Participants: Ranko Stefanovic
Series Code: RCK
Program Code: RCK000009
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00:20 Welcome again to our program,
00:23 "Revelation of The Coming King." 00:27 I would like once again to introduce myself 00:30 especially for you who are for the first time 00:34 watching this program. 00:37 I am Ranko Stefanovic, 00:39 professor at Seventh-day Adventist theological seminary, 00:44 Andrews University. 00:45 The courses that I teach 00:49 are subjects from the New Testament. 00:52 And most of those courses that I teach 00:54 is actually the Book of Revelation 00:55 and the time and events. 00:59 So I am so happy to be with you here again 01:02 and we are going to study the word of God, 01:07 the last book of the New Testament, 01:09 the Book of Revelation. 01:11 And I just want to remind you once again 01:15 that this series is about study of the Book of Revelation. 01:22 We started with Chapter 1 01:24 and we will conclude with Chapter 22. 01:28 But as you know that in such short time like this program 01:33 it's impossible to cover everything 01:35 that is in one chapter. 01:37 We would need much more time. 01:39 And I would like to encourage you 01:41 that once this program is over, 01:43 that you going to continue 01:46 further and much deeper way, okay, 01:50 that text that is just covered during this presentation. 01:52 But maybe you will ask question and you say 01:54 we got now some guide but what after? 01:59 Praise God, I would like to suggest to you, 02:01 you need some tools. 02:02 There are many good tools made by Christians. 02:05 But one of the good tool 02:07 that I would like to suggest to you 02:11 and all presentations that we made here 02:14 are based on the content of this book titled, 02:17 "Revelation of Jesus Christ." 02:19 Is a product of scholarly research. 02:21 And every time I will always tell you about the pages 02:25 that you can go after this presentation and open this book, 02:29 get many good material and we do a lot of prayer. 02:33 Study the word of God for yourself. 02:36 Rather by yourself or maybe in company 02:39 with your fellow Christians from your church there. 02:42 So, today's presentation 02:45 is based on pages starting with 217. 02:51 So the page 217, and you have next 40-50 pages there. 02:56 You see it's a lot, a lot of material. 02:59 It's my strong desire that the Holy Spirit 03:04 will promise to teach us into all the truth 03:07 that realty he guide us 03:09 in understanding of the truth of the Bible. 03:13 And that's what we will do exactly this time. 03:16 We would like to ask God for His presence 03:18 and His guidance as we study 03:21 this very interesting section of the Book of Revelation. 03:25 Our heavenly father, thank You so much 03:28 for giving us this opportunity, that we can open Your word, 03:34 the last book of the Bible 03:36 and to see how great valuable lessons 03:41 we can find on the pages of this book. 03:43 And, father, so many times we wonder 03:47 why didn't You write this book 03:50 in much easier way for us to understand. 03:52 But we know that You do everything 03:56 what is best for us humans according to Your wisdom. 04:00 And thank You, thank You for helping us 04:04 with the different tools 04:05 that we can dig much deeper in Your word. 04:09 So please be with us and teach us 04:11 because we would like to see Jesus Christ in our midst 04:16 and that all human beings be hidden in Him. 04:18 Father, thank You for presence in out midst 04:21 and we pray all of this in the precious name of the one 04:24 who died on the cross of Calvary, 04:26 Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, Amen. 04:34 In order to go further into the Book of Revelation 04:37 I just need to take few moments to remind us 04:42 what we covered last time. 04:45 Because what we studied last time it's crucial, 04:48 let me repeat one more time, 04:50 it's crucial for the understanding 04:53 of next few chapters of the Book of Revelation. 04:57 Let me put it in different way. 04:59 The way how we interpret Revelation 5 05:05 will define our interpretation of Revelation 6, 05:10 the chapter that we will be studying together. 05:17 The time in which you put 05:20 and apply the scene of Revelation 5 05:24 is the starting point for the interpretation 05:29 of the seven seals of Revelation 6. 05:32 So I'd like to keep you in mind that's why Chapter 5 05:37 it's so crucial and so important 05:40 for those chapters that follow, okay. 05:44 So last time we could see that Revelation 5 05:50 portrays one of the crucial moment 05:52 in the history of the plan of the salvation, 05:55 namely, that when Jesus after His death on the cross, 06:01 His resurrection, and finally His accession 06:05 there to the heavenly places there, 06:07 went there into the heavenly throne room. 06:11 And according to Revelation Chapter 4, 06:13 all the heavenly assembly was there waiting for Him 06:18 to celebrate His triumph. 06:21 But there is something more. 06:23 You saw last time, even though 06:26 we just mentioned few passages, 06:29 how much New Testament talks about that occasion 06:33 specifically, specifically stating that, that-- 06:40 those heavenly beings in addition 06:42 to celebrate Jesus' triumph 06:44 they were there to celebrate His enthronement 06:49 because there in the heavenly places 06:51 Jesus was enthroned on the heavenly throne. 06:57 Let me explain one more time something. 07:00 You know when God created the first human couple 07:06 it was God's plan for Adam to be a kind of a ruler. 07:12 He was supposed to be the father of the human race. 07:15 If you open the Book of Genesis Chapter 1 there 07:18 from verses 24 and so on 07:20 when God created man in His image 07:23 then God said to Adam, "I am giving you 07:26 dominion of the entire creation on the earth." 