Revelation Unsealed – History Revealed
Turn with me first of all to Rev. 7:9-12,
Verse 9 – “AFTER THIS I BEHELD, AND LO, A GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER, OF ALL NATIONS, AND KINDRED’S, AND PEOPLES, AND TONGUES, STOOD BEFORE THE THRONE AND BEFORE THE LAMB, CLOTHED WITH WHITE ROBES, AND PALMS IN THEIR HANDS.”
Verse 10 – “AND CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE, SAYING, SALVATION TO OUR GOD, WHICH SITTETH UPON THE THRONE, AND UNTO THE LAMB.”
Verse 11 – “AND ALL THE ANGELS STOOD ROUND ABOUT THE THRONE, AND WITH THE ELDERS AND THE FOUR BEASTS, AND FELL BEFORE THE THRONE ON THEIR FACES, AND WORSHIPPED GOD.”
Verse 12 – “SAYING, AMEN: BLESSING, AND GLORY, AND WISDOM, AND THANKSGIVING, AND HONOR, AND POWER, AND MIGHT BE UNTO OUR GOD FOREVER, AND EVER. AMEN.
We read in verse 9,
“OF A GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN
COULD NUMBER.”
1. You should realize THAT MOST CHRISTIANS ARE NOW IN HEAVEN. The number of us here can be counted, but the numbers of Christians up there cannot be numbered by any man! There are on earth in comparison just a few of us from 20th century and the 21st century. It’s a great multitude beyond #, it sounds crowded, but who says that God prefers only small churches!!
Do you RECALL ABRAHAM being called in SCRIPTURE – THE FATHER OF ALL BELIEVERS? (Romans 4:16)
1. Remember when God came to Abraham, and promised him SEED AS STARS IN NUMBER! (Genesis 22:17)
2. Well, in Rev. 7:9 here they are,
“THE INNUMERABLE COMPANY OF ABE’S SEED.”
3. Children, spiritual children of Abraham, all sharing his faith.
4. All having left all, as Abraham did, for Christ’s sake! (Abraham’s innumerable seed).
-We read in VERSE 12,
“THEY CRY WITH A LOUD VOICE, SALVATION TO
OUR GOD AND TO THE LAMB.”
-What are they doing? Saying? Crying? Singing? Shouting? Notice that there is no ANEMIC WORSHIP IN HEAVEN. They are all carried away big time. They are loudly ascribing to God and the Lamb, Jesus, ALL CREDIT FOR SALVATION:
“SALVATION TO GOD, SALVATION TO THE
LAMB OF GOD!”
That is to say:
1. ALL THAT WENT ON IN THE PROCESS OF MY SALVATION, GOD, YOU DID IT ALL; LAMB, JESUS, YOU DID IT ALL.
2. THAT FACT THAT I AM HERE, LORD, YOU DID IT ALL; SALVATION, FROM BEGINNING TO END, YOU DID IT ALL, JESUS!
3. THAT’S WORTHSHIP, HEAVEN STYLE, UNENDING, for Rev. 7:15 tells us,
“THEY, THE MULTITUDES DO THIS BEFORE THE
THRONE UNCEASINGLY IN THE
HEAVENLY TEMPLE.”
-THIS IS ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE BECAUSE OF Revelation 7:13-14,
“AND ONE OF THE ELDERS ANSWERED SAYING
UNTO ME, ‘WHAT ARE THESE WHICH ARE
ARRAYED IN WHITE ROBES? AND
WHENCE CAME THEY?’”
“AND I SAID UNTO HIM, ‘SIR, THOU KNOWEST AND
HE SAID TO ME, THESE ARE THEY WHICH CAME
OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION: AND HAVE
WASHED THEIR ROBES, AND MADE
THEM WHITE IN THE BLOOD
OF THE LAMB.”
1. These, THE INNUMERABLE MULTITUDE, are those who have lived through GREAT TRIAL! They have not been on a cakewalk. Theirs has been a journey down PERSECUTION ROAD. They have been sorely persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.
2. And, THEY LIVED RIGHT THROUGH THE SEALS OF REVELATION CHAPTER 6! Frankly, this is THEM & US, those IN CHRIST BEFORE US, AND WE IN CHRIST AFTER THEM, and THOSE IN CHRIST AFTER US.
