the first seal 6.10

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24:7b) and for the Fourth he spoke of earthquakes which would occur in various places (Matthew 24:7c). As disturbing as these things will be, the Lord specifically calls the period of time in which these th

of Sorrows" (Matthew 24:8)

• HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE END OF THE AGE AND THE HARVEST WILL HAPPEN AFTER THE FIFTH SEAL?

To answer this question we must go back to the middle of Daniel's 70 th week when the Antichrist desecrates the temple and declares himself God. At this time the beast is loosed from the bottomless pit or thedirection indwells the Antichrist causing him to become a ruthless, demonic possessed human being who is also known as the beast. The deceptive mask of the Antichrist comes off and the opening salvos of

 begin. The Jews in particular and eventually the entire God believing world will be under siege. In Matthew 24:9 Jesus says " 9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will b

 because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness,

cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

During this onslaught of humanity by the Antichrist forces, Jesus opens the fifth seal (Revelation6:9) and John sees an altar under which are the souls of those who had been slain because of their stand on the

strongly held testimony. This group inquired of the Lord how long will it be until the inhabitants of the earth are judged and our blood avenged? They were told that they must wait a little longer until the nuservants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. In other words the Great Tribulation and the killing has to continue for yet a little while.

Meanwhile back on earth, the carnage is continuing and is so successful that it becomes necessary for the Lord to cut short those stressful days for the sake of the elect else no one would survive. That is, thewell honed that if it wasn't shut down it would completely annihilate the elect (the ones the Lord has chosen). Mark 13:20: 20If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake

chosen, he has shortened them.

The next thing we see is the sixth seal being opened. Revelation 6:12: 12I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole 13and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

A parallel statement with added information is found in Matthew 24:29-30 " 29"Immediately after the distress of those days " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall fr

heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, wi31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Again in Mark 13:24-26: 24"But in those days, following that distress, " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25the stars will fall from the sky, and the

heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 26"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the

winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Additional references well worth the reading may be found in Joel 3: 14-16, Joel 2:10, and Isaiah 13:10.

We can now see a sequence of events occurring.

1. The Great Tribulation is cut short.2. The sixth seal is opened resulting in a number of cosmic disturbances

3. The Son of Man appears on the clouds of the sky.

4. The Son of Man sends his angels out to gather the elect from the four winds. 

The next thing we see is John looking around only to see a great multitude that no one could count, coming from every tribe, nation, people and language, all standing before the throne.Then John gets a question put to him by one of the elders. John is asked who these folk in white robes are and from where did they come. John says to the elder, don't ask me, you

already know who they are..

The elder goes on to say that this unnumbered mass are the saints who have come out of the great tribulation and because of their testimony have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the L

allowed to stand before the throne of God, serve him day and night in the temple, have eternal protection and care from the Lord, never again be hungry, thirsty, nor have the sun beat upon them and the Lambshepherd and lead them to springs of living water. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:9-17:  9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 11All the angels were standing around th

elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our

Amen!" 13Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?" 14I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great

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washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent

will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living w

away every tear from their eyes."

 Now we can see how the harvest will be at the end of the age and after the fifth seal. The harvest and the end of the age occurs at the same time as the saints are gathered from the earth. We call this gatherin

OF THE SAINTS. And since it occurs when the sixth seal is opened it necessarily occurs after the fifth seal which is the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

"THE END OF THE AGE" WILL NOT HAVE OCCURRED BEFORE THE FOUR HORSEMEN RIDE

The end will not have occurred because in:Matthew 24:4-6: 4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceivemany. 6You will hear of wars and rumours of wars (White Horse/Antichrist/1st Seal, Red Horse/War/2nd Seal), but see to it that you are not alarmed.

Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Mark 13:5-7: 5Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.7When you hear of wars and rumours of wars (White Horse/Antichrist/1st Seal, Red Horse/War/2nd Seal), do not be alarmed. Such things must

happen, but the end is still to come.

Luke 21:8-9: 8He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. 9When you hear of wars and revolutions (W

Seal, Red Horse/War/2nd Seal), do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

Jesus goes on to say the end will not have occurred when in:Matthew 24:7-10: 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines (Black Horse/Famine/3rd Seal) and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of bir9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death (Pale Horse/Death/4th, 5th Seal), and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and wother,

Mark 13:8-12: 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines (Black Horse/Famine/3rd Seal). These are the beginning of birth pain9"You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10And the gospeall nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.12"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death (Pale Horse/Death/4th, 5th Seal).