07:29 But then we go to Chapter 3 unfortunately, 07:32 a tragic event in human history 07:35 that Satan deceived the first human couple. 07:40 And he took for himself-- 07:43 he simply stole that dominion over the planet earth. 07:47 Actually Jesus-- we will see that later 07:50 when we go to Revelation Chapter 12, 07:52 Jesus called Satan the ruler of this world. 07:56 But everything changed with the cross. 07:59 When Jesus died on the cross 08:03 He paid that price for the human beings 08:06 to redeem them from the kingdom of darkness and from Satan. 08:11 And then when Jesus ascended there 08:13 to the heavenly places, okay. 08:16 In the presence of all those 08:18 heavenly beings there waiting for Him, 08:20 representatives of all those different world, 08:24 there was a transference of the dominion 08:27 from Satan to Jesus. 08:29 It is at that moment that Jesus was enthroned 08:34 at the right hand of the father 08:36 and He became the ruler of this world. 08:39 Please keep in mind-- keep in mind 08:42 that Satan is still messing up in this world. 08:48 We will see that the Book of Revelation presents him 08:51 as an angry enemy. 08:53 However, Jesus Christ is still in control. 08:59 We are waiting still for that time 09:01 when finally He will become the king, okay. 09:05 This is very, very important. 09:08 It's very important for the understanding 09:10 the next section of the Book of Revelation. 09:12 We saw that, that enthronement of Christ 09:15 took place on the day of Pentecost. 09:19 So if it was on day of Pentecost 09:21 we have even the year, it's the year 31 AD. 09:26 Please, this date is very important, one more time. 09:31 And this is the starting point 09:35 for Revelation Chapter 6. 09:40 By the way, why we are talking so much about that? 09:43 Because many Christian are struggling because they see 09:48 the important of the seven seals of Revelation 6 09:51 but they have hard time 09:54 to put those seals in the historical context. 09:56 They don't know in which time period to put it. 10:00 But we have already here the answers. 10:02 If they are in the heavenly places in the year 31 10:06 around the day of Pentecost, Jesus was enthroned 10:13 and He took that sealed scroll, 10:15 the scroll that was sealed with the seven seals. 10:18 And if Revelation 6:1, after taking that book 10:21 now Jesus is breaking the seals one after-- 10:28 At what time period or which point in history 10:33 we should put the beginning of the seals? 10:37 Naturally it's with the day of Pentecost. 10:41 And by the way, you will see very soon just in a few moments 10:46 how this is a crucial element 10:49 for the understanding of the seven seals. 10:53 So the day of Pentecost that very important point 10:58 in the history of the plan of salvation, 11:01 it's very important and that's why 11:02 this event could not pass without being mentioned 11:07 to John later there in the vision. 11:12 We see that the Jesus took that scroll 11:16 and then He started opening the seals 11:19 with breaking each one of the seals. 11:23 Keep in mind, the seals-- the seals are broken where? 11:28 In heaven, okay. 11:31 But every time when Jesus breaks one seal 11:34 there is an event taking place on earth actually telling us 11:39 that so many times we see that the history is very messy, 11:46 but actually us that the heaven and the earth 11:50 or the earth and heaven are closely connected. 11:56 So now I would like to invite you 11:59 that you turn with me to Revelation Chapter 6. 12:07 Let's go now to this chapter. 12:11 And you will see that the seven-- 12:14 the breaking or the opening of the seven seals, 12:17 they have a certain pattern. 12:20 The first four seals are quite different than the rest. 12:27 How are they different? 12:29 Because the first four seals-- every time, every time 12:36 when Jesus opens one of those seals 12:40 a colorful horse with a rider appears on the scene. 12:45 So let us not go to the text and to see 12:48 what we can read about these seals. 12:52 I like you to go to Chapter 6 12:54 and we will read verses 1, 2 12:57 that actually describe the first seal. 13:01 "Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, 13:04 and I heard one of the four living creatures 13:08 saying as with a voice of thunder, 'Come.' 13:12 And I looked, and behold, a white horse, 13:15 and he who sat on it had a bow, 13:19 and a crown was given to him, 13:22 and he went out conquering and to conquer." 13:30 You will notice this is a very interesting scene. 13:34 And what is this all about? 13:37 Christians and many students of the Book of Revelation 13:41 are divided on this. 13:43 Let me just summarize one more time 13:46 in details these two verses. 13:50 And then you'll see how already 13:51 we have a significant hint in the text 13:55 what the scene is about. 13:57 So as Christ opens the first seal a white horse-- 14:02 white horse, okay steps on to the scene. 14:06 The rider on the horse holds a bow and he's given a crown. 14:12 The word that is used here 14:13 for the crown is the stephanos crown, 14:16 is the crown of victory. 14:17 This is very, very important. 14:19 We had white color and we have the stephanos crown. 14:22 It's a garland, okay. This rider is a conqueror. 14:28 The text says that he goes for what, 14:30 conquering, in order to completely conquer. 14:36 It's very interesting in John's day 14:38 that the Roman emperor, 14:41 when he celebrate the triumph after the war 14:43 he would ride on a white horse. 14:47 Okay, the conquering celebration. 14:51 Actually there are many Christians 14:53 they believe that this seal portrays antichrist. 