Revelation (Written)

Tuesday, 24 November 2020

So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:8

With the fourth seal opened, John’s eyes are directed to the last horrifying horse and rider. As it says, “So I looked, and behold a pale horse.” The Greek word translated as “pale” is chlóros. It indicates, like Clorox Bleach, a sickly pale greenish color. Without explicitly saying so, this is a horse of sickness and plague – an obvious connotation from the color. The Pulpit Commentary notes, “The Greek poets use it as an epithet of fear, and Thucydides thus describes the colour of persons affected by the plague.”

With that in mind, John next says, “And the name of him who sat on it.” Here is a difference from the first three horses. In each previous instance, the word epi was used, signifying “on.” However, with this rider, the word epanó is used. It signifies “over,” or “above.” It is as if he hovers above the horse like an apparition. So deadly is he that if he sat on the horse, the beast itself would immediately die. This is because his name is “Death.”

Here, the Greek reads “the Death.” By simply capitalizing the word, the thought is made understandable. Death is personified by this ghastly figure. It is similar in thought to Isaiah’s words where death is also prefixed by an article in the Hebrew –

“He will swallow up death forever, (Literally: ha’mavet – “the Death.”)
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people
He will take away from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8

Here, in Revelation, John says the rider is Death, “and Hades followed with him.” Again, there is an article before “Hades.” It is “the Hades.” Like Death, the place of Death is personified. Isaiah personifies sheol, the place of the dead, in a similar manner by giving it lifelike attribues, saying –

“Hell from beneath is excited about you,
To meet you at your coming;
It stirs up the dead for you,
All the chief ones of the earth;
It has raised up from their thrones
All the kings of the nations.” Isaia4:9

It is to be understood that Hades follows with Death. The idea signifies “after-with,” as in being accompanied. Thus, the Pulpit Commentary rightly states, “…not as a separate infliction, but as the necessary complement of Death in the completion of the vision, swallowing up and guarding, as it were, those seized by the latter.”

Of this horse and rider, John next says, “And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth.” Views vary on the scope of this. The term ges is used. It can be the earth, a country, the inhabitants of a region, and so on. At times, it may signify only the land of Israel, or it may signify the Roman Empire. But the sense seems rather clear. This is a heavenly vision being sent to the people of the earth, and so it appears that a quarter of the population of the planet will fall under the power of the rider, who is Death.

Of the means in which he brings about his destruction of humanity, John next says, “to kill with sword.” The plague of the sword is mentioned first. The Greek word signifies a long and broad cutlass, but it can be used figuratively as well. The idea is that of the implements of man cutting one another down. Even nations cutting down other nations in battle would be included in the destruction. That is then followed “with hunger.”

The word gives the sense of a scarcity of food, dearth, and famine. It is a natural consequence of war. The first means, the sword, leads naturally to this means. Next, it says, “with death.” It is the same word as used when describing the Death above. This is death that occurs in any manner. As the other means of death are explicitly stated, this is a catchall phrase to include any manner of death that would occur along with them, but probably “pestilence” gives the sense of what can be expected. It is a natural consequence of a world filled with war, famine, and captivity.

John then finishes the terrifying thought with, “and by the beasts of the earth.” This is probably to be taken in two separate ways. The first is literally. With war and depopulation, animals such as dogs and the like will become packs of killers. Other animals would also go on the offense against weakened humans.    

However, with the rise of modern diseases stemming from animals – both natural and manmade – it can be assumed that things like equine encephalitis, swine flu, bird flu, mad cow disease, ebola virus, typhoid, AIDs, malaria, coronavirus, and etc., would all be a part of this type of death. The diseases of animals, jumping to humans are occurring more and more, even now. When the world is in a state of chaotic war, there will not be the funds available to stop such outbreaks, and they will spread like lightning over the earth. They will be able to kill in the billions with little chance of containing them.

Life application: What is seen in this verse is not unlike what Jeremiah was told would come upon the people of the land for their disobedience –

“And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“Such as are for death, to death;
And such as are for the sword, to the sword;
And such as are for the famine, to the famine;
And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.”’
³ “And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. ⁴ I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem. Jeremiah 15:2-4

What was prophesied to them is not unlike what John sees will come upon the entire world someday. Israel had forsaken the Lord their God, and they suffered because of it. Since the coming of Christ, He has been made known throughout the entire world. And the world that has rejected Him will likewise suffer.

