Revelation 7:9-17

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

This is a glorious scene of worship in heaven. A multitude so vast that no one can number it from every nation standing at the throne and before the Messiah crying out that salvation is only found in God and in the Messiah! Everyone is represented hear. There is no group, no race, no nation that hasn’t heard the gospel. All who would listen and believe are here. This is the answer to God’s promise to Abraham that the number is like the stars in heaven or the sand of the sea.

Four things are said about these people:

1. Their location. They stand as the answer to the question in 6:17. They stand before the throne of God and before the Lamb. The redeemed are the ones who are able to stand.  
2. Their clothing. They are clothed in white robes. They stand forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. 
3. They are instruments of worship. They have palm branches of joy, celebration, and praise.
4. They are confessing. They cry out that salvation is of God and the Lamb.

11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”

This is very representative of 5:11 when there were thousands of thousands around the throne. The blessing has seven elements to it. The blessing is upon God forever and ever.

In Genesis 22 God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Isaac asked where was the lamb for the offering and Abraham responded saying “God Himself will provide the lamb for the offering”. God provided a ram.

In Exodus 12 a lamb without blemish had to be sacrificed so that the people would be passed over from the judgment of God.

In John 1 we see John baptizing at the river look up and proclaim, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.

Here, we see the Lamb of God at the throne of God standing as the Shepherd to His followers who are worshipping God as the Living Lord.

13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

I love John’s answer to questions from the elders. The next time someone asks me a question to which they already know the answer, I’m going to answer “Sir, you know”.  I wish I'd have known that is an answer in the Bible when I was a teenager.  I'm sure my teachers would have loved to hear that answer.

The great tribulation is the hour of trial that will precede the end. Jesus referred to this in Matthew 24:21, “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.”

The metaphor of washing their robe and making them white in the blood of the Lamb is opposed to what we know physically and in our common sense. It is that the Lamb took our filthy, soiled, ugly rags of sin and plunged them into His red, pure slain sacrificial blood and miraculously they come out white and pure and clean (no sin).

They serve Him, they are in His presence, He provides for their needs, and He is their Shepherd.  He leads them to living fountains of life.  David wrote that He leads us beside still waters.  Jesus told the woman at the well "the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (Jn 4:14)

Finally, God comforts them and takes away their sadness and pain.  They are healed inside and out.

Revelations 7:4-8 - The 144,000

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

There is a lot of speculation and confusion over this 144,000. Most of it comes from the Jehovah’s Witness (JW). So, who are these 144,000?

One common view is that they are a symbol, like so many other descriptions in Revelation. They symbolize the totality of the church. These are all who believe, the whole people of God.

The literal view is that these are directly from the Israelites as they are “of all the tribes of the children of Israel”.

The JW believe that these are those who will reign in heaven with Christ. There will be a class system or hierarchy in heaven and these 144,000 will be over the rest. Everyone else will only live in the hope of heaven … or something like that. Count me as not a fan of that interpretation. I suppose that if a JW is walking in my neighborhood that he is trying to win his seat as one of these by doing works. I find that concept to oppose the entire purpose of Christ.

I don’t see how these 144,000 can be anything other than from church of Israel. They are Jewish believers who have survived the opening of the first six seals.

5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

While it is easy to gloss over this list of 12,000 from the different tribes, we need to look at it because it is peculiar. I find it especially odd that John who was undoubtedly schooled in knowing all the tribes of Israel and the orders of their listing would list them this way and the names of them as he did. He had to be specifically writing what he saw or he would have listed them differently.

• There are 19 different arrangements of the tribes of Israel and this one is different than all of them. 
• Judah is listed first. Most assume it is because Jesus comes from the tribe of Judah (Lion of Judah). Rueben was the first born, so he would have otherwise been listed first. 
• Levi is included. 
• Ephraim is not included, but Joseph is included. Possibly because Ephraim’s history of idolatry and allying with enemies of Judah. However, one could say that Joseph also includes Ephraim since he is Joseph’s son. 
• Dan is omitted. Genesis 49:17 says, “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall backward.” Many speculate that the anti-christ will come from Dan. 
• Manasseh is in the place of Dan.  Manasseh was Joseph’s other son. 