14:59 I believe that these view 15:02 and interpretation does not match 15:04 with what we have here in the Book of Revelation. 15:07 Let us try to see it objectively. 15:10 The scene is evidently symbolic 15:12 as normally Christians they understand it. 15:16 When you go to the Old Testament, 15:18 God is sometimes pictured as riding a horse 15:24 with a bow in his hand 15:27 conquering the enemies of His people. 15:29 And please allow me just to take one of those texts 15:33 and read which is found 15:35 in the Book of Habakkuk 3:8-13, 15:38 there are many more texts. 15:40 But you will see something very interesting in these text 15:42 that really servers as a background 15:45 to what we have here in the Book of Revelation. 15:46 Habakkuk 3:8-13, 15:48 "Did the Lord rage against the rivers, 15:51 or was Your anger against the rivers, 15:54 or was Your wrath against the sea," 15:57 now please pay attention. 15:59 "That You rode on Your horses, 16:02 on Your chariots of salvation? 16:05 Your bow was made bare. 16:07 The rods of chastisement were sworn. 16:10 You cleaved the earth with rivers. 16:13 The mountains saw You and quaked. 16:15 The downpour of waters swept by. 16:18 The deep uttered forth its voice, 16:21 It lifted high its hands. 16:23 Sun and moon stood in their places. 16:25 They went away at the light of Your arrows, 16:30 At the radiance of Your gleaming spear. 16:33 In indignation You marched through the earth. 16:36 In anger You trampled the nations. 16:38 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, 16:41 For the salvation of Your anointed." 16:43 What do we have here? 16:45 Did you notice that the image of horses 16:49 is used with reference to God? 16:50 He's riding the horses. 16:52 And he has the weapons. 16:54 He's going to conquer 16:57 and to win the salvation on behalf of His people. 17:00 I'd like to invite also the viewers 17:02 if you want to go to Psalm 45:4, 5 17:08 and you will see there very similar picture there of God. 17:14 If you go to Revelation 19:11-16 17:18 we have Jesus Christ as riding on the white horse. 17:23 Revelation 19, leading the heavenly armies 17:27 in the final battle of the earth history. 17:30 And friends, this rider 17:34 in the first seal is not antichrist. 17:38 This is the symbolic portrayal of God in the Bible 17:41 but there is much more. 17:43 You see the rider-- okay, rides on the whiter horse. 17:50 White is a symbol of purity not evil or antichrist 17:56 and it's regularly associated with Christ 17:59 and His followers in the Bible. 18:01 Did you notice something else that we mentioned? 18:04 The rider has the stephanos crown. 18:08 In the Bible you remember 18:10 especially in the Book of Revelation 18:11 the stephanos crown is not a crown 18:13 promised to the antichrist. 18:18 It's something that is promise only to God's victorious people. 18:22 And then finally two times the word 18:28 'to conquer' and 'conquering' is mentioned. 18:31 This brings to mind the Revelation 3:21, 18:34 as I conquer or overcome 18:36 and sat with my father on His throne. 18:38 Then you go to Revelation 5, 18:41 you remember why Jesus was worthy 18:46 of taking the sealed scroll because he conquered. 18:51 So actually, all the descriptions of the horse 18:55 and the rider on the horse is actually associated with Christ 19:00 and the gospel and His people. 19:04 So what do we've here in the first seal? 19:08 What is this horse and the rider all about? 19:13 Let's go back to Revelation 5. 19:15 Okay, in Revelation 5 Jesus took that scroll-- 19:21 please you have now to help me. 19:23 What was that started on the day of the Pentecost? 19:27 The proclamation, the preaching of the gospel. 19:30 You see when Jesus took that scroll 19:33 he was proclaimed by the whole heavenly assembly 19:37 to be a really the real ruler of the planet earth. 19:41 But then what happened? 19:42 Jesus knew that there are some territories on the earth 19:48 that are rebellious against Him. 19:50 They don't want to accept His authority. 19:55 So that's why on the day of Pentecost 19:58 by using the picture of the victorious rider 20:01 riding on a horse He goes conquering 20:06 and starting to conquer is the best illustration 20:10 of what started on the day of Pentecost, 20:13 preaching of the gospel, 20:14 trying to conquer the hearts of people for Christ 20:20 that many, many territories still to be conquer. 20:25 And you know I just want to remind you, 20:26 when you go to the Book of Acts, 20:28 you remember that what happened 20:30 with that first day of the preaching gospel 20:34 3000 people were won for Christ. 20:36 Then the Book of Acts says that daily people 20:39 were being won for Christ, then 5000 people. 20:43 Then Apostle Paul mention, he said but his own time-- 20:46 he said the gospel has been preached 20:48 to every creature on this earth. 20:52 So going with the first century there 20:55 we see the conquest of the gospel. 20:58 So the best interpretation that fits here 21:02 is actually the first horse, that white horse 21:06 and the rider with the stephanos crown 21:09 stands as a symbol for the gospel 21:12 that started being preached on the day of Pentecost. 21:15 Can I ask you one question? 21:17 When you do it in the right way, 21:20 when you let the Bible interpret itself, 21:23 is the Book of Revelation 21:25 really so difficult as people think? 21:28 It's only so difficult it gives such a great joy. 21:32 Your heart is full of the love of the God. 21:34 But let's now go to the second seal. 21:38 I like to invite you with me to read verses 3 and 4, 21:42 "When He" the Lamb "broke the second seal, 21:47 I heard the second living creature saying, 'Come.' 21:53 And another--" please pay attention, 21:55 "A red horse, went out. 21:59 And to him who sat on it, 22:01 it was granted to take peace from the earth, 22:04 and that man would slay one another. 