Many of us Christians, we have this. conservative understanding in our politics. But I caution you. You can be a conservative without being a Christian. If you are a Christian, And you have conservative views.
Don't lose sight of these things. Don't forget This part of your interaction in political conversation. Don't forget to say The Lord Jesus is in control. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now here's Pastor Rick with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio in Revelation chapter 6. John is shown events that are taking place on earth in his vision of heaven. immediately following the rapture.
Well, what does it look like?
Well, verse 1, now we got to verse 1.
Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a loud voice, saying with a voice like thunder. Come and see.
Well, the Lamb is Jesus Christ. We established that in chapters 4 and 5. This is the first of seven seals. Each one is nasty the seventh seal Unlocks seven trumpets they're nobody's friend And though the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, That unleashes seven bowls. or instruments to pour out.
More wrath. And so when Christ says, such as the world has not seen, you remember he has this thing for understatement. How else do you get around it? How does God describe hell to you? He just said, don't go there.
Well The seal breakings Symbolizes that he is the one in control. This is not out of, no one's going to be able to say in the Great Tribulation period, this is so random. I can't believe So the man-made global warming is just causing all these things. No, somebody's gonna come with that Bible. No, it's right here, and I'm converting.
Even if it gets me killed, and it will.
So the seven seals Are preliminary judgments preparing for more judgments to come because it is global, if that's what it's going to take. Hell is not in control. Uh the entire earth. Will be ripe for the imposter that brings. Remember, I said at the beginning.
Iniquity. Christ hatred, hatred for God, will max out under Antichrist. And God is saying, that's it. This is where the line is drawn. I drew it a long time ago.
You've reached it. Your iniquity is full, and this will be his response to it. And God will give them what they want: a world without. His love. 2 Thessalonian 4.
Chapter 2. We know this verse. For this reason, God will send them a strong delusion that they should believe the lie. Pause there.
Now You know, many of us Christians, we have this conservative understanding in our politics. But I caution you. You can be a conservative without being a Christian. If you are a Christian, and you have conservative views, don't lose sight of these things. Don't forget This part.
of your interaction in political conversation. Don't forget to say The Lord Jesus is in control. He's going to deal with evil in two ways. One, when people who hate him die. Gonna deal with it then.
And two, he's going to deal with an evil world that would be happy to be rid of anything that shows him adoration. And so we stabilize ourselves. And don't become so politically minded that we lose sight of the kingdom of heaven. where our first citizenship is. In verse 12 of 2 Thessalonians 2, he says, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God is getting right to the heart. He's saying, Listen, I don't care what you think these people are on the outside, I'm telling you what's on the inside. And if these rascals were allowed into heaven, Heaven would be hell very quickly, and they will be purged. And when I come back to earth, I will get rid of most of them, and I will start rebuilding things then. And I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder.
Oh, it's unmistakable. There's just no way John was going to be distracted at this point. Maybe he saw, oh, look at that. What is that?
Well, that put an end to that when this guy spoke. Thunder is the sound of an approaching storm. When I did steel work on a skyscraper and thunder came, Everybody went down. You got below floors. It just wasn't worth it.
All that steel, in fact, every tool we had was made out of metal. Nothing was anyway. Come and see.
This is an invitation. God wants us to see how. Human rule is going to be put down. and what it's going to take to do it. or what's going to be allowed.
Also, verse 2. and I looked, and behold, a white horse. He was satisfied. on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him.
And he went out conquering and to conquer. This behold always introduces drama. That's the drama music of scripture. He, and you know, there are commentators, even ones that I like, that. entertain thoughts that this is Christ coming in.
Well, I'm not going to spend too much time on them. Commentators have a Formally educated commentators have a practice of repeating each other's. Campbell Morgan said, they like sheep all go astray. And you've got to watch out for that. And if you read enough of them, you pick it up.
You say, wait a minute, copyrights earlier over here. This guy's just repeating that guy.