*******
Alright now, the Lamb, Jesus Christ, HAS TAKEN THE THRONE OF THE UNIVERSE WITH HIS FATHER:
a. The Father has put into the LAMB’S HANDS THE BOOK OF HISTORY!
b. ALL THE SEALS OF THAT BOOK SHALL NOW BE OPENED BY THE LAMB!
c. THE PURPOSES OF GOD ARE NOW BEING RELEASED IN CHAPTER 6!
d. Now we shall see:
“REVELATION UNSEALED – HISTORY REVEALED.”
SEAL # 1
Rev. 6:2,
“AND I, JOHN, SAW, AND BEHOLD A WHITE HORSE:
AND HE THAT SAT THEREON HAD A BOW
AND A CROWN WAS GIVEN HIM: AND HE WENT
FORTH CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER.”
-This is Jesus in the GOSPEL AGE, the AGE OF MESSIAH, pictured ON HIS MIGHTY WHITE HORSE! Incredible: THE LAMB OF GOD, CROWNED AND RIDING A WHITE HORSE! Early TV viewers used to thrill to the Lone Ranger on his white horse, along with Tonto on his paint horse. I was one of them as a child, but now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. We have seen any horse, let alone a white one, until we see JESUS ON HIS WHITE HORSE GOING FORTH CONQUERING AND TO CONQUER.
Stop right here for a moment:
-BEHOLD – Means that the Holy Spirit was not messing around in His vision to John with just any ole horse. This is a BEHOLD HORSE, astonishing to see, A STEED TO BEHOLD.
-WHITE HORSE – That means A HOLY HORSE, A HEAVENLY HORSE, A PURE HORSE. Not just anyone could ride this horse – certainly not the devil or the antichrist – certainly not a politician looking for votes! Only the Heavenly and the Holy One could ride this horse.
Continuing:
-HE THAT SAT THEREON HAD A BOW, as in bow and arrow. This is Jesus Christ shooting piercing ARROWS OF TRUTH into the hearts of men, convincing them as sinners of their desperate need of a SAVIOR – HIMSELF. Jesus doesn’t miss!
-He is not shooting fluff balls of sugar and cotton candy. These arrows, AS ALL ARROWS DO, hurt and sting, but in this case they hurt before they help, they sting before they save.
Moreover:
-HE HAS A CROWN GIVEN TO HIM. This rider has been given all authority in Heaven and on earth. When we go into unknown and even threatening territory with the Gospel, that territory and those people are under the authority and power of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18)
-Get this and get it good in these unprecedented and threatening times:
“THE HOLY KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
ON THE WHITE HORSE IS INFINITELY MORE
POWERFUL AND AUTHORITATIVE THAN
THE EVIL MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE.”
Going on:
-CONQUERING, AND YET MORE TO CONQUER! Each time A SOUL BOWS BEFORE JESUS AS THEIR SAVIOR AND LORD, I SEE THE KING UPON THE WHITE HORSE, STANDING RIGHT THERE!
-Wherever the GOSPEL IS PREACHED, THE LORD RIDES ON HIS WHITE HORSE! Everywhere I go, whether it is to a CHURCH OR AN EVANGELISTIC REVIVAL TENT, I see the WHITE HORSE already tied up preceding me. The White Horse Rider always goes where His Gospel is preached.
-And frankly, He never fails with His arrows of piercing and penetrating conviction and convincing. When we preach repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He lets fly with the bow and arrows of truth. What awesome confidence this gives us when we preach and share the Gospel with folks.
-Hear it:
“THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE DOES NOT SO
MUCH PERSUADE BUT PIERCES.”
-Listen:
“THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE DOES NOT
GO AGAINST HUMAN WILLS BUT MAKES
THEM WILLING.”
-And:
“THE RIDER ON THE WHITE HORSE IS A BULLS-
EYE ARCHER AND NOT A SEEKER-
FRIENDLY SEDUCER.”
-And:
“I AM SO GLAD TO ABLE TELL YOU THAT HE
CONQUERED ME.”
SEAL # 2
Rev. 6:4,
“AND THERE WENT OUT ANOTHER HORSE THAT
WAS RED; TO HIM THAT SAT ON IT, IT WAS
GRANTED TO TAKE PEACE FROM THE
EARTH, AND THAT MEN SHOULD
SLAY ONE ANOTHER; AND
A GREAT SWORD WAS
GIVEN TO HIM.”
Note:
-Hot on the HEELS OF THE WHITE HORSE riding across history’s stage, COMES A RED HORSE! Note that the color WHITE is the color of innocence and peace, but here the color of RED is the color of guilt and violence.