22:08 And a great sword was given to him." 22:13 So now, as Christ opens the second seal, a fiery red-- 22:21 this is the meaning in Greek, 22:22 fiery red horse appears on to the scene. 22:28 If you go the Bible 22:30 red is regularly the color of the bloodshed. 22:35 Okay and really corresponds to the mission of this horse. 22:42 Did you notice what we read here in the text 22:45 that the rider has a large sword? 22:47 What do you do with the sword? 22:48 We know what do with knife. 22:50 But that do you do with a sword? 22:52 Sword is not to be use in the kitchen. 22:55 It's use for the purpose of war. 22:58 And this rider according to the text 23:00 is allowed to take the peace from the earth 23:03 so that people can slay each another, okay. 23:10 Pay attention to something, usually people miss it 23:12 when they read the text. 23:13 That's why we have different interpretation. 23:15 It's not the rider who kills. 23:19 He only carries the sword as a symbol of what is going on. 23:24 Actually he only takes the peace from the earth 23:28 and let people kill each other. 23:30 Did you notice it? 23:32 Please read the careful text, okay. 23:36 So let's see what this second seal is about. 23:39 Number one, we have to understand something. 23:42 This fiery red horse follows the white one, 23:49 okay. 23:51 He right--follows the first one, the white one. 23:55 And we saw that the first horseman 23:59 show that through the preaching of the gospel 24:01 Christ is waging spiritual warfare 24:05 against the forces of evil. 24:08 He tried to win people for himself. 24:10 To save them from the dominion of Satan 24:12 from those rebellious territories 24:17 to bring them close to Christ. 24:20 However, what happens-- 24:21 pleases you have not to help me, 24:23 what happens when the gospel is been preached? 24:29 And then Christ goes on through 24:31 the gospel conquering-- to conquer? 24:35 What actually happens? 24:36 The forces of evil regularly resist to that. Okay. 24:43 They give a strong resistance 24:44 to the spreading of the gospel there are rarely those 24:47 who rejected the gospel against those who accepted. 24:51 What is the result? Prosecution, okay. 24:55 So the gospel always divides people. 24:59 If you open the New Testament, 25:00 many passages, we will read about that. 25:05 So while some people accept the gospel, 25:07 some people reject it 25:10 and they turn against those who accept the gospel. 25:14 Are you still with me? 25:15 Read the text, this is the concept that we have here. 25:18 By the way, I would like you to turn 25:22 to the gospel of Matthew 10:34, 36. 25:28 This text is very important Jesus said, 25:31 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. 25:37 I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." 25:40 What? Sword? 25:42 The main concept in the six seal is the sword 25:46 and to take the peace from the earth. 25:48 "For I came to set a man against his father, 25:52 and a daughter against her mother, 25:55 and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." 25:59 And now, the last sentence, 26:02 "And the man's enemies will be the members of his household." 26:10 Did you notice here what Jesus said? 26:14 By the way, you can see that actually 26:16 the second seal reflects the sayings of Jesus. 26:21 I like to suggest you when you have a time 26:24 once this presentation is over try to underline 26:28 the keywords from here-- from Matthew 10:34-36. 26:34 And go underline the keywords in the second seal 26:40 and you will be surprised what you will get. 26:42 That actually the second seal is there a writing 26:48 of these words of Jesus Matthew Chapter 10. 26:50 So what do we have here? 26:51 So what is that we have here is? 26:56 Is when the gospel is being preached 26:58 persecution is something that takes regularly. 27:02 But we have another-- I just want to remind you 27:04 that we said that the Bible is the best interpreter. 27:07 If you want to understand the Book of Revelation 27:09 you always have to go to the Old Testament. 27:12 There are many passages from the New Testament 27:15 that are also reflected and could see already that. 27:19 By the way, when you go to the Old Testament-- 27:23 I'm just giving you few references. 27:24 We will not show them there on the screen. 27:27 Judges 7:22, 27:30 Isaiah 19:2 and Zechariah 14:13. 27:36 In all these passages you will see 27:39 how very often the enemies of God's people 27:42 when they turn against God's people 27:46 they turn against each other. 27:50 So there is a strong Old Testament 27:52 background here to the second seal. 27:54 So here in the seal, those who resist and reject the gospel 27:58 they turn each other in persecution. 28:02 Let's go now to the third seal on verses 5 and 6, 28:09 "When He" the Lamb "broke the third seal, 28:14 I heard the third living creature saying, 'Come.' 28:17 And I looked, and behold, a black horse 28:21 and he who sat on it 28:24 had a pair of scales in his hand. 28:28 And I heard something like a voice 28:32 in the center of the four living creatures saying, 28:36 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, 28:39 and three quarts of barley for a denarius 28:43 and do not damage the oil and the wine.'" 28:47 I know what you think. 28:49 How we understand the first and the second seal, 28:51 it's logical, but what is the third seal all about? 28:56 Now once again we will see 28:58 how it's important to let the Bible interpret itself. 