|
Revelation 5 & 6 |
 Wild horses are an inspiration to watch. They have so much
power and are so free. |
 It
used to be that horses were used for transportation. Cars have made it
much easier and faster. Now, it is rare to see them used in America and
Canada. |
| Revelation talks about horses. The different colors of horses are telling part of the story. There is a red, white, black and pale horse talked about. It is very serious information. The story begins with a book no one could read. |
|
WHO CAN OPEN THE BOOK? |
 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a
book written on the inside, and on the outside sealed with seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel saying with a loud voice, Who is worthy to
open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor
in the earth...was able to open the book or to look in it. Rev. 5:1-3 |
 Some
one spoke to John from the twenty four elders. He said, "don't cry,
the lion of the tribe of Judah can open the seals and the book. He
answered the question about who could read the book. He said the lion
could. The lion of the tribe of Judah is Jesus. It is a symbol for him.
Does it seem strange that at one time He is like the lamb and another time
He is called a lion? The lion is a strong king of beasts. Jesus is very
strong. He runs the universe and makes sure all the stars stay where they
are supposed to. |
 Ten
thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels began to
sing when they saw the Lamb take the book to open and read it. Here's the
words they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power
and riches, and glory, and blessings."
More than angels were singing. The four creatures (man, lion, bull, and eagle) and the twenty four elders were singing too. Everyone was happy. Everyone agreed that Jesus was the right one to read an explain the book. |
 Under
Roman law at the time Revelation was written, there were documents called
a will that had 7 seals. When a person had his will written, they needed
to have people witness it and each put their seal on it. A will is a piece
of paper that you've written instructions on for what to do with your
things when you die. One of the witnesses traditionally had to be a person
who was the balance man. This person weighed out the value of the the
things owned (estate). After the death of a person 7 witnesses gathered
together in the presence of a legal officer. The legal officer required
each witness to tell which seal was his and break it open.
This custom is interesting. The wax seal had a special mark on it that no one else had anything like. This vision is very different than a will. The Lamb is breaking all the seals. He is the witness on each period of history. He saw it all. On the 7th seal no rider appears. There is just silence. (Rev. 8:1) There is a still a mystery. The Bible does not tell us what was written in this scroll. It just tells what happened as each seal was broken. |
 Then
one of the four creatures with eyes (of the lion, bull, eagle, and man)
said that the Lamb was worthy to open and read the book. So the Lamb came
and took the book out of God's hand and started opening it. |
  When
the first seal opened, John saw a white horse. It's rider had a bow and a
crown.
"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." Rev. 6:2 The horses of Revelation describe the story of the changes in the Christian church. White is a symbol of Christ. The white horse symbolized the first Christian church which went out spreading the gospel. The rider on the horse was Jesus Himself. Jesus spent His time teaching and healing. He was the best preacher that ever was. He taught His disciples how to teach others. After Jesus was crucified, his disciples went to all parts of the world to spread the truth about Jesus. He promised to help them and be with them always even to the end of the world. Mt 28:20. So amazing was the work that within 70 years after the crucifixion, the gospel had been carried to the whole known world. Once a seal was opened, the Bible does not say it closed. In general the time in history extends to the end of the first century. God has had faithful workers teaching pure Bible truths throughout the entire Christian age. |
2nd Seal
Red is a symbol of danger, war, and bloodshed. It also is a symbol of sin. (Is. 1:18 sins like scarlet). During this time people were led by church leaders to believe that they should worship images, baptize babies, worship saints, pray for the dead and use rosary beads and charms. There was jealousy between church leaders and fighting and killing. This time of this seal started about the year 100 and continued till the time of Constantine. But remember, once the seal was opened, it was not closed. Many continue to act this way today. There are wars and people killing others even today. |
 3rd
Seal
Oil was a symbol of the Holy spirit and wine was a symbol of the blood of Jesus. The faithful obedient children of God were not to be harmed during this seal. God is still in control. He had a few people who were loyal. The times that this horse describes lasted from the time of Constantine until the Pope was in full power in AD 538. Those who really love Jesus will seek to conform their own lives to the Pattern and will labor in His spirit for the salvation of others. {5T 614.1}... In view of the infinite price paid for man's redemption, how dare any professing the name of Christ treat with indifference one of His little ones? How carefully should brethren and sisters in the church guard every word and action lest they hurt the oil and the wine! How patiently, kindly, and affectionately should they deal with the purchase of the blood of Christ! How faithfully and earnestly should they labor to lift up the desponding and the discouraged! How tenderly should they treat those who are trying to obey the truth and have no encouragement at home, who have constantly to breathe the atmosphere of unbelief and darkness! {5T 614.2} |
 During
these years described by the black horse, there were terrible changes in
the church. It became so different from Jesus. It was just as different as
black is from white. The church became the richest institution in Europe.
The rider of the black horse was selling wheat and barley. These items
were made into bread. This is a symbol of Bible food. The leaders were
selling salvation. They sold pieces of the cross of Jesus, bones of Peter,
and many other items that were supposed to help people be saved. People
were encouraged to buy to save their family members who had died. The
pieces of the cross that they sold were from other wood but they lied to
the people. If all the pieces had been gathered together, you could see it
was more wood than one cross had in it. In fact, you could have built a
whole church out of this wood.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. It is wrong to sell the gospel. It is free. Jesus paid the price in full. |
  When
John saw the fourth seal opened, he saw a pale horse. The rider on this
horse was a symbol of death and the grave.
