Hello, I'm Shelley
Quinn and welcome again to
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Issues and Answers.
You know what? I'm really
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excited about today's
program. We have back with us
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James Rafferty who is the co-
director and speaker for Light
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Bearers Ministry. James thank
you so much for coming back.
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It's good to be here Shelley.
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You know we've done two programs
with you and we're talking about
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the apocalypse and our previous
two programs I want you to know
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that I've been so excited about
it, it's been hard for me to
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even finish up on time. But I
want to share a scripture with
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you today. This is going to
be the focus of today's lesson.
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It is from Revelation chapter
6 beginning in verse 1. It says:
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Then I saw as the Lamb broke
open one of the seven seals and
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as if in a voice of thunder
I heard one of the four living
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creatures call out, Come. And
I looked and I saw there was a
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white horse whose rider carried
a bow and a crown was given him
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and he rode forth conquering
and to conquer. We've been
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talking in two previous programs
about the word apocalypse and
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how different our society today
looks at that word from the way
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the Greek defined the
word. Right now, James, the word
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apocalypse for many people in
our culture is a doom and gloom
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word, a bad word. But how does
the Bible define apocalypse?
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The Bible defines apocalypse
very simply as the revealing,
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the uncovering, but
almost always in connection with
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Christ, with God, with the
gospel, with grace, with the
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plan of salvation; very positive
and so what you see here is a
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contrast of interpretation.
I think mainly this contrast of
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interpretation, this false
understanding of what apocalypse
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is all about, has come through
a misunderstanding of the book
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of Revelation. The book of
Revelation is a book that is
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a book that is left out of many
people's reading material who
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believe in Christ and who
are Christians. In fact Martin
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Luther believed that this
book should be taken out of the
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canon of scripture. He didn't
think that it was a part of the
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canon of scripture and his
main reason: He believed in
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righteousness by faith, he
believed in the gospel of Jesus
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Christ and he did not believe
the book of Revelation was
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talking about any of that.
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That's so interesting
because when you understand the
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apocalypse is being the
unveiling of Jesus Christ as you
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read Revelation, you see
Revelation is all about Jesus,
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Jesus in the sanctuary. And
we look at that even in Daniel.
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Last week we looked at Daniel
9:24-27 and how the protestant
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church, in particular I was
mentioning about Matthew Henry,
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ascribed those verses to Jesus
Christ and for many years people
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believed that he was the
one who was going to make the
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covenant and be for one week
and then be cut off in the midst
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of the week. We looked last week
at how it really is about Jesus
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contrary to what is now popular
belief. But we said it before on
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our program that if you
understand the word apocalypse
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as meaning the unveiling of
God's divine mysteries and a
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manifestation of our Lord Jesus
Christ then when you look at the
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apocalyptic literature of Daniel
and Revelation, you get a whole
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new lens to look through and
that's what we're going to do
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today with Revelation 6. Why did
you want to talk to these verses
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in Revelation 6
about the 4 horses?
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Because these four horses are
lumped together. In the minds
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of many people who interpret
prophecy and in the minds of
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many people who look at prophecy
in the secular mind, just the
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word apocalypse is a negative,
the four horsemen of Revelation
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are a negative. Many times,
even on television programs, the
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history channel, specials you
see on prophecy, you see these
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four horses lumped together
as a very negative image of doom
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and gloom that's coming upon the
earth. So the four horses are a
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perfect example of what we're
trying to show in relation to
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understanding what apocalypse
means. Because this white horse
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is not a negative in the
apocalyptic picture, in the
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Revelation picture. This white
horse is actually a picture of
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Jesus Christ, of the plan of
salvation, of the gospel, of the
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victory he's gained for us
and his ability to go forth
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conquering and to conquer. Now
how do we know that? Well first
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and foremost we have to look
back beginning in chapter 1 of
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Revelation, we have to
look at the theme as it's being
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developed in this book and move
gradually through that theme
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until we get to Revelation
chapter 6. I thought we could
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do that, Shelley, by starting
in Revelation chapter 1 and
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looking here at verse 5.
Revelation 1:5 says: And from
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Jesus Christ, the faithful
and trustworthy witness, the
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firstborn of the dead and the
Prince of the kings of the earth
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to him who ever loves us and has
once for all loosed and freed us
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from our sins by his own blood.
