©1998 Larry Huntsperger
Peninsula Bible Fellowship
|
5/17/98
|
The First Five Seals
|
Rev. 6:1-11
|
5/17/98 Rev. 6:1-7:17
THE FIRST FIVE SEALS
The last time we were in our study
of the Book of Revelation
I promised you that we were going to
accelerate our pace through the book.
Today I am going to begin
to keep that promise.
Whenever we've been out of this study
of the Book of Revelation
for more than a week
it's always good to spend a couple of
minutes reestablishing our setting.
If you've been with us during the past few months
you'll remember that there is
a major dividing line in the Bk of Rev.
at the first verse of Rev. chapter 4.
Revelation 2 and 3 present seven short letters
sent to seven local churches
by Christ through John.
Through those letters
Christ offered His final direct
warnings,
encouragements,
and instructions to Christians
during this current church age
which began with the Resurrection of Christ
and will continue until
God supernaturally, instantly removes the
church from the earth
once it has served its purpose.
Then, at the beginning of Rev. 4:1
there is a major change in the book.
In the first 3 chapters of Rev.
John was here on the Earth
and Christ comes to him
and communicates to him
in familiar surroundings
about issues concerning us here and now.
If it helps,
you can think of it as if
in Rev. 1-3 the Lord comes to John's house
and sits down in John's living room
and talks with him about
things going on in his neighborhood
right now.
But then, in Rev. 4:1
the Lord stands up,
grabs His coat,
and says to John,
"Say, my friend, why don't we
go on over to My place now.
There are some things there I want to show
you."
And that is exactly what they do.
Rev. 4:1 After these things I looked, and
behold, a door standing open in heaven,
and the first voice which I had heard, like
the sound of a trumpet speaking with me,
said, "Come up here, and I will show you
what must take place after these things."
And the two important things we noticed
in verse 4:1 are:
1. From here on out the action is taking place in
heaven,
in the throne room of God.
2. These are all clearly identified as being future
events.
These are things that take place "after these things."
We then spent several weeks
setting the stage
for what John would see.
Chapter 4 of Revelation presented
the majesty and awesomeness
of the throne room of God.
Then Chapt 5 presented
the beginning of the great drama
surrounding the events
that will culminate with the return of
Christ.
That drama began
with a book sealed with seven seals
and with a search in heaven
for Someone worthy to break those
seals
and to set in motion
the final wrath and judgement of God
on those who have rejected His offer of
forgiveness through Christ.
In that 5th chapter we saw Christ come forward,
" the Lamb that was slain...who is
worthy to receive power and riches and
wisdom and might and honor and glory and
blessing."
That is where we left off,
and that is where the drama picks up
in Revelation chapter 6.
And just so you can better hang on
to what is happening throughout
the rest of the book,
the remainder of the book
is the presentation of the breaking of those 7
seals,
and the description of what happens
with the breaking of each of them.
I offered you a little outline
the last time we were in this study
that will help.
1. The Seven seals are broken,
with each seal bringing
certain results on the earth.
2. When the seventh seal is broken
that seal triggers 7 trumpet blasts,
with each trumpet blast
bringing specific consequences
on the earth.
3. The 7th trumpet blast
then begins the release
of the 7 final bowls of the wrath of God
poured out on the earth.
So: 7 seals
followed by 7 trumpets
followed by 7 bowls of wrath.
There are some other events
interspersed throughout
those 3 groups of 7 events,
but that is the basic outline for the book.
And today we are going to move right in
to the breaking of the first 6 seals
and the events those seals trigger on the
earth.
And let me tell you
what we're going to find here
and what's going on
with these first 6 seals.
Q. Do you remember early in this study on
prophecy
when we were in the 24th chapter
of the book of Matthew
and we saw Christ's comments
about what He called the "birth pangs"
that would precede the events
we have described for us here
in the book of Revelation?
Do you remember what any of those birth pangs
were?
False Christs
dramatic increase in wars
increased tension between people groups
famines
increased earthquakes.
If we think of the return of Christ
as if it were the Lord
coming to our house for a visit,
those birth pangs
would be like the sound of His footsteps
on the path leading to our front door.
If we are listening for Him
we will hear those footsteps.
OK,
if those birth pangs
are His footsteps on the path,
then these first 6 seals
are His finger on the doorbell.
When Christ came the first time
He came in obscurity,
recognized by only a few,
in order to present His death
as payment for our sins.
But when He comes the second time
He will announce His arrival
clearly and repeatedly
to the entire world.
What we have here in these 1st six seals
are the six major world changes
that together ring the door bell
and tell us HE'S BACK!
Now let me show them to you
as we have them revealed in chapt. 6.
#1. Rev. 6:1 Then I saw when the Lamb
broke one of the seven seals, and I heard
one of the four living creatures saying as
with a voice of thunder, "Come."
Rev. 6:2 I looked, and behold, a white
horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and
a crown was given to him, and he went out
conquering and to conquer.
Now, this ridder is not specifically identified in the
passage,
and there are two common possible identities
given to him by students of the Bible.
One possibility is that this is Christ
ridding forth to victory.
He is on a white horse,
and he wears a crown,
so its possible.
I personally strongly favor
another possibility, though.
This first seal
is the first great kick-off event
of the final seven years preceding
the return of Christ.
Chronologically
the return of Christ is not the 1st event
of those 7 years,
it is the Final event.
This guy on the horse
is Christ-like in his external appearance,
that is, he presents himself
as a savior or messiah to the world.
