Dr. J and the Bible
This podcast features Dr. Jonathan Behler, a Christian therapist and theologian, discussing the Bible.
Dr. J and the Bible
Revelation Chapter 6
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Today, Dr. J discusses Revelation 6.
Welcome to Dr. J in the Bible. We've got an interesting podcast today. I hope everyone's doing well. Quick shout out to Miami, Florida. I hope everyone's doing well in that city. We're looking back into the book of Revelation and we're looking at Revelation chapter six. Our last podcast uh in regards to Revelation, we took a little bit of a pit stop. Not really, but we just we talked about the possibility of alien uh and the rapture and the relation. If there's any relation, I think there is a possibility that the world, the antichrist, and the system will excuse all the people that have been snatched away and are no longer here. Of course, we know that they're with the Lord, and we know there's no real aliens, uh, but we we believe that they're demons, and they're going to deceive many, many, and and God will actually allow uh there to be a delusion that many people will believe a lie rather than the truth. So today we're looking at Revelation 6. We begin looking at one of the most sobering and debated scriptures in all of the book of Revelation, chapter 6, and the opening of the seals. For many people, the subject of the Antichrist creates fear, confusion, speculation, endless theories. But really, the purpose of Revelation is not to produce panic, it's to reveal the sovereignty and the glory of Jesus Christ over all history. He is the Alpha and the Omega, a beginning and the end. And so when as we look at this, we know the church is in heaven, the elders of the church, the elders, not just the elders of the church, but the elders represent the church. And uh the purpose of the tribulation is to not only bring judgment on the world, uh it's to purify the world and prepare it for the reckoning coming with Christ and his church to reign. Um, and he's preparing the way. And not only that, he's given there's an act of mercy here. He's given another other opportunities for those left behind to come to Christ, although it's gonna be very difficult. And it's gonna be very hard for Christians to, not Christians, but people to believe the gospel. Uh, a lot of some people will say, yeah, well, I'll just wait to the rapture and then I'll believe after that. And I believe that's very difficult because people are gonna lose their head, and many people will be given a delusion. And so don't take a chance, come today. That's what I'm saying. Um, but the book of Revelation is also ultimately about the glory of Jesus. And it's the consummation of history. History is not circular, it's linear. And before we see the judgment and conquest, war, chaos, we see something critical in this book. It's the Lamb on the throne in chapter five. Jesus Christ is not absent from this chaos, from the chaos of this world system. He's sovereign over it. And as we discuss the Antichrist and the first seal, it's important to approach this text carefully, humbly, and biblically, not sensationally, but with biblical context. And really calling, it calls us as Christians, as believers, to discernment, endurance, holiness, and faithfulness, and a more urgency to share the gospel. The Antichrist really represents more than merely a political evil, but he represents the person as the culmination of human rebellion against God. He is a counterfeit savior, promising peace, power, security apart from Christ. We can see from the very beginning when God in the garden made the covenant with Adam and Eve that the seed of the woman would crush the seed of the serpent, but he would have a seed that would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. And so the Antichrist spirit has been around from the beginning, from Genesis chapter 3. We can see even the counterfeit triune God, we see that with the false gods of Simaramas, Nimrod, and Tumutz, and the counterfeits in all the false religions. It's not by accident. They happen to be in threes and happen to be representing a false gospel. I also look at this from a psychological viewpoint, and this really matters deeply. Human beings naturally long for safety, control, certainty, rescue, salvation during unstable times. And I think during this period of the tribulation in chapter six of Revelation, people are going to be looking for this. Maslow laws, right? Safety, security, relation, control. They want to know that they have peace. And they won't, many people will not be looking for Jesus Christ, but they'll be looking for a worldly savior. And so the spirit of Antichrist will appeal to their desires by offering salvation without repentance, power without submission to God, unity without truth, love is love. Just believe. Don't we already hear things like that? And so the world has already had the spirit of Antichrist, like John says, in 1 John. Spirit of Antichrist is out there. But we're not even waiting for Antichrist. We're looking for Jesus Christ. But the fact of the matter is that once the church is out of here, the restrainer, the church, there'll be no restraint. And so they will put the world, a ruler that will come and deliver all their worldly desires. And so we're going to look at and examine the rider on the white horse, the rise of deception, and the fear and judgment on the earth, and how Christians are called to remain steady, faithful, in the midst of uncertainty. From the beginning of time, I think Nimrod was the first Antichrist type of person. I don't think Satan