We have a mystery concerning the first seal talked
about in revelation. There is so little
written about the first seal we have to do a little digging in an attempt to
put this into perspective. Oddly, the other
seals are a bit more clear, so rather than dismiss it let’s try and figure out
what this could be about. Who is the one
going out to conquer, and who is being conquered? What kind of situation is this? The other
seals give us a clue as to what is happening and chapter 5 of Revelation informs
us where the church is. From the third
seal we can see this is a war, but which war? Let’s explore.
Rev 6:1-2 THEN I saw as the Lamb broke open one of
the seven seals, and as if in a voice of thunder I heard one of the four living
creatures call out, Come! 2 And I looked, and saw there a white horse whose
rider carried a bow. And a crown was given him, and he rode forth conquering
and to conquer. AMP
Let’s
do some background review. As we
previously studied in detail, the redeemed are in heaven at this point in time,
watching the seals being opened. We’ve
studied the redeemed, and understand that only humans can be redeemed, not
angels, beasts, animals, or other spiritual beings. From Revelation 5, we see
that the Elders, who are not human but of an angelic class, are bowing down
before the Lamb. There is a harp and
golden bowls full of incense. The
incense is the prayers of the saints that sing a new song. The song the saints are singing is that
Jesus, the Lamb, is worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because
Jesus was slain and redeemed us (the saints) to God by His blood, and out from
every gentile nation Jesus made us (the saints) kings and priests to God, and
we (the saints) shall reign on earth.
As
we studied this section we noticed the first person plural is sometimes
incorrectly changed to third person plural. We also have an added word (they),
and another change in verb tense incorrectly translated sung (past tense) which should be sing (present tense). We
also noted “And”, the conjunction could be translated as “that”. Therefore, putting this all together quickly,
we have the saints, in heaven, singing about being redeemed, and the elders and
beasts presenting this worship to the Lamb who is opening the seals.
Another
point we have previously studied is that the episunagoge, the above congregation
is a worship congregation. Paul points
to two events in 2 Thessalonians 2:1, the parousia, which is Jesus coming to
punish, and the episunagoge, the above congregation. We have noted that the dead in Christ have to
rise first, and then we which are alive will be caught up with them, indicating
that wherever the departed saints are now, it is not above as in the epi
(above) sunagoge (congregation). They
have to rise to become the above congregation.
This is the need and necessity of the gathering; as well as the
corrupted putting on incorruption and the mortal putting on immortality. Wherever the dead are now, they have not put
on incorruption; that happens at the time they rise. The gathering, or rapture
as it is called in Latin, is the first judgment on the world. When people see
this happening they will try a quick salvation (say the magic words) and knock
at the door of heaven, but Jesus will tell them he did not know them.
What
is important to note is how certain countries will fall to insignificance
because of the amount of people they will lose at the gathering. The number of people alone from the Americas’,
who profess Jesus as Lord, will cause chaos at the time of the gathering.
Now
that we’ve quickly established the redeemed in heaven at the opening of the
seals, we have an interesting first seal.
The other six seals give a good bit of detail, but this first seal does
not. We have to wonder why; what can we
learn about this seal that would make sense in our quest for understanding the
timing of the apocalyptic events.
Remember, one precedes two, two precedes three, and likewise. Ordinal
numbers are in order; therefore event number one has to precede event number
two. The first event that occurs when
the Lamb opens the seal is seal number one.
Let’s look at Revelation 6:1 & 2 again, and some definitions of some
of the words used.
Rev 6:1-2 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.2 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.KJV
Bow NT:5115 toxon (tox'-on); from the
base of NT:5088; a bow (apparently as the simplest fabric): KJV -
bow.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded
Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and
International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Crown NT:4735 stephanos (stef'-an-os);
from an apparently primary stepho (to twine or wreathe); a chaplet (as a badge
of royalty, a prize in the public games or a symbol of honor generally; but
more conspicuous and elaborate than the simple fillet, NT:1238), literally or
figuratively: KJV - crown.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and
Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006
Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Conquering/Conquer NT:3528 nikao (nik-ah'-o); from
NT:3529; to subdue (literally or figuratively): KJV - conquer, overcome,
prevail, get the victory.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft,
Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
What we always picture is Jesus on a horse with a
bow and arrow, but this is incorrect. This
bow is a sash, not a weapon. This rider,
probably not Jesus, is wearing a crown and a sash or badge. We know Jesus will be crowned halfway through
the seven year tribulation (Revelation 11), after the wrath of the Lamb and
before the start of the wrath of God.
This crown that this individual wears could be a wreath or a badge that
sets this one apart, a commendation or honor for military service. Consider that Jesus is opening the seals, he
doesn’t seem to stop, do something else, then resume with seal number two. The sash and the head piece together seem to
set this individual apart from others.