-What always follows the preaching of the Gospel is persecution of believers in history. Much of it, as today more than any other day in history, IS BLOODY PERSECUTION for those who love Jesus. There are 50 countries across the earth where Christians are now being openly persecuted, including the 50,000 plus Christians being held and abused in North Korean prisons.
Yes, in many instances, MASS MARTYRDOM of our brothers and sisters in Christ across the face of the globe.
-The Bible says in II Timothy 3:12,
“THOSE WHO LIVE GODLY LIVES SHALL
SUFFER PERSECUTION.”
Mark it well:
-MULTITUDES of these today and yesterday and tomorrow ARE, HAVE BEEN, AND WILL BE SLAUGHTERED FOR CHRIST JESUS BY THE SWORDED RIDER ON THE RED HORSE!
-This is none other than Satan Himself whose favorite color is HOMICIDAL RED, and especially shedding the blood of the followers of Jesus Christ. The devil has keen taste buds for the blood of Christ and His disciples. It is not a mistake that Satan is described in John 8:44 as,
“A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING.”
Listen:
“ALL THROUGH HISTORY, MARTYRDOM IS THE
HEROIC ACT OF FAITH, AND THE
CHRIST-HONORING BADGE
OF CHRISTIANITY.”
In fact, in the Bible, it is viewed as a distinguishing gift and a sacred grant, as we read in Philippians 1:29,
“For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not
only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.”
States evangelist Dinh Van Hoang in the Central Highlands of Vietnam:
“JESUS HIMSELF HAD TO SUFFER TO PAY THE PRICE
TO SAVE THE WORLD. WHO ARE YOU TO REFUSE
THE SUFFERINGS THAT THE LORD
JESUS FORETOLD?”
States Hassani of the persecution of Christians in Egypt:
“PERSECUTION IS PART OF OUR FAITH, SO WE HAVE
TO REJOICE…IT IS A PRIVILEGE FOR US.”
-And so, on July 7, 2012, Pastor John Ali Doro in Nigeria witnessed 44 of his Christian parishioners being burned to death in the church building by the Muslim Fulani. Martyred were also his wife, four of his seven children, and two of his grandchildren. Nine other villages were attacked, and over a two day period, 200 Christians were martyred for Christ.
-Christians in Syria today have three choices:
1. Convert to Islam.
2. Try to escape to other lands.
3. Be martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.
Dad Samer and Mom Liena with their children have decided to remain in Syria. One night as their neighborhood was being heavily shelled by mortars, the family huddled together in the front room of their home. Mother Liena pointed to the front door and said to her children,
“LOOK AT THE DOOR. ONE DAY, GOD MAY ALLOW
SOMEONE FROM THOSE TERRORIST PEOPLE
TO COME IN THE DOOR. THEY WILL HAVE
BIG BEARDS AND VERY THREAT-
ENING FACES.”
“MAYBE THEY WILL HAVE SWORDS. THEY WILL
PUT THEIR SWORDS ON OUR NECKS, AND YOU
MAY SEE SOME BLOOD. THEY WILL HURTS
US. WE WILL HAVE PAIN, BUT DON’T
WORRY ABOUT THIS PAIN. WE WILL
CLOSE OUR EYES, AND WE WILL
OPEN THEM AGAIN IN HEAVEN,
AND WE WILL BE WITH
JESUS, SINGING WITH
THE ANGELS.”
“JUST TELL THESE PEOPLE, ‘I FORGIVE YOU,
AND JESUS LOVES YOU.”
(Voice Of The Martyrs)
This is a microcosm of our world in the 21st century. Over 2 million Syrians, including many Christians, have fled to other countries, including TURKEY, IRAQ, KURDISTAN, JORDAN, LEBANON ETC. Persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa by Islamic murderers is at an all time high.
Hear it:
-The bloody-sworded rider on the RED HORSE takes away PEACE FROM THE ENTIRE EARTH. This is not just regional, but grows into universal unrest and savagery. What is happening now in the United States of America is not just political, BUT SPIRITUAL. If you look closely, you will find the RED HORSE TIED UP AT THE WHITE HOUSE, THE HALLS OF CONGRESS, THE SUPREME COURT, AND STATE HOUSES ACROSS THE LAND. There Satan with his anti-God and anti-Christ cronies and goons are plotting the extinction of Christianity and Christians from the face of the earth, even as Hitler plotted the extinction of the Jewish race. Same devil! It is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHEN open persecution unfolds!
