Transcript
Segment 13 - 06.01 - The opening of the seven seals
We have the opening of the seven seals and in the opening of the seven seals, he now begins to make us point that things are going to have to come to a close. There’s going to be all these terrible things happened and so forth, signs of destruction of the present world. The seals being broken are signs of destruction of the present world, and you remember how we explained that. All of the present world must be destroyed so that God can come and set up his kingdom and then we’ll have peace forever. Then, he begins to unfold that idea.
Well, I say we’re going to take a break at about five minutes to 11:00 for about five minutes, a comfort break and I think we’ll do that now, okay? Let’s take five minutes and then come right back and start again. Before we do, excuse me, how many of you are planning to stay for lunch? Can we just get a quick count with the hands? Wow, okay. I’m going to guess about 100 or so. Okay, Jim. Thank you. Good. About a five minute break.
Segment 14 - 06.01 - 1st-4th seals - the four horsemen of the apocalypse
Okay. Let’s turn to the sixth chapter of Revelation, and see what the seals are all about as each one is broken, okay? In Chapter 6, Verses 1 through 8, you should really compare with Chapter 6 in the book of Zachariah, an Old Testament book which I mentioned earlier in the first hour, also contains the apocalyptic style of writing, so Chapter 6 in Revelation compares sometime to Zachariah, the Old Testament book of Zachariah, and you can see that the writer of Revelation picked up on something that Zachariah had to say. Revelation we said was written about 90 A.D., and the book of Zachariah, that portion of it may have been written around 520 B.C., or a little bit later. We’re talking about writings that appeared 300 to 500 years before Revelation, and you’ll see the same idea. The first eight verses here of the sixth chapter of Revelation has to do with a very familiar four horsemen of the apocalypse, the four horsemen of the apocalypse. As each of the first four seals was broken, what happened was there came forth a horse.
The first rider is on a white horse, okay? Let’s just read the first verse, first two verses of Chapter 6. Now I saw when the lamb opened, one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say, as with a loud voice, as with a loud voice of thunder, “Come,” and I saw a behold a white horse, and its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. With each of these seals, you’ll see first of all there’s a white horse. Then there’s a red horse, then a black horse, and a pale horse, and all this has to do with being a sign of the destruction of the world through war and pestilence. He picks up on a very heavy message of war and pestilence as each of these riders comes through, okay? Emmett Fox has done a wonderful job in giving a metaphysical interpretation of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and I’m sure that some of you are familiar with it. He calls the white horse the spiritual nature, the red horse the emotional nature, and the black horse the intellectual nature, and the pale horse the physical nature.
The whole idea is that if we ride the white horse, which represents our spiritual nature, if we give power to our spiritual nature, then everything will be just fine in our life. Those of us who give power to the red horse, which represents the emotional nature, if you let emotions rule, then you know what happens in your life. You don’t lead a very peaceful life, do you? If you ride the black horse, which he identifies as the intellectual nature, if you’re too intellectual in life, then what happens? That’s only one side of the picture and you have to balance it with emotion, with love, let’s say, so riding the black horse all the time can make you too intellectual, and turn you off to people. Riding the pale horse, he says, is the one who wants to live his life on a physical basis, giving power to outer things, material wealth. Oh, giving power to food, and drugs, and things like that. We don’t say this with condemnation, because this is what happens with many people. We’ve all been there in one way or another, but when you ride the pale horse, then you’re giving power to the physical, and letting the physical rule you.
When you ride the white horse, he says, which represents the spiritual nature, then everything else is taken care of. That’s one metaphysical interpretation. As far as the rider is concerned, he’s not talking about that kind of metaphysics. He’s simply using this breaking of the first four seals with these four horses to show that the end of the world is coming, and great pestilence and war is going to come about, and that’s part of the picture, okay? One thing you have to keep in mind, folks, is that he’s writing to many of ... He’s writing to all the Christians, basically the Jewish Christians, and he’s writing to the gentile Christians as well, but he’s writing to help them hold fast to their faith, and he’s trying to bring them comfort. Would you believe that in all of this blood and thunder that you’re reading here in the book of Revelation, the purpose is really to bring comfort to the people by telling them once again, “Hang on. All this has to happen. We’re gonna go through it,” he says, but hang on, because Jesus is going to come back. God is going to reveal Himself, and then everything is going to be just great from there on in.
The paradox is that he uses all this symbology of blood and thunder to bring a message of comfort to the people, and that’s exactly what he’s attempting to do.
Segment 15 - 06.09 - 5th seal
Well, we the first four seals, this is what happens, okay? Then in verse nine, you see the opening of the fifth seal. And what does he say here? “I saw under the altar, the souls of whose who had been slain.” This is with the fifth seal in verse nine. “For the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice. Oh sovereign Lord, holy and true! How long before thou will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?”
How long before Jesus comes back? When is this going to happen? In our own individual life, how long do I have to keep denying and affirming in regard to this particular challenge? When’s the demonstration going to take place? That’s the question that people usually ask. When? Someone can tell you, “Have faith. It’s going to work out.” When? I’ve been waiting for six weeks. I’ve been waiting for six months or six years. When is all this going to happen? And this writer also wants to know the same thing.
Then in verse 11, “Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been killed.” In other words, the ... Go back up to verse nine here. He says, “I saw under the altar, the souls of whose who had been slain.” That refers to the martyrs; the Christian martyrs who were holding fast to their faith and through the persecution, had been killed. And he uses the symbolic way of saying it; souls under the altar. What he’s saying down below here, “until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been,” more must be martyred.
So when is this going to happen, as the question is raised here. How long will it be before you avenge us? Well, a little while longer, and some more have to be martyred. Sometimes in our own individual life, we have to go through a little bit more before we’re ready for the time of salvation. We don’t really have to do it that way, but we bring ourselves to that point. Yes. Did you have a question? Oh, excuse me, oh. I saw the hand up, pardon me.
Segment 16 - 06.12 - 6th seal
All right, that’s the fifth seal. Okay? Then what happens here the sixth seal is then opened, and that goes down to verse 12. What happens with the sixth seal is you see these great universal disorders. He says, “I look and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as [sat 00:00:19] cloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky.” He goes on to paint these universal disorders.
Which is the writers way of saying, that not only are we on earth going to be effected by this coming of God, but the whole universe is going to be effected. All of this upheaval that must take place is not just on an earthly level, it’s on a universal level. So everything is effected. He brings this idea out by painting these tremendous things that are going to happen here.
These also picture the idea of divine intervention. These are all acts of God. You know, today the insurance companies, what do we call a flood or something? It’s an act of God. Right? Well the writer has sort of the same idea here with these universal disorders. These are acts of God, but I feel the real point he’s trying to make is to say as I’ve already said, that the whole universe, not just this world here is going to be effected by this second coming of Jesus, and by the great battle between the powers of darkness, and light, and so forth. Okay?