Let’s read a couple of other translations.
Rev 6:1-2 I watched while the Lamb ripped off the
first of the seven seals. I heard one of the Animals roar, "Come
out!" 2 I looked — I saw a white horse. Its rider carried a bow and was
given a victory garland. He rode off victorious, conquering right and left.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H.
Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Rev 6:1-2 As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of
the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say
with a voice like thunder, "Come!" 2 I looked up and saw a white
horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his
head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory. Holy Bible, New
Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Rev 6:1-2 And I saw as the Lamb opened one of the seven
seals, and I heard one of the four life forms saying in a voice like thunder,
“Come and see.” 2. And I looked and there appeared a white filly, * [there
became a young female horse] and the one riding on it has a bow, and a wreath
was given him, and he emerged* [exited] to conquer whatever he may
conquer. (Aramaic New Testament
Translated by Victor Alexander, p 490)
Whoever this rider is, it is clear he is going out
to conquer people. He is given a victory garland, so he must win a
victory. Let’s keep that in mind. Bishop K.C. Pillai has some insights into
eastern culture.
REVELATION 6
Verse 2 "Yuga" means a circle or cycle. The last
yuga he will come on a white horse, that's a final journeyman, and restore the
righteous, bring a new kingdom. He will sit and talk to those who are disciples,
who have been faithful with him. This is that part of the yuga. Yuga of grace.
When a king or conquering general enters the city, he always rides in on a
white horse. It is a sign of submission of the king that has conquered them. White
is symbolic of purity and power. The one who sat on the horse had a bow and
arrow.
An Oriental potentate always rides on a white horse. In the
East during the end of a battle, the conquered will bring a white horse before
the conqueror to honor and welcome him. He rides on the horse and the people
lead him into his conquered territory. White—purity, power and sanctification; bow—strength,
conquest, expansion of realm.
To
understand what Bishop Pillai is referring to let’s look at the definition of
yuga from Wikipedia.
Yuga (Devanāgari: युग) in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within
a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, theDvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created and destroyed
once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years,[1][2] which is one full day (day and night) for Brahma. The lifetime of a
Brahma himself may be 311 trillion and 40 billion years.[1] The cycles are
said to repeat like the seasons, waxing and waning within a greater time-cycle
of the creation and destruction of the universe. Like Summer, Spring, Winter
and Autumn, each yuga involves stages or gradual changes which the earth and
the consciousness of mankind goes through as a whole. A complete yuga cycle
from a high Golden Age of enlightenment to a Dark Age and back
again is said to be caused by the solar system's motion around another star.[3]
Kalki
Lord Vishnu has many avatars and in each yuga, he has revealed all of them except-the
last avatar (tenth)-Kalki. It is said that in the last yuga Lord Vishnu
will reveal this avatar too and the Kalki avatar will lead to the end of the
world. The main reason is to destroy the wicked, to restart the new creation,
and to restore the purity of conduct in people's life. This avatar will be
seated in a white horse with a drawn sword blazing like a comet. Earlier that
White horse came from the Third eye of the lord Shiva in the form of fire that
has been converted into the White Horse by Lord Brahma. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuga
What
we can gather from this so far is that this is a battle that starts when Jesus
opens the first seal, where people will be conquered. To gain further perspective, let’s look at
the being riding the white horse. As
Bishop Pillai mentions, this is usually a king, however, Jesus just opened the
seal, and he has not been crowned king yet, so this is probably not Jesus. Seal
2 and seal 3 are indicative of a war, is this possibly the start of a military
victory for Israel? Could this be the
one who is called the anti-Christ? Whoever this rider is, he influences a war
and wins. There is a war mentioned in the Bible that has not been fulfilled yet.
Could this be the war that starts with the sixth seal?
The
gathering of the church will start a chaotic time on the earth. One of the events that may start at that time
is the Psalm 83 war. This is the war
that must pre-date the Gog/Magog war.
The Psalm 83 war is an attack on Israel by Israel’s 10 surrounding
nations, who want Israel to “become” Palestine.
However the surrounding nations fail and Israel overtakes their land which
causes Israel to become a superpower. This
is then why the superpowers of Gog and Magog will attack Israel later. http://www.prophecydepot.net/
We
have to look closely at the angelic host.
The host of heaven is a large group, sometimes an army that has been
involved in previous wars in Israel. The
first usage of host is in Genesis
2:1.
Gen
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.KJV
Host OT:6635 tsaba' or
(feminine) tseba'ah —what goes forth, an army, a war, warfare, a host a) an army, a host 1) a host (used of an organized army) 2) a host (used of angels) 3) used of sun, moon, and stars 4) used of whole creation b) a war, warfare, service, go out to
war c) service (from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek
Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright © 1993,
Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation
Research.)
