Difficult times will come. Revelation 6:12-17 and the sixth seal.

 Do you understand why I am writing about the Revelation and trying to explain it?

It is because, I, like you, wanted to understand what was going on around me. Having grown up I church I have heard every absurd teaching – some not so ridiculous, but I could not comprehend nor remember what they said; and, none of it made sense. My attempts at understanding the prophetic aspects of the bible, were, for years, like swimming in dirty water, the more you move about in it, the muddier it gets.

One day, many years ago, after my life collapsed around me, I had to move back in with the parents. I was walking back to my room after a shower and my father was watching Glenn Beck, when he was still on Fox News, he interviewed the author Joel Richardson. Joel was talking about his recent book, The Islamic Antichrist, and explaining it; suddenly, the Bible began to come clear. I ordered the book and began looking at the scriptures he used.

Since that time, there is rarely a time when I find myself struggling to understand end-time events (Eschatology.) To be honest, I have been looking at end-times events in my Bible for over ten years, and there is hardly a day that goes by in which I am made aware of something I have been looking at improperly; an example of that would be 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

The passage has been read and quoted just as you see here.

(3) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. [NASB]

I would read this verse above and think, by this standard, the apostasy, which is understood to be the falling away of the church, must happen first. (The church, being understood as the body of Christ, and therefore, the Christians.) Why would that be important? I don't know. Does it mean the entirety of Christians, or simply a majority; or, does it mean that the religious organizations under which we stand will fall away? Just this morning (05/07/2021) I saw that a Methodist church was going to install a transgender pastor. No matter, for the church body, as a whole, and the religious organizations have in en-mass, fallen away.

Just trying to think through 2 Thessalonians 2:3 used to cause me grief. The solution to my grief came just within this last year as Dr. Andy Woods explained that the original word apostasia was originally perceived as the departure of the church back to Jesus.

If departure is the correct way of understanding this, then it makes sense that the church has to be gone for the antichrist to come on the scene, as we are the thing that has been holding back the advance of the antichrist.

Add this new understanding to what I see in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, where there is no false allusion about the need for the church to be removed to allow for the antichrist to come on the scene, for it is easy to see that one verse validates the other, and no longer stands out as a conflicting statement.

With that exhausting introduction let's jump in.

A quick overview of Revelation chapter six gives us the antichrist, the rider on the white horse. This character goes out conquering and to conquer. Next, virtually all peace is removed from the earth; this is primarily accomplished through people.

Isn't that enough?

Much like the frying pan salesperson at the county fair, who exclaims, “Is that all? No, there is more,” for the people of the earth will be hit with hyper-inflation; we are already beginning to see that happening - if you don't think so, try to buy a sheet of plywood. Here in California that seven dollar sheet is now over ninety-five dollars a sheet. If I was looking for reasons for this monetary madness I could look at truckers who value their lives and are not making deliveries into unsafe areas. (For the most part, we don't have that problem in California.)

End of page one.

I can see how shipping costs could worsen the situation; and yet, another would be price gouging. We have seen price gouging in states affected by hurricanes, as there is a mad rush to board up buildings. Price gouging of this sort would make more sense if we had perpetual riots, much like Portland Oregon, where boarding up windows is an attempt at preventing looting. Since the elections ended rioting seems to be isolated to Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington, and Michigan. Lumber is not the only thing to go through the roof, as food and gasoline will quickly become un-affordable.

You would think that having peace removed from earth would be bad enough, and yet the next riders are death and hades.

Here in this sixth seal, there is NO defined character riding a horse, and yet, as the result of God's wrath being poured out, there will be upwards of two billion people dying.

What comes under this sixth seal?

Revelation 6:12-17 NASB (12) I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; (13) and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. (14) The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (15) Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; (16) and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; (17) for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

In breaking it down:

• Another massive earthquake.

• The sun becomes black as sackcloth and the moon becomes like the color of blood.

  China has experienced the sun like sackcloth, to the point that the government had to put up video screens to reminded people of what they were missing. As for blood moons, didn't many of us pursue the theories associated with the blood moons, just a few years ago? What made them appear to be blood moons? For us, in California, the aerial spraying of chemical trails created lovely, deep red moons, especially if you could catch it in the horizon. Can the sun being darkened and the mood turning to blood cause you much grief? Strangely, this is exactly what Bill Gates has proposed to do. Perhaps he rarely emerges into the atmosphere and is not aware of the damage his friends are already doing.