This is HISTORY UNFOLDING! There are those in the free world who don’t want to hear about this. They wished that the SEAL HAD BEEN LEFT SEALED. Nevertheless, this is DIVINE PROPHECY being fulfilled on a daily and hourly basis. IT IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK AND THE SEALS ARE OFF!
*******
God threw the RIDER ON THE RED HORSE OUT OF HEAVEN WHERE HE WAS DISTURBING THE PEACE. And since then, to use another apt analogy, THE HELLCAT has been loose on the earth bringing murder and mayhem and madness wherever he goes.
Satan is basically an INDOOR HELLCAT, not an outdoor cat. He gets into halls of government as one of his favorite hangouts, and is presently raising hell on Capitol Hill. Any day of the week now, you can view the House and the Senate on C-SPAN, and witness a good ole, screaming, claws-out catfight. The Hellcat has been given his own cat door which allows him to come and go as he pleases. He never misses an opportunity in Congress to pass legislation to silence and remove Christianity wherever he can. The Republicans, formerly part of the moral majority, pose no threat to the Hellcat, for the Democrats now control the Republicans like short-leashed dogs.
He doesn’t just have a cat door in the White House, for he lives there. It now is his house! Satan finally has a fellow HELLCAT, a Muslim Hellcat, in the White House who thinks that the Declaration of Independence means independence from Jesus Christ and Christianity. You know how cats are, they love independence. Hellcat #2 is now dechristianizing and anti-christianizing America’s military and police so as to better be able to enforce his anti-God, anti-Christ agenda. It won’t be long before churches, pastors, and Christians will spend their weekends in ill-fitting straightjackets.
In short:
“JESUS CHRIST IS THE PRINCE OF PEACE, WHILE
SATAN IS THE PRINCE OF UNPEACE.”
SEAL #3
Rev. 6:5-6,
“AND I BEHELD, AND LO, A BLACK HORSE, AND HE
THAT SAT THEREON HAD A PAIR OF SCALES
IN HIS HAND.”
“AND I HEARD AS IT WERE A VOICE IN THE CENTER
OF THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES SAY,
‘A QUART OF WHEAT FOR A DENARIUS,
AND THREE QUARTS OF WHEAT FOR
A DENARIUS; AND DO NOT HARM
THE OIL AND THE WINE.'”
-This BLACK HORSE represents dark ECONOMIC TIMES THROUGHOUT HISTORY! His appearance is like the DARK HORSE of evil Sauron in Lord of the Rings. The RIDER ON THIS BLACK HORSE represents repressive and oppressive regimes that stifle free business and trade. Keep the poor poor, so that the ruling rich can get richer still. Government control! Unjust taxation!
-A QUART OF WHEAT LITERALLY COST A DENARIUS, which means INFLATION! It costs many workers A WHOLE DAYS WAGE JUST TO FEED THEMSELVES. What about family?! (Matthew 20:2)
-This is NOT FAMINE necessarily, for there is PLENTY OF OIL AND WINE – COMFORTS OF LIFE! The poor simply cannot touch the oil and the wine. They are getting beyond the reach of most who can barely support their wives and children! Some LIVE IN POVERTY, some in LUXURY! (The Haves and the Have Nots.)
Hear it:
-IF YOU AREN’T KILLED BY THE RIDER ON THE RED HORSE, you may lose your job for following the RIDER on the WHITE HORSE! Like in Communist lands today, you may not be killed, but you just can’t get a JOB BECAUSE OF YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST!
-In America, longtime sportscaster, Craig James, was fired from Fox Sports Southwest because he had once, as a Senate candidate in Texas the year before, voiced his moral opposition to homosexual behavior….Another sportscaster, Chris Broussard, was directly asked on-air by a colleague at ESPN about the coming-out of a homosexual player. Broussard answered, “If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ.” Broussard was roundly attacked in the media, and subsequently disavowed by his own network….The city council in San Antonio, Texas, tried to pass an ordinance barring anyone from serving as a city official who demonstrates”bias by word of deed” against homosexual behavior….The PALE HORSE is riding across America, and now Christians could well and are finding themselves SILENCED AND FIRED for having a Christian worldview.