Okay, I get it. They went to the same, I get it. This entrance of the one coming on a white horse is not to be confused with the Lord's entrance, also on a white horse, in Revelation 19, at the end to put the end to the great tribulation period. This is the imitation Christ, known scripturally as Antichrist. What do you call it?
Spoiler alert. He is going to morph into the beast. He's already rotten, the protege of Satan. But he becomes worse. And I probably will repeat that.
Now the color of the horse is Mm. very important to the story because Revelation is speaking in symbols and they're majestic symbols. And they they come from the king. The color of the horse characterizes the activity. This one has several applications I'll get to in a minute.
But the next one is the fiery red, that's war and the blood that comes from it. Then comes black, that's the famine and the fallout from war, and then the pale horse, which is actually sort of a chlorine color. Death. The color of the horse characterizes the activity. In this case, coming on the white horse, he's pretending that he is bringing peace, that there are no spots against him in the eyes of the world, while he goes ahead and starts purging Christianity to execute his plan.
He's going to be intolerant of. alternative ideas that defy him or deny his self-asserted deity, and he will come to the place where he Announces that he is God. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 again: Let no one deceive you by any means. For that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, that is, apostasy. That is those who are pretending to be in church or claim to be Christians or associated with Christianity, but actually have fallen away from its truth.
And he continues. And the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. Two names for him, just right there. We mentioned that the Bible has a lot to say about Antichrist.
Well, there he is called the man of sin, distinct from every other man of sin. Here he is called the son of hell, the son of perdition. distinct from other people who act like they're the devil's spawn. This is getting serious. Antichrist starts out evil, but as I said, he becomes more evil.
And he moves away from just being the man of sin, the son of perdition, the willful king, and all the other monikers attached to him, and he becomes the beast. Humans aren't supposed to behave like beasts. Charting prophecy requires work. I go back again to Daniel 9. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week.
This is telling us of his political power. And his savvy behavior when it comes to politics. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice, an offering. He goes off. He loses.
Well, he doesn't lose it, he just shows his true colors. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. And the the language is he's going to stay evil until the end. One more verse from Daniel twelve again, but this time verse eleven. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, There shall be 1290 days.
You guys, you're three and a half. year period. A little bit more is thrown in as you go into this in Scripture. There are answers when you we we don't have time, but there are answers.
So I want to come back to this part here about the daily sacrifice. What is going on?
Well, this is the Jewish sacrifice, which means the temple has to be rebuilt. They don't have one now. They cannot bring sacrifices to Yahweh. But they will have one. And after a while, the Antichrist is going to commit sacrilege on it, and Jesus warned Mark chapter 13, verse 14, which is also a repeat from Matthew 24.
So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, as we just read in Daniel 12:11, standing where it ought not be. Let the reader understand, Mark adds that. Then let those who were in Judea flee to the mountains. He's saying, when you see the Antichrist, this is what it comes down to. Defile your Jewish temple.
You'll know you've been had. And you better run for your life. Don't waste any time doing that because he will get you. How much will he get? As mentioned, two thirds.
Without this character, this Antichrist coming in on a white horse, the great tribulation doesn't happen. What is restraining him?
Well, we read that from Thessalonians. He who now restrains the Holy Spirit is the one that says, those seals aren't open, you ain't going anywhere. He may be alive. Already. He may also be in power in some country.
Somewhere. It doesn't matter, we're not going to be here to see it and we won't miss it. but he arrives on a white horse. the behaviors that accompany such a figure riding into history. The good guy, doesn't the good guy come in on the white horse?
The white horse. and the writer The ruler is to come. In fact, Daniel 26 refers to him as the prince who is to come. Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood.
Till the end of the war, desolations are determined. I know you say you're repeating this desolations and the end of the age. Yeah, because it's all over scripture. I'm using different verses. The emphasis is clear.
