Wednesday Bible study- the first seal

 

Rev 6:1  Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, "Come!" 

Rev 6:2  And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 

I never realized how hard it would be to just trust in what I have been shown in my own Bible reading until I hit a topic that the commentators were so utterly wrong on.  Out of the commentators on my e-Sword, 2 think this rider represents the Church, the Gospel word going out; 4 believe it to be Jesus; and 4 more believe it to be one of the Roman Emperors, usually Nerva.  In their days, these commentators worked from the principle that John's visions were already occurring or soon to occur in John's day.  Many of the things revealed in this book were too fantastical for their minds.

But we have seen in our day how technology can make many of them possible, if being described in the words of a simple first century fisherman.

Make no mistake- the first horseman is NOT Jesus.  Here's how Jesus looked on a white horse:

Rev 19:11  Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 

Rev 19:12  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 

Rev 19:13  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 

Rev 19:14  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 

Rev 19:15  From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 

Rev 19:16  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 

As I lay out who it is, we'll hit on the differences.  Setting the scene, we are observing from Heaven, and John and the Raptured are with us.  The Lamb who WAS slain (important to what comes next) opens the seal, and the Living Creature orders, "Come!"  2 things here- if Christ opened the seal, why would he need to 'come'? Second, if angels with voices loud enough to shake the firmament cover their faces with their wings before God, what angel is going to ORDER Christ?  No, this is not Jesus, nor is it anything good, because these are judgments upon the earth.  He has been called the Lawless One, the Man of Perdition, the Anti-Christ.  He will be called the Beast.  But unlike Jesus, whose chapter 19 appearance is clearly spelled out, even written on His thigh, the only ID we get for this guy is, 'a rider'.

Man will not understand what he is until too late.

Before I get too far from the point, let me double back to my "that WAS slain" comment.  Observe the first mention of him as the Beast:

Rev 13:1  And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 

Rev 13:2  And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 

Rev 13:3  One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 

One of the things he's going to 'fake' Jesus on is his apparent death that he survived.  The Old Testament speaks of this:

Zec 11:15  Then the LORD said to me, "Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 

Zec 11:16  For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 

Zec 11:17  "Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!" 

So he won't fake that it happened, but he WILL fake that he 'rose from the dead'.  Or will he? One Pastor I heard recently mentioned that the word used for the Beast's personal pronoun is "it" and not "him".  I have often wondered if perhaps the mortal man did die, and is re-animated by Satan?  Probably not, but a thought to consider.

Before we leave Zechariah, consider too the word "worthless".  It is the same word- in fact, the KJV translates it thus- as that used for "idol".  The Anti-Christ will be the ultimate, living idol. 

Next, the crown.  Unlike the diadēma- the many crowns Christ will wear as the legitimate King of Heaven and Earth, the rider will be given- by others, not by right- a stephanos, or a 'victor's laurel'.  In the actual wording, a decoration bestowed by his followers.

And the bow.  Here's where those who thought him Nerva, etc, fail.  Romans conquered by war- war required, and is always described, with a sword.  He strikes from a distance- you don't always see you're about to be hit until you're hit.  He wins his 'crown' by deception, by 'diplomacy'.  See in Daniel:

Dan 9:26  And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 

Dan 9:27  And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." 

Confused? Follow me.  Daniel was shown a vision of seventy weeks (of years) from the founding of the Second Temple to the end of days, poetically divided into 'seven and sixty-two'.  The sixty-second week here is the week that Christ died, the 'anointed one ' being cut off.  The people of the prince to come would then destroy the Temple- that was the Romans in 70 AD.  

The prince to come- not of the same time as the Temple destruction- is the Anti-Christ  (Which means he will be of the peoples of the Roman Empire- a European.).  But wait, what about all the 'weeks of years' since then?  This is a prophecy to the Jews; the Church age is skipped over, and it ends with the Rapture.  That's when the 70th week kicks in.  The 'one week' in which he 'makes a strong covenant with the many.  And as the week starts, he will make peace in Israel.  Not that he won't be opposed...

Eze 38:8  After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. 

This is from Ezekiel's prophecy to Gog- whom many equate with Russia.  Not my point, though; point is, that Israel is described as dwelling securely, and WHEN has that happened before? Never.  So AC is making peace there, and Israel throws together the Temple once again.  And mid week- 3 1/2 years in- this happens...

Mat 24:15  "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 

Mat 24:16  then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 

The abomination of desolation that Jesus here predicts, that Daniel prophesied, is the Anti-Christ, by virtue of his 'rising from the dead' trick, declares himself god in the Temple itself.  The Ultimate Idol taking the stage.  This is the truth of the rider on the white horse.  But when he starts out, three others will come with him, each one a judgment on the earth.