JESUS said:
“Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your LORD will come.”
Matthew 24:42
“What I say to you, I say to everyone: WATCH!”
Mark 13:37
My dear brothers and sisters, beloved by GOD as revealed in His SON JESUS through Whom we have received His amazing grace, powerful truth and eternal joy and hope. Amen, come LORD JESUS!
Our gracious SAVIOR and LORD tells us repeatedly in His Word to watch for His coming return. In the Old Testament, the LORD called His prophets “watchmen”:
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel;
So hear the Word I speak and give them warning from Me.” Ezekiel 33:7
“I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’” Jeremiah 6:17
“Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.” Isaiah 52:8
In the New Testament the LORD and His apostles command everyone who believes in Him to watch and wait for His return. The call to watch and wait isn’t just to the under-shepherds of His flock, the pastors and congregational elders, but to each of us who trusts in Him. Of course, those who are called to be under-shepherds, to care for the LORD’S people, have an extra responsibility to watch and wait and help the LORD’S people to be ready for His return.
Are we watching, waiting, working and praying for the LORD to come? What do we understand as we read, listen and meditate on the LORD’S revelation concerning His return and watch the events unfolding around us in every corner of our world today? Do we recognize the connection between the prophecies of the LORD and the darkness that is increasingly driving our planet to the precipice of destruction and judgment?
Dear friends our LORD tells us:
“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the SON of MAN.” Luke 21:36.
Now there are many today, even in churches, who no longer believe that JESUS is coming back on the clouds to rapture His people and then bring His wrath and judgment on the evil of our world. They have chosen not to believe many parts of the HOLY SPIRIT’S revelation in His Word, including the reality of our LORD’S return. To them the LORD’S return and rapture of His people is just a mythological picture in the New Testament communicating some sort of hope in the future. Dear family and friends of JESUS, the LORD is coming back soon, and if we ignore the prophesies of His Word that give us understanding and warnings of the events to come, then not only will we be led astray by the false saviors and religious leaders, but we will also be responsible for leading others away from the LORD and the truths of His Word and promises.
A MIXTURE OF JOY AND SORROW
For all believers in the LORD, past and present, our hearts and minds are filled with the overflowing joy of the knowledge of the LORD and the salvation He has accomplished for us in the new Heaven and Earth that He will soon bring for all who trust in Him. As it is written:
“Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing to the LORD, all of the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise His Name. Proclaim His salvation day after day.
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples” Psalm 96:1-3
GOD’S Word and our lives are filled with praise and glory to the LORD for Who He IS and all that He has done and promises to do for all who trust in Him. We rejoice in the LORD and all that He has accomplished for us in His first coming some 2000 years ago through His life, ministry, death and resurrection. We are joyful and excited about the incredible second coming of the LORD and the new Heaven and Earth that He is creating for us and for all who love Him.
Simultaneously, as we live in our darkened, decaying, despairing world, we are often overwhelmed with sorrow over all the falsehoods and evil that are deceiving and destroying the faith and lives of the peoples of our world (2 Peter 2:7-9). Our LORD’S heart was filled with pain over all the evil in our world in Noah’s Day (Genesis 6:6). CHRIST wept over Jerusalem and the people of Israel who rejected Him (Luke 19:41-42). His SPIRIT is also filled with great grief over the overwhelming evil that permeates our planet today. He weeps for all who reject Him today. We are united with the LORD in His grief over our evil fallen world.
Our sorrow, however, is not just for the evil around us, but also for our own sins and failures that have contributed to the evil that spreads from one generation to the next and creates the immense suffering that surrounds us. GOD’S will for our lives is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as we love ourselves. The HOLY SPIRIT has revealed in His Word, and we know in our own consciences, that we have all failed and fallen short of perfectly loving the LORD and others. There is good reason to weep over our own sin and evil, and the evil that is flooding our world today.
This has always been the reality for the saints who have gone before us (Lamentations 1-5), and so it will be for us in these days where evil is propelling our world towards the last events before His return. As we hear, read and see the evil and suffering in our world today, our hearts ache with sorrow, particularly for the children and youth. We pray continually “Amen, come LORD JESUS”, for we know that only the LORD can put an end to all evil and create a Holy Home for His people.