29:03 So let's summaries one more time. 29:06 As Christ the Lamb opens the third seal, 29:11 now you have the third horse, what color? 29:15 A black horse with the rider appears on that horse, 29:22 okay. 29:25 However, this rider does not have any weapon. 29:30 It's quite different. 29:32 Actually he holds a scale for weighting food in his hand. 29:38 And John at the moment, he also hears an announcement 29:41 by the one of the four living beings, you remember that? 29:45 "A quart of wheat for a denarius, 29:47 and three quarts of barley for a denarius 29:49 and do not harm the oil and the wine." 29:53 Now I hope that I was able to emphasize 29:57 the key terms here is. 29:59 So what are the key elements here is? 30:02 We have wheat and we have barley here. 30:06 These are actually the central concept. 30:08 And then you have oil and you have wine. 30:13 If you go to the Old Testament, 30:15 friends, if you go to the Old Testament, 30:20 oil and wine-- sorry, grain, oil and wine 30:25 were three main crops in Palestine. 30:30 They were actually symbol of existence. 30:35 They were in a nutshell, 30:37 the reference to the daily necessity 30:40 for people to survive, to live normal life. 30:43 By the way, they are very often mentioned in the Old Testament 30:49 as the basic necessities of life. 30:52 I would like just to mention here few references 30:59 from the Old Testament just to see actually 31:03 what we are talking about. 31:06 If you go the Book of Leviticus 26:26. 31:12 By the way we will come to the Book of Leviticus 26 31:15 one more time when we read these texts 31:17 but just here this context. 31:19 Moses spoke to the people of Israel 31:22 telling them if they are faithful to God 31:24 how many blessing will come upon them. 31:28 But if they are not faithful to God 31:30 then they will experience the curses, 31:32 there will be the consequence of departure. 31:35 And then Moses said to them Leviticus 26:26-- 31:38 and please pay attention and you will see 31:41 that all the key words that are actually found here, 31:45 also occur and they are used in the third seal. 31:50 Moses said in the name of God, 31:53 "When I break your staff of bread, 31:56 ten women will bake your bread in one oven, 32:01 and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, 32:06 so that you will eat and not be satisfied." 32:11 I apologies one more time biblical scholar and I 32:14 have sometimes to refer to original languages. 32:17 This text was written in Hebrew. 32:19 So when you read the text in Hebrew 32:21 this is little bit explanation. 32:23 It says, "They will bring back your bread weighted by measure." 32:30 The same expression actually 32:32 that is found here in the third seal. 32:35 Okay. 32:36 In the Book of Ezekiel, 32:39 when Ezekiel tried to make appeal to the people, okay. 32:44 Who departed from God and to bring then to repentance, 32:47 Ezekiel 4:16 we have the following text. 32:52 Please, let us read it, "Moreover He" 32:54 God "said unto me, Son of man, behold, 32:57 I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem 33:01 and they shall eat bread by weight." 33:03 Do you see that? 33:05 The same expression that we have in the third seal. 33:07 "And with anxiety and drink water 33:09 by measure, and in horror, 33:13 because bread and water will be scarce, 33:15 and they will be appalled with one another 33:18 and waste away in their iniquity." 33:25 You can see the strong Old Testament background 33:30 that actually these three entity, 33:33 grain, oil, and wine were the three main crops. 33:36 And if the people are faithful to God, 33:38 what will happen? 33:40 God will give them these things in abundance. 33:44 But according to Ezekiel when they are unfaithful to God, 33:47 what will happen to them? 33:51 We saw it. Okay. 33:54 But we have another expression here, is denarius. 33:58 Keep in mind the Bible was not written in English 34:01 in North America in 21st century. 34:03 Okay, so we don't have here dollars. 34:06 We have a money from the 1st century in Roman empire 34:10 and in the 1st century in Palestine, 34:13 a denarius was a daily wage. 34:17 So it means when you work the whole day 34:21 in normal circumstance you would be paid a denarius. 34:25 By the way do you remember the parable of Jesus 34:28 about those laborers waiting for somebody to hire them? 34:35 And the gentleman went hired the first group says, 34:38 I will give you one denarius. 34:40 Then another group, then another group 34:42 and finally he gave to everybody the denarius. 34:45 That's why the first group rebelled but he said, 34:48 I am sorry I am very just. 34:51 You just got denarius, that's a daily wage 34:54 but I was merciful to people 34:56 who did not work the whole day. 34:57 So denarius was a daily wage. 35:01 So in normal circumstance people will work the whole day. 35:04 How much they are paid? A denarius. 35:07 And for that denarius they were able to buy plenty of food 35:14 for the entire family of about 4 or 5. 35:17 Are you still with me? 35:19 But, you know, when you work 35:22 you need something else beside the food. 35:24 So do you want one denarius 35:26 you are able also to provide 35:28 other necessities for your family. 35:32 Okay. But what do you have here in the third seal? 35:37 Let's read one more time. 35:39 It's very important to keep in mind. 35:41 It says, when He broke the third seal, verse 6, 35:45 "And I heard something like a voice in the center 35:47 of the four living creatures, 35:49 'A quart of wheat for a denarius." 35:54 What does it mean? What does it mean? 35:59 That in normal circumstance for a daily wage 36:03 you are able to buy enough food 36:06 and everything else for your family. 