• The stars of the sky fell to the earth.

  What is the practicality of that? It seems impossible, however, there is the potential for massive asteroids striking the earth, and NASA has already been making ineffective contingency plans for just such a thing. Based upon the potential size it will be devastating, and that is what we are seeing here.

• The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up.

All we have is imagination, but I can tell you the prospects are horrifying.

End of page two.

• Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

  We have already seen several massive earthquakes, but what of the magnitude which decimates mountains and islands?

• And then there is this: Revelation 6:15-16

  (15) Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

  These are not rocks and caves as we often picture, but it could be.

  
  
  

  Or, would you prefer an old missile silo?

  
  
  
  

  Eventually, they will be crying out in fear of the Lord.

  
  
  
  

End of page three.

(16) and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb

These are things that will happen in the last days, specifically the time of God's wrath, the time that most call the Great Tribulation.

Calling it the Tribulation has been a source of constant friction and confusion to “Christians,” as they start ranting about how we will have to go through the tribulation years (post-tribulation), or, at least half of it (mid-tribulation).

As I have migrated through seals, I pointed out that all of these things are God's wrath.

NONE of it is directed at the body of Christ – the church. In short, because we are out of here before the wrath starts. If you can think of the church as the body of Christ, which it is, then it should be easier for you to comprehend that Jesus took ALL the wrath that is due those who have rejected Him.

Here are some passages that help to define this wrath being poured out upon the world, and why.

Romans 1:18 “What is revealed is God's anger from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who in their wickedness keep suppressing the truth;” [CJB]

Did you notice that these wicked people keep suppressing the truth?

1 Peter 2:24 [ERV] “Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you were healed.”

Jesus took SIN to the cross in His body, so that we could live without sin.

Romans 8:3 [NIV] “For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,

God bypassed a huge problem, and that was a genetically broken human nature and its propensity to go after its own will. To do this meant that God would have to provide His own fertilized egg and convince Mary to be a surrogate mother, that way there was NO damaged genetic material transferred into Jesus.

With that in mind, you should recognize that Jesus had done nothing, legally, to get Himself put on that cross. Instead, he put Himself there voluntarily. To prove my point He told Pilate, that Pilate could do nothing unless He and the Father allowed it.

John 19:10-11 NASB “So Pilate *said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?" (11) Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."

All this wrath, placed upon Jesus, was done for our benefit; and that is why we, the church, will NOT suffer God's wrath.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 [NASB] “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him”

So things are getting tough; these are the tribulations that Jesus said would come. For many, they surround us daily, and for some they are deadly, but it is NOT God's wrath; it is merely life, in most cases.

Paul, in writing his second letter to Timothy, said,

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” 2 Timothy 3:1 NASB

Here, in 2 Timothy 3:1, Paul is NOT talking about the things that will happen in the “tribulation,” but a lead into God's wrath. As you can see above, chapter six is filled with bad news.

The last seal we have seen opened is the sixth seal.

At this point you need to understand something; the Revelation works on a pattern: there are six seals, bowls, and trumpets signifying some form of God's wrath being poured out upon the nations and Israel. The seventh occurrence of these items: seals, bowls, trumpets; ALWAYS announce the next set of events to be poured out.

We DO NOT see the seventh seal opened until we get to Revelation 8:1

“When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” NASB Revelation 8:1

End of page 4.

Revelation 6:12 through 17 … Economic prosperity, seriously?

 In the previous post, I mentioned how I heard my pastor speak as though the antichrist will bring economic prosperity when this male “global” leader comes on the scene. If you read that post on Revelation 6:3-11, you know that I disagreed with the pastor’s assertion. I suppose we might get the idea that economic prosperity is coming because the “globalists” will unleash their “great reset.” An aspect of their reset is income for everyone; they call it universal basic income. If I can be painfully honest, the only ones who see themselves making money are guys like: Klaus Schwab and Bill Gates – members of the World Economic Forum.

Suppose economic prosperity was going to be possible during the seven years of wrath. How could anyone tell people that God is bringing judgment against the nations and the Jews for their rejection of Him?

Honestly, few would see a need for God or repentance in this upcoming and horrific time associated with the antichrist.