What seems like a world of peace and prosperity right now could, within an extremely short period, turn into a world of war, famine, disease, and utter ruin. Not only could it happen, it will happen. When the rapture occurs, it will be a mere seven-year period before man, who numbers about 7 to 8 billion right now, will be brought almost to extinction. The Lord, through Isaiah, says, “I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12). And Jesus’ own words tell us it is so –

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:21-22

Only those who have called out to the Lord Jesus in faith will be taken at the rapture. Now is time to consider what the word says, to humble yourself, and to admit you are a sinner in need of a Savior. That Savior – and He alone – is JESUS!

O great God Almighty, we who know what the Bible says look with dread at what is coming upon the world. It tears at our souls that what is coming could have been avoided – simply by acknowledging Jesus as our Lord. We pray for those who have not yet accepted this truth, desiring that many will realize it before it is too late. Amen.

Monday, 23 November 2020

When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” Revelation 6:7

John’s attention is now directed from the black horse and its rider to the scroll saying, “When He opened the fourth seal.” Another form of judgment is set to come forth upon an unrepentant world. The terrors have been incrementally horrifying, and this will be no exception. With the opening of the seal, John says, “I heard the voice of the fourth living creature.” This would be the one resembling a flying eagle (verse 4:7). He speaks forth, “Come and see.”

Like the previous seals, manuscripts vary here. Rather than “Come and see,” as if a command to John, other manuscripts simply say, “Come.” This would be a calling forth of this horse and rider held by the seal. As this is the more likely translation, it is a call for the entity to come forth, and thus to go out, like with the previous three seals.

Life application: Thus far, there have been three calls resulting in three horses – a white horse with a rider going out to conquer; a red one with a rider going out to take peace from the earth; and a black one going out to bring famine upon the earth. The number four is used consistently throughout the Bible as the number dealing with the earth. As Bullinger says, “it is the world number, and especially the ‘city’ number.”

Therefore, without even reading the next two verses, we can make the connection that this too will be a horse with a rider, and it will affect the earth in a way that logically follows a pattern we can see in past history.

As we review these verses, we will see what this pattern is and how the people of the earth will be affected – on a global scale. Until then, we can consider that these tragedies are being released from the four living creatures around the throne and that these creatures symbolize the four-fold facets of Jesus – the King, the Servant, the Son of man, and the Son of God. In other words, what is occurring is happening because these revelations of Jesus have been rejected by the people of the world.

Their rejection naturally leads to a breakdown in morality, because God is the Author of morality – it being His very nature. It leads to a breakdown in justice, in righteousness, in truth, in mercy, in grace, in holiness, and in love.

All of these have been set aside by a world at enmity with God. They will reap the rewards of wanting to do it their own way. Some will say that God then is the Author of evil, but this isn’t the case. A rejection of God is what will bring on these evils. Micah tells us how they could have been avoided –

“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

When we don’t walk with God as He has revealed Himself, meaning through the Person and work of Jesus Christ, He leaves us to our own devices and the evil that results is our own fault. Be sure to come to the Fountain of all truth and blessing, be reconciled to God today through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus, give us the ability and the desire to walk in agreement with You, in a humble, just, and merciful way towards others and in a way that will glorify You. Thank You for the Gift of Your Spirit to guide us in our walk with You. And please give us the wisdom to rely on His counsel and not on our own earthly desires and understandings. Amen.

Sunday, 22 November 2020

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” Revelation 6:6

As was seen in the previous verse, the rider on the black horse symbolizes both famine and mourning. In his hand there is a pair of scales, signifying to weigh things out by measure. Scripture provided clear instances of that being used as a means of conveying deprivation as well. When measures are used, it is to ensure an exact amount – and nothing more – is doled out. During times of abundance, such things are not even considered as the vats overflow. But during times of deprivation, every kernel of wheat becomes precious.

With that in mind, John begins this verse, saying, “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures.” This is one of the voices mentioned throughout the book that does not identify its source. However, it can be deduced who it is. The voice is that of the Lord. We can tell this because a similar term is used four times in Revelation – in 4:6, 5:6, 6:6, and 7:17. Each time, it is referring to Him –

1) The Lord God Almighty in verse 4:6 (the Creator);
2) The Lamb who was slain in verse 5:6 (the Redeemer);
3) The Director of judgment in verse 6:6; and
4) The Lamb who is the Shepherd of His people in verse 7:17.

For now, it is a call out either bearing authority to direct (meaning the rider on the horse) or to describe (to the audience the significance of the event). John hears the voice proclaiming, “A quart of wheat for a denarius.”

