The question many are asking this week is: Did North Korea really explode a nuclear device?  The totalitarian leadership of that impoverished country certainly claim that they did, and most of the world agrees with their claim.  This story has been the talk of the talk-radio programs all week.  The danger comes, not so much with the acceptance that North Korea has a nuclear capability, but what will they do with that capability.  We know that their leader is about a maniacal as the leader in Iran.  We also know that the North Korean government is not adverse to selling military hardware to other rogue groups around the world.  It certainly is within the realm of the possible for them to sell a nuclear device to a group of terrorists.  And, from what I have been reading, it would not take a very big device to create mayhem in a major city around the world.  Will China step in to do something to pressure the North Koreans?  I am not overly optimistic that they will.  In fact, according to many experts, China has known that this was being developed by the North Koreans for sometime.  And they have done nothing to interfere.  Could it be possible that China is letting this crisis develop so that the world's attention is taken off it so that it can continue its own march toward world domination even as Iran did with Hezbollah this summer? 

 

Friends, are you noticing a common denominator in all this?  China, Iran, and North Korea have this in common: each is governed by a totalitarian dictator.  And the ideology of the governments could not be more diverse: China and North Korea still maintain a solidarity with Communism, while Iran is firmly entrenched in the radical Islamic fundamentalism.  Each sees itself as the ruler of the world.  And the Free World, with the United States and Britain giving leadership primarily, says that democracy should be the world-view.  The stage is being set for a gigantic showdown between radical Islamic fundamentalism, Communism, and democracy.  The Bible describes a totalitarian regime that will rule in the last days.  We will be introduced to it this week in our study of Revelation 6.  We know it as the time of the Tribulation with its leader known as the Antichrist.  But, when that regime collapses, and historically all totalitarian regimes do fall (just think of Hitler and Napoleon and Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire), another authoritarian government will follow.  But this new government will never be toppled because it will be governed by the Son of God Himself.  I find this to be a fascinating time to be alive.  I don't know about you, but I want to keep looking up because I think the trumpet is about to sound!

 

We spent several weeks in a study of the first five chapters of Revelation.  I do not apologize for that.  If we fail to understand the significance of those chapters, then what follows in Revelation will have very little meaning for us.  Chapter 1-5 introduced us to these important concepts: 1) God is still on the throne; 2) the administration of justice on the earth has been given to the Son because of the sacrifice He made for us; and 3) the God still desires to accomplish His purposes through the Church.  All that will be described in Revelation 6-22 must be weighed in the context that God is still in control and that is ultimate purpose is twofold: to judge the world for its sin of rejection Christ, and to bring the world to the place where Christ can come and reign.  Never focus exclusively upon the seals, trumpets, battles, gore, suffering, etc. that are the Tribulation.  They must be seen in the light of God's will.  So, with that said, let us turn to Revelation 6: the seven seals.

 

I.  The first seal - Revelation 6:1-2

 

    A.  It is of a "white-horsed" rider

 

          1.  The question is asked, "Is this the same rider as found in Revelation 19:19?"

          2.  The answer is "No!"  This rider is an imitation of Christ, who is the rider in Revelation 19.

 

    B.  This is the judgment of great delusion - 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, John 5:43

 

    C.  This white-horsed rider will come and bring peace and order out of the world chaos.  He will come in ushering a false peace - Daniel 11:21-23, 36

 

    D.  "Bow without arrows" indicates a cold war rather than any actual fighting; "crown" indicates a victor's crown, not a sovereign's crown.  He has won victory upon victory so he is given this crown and is elevated to the position of world leader; "went out conquering and to conquer" - he will have one triumph after another; he will be persuasive; he will have complete mastery, but it is temporary.

 

    E.  The rider of the white horse is Satan's masterpiece and counterfeit of all that Christ is and claims to be.

 

II.  The second seal - Revelation 6:3-4

 

    A.  This is of a rider on a red horse.  The rider is still the same as the rider of the first horse.

 

    B.  Red speaks of war and bloodshed.  The real intent of the Antichrist is revealed with the opening of the second seal.  He will actually take peace from the earth, not give it - 1 Thessalonians 5:3

 

    C.  The judgment of the second seal is a judgment of military might - Daniel 11:38

 

III.  The third seal - Revelation 6:5-6

 

    A.  This seal is of a rider now on a black horse.

 

    B.  This seal reveals the judgment of famine.  After a war there is uncontrollable inflation that is often followed by famine.

 

          1.  "Pair of balances" - indicate a rationing system for food

          2.  "A penny" - this was a day's wages in the Bible times.