The list specifically omits those who were idolatrous, Dan and Ephraim.

We must take careful consideration to not overlook a wonderful event this is. God has placed his possession and protection on His faithful servants. “As unfaithful as Israel has been, and as unfaithful as we have been, our God, on the other hand, is completely and utterly faithful. Having sealed us with the Holy Spirit, He maintains His covenant promises to His people. We find ourselves saved, safe, and secure.” (p 156-157. Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Revelation – Daniel L. Akin. B& H Publishing Group, 2016.)

Build Something On It

My grandparents had three magnets on their refrigerator at their home in the Mississippi country. My grandfather, Buck, said that one for was for my sister, my brother, and for me. My sister’s said something like, “Always take time to stop and smell the roses”, and it had a picture of red roses. My brother’s said something like, “Do unto others and run”, and it was a picture of a guy with a baseball bat that had hit another guy and was running away. Mine was a picture of a city scape with high rise buildings and it said, “Whatever you lot is in life, build something on it.”

I’ve always been somewhat amazed at how prophetic these were.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul is addressing Christians who are following teachers such as Apollos or himself. To paraphrase, he says some plant and some water but it is God who does the growing and the one who plants or waters is not important, only God who does the growing is important. Each person is God’s field or God’s building. He has laid a foundation of teaching and others build upon that teaching.

Starting with verse 10 and going to verse 15 we read, “10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

Jesus Christ is the foundation. But how the building of our life, our spiritual understanding, is built should be done with care. The foundation of salvation is established and even if all that we build is worldly and gain no wisdom or knowledge beyond salvation we will escape the “Day”, or judgment, “as one escaping through the flames”. We are saved but will have gained nothing else through our efforts of life. However, if we build on the foundation with Godly wisdom and an intentional effort to gain knowledge of more of Him every day, it will stand through the “Day” and there will be a reward. I have no idea of what the reward is, but I find the reward is in the wisdom and increasing knowledge of Him. Those revelations are life-giving and faith assuring and are their own reward.

As it stands today, my sister has unfortunately had to learn most of her lessons in life by making bad choices. She has a good heart, but can’t help herself sometimes. She is always willing to stop and be distracted, rather than stay focused on achievement. My brother has proven that he is more than willing to step on someone else, even those closest to him, to make sure he is perceived to not be in error. Hit and run forward and tell everyone how wrong they were for being in the way.

Myself, I’ve made ghastly mistakes. I am a walking error. But, God is the one who builds, if He is given preeminence. Even in the worst mistakes, He has built on it. There is much more to build and I pray that I can get out of the way and let Him work. His work will survive the “Day” and I will see more of Him in the process. The trials are real, but so is the construction. I can’t imagine surviving the trials and only having what I built the result of it. The only real thing in life is a new understanding of the depth of God’s faithfulness and grace. Every effort should be made to allow God to build on your life. Every conversation a testimony and every action a witness to who He is.

In Revelation, the scenes in heaven show that when people are present at the throne of God they worship and declare how great He is.  There is no time when people declare that some of what He says is true or that they don't believe all of it as real.  Every Word is true and real.  We should accept, declare and stand on no less today.  Let God build in your life today.  

Revelation 7:1-3 - Mercy

It is somewhat helpful to know an overview of the Book of Ruth when reading this chapter. It is a story of a Jew and a Gentile. The book begins with a Jewish woman named Naomi. She represents the nation of Israel. She is married to a man named Elimelech which means My God is King. So, Israel is in covenant with God. As the story unfolds she finds herself out of covenant and living in exile. A gentile woman named Ruth becomes, through Naomi, a part of the nation of Israel and is brought to the knowledge of God. Ruth becomes Naomi’s adopted daughter. At the end, Ruth becomes a blessing to Naomi through a child. So, through Naomi came Ruth’s redemption, and through Ruth comes Naomi’s blessing.

This idea that the church of Israel and the church of Gentiles are separate but together in salvation is called Dispensational theology. The opposite is Covenant perspective which says that there is a “new Israel” since Israel rejected Christ as the Messiah.

In the 6th chapter six seals were broken. There was massive devastation as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were unleashed. It ends with the question from those who remain in 6:17, “the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Then there is chapter 7. It is a pause in judgment, God again offers mercy and salvation to any who are left who will believe. Everyone is given every opportunity to know that He is God.