At this stage, his Korea assumes control of the entire world. Again, Daniel 7 this time. And let me just point out why a lot of commentators don't believe in the rapture and don't see the Antichrist as spoken of in Daniel, because they They they keep a historical view. The character in Daniel That prefigures anti-crisis often Antiochus Epiphanes, He was a Syrian ruler who hated the Jews, who committed sacrilege and tried to slaughter them. He was a monster.
But Antichrist will make him seem like pocket change. Because Antichrist will be global. Antiochus was not. And and this is what Daniel brings out, and then j the other prophets ring in on this also, until finally Jesus says, such as the world has not seen. It's not limited to Jerusalem or to Israel.
And that is a key part of understanding these figures in Scripture: is that their behavior. Eventually maxes out. For example, some commentators cannot see Satan in Isaiah 14 or Ezekiel 24. But when you read those passages of scripture, you say, wait a minute, these things do apply to kings of Tyre and Babylon to some degree, but then they go way past it and into the spiritual realm, and it cannot apply to any human being. It now applies to a wicked spiritual being.
we know as Satan. And so these things, they are connected. This is the best Lego set you're ever going to come across, the scripture. Let's go back now. Let's look at Daniel seven this time.
Then he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it, and break it in pieces.
Well, who could that possibly be? But this end time figure, it's global once again, and there's nothing like him. Such a prophecy. can only coincide with the Great Tribulation period. He is a savage politician behind the scenes, pretending to be a man of peace.
Bringing order to a troubled world.
Well, we got to get the Christians out of the way. And secretly, And then we gotta get the Jews out of the way too, until finally he springs his trap. Daniel 7 verse 8. And there was another horn. A little one.
coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out. By the roots. Yeah, that's all his political moves, his Machiavellian tactics behind the scenes. He continues. And there In this horn Were the eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking pompous words.
This is Antichrist. Consistent with what I read from Daniel 7:23, that's in Daniel 7, verse 8. If you speak to the Jews today, they want peace. They want peace to a fault. And they're going to set themselves up with that mindset for Antichrist to bring them this false peace.
I remember speaking with a Jewish taxi driver, and he just, you got it, it almost was like a revelation. of how hungry they were for peace. They can't understand why they're hated. They're not bothering anyone. This is according to their rationale.
Peace has got to prevail, and it's not going to work out that way.
Well, Christ comes on a white horse also to end the great tribulation, but he rides his white horse out of heaven. And we read that in Revelation 19, verses 11 and 14, and he's followed by the armies in heaven on white horses also. And also, in contrast to this white horse rider, who is an imposter, not a real Prince of Peace, when the Lord comes, He slays with the sword of his mouth. A sword is associated with his weapon, not a bow. And he is also said to be faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war against this Antichrist and his forces.
So the first writer. The son of perdition. is personified here. as evil. As you read about the first horse, a rider is on it, the personification of his wickedness.
It is an evil that turns on its followers.
Now, if you don't understand that, you won't understand how. Why you know, you have too many questions about evil that should not go unanswered. Evil will turn on its own followers under the spell of Antichrist. A house divided will not stand, Jesus said.
Well in the end That house is divided. As we go through the revelation, we're going to see demons doing evil things to evil people. second Thessalonians two ten. and with all unrighteous deception, as opposed to the one that's faithful and true, among those who perished because they did not receive the love of truth, that they might be saved. This white horse means that people see no fault in him as he rides on the scene of human history.
We see in this country incompetent American politicians. elected by dupes who are actually treasonous. And you say to yourself, these behaviors are possible. We're seeing them happen. Why would I doubt Scripture?
That white horse will turn red and black and pale. the colors of carnage. in Scripture. in the scriptural revelation. famine, death, and war.
He who sat on it had a bow, Again, he's personified. Antichrist is Satan's most complete counterfeit to Christ. He is the best Lucifer can produce through depraved humanity. and the white horse and the bow without arrows. mentioned incidentally Signals The initial piece without bloodshed.
Yet he has some far-reaching ambitions And he's got those arrows somewhere. If I saw a man walking around with a rifle, With no magazine in it, chamber open, I could see he's not armed. I'm not going to be comfortable. I'm going to say what's in his pocket. He's got the magazine that is floated with bullets.
