The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

“Behold I come as a thief.  Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments lest he walks

 naked and they see his shame.  And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”   Rev. 16:15-16

We have already talked about the Rapture of the Church where Jesus meets us in the air, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”  [I Thessalonians 4:17]  Here is where we see the difference of the Rapture and the Second Coming which are two different end time events. Jesus does not come down to earth during the Rapture, but meets believers in the air. 

            Another great scripture confirming this is in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

At the Second Coming of Jesus, which happens at the time of the Battle of Armageddon, He comes down to earth in Jerusalem.  “Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.” [Zechariah 14:3-4]  This is how we can know for sure that Jesus will come to earth again, after the Rapture.

You will not find the word ‘Rapture’ in Bible.  Because the New Testament was originally written in Greek, the word used was ‘harpazo’ which means, "caught up". This is found in I Thessalonians 4:17 and therefore in English would be ‘rapture’.  I hope this explains it a little better. For you information, the Bible does not contain the word, ‘Trinity’, or the word, ‘Revival’ or even the word, ‘Bible’.  Yet there are many references to all these things in the Word of God.  You must remember that the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and the New in Greek and man translated all of it to English.

            Now, moving on; when Jesus comes back at the Second Coming, who is it that comes with him?  There are several scriptures that plainly tell us.

 Zechariah 14:5 - Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You.

 Jude 14 & 15 - "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, "to execute judgment on all.”

I Thessalonians 3:13 – “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”

There is then no doubt that those of us who have been taken up in the rapture and those who died as a believer (“….And the dead in Christ will rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16), are the saints who come back with Jesus.  You may look in the mirror and say, “I’m no saint for sure”, but Jesus himself spoke of his people as saints. There are hundreds of places in the entire Bible that speak of believers being called ‘saints’.  In fact in 1 Corinthians 6:2 we are told this amazing thing that will take place on earth when we come back with Jesus. “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?”

            Many things will happen when Jesus’ feet touch down on the Mount of Olives.  A great earthquake is going to take place.  Here is what happens next!  Joel 2:7-11 (read the whole chapter)

           They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down.  They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief.  The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; who can endure it?

          Who are these mighty ones – they are the saints; you and me. Yes, all those who follow the great enemy, Satan, will be destroyed. 

          The Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, clearly prophesies God’s fearful global end time judgement against this sinful world just before, and at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 13:9-13, Jeremiah 4:24-28, Zechariah 14:1-5, Joel 3, Matthew 24:29-30 and Revelation 6:12-17).

           When we put these scriptures together, we clearly see that the future judgement of God, which marks the end of this present age, will be absolutely cataclysmic, involving the powers of the heavens being shaken, the stars (meteorites) falling onto earth, the sun and the moon being darkened, great earthquakes causing every mountain and every island to shake and move out of its place, great global devastation of the earth’s surface causing chaos and waste, massive destruction of all types of life, and surviving unbelievers so terrified that they hide away from the face of the returning Jesus Christ and His wrath.

           In Zechariah 13:8, we read that up to two-thirds of earth’s population will die during this global end time judgment. “And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it.”
 
           In Revelation 16:20-21, we read about the great hail stones that weighed “75” lbs. each.  “Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, [each hailstone] about the weight of a talent.  Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.”  This will change the landscape of the world.  This is confirmed by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:3-5, “Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth.”  If you read this whole chapter in Isaiah, you will see that it is written about what will happen at Christ’s Second Coming.

            As we come back to Revelation 20:1-3, we read about the Enemy, Satan, who will be chained up for how long?  A thousand years!  These thousand years will be the topic of next week’s lesson, “The Millennium” which includes 'The Judgment Seat of Christ" and "The Great White Throne Judgment".

 

 

 

 

           

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

           

 

 

 

The Battle of Armageddon

The Battle of Armageddon

 

            Last week we read about the Great Tribulation which takes place during the last 3 ½ years of the 7 year Tribulation.  I don’t have space here to go into all the details, but you may want to read the Book of Revelation for better understanding.  During the last 3 ½ years before the Battle of Armageddon many things will take place.  God will send two prophets (Witnesses) to warn people of what is to come.