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You are going to notice
something here, Shelley, and our
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listeners are going to notice
something as they read the book
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of Revelation. The
gospel of Jesus Christ is always
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introduced first. Now I don't
want to say in any way that the
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Revelation of Jesus does not
include some negative doom and
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gloom pictures; it does. It is
not just a Revelation of Jesus
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but it's a revelation from him
and in his love for us he shows
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us what's going to happen
on this earth in the future.
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But everything we see in
Revelation is not about doom and
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gloom. The main theme, the main
message of Revelation is Jesus
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Christ, is the revelation
of Jesus Christ and that always
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comes first. That's what we're
seeing here in this chapter.
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You know, if we looked at verse
1, it actually says this is the
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apocalypse, the revelation, of
Jesus Christ, the unveiling of
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of his divine mysteries. As you
said, it is revealing Jesus for
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who he is, but it's also him
revealing to us what's going to
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happen in the last days.
That's shortly going to come to
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pass. You've got a mixture
of the two and the horses is a
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perfect example. You have Jesus
first and then you have these
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other horses. How do we
know this? Well we start out in
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chapter 1, the very
first message of the book of
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Revelation is that God loved us
and washed us from our sins in
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his blood. The very first vision
of Revelation, the very first
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vision that John is shown is not
a vision of a great red dragon
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with 7 heads and 10 horns. It's
not a vision of the mark of the
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beast or the antichrist or the
7 last plagues. It is a vision
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of the Son of Man. Where is he
standing? He is standing among
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the candle sticks, the seven
golden candle sticks. What do
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those candle sticks represent?
In Revelation1:19-20 we're told
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those candle sticks represent
the churches. The 7 churches of
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God are represented by those
candle sticks. So we have here
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in the introduction to the book
of Revelation, the introduction
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to the theme of Revelation. What
is the theme? The theme is the
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gospel. The theme is that Jesus
loves us, washed us from our
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sins in his blood. The focus is
the Son of Man, get your eyes on
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him, focus on him, look at him.
Look at Jesus and see what he
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has done for you and then we
move into a revealing of future
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events. First of all in the 7
churches, events that are future
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to John's time. The history of
the churches is the history of
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God's people down through the
ages starting with the apostolic
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church and moving all the way
down to the church of Laodicea,
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the church that reveals the time
in which we live, a time when
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everyone is rich and increased
with goods and in need of
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nothing. And what you find
at the end of each one of these
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churches is this message: To
him who overcomes, to him who
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overcomes. But guess what?
We can't overcome, not in and of
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ourselves. Only by
the blood of the lamb
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and by the word of our testimony
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Yes! And that's what's been
introduced in Revelation chapter
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1 verse 5, that he's washed
us from our sins in his blood.
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Now notice this theme built
up. Okay, you started out in
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Revelation chapters 1-3
with this idea of the need to
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overcome. And, of course, by the
end of Revelation chapter 3 you
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are clear; 7 times it's been
told you you've got to overcome.
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And yet in our lives we
are filled with despair and
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discouragement. We feel like
will I ever be able to overcome?
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Then we go into Revelation
chapters 4 and 5. Revelation
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4 and 5 reveal to us a throne
scene. They show us God sitting
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upon his throne and there's
a rainbow around his throne.
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In that context a message comes
forth because he's pictured with
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a little roll or a scroll in
his hand that's sealed up with 7
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seals. That roll represents
or contains the history of the
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nations of this world from
beginning to end; the history
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of every human being that has
ever lived is recorded in that
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scroll. And the message that
comes forth is who is worthy
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to take the scroll. There's
only one. The answer at first is
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there's no one; there's no man
in heaven, no man in earth, and
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no man under the earth that can
take it. Now notice. If you tie
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this in with the message to
the churches, it fits perfectly.
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Someone needs to be able to
overcome, someone needs to be
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able to take that scroll,
someone needs to be able to
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alter our destiny, the history
of this earth. Why? All have
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sinned and come short of the
glory of God. The wages of sin
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is death. Okay. But no man
in heaven, not Moses, not Enoch,
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not Elijah who had walked so
close with God that they were
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translated without seeing, at
least Enoch and Elijah were, no
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man in earth, no pope
or president, no matter how
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powerful or holy he claims to
be, and no man under the earth.
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Men like Daniel who have
died in the Lord, are resting in
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Jesus, who were so faultless
that even their enemies couldn't
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find fault with the, can
take this history and alter it.
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And John begins to weep and
then the message comes to him in
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verse 5: Weep not. Behold the
Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
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root of David, has prevailed.