That's part of the picture here. He comes on the scene as well, he's not a great threat. Revelation 19, 20 speaking about Christ. And the sword that he brings when he comes, and the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse. I only mentioned that in contrast in case you've read commentaries or have a study Bible that hints at, well, this could be Christ coming on the scene here in Revelation 6.
No, no, I don't see how that is possible. Anyway, Uh the evil nature. The wickedness that will befall men. I'll turn back to Daniel one more time. You know, Daniel's pretty easy reading until you start getting to his prophecies.
It's because you have to know history that goes with it to unlock the meanings, largely about the Jews and the Romans and the Persians. And then once you get that, you can begin to say, okay, Daniel is prophesying the future ahead of him until finally it ends with this Antichrist that is made of, you know, the statue of Nebuchadnezzar with the feet. Of clay and iron, which don't mix, and it falls to the ground. But Daniel 8. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule, and he shall exalt himself in his heart.
He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the prince of princes. But he shall be broken without human means. And that goes back to Daniel's vision of the statue and other areas of Daniel's prophecy. And so there you see, he's a consummate politician.
He's a conniver. He's going to destroy Many of the rich people we saw this when with the in Russia after it stopped being the Soviet Union, and they all of a sudden they had these billionaires coming into power, and then all of a sudden these billionaires lost their fortune, it was stripped from them from the government, and they were put in gulags.
So it's not far fetched. He is said to be going out to conquer with this bow and unseen arrows. Again, their arrows, they're there, they're just not seen. Jesus said this. He said to the Jews, You won't receive your Messiah, me.
But someone else is going to come along. and him you're going to receive. John 5:43, I've come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, Him you will receive.
Well, that's going to happen with them in Antichrist. When speaking of Armageddon, Ezekiel saw the bow knocked out of this character's hand. Ezekiel wrote, of course, you know, some 500 years before the birth of Christ. Ezekiel 39 says, So Ezekiel 38 is Antichrist coming to power, wars on earth, end time stuff in the tribulation period. Then Ezekiel 39.
Leads to Armageddon. And there we read, Then I will knock. the bow out of your left hand and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. And so there's a scriptural cross-reference. in the end times of what's going to take place.
Against Antichrist coming on the scene with this white horse and bow. And a crown was given to him. Well, Satan thinks he's in control. He's not. Incidentally, the word crown there is Stephanos in the Greek, that is a temporary crown.
Versus a diadem, which is a permanent crown. And the Lord, as we're told in 19:12 of Revelation, has many diadems. This guy gets only one. Wreath. of a of a crown.
Well, let's finish this up. And he went out conquering and to conquer. Well the man of sin is all about power. getting power and then keeping the power, but it won't work. Daniel again 1136 Then the king shall do according to his own will?
He shall exalt and magnify himself above every God, Shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished. For what has been determined shall be done. And so there, he's a self-willed king according to his will. He exalts and magnifies himself above every God as. In Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 24, I will exalt my stars above the heavens.
He speaks blasphemies against the true God.
So here's a couple of names in the Old Testament. a fierce king, Daniel eight twenty three. The little horn, Daniel seven, eight, the prince to come, Daniel nine twenty six. The Wilful King Daniel eleven thirty six. The worthless shepherd.
Zechariah 11, 17. In the New Testament, some of the monikers for him, Antichrist, 1 John 2:18. 2 John 2:7, the beast, Revelation 13, and now we're going to get back to this character.
So it's it's appropriate to spend a little time on him. Revelation 20, verse 10, also the beast. The lawless one, 2 Thessalonians 2.8. The man of sin, the son of perdition, Again, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and then verse 8. And these are just some of the names about him.
We're almost done.
So once again without This rider on the white horse, the other horses are just routine war. Famine. problems in life. But he changes everything. He makes it all global.
And it will be tribulation such as the world has not known.
Okay. This has been Cross Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreference radio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
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