Part of the LORD’S message has always been to call all people to repentance from our sin, and to believe in the LORD and His promised eternal Kingdom. As John the Baptist and our LORD JESUS CHRIST proclaimed to the people in Israel 2000 years ago: “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17) Praise the LORD for the message of salvation that His HOLY SPIRIT and faithful servants are bringing to billions of people in all corners of our world and for the thousands of people who are coming to repentance and faith every day.
Like our LORD JESUS and His prophets and apostles before us, we rejoice and weep during our time on this planet. However, He will soon come to wipe away all of the tears from our eyes with the glory of our new eternal and Holy Home with Him and all the saints (Revelation 21:3-4). Our sorrow will be wiped away; our joy infinitely amplified.
UNDERSTANDING THE SIX SEALS OF REVELATION 6
Dear friends we are living in the prophetic verses of the Word of the LORD describing the events in our world that immediately precede the LORD’S return. In the book of Daniel, the LORD gave us some visions relating to world events leading to the LORD’S first coming and to His return. In the last chapter Daniel is given another vision in which he is told:
“There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the Book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge…I heard but I did not understand. So I asked: ‘My LORD, what will the outcome of all this be?’ He replied: ‘Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.’ Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” Daniel 12:1-4,8-10
In Daniel the LORD gave us a few basics regarding His return or Second Coming, but the rest of the scroll was sealed until the last days. In Revelation 5 it is revealed that our LORD is holding a scroll in His hand which is sealed with seven seals, and that only JESUS, the LAMB of GOD, has the authority and right to open. In chapters six to fifteen the LORD opens these seals to reveal more information about those last days before His Return. The LORD gives the Apostle John a series of visions, like a series of video clips in his mind, through which He unveils staggering descriptions of the major events leading to His return to our world.
The LORD has promised to bless everyone who listens to these revelations and lives by them.
“Blessed is the one who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 1:3
We know that John, a chosen and faithful apostle of our LORD, received these visions from the LORD while he was exiled for sharing the Word and Gospel of CHRIST and His Kingdom. Although many reject the book of Revelation because of its staggering descriptions of devastating world events, it is the Word and teaching of CHRIST given to bless and encourage His people, particularly those living during those very last days.
Although the LORD hasn’t revealed all the details of world events of the last days before His return, He has given us a good overview with plenty of signs so that all who trust in Him can be prepared for His second coming. I believe that when the events which are described in the seals are being fulfilled that they are a clear testimony for all who are living in these times that we need to pay careful attention to what He says about these days. In this letter we are not going to cover all of the book of Revelation, but just a quick overview of what the LORD reveals in the first six seals in Revelation 6. Although I will be quoting from some of this chapter, please read through all of it.
THE 4 HORSES OF THE APOCALYPSE
The first eight verses reveal what is commonly referred to by many preachers and teachers as the “Four Horses of the Apocalypse”. The word “apocalypse” means the “revelation” pertaining to our LORD’S coming. It is the very first word in Revelation 1:1 translated as: “The revelation of JESUS CHRIST”. The adjective “apocalyptic” refers to the evil, insane events propelling our world to destruction, however, Revelation not only foretells the termination of the world as we know it now, but also the glory of Heaven and the creation of the new eternal Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21-22). It is an introduction to our eternal Home. The Horses of the apocalypse are galloping around us today bringing us ever closer to the glory of CHRIST in His eternal Kingdom.
VERSES 1-2 : THE 1ST SEAL – A CROWNED RIDER ON A WHITE HORSE
“I watched as the LAMB opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come”. 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.”
In this vision John sees CHRIST opening the first seal and he hears one of four living creatures call out with a thunderous voice: “Come”. According to Revelation 4:6-11 the four living creatures are amazing uniquely created beings around GOD’S throne who are continually praising and glorifying GOD. After the call, John sees a white horse with a rider who is given a crown. He rides out victorious, focused on conquering or bringing his victory to all nations in our world.
There is no question that this is a symbolic picture with a message, but what is that message? The book of Revelation contains many symbolic pictures to communicate GOD’S message to us. The statement that “Scripture interprets Scripture” is important in understanding all parts of the Bible. There is no revelation from the LORD that stands alone, but always in connection with the LORD’S revelation in other parts of GOD’S Word. It all fits together like a zillion piece puzzle in an astonishing harmonious testimony to the LORD and His Kingdom and salvation.
