Post-Tribulation and
Pre-Wrath
First Seal
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Post-Tribulation and
Pre-Wrath |
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THE FIRST SEAL OF
REVELATION This essay is to provide information supporting a portion of the GENERAL COMMENTS section presented earlier in this Web site. Most interpretations of Seal One in Revelation identify the "rider" of the "white horse" as the antichrist. This "rider" is much more likely to be the Word of God and not the antichrist. This is shown by letting Scripture define Scripture: specifically, Revelation defining Revelation, and these are coupled with the Olivet Discourse (Mt 24, Mk 13, and Lk 21) and Revelation which define each other, and then adding a few definitions from other Scripture. Revelation 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. COMMENT # 1: A "white horse" and a "rider" are also identified in Rev 19:11-21 ( --behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True -- he doth judge -- he was called the Word of God -- rule -- with rod of iron -- name written KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS -- and beast and the kings of the earth -- make war against him that sat on the horse -- remnant -- slain -- with the sword of him -- upon the horse --). "White" is used fifteen more times in Revelation to indicate cleanliness, purity, or holiness (Rev 1:14; 2:17; 3:4,5,18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9,13,14; 14:14; 15:6; 19:8,14; 20:11). The colors of the horses seen in the following three Seals are symbolic of the rider's characteristics: i.e. red, black, and pale representing war, famine, and death respectively (Rev 6:4,5,8). "White" is not a description of antichrist's character, and those in heaven -- creatures, elders, angels, Christ and John -- would not have envisioned a defiled horse ridden by antichrist to be "white". And, there is no reason to think John's first usage of "white" should have any symbolism different than all his other usages of cleanliness, purity, and holiness. Those in heaven would not be deceived, and the "white" does not represent the antichrist as many might suppose. COMMENT # 2: Other Scripture indicate the "rider" is specifically identified as the "Word of God": i.e. Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Christ and the everlasting gospel. Rev 6:2 states ("-- white horse -- and he that sat on him had a bow --"). Jer 9:3 reads ("And they bend their tongues like their bow --") showing a "bow" represents power behind the tongue and behind any words proceeding from the tongue or mouth. Hab 3:9 is much more specific and identifies the "bow" and "word" as being synonymous: ("Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers."). And, Jesus Christ spoke through Isaiah indicating that His mouth is a sharp sword, He is a shaft, and He is in God’s quiver: (Isa 49:2 -- "And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;"). It is difficult to imagine that John and his contemporaries would tell of someone carrying a bow without assuming the quiver and arrows were also present. Today, we would think of "carrying a gun" as meaning the ammunition was also present. The rider of the white horse is the Word of God and His power is in His tongue/mouth/word/sharp sword/sword which are represented by a "bow": Rev 19:11,13,15,21 ( "-- behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him -- called the Word of God -- and out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword -- And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which proceeded out of his mouth --"). In Rev 19, John is really emphasizing who is riding on the white horse: three times, he reminds us that the rider is Jesus Christ! (Rev 19: 11,19,21). The "rider" of the white horse is the Word of God. COMMENT # 3: The rider has a "crown" and "crowns". In the First Seal, the rider is given a "crown": Rev 6:2 ("-- a crown was given unto him --"). Later, the rider has "many crowns": Rev 19:12 ("-- and on his head were many crowns --"). These references are not about the same "crowns". The "crown" of the First Seal represents victory associated with (" -- conquering and to conquer --"). The "crowns" of Rev 19:12 represent royalty. Antichrist, nor anyone else, will never have victory over the earth. There may be small, temporary victories (DON'T YOU BE ONE OF THEM!!) , but only Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be the victorious One! The "victory" and "royalty" crowns belong only to Jesus Christ. COMMENT # 4: The rider of the white horse is "conquering, and to conquer" and will be totally victorious: Rev 6:2 ("-- a white horse: and he that sat on him -- went forth conquering, and to conquer --"). "Conquering" and "conquer" are the same basic word (Strong’s # 3528) meaning "victory -- overcome -- prevail" as used in Rev 5:5 (" -- Lion -- of Judah -- Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book --"). "Conquering" is in the present active tense and certainly describes the activity of Jesus Christ -- the Word! "To conquer" is in the aorist subjunctive active tense which is not time dependent, but indicates the eventual reality of the event. This means the final reality of victory belongs to the rider of the white horse. Since the reality of victory belongs only to Jesus Christ, He and the rider must be one and the same individual. COMMENT # 5: The collective descriptions of the "rider" upon the "white horse" further demonstrate the oneness of the "rider" presented in Rev 6 and in Rev 19. The one short verse of the First Seal identifies characteristics of the "rider" and the "horse" which "he sat upon" and these are further described in Rev 19. Without attempting any statistical analysis, the possibilities are extremely remote that the "rider" of the First Seal can be anyone other than the Word of God. The common characteristics are: The Rider of a white horse The white represents purity and holiness The rider is identified as the Word of God The rider uses His bow, mouth, word, sword as power The rider has a "crown" and "crowns" belonging only to the Word The rider is "conquering" The rider will totally "conquer" as an eventual reality None of the above characteristics belongs to the antichrist!! COMMENT # 6 In the introduction to the Olivet Discourse, the disciples had asked " -- when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" (Mt 24:3; Mk 13:4; Lk 21:7). They had asked "when" first and "what" secondly. Jesus Christ answered some of the "what" first and then some of the "when" later on. First, He answered by mentioning false prophets, false Christs and deceivers (Mt 24:4,5; Mk 13:5,6; Lk 21:8). Then, He told them "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted -- kill you -- hate you -- persecute you -- " (Mt 24:9; Mk 13:9; Lk 21:12). Lk 21:13 follows this with a statement that those things will " -- turn to you for a testimony." In Mt 24:14, Jesus had also said: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Mk 13:10 is more specific: "And the gospel must first be published among all nations." There it is! "-- a testimony -- gospel --preached/witness/published --" all come first! The first thing is "publication" (Strong's # 2784 -- preach, herald, proclaim) of the gospel among the nations. The deceivers, false prophets, false Christs and antichrist are not first. The gospel is first. The "bow" which is the Word of God is first -- represented symbolically in the First Seal. COMMENT # 7: The Second Seal contains a specific clue that the First Seal would not be the antichrist. The Second Seal indicates: Rev 6:3,4 (" -- the second seal -- horse that was red -- to take peace from the earth -- "). A key phrase is "take peace from the earth". If antichrist were active, or started activities, during the previous First Seal, it is highly unlikely there could be much "peace on earth" when the Second Seal starts. For the Scripture statement to hold true, there must be "peace on earth", or at least a general peace on earth, prior to opening of the Second Seal. There would be some "peace" due to the First Seal and not due to antichrist. COMMENT # 8: The Second Seal also contains another clue that the First Seal would not represent the antichrist. The Second Seal also states: Rev 6;3,4 (" -- The Second Seal -- horse that was red -- that they should kill one another --"). In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus Christ describes this seal in Mt 24:7,8 (" -- nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom -- All these are the beginning of sorrows --"). Additional, very graphic, information is given in Mt 24:9.10; Mk 13:12; Lk 21:16. The other key phrase is "beginning of sorrows". Since this is the "beginning", then the First Seal could not, previously, have resulted in any "sorrows" such as would be the case with the antichrist. The word "sorrows" is Strong's # 5604 and is the same word used (about the Coming of Christ) in I Thess 5:3 for "travail" (" -- say Peace and safety; destruction cometh -- as travail -- they shall not escape --"). "Sorrows" is used instead of "travail" because it is plural. The meaning seems to be "beginning of travail(s)". The "beginning of sorrows (travails)" is the Second Seal about war and is not the First Seal. Again, the First Seal would not be the antichrist. COMMENT # 9: There is a very common postulate that seal one represents the antichrist because of the statements that "...shall deceive many." (Mt 24:5; Mk 13:6 ). The thinking is that the deception will be so cleverly hidden that the first seal really represents the antichrist. BUT, Rev 22: 10 says: "... seal not the sayings ... of this book:". This means that Seal One can not represent something that is "sealed" -- hidden, secret, or deceiving!! COMMENT
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