The word translated as “quart” is found twice, and only in this verse. It is choinix. Vincent’s Word Studies explains its meaning –

“Only here in the New Testament. A dry measure, according to some, a quart; to others a pint and a half. Herodotus, speaking of the provisions for Xerxes’ army, assigns a choenix of corn for a man’s daily supply, evidently meaning a minimum allowance (vii., 187); and Thucydides, speaking of the terms of truce between the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians, mentions the following as one of the provisions: “The Athenians shall permit the Lacedaemonians on the mainland to send to those on the island a fixed quantity of kneaded flour, viz., two Attic quarts (χοίνικας) of barley-meal for each man” (iv., 16). Jowett (“Thucydides”) says that the choenix was about two pints dry measure. So Arnold (“Thucydides”), who adds that the allowance of two choenixes of barley-meal daily to a man was the ordinary allowance of a Spartan at the public table. See Herodotus, vi., 57.”

A denarius (Greek: dénarion) is a small silver Roman coin that, at the time of Nero, weighed 53 grams. The value of it varied from time to time based on the value of silver. However, Matthew 20:2-16 assigns a denarius as an acceptable amount for the daily wages of a man. For example, in verse 2, it says, “Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.”

With this understanding, the voice John heard continues, saying, “and three quarts of barley for a denarius.” Wheat is the finer and more desired grain for daily living. Barley is of lesser quality and is eaten by poorer people, and is also used as feed for animals.

The meaning, then, is that a person’s daily wage is just enough to buy a choinix of wheat to sustain himself, or he could buy three choinix and have a larger meal, but it will be of lesser quality grain. Or, if he had a wife and one child, there will be a lack if he bought wheat. However, there will be enough to feed all three if they eat of the lesser quality grain. If the family is larger than three, the food will either be divided into less than subsistence amounts or choices will have to be made about who will do without. There will be no extra money for anything else.

Understanding this brings in the thought of the scales. If a person is spending everything he has made during the day just to eat, he will be absolutely sure to have the grain weighed out so that not a single kernel comes up short. Likewise, the seller would weigh the silver to make sure that it was the exact standard and had not been filed down. There would be a complete lack of trust on both sides of the scales, and measuring out one’s existence, from day to day, would be the standard.

The voice from the midst of the four living creatures then finishes with, “and do not harm the oil and the wine.” This goes back to Deuteronomy 28:51 – “And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.”

Along with farm animals, oil and wine were considered valuable commodities for daily life, but there will be no such extras in the time of tribulation. The wealthy and elite will bring the masses to a state of complete ruin. Taking all of the property and means of obtaining wealth for themselves.

For the specific term, “do not harm the oil and the wine,” there have been many interpretations and guesses as to what it means. The words don’t especially appear to be directed to the rider on the horse. Rather, like the previous words, they are simply statements of the state of things at the time. The cost will be set for wheat and barley, and the means of obtaining that cost will need to be carefully protected.

In other words, referring again to the parable in Matthew 20, the workers obtained their daily wage from working in the vineyards. A person who is underpaid may sabotage the property of his employer. However, in harming the oil or the wine (meaning the vineyard or the olive trees), he will have no employment at all. It is thus probably a metaphor for the complete subjugation of the masses. To harm one’s mean of livelihood would mean to have no livelihood at all, and thus certain death.

Life application: In the tribulation period, the things we think of as common and easy to obtain will be completely missing. There will be no fish, no vegetables, no ice cream, no French fries, and so on. Today, if we want tater tots, we go to the store and buy them. We take what we have and pass some on to our pets. Dogs eat better now than most of the humans on earth will eat when that day comes.

The daily existence of people will be as in any socialist country seen in the world today. There will be labor with little or no reward. There will be constant deprivation, constant hunger, and constant worry if tomorrow will provide enough to simply get through the day. When someone gets sick, the daily portion will be missed due to the lack of labor. Such is the state of man for rejecting the Lord and throwing their allegiance behind the antichrist.

There will be terror on every side, and there will be sadness in every soul, even to the point of simply desiring death over continued existence. Call on Jesus today. The future has been prophesied, and it will come to pass. Be saved from this horror through belief in God’s provision of the gospel. It is centered on the giving of His Son. It is found in the giving of JESUS. 

Heavenly Father, we take the normal commodities of life as a given, and we never consider that a time is coming when they simply won’t be available. The world is heading towards disaster, and we need to spread the word that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. May we impress this on them now! Amen.

Saturday, 21 November 2020

When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. Revelation 6:5

Now, the focus goes from the red horse and its rider to the scroll as John says, “When He opened the third seal.” More judgment can be anticipated. The world rejected the offering of God in Christ, and now – for a third time – a form of judgment will be unleashed. Following the pattern already set, John says, “I heard the third living creature.” This would be the one resembling a man (verse 4:7). He speaks forth, “Come and see.”