Our bodies have approximately fifty trillion cells with about one trillion molecules per cell, half of which are water and the other half various chemical molecules which are integrated with every part of our body and programmed to perform certain functions through the irreducibly complex DNA and RNA genetic instructions in each cell. The same GOD who is the Author of our amazing genetic code and Creator of our irreducibly complex biological bodies is also the Author of His amazing irreducibly complex and integrated Word. Every part of His Word, from the first verse in Genesis to the last verse in Revelation, always connects in with a lot of other verses and words that give us the context and understanding of what the LORD is saying. Although none of us will ever understand how it all fits together, the SPIRIT of the LORD does help us to grasp many important and relevant truths for our lives in whatever period of history we are living.
Regarding this first seal, there have been a couple of very opposite interpretations given to understanding who the rider on the white horse is and what he is doing. Some scholars and interpreters believe that the rider on the white horse is a symbol of Satan and the antichrist seeking to conquer the world in those last days before the LORD’S return. There is no question that, through the antichrist, the evil one will seek to conquer and destroy the world. However, the basic reason for this interpretation of the rider on the white horse is that some believe that the rapture of Gentile believers takes place before the seals and the trumpets, and therefore interpret everything from Revelation 6 until CHRIST’S return in Revelation 19 as taking place during the coming reign of the antichrist. However, I do not believe that this is the proper interpretation.
As I read and understand CHRIST’S revelation on His return, I believe that many believers will live in, and for some through these days of the Seals and the Trumpets that follow. If the LORD chooses to rapture Gentile believers to Himself before these seals are opened, as some believe, then we won’t experience these events of chapters 6-18. If that is the LORD’S plan, then praise the LORD. However, if we do live in these days revealed in these Seals and Trumpets, we will realize that we have not yet been raptured out of this world and therefore the LORD’S return and rapture are still to come. During these days it will be extremely important for us to have some basic comprehension of the revelations and promises the LORD gives us in these chapters.
The principle of “Scripture interprets Scripture” is very crucial for understanding all of GOD’S Word, but particularly when dealing with various symbols that are intertwined in His Word. Nowhere in His Word does the HOLY SPIRIT ever describe Satan or the antichrist as a rider on a white horse. Rather, he is referred to as a serpent, a dragon, and a beast, whose true goal is not to conquer, but rather to destroy all nations, despite his camouflage of coming to save our world. The antichrist in Revelation 13:1 is described as a beast with ten crowns on its ten heads, which is a picture of the authority and praise and worship that he will receive during his few years of dictatorship over our planet. The crowns on the antichrist are given to him by the peoples of the world, not in Heaven.
There is only one other reference in Revelation or in all of Scripture concerning a rider on a white horse:
“I saw Heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like a blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His Name is the Word of GOD. The armies of Heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean…On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: ‘KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS’” Revelation 19:11-14,16
There is no question about who this rider on the white horse is in Revelation 19 because we are told that He is called Faithful and True, and the Word of GOD. He is the “KING of KINGS and the LORD of LORDS”. There is no good reason why the identification of the rider on the white horse would be any different in this sixth chapter than in the nineteenth.
I believe that this first seal reveals the same truth that our LORD JESUS prophesied before His crucifixion and after His resurrection.
“And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 (Luke 24:45-47)
Most of what our LORD tells us in Matthew 24 about those very last days before His return deals with the manifestations of evil all over our world. However, JESUS also clearly tells us the most astonishing truth: in the midst of all the evil of those last days it will also be a time when the message of His Kingdom and salvation will be proclaimed to people in all nations. In those last days the HOLY SPIRIT of our LORD JESUS CHRIST will be moving through the nations to conquer the hearts of people of all ages with the knowledge of His love, forgiveness, and salvation through our magnificent SAVIOR.