This verse brings us the rest
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of the story, it brings us the
glorious gospel. But here's the
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key. You know what that word
prevailed means? To overcome.
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Yes! It's the same word
that's used through all of the 7
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churches. To him that overcomes,
to him that overcomes. We can't
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overcome. Don't weep. Jesus has
overcome. Jesus has prevailed.
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Now what do we need to
do? Well, we get to Revelation
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chapter 6. Revelation chapter 6
is the opening up of our history
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the opening up of that scroll
sealed book that is in the right
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hand of him that sits on the
throne. Because Jesus prevailed
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he took the scroll, he broke the
seals. When the first seal is
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opened what do we see? A white
horse. Who does that represent?
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According to Revelation 19,
it represents Jesus. He is the
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white horse rider. His
name is the word of God. Yes!
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A horse in Bible prophecy
represents a people. There are
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four horses here.
Four represents the various
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directions of the compass of the
world, north, east, south and
00:11:20.84\00:11:23.73
west. So you have all the people
of the world encompassed in
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these four horses. All of them
are connected with one of these
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horses, whether it's the white,
the red, the black, or the pale.
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The white horse is the one
we want to connect with. Why?
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Because in the Bible white
consistently is used, leukos,
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for righteousness, for
God, for his kingdom, for his
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righteousness. All the way
through Revelation that's the
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way the word is used and these
are the reasons why we know that
00:11:47.67\00:11:51.76
this horse represents Christ and
not antichrist. Now the reason
00:11:51.79\00:11:55.85
I emphasize that is because,
again, we look at the secular
00:11:55.88\00:11:58.80
society today; they lump the
4 horses together and they say,
00:11:58.84\00:12:01.91
Ah, 4 horses, these are doom
and gloom. This is definitely
00:12:01.94\00:12:05.37
problems. We don't see these
as differentiating from each
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other. They're all negative. No!
The white horse is focusing on
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the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. You continue on here.
00:12:13.35\00:12:17.22
A horse represents a people.
White represents Christ's
00:12:17.26\00:12:21.06
righteousness. So what do you
have? You have a people who are
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connecting with Christ's
righteousness. How do they do
00:12:23.56\00:12:26.27
that? Well the rider that sits
on him has a bow. Now this word
00:12:26.31\00:12:29.56
bow is tox and it is not
used but one time in the New
00:12:29.59\00:12:33.04
Testament. But it comes
from another word that is used
00:12:33.07\00:12:36.45
repeatedly in Revelation 12,
5 times the root word for bow is
00:12:36.48\00:12:41.07
used in Revelation 12. It means
to bring forth. Now does that
00:12:41.11\00:12:45.66
sound familiar to you?
Yes. In Revelation 12:5 it says:
00:12:45.70\00:12:49.62
And she brought forth a male
child. So this is talking about
00:12:49.65\00:12:52.81
bringing forth Jesus.
Yes! Bringing forth Jesus.
00:12:52.85\00:12:56.16
So what you have here, if you
go back to Revelation 6 and you
00:12:56.19\00:12:59.74
look at this verse and you
begin to take these words and
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trace them through the
Bible, specifically the book of
00:13:03.01\00:13:06.52
Revelation you find the
definition in accordance with
00:13:06.56\00:13:10.00
scripture. This is the best way
to study Revelation. First of
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all, you ought to have the eye
glasses: Apocalypse, revelation
00:13:13.59\00:13:17.08
of who? Jesus Christ. Jesus
Christ. Then because Jesus is
00:13:17.12\00:13:20.86
the Word, the Word of God, you
use those eye glasses to define
00:13:20.89\00:13:25.10
the words. So what we do is
we take the word white and we
00:13:25.14\00:13:28.81
define it in the Greek in a
concordance and we find where
00:13:28.84\00:13:32.54
it's used. It's used over
and over again in Revelation, 12
00:13:32.57\00:13:36.07
times, always in connection
with God and his righteousness.
00:13:36.10\00:13:39.57
So we see that this horse
is connected with Christ's
00:13:39.60\00:13:42.13
righteousness. Then we take the
word horse. What does the word
00:13:42.16\00:13:45.25
horse mean? You
know, this is the
00:13:45.29\00:13:47.22
interesting part because in
Zechariah we find the answers
00:13:47.25\00:13:51.66
for that and in Zechariah
10:3 the Bible says my anger is
00:13:51.69\00:13:55.32
kindled against the shepherds
and I will punish the goat
00:13:55.36\00:13:58.92
leaders for the Lord of Host has
visited his flock, the house of
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Judah and will make them
his people as his beautiful and
00:14:02.26\00:14:07.19
majestic horse in the battle.