-In Central Asian countries today, it is common for employers to ask job applicants about their faith during job interviews. Christians are often denied jobs because of their commitment to Jesus Christ. So often it is nigh unto impossible to feed their families. This is becoming more and more universal. You can now begin to hear the Black Horse for really the first time whinny in America.
SEAL # 4
Rev. 6:8,
“AND I LOOKED, AND BEHOLD, AN ASHEN /SICKLY
PALE HORSE; AND HE WHO SAT ON IT HAD
THE NAME DEATH, AND HADES WAS
FOLLOWING HIM. AND AUTHORITY
WAS GIVEN 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.”
-A Ghoulish Pale Sickly Horse now follows, and brings about MANY HARDSHIPS and HORRORS! The rider on this horse is DEATH ITSELF, and trotting behind death is HADES – symbolizing here simply the state of disembodied existence. We should be quick to note that DEATH and HADES cannot simply do what they do. Rather, AUTHORITY IS GIVEN THEM BY God, and they are restricted to a 4th part of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, pestilence, and even by wild animals.
Note the BIG FOUR THAT DEATH BRINGS TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSE – WAR, FAMINE, DISEASE, BEASTS – things across the globe common to Christians and non-Christians alike! Just because we are Christians doesn’t mean we miss ALL THE TROUBLES, TRIBULATIONS, AND TRIALS! These are all the WOES THAT COME TO THE WORLD! Much if not most of the earth’s suffering is not covered by the media. We as American’s still live in a unreal, sheltered world, at least until now. Little do we really know about the suffering across earth that goes on day after day.
-We should note the order. First there is WAR/SWORD, and as is often the case, famine and disease follow war in the lives of the suffering and displaced. Atypical is the case of the Sudanese. The Jaac Refugee Camp in South Sudan is a remote settlement that is home to more than 200,000 Sudanese, most of them Christians, who were displaced by the violence that still ravages their country. Recent bombings have forced more refugees into the area, and a shortage of clean water has resulted in illnesses and death from dehydration.
-There, AS IN COUNTLESS PLACES ACROSS THE EARTH, you will find the PALE HORSE OF DEATH AND HADES STANDING NEAR. In short:
“WAR-FAMINE-DISEASE- CARNIVOROUS BEASTS
ARE THE TROPHIES OF THE RIDER UPON
THE PALE HORSE.”
Again:
“DEATH, LIKE A COMMANDING GENERAL UPON
HIS HORSE, INVADES COMMON HUMANITY
WITH HIS DESTRUCTIVE ARMIES
FOLLOWING HIM –WAR,
PLAGUES,HUNGER,
FEVERS, DISEASE,
ACCIDENTS, AND
YOU NAME IT.”
SEAL # 5
Rev. 6:9-11,
“AND WHEN HE BROKE THE FIFTH SEAL, I SAW
UNDER THE ALTAR, THE SOULS OF THEM
THAT WERE SLAIN BECAUSE OF THE
WORD OF GOD, AND BECAUSE OF
THE TESTIMONY WHICH THEY
HAVE MAINTAINED.”
“AND THEY CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE SAYING,
‘HOW LONG, 0 LORD, HOLY AND TRUE, WILT
THOU REFRAIN FROM JUDGING AND
AVENGING OUR BLOOD ON THOSE
WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH?’”
“NOW 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, SHOULD BE
COMPLETED ALSO.”
-It’s all of those WHO DIED UNDER PERSECUTION FOR CHRIST! THE GLORIFIED ARMIES OF MARTYRS who were faithful to Christ, and loved not their life, even unto death.
-To me, it is one of the most gripping and poignant unsealed seals of all of them. ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BATTERED, BEATEN, BRUTALIZED, BURNED, AND BEHEADED FOR CHRIST can even begin to understand their cry in Heaven to God:
“O LORD, HOW LONG WILT THOU REFRAIN FROM
JUDGING AND AVENGING OUR BLOOD
ON THOSE WHO DWELL UPON
THE EARTH?”
-And having died a martyr’s death, THEY APPEAL TO GOD, THAT JUSTICE BE BROUGHT TO THEIR KILLERS. NOT A LUSTING FOR REVENGE, BUT A CRY FOR JUSTICE!
Then, God assures them that justice shall be given, but first, they must await the arrival of more martyrs for Christ. The number is not yet complete, and that more of their fellow servants and brethren will be killed even as they were.
-When that number has been fulfilled, God will do exactly what they are crying out for. It is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHEN all of the blood of all of the martyrs will have been shed. More are to come, and will that number include us? Until that very last drop of martyr’s blood has been shed, the final judgment cannot take place. God has it all measured beforehand.