Many believe these prophets to be Enoch and Elijah, because according to OT readings, they did not die.  Elijah was carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot and Enoch was taken by God. [Genesis 5:24]  Some believe it to be Elijah and Moses, but the Bible says Moses died. [Deuteronomy 34:7]  The bible says ‘it is appointed for man to die once’ so it would appear to be Enoch and Elijah.  In chapter 11:1-8 of Revelation, they are killed in the streets of Jerusalem.

Also, the sun will be darkened; the moon will turn red as blood; meteors will crash to the earth; a third of the fish in the sea will die; a third of the water in the earth will be poisonous and people will be stung with huge scorpions that come out of the earth.  One third of the people on earth will be killed.  Another interesting thing is that 144,000 Jews will be raised up to be witnesses to the world.  The mark of God will be on their forehead, so they will be saved from the mark of the antichrist.  Now to the Battle!

 In Revelation 16:16 it reads “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” At the close of the tribulation period, the Antichrist and his false prophet, with the armies of the earth, will besiege the Jewish remnant in Jerusalem.  These world powers will gather in Megiddo on the plain Jezreel which is called Armageddon.  Revelation 19:19 shows us that this battle is between the Antichrist with the leaders (kings) of the earth, and Jesus Christ with his armies of heaven.  This will be the last World War.

As all these armies gather for the Battle, an amazing picture of Christ’s coming unfolds in Revelation 19:11-16.  “ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.  Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

            Apparently, those who attended the Marriage Supper of the Lamb are also His armies for they are clothed in ‘fine linen, white and clean’.  If you are saved by the blood of Jesus and in heaven, then you are among these armies and ready to destroy the remaining evil in the world.  The Wrath of God is pouring out on this evil.  The good is about to triumph of the evil. 

In verse 15 it tells us that he will tread the winepress of the wrath of God.  Strange as it may seem, in Old Testament times it was prophesied in the Book of Joel, chapter 9: 12-17, it was like a warning that this time would come, “ Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow-- For their wickedness is great.”  Now we see that Jesus, himself, is the one to tread the winepress.  All these evil ones in this valley will die this day.  The antichrist and the false prophet will be captured alive and will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. 

            You can only be alive with a body, so note that these 2 were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire, where they will be burned and tormented alive for over a 1,000 years.  Satan has not yet been destroyed and will be locked away safely in the bottomless pit.  God set a seal on him so he will never deceive anyone again.  However, at the end of the 1,000 year millennium he will be judged and his end will come. 

“The devil, which deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10

            The number of dead from that battle is so great that the birds in the air were called to feed on the flesh of those who died and also the animals that were involved in the battle.  There must be thousands, if not millions of birds that will clean up after this battle.

After such a gruesome picture, I must say to you that from the time God created the heavens and the earth and placed humans here, they have had a choice as to which supper you will attend at the end of time as we know it; the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, or the Tragic Supper of the flesh-eating birds.  May you choose Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior today, because you can see in the Bible the outcome of those who choose to follow the ways of the world.

 

For those who have chosen Jesus, this is not the end!  There is a great time coming after Armageddon and it is called, The Millennium; a time of total peace over the entire earth and joy unimaginable for 1,000 years.  Read next week’s lesson on, “The Millennium”!

 

 

 

Understanding the Great Tribulation

Understanding the Great Tribulation

Tribulation is a part of our life.  Who do you know that doesn’t have trials and tribulations?

Tribulation means to experience great suffering or distress.  This is what many of us go through in our travel throughout life.  However, there is a time coming when the world will suffer through what the Bible speaks of as “The Great Tribulation”.  

           The ‘Tribulation’ was what was prophesied in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.  “In the third year of the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) had another vision. It concerned events certain to happen in the future: times of great tribulation—wars and sorrows, and this time he understood what the vision meant.”  Daniel 10:1 (TLB)

           It means that in the future there will be a period of 7 years that are divided in half: 3 ½ years and 3 ½ years.  The first 3 ½ years will be troublesome as the anti-Christ shows himself to be a great man who sets up a 7 year treaty with Israel and the Arab countries surrounding it.  This man will be mesmerizing in all that he does.  He has the power to do miracles and people will be totally taken in by him.  A new temple will be built in Jerusalem and the Jews will once again turn to sacrificing animals for God’s forgiveness of sin.

