Tag Archives: Revelation

Introduction into the book of Revelation

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Title: Revelation of Jesus Christ = Apocalypse = revealing, uncovering = Final Victory of Christ

Author:  Apostle John – (Rev, 1:1, 4, 9, 22:8)

Gospel of John, The Epistles of John- confirmed by Irenaeus and Justin Martyr

Common Themes- Christ is The Word, Christ is the Lamb

Historical account of John’s exile to Patmos

Tradition holds that on one occasion, John was scheduled for boiling in oil. He escaped by divine intervention. His exile on Patmos easily could have been a death sentence. When Emperor Domitian, who had exiled him to Patmos, had died, John was brought back to Ephesus, where he was confined for two years. It is written that he was compelled to drink poison but was unharmed, and finally died in peace.

source: Foxes Book of Martyrs

Date:  Early or Later Date? Majority believe it was written the end of the first century AD 94-96

Why is this significant? Destruction of the Jewish Temple 70 AD = Held by primarily Preterist

Strong evidence for a later date:

  •  Irenaeus – Church Father, disciple of John, affirms late date
  • Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Victorinus, Eusebius, Jerome -all affirm later date
  • 7 Churches of Revelation = point to a later date = example Church of Ephesus

4 Views of Revelation:

  • Preterist- Believe everything in Revelation is fulfilled by 70 AD- (hence the importance of the early date)
  • Historical View– Believe Revelation is a symbolic view of the Church history
  • Idealist View – View Revelation as symbolic of the cosmic world between good and evil
  • Futurist View – View events from Chapters 6-22 are still futuristic , and those chapters literally and symbolically depict real events, including the second coming of Christ, the Millennial Reign, Final Judgement ect

Matthew 24- Signs of The End

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And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:1-3

Matthew Chapter 24 is the core of all future end time events and the return of Christ. Now there are many Christians who believe all of Matthew 24 is already fulfilled, however while I believe parts are fulfilled, there are still many things to come, and will break it down in the next verses. The first sign of the end of the Old Covenant is the destruction of The Temple. This is one the of the charges the religious leaders placed on Christ during his trial, his prediction of the destruction of the Temple

We know that in 70 AD , this prophecy was fulfilled and the Temple in Israel was destroyed and never rebuilt , even to this day. Whether your a Christian or not, you can’t deny the accuracy of Jesus’ prophecy. However the destruction of The Temple has even greater meaning, as with the destruction of the Temple, goes the entire Mosaic Worship system, such as sacrifices, high priests, these are all fulfilled in Jesus Christ and his New Covenant (Hebrews 8)

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. Matthew 24:4-9

The disciples asked Jesus “What will be the signs of your return and the end of the age”? Jesus gives his disciples 4 signs, now when you study Revelation 6, the four horseman, they align perfectly with what Christ reveals here

  1. The Anti-Christ- 1rst Horseman White– And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Revelation 6:1-2 

Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many Matthew 24:5

Yes many Ant-Christs have already come and gone, but the Son of Perdition(2 Thessalonians 2) will come at the end to deceive most of the world

  1. Wars- 2nd Horseman Red And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Revelation 6:3-4

          And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom Matthew 24:6-7

Yes there have been wars in the past, but the Anti-Christ will generate a war on a global scale, with casualties never seen in human history

  1. Famine – 3rd Horseman Pale   And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. Revelation 6:5-6 

           . For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places Matthew 24:7

Famine will come on a global scale that has never been seen before, and large amounts of the worlds population will die

  1. Death- 4th Horseman Black – And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:7-8

            Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. Matthew 24:9

The Last Horseman will be death and it will been seen on a scale never seen before in the world

Other resources:

Is Jesus The First Horseman?

Is Jesus The First Horseman?

Is Jesus The First Horseman?

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Is Jesus the First Horseman?

