Pale Horse Riding – The Coming Global Pandemic

“When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him.” Revelation 6:7-8

Death, the terrifying rider of the pale horse brings with him pestilence. The world today is headed for a global pandemic the likes of which we have never seen. This will fulfill prophecies in the New Testament, including the one cited above from Revelation. We are not far away from losing approximately one-third of the global population. When it starts it will spread quickly. Startling new evidence revealed on PBS Frontline, tells why that now more than ever, we are on the virtual brink of a global outbreak. Fatalities from antibiotic resistance bacteria are increasing at alarming rates, and are signaling what doctors and scientist are now calling “the end of antibiotics.” According to the evidence presented, all antibiotics will eventually lose the battle with bacteria as it mutates and becomes more and more resistant. CAUTION: This video shows several heart-wrenching cases of people who have suffered at the hands of these new super bugs.

Unpacking the Book of Revelation Part 2: Greeting to the Seven Churches

If this is your first time joining us, welcome! I recommend you read through Part 1 before reading this lesson for a cohesive understanding of the book of Revelation. Previous lessons are in the Bible Study category.

In this study we are going through the book of Revelation verse by verse. Beginning where we left off from Part 1, let’s get started with Part 2 on the Book of Revelation. First, let’s read the greeting in its entirety. It consists of five verses.

Rev 1:4    John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
Rev 1:5    and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Rev 1:6    and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Rev 1:7    Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Rev 1:8    “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Next, let’s start unpacking the sacred text.

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: In addition to being a prophecy, the book of Revelation is also a letter. Here John identifies himself. Notice he just says “John” which leads us to believe that these churches would have known who he was. This is one factor among several that help us identify the writer as John the apostle. Note the audience: the seven churches in Asia. We are not talking about the continent Asia nor its western division Asia Minor but rather a single district in the latter that had Ephesus as its capital. These churches were John’s “neighborhood” so to speak in the later years of his life and were under his care. There were more than seven churches in that area at the time. In biblical literature the number seven represents perfection, totality, completeness. It is also the number of the covenant that God has with His church. These seven churches are meant to represent the church universal.

Grace to you and peace…A common apostolic benediction used throughout the New Testament.

…from him who is and who was and who is to come….John is referring to The Father.

…and from the seven spirits who are before his throne…John is referring to The Holy Spirit.

…and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. John refers to The Son and we have the complete triune godhead. Jesus is a faithful witness because everything he says comes from the Father. He is the firstborn of the dead because he rose from the tomb. He is ruler of kings on earth because he also rules the entire universe. He is omnipotent. He is the second person of the triune God.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood...Jesus not only loves us but he also “freed us from our sins by his blood.” In other words his death on the cross atoned for our sins and we will not be held guilty nor accountable for them when we die and are judged. That is the good news of the gospel.

…and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The Church is a kingdom in which all are priests (c.f… Rev 5:10; 20:6. Ro. 12:1. 1 Pe. 2:5-9). Christ is the mediator between believers and God (1 Timothy 2:5). The Epistle to the Hebrews calls Jesus the supreme “high priest,” who offered himself as a perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 7:23–28). Through Christ believers have been given direct access to God, just like a priest. God is equally accessible to all the faithful, and every Christian has equal potential to minister for God.

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. John is referencing the return of Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead. Jesus is coming to judge the living and the dead and everyone will see him (c.f. Rev 14:14–16. Mat. 24:30; 26:64. Mar. 13:26; 14:62. Lu. 21:27. Ac. 1:9–11. 1 Th. 4:17).

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha is the first, Omega, the last, letter in the Greek alphabet. Lord God the Almighty is both the Alpha, or beginning, and the Omega, or end, of all things. God is the beginning, as he is the Author and Creator of all things. He is the end, as he brings all the things to a complete and glorious conclusion. The beginning and end of a thing is in scripture styled the whole thing. Therefore God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; that is, one who is all things, and always the same.

Finally, let’s summarize to see what we have learned. I will always include the summary from the previous lesson so we can remember where we left off.

Previous Summary:
A) God reveals his will in and through His son Jesus Christ.
B) The book of Revelation is a prophecy of future events that will take place soon.
C) Jesus is the author of the book of Revelation.
D) John was chosen by Jesus to record these future events so that we will know what is going to happen.
E) Jesus sends an angel to John to show him what to write.
F) Those who preach, hear, and abide by what is written in the book of Revelation will be blessed.