Think about what we already know of this time of wrath that may be upon us, and soon.

• A rider on a white horse.

I do not believe that anyone will see this guy come riding out of the sky on a white horse reserved for Jesus. It is, therefore, a symbolic event, although the man – the antichrist, will be real enough, and he will be unleashed upon the earth. Something will have happened that necessitates a call for peace.

I told you that I see nothing in my bible that makes me believe that this guy has the slightest concern for Israel’s peace, and though the scripture tells us, “that he makes a covenant, for seven years, with many, there is no Israel mentioned.

This first rider immediately goes out conquering and conquering (and this just the first seal.)

Do you see any affirming aspects in this statement? Yeah, me neither, and so I have a hard seeing this man as bringing financial prosperity.

If you were to take the time to read The Copper Scroll, by Book by Joel C. Rosenberg and Robert Feather, you would get a good feel for the real motivation behind most global conflicts, and that is oil.

.Much like a popular radio station, the hits keep on coming.

• The second seal brings us the rider on the red horse.

This rider is permitted to remove peace from the earth; and that men would slay each other. (Yes, God is deeply invested in what is going on here, and He uses people to accomplish His plan.)

Didn't we just learn that the first rider goes out conquering?

Now we have an exponential growth in violent and deadly acts upon humanity from other people.

• The third seal has a rider carrying scales – a device for weighing out things, like gold.

It is indicative of cheating, the rapid rise in food costs, and general economic upheaval. This is NOT a flourishing economic recovery. Just look at Venezuela's economy, and you will understand better.

• The fourth seal brings us two riders, Death and Hades.

The combined efforts of these two riders will affect one-fourth of the earth's population; this equates to close to two billion people being killed, but that is not the end of it. These people will die by the sword, plagues, and by wild animals.

End of page one.

• With the fifth seal, we see a vast number of martyred saints beneath the altar in heaven.

The fact that they are here, before the throne, indicates that the conquering, and the killing, have already begun. Do you read the news? I do not make it a habit as it will ruin my day, but it is evident that the killing of “Christians,” especially in the Northern African nations is on the rise.

Can what we see here include those already slain before the rapture? The logic says NO as we do not perceive them as Christians, as the church was caught up in the rapture already. So No, these are dead after the catching away; and, they have turned their hearts to Jesus. Scripture tells us that they are here because of their testimony.

I had previously asked what does their “testimony” look like? Since some of the definitions of the Greek word marturia we have translated as testimony are a “declaration in a matter of fact,” and judicial evidence, testimony in general, or reputation, then you should be able to see that it is not a tightly defined word. Consider the thief on the cross, whom Jesus told, this day you will be with me in paradise. How extensive was his testimony? The answers are there, and, if you pay attention, quite deep, but the words he said, simple as they were, spoke out to Jesus in belief.

Earlier in this post, in talking about the rider on the white horse, I said that the descriptive initiates symbolically, as NO ONE will see him coming out of the clouds, as they will when Jesus comes back to the earth. With that in mind, can we say that the rest of the riders will become physical manifestations? Not likely, but it is clear that humans and wild animals are also busy fulfilling God's plan.

So, I want you to ask yourself a hypothetical question. In these seal scenarios, when does the bad stuff begin?

My response is, immediately after the catching away, or as many call it, the church's rapture.

There is still so much more to come, like trumpet blasts and bowls of horror.

In trying to describe the timing of these events, some will say NOTHING happens until the antichrist puts forth this seven-year covenant of peace. So, in making a statement like that, we have put mandates on God, attempting to get God to conform to our image, and that NEVER works.

Let's pick up where we left off.

Revelation 6:12-17 NASB (12) I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; (13) and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. (14) The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. (15) Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; (16) and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; (17) for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

• He (being Jesus) broke the sixth seal.

  Because of that:

  There was a great earthquake;

  The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

  The stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

  The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up,

  Every mountain and island was moved out of their places.

End of page two.

Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence 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 is able to stand?

We are going to ponder this for a few minutes.  Who or whom are these people?