So there we see that horse is
00:14:07.23\00:14:12.12
the people of God.
Yes. So you have a horse
00:14:12.16\00:14:14.59
representing people. Okay?
And then in this context white
00:14:14.62\00:14:18.64
representing Christ's
righteousness. Okay, so we are
00:14:18.67\00:14:20.82
getting the connection here.
We've got God's people connected
00:14:20.85\00:14:23.85
with Christ's righteousness.
He that sat on him had a bow.
00:14:23.88\00:14:27.51
The bow here in Revelation
12 represents the message of
00:14:27.55\00:14:31.11
Christ's being brought forth
as a man child, our savior, the
00:14:31.14\00:14:34.75
savior of the world being
brought forth. So you have a
00:14:34.78\00:14:37.33
people who have Christ's
righteousness proclaiming a
00:14:37.37\00:14:39.84
message of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. And it says, a crown was
00:14:39.88\00:14:44.71
given unto him. Now that word
crown is stephanos. It's not
00:14:44.75\00:14:48.87
diadem. It's talking about
a victor's wreath. So you have
00:14:48.90\00:14:52.54
the victory that Christ has
accomplished for us given to us
00:14:52.57\00:14:56.17
as we unite with Christ
and accept his righteousness
00:14:56.20\00:14:58.64
and proclaim his message and
they go forth, the horse and the
00:14:58.68\00:15:03.04
rider together
go forth doing what?
00:15:03.08\00:15:05.30
They are bringing forth
the message of Jesus Christ.
00:15:05.33\00:15:08.42
Yes. They are
conquering and to conquer.
00:15:08.46\00:15:11.48
Conquering and to
conquer through his word.
00:15:11.51\00:15:14.20
Now what does that word
mean? Conquering and to conquer?
00:15:14.24\00:15:16.04
To overcome. To overcome. Where
have we read that previously?
00:15:16.07\00:15:19.03
We just got through reading it.
You know, Revelation 12:11 is
00:15:19.07\00:15:21.84
one of my favorite scriptures
that we overcome by the blood
00:15:21.87\00:15:24.70
of the lamb and the word of our
testimony. You said something
00:15:24.73\00:15:28.28
earlier about the beginning of
Revelation is showing we can't
00:15:28.31\00:15:31.53
overcome on our own. It reminded
me of Galatians 3:3 where
00:15:31.56\00:15:35.20
Paul says, You foolish Galatians
Having begun in the Spirit
00:15:35.23\00:15:38.58
you're now trying to perfect
it in the flesh. It's all about
00:15:38.62\00:15:41.93
learning our total dependency
on Jesus and that's what
00:15:41.97\00:15:44.49
Revelation is
really showing us isn't it?
00:15:44.52\00:15:46.48
Yes. And Revelation 12:11
is a summation of what John has
00:15:46.51\00:15:50.96
already been shown. In other
words, that's not the first time
00:15:50.99\00:15:55.40
that that idea is proclaimed
in the book of Revelation.
00:15:55.44\00:15:57.99
The first time it's proclaimed
is right here in Revelation
00:15:58.03\00:16:00.51
chapter 6 and Revelation chapter
5. You see? So by the time you
00:16:00.55\00:16:05.53
get to Revelation 12... Now
here's something interesting,
00:16:05.56\00:16:08.19
Shelley. If you take the 22
books of Revelation and break
00:16:08.22\00:16:11.07
them in half you have 11
chapters on each side. The first
00:16:11.10\00:16:13.88
11 chapters never talk about a
people who keep the commandments
00:16:13.91\00:16:19.36
of God, not one time. The focus
of Revelation chapters 1-11 is
00:16:19.40\00:16:22.76
the blood of the Lamb, the blood
of the Lamb, the blood of the
00:16:22.79\00:16:25.94
Lamb, the blood of the Lamb;
what he was able to do. By the
00:16:25.97\00:16:29.37
time you get to Revelation
chapter 12 you finally have a
00:16:29.40\00:16:32.77
people who keep the commandments
of God. Why? Because they
00:16:32.81\00:16:36.14
overcome by the
blood of the Lamb.