36:09 Now in the scene of the third seal 36:12 for one daily wage you can buy just enough food 36:19 to feed yourself and nobody else, 36:22 not the members of the family. 36:25 But something else that says 36:27 that for the same amount of a money, one denarius, 36:32 you can buy three quarts of barley. 36:37 Barley was a secondary food 36:40 usually to feed your cattle there. 36:45 And if people did not have something to eat, 36:47 usually poor people had to depend on this kind of food 36:51 but it means if you eat barley 36:53 it means you are very, very poor. 36:57 But keep in mind now that the person 36:59 for one daily wage can buy three quarts of barley, 37:03 so please can you now help me. 37:07 What is the scene that we have here? 37:09 Give me just one word in English. 37:11 It's a famine. 37:13 It's a terrible, terrible famine is there. 37:17 Okay, so what are we talking here about? 37:23 One more time we are dealing with symbolic language. 37:26 So imagery of the third black horse 37:29 and its rider points to what? 37:32 Force on the people, what happens to the people 37:34 who reject the gospel and persecute? 37:37 What is the next consequences of the rejection of the gospel? 37:40 It's a spiritual famine. 37:43 The black color corresponds 37:45 to the mission of the horse and its rider. 37:50 Let's explain it. 37:52 How did you define the black? 37:55 Dark. It's opposite to white. 37:59 If you go to the New Testament, 38:01 the white color, you remember the first seal, 38:04 the white horse we saw it's the gospel. 38:07 It's associated with the Christ and the gospel message. 38:12 But when you have now the black color 38:15 it's opposite to the gospel. 38:18 So if the white color denotes 38:23 the preaching of the gospel, the white horse, 38:26 then the black horse signifies the absence of the gospel. 38:32 The spiritual famine, you see when you go to the Bible-- 38:40 grain, it's a normal word 38:47 for the word of God. 38:50 You remember the parable of Jesus of the sower and the seed? 38:55 Or actually in the gospel of John 6:35-36, 39:02 Jesus says my words that are speaking to you 39:06 is the bread that you are suppose to eat. 39:10 So the rejection of the gospel 39:12 usually results in the famine of the word of God. 39:15 And if you go to the Book of Amos 8:11-13, 39:22 the Prophet Amos foresaw 39:27 that somewhere in the future on earth 39:32 there will be a terrible famine of the word of God. 39:37 But praise God. 39:38 So one more time, the third seal, 39:39 it's about the spiritual famine for the word of God. 39:43 But we have here a very encouraging note 39:47 and what is that? 39:48 The instruction was given, 39:51 "Do not damage the oil and the wine." 39:56 So this famine, the famine of the third seal is not fatal. 40:02 The same was that commission to John, okay, 40:06 to measure the food, okay, 40:10 emphasizing the extreme famine 40:14 the same voice try to protect the wine and oil. 40:17 And by the way, when we go to the Bible 40:20 we see that oil symbolically in spiritual way 40:25 symbolizes the Holy Spirit. 40:28 And wine regular in the New Testament 40:31 stands for the salvation that we receive in Jesus Christ. 40:35 So if--do you see here the grace and the mercy of God 40:39 even though the people rejected the gospel 40:42 and their consequences which is the famine, 40:46 the shortage of the word of God? 40:48 But God's grace and God's salvation 40:53 is still available to the people, okay. 40:58 For all those who want to accept Him. 41:00 And now finally we are going 41:03 to the fourth seal, the four horsemen. 41:08 Verse 7-8 "When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, 41:14 I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, 'Come.' 41:19 And I looked, and behold, an ashen horse, 41:23 and he who sat on it had the name death, 41:29 and Hades was following with him. 41:32 And authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, 41:36 to kill with the sword and with the famine 41:41 and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth." 41:47 Now I know what you say, 41:49 evidently the third seal makes sense. 41:52 But what is the fourth seal now all about? 41:57 Okay, with the opening of the fourth seal 42:00 a pale horse appears. 42:03 Keep in mind that the fourth horse and the horsemen 42:09 follow the third horse, 42:13 the black horse and the rider. 42:18 But even to grasp the full meaning of this word. 42:21 The word that we translate as pale of ashen horse here is, 42:27 is the Greek word chloros 42:30 which actually is the normal word 42:34 for that ashen grey color of a dead body. 42:41 You will find some commentator or some Bible translation 42:45 they use the word greenish 42:49 describing the horse-- the corpse that is, 42:54 you know, in the state of decaying, okay. 43:00 So the rider's name is death. 43:02 Now you understand why the rider has the name death. 43:06 And he is followed by Hades 43:09 which is actually the place of death. 43:12 They are allowed, this death and Hades, 43:15 are allowed to destroy people by sword, by famine, 43:20 by plague, and by the wild beasts. 43:24 And one fourth of the earth is given to them to harm it. 43:31 It's very interesting is what appears here 43:36 that the fourth horsemen actually comprises the actions 43:41 and unites the actions of the three previous horsemen. 43:46 You see, the fourth seal 43:48 describes the pestilence on the earth. 43:52 And the graphic portrayal of the fourth horsemen provides 43:55 a further warning to the people who reject the gospel. 44:00 One more time. 44:02 The first horseman portrays the preaching of the gospel. 44:06 The second one the rejection of the gospel 44:08 and the consequences of that. 44:11 The third one the further consequences of the gospel 44:15 which is the spiritual famine. 