7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

The hand of judgment is delayed. The four angels are told to not harm the earth, the sea, or the land until those who serve God are “sealed”. What does a seal do?

1. It protects. 
2. It identifies. 
3. It declares ownership, possession.

Here in the judgment, God shows mercy.  Praise God today for His mercy extended to you even though you are who you are and have done what you have done.  He always has His hand out for you. Choose to reach for Him today.

The Original Sin and The Sacrifice

Do you remember what is said about Adam and the woman (she was not named Eve until after being put out of the garden) regarding the first sin? Genesis 3:1-6 records:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

The lie from the serpent is summed in this “you will be like God”.

In the times of sacrificing in the Temple for the sins of the people, the chief priest would lay the animal onto the altar, put his hands on the animal and then say the sins of the people over the animal before he slaughtered the animal and let its blood run over the altar as the payment for the sins of the people. Specifically, lambs were raised and used in the Temple in Jerusalem for the yearly ritual of the sacrifice.

Fast forward to Jesus and the time of His death. When He was before the chief priests, what did they accuse Him of just before they put their hands on Him and handed Him over to the Romans to be killed? Matthew 26: 59-67 records:

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.  But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?”  But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.  What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”

Jesus was accused of blasphemy. He was claiming to be God which would be a reproach on God’s character, if it wasn’t true. Then they put their hands on Him rather harshly and turned Him over to be killed.

It is not insignificant, that the sin that was put upon Jesus by the chief priests is the very sin the serpent put into the woman’s and Adam’s mind. “You will be like God” they were told. So, they ate and sinned. Jesus claimed to be God, so He was slaughtered as the Lamb on the altar. The original sin was then able to be forgiven and man restored so he could walk with God once again.

Today, I find that this original sin is the most prevalent cause of sin in society.  So many people just want to do what they want to do.  They justify what they want to do using their own sense and in so doing they become their own god.  Their words are more valuable and have more meaning than God's.  Rare is the person who is willing to lay down their life and follow God's Words simply because God said it.

Revelation 12-17 - Sixth Seal

12 I watched as He opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

One interpretation is that all these things are future. The earthquake, blotting of the sun, blood moon, and meteors are a time when the earth buckles from space events. If meteors fell from space so plentiful as described, all the other events would happen also. The dust that would enter the atmosphere from many meteor strikes would cover the earth and so the heavens would recede. The moving of mountains and islands indicate a cataclysmic even that moves land masses and water.

Another view is that these have all happened already. There have been documented times of great earthquakes, documented times when the sun didn’t shine, times when the moon was red as blood, and times of great numbers of meteors falling. However, I do not see how this view answers verse 14 in any real discernible way.

15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”

Under such extraordinary events, all that man has built is laid waste and man, for all his pride in his advancements, is reduced to the basics of a caveman. The people described here do not call to God for protection and help, but to the earth for protection from God. This is a direct reference to the unsaved when they realize that there is a God, yet they do not call to Him. I find this very disturbing as it further verifies that some people will never accept God, even when they know He is real.

Whatever view you have in this as to what the symbols represent, the main point is to realize that God is in control and it is Jesus Himself who is causing these things to happen. Everything is being done to restore man and the earth back to God.

Revelation 6:7-11 - 4th & 5th Seals

7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

With great war and great famine, there is death. The description of pale here is greenish. It is the description and color of sickness and death. The rider is named, the others were not named, but this one is and his name is Death. He is followed closely by the god of the underworld who will take all those who fall.

“They were given” is a reference to those preceding and to this rider. One-fourth of the people on the earth will die in war, famine or plague. Today, there are an estimated 7.5 billion people on the earth, one-fourth is 1.875 billion people. This is nothing less than devastating and inconceivable to the imagination.

This would be the time in history when the church is dead. It should have been spreading the Eternal Truth but instead it spreads death. This spiritual death is a moral and intellectual paralysis that works against the Word of God even while declaring to be under His name.

The parallel interpretation would be that this is the sum total of people who have died in wars, famines, or from disease since God was revealed. One-fourth of the earth’s intended population did not live because of man’s rejection of the truth. It started in the first family. In the beginning there was Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel. One-fourth of them died because of the rejection of God’s Word.