But his arrival does not bring peace,
it brings turmoil to the world.
I believe this fellow on the horse
is the Anti-Christ,
the great satanic world ruler
who will gain power during the
tribulation.
From other passages in Scripture
we know that his appearance on the scene
is the great 1st event
for these final 7 years.
So - the first gong on the doorbell
announcing Christ at the door
will be when the Anti-Christ steps to the
front of the stage.
But how in the world
is the antiChrist able to take power?
What motivates the people of the world
to set aside their ethnic hatreds
and their national identities
that go back hundreds
or even thousands of years?
Why would ego-driven world rulers
suddenly,
willingly hand over their power
and their control
to one man
and be supported and encouraged to do so
by the people they rule?
The next 3 seals, then,
reveal to us how such a thing
will be able to take place,
preparing the way for a one-world government.
Seal #2.
Rev. 6:3 ¶ When He broke the second
seal, I heard the second living creature
saying, "Come."
Rev. 6:4 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.
The breaking of the 2nd seal
throws the world into tremendous
international conflict,
with wars raging
the threat of global nuclear war
imminent.
If ever a wise, benevolent one-world ruler was
needed it is now!
Seal #3.
Rev. 6:5 ¶ 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.
Rev. 6:6 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 breaking of the 3rd seal
brings world-wide economic chaos.
A quart of wheat was considered
the food for one man for one day.
A denarius was the wage paid
for one day's work.
It takes an entire day's wages
just to buy food
for that one day.
There is no way a man can support his family.
If ever a wise, benevolent world ruler was needed, it
is now.
The 4th seal.
Rev. 6:7 ¶ When the Lamb broke the fourth
seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living
creature saying, "Come."
Rev. 6:8 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.
1. The AntiChrist presents himself to the world as a
messiah.
2. Nations prepare for war with each other on a
global scale.
3. World economies collapse in mass inflation.
4. And then famine, disease, and the animal
kingdom run amuck,
resulting in the death of 1/4 of the world's
population,
demanding that the barriers between nations be
dissolved
and the resources of the world
be pooled and used to combat
the forces that assault mankind.
If ever a wise, benevolent world ruler was needed,
it is now.
I believe the events that accompany
the breaking of those first 4 seals
are designed to create
a world in such chaos and fear
that it sets the stage
for the AntiChrist to be catapulted
into world control.
And I see that being confirmed
by what takes place
at the breaking of the 5th seal.
Rev. 6:9 ¶ 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;
Rev. 6:10 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?"
Rev. 6:11 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.
At the breaking of this 5th seal
there is a unified outcry in heaven
from all the Christians
who have been martyred throughout the
ages.
They see the AntiChrist moving into power,
and the forces of evil controlling the earth
as never before in history,
and the injustice of what they see
causes them to cry out to God,
"THIS IS NOT RIGHT! The wrong guy is
winning.
God, why don't You DO SOMETHING!"
And the Lord's response to their outcry
I consider to be
one of the most remarkable
and revealing statements in all of
Scripture.
He tells them to 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.
Do you see what that's saying?
He is telling us
that God measures time
not by minutes
but by martyrs.
He says evil must continue to have its way
for a little while longer
because there are still a few lacking
in the number of those
who are to be killed
because of their faith in Christ.
And if you have read the book of Rev. on your own,
you may remember that very shortly
two men come on the scene,
two supernaturally empowered prophets of God
who confront the people of the world
with their sin
and their rebellion against God.
The world hates them
and tries to destroy them,
and when the antiChrist
finally succeeds in killing those two
their deaths complete the number of Christian
martyrs
and prompts the return of Christ
and the final 7 bowls of the wrath of God
being poured out on the earth.
And the thing that I find most fascinating
about this martyr system
of timing human history
is what it says to us about
the true nature of Christianity on the earth.
It is certainly true
that personal righteousness
through the life of Christ within us
always dramatically increases
our quality of life.
It is true that
the principles for relationships
and for life revealed in Scripture
are the only principles that really work.
But it is also true
that we live in a human society
that is deeply hostile
to the Person of Christ
and to His people.
John said simply,
John 3:19 "This is the judgment, that the
Light has come into the world, and men
loved the darkness rather than the Light,
for their deeds were evil.
Our country loves Bill Clinton
because his blatant lack of basic personal moral
integrity
has enabled the people of our nation
to feel better about their own immorality.
At the same time
the life of every true growing Christian
who under the guidance of their Lord,
is in the process
of fighting to rebuild their own moral
integrity,
staying faithful to their marriage partner
not because it's easy
or because it always feels good,
but because it's right,
remaining honest
in their business dealings
and handling their personal relationships
with respect
and integrity,
choosing the right way
even when it's the hard way,
people like that
make those around them very uncomfortable.
But you know something?
contrary to popular belief
we don't really want the easy life -
we want the one that makes sense,
the one that fulfills,
the one that satisfies.
Most Christians will not be martyred.
But all Christians
who remain faithful to their Lord
will suffer loss in this world
because of their faith in Christ.
When Christ tells us
that His pocket watch
does not tick off minutes,
it ticks off martyrs,
He is reminding us of that truth.
But that is by no means
the end of the story
or the end of the book.
2 Cor. 4:17 For momentary, light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of
glory far beyond all comparison,
2 Cor. 4:18 while we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are
not seen; for the things which are seen are
temporal, but the things which are not seen
are eternal.