44:17 What now comes next? 44:20 It's actually the spiritual death. 44:24 These are the extreme consequences 44:27 for those who reject the gospel. 44:32 However we have a good new, praise God. 44:36 Is that the death and the Hades, 44:40 their power and their activities are very limited. 44:45 They're given the authority only over one fourth of the earth. 44:52 The very beginning of the book provides the assurance 44:56 that by His own death and resurrection-- 44:58 you remember the vision of Jesus Christ 45:00 when He appears to John there on Patmos? 45:03 Jesus made very clear to John the virtue of His death. 45:07 He won the victory over death and Hades, 45:11 the two enemies of the human race. 45:14 When the gospel is accepted, life is received as a gift. 45:21 And the death does not have the authority 45:25 over those who are saved in Jesus Christ any longer. Why? 45:30 Because they belong to Jesus Christ 45:33 and He is the one who won to victory 45:36 over these enemies of the human race. Okay. 45:43 You can say, this is very interesting. 45:48 But let me go on one step further 45:52 because the readers of the Bible they ask questions, 45:56 is that really only that what we have here 46:00 with regard to these four horses? 46:05 Just to tell us what happens when the gospel is preached. 46:08 That this one level of interpretation. 46:10 Remember when we talk about 46:11 the message of the seven churches 46:13 that, that three levels of interpretation, 46:15 so also with regard to the seven seals. 46:19 Now we are focusing on the first four seals. 46:23 It appears and the Bible students also noticed 46:27 that there are somehow strong parallels 46:31 between the historical application 46:34 of the seven churches and the seven seals. 46:39 So the Bible students they noticed that actually 46:42 the first horseman historically can stand for the first century 46:47 which was really the time of the concurring gospel 46:53 and the gospel did throughout the world in the first century. 46:58 But then--and of course in Phalaris 47:03 to the church in Ephesus 47:04 you remember we talk about that? 47:06 But then the Bible students also noticed 47:10 that following the first century 47:11 that great success of the preaching of the gospel 47:14 during the second and the third century 47:17 it was a time of severe persecution. 47:19 Do you remember we talked about the church in Smyrna? 47:23 Persecuted the church? 47:24 So what the better parallel to exist than what we have here 47:31 the correspondence between the second seal 47:34 and the church in Smyrna? 47:36 The second and third centuries, okay. 47:39 Then what do we have the next one 47:42 is the Biblical students noticed that something happened 47:47 following the second and third centuries 47:50 what happened when Constantine 47:53 finally made Christianity to be a legal religion, 47:58 actually the official religion of the Roman Empire. 48:03 Then what happened the next? 48:06 The Christians were not fighting 48:08 for their faith in Jesus Christ any longer. 48:11 Suddenly they replace the teaching of the Bible 48:13 with the Greek philosophy. 48:15 They started arguing over orthodoxy. 48:19 And it's interesting is that many strange doctrines 48:24 crept into the Christian faith. 48:28 We have here great famine for the word of God. 48:33 And what the better parallel than the parallels 48:36 when the church in pergamum 48:39 that stand for the fourth and the fifth century. 48:43 And now we are coming to the fourth seal 48:47 that really describes the complete spiritual death. 48:53 And the Biblical students actually noticed 48:56 how the fourth seal can apply to the period 49:02 that we know as the dark middle ages. 49:06 When really Christianity was killed, 49:09 when the teaching of the Bible was replaced by tradition 49:14 that people try to find salvation in works, in relics, 49:19 but the teaching of the Bible and the gospel 49:22 completely disappeared from the mind of people. 49:25 And we saw already how actually this period, 49:28 the dark middle ages, could have a strong parallels 49:33 with the church in Thyatira. 49:34 And the woman Jezebel-- 49:36 the threat to the church came not from outside, 49:39 actually it came from inside. 49:42 So the fourth seal can aptly be applied to the dark middle ages. 49:50 Okay, but keep in mind 49:51 we have two different applications, 49:54 a symbolic applications what regularly happens. 49:58 And please I would like to stop here for a moment. 50:01 When we try to apply those seals historically, okay. 50:07 When-- to those different periods, 50:11 we have to keep in mind 50:12 not to impose our interpretation of that. 50:15 Because if you go and take 50:17 the first seal and leave it to just 50:20 to the first century then what happens? 50:23 Keep in mind we read in the first seal 50:25 that the rider on the horse 50:28 he came out conquering and to conquer. 50:36 When will the conquering finally be concluded? 50:42 With the second coming of Christ. 50:44 We know that before Jesus comes 50:46 the second coming of Christ they'll be once again 50:48 a powerful preaching of the gospel. 50:50 So the preaching of the gospel 50:52 did not stop with the first century. 50:54 The same can be said about the second seal persecution. 50:57 Did persecution lasts only during the second 51:01 and the third centuries? 51:02 No. It happened already at the time of Apostle Paul, 51:05 because he was killed. 51:06 John the revelator he went through 51:09 severe persecution on Patmos. 51:11 Do you remember that? 51:12 And that persecution did not stop with the third century. 51:18 So do you see here, 51:20 you have to see the first level of application. 