00:16:36.17\00:16:38.63
That reminds me of
Philippians 2:13 that it is God
00:16:38.67\00:16:42.25
who is working in us to will and
to act. Let me ask you a quick
00:16:42.29\00:16:45.26
question, because when I
get something on my mind I can't
00:16:45.30\00:16:48.50
think beyond that. I was just
thinking, where it's talking
00:16:48.53\00:16:51.60
here about the bow and you
were saying bringing forth.
00:16:51.63\00:16:56.00
In Psalm 45, let me read
verses 4 and 5. It says: In your
00:16:56.03\00:17:00.32
majesty ride on triumphantly for
the cause of truth, humility and
00:17:00.36\00:17:04.95
righteousness and let your right
hand guide You to tremendous
00:17:04.98\00:17:09.50
things. Your arrows are sharp.
The peoples fall under you.
00:17:09.53\00:17:13.92
Your darts pierce the hearts of
the king's enemies. So the bow
00:17:13.95\00:17:18.31
when we're talking about
bringing forth it's like God
00:17:18.34\00:17:21.99
is stretching his bow to shoot
forth out of his quiver the
00:17:22.03\00:17:26.77
arrows of conviction, His truth
is going forth. I like this.
00:17:26.80\00:17:31.48
And Jesus said it this way, I if
I be lifted up will draw all men
00:17:31.51\00:17:34.82
unto me. So those arrows of
conviction, the Holy Spirit, is
00:17:34.85\00:17:37.88
being sent, John chapter 16 says
to convict us of truth, Jesus is
00:17:37.92\00:17:42.05
the way, the truth and the
life, of righteousness, Jesus is
00:17:42.09\00:17:44.99
righteousness and of judgment,
Jesus is our judge. So you've
00:17:45.02\00:17:48.46
got the whole message summarized
here in Revelation 6:1,2.
00:17:48.50\00:17:52.72
This is a summation of the
gospel that is broken open and
00:17:52.75\00:17:56.01
delivered to us point by
point in the rest of the book of
00:17:56.04\00:17:59.26
Revelation. Yes.
Also when we were looking
00:17:59.30\00:18:01.71
here in Zechariah about a
horse being compared to a people
00:18:01.74\00:18:05.10
and you mentioned that the 4
horses, you mentioned that there
00:18:05.14\00:18:08.08
are 4 directions, north, south,
east and west, the 4 corners of
00:18:08.12\00:18:11.03
the earth. So it's the peoples
of the earth. But also in
00:18:11.07\00:18:14.74
Zechariah, if we look in chapter
9 verses 13 and 14, here it's
00:18:14.78\00:18:24.56
talking about the bow and
in verse 16 it talks about the
00:18:24.60\00:18:28.33
crown. Could you talk
about the crown for a moment?
00:18:28.37\00:18:31.87
The crown in Zechariah is
actually the consummation of
00:18:31.90\00:18:35.54
God's people. They are likened
unto this royal crown, this
00:18:35.58\00:18:39.18
diadem. In fact, Paul
tells us the same thing in
00:18:39.22\00:18:41.46
1 Thessalonians 2:19- that
we are the crown of rejoicing.
00:18:41.50\00:18:45.93
We are the consummation of God's
victory in a sense. Now that's a
00:18:45.97\00:18:50.95
little
different from this crown.
00:18:50.99\00:18:52.30
Let me ask you a question,
because here's what's going
00:18:52.34\00:18:54.89
through my mind, so correct me
if I'm wrong. It says here, he
00:18:54.92\00:18:59.09
was given a crown. In here it
says that God's people shall be
00:18:59.12\00:19:02.90
as the jewels of the crown.
Is that the connection, is that
00:19:02.94\00:19:06.53
when he's given us crown, God's
giving him this people who are
00:19:06.56\00:19:10.11
keeping the commandments
who are making up this crown and
00:19:10.15\00:19:13.93
he's riding forth to
conquer, to overcome?
00:19:13.97\00:19:16.75
Eventually, because when you get
to Revelation 12 again you have
00:19:16.79\00:19:20.07
a woman in verse 1 who is
clothed with the sun, that's
00:19:20.11\00:19:25.60
the righteousness of Christ,
he is the Son of Righteousness.
00:19:25.63\00:19:28.72
The moon is under her feet
and upon her head a crown of 12
00:19:28.76\00:19:32.95
stars. There's the diadem. How
do we get the diadem? We first
00:19:32.99\00:19:37.14
get the wreath. The wreath
is the crown of victory that
00:19:37.18\00:19:40.79
brings us to the diadem.