          3.  "A measure of wheat" - equal to about a quart of that which would be sufficient for a day's meals.  In Christ's time, a penny (denarius) bought 8 quarts of wheat or 24 quarts of barley (barley was the food of the poor),  In the Tribulation, a penny (denarius) will buy 1 quart of wheat or 3 quarts of barley.

          4.  The rich will have plenty as the oil and wine are spared.

 

IV.  The fourth seal - Revelation 6:7-8

 

    A.  This seal is of a rider now on a pale horse.  The rider is named Death.  His companion, Hades, follows behind him. 

 

    B.  This seal is a judgment of wholesale death - the horse looks like a corpse.  As a result of the opening of the fourth seal, a fourth of the world's population will die:

 

          1.  Figuring on the basis of 6 billion people, this would mean the death of 1.5 billion people.

          2.  "Sword" - refers to war

          3.  "Hunger" - refers to famine

          4.  "Pestilence" - refers to plagues and diseases that follow war.  Might also refer to germ warfare.  (Friends just think of the scare the bird flu has given to everyone.)

          5.  "Wild beasts" - refer to animals who are starving, perhaps because of a worldwide crop failure, so these animals become ravenous and prey upon people.

 

    C.  The opening of the fourth seal results in physical death.

 

V.  The fifth seal - Revelation 6:9-11

 

    A.  The scene of this seal now changes to heaven and its occurrence is about the half-way point of the Tribulation.

 

    B.  Who are these martyrs?

 

          1.  They can only be the saints of the Tribulation - the Church-age saints have been raptured (if a pre-trib rapture does occur) and the Old Testament saints have yet to be resurrected.

          2.  These are people who repudiated the Antichrist and refused his prescribed form of religion.  Being unable to buy food without the mark of the beast, these believers either starved or were killed outright for their faith.  These martyrs had been faithful witnesses during the Tribulation.

 

VI.  The sixth seal - Revelation 6:12-17

 

    A.  God is now going to speak through natural elements.  It is most likely that this seal concludes the first half of the seven years of the Tribulation.

 

    B.  The phenomenon is described in Joel 2:30-32.  There are six catastrophic events:

 

          1.  A great worldwide earthquake - Ezekiel 38:19

          2.  The sun will become as black as sackcloth

          3.  The moon will become as red as blood

          4.  There will be a meteor shower that will bring great devastation to the earth.  They will fall just as apples form a tree.

          5.  The atmospheric heaven will be rolled back as a scroll, so men on the death during the Tribulation may be given a glimpse of God on the throne - Isaiah 34:4

          6.  Every mountain and island were moved out of their place.   This is a literal moving of every mountain and island. 

 

    C.  The results of these events:

 

          1.  The unbelievers will try to hide from the face of God as He sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

          2.  It will affect every class of society from kings to poor people.

          3.  For those who defy God, there is no way of escape from His wrath - Revelation 6:17

 

Thought to Ponder: As the Lamb of God begins to break the seals of the book that He has been given, cataclysmic changes begin to occur upon the earth.  These changes begin peacefully enough, but soon the disasters begin to mount.  Wars are intensified.  Diseases are magnified.  Inflation and economic hardships are increased.  Astronomical and geological changes seem to threaten the very existence of this planet.  And all around is the ever-present presence of death.  The day of God's wrath has arrived.  Sinful man knows that fact is now a reality (verse 17).  But sadly they do nothing to rectify their own eternal situation by repenting of their sins.  Oh how hard the heart of man can become.  When our consciences have become so seared with sin that probability of our coming to faith that leads to repentance is greatly diminished.  What a sad state for these people!  Yet without Christ all men today are in as hopeless a situation.  There really is an urgency to get the gospel out to all men.

 

P. S.  There will be no Musings next week.  I have the privilege of sharing another lesson with a group in Boone on Thursday evening, October 19th.  The subject this time is: Why Did Jesus Come the First Time When He Did?  The verse that will ignite our study is Galatians 4:4.  From there, we will look at that blank page between Malachi and Matthew - at least most of our Bibles leave a blank page.  But, it certainly was not blank with God.  I believe that Jesus could only have been born at that particular time.  And, if time will permit, I will address the question: What does the timing of Christ's first coming have to do with the timing of His second coming.  For those of you who live in Central Iowa and would like to join us next Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m., you are more than welcome.  We will be meeting in the Community Room of the Regency Retirement Center, located at 1110 South Marshall in Boone.  And thanks for your prayers.