If you have been following my posts on Revelation, you know I have done the best I could to explain that we are looking at those who think they are in control when they speak out about population reduction, a global reset, and a one-world economy. Examples of those who believe they are in control are the World Economic Forum – they have been the most vocal of all these groups and seem to be telling everyone else how they should think. I say this because, in the light of the “Covid vaccines” doesn't it seem strange that virtually everyone, down to the small town Doctor, seems to be pushing this “life saving” vaccine. A vaccine that so severely damaged or killed every animal they tested it on that they chose to stop testing and use it on humans. So, we, in a sense, became the test dummies.

The passage tells us that the kings of the earth, etc., hide in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. When this was written, there were no elaborate, abandoned, military-style bunkers, which they convert to luxury underground living arrangements; but there is now, which is where we find these people when this passage opens.

Again, I cannot tell you exactly when these events will happen. I suppose, much like with the rapture, that if you knew when it would happen, you would dig your bunker deeper, hoping to escape God's wrath.

The scriptures demonstrate that instead of calling out to God, they cry out for the rocks to cover them and hide them from the presence of God. There seems to be a clear understanding that the great day of God's wrath has come, and no one will be able to stand.

Do you know for sure you are going to be with God in Heaven when your time comes?

You can know, and that is a significant difference between the followers of Christ and any of the other religions. None of the others offer you the confidence of knowing your relationship can be secure; that is because Jesus Christ paid the price for our redemption – the forgiveness of sins.

Acknowledge that you are broken and need a savior. Another way of saying this is to admit that you are a sinner.

Believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day.

And finally, you need to call upon the Lord.

Recently I talked about the thief on the cross and how he did nothing religious, and yet Jesus said this day you will be with me in paradise.

What did the thief do to gain acceptance, as he did?

• He acknowledged that Jesus had done nothing wrong; therefore, he admitted that Jesus was sinless.

• The thief, looking at Jesus, says to the other thief, do you not fear God. The thief understood that Jesus was God.

• The thief said to Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. He knew there was a kingdom, that Jesus would soon be there, that it was the eternal home of the Father and the Son, Jesus, and that others could join Him there.

End of Page three.

What will become of you?

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 NASB (1) Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, (2) by which also you are saved if you hold fast the word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain. (3) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

The gospel, which was preached to you, in which you stand, by which you are saved if you hold fast to the word which I (Paul) preached to you. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried and was raised on the third day, just as the Scriptures tell us.

This is what we believe, nothing else. I suppose it requires you putting faith in these words, but it also means that something else has to happen – you make a 180° change, you turn to the Lord, just as that thief did.

 

Revelation 6:3-11, a rider on a red horse.

 In my post on Revelation 6:1,2, I focused on Finis Jennings Dake and his well-founded theory that the rider on the white horse, unleashed with the first seal, is the antichrist. You should also know that there are many who understand this to be so.

If you looked at verse two with an understanding that the church is caught up into heaven - the rapture, before God's wrath is poured out; then you can understand that all the seals, about to be opened, have to do with one thing, God's plan and the associated wrath his plan brings.

If we can consider that any number of events will have taken place in the moments preceding the catching away of the church or thereafter, then we can agree that those left here on earth, and there will be many, should be overwhelmed. I am talking about this moment in this manner because any sensible bible teacher should tell you that none of us can say to you, with precision, what will happen next.

Aside from what will seem like the instantaneous unleashing of the antichrist upon the world, you may see the Ezekiel 38 war with this cryptic leader Gog leading the battle against Israel, a war in which God comes to aid of Israel and no one else does. Here again, this war may happen just moments before the church leaves the earth.

When is the best time to offer a peace treaty?

There are two times: before a war; this allows you time to gain allies; the other is when a conflict breaks out. At this point, you would be trying to restore order and peace.

The scriptures, contrary to popular opinion, do not mention Israel in this agreement (although many will try to tell that the treaty is with Israel. You would have to been living under a rock to not be aware that Former President Donald Trump, proffer a treaty, in which many have signed on as allies of Israel. What would be a common reason to do this? Oil. This is one of the reasons you see “Kittim and Dedan, asking those who have attacked Israel, why are you doing this? The clue here is that Kittim and Dedan are Saudi Arabia.)

Reasons why I feel comfortable saying that "we," as prophecy teachers, cannot specifically say when these events will take place: Because halfway through the seven-year reign of the antichrist, he will end the sacrifices in the temple and set himself up as god; this cannot happen unless the temple is rebuilt. It is because of these things we will see things happen rapidly.

