Tribulation - First Seal

By Brian C Thomas

Main Text: Revelation 6:1-2

Introduction

 

The Tribulation will contain the worst events the earth has ever seen. As bad as it is today with murders, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, drugs, pornography, abortion, etc, things pale in comparison to what it will be like during the Tribulation. The judgment of God will come upon the earth to bring all of the unsaved to repentance during this time. His judgments will occur in three forms that are recorded in the book of Revelation: seals, trumpets, and bowls. There will be seven of each for a total of twenty-one judgments. The seal judgments will occur in approximately the first quarter of the Tribulation which is the first twenty-one months of the seven year period. This teaching will cover the first of the seven seal judgments.

First Seal: The Conqueror

 

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.

When the Lamb, Jesus Christ, opens the first seal, one of the four creatures around the throne of God tells John to “Come and see”. This creature is one of four that dwell in the midst of the throne of God and around the throne. Each creature has many eyes in the front and back. The first is like a lion, the second like a calf, the third has the face of a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of these creatures has six wings and praise the Lord God Almighty day and night (Revelation 4:6-8).  John then sees a white horse. This is the first of the infamous Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The one who rides the horse wears a crown and carries a bow. This rider on the white horse symbolizes the antichrist. He is riding to conquer and establish his kingdom that will reign during the Tribulation. The crown on his head indicates that he will be successful in his conquests. Little antichrist dictators such as Napoleon and Alexander the Great rode on horses as well. This rider is “the” antichrist also known as the “little horn”, “man of sin”, and “son of perdition” (Daniel 7; 2 Thessalonians 2:3). Even though the rider on the horse has a bow, an indicator of aggressive conquests, he has no arrow. The lack of an arrow shows that he will conquer by diplomacy rather than war. The words in his month will be smoother than butter but he will have war in his heart (Psalm 55:21). He will rise to power as seemingly the solver of all the world’s problems. But the “order” that he will bring to the earth will be by deception and provide a false sense of security.  

When the antichrist comes to power, he will establish a New World Order also known as One World System and One World Government. The process of laying the foundation for his system has been underway for many years. The United Nations was created by world leaders as what they believed to be the ultimate solution for world peace. It was established in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations with the intent of stopping war between nations. We can look back over the decades since its beginnings and quickly see that it brought no end to wars. The UN has been paving the way toward a one-world government that rules by socialism. The leaders of our world envision a socialist one-world government with man in control of the world’s affairs, not God. Socialism has never improved the quality of life in any country and typically leaves the countries in worse condition after being implemented and failed. As of today, January 2010, the process has sped up exponentially toward a New World Order. Henry Kissinger has declared that Barack Obama is primed to create the new world order, his quote from January 2009 is as follows, “His task will be to develop an overall strategy for America in this period when, really, a new world order can be created. It's a great opportunity, it isn't just a crisis." The president has also stated he is in favor of a one-world government. This is just one example of the many world leaders who have been calling for a new world order. Once this system is in place, it will be the same system through which the antichrist will declare that no one may buy or sell without the mark of the beast during the Tribulation (Revelation 13:17).

The future political diplomat known as the antichrist in prophecy will likely offer world peace during a time of unrest. There is ongoing unrest in Israel today as the Palestinians constantly launch attacks on God’s chosen nation. Ezekiel 38-39 tells us that Russia will someday join in with plotting to overtake Israel. We already see that Russia is strengthening an existing alliance with Iran, a nation whose president says Israel must be wiped off the map. Russia will launch an attack against Israel but God will supernaturally destroy them. This may be the time when the antichrist will offer peace to the world, especially the middle east, to prevent future wars. Most people on earth will view this as a good thing but it will all be a great deception. We do not know when this plot of Russia against Israel will occur but I think it is likely to happen at the beginning or just prior to the Tribulation since the scripture states that Israel will burn the Russian weapons for seven years (Ezekiel 39:9-10). It could be that the seven year burning of the weapons will be going on during the seven year Tribulation. The antichrist will make a seven year covenant with Israel that will be the sign that the Tribulation has started (Daniel 9:27). Once the church is raptured to heaven and the first seal is broken by the Lamb, the antichrist will rise to power on earth and establish this covenant with Israel. His treaty will likely be an offer to protect them from future attacks. But halfway through, he will break the covenant and turn on Israel claiming that all must worship him as God.

Conclusion

 

It was never God’s plan for His followers to look for a leader in man (1 Samuel 8:4-7). He has always wanted us to look to Him as our governing authority. But satan has convinced many that man can solve problems of the world without God. God expressed that the Israelites desire for a king was rejection of Him. He told Samuel to heed their voice since they wanted a man as king rather than Him but warned them "to be careful what you ask for" (1 Samuel 8:9). We can apply the same wisdom to our current environment as many have voted for leaders that they believe have the answers to our economic troubles. What they view as a blessing in government takeovers and bailouts is actually a satanic deception that is putting the pieces of the puzzle in place for the antichrist to walk into his one-world socialist government. With the current worldwide recession, leaders are crying out that we need a single currency to prevent this from happening again. Many do not realize that they are doing exactly what satan wants. We all should seek God for discernment concerning these things to recognize evil from good. Concerning the events leading up to the end of the age, Daniel wrote, “…none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” – Daniel 12:10. When the first seal is broken and the white horse rides, the most deceptive ruler of all-time will rise to power. Most will celebrate his rise to power thinking that he has the answers to bring order to the world but he will trick many into losing salvation through his "mark of the beast" system. As Christians, we thank God that He will give us the wisdom to escape the deceptions of satan if we truly seek Him for understanding. We find hope and joy in the day that our Savior Jesus Christ will return for His church. Until then, Blessings to Israel and to the only wise God, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.