          At the end of the first 3 ½ years, the Anti-Christ will reveal who he really is and set up his own image in the Temple and claim to be God.  During this time he will set up what the Bible calls, “The mark of the beast” by demanding everyone have a mark of some kind on their forehead or on their hand.  A person can’t buy or sell anything including food, medicine or fuel without showing they have that mark which is referred to as ‘666’.  However, the Bible tells us that anyone receiving the mark will not enter the kingdom of God, but will be doomed to eternity in the Lake of Fire with the Devil and his demons.

           This is all part of the Tribulation, but the “Great Tribulation” has not yet come.  Somewhere in the last 3 ½ years we will see the most terrible things we can imagine take place on the earth.  For a clear picture of what those things will be, let’s go to Matthew 24:4-51 in the New Testament and read what Jesus said about it.  

The disciples asked Jesus how they would know when these would happen and Jesus began to explain that there would be many wars and nations of the world coming against one another.  He also said there would be famines, disease and earthquakes, but this wasn’t the worse.  There was more to come; if you were a Believer, you would be persecuted and killed for standing up for the name of Jesus.  False prophets would come and many would be deceived and even the Christian’s heart for God will grow cold.  If you hold strong in God, you will be saved.  The Jews will be forced to leave Israel and hide in the mountains.  All of this is just the beginning and now comes the “Great Tribulation”.

            Suddenly, the sun will be darkened; the moon will no longer be a light in the sky and stars
            will begin to fall from the heavens.  At this time everyone will see Jesus coming down from                heaven in power and glory.  A trumpet will sound and the angels will begin to gather all  the 
            believers from the entire world. When will that be?  Jesus said that only God the Father know
            that day and hour.  He warns us in verse 42 to be watching and ready.

It appears the Great Tribulation, which is also referred to as ‘The Wrath of God’ takes place during the latter part of the last 3 ½ years of this 7-year period.  Look at this scripture in Revelation 3:10 (TLB) “Because you have patiently obeyed me despite the persecution, therefore I will protect you from the time of Great Tribulation and temptation, which will come upon the world to test everyone alive.”

Now let’s go back to Daniel 12:1-4 
           "At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." 

            We can read almost the same thing in I Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

 

 

Next week, we will continue the End Times series with “The Second Coming of Jesus Christ”.

 

The Rapture of the Church

The Rapture of the Church

Let’s begin this lesson with the one thought in mind; the rapture of the saints will no doubt take place in our time.  How do we prepare for this marvelous event?  First we need to look at the scriptures to be absolutely sure that there is such a thing as “The Rapture”. 

 I Thess. 4:16-18   “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

 What a wonderful account of the Christians being caught up to meet Jesus in the air.  Notice that this catching away is for both those believers who are living and those who have already died.  That word “caught up together” comes from the Greek word harpazo. It literally means “to snatch out” or “to seize.” It’s like a thief grabbing a purse. He seizes it. The word Rapture comes from the Latin Bible rendering of raptus from which we get the popular term Rapture. So if you were reading your Latin Bible and you got down to verse 17 you would see raptus, rapture.

Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” Where is He now? He is preparing a place for us in Heaven. We meet the Lord in the air. We put these two passages together and we learn that we meet the Lord in the air and He takes us to the Father’s house. From this we see this is not just a made-up word, but has the true meaning for “caught up”. 

 In another great scripture Jesus describes this event in much detail.  “Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with power and great glory.  So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!" Then he gave them this illustration: "Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. Just so, when you see the events I've described taking place, you can be sure that the Kingdom of God is near.  I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these events have taken place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever. "Watch out! Don't let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life. Don't let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep a constant watch. And pray that, if possible, you may escape these horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:27-36

 What is Jesus talking about? He is talking about the Wrath of God coming on this earth.  He warns us to be on a constant lookout for this event and even praying that we can escape it. This is reality and for those who don’t believe it, the shock will be overwhelming.  We have a great example of something very similar that took place on this earth about 4000 years ago.