9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.

I have a difficult time with this one and it is that the martyred people are crying out for vengeance. I don’t want to be martyred, not do I want for anyone ever to be martyred. But in my reading of those who have been, most do not seem in any way to die with vengeance on their mind. They usually declare how what an honor it is they have not bent but have stood firm in their faith. I also have a hard time believing that the very moment I leave this world, I’ll remotely consider any person in this world apart from the ones I love intensely as I stand in the presence of God.

8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. – Genesis 4:8-10

Perhaps it is more like this as described in Genesis. The blood of the martyred cries out to God and begs for His righteousness to be imparted to the earth. The closest example I can offer is if someone wrongs your child. You want to make it right. Sometimes you can’t do it right away and in that time the action to make it right calls to you and it tasks you. I believe the unrighteousness that has happened and that exists in Creation calls out to the Lord from those who stand steadfast against it and gave all that they had for Him.

We have been given a description of heaven and the throne of God in the previous chapters and I do not remember an altar. It must be then that these descriptions of an altar and souls under the altar are very symbolic. It is important to know that the altar is not some kind of jail.

While we’re not sure what the symbols represent, we know that the martyred saints do not go unnoticed. They are so important that the recognition of their deaths is one of the seals on the scroll. If the scroll is God’s righteous plan for the world and if it is the answer to the cries and woes of the people, it is the impartation of God’s will to make a corrupt world perfect. And this involves recognizing the cries of the martyred.

Revelation 6:3-6 - The Red and Black Horses (2nd and 3rd Seal)

3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

This horse and rider are without a doubt war. They take peace from the earth and have the power “to make people kill each other”. Wow, what an incredible power! Hence, the large sword.

Most scholars interpret this to be the necessary result of the first rider if he indeed is the anti-christ. Inevitably, the anti-christ would lead and desire for people to be in chaos and confusion. Wars with people killing one another is a natural effect from someone who wants the destruction of man as an opposition to God. It is interesting to me that, if this is a good interpretation, that the anti-christ isn’t given the power to take peace form the earth. To me, this would then mean that this rider could be Satan himself. God is using him to perform His judgment.

In the view that these are times of the church, this is the persecuting church. It is the time when the church lost the power of God because of sin in the church and started using the power of the state. It ties to the Roman church period when the papacy ruled.

Another view is that this rider represents the fight over the truth that Jesus brought as the first rider. This rider brings man’s free will. He brings man’s ability to reject the truth. This is a great power. Unfortunately, the rejection of the truth gives the ability to take peace from the earth as it enables the people the will to kill one another.

5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

The black horse and its rider bring famine. The description is that there are long and difficult days of labor that barely result in enough to eat. Following the interpretation of the anti-christ, then war, it is natural that there is famine. Assuming any kind of world war, there would be a tremendous effort to find enough food for any left alive as the system for growing, reaping and distribution is completely broken down. Then, if the worst of man’s weapons are used, it may be difficult to even produce food or find good drinking water.

This is the historical time of the corrupt church. They merchandise the gospel. They manipulate the words of God to suit their purposes and it is difficult for people to find the bread of life in the church’s message.

This is the same result for the parallel interpretation of man having free will and rejecting the truth. Man, once willing to kill another, will lift himself up and hold those he can rule down. They will work and toil for their daily bread and for his daily bread. There is no shortage of examples in the history of man since the earthly life of Jesus. Whether we look at Rome, the Middle Ages, the Far East, or to today, there is always a position of power that enables itself on the backs of a lower class who works for just enough to eat and survive. Physical food is expensive, but the oil and wine refer that the Spirit and offered sacrifice (blood) of Jesus for sin will always be available.

Revelation 6:1-2 - The White Horse

Okay, so here we are. Chapter 6 starts that part of Revelation where pretty much everyone stops reading. Even after the oddness of some of the first five chapters, you start reading this chapter and somewhere in it you stop reading, close the book and put it down. It starts being out there somewhere with so much symbolism and seemingly little relation to other things. It also starts describing events and circumstances that are just not pleasant. Even though the biggest movies and video games that everyone watches and plays usually have extreme violence in them of some kind, reading about it in the Bible is very often too much. Perhaps, it is the idea that it strikes too close to a reality we must accept and we would prefer not to know of it, much less imagine it, knowing that we, our children, or their children (or anyone for that matter) might have to endure a portion of it.