Dear friends, despite all the opposition and persecution that the evil one has raised up, this is exactly what has happened over the past century and is happening right now in all nations. Although only the LORD knows exactly when this prophecy will be completely fulfilled, we know that the SPIRIT of the LORD is working in all nations today through His faithful servants, fulfilling this promise of His Word. Although the spirit of the antichrist is also working throughout the nations of our world, it is the SPIRIT of CHRIST that is seeking to conquer people’s hearts and save them for His Kingdom in these very last days before His return.
It is crucial for us to grasp what the LORD is doing in all nations today so that we will not lose heart and give up on the mission He has given to us in these times. It is easy to fall into the trap today of being afraid of the days ahead and trying to run and hide, hoping that the world won’t know we really do believe in and seek to follow JESUS. The LORD gives us His SPIRIT of faith and love to be His witnesses. May the LORD help us to be faithful to Him in these challenging times.
VERSES 3-4: THE 2ND SEAL – A FIERY RED HORSE OF PLANETARY VIOLENCE
“When the LAMB opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.”
When the second extraordinary creature calls “Come!” John sees a fiery red horse. We aren’t given any description of the rider on the horse except that He carries a large sword. We can easily recognize that this symbolizes that peace is removed and replaced with violence over all the earth. JESUS, our crucified and risen Savior, tells us that our planet at the time of His return will be overrun with much evil, wars, and killing (Matthew 24:4-12). Later in the same chapter He informs us that at the time of His return our world would be analogous to the time of Noah’s generation, which was submerged in the blood of hatred, violence, and killing (Matthew 24:4-12, 35-41, Genesis 6:1-12).
Although violence and killing have been part of the fabric of life on our planet since Cain’s murder of his brother Abel, there is no denying the exponential increase in violence, killing, and war within the past century. As the masses in the nations have increasingly turned their hearts towards idolatry and every form of deception and evil, peace is being destroyed. Violence is epidemic everywhere today. All nations and societies today are crumbling economically, socially, and politically. The spirit of hatred is metastasizing, resulting in increased violence and killing between individuals, families, and religious and secular political factions within nations and between nations. It is an irrefutable truth that peace is being rapidly squeezed out of our world as the antichrist leaders across the spectrum of nations are herding their flocks to the Third World War field of blood.
VERSES 5-6: THE 3RD SEAL – A BLACK HORSE OF GLOBAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
“When the LAMB opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures saying: “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
Like the Fiery Red Horse, there is no doubting the meaning of the Black Horse and its rider, who holds a pair of scales in his hands to determine the value of the products in the world’s marketplaces. These verses reveal a severe economic depression which points us to a collapse of the interlocked global economy. GOD’S message in the last days is addressed to the whole world. The descriptions of the various visions that our LORD gave John were not just focused on Israel or the Middle East, but on our entire globe.
The economic collapse and depression of the “dirty thirties” largely impacted the industrialized western world with a minimal effect on other nations. Over the past one hundred years the economies of all nations have been integrated into one global village and consequently the coming economic crash will impact all nations. Driven by the idolatry of self-centered greed and the love of money (2 Timothy 3:1-5) rather than love of GOD and our neighbor, our financial and political gurus have created a mushrooming debt and inflationary forces that will result in severe poverty and starvation for many in our global village.
This global economic collapse is fueling the fires for the coming global wars. Also take note, this prophecy highlights the importance of oil, which certainly describes our generation, where oil is crucial to the economic health of every aspect of the global economy including military power. As for the wine, in times of economic depression and emotional distress, alcohol becomes an opiate of the people which only magnifies the brokenness.
VERSES 7-8: THE 4TH SEAL – A PALE HORSE SADDLED BY THE RIDERS OF DEATH AND HADES
“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. It’s rider was named ‘Death’, and ‘Hades’ was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” Revelation 6:7-8
As I shared in previous emails/letters our world is moving rapidly to the precipice of the Third World War(s) which could tragically fulfill this prophecy that the LORD gives us in this Fourth Seal. The previous seals in Revelation 6 also spoke about war, violence, and famine in the last days, but this seal takes these general signs that JESUS spoke about in Matthew 24:4-8, which He referred to as “the beginning of the birth pains”, to a demonstrably greater destructive level which indicates that His coming into our world is very near. There have been an escalating number of wars, famines, earthquakes, and increases in evil over the centuries since our LORD prophesied these events, but in the last days they will dominate the news of the world. This enormous mass destruction which has never occurred before is an indicator that His return is very near. Everyone living in these days of these great wars should understand that the LORD’S return is at hand.