God’s Justice:
-No one gets away with anything when it comes to God’s JUSTICE. It is exacting and inexorable, and though the blood of martyrs still flows, DIVINE JUSTICE IS PREPARING ITSELF FOR THE FINAL DROP OF BLOOD. With every drop of martyr’s blood, the murderers are sealing and hastening their own doom at the hands of God’s FIERCE JUSTICE.
Hear it:
“HE WHO SHOWS NO HUMAN MERCY IS FOREVER
OUT OF THE REACH OF DIVINE MERCY.”
And:
“HE WHO IS OUT OF THE REACH OF DIVINE MERCY
SHALL FOREVER BE IN THE HANDS OF GOD’S
FIERCE AND MERCILESS JUSTICE.”
Moreover:
“ONE GETS THE SENSE ABOUT THE BRUTALLY
MERCILESS AGAINST THE INNOCENT, THAT
NOT ONLY DOES GOD’S JUSTICE CRY OUT
FOR SEVEREST PUNISHMENT, BUT
EVEN GOD’S MERCY IN THE
MARTYR’S CASE CRIES OUT
FOR SEVEREST DIVINE
VENGEANCE.”
If you will:
“IF EVEN MERCY CONDEMNS, THERE IS NO
BLUNTING OF DIVINE JUSTICE’S
SEVEREST RETRIBUTION.”
-There is a horrible day that awaits THE HITLERS OF HISTORY AND THEIR ILK. Not one drop of innocent blood shall go unavenged by God.
-Do you remember when the screaming multitudes finally got to Pontius Pilate as they cried out for Christ’s crucifixion? He gave in to them, and to weeping women Jesus made this statement in Luke 23:31,
“For if they do these things in the green tree, what
will happen in the dry?”
WRITE IT DOWN:
“DRAW YOUR OWN INFERENCES, BUT THESE ARE
MINE – THOSE WHO ARE RELUCTANTLY
COMPLICIT LIKE PILATE IN THE
EXECUTION OF CHRIST ARE
GREEN TREES WHO SHALL
BE BURNED AND
SCORCHED FOREVER. BUT THOSE WHO CRY OUT
FOR AND CARRY OUT THE EXECUTION
LIKE THE JEWS ARE THE DRY TREES
WHO SHALL BE CONSUMED IN
HOTTEST FLAMES FOREVER
AND EVER.”
SEAL # 6
This begins THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. We read in Revelation 6:12,15-17,
“And I looked when He broke the sixth seal….”
“And 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;”
“for the great and terrible day of their wrath had
come; and who is able to stand?”
-I will have to leave all of the details for another time. But suffice it to say that here we have the picture of the terror of the final judgment day. Taken as a whole, it teaches us one thing:
“THE FINAL AND COMPLETE POURING OUT OF DIVINE
WRATH UPON THE WORLD THAT HAS
PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS AND THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH WILL BE
MORE THAN HORRIBLE
IN DEED!”
*******
HISTORY REVEALED
As the seals are unsealed, we get powerfully God’s perception of history. The CRUCIFIED AND NOW CONQUERING CHRIST, AND HIS PERSECUTED, MARTYRED AND NOW GLORIFIED WITNESSES – the SECRET OF HISTORY IS REVEALED. History is all about Christ and His Church, the BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS, the CONQUERING KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS and His VICTORIOUS ARMIES. See through the eyes of Christ, and you will understand that:
“HISTORY IS INDEED HIS STORY THAT IS BEING
WRITTEN EVERY DAY.”
The ‘HISTORY OF THE HORSE’ has never read like this. In the natural there is the riding horse, the race horse, the jumping horse, the show horse, the plow horse etc. Oh yes, they all matter and have played and continue to play their role in the history of the world. But they do not define the entire course of world history, not even close.
Most of modern humanity thinks of life as horseback riding, motorcycling, canoeing, RVing, surfing, and whatever other ‘ING’ they can get involved in. For them there is precious little plot if any to the world drama on a daily basis. All they know is WORKING and PLAYING, and like children, their concept of life doesn’t really go much beyond blowing soap bubbles, throwing rocks into puddles, and running through sprinklers. Just horsing around!