Host OT:6635 tsaba' (tsaw-baw'); or (feminine) tseba'ah
(tseb-aw-aw'); from OT:6633; a mass of persons (or figuratively, things),
especially reg. organized for war (an army); by implication, a campaign,
literally or figuratively (specifically, hardship, worship): KJV - appointed time, (+)army, (+)battle,
company, host, service, soldiers, waiting upon, war (-fare).(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
There
are a lot of usages of this word host;
here we see the first things done after finishing the heaven and earth was the
host of heaven. The angel armies were established and given their place. If we remember our study of Genesis and the
creation, we know that something happened to cause the earth, not the heavens,
to become formless, void, and dark. We
know that there was a group of beings that caused a cataclysm in the universe.
Remember Lucifer had sanctuaries, and he used beings for profit. He wanted to judge the sons of God on the
Mount of the congregation, setting up his own throne to be their judge. However, his plans caused catastrophe. Therefore, when the earth was re-established,
God set forth the armies of heaven into place.
Why does heaven need armies? Who are the heavens battling?
In
the book of Joshua we find that there is a being who says he is captain of the
host of Jehovah. Some speculate this is Jesus, but instead I would suggest this
is one of the angelic leaders/princes over Israel. In Genesis 18, Jehovah is discussing with
Abraham what he will do regarding Sodom; Jehovah clearly says this is what he
is going to do. The Lord comes with two angels, and then sends the two angels
to get Lot. Jehovah and Abraham are
speaking face to face. In contrast, in Joshua we see this being say he is the
captain of the host of Jehovah. He does not say he is the Lord (Jehovah); he
seems to have a title.
Josh
5:13-15 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his
eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword
drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for
us, or for our adversaries?14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of
the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did
worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?15 And the
captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot;
for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.KJV
This
man has a sword and a title, captain of Jehovah’s army; later Joshua speaks to
the Lord Jehovah and relates what Jehovah says. As the Lord of hosts came with
angels to speak with Abraham, the Lord of hosts came with an angel to speak
with Joshua. We don’t see Jehovah
carrying a sword until the Day of the Lord.
Josh
6:1-6 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none
went out, and none came in.2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given
into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.3
And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city
once. Thus shalt thou do six days.4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark
seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city
seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.5 And it shall come
to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear
the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and
the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every
man straight before him.6 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and
said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear
seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord.KJV
In
chapter 5 we see the captain of the Lord’s army, and then in chapter 6 we see
the Lord speaking to Joshua himself. It
seems here that the captain of the Lord’s army precedes the Lord himself. David
tells Goliath that the Lord of hosts is on his side.
1
Sam 17:45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and
battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of
Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. 46 This very day God is handing you
over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body
and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole
earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. 47 And everyone
gathered here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The
battle belongs to God — he's handing you to us on a platter!" (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary
Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
What
we have to consider is that David understood the unseen world of angels better
than anyone else. While we do not
regularly see angels and the things they do, angels are at work, and sometimes they
simply need us to act so that they can act.
If David said to Goliath he was going to stand there and wait for the
angels to strike Goliath down, Goliath would have killed David. David instead knew there was an army that
stood with him. Therefore, no matter
what David did, threw a rock, shot an arrow, ran Goliath through with a sword
or spear, the angels would be helping out. David’s choice of weaponry seems a
bit weak, however when there is an army of angels making sure the rock David
picked up would penetrate Goliath’s skull, it would inspire fear in the rest of
the army. Killing Goliath was not done
by human strength, no matter how skilled a rock thrower David was, it was done
by angel power. If we notice, later in life David doesn’t use rocks as weapons;
therefore this was a special situation.
I
bring this up to point out an obvious truth; there are armies of angels helping
to fight battles for the chosen of God. But while that might have been the case
when Israel was a nation, after the dispersion of 70 AD that is not the case
any longer. However this seal indicates a spiritual being that goes out to
conquer. It is possible that angelic
help is given to someone who is in the military to win this battle. As of now,
Israel is a nation, but without peace. Before the Gog/Magog war, Israel will be
dwelling in peace. While it seems a good thing for Israel to become a world
superpower, it is in fact the set up for the tribulation and the rise of the
anti-Christ.
The
ten nations that have to attack Israel first are all surrounding Israel
according to Psalm 83. These nations
have the same mission that we see today, they want to destroy Israel and
establish Palestine. This has to happen before the Ezekiel 38/39 war because
Israel will be dwelling in safety and security.