Note that the LORD’S prophecy isn’t just that these events would happen, but that His people all over our world would that they are happening (Matthew 24:6). Through our global communications systems today we can instantly hear of events transpiring in all nations. We can see and hear them on our computers and smart phones as they are taking place. This rapid communication of these events to all nations couldn’t have happened before our generation today.
There is no question that the events happening today in Russia, China, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Asia, as well as the collapsing economies of most nations are propelling us to World War Three. The war(s) will involve battles between many countries using not only conventional military, but nuclear, chemical, biological, and other technologically advanced weapons of mass destruction capable of destroying one quarter of our world’s population, which today would include over two billion people. Again, these verses could not have been fulfilled before our generation and the development of these weapons of mass destruction.
It is crucial to highlight here that it is not the LORD who is causing the war(s), famines and plagues, but rather they are the result of the evil actions of humanity. Many will try to blame GOD, but it is the leaders of the nations and their followers who will be doing it all. As we shared in JESUS IS! it is the globalists who are scheming on ushering in their global dictatorship who are pulling the strings behind the scenes propelling our world to these wars. They know that they need these wars to destroy the power of many nations and to set the stage for their world government and inauguration of their anti-savior. After these wars the peoples and their religious and political leaders will be shouting out “never again” and will be begging for a global government that will promise them justice, peace and prosperity for all.
It is also important to realize here that this Pale Horse has two riders, the first is called Death and the second which follows closely behind is called Hades. In His Word (Luke 16:19-31) JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT reveal that Hades is the place or suffering where the spirits or souls of those who die apart from faith in the LORD are held until the Day of Judgment, which takes place after CHRIST returns. Hades is populated with the spirits of the vast majority of all people who have lived and will include the vast majority of those who live and die during these great wars revealed by the Pale Horse. I believe, however, that since the riders of Death and Hades are not identical that there will be a minority, those who trust in JESUS, whose bodies are destroyed during these wars, famines, and plagues, but whose spirits will not descend into Hades. Rather, their souls will ascend to be with the LORD and the saints who have preceded them. The promise of the LORD is that He will save all who sincerely trust in Him from eternal death and Hades and take us to Himself in Heaven. This includes true believers who die during these wars, including those who, like the thief on the cross, turn to the LORD in repentance and faith in their last moments of life. Praise the LORD for His amazing grace to all who sincerely call upon His Name.
Although some secular commentators recognize these developments propelling the nations to World War Three with all its destructive consequences, many of them proclaim that these wars will destroy the entire world or at least push humanity back into a technological dark age. They are wrong, because they do not believe or understand the revelations of JESUS related to His return. Although a quarter of the world’s population will die through these wars, and the famines, plagues and wild beasts that will accompany them, three quarters of the people will survive these horrors. If these great wars were to begin in the next few years that would mean that over six billion people would survive these wars, famines, and plagues, which is about the same number of people who were living at the end of the 20th Century. Although a lot of infrastructure will be destroyed, most of these weapons of mass destruction are not designed to destroy infrastructure but to kill masses of people. Much of the technology being used today will be preserved and available, together with new technologies that will quickly be developed in our post-World War Three global village under the control of the coming anti-savior.
Another important footnote on the killing of one quarter of the our planet’s population in these wars, famines and plagues is that since these deaths will happen in many nations in the tens of millions, no one will be able to keep track of all who will did. It wasn’t until many years after the Second World War that they estimated the number of people killed in the war(s) as over sixty million. As in other wars, famines, plagues in some places bodies will just be piled up and burned to protect from the spread of further disease. If we are living in those days all we will know is that many are dying around us and in many nations. The media and the governments of the world will certainly not acknowledge that these wars, famines and plagues have killed a quarter of the world’s population as Revelation 6 prophesied. The last thing that these antichrist leaders want people to believe is that the prophesies of the LORD’S return are being fulfilled.
