Wednesday Bible Study- the second seal

 

Rev 6:3  When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 

Rev 6:4  And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. 

The first thing that came to my mind when I set to study this second seal broken was, "This doesn't necessarily JUST mean oncoming war."  I knew I had to do some deep digging to learn all I could from this.  And keeping in mind that it IS prophecy, and only God knows what it means with authority, I thought it wise to remind you all that I am no expert, but here's what I see.

First, one of the commentators found it significant the connection between the Living Creature that calls out, "Come!" and the horseman that answers.  

A reminder:

Rev 4:6  and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 

Rev 4:7  the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 

Rev 4:8  And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" 

Going by this, the first rider, who came "conquering, and to conquer", was announced by the Lion-headed Creature; a symbol of power and royalty.  A lion was also the symbol of Babylon, and that is what the "Living Idol" we talked about last time will want to establish.  A while back in discussing a future chapter of Revelation, Dr David Jeremiah said he believed that in these days, physical Babylon will be re-established; I had said that I didn't believe a physical restoration was necessary, as everything described in this Babylon was right here in the United States.  But in studying for this, I found this passage...

 Zec 5:5  Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, "Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out." 

Zec 5:6  And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the basket that is going out." And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land." 

Zec 5:7  And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 

Zec 5:8  And he said, "This is Wickedness." And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening. 

Zec 5:9  Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 

Zec 5:10  Then I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they taking the basket?" 

Zec 5:11  He said to me, "To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base." 

Shinar is Babylon; thus this passage might prove Jeremiah's point.  Which has nothing to do with our Red Horseman.  The Living Creature that calls it forth was the ox-headed one; the literal translation for ox here means a bullock, strong, and old enough to be sacrificed.  Blood meant for the covering of sin calling forth the blood of judgment on uncovered sin.

Now I want to attack this from three angles- appropriate, since the Red Horseman was given three tasks:

To take peace from the earth, to make people kill one another, and to wield the great sword.  My first thought:  you don't need a war to get people to kill one another.  Seven cities in the US- St Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit, Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Kansas City- have murder rates of over 30 per 100,000 population.  (Compare with Australia's overall rate of 0.87 per 100,000.) Imagine that with the Holy Spirit removed in the Rapture of the Church.  "A total of 754 people were killed and 2,443 other people were injured in 604  (mass casualty) shootings" in 2023, in the US.  So, is murder what is meant here?  I don't think it's all of it, but it's part of it.  

But the word ESV translates as "slay" is not murder- it's "slaughter".  Jesus predicted all of the features of the horsemen would begin to happen BEFORE the end...

 Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. 

Mat 24:5  For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. 

Mat 24:6  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 

Mat 24:7  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 

Mat 24:8  All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 

Mat 24:9  "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 

Mat 24:10  And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 

Mat 24:11  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 

Mat 24:12  And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 

Mat 24:13  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 

The actions of three horsemen- the false Christs (having their end in the AntiChrist); the "rumours of wars" (the Red Horseman), even famines (wait'll next week!), we are only getting a taste of now- at this coming point, the restraints on all will be off.  There's going to be wars- wars that the "Ultimate Idol" will seem to miraculously stop, as we saw last time, when he "makes a covenant with the many".  Israel will be at peace, for but a moment.

Growing up on Hal Lindsay's The Late Great Planet Earth, I knew right away that if the AntiChrist had come forth, the war that will come next.  I mentioned it last week:

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. 

A war has to come against Israel, put at peace after the covenant with the many.  But who fights this war?

Eze 38:2  "Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 

Eze 38:3  and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 

Eze 38:4  And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 

Eze 38:5  Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 

Eze 38:6  Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes--many peoples are with you. 

Who are these people?  Many of them are descended from Noah's son Japeth;  the names and genealogies indicate that besides the obvious Iran (Persia), Cush (Islamic Africa), and Put (Libya),there is Russia at the head, Turkey as a chief lieutenant, and the Central Asian nations that were once Soviet.  It doesn't take a scholar to see that all of these are right now in place around Israel, and all seem waiting for the spark to start it off.  Apparently, the "covenant with the many" will be enough to touch it off.  So what happens then?

Eze 38:18  But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. 

Eze 38:19  For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 

Eze 38:20  The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 

Eze 38:21  I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 

Eze 38:22  With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. 

Eze 38:23  So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD. 

A miraculous intervention from God will defeat this Russian coalition, and just maybe, those who think what God did to Sennacherib's army in 2 Kings 19 was a fairy tale will now believe.  

Eze 39:6  I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

Eze 39:7  "And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 

I've always thought this is referencing a world war, and perhaps the US, who "dwells securely in the coastlands", meets its end here.  But I don't know.  I do know it will be a great slaughter; Ezekiel goes on to say that Israel will be burning weapons for fuel for 7 years, and burying dead for 7 months.  And a world war, with the 'nuclear winter' it brings, will contribute to the famine to come.

Think on this:  Between 3 and 4 million people have died since 9/11 either directly or indirectly from war.  25,000 people a day- 10,000 of them children under 5- die of famine every DAY.  Imagine this scaling up dramatically in the last 7 years of man's life on earth.  And we are not nearly done with God's Judgment on wicked earth.  YOU DO NOT WANT TO LIVE THROUGH THIS.  Jesus gave us the way out.  He paid the debt for us in full- but we have to accept it.