Like the previous two seals, manuscripts vary here. Rather than, “Come and see,” as if a command to John, other manuscripts simply say, “Come.” This would be a calling forth of the entity held by the seal. This appears to be the more likely translation, it is a call for the entity to come forth, and thus to go out, like with the first two seals. With the call, John’s attention is redirected – “So I looked, and behold, a black horse.”

Black. It is the color of famine and of mourning. For example –

“For this shall the earth mourn,
And the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.” Jeremiah 4:28

“Her Nazirites were brighter than snow
And whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in body than rubies,
Like sapphire in their appearance.
⁸ Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
Their skin clings to their bones,
It has become as dry as wood.” Lamentations 4:7, 8

“You have said,
‘It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners [literally: blackly]
Before the Lord of hosts?’” Malachi 3:14

These, and other examples, give us a Scriptural view of what this black horse portrays. With this understanding, John says, “and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.” Of the scales, Vincent’s Word Studies notes, “Properly, anything which joins two bodies; hence a yoke (Matthew 11:29; Acts 15:10). The cross-beam of the loom, to which the warp was fixed; the thwarts joining the opposite sides of a ship; the beam of the balance, and hence the balance itself. The judgment of this seal is scarcity, of which the balance is a symbol, representing the time when food is doled out by weight.”

An example of this is found in Leviticus 26:26 –

“When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.”

Another in Ezekiel 4:16, 17 –

 ^“Moreover He said to me, ‘Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall drink water by measure and with dread, ¹⁷ that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and waste away because of their iniquity.’”

This weighing out of food, however, may extend beyond simple famine to the abuse of what is readily available. In other words, extorting wealth from others so that they can simply survive. This is seen in Hosea –

“A cunning Canaanite!
Deceitful scales are in his hand;
He loves to oppress.” Hosea 12:7

In the end, deprivation awaits those who enter the tribulation period. It will be a terrible time on earth. Following on from the quotation from Lamentations above, Jeremiah notes the horrifying state of dying of famine –

“Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger;
For these pine away,
Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field.
¹⁰ The hands of the compassionate women
Have cooked their own children;
They became food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.” Lamentations 4:9, 10

Life application: The third horse is let loose. The first horse was white and carried a rider with a bow who went out conquering and to conquer. The second horse was red, and it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth through war. Now come famine and hunger – a result of the first two horses. If you see the logical progression, the entire world is following the same path that Nazi Germany went down and the same path that many other countries have gone down.

They started with a leader who supposedly could conquer and provide peace (the white horse), but he instead brought war (the red horse) and its result was famine and suffering (the black horse). These will be followed by one more, but before that one arrives, there is going to be the time of rationing which is symbolized by the scales.

Because the rationed food won’t be enough to satisfy, people will secretly hide anything they can eat even from their own family. The horrendous consequences of rejecting God will result in what is now unimaginable.

Deuteronomy 28:56, 57 shows us the level that humans will sink to when the food runs out. The terrifying words read – “The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter, ⁵⁷ her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.”

Such is the state that the entire world will be reduced to in the years ahead. This type of situation will fill the world because of our rejection of the love of God in Jesus so that we can do things our own way. Reject that avenue now and call on Jesus before the time of horror described here comes upon the entire world.

Lord, it is overwhelming to consider what the Bible presents concerning the horrors of the tribulation period. Man will turn to the lowest levels of existence and the greatest levels of depravity on a global scale.  It is hard to even comprehend that during times of abundance and prosperity. But we know it is coming. You are righteous in Your judgments because we have left You out of our lives. In wrath remember mercy, O God. Amen.

Friday, 20 November 2020

Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. Revelation 6:4

With the loosing of the second seal, John sees “Another horse, fiery red.” Only one word is translated as “fiery red,” but it is appropriate. The Greek word is purrhos, coming from pur – fire, or firelike. It is as if the horse is burning as it “went out.” The directive to proceed was given, and the horse is loosed to begin the execution of the judgment.

The color being fiery red is overwhelmingly agreed upon to signify war, just as the planet Mars, the red planet, is a symbol of war. This probably isn’t coincidence as even from the first chapter of the Bible, the heavenly objects are meant “for signs and for seasons.” Planets and constellations are mentioned elsewhere in the Bible in this way. Confirming the meaning of the color, John next says, “And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth.”

The Greek has an important definite article before peace. It reads, “the peace.” Of this, Cambridge says, “…according to Greek usage may mean merely ‘peace in general, peace in the abstract,’ but may also very well stand for ‘the peace’ which the conquests of the previous Rider have left as their fruit.”