I would hope, at this point, that you picked up on the fact that the antichrist is an aspect of god's wrath.

If so, then let's move on to Revelation 6:3,4, where we see the second seal broken.

Revelation 6:3-4 NIRV "the lamb broke open the second seal. then I heard the second living creature say, "come!" (4) another horse came out. it was flaming red. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. He was given a large sword."

In verse three, "he," which is the terminology that many translations use, refers to Jesus Christ, the lion of Judah, the lamb that was slain. John says, "I heard the second living creature saying, come." at this command, john has been invited to look into the future. What an honor and horror at the same time.

What do we see next?

"and another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him." Revelation 6:4 NASB

End of page one.

Revelation 6:4 is the second seal, and we now have another horse - a red one, and its rider was given permission to take peace from the earth. Isn't that odd that the first rider seems to bring peace?

A side note.

I was listening to my Pastor Jack Hibbs as he spoke with Jan Markell of https://olivetreeviews.org/. They were talking about prophetic end-time events, which included some questions from the audience, one of which asked which seal we were under right now. The short answer, from Jan Markell, was, the church will never experience the wrath involved with the seals. The conversation continued as Pastor Jack tried to make a point about Revelation 6:2, the rider on the white horse. Jack said, he will bring about a flourishing economy and peace for all, for three and one-half years.

Here is my take on Pastor Jack's assertion.

Revelation 6:2 speaks of this rider with a crown. What it does not tell you, unless you dig a bit, is that this crown is of the type that someone would receive for winning an athletic competition. So none are quite sure where this comes from, and who is giving it to him. Secondly, there is a huge assumption being made, and that is that the white horse rider is the good guy. Again, there is nothing to substantiate that assertion, unless you pull your information about him from Daniel's prophetic writings. There we learn that this rider institutes a seven-year peace treaty; ah, but with whom? That is not spelled out, nor are we told why?

Look at the description of the man from Revelation 6:2, and you will see that he has a bow but NO arrows. We can understand this to be a feigned peace, but there is an underlying violence. And, the other keywords are, he goes out conquering and to conquer. If there was financial peace and security in this package, it would only be for the global elite, and only temporarily.

If you are a student of scripture, then you know that the Revelation tells us, that the harlot that rides the beast (the Babylon system of global control,) gets destroyed in an hour. So, NO, I would have never told you that the antichrist will bring about 1260 days of wealth. The entirety of the seven years is God's wrath coming down upon the earth.

Here we are, in some cases, struggling to breathe with these "mandatory" masks, hoping that some form of normalcy will return. We think being able to act and move as we were is normal and peaceful. Peace only comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. This rider on the red horse will cause any illusions of peace to be removed from the earth.

Something is obviously not right.

Most religious folk who have read my comments about how the antichrist could be a Muslim have almost violently opposed such statements. Responses like we see in Revelation 6, where peace is removed from the earth, should prompt us to at least look at what the tenets of Islam convey as the Muslims will come out of the woodwork, and will flood across the planet as the atmosphere on the street changes. You understand what I am saying because almost every one of you has witnessed the rioting, the rise of BLM, Antifa's influence, and how Islamic followers have gained positions of power in every nation they exist.

You need to know something about Islam.

In terms of Islam, we have been dealing with an atmosphere that is trying to make you think the adherents of the Qu'ran are peaceful. The Qu'ran tells its devotees to spill the blood of infidels in Jihad. An infidel is anyone outside of Islam. If you have been watching the news since 9/11, you have seen Islam at some of its lowest moments, in acts such as the beheading of infidels, raping the women in captured cities, and generally killing off any who oppose them.

End of page two.

Who gave this rider of Revelation 6:3 permission to remove peace?

Consider what Isaiah says; "there is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked." Isaiah 57:21 NASB

Perhaps some will say, Isaiah 57:21 doesn't tell us who gives this rider the free pass to remove peace. I'm afraid I have to disagree, but I can play along. In Zechariah chapter one, we see a comparable red horse (although the purpose of the red horse is not given). The thing I want you to see is "these are those whom the lord has sent to patrol the earth."

Zechariah 1:8-10 NASB "I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. (9) then I said, "my lord, what are these?" And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, "I will show you what these are." (10) and the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, "these are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth."