00:19:40.83\00:19:42.02
Okay, and that's this crown
in Revelation 6:2 is the wreath
00:19:42.05\00:19:46.42
crown. Yes. This
is the crown that
00:19:46.45\00:19:49.58
gives us the conquering, the
power to conquer, to go forth
00:19:49.61\00:19:53.05
with Christ and conquer those
sins, those iniquities, those
00:19:53.08\00:19:56.48
areas in our lives that we have
not been able to prevail over.
00:19:56.52\00:19:59.89
The whole message of the 7
churches is a message to him
00:19:59.92\00:20:03.00
that overcomes, to him that
overcomes. Revelation 4 says
00:20:03.03\00:20:06.17
No man in heaven or earth or
under the earth can prevail but
00:20:06.20\00:20:09.90
Jesus was able to prevail and
now as we unite with him, you
00:20:09.93\00:20:13.59
see, and we take the
righteousness of Christ and
00:20:13.63\00:20:16.59
proclaim the message of a
Savior brought forth to save us
00:20:16.62\00:20:19.45
from our sins, then we go forth
crowned, going forth conquering
00:20:19.49\00:20:23.04
and to conquer. Oh boy!
I love this. I hope that
00:20:23.08\00:20:29.22
people at home are as excited
as I am about this what we're
00:20:29.26\00:20:31.74
studying. It reminds me
of Romans 8:37 where it says
00:20:31.77\00:20:35.85
amid all these things, and he's
just described the tribulations
00:20:35.89\00:20:40.70
and things, he says we are more
than conquerors through him who
00:20:40.73\00:20:45.51
loved us. James, if only
people could learn how to depend
00:20:45.54\00:20:50.48
totally on Christ, how to depend
on the transforming power of
00:20:50.51\00:20:54.45
His word, the transforming power
of his Holy Spirit, and know
00:20:54.49\00:20:57.95
that God is going to do a
work in us and as he promises in
00:20:57.99\00:21:01.31
Philippians 1:6 he will complete
the good work that he's begun
00:21:01.34\00:21:05.37
in us instead of us trying to
perform for God. You know I know
00:21:05.41\00:21:09.40
so many defeated Christians
because they are trying to
00:21:09.44\00:21:12.11
overcome by their limited human
power when God is saying here
00:21:12.15\00:21:16.93
it is, I'm it, I
will give you the power.
00:21:16.96\00:21:19.71
Let's look at that, Shelley.
I think that that is a powerful
00:21:19.74\00:21:22.75
way to elaborate on these
scriptures because you have one
00:21:22.79\00:21:25.84
horse that's white. Then you
have a red, black and a pale.
00:21:25.88\00:21:29.32
Those other three horses are
definitely negative. They are
00:21:29.35\00:21:32.57
seeking to undermine what
the white horse has accomplished
00:21:32.60\00:21:36.51
for us. The red horse represents
persecution. We know it's a
00:21:36.55\00:21:39.66
negative because the word red
if you look it up in the Greek
00:21:39.70\00:21:42.63
and you trace it through the
Bible, you're going to find that
00:21:42.67\00:21:46.25
that word is used to describe
the dragon in Revelation 12, the
00:21:46.29\00:21:50.01
red dragon. So right there it's
connected with the devil, the
00:21:50.04\00:21:53.28
deceiver. And it says that this
horse is going to take peace
00:21:53.31\00:21:56.50
from the earth. Now that word
peace means the gospel of Jesus
00:21:56.53\00:21:59.69
Christ. Here's the dragon
seeking to take the gospel of
00:21:59.72\00:22:04.03
Jesus Christ away from the
earth bringing in persecution.
00:22:04.07\00:22:08.34
The black horse follows,
compromise of God's word.
00:22:08.38\00:22:12.14
I think it's so powerful I'm
going to summarize this. I'm not
00:22:12.18\00:22:15.79
going to give a lot of Bible
verses. But the black horse
00:22:15.82\00:22:20.31
comes in and a famine develops,
verse 6. A famine for what?