But on history’s stage, though unseen, there is a far greater and much more potent ‘HISTORY OF THE HORSE’ that is unfolding every day that will determine the course of world history to the end as invisible but just as real horses race to the finish line. They are the WHITE HORSE, THE RED HORSE, THE BLACK HORSE, AND THE PALE HORSE with their riders Jesus Christ, Satan, Death and Hades, and Oppressive anti-God, anti-Christ regimes. At times, it appears that the Rider on the White Horse is losing, but in the end, He triumphs forevermore as He establishes His Eternal Kingdom of Righteousness. He is not Gandall in ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ who goes forth conquering and to conquer, and finally triumphs over all of the other horses forever. In the end, there is only One Horse and One Rider standing in triumph.
History is not about nations, governments, politicians, rulers. They are simply the secondary actors on the stage of history, and they are mere footnotes to the HEADLINERS – JESUS CHRIST AND HIS WAR BRIDE WHO ARE VICTORIOUS AND WHO REIGN TOGETHER FOREVER AND FOREVER. And what is more, it really all boils down to HIM. He emerges as the LEAD ACTOR that He has always been, and the applause and tributes to Him never end and go on forever and forever – THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
*******
NOW LOOK AT THEM
Well, here they are, you will always find that throughout history:
-Some were persecuted here, beaten there, lost their job there, came out of great trial here! The world threw them out, killed them, didn’t want them, hated them! The WORLD TRIED TO GET RID OF THEM, and when they did, they THREW THEM INTO THE GLORY OF Rev. 7:12-17!!
DEAR PEOPLE OF GOD:
1. Death for the Christian is not SOMETHING TO BE DREADED, AVOIDED AT ALL COST.
2. We have picked up the American way of looking at death!! (like it will never happen to me.)
3. Like the American who said:
“BY THE TIME I FACE DEATH, SCIENCE WILL HAVE
HANDLED IT.”
4. We Christians must understand:
-IT ONLY LOOKS LIKE DEATH FROM THIS SIDE! But what actually happens is:
“YOU WALK INTO JOHN’S HEAVENLY VISION OF
Rev. 7:12-17!”
-You BECOME PART OF THIS FANTASTIC MULTITUDE BEFORE THE THRONE:
a. Praising the Lord in constant ecstasy as you gaze on Jesus!
b. Robed in white, in the cleansed robes by Christ’s blood!
c. Totally, completely delivered of earthly hurts, famine, etc.!
d. Totally satisfied with JESUS AS OUR FOOD AND DRINK!
e. ALL TEARS GONE, I believe means, EYES NEVER AGAIN AFFECTED BY SORROW, INCAPABLE OF CRYING!
The world says:
a. Get out, DOWN WITH YOU, you SHALL DIE!
b. And as the Sword hits them, they instantly find themselves in glory!
*******
Why does the world hate Christians?
-Why? Because the Christian is the total opposite of the world!
-The world says ALL FOR SELF, Christian says ALL FOR JESUS!
-The message of Christianity is “I DIE TO SELF, LIVE UNTO CHRIST”!
-It is the complete reverse of the WORLD’S TOTAL PHILOSOPHY!
-We better get ready for this, it’s coming, this will be the issue!
-It will SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM CHAFF IN EVERY CHURCH!
AND FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE TOTALLY TO GIVE ALL TO CHRIST, life included:
a. The world will rise up in murderous rage! (And religious people too)
b. Because the world’s philosophy is ALL FOR SELF! They hate the Gospel of Discipleship!
c. And PEOPLE, THAT IS WHERE PERSECUTION COMES FROM, ALWAYS!
*******
AND HERE THEY, WE ARE, IN Rev. 7:9-17!!
–Rev. 7:10 says the LOUD CRY IN HEAVEN AMONGST THE MARTYRED REDEEMED IS,
“SALVATION TO OUR GOD AND TO THE LAMB.”
-We, they, considering what they have come out of might be tempted to say:
a. SEE WHAT WE DID FOR YOU GOD – SEE WHAT WE WENT THROUGH FOR YOU LAMB!
b. I MEAN, WE SACRIFICED A LOT; LAMB, WE GAVE UP OUR LIVES, OUR AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS!!
c. Yes, AND WE LOST OUR JOBS FOR YOU GOD, BECAUSE WE STOOD FOR CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES!
d. PEOPLE, THAT IS SELF WORSHIP, THAT’S WHAT RELIGIOUS PEOPLE DO DOWN HERE!
e. BUT UP THERE, THEY PARADE NO MEDALS, TAKE NO CREDIT, WANT NO APPLAUSE.
f. They draw no attention to their great PRICE, COST, SACRIFICE, EFFORT.
g. NO – JUST SALVATION TO GOD AND TO THE LAMB, no mention of self, Sacrifice, 0! – (What we gave up, wasn’t ours anyway)
*******
WHY ARE YOU HERE TONIGHT, AND ONE DAY THERE IN GLORY. (I TRUST it will be EVERYONE!)