51:22 The same can be about the famine of the word of God. 51:26 We can argue it was more famine for the word of God 51:31 during the fourth or fifth century 51:33 than today what we witness. 51:37 So keep in mind it's very easy 51:39 to go to one or to another extreme. 51:42 Do the seven seals have the historic application? 51:46 Of course. We saw it. 51:48 Only blind person cannot see those strong parallels. 51:52 But we cannot impose if we have first to start 51:55 of that universal application to tell us actually 51:58 what always happens when the gospel is being preached. 52:02 Then gospel started being preached 52:05 on the day of Pentecost, okay. 52:07 Now what is the meaning of all of this? 52:15 We will stop at this moment 52:18 and begin understanding of the Old Testament background 52:23 that helps us really to understand 52:24 what seals are all about. 52:26 And evidently when it is the most interesting, 52:29 we will stop and we will meet again in our next presentation. 52:33 So I'd like to encourage you 52:35 please come back to our program is 52:38 because we will discover some beautiful, 52:41 beautiful truth of the Bible. 52:43 Okay. 52:44 We mentioned already that the fourth seal 52:47 somehow encompasses or incorporates 52:50 the activates of the three previous horsemen. 52:53 Are you still with me? How do we know that? 52:55 Please let's go back one more time to the text. 52:57 It's verse 8, verse 8. 53:00 Chapter 6:8 says "And I looked, and behold, 53:03 an ashen horse, and he who sat on it 53:06 had the name death, and Hades was following with him. 53:10 Authority was given to them over one fourth of the earth." 53:15 And nothing unusual if we stop here at this moment. 53:18 But look for the following sentence. 53:20 "To kill with the sword." 53:22 Where did we have the sword? 53:26 Actually in the second, second seal. "With the famine." 53:30 Where did we have the famine? 53:33 In the third one. "And with pestilence." 53:36 Where did we have the pestilence? 53:38 Here in the fourth one. 53:40 And the new element is added by the wild beasts of the earth. 53:46 It is very interesting 53:48 and so many times people want to ask about seals. 53:50 They said, "What is this all about?" 53:52 And I just want to assure you 53:56 that the Christians of the time of John who had the Bible. 54:00 That Bible was the Old Testament. 54:02 At the time it was the only Bible that they have. Okay. 54:05 The New Testament was not formed yet. 54:08 When they read this they said, "Amen." 54:12 Because they knew exactly what it meant. 54:16 And if you open the Old Testament and we saw 54:18 that the Old Testament interprets itself. 54:21 You cannot be far away from the truth. 54:23 So a time that is just left for us, 54:25 I'd like to make introduction and to request you 54:28 please can you turn with me to Leviticus 26:21-26. 54:36 Leviticus 26:21-26. What do we have? 54:41 You remember I told you 54:43 that we will come back to Leviticus Chapter 26? 54:46 We read the background for the third seal here from this text. 54:50 What do we have in Leviticus Chapter 26? 54:54 If you see there at the beginning of the Chapter, 54:56 Moses wants to give to the people of Israel 55:00 a warning telling them if you obey the Lord your God, 55:04 if you are faithful to Him, 55:07 if you do not serve other idols, 55:10 God will bless you always. 55:13 You'll be blessed in the house, 55:14 you will be bless in the field. 55:16 He will give you long life. 55:18 He will give you security and safety 55:20 from your enemies' etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 55:22 But then comes the following section. 55:26 However, if you disobey the Lord your God 55:31 then something will happen. 55:32 So I hope that we have enough time. 55:34 Maybe I will even have to interrupt 55:36 the reading of this text, so please let us try to do it. 55:39 This is what Moses said to them. 55:41 Chapter 26 Leviticus from verse 21, 55:45 "If you act with hostility against me 55:48 and are unwilling to obey me, 55:50 I will increase the plague on you seven times 55:53 according to your sins. 55:55 I will let loose among you the beasts of the field 55:58 which will bereave you of your children 56:01 and destroy your cattle." 56:03 What do we have here? 56:04 The wild beast, did you see that? 56:05 "And reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted. 56:09 And if by these things you are not turned to me, 56:12 but act with hostility against me," 56:14 what will happen next? 56:16 "I will turn against you 56:18 and I will strike you seven times for your sins. 56:21 I will also bring upon you," what? 56:24 "A sword upon you 56:26 which will execute vengeance of the covenant, 56:28 and when you gather together into your cities, 56:30 I will send," what? 56:32 "Pestilence among you, 56:34 so that you shall be delivered into the enemies' hands. 56:38 When I break your staff of bread, 56:41 ten women will bake your bread." 56:43 Do you see that? 56:45 "In one oven, and they will bring back 56:47 your bread by weight, 56:49 so that you will eat and not to be satisfied." 56:53 Did you notice something? 56:56 So when John wrote about a sword, about famine, 57:02 about pestilence, and the wild beast, 57:05 the first century readers 57:06 did not have any difficulty to understand it. 57:09 By the way, I have new surprises for you when we come back. 57:13 And I would like to invite you 57:15 to study the word of God for yourself. 57:18 You can see that the Bible is it's own interpreter. 57:22 So I'd like to invite you and to join me next time, 57:25 because we would like really to see 57:27 that deep significance of the seven seals. |
Revised 2014-12-17