There is no date attached to these verses. These events may not begin to be fulfilled today, or this week, month, or even year. The LORD alone knows the exact time when these words will begin to take place. However, given the rapidly developing political, religious, economic, social, scientific, technological, and military events happening today, it is certainly very possible that these verses could begin to be fulfilled today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. The reality is that unless there is a worldwide revival impacting many nations and turning the hearts of the leaders and people back to the LORD, that these words will be fulfilled very soon.
As we review the Four Horses of the Apocalypse it is abundantly clear to all those who are open minded to the truth that these verses perfectly describe our world today. We are literally living in these verses of the Four Horses of the Apocalypse in 2024. Although the Third World War hasn’t begun yet, the leaders and peoples of the world are all frantically preparing for it. These realities reveal the soon coming of our wonderful and gracious SAVIOR LORD JESUS.
Don’t be afraid, dear friends, rather keep your hearts and minds in CHRIST. Keep watching, waiting, praying and working for the LORD and His Kingdom. As the HOLY SPIRIT testifies:
“For in just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay, but My righteous one will live by faith.” Hebrews 10:37-38
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THESE WARS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN LIFE?
As a result of the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in these wars, it is highly likely that these wars will be short. The destruction will come quickly but will probably not last more than one or two years, perhaps lingering in a few nations a bit longer. Although a quarter of the world’s population will be destroyed in these wars, we know both from the Scriptures as well as the wars of history that most of the six billion or more people remaining will not humble themselves in repentance of their sin and turn to the LORD for His mercy and help. As it is written:
“The rest of humanity that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshipping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Revelation 9:20-21
Despite the great evils and sufferings of these days most people, rather than repenting of their sin, will arrogantly double down in their worship of demons and the works of their own hands and brains which will have destroyed a quarter of the people. Nevertheless, even during these post Third World War days there is a remnant of people from all nations who will turn to the LORD in repentance and faith. Until the LORD returns and raptures His people, the HOLY SPIRIT and His faithful servants will be sharing His love and truth with our lost world so that a few more Jews and Gentiles will be saved for eternal life with our LORD in His amazing Kingdom.
VERSES 9-11: THE 5TH SEAL OF GLOBAL PERSECUTION
“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of GOD and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign LORD, holy and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the Earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them will be given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.”
This fifth seal speaks about the great persecution of all who believe GOD’S Word and testify to our LORD JESUS in those last days. Throughout His Word the HOLY SPIRIT continually warns of the persecution from the world and false religious authorities who attack those who faithfully love and serve our LORD. We know from other prophecies of CHRIST and His Apostles that in the very last days an ultimate anti-savior will arise and will lead the world in a last attempt to destroy GOD’S Word and those who believe in the LORD.
In the second half of JESUS IS! Why Life Isn’t Futile (2018) I wrote of the times in which we are living and how the final antichrist will deceive people in all nations by claiming to be the savior that all religions and even secularists are waiting and hoping for. This antichrist will come claiming to be the Prince of Peace, humanity’s savior, promising to usher in a new age of freedom, peace, prosperity, and justice for all peoples. The reality will be very different for all who reject the antichrist and his global dictatorial government.
“He opened his mouth to blaspheme GOD and to slander His Name and His dwelling place and those who live in Heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has hears, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.” Revelation 13:6-10
Later in Revelation 13 we read of the ultimate final false religious leader who will lead the world to worship the antichrist and to persecute those who refuse to bow down to him. This final false prophet will promote and threaten everyone to take an identification mark on their forehead or right hand. This mark is mentioned seven times in Revelation chapters 13 to 20 and will be connected to a person’s ability to buy and sell. Before the technological advancements of the last few years, there was no way that the previous antichrists could have forced people in all nations to receive a mark that would control their ability to buy or sell. There were those who were already prophesying and warning about this fifty years ago, but most people just laughed it off. Today, however, the world and national banks are all rapidly developing a global digital currency system for all people. We are all already accustomed to the use of numbers and cards to identify us for economic and governmental purposes. Whether a person can buy or sell is often determined by what their credit score is. It won’t be much of an adjustment for most to receive a chip on their hand or head that can be read by a little monitor that would reveal their financial and social credit score, determining whether they can buy or sell. Those who will not follow the laws of the antichrist’s empire, who refuse to bow down and worship him, will be oppressed and persecuted.
