keeping them in their heart, ultimately mistranslating it into what is sometimes known as the book of Apocalypse. They inject fear into people by saying it is dangerous to misinterpret this book. But the Lord says, Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3 KJV)  The end of all is near. Now is the time to lift up your face and rise from the dead and shine.

            Second, Jesus said that I am the light of the world. John 8:12 and 9:5 Satan also pretends to be an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14. There’s nothing strange about it. And Satan also has his own servants. He has his own servants, so outwardly they look like servants of God. Satan’s servants are also numerous, so we must distinguish them carefully. Thirdly, it is said in Revelation 19:16 that Christ is the King of kings. However, it is clearly stated in Job 41:34 that Satan is the king over all the children of pride. Fourth, Isaiah 9:6 tells us Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. Then John 14:30 tells us Satan is the ruler of this world….for the prince of this world cometh... As the Lord said, for 2,000 years, Satan has exerted his influence on this earth through principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and evil spirits to deceive people, prevent them from being saved, and persecute the Lord’s children. Fifth, Jesus Christ our Lord Jesus Christ is our Lord and our God, just as Thomas, who doubted when the Lord was resurrected, confessed, “My Lord and my God”. But Satan is the god of this world according to 2 Corinthians 4:4. He is the god of this world blocking people from hearing the gospel of glory. He hinders the light of this gospel from shining through. That is what the god of this world does. The devil, the god of this world, tried to deceive God Himself, Jesus Christ with his words. However, the Lord directly opposed it with the Word. If we do not know the Word rightly, we will be deceived if we are not careful. Sixth, when Jesus was tempted by Satan, He defeated Satan by saying, “It is written,”  Satan ALSO said, For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Luke 4:10-11 KJV)  Satan quoted the words of Psalm 91:11 to our Lord, so that when the Lord comes to the Mount of Olives at His Second Coming, the stone will not hit His feet. By quoting the words of Second Coming of Christ, Satan tempted Jesus to jump off at His First coming. If we do not divide and study God’s Word well, we can misapply the things of the Age of Law and the Age of Tribulation now. Then you can’t. Because this is the Age of Grace, anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and receives Him as their Savior will be saved. We must never forget that we are saved only through His blood. If there is anyone who says any other good deeds of human beings other than the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ are an element of salvation, then they are preaching a different gospel, and those who preach this other gospel will be cursed. We must know it clearly. If we incorrectly apply the Word and misunderstand it, we can see that no matter how much we know the Word, we can be wrong. Seventh, Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelation 5:5, and the lion of the tribe of Judah prevailed. However, we can see in 1 Peter 5:8 that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. In conclusion, the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6:2 is not associated with Jesus Christ, but with the antichrist, Satan, and in verse 4, war follows,  verses 5 and 6, famine follows. In verse 8, we can see death and hell follow. He also kills those who believe in the word of God (v. 9) and we see in verse 17 his work ends in the day of God’s wrath. What do you guys think? We must never forget that the person riding on the white horse in Chapter 6 is the devil with an empty bow, not Jesus Christ with the sword of God’s Word, but the devil who is the worldly god who wears a crown and reigns on this earth. If you misunderstand this antichrist as the Christ, all the Bible will be crooked and erroneous. You have to fasten the first button correctly on a button down shirt, right? I hope that you will put the first button on correctly now so that you will be able to understand the upcoming words.

            Now the second seal is opened. A red horse appears upon opening the seal. Red means war, right? Let’s read chapter 6 verses 3,4. The second beast is a calf, right? And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. (Revelation 6:3-4 KJV) Second beast is calf right? The calf says Come and see. War will follow the rider of the white horse. In other words, when the Antichrist appears, war will follow. That’s why wars continue to happen even today, but then the wars will be even more devastating during the reign of the Antichrist.

`Moving on to the 3^rd seal and the black horse. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. (Revelation 6:5 KJV)  This third beast has a human form. Color is very important here. White usually symbolizes purity and innocence. However, don’t forget that the Antichrist also disguises himself as an angel of light, and you can see that red means war and black means famine. This very famine, accompanied by the sound of the hooves of black horse speaks of a great famine coming to this world.

            And why is the rider of the black horse holding a pair of balances in his hand? Let’s read 6:6 to find out why. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. (Revelation 6:6 KJV) One penny shown here is the daily wage of a Roman soldier. You see it in Homer’s Odyssey. What we can see here is that during the tribulation period, a measure of wheat and three measures of barley with the money that Roman soldiers receive a day, how hungry will they be? Even today, one of the most terrible things in the world is dying of starvation, but when the Antichrist appears in the future, countless people in the world will all suffer from hunger like this.

            How painful would it be to watch the scenes of people, family members, friends, even those who we attended church with, those who were not raptured because they were not saved left behind on this earth suffering from hunger from above as raptured children of God, just as the apostle John from heaven is looking at this earth now? Tears will flow. There are tears in heaven. The Lord said he would wipe away our tears in the end. True tears are the tears we shed for the poor souls. Shouldn’t we weep now and live a life that gives a helping hand unto those who don’t believe?

            Now, notice something strange here. and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. Oil and wine are expensive. In particular, this is olive oil. Wine is expensive. This is abusing the poor and cares for the rich. Sounds just like today doesn’t it?  A capitalist society in which the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. This is nothing. At that time, only the followers of the Antichrist will drink oil and wine, as they will eat to their fullness, but most people will suffer from extreme hunger; What is clear is that the antichrist will appear in the tribulation, and war will overthrow the world.

             The events of this time were foretold through the prophet Ezekiel. This is when barley and wheat are weighed on the scales and traded. Ezekiel 4:9-16 shows us  precisely, but I will read only verses 16 and 17. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. (Ezekiel 4:16-17 KJV)  Water is measured for drinking amount. How miserable is it to cut bread into pieces and weigh it on scales? The Bible speaks here in advance of their suffering in Jerusalem, the suffering they will face under the rule of the Antichrist.

            Now, the fourth seal is coming off. A pale horse is shown. This is Death. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7-8 KJV)  Hell is finally open. Hell is opened and rider of the pale horse is named Death. Here the name Death is capitalized. This is personification of death. It is his duty to kill, and we can see in the Bible, an angel who has been entrusted with this authority. Hebrews 2:14, we can see that God has given the authority of death to Satan. Also, in Revelation 9:11, Satan is called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek, meaning Destroyer. The son of perdition appears in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. He was called a man of sin. As mentioned earlier in Hebrews 2:14, our Lord has come to destroy the devil, who has the authority of death. and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.  In Revelation 9:11,  those who lived in the bottomless pit, the abyss, coming out. As the soul descends into Hell, it gradually decays and eventually transform into a beast. Christians later become like Christ when they are resurrected. It’s in 1 John 3:1-6. We take on the same image as the Lord. But the Bible says that those who are not saved take on the form of a serpent-like worm, the dragon of their father Satan. That’s why (Isaiah 66:24 KJV) says And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.  Such horrendous things will happen soon, therefore we must preach the gospel and pray more diligently so that no one around us falls to this place, so that they do not suffer from war, famine, and death, we must do our best so our loved ones, friends and neighbors will be saved by preaching the gospel now. Blessings to you in the name of Christ so you may partake in this Great Commission.