The Seals are opened - Revelation 6 and beyond. Part 1

Rev 6

After a brief introduction to the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, the only one worthy to open the seals. The opening of the seals begins.

I think this is worthy of thought.

Of all the aspects that one understands about Jesus, bringing the wrath does not seem to be one that comes to mind, and yet here he is opening the seals that bring the pain.

What comes to mind is how little understanding we have of who Jesus is. He told us plainly, the Father and I are one. As I was talking with a friend about this I mentioned that my understanding was that God would sit upon the throne at the "great white throne" and pass judgment; clearly it is Jesus that sits upon that throne.

We need to find out who he is, and the only way to do that is to spend time with him in his word.

Revelation 6, The seals are opened - with one exception.

The first seal - The rider on the 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.

(Revelation 6:1-2 NIV)

As a side note: this is about the only passage that Islam will give any credence to for they believe that this speaks about their Mahdi that they have expected, much like we await the return of Jesus. Saddam Hussein believed so strongly in this that he portrayed himself as this rider on billboards across Iraq.

• He carries a bow, symbolic of war, but he has no arrows. Therefore this is representative of false peace. The passage even makes that clear for us, “and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” It is not clear who gives him this crown, but throughout the Revelation we see crowns and they are all symbolic of a high degree of leadership. Do not start getting warm fuzzies over this leadership aspect, as though the man is a student of John Maxwell or Zig Ziglar.
• While this may be thin on the logic side.Those of us that grew up on cowboy and Indian movies have always seen the cowboy on the white horse as being the good guy. It makes sense, for white is perceived as purity, therefore this rider comes under a false pretense.
• This man is the antichrist and is empowered by Satan himself.

The second seal is opened– The rider on the red horse.

The Lamb opened the second seal. Then I heard the second living being say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a red one. The rider on the horse was given power to take away peace from the earth so that people would kill each other. He was given a big sword.

(Revelation 6:3-4 ERV)

Now we have a rider on a red horse. Just the coloration alone should be a warning, for the horse is the color of blood.

• “it was granted to the one seated on it to take peace from the earth, and that they would slaughter one another, and a large sword was given to him.”
  Again you should be asking who is empowering this one. We know that Satan empowers the antichrist and probably empowers this one also, but if we work on the principal that nothing is happening without God’s permission then we might conclude that God is empowering these beasts. If that is the case then they are merely acting out God’s plan and therefore bringing the judgment that God intended upon the earth.
• An understanding of Islam will show you another angle on the false prophet.
  Islam believes: “Jesus (Isa; Arabic: عيسى‎ ʿĪsā) is considered to be a Messenger of God and the Masih (Messiah) who was sent to guide the Children of Israel (banī isrā'īl) with a new scripture, the Injīl or Gospel.[1] The belief in Jesus (and all other messengers of God) is required in Islam, and a requirement of being a Muslim. The Quran mentions Jesus twenty-five times, more often, by name, than Muhammad, four times.[2][3] It states that Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah). To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles (such as healing the blind, bringing dead people back to life, etc.), all by the permission of God rather than of his own power. According to the popular opinion and Muslim traditions, Jesus was not crucified but instead, he was raised up by God unto the heavens. This "raising" is understood to mean through bodily ascension.
  Many Muslims believe that Jesus will return to earth near the Day of Judgment to restore justice and to defeat Masih ad-Dajjal ("the false messiah", also known as the Antichrist).[4][5]

Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim (i.e., one who submits to the will of God), as he preached that his followers should adopt the "straight path" as commanded by God. Islam rejects the Trinitarian Christian view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, that he was ever crucified or resurrected, or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind. The Quran says that Jesus himself never claimed any of these things, and it furthermore indicates that Jesus will deny having ever claimed divinity at the Last Judgment, and God will vindicate him.[6] The Quran emphasizes that Jesus was a mortal human being who, like all other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God's message. Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (shirk), emphasizing a strict notion of monotheism (tawhīd).” From Wikipedia

• Having an understanding of the above information leads me to believe that the rider on the red horse is the false prophet. He comes as the enforcer of Islam and he will demand that all non-Muslims convert or die, he is the one that makes the image to speak, he is a Jew of Aaronic lineage and therefore entitled to be a high priest, and, as stated, he can do amazing signs, such as causing it to rain. (This will be important as the two witnesses will have caused it not to rain.)

• “That they should kill one another”
  Who is the “they”?
  A broad spectrum answer might be people in general. If that is the case then there will be bloodshed in the streets on a global basis. The United States is preparing for major rioting in this nation. The street gangs are aware of the issues with the police forces and their excessive violence and they are taking advantage of it. The stripping of police authority has emboldened them and they are preparing for a war of their own.
• If we focus on a more specific level I believe we could be looking at the impact that Islam will have upon the world. Even within Islam there are multiple sects and they fight between themselves for power on a continuing basis. What we saw in the early days of the Iraq war was Shiite’s and Sunni’s vying for power, blowing each other up. They cannot agree on most line items. They have one foundational teaching the Koran and it prescribes a unified killing of those outside the faith. This term Jihad that we have come to hear often, is a call to war, by deception or violence, against those outside the faith, especially against Jews and Christians.

Related articles

• The Seven Seals
• The 7 *seals - Revelation 6:1-8:1