Luke 17: 26-29  "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”

In both events the believers escaped the wrath to come!  When did they escape is the question! With Noah and his family it happened on the very day the Wrath of God fell on the earth.  What about Lot?  The Bibles says it was “on the day” that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.  It wasn’t seven years before God told Noah to get in the ark with his family – it was the day of!  Lot didn’t have seven years to get out of that wicked city – it was the very day God destroyed it. The thing we want to remember is that both escaped the Wrath of God. 

I Cor. 15:50-55 gives us more details of the rapture.  “What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever. But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking [twinkling] of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown [7^th trumpet]. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies.  We aren’t going to just disappear, but we are going to be transformed.  Remember when Jesus left the earth, he rose up in the air and disappeared into the clouds.  It will happen just that way for the Believers. 

 If you are still wondering if Jesus is really going to come for us, turn to the book of I Thessalonians.  There are five chapters in this book and every chapter references the return of Christ.   

 

I Thess. 1:10 “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 

2:19 “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” 

3:13 “So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”  

4:14-17 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 

5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

           At this time, Jesus will meet us ‘in the air’; he does not come down to earth.  So, we don’t want you to be confused, there is another time that Jesus will come to earth and his feet will once again touch Israel’s soil. This return to earth will be at the time of the Battle of Armageddon.    

             “Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.” Zechariah 14:1-4

So when will the Rapture of the Church take place?  Non one knows for sure.  Looking at other references in the bible makes us unsure of the time.  Many great men of God believe it will happen before the 7-year tribulation begins.  That would be wonderful if it happens that way.  However, the Bible also tells us that we will escape the 'Wrath to Come'.  As this series continues and we talk about things in the book of Revelation, we find that the ‘Wrath of God’ does not occur until the last trumpet sounds.  That won’t take place until later in the last 3 ½ years of the 7-year Tribulation.  The main thought on this is to serve the Lord to the best of your ability and always be ready for Him when he comes.

 

 The 4^th in our End Times study next week will be:  “Understanding the Great Tribulation”.

 

 

 

4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse

4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse

 

“Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”                                                                                        Revelation 6:1-2

            There are many interpretations of the meaning of these 4 horsemen and I will try to bring it all together for you.  In verse 2 of Revelation, we see a white horse comes on the scene.  A man is riding this horse and he is carrying a bow and has a crown on his head.  Of course we always refer to Jesus as riding a white horse (Rev. 19:15), so many come to a quick conclusion that it must be Jesus on this white horse. However, this rider is ready for war; ‘conquering and to conquer’.  

            As we read through the Bible we see that Satan tries to duplicate everything that God has done or is doing.  Obviously, Jesus is not riding out to destroy nations or peoples by conquering them.  Then we must come to the conclusion that it is Satan riding out to conquer as many as he can because he knows his days as prince of this world are coming to an end.  In Ephesians 2:2, Satan is called “The Prince of the power of the air”; in John 12:31 he is called “the ruler of the world” and in 2 Corinthians 4:4 he is called “the god of this age (or god of this world)”.

            When Jesus comes back with his saints to conquer Satan at the Battle of Armageddon, he will then be riding a white horse and on his thigh is written “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”.  He comes back bolding announcing who he is; he will end Satan’s rule on this earth. 

            “Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.”                                      Revelation 6:4

            This horse represents a time of great wars; a time when there will be no peace on this earth.  Murder and slaughter will be common in those days (it almost seems that way today).  Wars will be fought on a greater scale than we have ever seen before including many civil wars.  People will long for a place of peace and will not find it.

            As I look at the happenings around the world at this time, it is unbelievable.  According to one source there are over 40 wars around the world at this time and many of these wars record over a 1,000 deaths a year.  The U.S. is involved in 74 of these wars in one way or another.  It makes me wonder how long our country will enjoy the peace we have now when murder is on the rise.  In 2010 murder in various forms in the US numbered 12,696. 