You can’t read Revelations 6 onward without first stopping to read Matthew 24. Jesus describes all of what follows in his descriptions to the disciples. In fact, it is very helpful to read Matthew 24 concurrently with Revelations 6 and notice all of the parallels.

The scene coming from chapter 5 is the slain Lamb of God stands before the throne of God in heaven. Every being in heaven, on earth, and under the earth have sung praises to Him because He alone is the only one worthy to take the scroll from God. The scroll is sealed with seven seals (it is perfectly sealed) and what it says is a mystery. I believe it is either God’s written plan for His Creation, as most commentaries agree, or it is the written woes and cries of the people (as in Ezekiel) and the Lamb is going to open the scroll as the only answer to man’s sin.

This is commonly referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Zechariah 6:1-8 describes four horses with chariots that walk “to and fro throughout the earth”. There are similarities in his vision to what we will read here.

I will try to parallel a few of the most common interpretations for these symbols, not all of course, but the most commonly accepted views.

1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Most commentaries refuse to believe that this is anything other than the false messiah, or anti-christ. The reasoning is:

1. He answers to the voice of one of the four living creatures. Christ answers to no one in heaven except the Father.  
2. He has a bow but no arrows. He rides out as a conqueror bent on conquest but has no weapon.  
3. He is on a white horse and has a crown. He imitates the actual Christ, but has no power (no arrows).

The idea presented by the majority of studies is that these seals, followed by the trumpets, and further followed by the bowls are judgments on the people. It must be remembered that all judgments are contained in the seals. The trumpets and bowls are contained in the seventh seal. The first judgment then is the release of a false savior. Someone the world will follow but who leads to destruction.

Another idea is that these riders relate to the church as a whole. It is particularly the Seventh Day Adventists who hold this interpretation. The white horse is the time in church history when the church grew quickly and the gospel spread across the world. It is the apostolic church riding victoriously in history under the banner of Jesus.

Yet another idea is that this rider is indeed the Christ. It is Him coming in the flesh to man. He comes without a sword, but with a bow. He comes in love but with no arrows. He will not force His power into the hearts of man. He has the crown of life to rescue any who will hear the truth. It is the beginning of God’s plan for man to make a way of salvation and to answer the woes and cries of the people. He comes as a conqueror of sin bent on living in the world without sin and dying unjustly on a cross for everyone’s sins.

What is Your Plan?

In the book What’s Wrong with the World, author G. K. Chesterton wrote, 

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”

Elie Wiesel tells the story of a Jewish man who set out to change the world. In making his plan, the man said to himself:

Basing myself on the Talmudic saying that if all … repented, the Messiah would come, I decided to do something about it. I was convinced I would be successful. But where was I to start? The world is so vast. I shall start with the country I know best, my own. But my country is so very large. I had better start with my town. But my town, too, is large. I had best start with my street. No: my home. No: my family. Never mind, I shall start with myself.

What is your plan to stay grounded in the Word of God? 

Who do you need to invite or un-invite into or out of your life so you can grow spiritually? 

Where do you need to go or not-go so you can grow spiritually?

What do you need to see or not-see, hear or not-hear, speak or not-speak to grow?  

What is your plan to grow spiritually?

I believe that God’s number one concern for you is for you to know Him. He doesn’t want you to hope He’s real. He doesn’t want you to just think He’s real. He doesn’t want you to want to believe. He wants you to know without a doubt that He is the one true living God and His Son is Jesus our Savior.

What is your plan to stay focused on this?

Our model is Jesus. His strength came from His relationship with the Father. He often withdrew with His disciples and by Himself to pray and be in communion with God.

Remember, this isn’t about your work. It’s about becoming His work. Jesus said that Solomon in all his glory wasn’t arrayed as even a lily. Solomon was covered in his own work but the lily is the work of God alone. No matter how insignificant we think we are, if we will become the single work of God we will change our world.

What is your plan to guard your heart?