-Why? Because,
“SALVATION TO OUR GOD, AND TO THE LAMB!”
It was all the Lord!
-Why? Because IN THE ETERNAL COUNSELS, PURPOSE OF GOD, BEFORE THERE WAS A WORLD!
-God chose to save, Jesus chose to die, Spirit chose to reveal it all!
-God didn’t have to, could have damned every sinner in hell, and still be Glorious God!
-It wasn’t THE GREATNESS OF THE PREACHER, but it was the Holy Spirit, you were saved under HIS MINISTRY!
-Not MY BRILLIANT MIND THAT UNDERSTOOD IT, NOT MY SACRIFICIAL SERVICE THAT DESERVED IT.
-It was, is, and always will be due to GOD AND TO THE LAMB!
-THAT’S HEAVEN’S WORTHSHIP, REAL WORSHIP, ETERNAL WORSHIP, AND THAT WILL NEVER END.
*******
Amazing tonight, that some of you are still saved! After these months, years!
-Know what I mean? Amazing that you’re still saved!
-You have stood at times on the very abyss, maybe right now!
-You have said:
“NO MORE, FORGET IT, IF THAT’S A CHRISTIAN!”
-You have said:
“I QUIT, CHRIST, HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN!”
-Sure, you’ve been there and you wonder as you look back, how you’ve made it to this point in your Christian walk!
-Every thought in your head was to chuck it all, no more!!
-Then what saw you through it! We know! They know! All know!!
–II Tim 2:13 says,
“IF WE ARE FAITHLESS, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL!”
-SALVATION TO OUR GOD, TO THE LAMB, IT WAS ALL YOU LORD, WORTHY ART THOU!
*******
And for those who literally faced death, like those martyrs:
-Who had to face death at the amphitheater! Thrown to lions!
-And who when they woke up, walked to the theater!
-Did so with joy, because they knew within an hour they would step into glory!
-Some wonder if they could remain faithful in such a time?
-Yes, you too would find God’s grace and Spirit sufficient!
-It’s hard for some of us to imagine that now, we don’t need it now!
-Some of us need it now, worse than they did, it takes more grace for living than for dying, I know!
-But no matter, afterwards, the refrain would be the same:
“SALVATION TO OUR GOD AND TO THE LAMB.”
-LORD, YOU DID IT ALL, AND ONLY BECAUSE OF YOU, DO I HAVE THIS GLORY.
*******
YOU SEE, THAT’S WORTHSHIP:
-This great heavenly company is ascribing IT ALL TO GOD AND THE LAMB!
-Every victory, every accomplishment, God did it, God did it!!
-And then, the Great Multitude who cries loudly:
“SALVATION TO OUR GOD, AND TO THE LAMB”.
They are answered by all of HEAVEN, the angels, elders, beasts:
Verse 12:
“SAYING, AMEN, BLESSING, GLORY, WISDOM,
THANKSGIVING, HONOR, POWER, MIGHT,
BE UNTO OUR GOD FOREVER
AND EVER. AMEN.”
1. AMEN, THAT’S right, great multitudes, we agree with your loud cry!
2. All the BLESSINGS YOU FOREVER HAVE, ALL THE GLORY THAT NOW SURROUNDS YOU, ALL THE WISDOM THAT PUT SALVATION TOGETHER, etc. etc.
Hear it:
“ALL THE BLESSING, GLORY, WISDOM, THANKS-
GIVING, HONOR, POWER, MIGHT BE
UNTO OUR GOD FOREVER
AND EVER.”
IF YOU WOULD LEARN TO TRULY WORSHIP:
-Know your Savior!
-Know about your salvation!
-The POWER AND MIGHT that it took to save you from hell, for God!
-If you would learn how to worship, meditate on your Savior, your Salvation.
-Then, there will be a:
1. Meaningful great cry, multitudinous cry!
2. Then there will be the sound of mighty rushing waves of glory!
3. Then there shall truly be WORTHSHIP TO THE LAMB! Amen!