Rev. 6:8 "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." The state church of the Middle Ages claimed to be the church of Jesus Christ. For a thousand years the Roman Catholic church led by a pope caused more than fifty million followers of Jesus to be killed. They burned some people, they killed with the sword, and they used wild animals to kill people. They burned honest people. Well educated Bible scholars were tortured for trying to make it possible for people to have the Bible in their own language. They burned up Bibles that were made. The Bible that you read was made possible by very brave people. |
  When
the lamb (Jesus) opened the 5th seal, John saw another symbol. He saw dead
Christians. They were crying and asking how much longer until God would
make an end to evil. They were given white robes and told to wait. This
was a symbol. The Bible clearly teaches in Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 that the
dead do not know anything. Look at the lesson in the Basic Bible section
of the Web site to review lesson 17. Death is like sleeping. However this
symbol showed John that God had never forgotten the prayers of His dying
friends. Even though they were sleeping, the last words they said God will
never forget. It is like they are shouting.
Have you remembered things people said to you for a long time? That is the same with God. He never forgets anything. |
| "And when He had opened the 5th seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were 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, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth." Rev. 6:9-10 |
| God was not talking to the dead people, The dead were sleeping as it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 & 16. In Genesis when Cain killed Abel, God told Cain that Abel's blood was calling out to Him. When He comes, He will raise them to life. (Revelation 19:11, Daniel 2:44 & 45) |
| When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1} As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may this apostasy be a sign to us that the limit of God's forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nation's iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return. The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress which prophets have described as the time of Jacob's trouble. The cries of the faithful, persecuted ones ascend to heaven. And as the blood of Abel cried from the ground, there are voices also crying to God from martyrs' graves, from the sepulchers of the sea, from mountain caverns, from convent vaults: "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Rev. 6:10 {5T 451.2} The Lord is doing His work. All heaven is astir. The Judge of all the earth is soon to arise and vindicate His insulted authority. The mark of deliverance will be set upon the men who keep God's commandments, who revere His law, and who refuse the mark of the beast or of his image. {5T 451.3} |
  As
the Lamb opened the sixth seal, three disasters happened. There was an
earthquake and the sun and moon did not give much light and the stars
fell. Jesus had mentioned that these signs would signal the nearness of
His coming. When every mountain and island moved it scared all the kings,
great men, rich man, captains, and slaves. They even cried to the rocks to
fall on them so they could hide from the face of the Lamb and the anger of
the Lamb. (Mathew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; Revelation 6:14-17) |
| These things have already happened.
1755: There was a great earthquake right after persecution had almost ended. It was the Lisbon earthquake in Portugal on November1, 1755. Half the world felt the convulsion. Four million square miles of earth surface were affected. Ninety thousand people died. In just six minutes, 60,000 people died in the Lisbon earthquake area alone. May 19, 1780.
November 13, 1833 Fifty years after the dark day, the stars fell. Eyewitnesses estimated that it was like a fiery hailstorm at the rate of 200,000 an hour for five or six hours. They said they fell "even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs. When she is shaken by the mighty wind" Revelation 6:13. YET TO COME: We have not yet seen all the mountains moving out of their places and people crying to the rocks to hide them from Jesus. |
  And
when He opened the seventh seal," there was silence in heaven about
the space of half an hour." Revelation 8:1
In the prophetic time you can take the key to understand this time. (Mathew 25:31) One half an hour figures out to 7 days or one week. The reason for silence in heaven, is that everyone has left heaven for a special event. Perhaps Jesus takes one week coming. Will you be ready when Jesus comes? Commit your life first thing every day to Jesus. Pray and live for Him. Use your time carefully to share the light you have. |
| Now you have looked at the whole history of the church.
Quiz 1. How many stars fell in an hour? 2. What is the first guy on the horse doing? 3. What is the second guy on the horse doing and what does it mean? 4. What does the third guy on the horse tell us? 5. What is the fourth guy on the horse telling us? 6. Name the colors of the horses and tell what has happened in the church to make these colors? 7. Can dead people really talk to God? 8. What did it mean that the souls of dead people were crying to God? 9. What is the date of the Lisbon earthquake and where did it happen? 10. How many miles did it cover? How many died? 11. What year was the dark day and bloody moon? 12. What year did the stars fall? 13. How many stars per hour did it seem were falling? Describe what tree and fruit it looked like. 14. Who was worthy to open the seals? 15. In Roman times when a person died, how many people had to open their own seal for them to open the will? 16. What are the persons killed given by God? 17. Which tribe was the person from who was able to open the scroll? 18. What did the man on the black horse have and what were church leaders doing? |
Another
horse was seen by John. This was a red one. It was given power to take
peace away from the earth. People killed each other. The rider of this
horse had a sword.
The
next seal was opened and John saw a black horse. The rider had a balance
in his hand. This was a way that they weighed things. He heard a
voice in the middle of the four beasts saying "A measure of wheat for
a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny." The voice also
said not to hurt the oil and the wine.