It is becoming evident that everything we see in the Revelation is judgment and wrath sent by God. We can find another piece of evidence for this judgment in Ezekiel.

The Lord said: Ezekiel, son of man, the people of Israel are complaining that the punishment for their sins is more than they can stand. They have lost all hope for survival, and they blame me. Tell them that as surely as I am the living lord god, I don't like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live. So if the Israelites want to live, they must stop sinning and turn back to me. (Ezekiel 33:10-11 cev)

What do I learn from Ezekiel's prophecy?

I learn that a portion of this judgment is explicitly directed at Israel.

• "so if the Israelites want to live, they must stop sinning and turn back to me."

Isaiah 14 informs us that God's wrath/judgment will be applied to Assyria, the whole earth, and all the nations; to remove the yoke of the Assyrian from Israel's shoulders.

"The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, "surely, just as I have intended, so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, to break Assyria in my land, and I will trample him on my mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. "This is the plan devised against the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. "For the lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?" (Isaiah 14:24-27 NASB)

With all this judgment – the removal of peace, God is still looking for ways to show his mercy.

"Suppose I warn wicked people that they will die because of their sins, and they stop sinning and start doing right. for example, they need to return anything they have taken as security for a loan and anything they have stolen. Then if they stop doing evil and start obeying my law, they will live. their past sins will be forgiven, and they will live because they have done right." (Ezekiel 33:14-16 CEV)

Let's refocus.

The rider on the red horse removes peace from the earth. If you have been living anywhere near these riotous areas of the united states, you might think peace has been removed already.

End of page three.

"And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him." Revelation 6:4 NASB

Notice how the verse says, "and that men would slay one another."

It is not merely the rider removing peace, but those willing to follow this course of action. There is one more "deadly" clue, as a great sword was given to him." This rider is given a great sword.

I need to remind you of something.

It only took one angel to kill all the firstborn of those who were not covered by the blood of the lamb that night in Egypt; so don't think for a second that one angel cannot remove peace from the earth.

When he broke the third seal

Revelation 6:5-6 NASB "when he broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "come." I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. (6), and I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "a quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine."

The general idea is that there will be a highly significant shortage of food; that or the United States will get hit with hyper-inflation much like Venezuela, and you will not afford food. But, there is another side of this: the World Economic Forum members are using this human-made pandemic to pull off this "great reset," which includes an intentional hyper-inflation.

In Deuteronomy 28, we can find the blessings and the cursings promised to Israel. Blessings if you follow after the lord, and cursings if you don't.

Deuteronomy 28:15 NASB "but it shall come about, if you do not obey the lord your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:"

Well, they did not obey, and neither have we as a nation.

Deuteronomy 28:48 NASB "therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and he will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you."

The fourth seal is broken.

Revelation 6:7-8 NASB "when the lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "come." (8) I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name death; and hades was following with him. authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth."

The next two riders come under one seal: an ashen horse and its rider named death, and another undescribed horse with a rider named hades.

Note that authority was given to them.

Even if it's to carry out God's wrath, there is no authority without the Lord.

"... over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, pestilence, and by the wild beasts of the earth."

End page four.

Hardly anyone kills by the sword anymore, as guns are quicker and less personal. And yet, death by sword may be precisely the point, as blades tend to be associated with our worst fears.

Pestilence? I looked the word up in the dictionary, and this may ring a bell. "A fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague."

Here in this blog, I have mentioned the Covid, and yet it in itself should not be deemed a fatal epidemic disease, especially not with a 99% recovery rate. I say this because all we have heard is propaganda. What seems to be the killer is this counterfeit vaccine, and maybe this is part of the problem when it comes to pestilence. Sure, every nasty disease, that we thought was under control, has raised its ugly head again and may also be adding to the death rate, so don't be surprised by what you hear.

Wild beasts? The troubling aspect of this is that so many wild animals have been "domesticated," and then intentionally or otherwise released into the bushes. There are some things I would not trust, such as lions, tigers, bears, vipers, spiders, crocodiles, alligators, hyenas, and packs of wild dogs, to name a few. I want so badly to put humanity under this category.

Our current population is 7,874,965,825. which is almost 8 billion people. To kill a fourth, even by various means, is to kill approximately 2 billion people, and the verse does not give us a time frame in which this will happen.