Current Summary:
A) The book of Revelation is a prophetic letter addressed to the church universal.
B) God has a triune nature: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
C) Jesus is a faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings upon the earth.
D) Jesus atoned for our sins through his death on the cross.
E) Christ’s church is a kingdom of priests meaning that all believers, not just clergy, have direct access to God in Jesus Christ.
F) Jesus is coming to judge the living and the dead and everyone will see him.
G) God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; that is, one who is all things, and always the same.

That wraps up this part of our study of the book of Revelation. I pray it has been a fruitful experience for you. As you can see there is much to learn. If you want to stay up to date with this study, and learn what the book of Revelation says about the end times, the tribulation, the antichrist, the return of Jesus, the final judgement, and the new heaven and the new earth, then I encourage you to subscribe to this blog. You will receive notification when new posts are added.

All Rights Reserved, Patmos Ministries – CNY

Unless otherwise indicated all Scripture has been quoted from the English Standard Version (ESV) translation.

The Spirit of the Antichrist: The New World Order

“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” 1 John 4:2-3

John tells us in the New Testament that the spirit of the antichrist “…now is in the world already.” A “new world order” is currently being established. This New World Order has money as its center and that is its god, not Christ Jesus. It therefore represents the Spirit of the Antichrist. The Antichrist will use this system much to his advantage in horrible and unspeakable ways as outlined in the book of Revelation. One tool of the New World Order, and of the Antichrist, is the use of naked force on the populace. The following video demonstrates clearly that the new world order has been planned at the highest levels of government in the United States for decades. In this video you will hear our own leaders talking explicitly about the New World Order. Note: We do not necessarily endorse the comments made by the author at the end of the video. It is nice that he is hopeful, but we know that there is no hope left for this world. God’s word will not return empty, and our only hope is in Jesus Christ.

Unpacking the Book of Revelation Part 1: Prologue

Revelation 1:1-3
1. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
2. who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
3. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

1. The prologue to the book of Revelation is comprised of the first three verses. It might be helpful to first define the word “revelation.” Simply put, revelation is the revealing of hidden things. The book of Revelation reveals “the things that must soon take place.” Therefore, it is a prophecy of future events. Note also it is the revelation “of Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the author of the book of Revelation, not John. John is the writer, not the author. We are told these events will occur “soon.” Although the book was written around 95 AD, we are told elsewhere in the bible, in 2 Peter 3:8 to be exact, that a thousand years is like one day to God. So to God, it has only been as though a couple of days would be to us since the book was written. This revelation has been given to Jesus by God the Father for the purpose of showing “his servants the things that must soon take place.” Note that God the Father makes his will known to humanity in and through Christ. Jesus makes this revelation known to us by sending his angel to John, and John records everything he sees and hears in the book of Revelation. Note that by this time Jesus has already ascended into heaven. Note also the use of the word “must.” These things must take place. The bible teaches that when God says something must take place, then it will most assuredly happen. God’s word will not return empty (Isaiah 55:11).

2. Here we get some biographical data about John. To everyone he saw he “bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.” John was an apostle. He bore witness to the word of God by writing it down and by living it out. He died a martyr. He bore witness to the testimony of Jesus Christ in his gospel. We get the impression here that John is a reliable person to receive this message and transmit it to the world because of his life and witness. He has some authority. Furthermore, he was the one chosen by Jesus to receive and transmit this message.

3. A special blessing is reserved for those who read and hear the words of this prophecy with an eye towards abiding by what is written therein. Note also the use of the word “prophecy” in verse three. The book of Revelation is a prophecy of future events. It also emphasized again in verse three that these things will happen soon (“for the time is near”). Within the first three verses of this prophecy we are told twice that the events recorded therein will soon take place. We should take notice when the bible emphasizes and repeats things. We are being repeatedly warned that these events will happen soon.

Summary
God reveals his will in and through His son Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation is a prophecy of future events that will take place soon. Jesus is the author of the book of Revelation. John was chosen by Jesus to record these future events so that we will know what is going to happen. Jesus sends an angel to John to show him what to write. Those who preach, hear, and abide by what is written in the book of Revelation will be blessed.

All rights reserved Patmos Ministries – CNY