00:22:20.35\00:22:24.81
The word of God for the
ingredients of bread and bread
00:22:24.84\00:22:28.55
represents the word of God, for
barley and for wheat. The word
00:22:28.58\00:22:32.18
of God is put in a famine
situation and this is where we
00:22:32.21\00:22:36.44
find the devil trying to attack
us and if that doesn't work the
00:22:36.47\00:22:39.70
pale horse comes and brings
death. He tries to destroy our
00:22:39.74\00:22:43.33
faith completely, not
just persecute it, not just
00:22:43.37\00:22:47.09
compromise it but destroy it.
He brings hell with him. So many
00:22:47.12\00:22:50.49
people have been turned away
from God through death, through
00:22:50.53\00:22:53.53
hell, through a misunderstanding
of God's character, through a
00:22:53.57\00:22:56.51
misunderstanding of who God is,
through this idea that God will
00:22:56.54\00:22:59.96
torment people in this never-
ending place of torture for ever
00:23:00.00\00:23:03.00
and ever. You see how the
devil is trying to undermine the
00:23:03.04\00:23:06.60
gospel of Jesus Christ by all
of these other horses. So you
00:23:06.64\00:23:09.88
have 3 horses that are negative,
1 that is positive. Now I want
00:23:09.92\00:23:13.35
to ask you a question. Is there
any place that you can think of
00:23:13.38\00:23:16.72
in the gospels where Jesus gives
an illustration of the kingdom
00:23:16.76\00:23:20.51
of God using 3 symbols that are
negative and 1 that is positive?
00:23:20.54\00:23:24.38
Primarily what I'm thinking of
is that in Revelation Jesus is
00:23:24.41\00:23:28.51
repeating a parable that he gave
in the gospel concerning the
00:23:28.55\00:23:32.71
kingdom of God. The parable is
the parable of the seed and the
00:23:32.74\00:23:36.87
sower. Matthew chapter 13.
How many of those grounds that
00:23:36.91\00:23:41.00
the seed was
sown in were positive?
00:23:41.04\00:23:42.64
There's only one. Only
one. How many were negative?
00:23:42.67\00:23:45.44
Three. Three, okay. How many
horses are there? There are 4
00:23:45.48\00:23:49.32
horses. How many are positive?
00:23:49.35\00:23:51.14
That's a good connection.
00:23:51.18\00:23:52.50
Okay, now let's look at the
connection with some more detail
00:23:52.54\00:23:55.59
because I think this is such
a powerful parallel because it
00:23:55.62\00:23:58.64
identifies... It's Matthew 13.
00:23:58.67\00:24:01.68
See I go to Luke
usually when I...
00:24:01.71\00:24:04.04
You do? Yeah and I go to Matthew
isn't that interesting how we
00:24:04.07\00:24:06.93
have our favorite. Matthew
13 and beginning here with verse
00:24:06.97\00:24:09.85
18. I know I'm running out of
time so I'm just going to move
00:24:09.88\00:24:12.73
through this
quickly. What is the seed?
00:24:12.76\00:24:16.14
The seed is the word of God.
00:24:16.18\00:24:17.49
The word of God! It is to be
sown in the ground. Okay, now
00:24:17.53\00:24:21.19
the first ground that it's sown
in, verse 19, when anyone hears
00:24:21.23\00:24:24.44
the word of the
kingdom and understands it not,
00:24:24.48\00:24:26.51
misunderstands God, then comes
the wicked one and catches away
00:24:26.54\00:24:29.62
that which is sown in his heart.
This is he that receives seed
00:24:29.66\00:24:32.53
by the wayside. That's the pale
horse, misunderstanding God's
00:24:32.56\00:24:36.00
character. The verse 20, then
he that receives the seed in
00:24:36.03\00:24:39.32
stony places is the same as
he that hears the word, receives
00:24:39.35\00:24:42.60
it with joy, yet he doesn't have
root in himself. He endures for
00:24:42.64\00:24:45.85
a little while but when
tribulation or persecution
00:24:45.89\00:24:48.61
arises because of the word;
what horse is that? Red horse.
00:24:48.65\00:24:52.05
The red horse. Then verse
22. He also that receives seed
00:24:52.08\00:24:55.27
among the thorns is he that
hears the word. The care of this
00:24:55.30\00:24:58.23
world, the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word and he
00:24:58.27\00:25:01.13
becomes unfruitful. What horse
is that? That's the black horse.
00:25:01.16\00:25:04.12
The black horse, compromising
God's word with the world.