The souls of those martyred

Revelation 6:9-11 NASB "when the lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of god, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; (10) and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "how long, o Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (11) And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also."

Approximately 2 billion people will have been killed. Can we assume that many have also died because of drought, famine, economic disaster, and hyperinflation which may have prevented many from being able to buy food. Then, there are the fatal epidemic diseases, most of which seem exclusive to third-world nations (By the way, did you notice how virtually every country is being turned into a third-world nation?) How many of these 2 billion are now counted among the martyred saints?

My thoughts suddenly went toward the idea that the word sword may be an all-inclusive word; it is not, as it does not speak to nuclear arms and the intentional release of some deadly disease. It is the Greek word rhomphaia, meaning a large, broad sword.

Once again, my mind goes back to Islam, as the sword is the preferred method of death.

Here in Revelation 6:9-11, the martyred are crying out, how long will you refrain from judging those who dwell on the earth. The response, "rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed, even as they had been, would be completed."

Revelation 6:9 is the first occurrence in which john sees the martyred in heaven; the second occurs in Revelation 7:9-12; the difference is that the second time it is made clear that the number of the slain was uncountable. The number of those under the altar is not previously mentioned.

Over the years, I have pondered the religious zeal of these martyred saints; but, I must admit that I have put a Gentile, religious spin on what I read.

Let me explain; and yes, I am going to make a point.

End page five.

When you think about the crucifixion, do you see three crosses?

If you said yes, and they were all occupied, that would be the correct answer.

Now, when you picture the other two persons hanging there that day, were they both thieves?

Once again, yes would be the appropriate answer. But how did you know that?

The regular source for our answer typically comes from the King James version. But when you look up the word that the KJV translated as a thief, you get the word brigand. A brigand is a lawless fellow who lives by plunder, and that covers a variety of crimes. Some translated this word as revolutionaries, while others used the term criminals. The truth is, we are not sure.

One last question. Were the thieves both Jews?

We assume that the two hanging with Jesus that day were Jews; after all, they were in Jerusalem. You seem to forget that Israel was under a modified form of martial law, enforced by conscript troops from the adjoining conquered lands, under the Roman flag. So no, you don't have a direct scriptural answer to the question.

Let me confuse you a bit more. This hanging took place in Jerusalem, and yet only a short time later, Peter, on the day of Pentecost, preached under the Holy Spirit's influence to thousands from a wide variety of nationalities.

We can ascertain that the thieves were Jews based upon the responses of one of them, directed at the other. Matthew's account tells us is that initially, they both chimed in against Jesus, but something changed, which we see in Luke 23:36-39.

(36)"The soldiers also mocked him, coming up to him, offering him sour wine, (37) and saying, "if you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!" (38) now there was also an inscription above him, "this is the king of the Jews."

As you can see, the roman soldiers were yelling out to Jesus to save himself, but then, one of the criminals joined them. And it would be foolish to think that one or the other was willing to take the time, or had the ability to read the plaque that the Romans made.

(39)" one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him, saying, "are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" Luke 23:36-39 NASB

At this, the second criminal responds to the first,

"But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?" Luke 23:40 NASB

In saying, do you not even fear God, there is an acknowledgment that this man has been taught and that one hurling the insults should know and understand the law and the prophets. Perhaps without realizing it, the second thief has just acknowledged that Jesus is God. So, by this strained conversation, we can tell that both men have an understanding of God – and are therefore Jewish.

The second thief, painfully aware of the bad situation that he is in, says something remarkable,

"and we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." Luke 23:41 NASB

How did he know Jesus had done nothing wrong?

That response could only come through the Holy Spirit, or a cloaked, personal pursuit, because we have no indication that these two thieves knew of Jesus.

End of page 6.

That second thief then asks Jesus to do something extraordinary.

And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
(Luke 23:42 MKJV)

This thief was no different from Jesus's disciples. For they too did not understand how this kingdom thing was going to work, but that did not impede Jesus' ability to understand what this thief was asking him; he was asking for life in that kingdom. And Jesus gave it to him.

This thief did not go through the significant religious hoops and jumps that we, brought up in the religious world, expect.

So what does an admission of God's lordship look like to someone from the Middle East, without a Gentile religious background, and you are being told to worship Allah or die?

Is it possible that it sounds like this Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.