 “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius (a days wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine." Revelation 6:5-6

            This third horseman riding in on a black horse is generally understood bringing famine to the world. The horseman carries a pair of scales, showing that bread would have been weighed during a famine. The price of grain will be about ten times normal and a day’s wages will only buy enough wheat for one person, or enough barley for three, so workers would struggle to feed their families.

            The oil and wine will apparently be in good supply.  European and Asian countries rely on wine for their drinking supply.  That does not mean it is all fermented, but water supplies are a constant shortage.  The oil could mean we will still have fuel for heat and other things, or it could be referring to the Olive oil which is still used for a lot of purposes. 

            This rider brings famine to many areas, but does not appear to cover the world.  There are one-billion hungry people are in the world today and that seems huge according to those of us who live in America.  Our minds cannot grasp the fact of that many people gradually starving to death.  Most of you reading this are probably shocked by the count when here we rarely allow ourselves to be hungry. 

“So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”  Revelation 6:8

The Pale Horse:  This is plainly stated that the rider was ‘Death” and “Hell: followed him.  It means there will be all kinds of disease, hunger and death. When people die their fate is sealed.  The sooner death can claim people, the less chance they have of being saved and entering the kingdom of God.  We can see a great escalation of death and destruction with the 4 horsemen and with the fourth we even see the animals become bloodthirsty.  Animals of all kinds will be starving and will begin to attack people for food their food supply.  No one will be safe.

            In Zachariah 6:1-8:  We see a prophecy of 4 chariots and 4 horses that are similar to the 4 horses in Revelation 6:8.  The horses shown here are black, white, red and dappled (patches, spots or shades, different from ordinary). In Verse God shows us the exact explanation of who these horses are in verse 5, “And the angel answered and said to me, "These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth.”  These horses show how they spread across the world and God deals with all people.  Whether they actually have anything to do with the four horses in Zachariah is questionable.

Going back to Revelation 6, we need to look at the four horses in another way, even though their purpose is the same.  Apparently the colors of the horses are important to God would not have mentioned them.  As we follow a timeline through the Bible we can see periods of time that follow the colors of the horses. 

            White is a symbol of purity and peace which is against Satan’s values and therefore he rides fourth to remove the peace from this earth and this can be done through him conquering people around the world.

            Red is a symbol of Communism. Wherever Communism reigns there is revolution and war.  We have often heard of the ‘Red Power’ and it is still alive today even though we don’t hear as much about it. The real horror, however, is when you begin to understand that communism has been enacted in America and Americans are too “asleep at the wheel” to have recognized it. I don’t have room to tell you the things that have crept into our government.  Remember, Socialism is only one step away from Communism.

            Black is a symbol of Capitalism and Democracy. All capitalistic countries are in the daily news for the stock market which rules the world.  It also speaks of the ‘oil and wine’. Also notice on your Dollar Bill a pair of balances.  It is there to represent World Trade.  Imagine, God knew Capitalism was coming to the world over 2000 years ago.

            Pale Horse:  Last week I mentioned about why the Bible calls this the pale horse when it was written as he ‘Green horse’.  The New Testament was originally written in Greek and was written as ‘Chloros’ which is translated as ‘Green’.  Green is the royal, symbolic color for Muslims. If you watch a Muslim parade, you will be amazed at the ‘green’ displayed in all of their flags and decorations. We know of the Muslim use of swords, terrorism, hunger, death by beheading. 

Look at these statistics:  Growth Rate of religion - Islam 1.84%

                                                                                                         Christianity – 1.338%

        God help us if America ever gives in to the Muslims having the Islamic Sharia Law like they do in England.  Read this report from London.

            LONDON -- Stoning for adultery. Amputations for theft. Death for apostates. And second-class status for Christians and Jews. This is life under Sharia law, the Islamic system practiced in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Great Britain.

         We surely do not want this happening here, not do we want to Islamic religion to become a leading force in America.  Christianity used to be at the base of everything in this country and now we are, as Christians, being rated as second class people by the Liberals.  Politically correct will lead this country to it's own demise if it continues. 

 

 

 

 

           

         

 

Next week we will continue #3 of the ‘End Times’ series with  “The Coming Rapture”.