Who is the first horseman in Revelation? The Watchtower teaches that the first horseman is Jesus Christ himself, but is this Biblical? Does this idea line up with the rest of scripture? Lets take a look:

When we compare Revelation 6 with Matthew 24, the answer is clear:

 

And I saw when the Lamba opened one of the seven seals,b and I heard one of the four living creaturesc say with a voice like thunder: “Come!” 2  And I saw, and look! a white horse,d and the one seated on it had a bow; and a crown was given him,e and he went out conquering and to complete his conquest.f Revelation 6:1-2 (NWT)

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Revelation 6:1-2 (KJV)

Now the first contradiction you’ll see here in scripture is the Lamb (Jesus) opens the seals. So if Jesus is supposed to be the first horseman as the JW’s state, why is he also opening his own seal? Not saying that it would be impossible for Jesus to do this, but does it really make logical sense?

Second we notice the rider of the first horse is carrying a bow, The bow in the Bible is also symbolic for deceit , reference (Psalm 64:3-4, Hosea 7:16, Jeremiah 9:3, Psalm 78:56-57)

Next lets take a look at Jesus teachings from Matthew 24 known as the Olivet Discourse. You will notice Jesus teachings line up perfectly with the four horseman prophecies in Revelation 6

4  In answer Jesus said to them: “Look out that nobody misleads you,e 5  for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.f Matthew 24:4-5 (NWT)

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:4-5 (KJV)

Jesus is going to give the 4 signs of the end, notice how that lines up with the 4 Horseman. The first sign (Horseman) is the Anti-Christ. Now we can argue if the AntiChrist is one person or a group of people, however the point here is the first horseman is about deception. This would guarantee the first horseman is not Jesus himself

You are going to hear of wars and reports of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for these things must take place, but the end is not yet.g Matthew 24:6 (NWT)

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6 (KJV)

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creatureg say: “Come!” 4  Another came out, a fiery-colored horse, and it was granted to the one seated on it to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another, and he was given a great sword.h Revelation 6:3-4 (NWT)

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Revelation 6:3-4 (KJV)

If you compare Matthew 24 and Revelation 6, you see they line up perfectly and the second sign and horseman is war

When he opened the third seal,i I heard the third living creaturej say: “Come!” And I saw, and look! a black horse, and the one seated on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6  I heard what sounded like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say: “A quart* of wheat for a de·narʹi·us*k and three quarts of barley for a de·narʹi·us; and do not harm the olive oil and the wine.”l Revelation 6:5-6 (NWT)

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. Revelation 6:5-6 (KJV)

For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,h and there will be food shortagesi and earthquakes in one place after another.j Matthew 24:7 (NWT)

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Matthew 24:7 (KJV)

Notice Revelation and Matthew line up as the third sign and horse will be famine

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creaturem say: “Come!” 8  And I saw, and look! a pale horse, and the one seated on it had the name Death. And the Grave* was closely following him. And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortagen and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.o Revelation 6:7-8 (NWT)

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:7-8 (KJV)

Then people will hand you over to tribulationk and will kill you,l and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name.m Matthew 24:9 (NWT)

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. Matthew 24:9 (KJV)

The 4th Horseman/Sign is Death. Notice Jesus talks about how his followers will be killed for his name. Another thing to notice throughout all the seals, Jesus opened every seal.

The fact that many people , including the Jehovah Wittnesses, are deceived that the First Horseman is Christ, shows you how deceptive the Anti Christ will be. When he comes many will believe He is the Christ, but he is actually the Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

In Revelation 19, we see Jesus riding on a white horse and the assumption is made that he is also the first horseman. But there are many differences between the two:

  1. The Anti Christ is carrying a bow (deceit) while Jesus is carrying a sword (Rev 19: 15)
  2. The Anti Christ is riding on Earth, while Jesus was riding from Heaven (Rev 19:11)
  3. The Anti Christ has one crown on his head, Jesus has many crowns on his head (Rev 19:12)
  4. The Anti Christ is not identified while Jesus is clearly identified as the Word of God (Rev 19:13)
  5. The Anti Christ is alone while Jesus is followed by many followers also on horses (Rev 19:14)
  6. The Anti Christ does not have a scepter while Jesus rules with a rod of Iron (Rev 19:15)
  7. The Anti Christ has no identification while Jesus is clearly identified as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords ( Rev 19:16)

 

Please also reference : Zechariah 6, Ezekiel 14:20-21