Today, Israel does not dwell in safety or security because of the surrounding
people groups who threaten war. Today,
Israel’s allies keep her safe, but what if the nations that keep Israel safe
are crippled in some way? What if the
redeemed are taken off the earth? The gathering of the church will give the
perfect excuse for those ten nations to attack Israel. Someone will rise up to lead Israel to
overcome her enemies. Once Israel defeats those enemies, and she will, she will
dwell in safety and security. Israel
will take additional land and become a superpower among the nations. This will
be a false sense of security because the false leader who brings them to
victory will probably be the one who turns on Israel and then brings to pass
the Ezekiel 38/39, Gog and Magog war.
We
know that there has to be a temple in Israel at the time of the start of
tribulation because people will be killed in the temple. Exactly when it will
be built we don’t know. This is a benchmark that may precede the gathering of
the church. The opening of this first seal, which is after the redeemed are
taken to heaven, could very well be the conquering of Israel’s immediate enemies.
The text does not reveal who is being conquered and who is doing the conquering
but we have established that angels used to fight for Israel. There is an important clue we should
revisit.
The
bow that this individual has is a garment. As some speculate, the beast of
Revelation 13 seems to be a soldier who gets wounded and lives. The dragon gives authority to the beast that
was mortally wounded, so therefore people who worship this wounded soldier are
worshipping the dragon. The false
prophet makes an image of the beast (wounded soldier), and forces people to
worship him. This soldier who later
becomes wounded probably starts out looking like a friend to Israel, even
gaining military victory and being “crowned” for it. The thing that would make
this person a friend to Israel is to conquer Israel’s immediate enemies. The garment may be similar to the armband
that people wear that call attention to the army this person is part of. It is suggested by some that the mark is
similar to the head band or arm band people in certain countries wear today
that declare their allegiance to their god.
Considering
what we know about the anti-Christ, let’s look at Daniel.
Dan
9:27 And he shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one
week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon
the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until
the full determined end is poured out on the desolator. AMP
Dan
9:27 "'Then for one seven, he will forge many and strong alliances, but
halfway through the seven he will banish worship and prayers. At the place of
worship, a desecrating obscenity will be set up and remain until finally the
desecrator himself is decisively destroyed.'" (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible
in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Dan
9:27 He will make a binding covenant with many for one week, and for half of
the week he will suspend both the sacrifice and grain offerings. Destructive
people will cause desolation on the pinnacle until it is complete and what has
been decreed is poured out on the desolator.’”ISV
This
anti-Christ will make a seven year agreement with Israel and the world for
peace, but he will break it halfway through.
Therefore, the first seal being opened with one going out to conquer
seems to be the time of the false peace of Israel where Israel has taken more
land from their immediate enemies. The
one who rides, as Bishop Pillai points out, is probably a king or leader who
has a bow or band around his arm. He
conquers with angelic power, the rider on the white horse. He may seem like the new hero for a short
time but the rest of the world will be in chaos as the second seal is a red
horse denoting military might, taking peace from the earth. If we notice, the rest of the earth goes into
depression as in times of war; many die and are martyred for their
testimony. Half way through the
tribulation, the temple service is suspended, which again means there has to be
a temple. The martyrs are killed under
the altar, but that does not mean it is the abomination of desolation. The Israelis
may think that this person is doing everyone a favor by killing those who
believe in Jesus as Messiah. But at the
three and one half year mark, the temple service will stop, and this person who
everyone thought was a friend to Israel will sit in the temple of God, showing
himself as God.
2
Thess 2:3-4 Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not
come except the [c]apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great [c]falling
away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of
lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition), [Dan
7:25; 8:25; 1 Tim 4:1.] 4 Who opposes and exalts himself so proudly and
insolently against and over all that is called God or that is worshiped, [even
to his actually] taking his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming that he
himself is God. [Ezek 28:2; Dan 11:36,37.] AMP
2 Thess 2:3
c A possible rendering of the Greek apostasia is "departure [of
the church]."AMP
2 Thess 2:3
d A possible rendering of the Greek apostasia is "departure [of
the church]."AMP
The
first seal being opened seems to start a war, is it the Psalm 83 war? Maybe, or
maybe not. The Psalm 83 war is a
benchmark for end time events. Therefore
if it happens in our lifetime we should be doing what we can to get the message
of Jesus out now. Along with angelic power, someone will be thought of as a
hero at the conclusion of this war. In any event, the redeemed are not on earth
once the first seal is opened, therefore we cannot speculate as to who the
anti-Christ might be. We can however gather from this that whoever steps up to
lead or help Israel at the time of the Psalm 83 war, will probably be the one
who later tries to destroy Israel.
Israel will have a short time of peace and safety before the Ezekiel 38/39
war. How do we know that? We were given
a clue, the locust king. More next week.