There will be more faithful followers of our LORD JESUS persecuted and killed in the aftermath of these coming wars than were killed in the wars, famines, and plagues of the Fourth Seal. It will be a time when our faith will face many challenges, but as CHRIST said in reference to these days: “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” Matthew 24:13. If we are still living in these coming days may the LORD help us to be faithful to the end.
VERSES 12-17: THE 6TH SEAL – THE FINAL SIGNS IN THE SKIES ABOVE AND THE EARTH BELOW
“I watched as He opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the 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 their wrath has come, and who can stand.’”
In the sixth seal, CHRIST our Returning Savior, LORD and KING, reminds us again of the last signs before His return, which are unmistakeable messages of His coming judgment and wrath on all evil. The revelation of these verses is very similar to JESUS’ testimony to His disciples concerning His return:
“Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” Matthew 24: 29-30; (Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25-28).
The previous five seals revealed events very similar to what JESUS speaks of in Matthew 24:4-27, (Mark 13:5-23; Luke 21:8-24) which CHRIST describes as times of great distress. This sixth seal reveals that after these days of great distress of wars, famines, plagues, and an increase in evil and persecutions, then the very last events before CHRIST’S return will take place in the sky. In addition to the signs in the sun, moon and stars, this seal also reveals that through these events the unbelieving world will begin to realize that the Day of the LORD’S judgement and wrath on the world is coming upon them and they will mourn and seek to hide. The LORD has warned our world about His coming judgement and wrath from the beginning of His Word. Praise the LORD that because of the CHRIST’S death for our sin “there is no condemnation for those who are in CHRIST JESUS” Romans 8:1.
After these signs JESUS said:
“They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Matthew 24:30-31
CHRIST is speaking here of the coming rapture of His people, which I believe takes place in the Seventh Seal at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet at the end of Revelation 11 (see also 1 Corinthians 15:50-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18). After the rapture of His people the LORD will pour out of the bowls of His wrath on the antichrist and all who have followed him (Revelation 16-18). This is then followed by CHRIST’S descent to the Earth when He puts His feet down on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14;4; Acts 1:11-12) and declares His victory over the antichrist and his global empire (Revelation 19). This all leads to the final Day of Judgment and the bringing of the new universe and world filled with His holiness, love, peace and joy for all of His saved people (Revelation 20-22).
JUST A LITTLE LONGER
Did you notice in verse 11 that the LORD tells the saints in Heaven, who have gone through the tribulations, persecutions, and sufferings of life and who are waiting for the LORD to end all evil and bring His perfect judgments, to “wait a little longer”. The LORD speaks these same words to us as we wait for Him to come and bring in His Holy Kingdom of love and truth, of righteousness, and peace. It is crucial for all who sincerely believe in the LORD, as we struggle with the evils and troubles of life in the here and now, to remember that when our earthly life concludes, which will be very soon for everyone, we will be with the LORD in His glorious presence. It is imperative when we face persecution and suffering for the LORD and His Kingdom that we remember His many promises of His love and salvation in His eternal Kingdom.
Until the LORD returns, the work – the mission He has given us to do – still needs to be completed. Although all of these revelations the LORD gives us concerning His return are already partially here, and we may see them fulfilled in our generation, as long as we live in this world our focus needs to be on sharing His grace, truth, and way of salvation through faith in Him with our lost, dying, and darkened world. All around us people need the LORD and His grace, truth, and salvation. There is no other hope for them. May the LORD help us to continue to wait, watch, pray, and work to fulfill our part in this great mission of His eternal Kingdom, through the presence and power of GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT within us.
UNTIL THEN, AMEN, COME LORD JESUS.
Postlude: What we have shared with you in this short message on Revelation 6 doesn’t cover everything that the LORD reveals to us in these verses, but I hope that it has given you a clearer glimpse of the times in which we are living and the days that are still to come prior to CHRIST’S return on the clouds and the rapture of His people. If the LORD enables us, and as we draw nearer to the fulfillment of the prophesies, we will share more about other portions of the Revelation that CHRIST has given us. If you have any questions or thoughts on any of what we have shared, please feel free to call or email me.
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May the LORD be glorified, and may more people be rescued from sin, death, and hell before He returns.