Luke 21:11-19: 11There will be great earthquakes, famines(Black Horse/Famine/3rd Seal) and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.12"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13Th

witnesses to them. 14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death (Pale Horse/Death/4th, 5th Seal). 17All men will hate you because of me. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By st

life.

The events about which Jesus was speaking will occur at the beginning and as far in as the middle of the 70 th Week of Daniel.....but the end will not have

• The rider on the white horse wearing a single crown which was given to him, symbolizes the Antichrist although some argue that it is Jesus Christ, a position that His personal history does not fit. Also the fa

the seals while at the same time representing a rider on a white horse is also doubtful. Furthermore, Christ does not appear as a White Horse Rider until Revelation19:11-16. The actual identity of the rider is

recognized from prophetic similarities indicated throughout the Bible. Nonetheless, a conquering rider best fits with the lawless one (Antichrist) prophetically described in 2 Thessalonians 2.

• The white horse, symbolic of purity and justice can be compared (equated) to the Lord who rides a white horse when He comes to Armageddon (Revelation 19:11-21). The white horse is the spirit of antich

the rider wear white as a deceptive cover for the true darkness of its purpose. Just as Satan and his demons disguise themselves as beings of light, this horse and the deceptions it brings are meant to deceive m

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2 Corinthians 11:14: "And no marvel: for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." The fact that he is riding a white horse indicates battle readiness. In Old Testament times kings and rulers on m

donkey, while horses were used for battle.

• Given a single crown indicates that he does not possess authority, but that it is given to him, i.e. the rider (spirit) must have permission (of God) to act before initiating an action. The Greek word for a Kin

rider wears a stephanos, or victor's crown which was the honor given to winners in the ancient Olympics and other public games. It was typically an ivy wreath, in fact the word stephanos comes from a root midentified the wearer as a conqueror, but not as royalty. The garland worn by the rider on the white horse symbolizes a single kingdom, authority and power that will rise and flourish for a time, after which it

continue.

• By wearing a crown, once again the symbolic Antichrist mimics Christ who wears a royal crown (diadem) of gold on His head when He comes to harvest the earth of believers.

Revelation 14:14: 14I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

• The horseman gives a messianic allusion to those who are deceived by his actions and deeds as does the real Antichrist.Revelation 13:8: 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

• His purpose is "conquering" and to conquer (continents, nations, peoples, religious systems, governments, ideologies) . The Antichrist spirit will change hearts of men and their systems from what wa

to come, thereby making a way for the arrival of the lawless one.Revelation 13:7: 7He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

• The bow (an ancient instrument of war) in his hand is a symbol of aggressive warfare, yet there is no mention of arrows (in his hands). How then will he conquer? He will conquer through his being

and diplomacy. Again the spirit of the Antichrist will use those who will do his bidding. Diplomacy, believable schemes, negotiation and deception will be part of the methodology used by the spirit through  preparation for the one who is to come.

Writers and scholars have assumed, because it is not mentioned, that the rider on the white horse has no arrows. The correctness of this point of view may possibly be in error because in

Ephesians 6:10-18 we are exhorted to put on the whole armour of God that we will be able to stand against the devil's schemes and the flaming arrows of the evil one. I rather suspect that

the fiery arrows (darts) come from the bow of the rider on the white horse. If the collective church does not have the protection of the full armour of God then the spirit of Antichrist is

going to destroy many of the people spiritually resulting in a great falling away (apostasy) as indicated in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Apostasy ("the falling away") is not necessarily a

departure from an organized body but a departure from truth. One can remain in an organization and depart from the truth. It points to a deliberate abandonment of a former professed position or belief. According to how filled with the Holy Spirit you are will determine how well you will be able to fight and stand in the hour of testing. Carnal (unregenerated)

Christians are more vulnerable to the destruction of the white horseman in that they have not repented of their sinful carnal nature. Christians who have fallen into deceptive doctrines of 

demons will also be destroyed by this horse and rider. Every time the hooves of the white horse hit the ground they shake the foundation of the Church and all of the Christians. When the

foundation is being shaken protection comes only from being filled with the Holy Spirit and being covered with the full armour of God. We are not fighting against flesh and blood, but

against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6: 10-18: 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh a

rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the

the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is

 pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

2 Thessalonians 2:3: 3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion (falling away) occurs and the man (Antichrist) of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, the man doom

Revelation 3:10: 10

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

• The Antichrist spirit will have deceived, brainwashed and desensitized mankind to such a degree that when the Antichrist appears on the scene he will simply rise up and continue in a well established sysapparent to most and deception will continue.

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