This is a correct analysis, but it is based on a faulty premise. They (and many others) have equated the first horse and rider to Christ and the peace He brought on the earth. As shown in the Superior Word commentary of that verse, such a notion is wholly incorrect. The white horse and rider are symbols of judgment on an unrepentant world, occurring during the Tribulation period.

What the words, “the peace,” are referring to would be the state of hopeful peace that comes with the signing of the seven-year peace deal between the antichrist and Israel. At the time, the whole world will anticipate peace, but the deal will only be a precursor to the unleashing of hell on earth.

Using the peace deal as a pretext, the white horse and rider will go forth conquering and to conquer. This will be followed by the red horse and rider who will take “the peace,” meaning the state of peace anticipated by the supposed healing of this long sore wound on the earth, and they will do exactly the opposite. In this state, John next says, “and that people should kill one another.”

The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel repeat the same general idea four times where they indicate a state of peace is called out by the populace when it is a lie. For example –

“Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar— ¹¹ say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall.” Ezekiel 13:10, 11

Such references speak of a state of anticipated worldly peace when the Lord is not included in the picture. Without His approval of the conduct of the people, there can be no peace. For reference, see also Jeremiah 6:14 & 8:11 and Ezekiel 13:16. Those Old Testament references are then paralleled by the greatest state of false peace to come upon the world. This is spoken of by Paul in 1 Thessalonians –

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3

This is “the peace” that is being referred to specifically in Revelation now. It is a false peace that has been proclaimed by the world because of the workings of the antichrist. In this, the fiery red horse is emblematic of the war that will come because of this false state of peace. The one sitting on the horse will take the opportunity to bring about destruction and many will be killed. Of this, John finishes the verse with, “and there was given to him a great sword.”

Here, the sword is a machaira. It signifies a slaughter-knife. It is a short sword or dagger, the purpose of which is stabbing. Thus, it carries with it the figurative meaning of being an instrument used for exacting retribution. An Old Testament passage that gives the sense of this is –

“When they were at the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now Joab was dressed in battle armor; on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips; and as he was going forward, it fell out. ⁹ Then Joab said to Amasa, ‘Are you in health, my brother?’ And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. ¹⁰ But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab’s hand. And he struck him with it in the stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike him again. Thus he died.” 2 Samuel 20:8-10

This would have been a short sword, small enough to conceal from the eyes of Amasa until it was too late. Unlike the sword in this troubling account, Revelation describes this machaira, or slaughter-knife, as megalē, meaning “great.”

The rider on the horse will not conceal his intent for slaughter. Rather, he will go forth throughout the earth with great slaughter with his great sword. This is seen in the word translated as “kill.” It is sphaxousin, and it means “to kill by violence,” rather than by means of war. War will come, but following after that, the world will devolve into a place of chaos and mayhem.

Murderous bands of thugs will prevail over the weaker, and then they themselves will slaughter each other. In other words, the whole world will devolve into lawlessness, civil war, tribal hatred, ethnic cleansing, and etc. There will be few left when the seven years of tribulation are over. What was anticipated as a time of “peace and safety” will turn out to be a time of bloody slaughter.

Life application: As noted, this second horseman is symbolic of war. The symbolism is given, and the general outline of what is coming is relayed in Revelation, including the parallel of this red horse and rider to the red planet, Mars. However, we should not make the error that we can either predict the future by astrology, nor should we look to them for divine guidance. Instead, we have the pages of the Bible to tell us the meaning of heavenly occurrences. Astrology is an ungodly pursuit that should never be pursued.

Rather, the Bible gives a broad and yet detailed picture for us to know what lies ahead. This horse and rider being granted to take peace from the earth are coming after the rapture as is revealed in 2 Thessalonians 1-12. Specifically, verse 7 says this – “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

The world is already filled with war and lawlessness, but it is restrained by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Were it not for this presence, the world would have already come to its end. But when the Holy Spirit’s restraining influence through the church is removed, the world will be left to do things on its own.

How do we know this is after the rapture? It is because believers are already “sealed” with the Holy Spirit according to Ephesians 1:13, 14. If the Holy Spirit is removed (meaning the presence of the Spirit in the workings of the church), then the believers must be removed too because the Holy Spirit is a “guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14). Once this occurs, mayhem will ensure.

Now is the time to call on Jesus. Those who do will be taken out before that time of trouble comes. The Lord has shown us these things, in advance, because He is loving and gracious. His offer of peace stands. For those who reject it, terrible times await.

Lord God, we look around and see the world in chaos and distress, and yet we know that it could be so much worse. Thank You for Your calming Holy Spirit upon the nations. Thank You for Your patience with the unruly sons of man. Help us to be lights to Your goodness during our walk here – to Your honor and glory. Amen.