00:25:04.15\00:25:06.20
And then he that receives, verse
23, seed into the good ground is
00:25:06.23\00:25:09.71
he that hears the word, he
understands it, he bears fruit
00:25:09.74\00:25:13.33
some 100, some 60, some 30. What
horse is that? Oh, that is the
00:25:13.37\00:25:17.66
white horse. Yes! you see the
parallel there? Now parables are
00:25:17.70\00:25:21.96
very compatible with
prophecy. They are symbolically
00:25:21.99\00:25:25.21
representing a Bible truth. The
really interesting thing about
00:25:25.24\00:25:28.39
this that I want our viewers
to understand is what Jesus says
00:25:28.43\00:25:32.08
before he gives this prophecy,
this parable. He says many
00:25:32.11\00:25:35.25
righteous men and many prophets
have desired to see this and
00:25:35.29\00:25:38.18
they haven't seen it. They
haven't understood it. I believe
00:25:38.22\00:25:40.84
it's the same thing with
Revelation 6 and the 4 horses.
00:25:40.87\00:25:44.28
We are living in a time when
God is unfolding, unveiling,
00:25:44.32\00:25:47.66
uncovering these symbols in the
context of the gospel of Jesus
00:25:47.70\00:25:51.85
Christ and if we will look
through those eyeglasses we will
00:25:51.89\00:25:55.54
see these symbols in ways that
many prophets and righteous men
00:25:55.58\00:25:59.70
have not even seen them before.
Daniel was told in Daniel 12,
00:25:59.74\00:26:02.88
whoever reads let him understand
The wise will understand.
00:26:02.92\00:26:06.09
The wicked won't but the wise
will understand. Wisdom is to
00:26:06.12\00:26:09.26
focus on Christ as we
study these prophecies.
00:26:09.29\00:26:11.21
Amen. And actually we know that
1 Corinthians 1:30 says that's
00:26:11.25\00:26:15.84
because of him that we're in
Christ Jesus who is our wisdom
00:26:15.88\00:26:19.81
from God. He has become our
Wisdom. You notice sometimes
00:26:19.85\00:26:23.74
when you're studying Proverbs
that wisdom is capitalized in
00:26:23.77\00:26:27.59
many versions and that's because
wisdom is Jesus Christ. So that
00:26:27.63\00:26:32.25
just ties right
into what you said.
00:26:32.29\00:26:33.85
Now let's summarize the picture.
John Chapter 1: I know this is
00:26:33.89\00:26:37.26
going to be a verse that
a lot of viewers understand.
00:26:37.29\00:26:39.09
In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, the Word
00:26:39.13\00:26:43.08
was God. Okay. That white horse
rider is Jesus. He is Revelation
00:26:43.12\00:26:46.73
19, the Word of God. Okay, now
get the picture here. The white
00:26:46.77\00:26:49.84
horse is going forth conquering
and to conquer, sowing the seeds
00:26:49.87\00:26:52.90
of the gospel, bringing the
righteousness of Christ, the
00:26:52.94\00:26:55.05
message of the gospel. But 3
other horses are following, they
00:26:55.09\00:26:58.01
are pursuing that white horse
seeding to undermine what it's
00:26:58.04\00:27:00.93
accomplishing, seeking to
separate us. Who can separate us
00:27:00.97\00:27:03.78
from the love of Christ? Nothing
Seeking to separate us from
00:27:03.81\00:27:09.07
Christ. Okay, read John chapter
1, we've read verse 1, now let's
00:27:09.11\00:27:13.07
continue to read verse 2. The
same was in the beginning with
00:27:13.11\00:27:16.30
God. All things were made
by him and without him was not
00:27:16.33\00:27:19.45
anything that was made. In him
was life and the life was the
00:27:19.49\00:27:22.62
light of men and the
light shined in darkness and the
00:27:22.65\00:27:27.61
darkness comprehended it not.
Now that word comprehended means
00:27:27.64\00:27:31.47
to apprehend or take hold
of. In other words, Jesus is the
00:27:31.51\00:27:35.27
white horse rider. We are
the white horse. When we connect
00:27:35.31\00:27:39.01
with him the red horse, the
black horse and the pale horse
00:27:39.04\00:27:42.51
will not take a hold of us. We
will go forth conquering and to
00:27:42.54\00:27:45.97
conquer. Amen.
This is such a great
00:27:46.01\00:27:48.65
teaching but we're out of
time. So I just want you to be
00:27:48.69\00:27:52.08
blessed by the Lord today.
00:27:52.12\00:27:53.65
I hope you've
learned a lot like I have.
00:27:53.68\00:27:58.61