knows. I think he used Nimrod. He used people like Nebuchadnezzar, Hitler, Mussolini. He kind of takes a guess on who the Antichrist Capital A will be. But this guy is going to be remarkable according to scripture, charismatic, charismatic, persuasive, capable of attracting widespread, worldwide admiration and loyalty. He's going to appear wise, intelligent, strategic. He will inspire trust. Umperity. He appeals to human desires. That's why the health-wealth gospel, which is not really a gospel, it's a false, it's a cult, attracts people. God allows false teachings and cults to really, as an act of judgment, on the world. He gives them what they want. And so the Antichrist will fulfill this too. He will mask his true evil intentions and deceive many. So in chapter 6, verses 1 through 2, John writes, I looked and behold a white horse, and its rider had a bow, a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. All that really waits is for the Lord to allow it in his timing and take it, and he takes his church from the earth. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 6 through 7 says, and now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he's taken out of the way. Significantly, the first seal opened brings the dictator to prominence. It's the 70th week of Daniel 9, when this dictator will confirm a covenant, a peace treaty with the Jewish people, the nation of Israel. So a white horse and a rider is often interpreted as a conquest of false peace, representing political power and rise of Antichrist. And the bow and crown symbolizes authority and military or political influence. You know, it's very interesting that it's a bow with no arrow. So this is going to be an act of peace with no real military yet influence on this. It's going to be a peace treaty. I believe it's quite clear that it's going to be a peace treaty. You know, and this isn't far-fetched because we see right now many large-scale international efforts that are aiming at global unity, peace treaties, interfaith cooperation. We have the Pope, yeah, from Chicago, yep, uh, that Pope, that is pushing for interfaith. All the Popes have, with especially Islam. We have global organizations pushing for diplomatic resolution of conflicts. We have countries constantly well, maybe not constantly, but a lot. Just watch the news, do your research, trying to make peace with the with Israel. We have religious summits trying to bring people together, different faiths. And we're seeking a unified world. They're already working on a one-world government with peace and security as its as its motto. In prophetic uh interpretation, such developments are viewed as signs that humanity is increasingly inclined towards a large-scale peace treaty, global peace, paving the way for a peacemaker. Imagine a charismatic world leader rising, promising peace, but bringing deception in an eventual world conflict. Verses three through four, when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. And another horse firing red went out. 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. So another horse, fiery red, went out, and it was granted to him to take peace. And so this red horse and rider represents war and bloodshed and civil unrest. We are seeing this now. It's just going to continue more and more on a global scale. Think of the riots.
SPEAKER_00Think of the bloodshed in the world and the wars. So the writer didn't need to bring war or destruction in the scripture.
SPEAKER_01All he needed to do was take peace from the earth. And once this peace, God's gift to man, by the way, was taken, men quickly rush in with war and destruction. So real true peace is a gift from God. It's not a real natural state of relations between sinful men.
SPEAKER_00And it says it was granted.
SPEAKER_01This this authority was granted to these horsemen. This is directly and indirectly the judgment of God. Sometimes God, well, a lot of time, God judges us or the world, by letting us do what we want to do. And we also see that the people killed one another with the sword in their hand. Our modern age is marked by war conflict. Since World War II, there has been more than 150 wars of some kind in the world. At any given time, there may be some three dozen armed conflicts taking thousands of lives each year. The nations of the world spend more than one trillion on military expenditures a year. And so, yeah, you know, the fact World War I and World War II were really, I believe, fulfillment of prophecy. Ethnos killing ethnos, nation rising against nation, war, rumor wars all over the world. And that had never happened until World War I, World War II. And the effect, the wars will spread globally, disrupting societies and nations.
SPEAKER_00Can you imagine millions of people disappearing? And what's left of the world? It's going to be chaos.
SPEAKER_01So the white horse was conquest with peace, and the red horse is war. The two imagery fits war waged by these empires and coalitions. Civil wars, internal societal breakdown, slaying one another, race wars.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Verses five through six, the third seal is the black horse. Then he opened the third seal, and 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, heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A quart of wheat for denaris, and three quarts of barley for denaria, and do not harm the oil and the wine. So the black horse appears, and it its rider held a pair of scales. This symbolizes the black famine, scarcity, economic crisis. You know, we're living in, they're talking about Fox News, probably CNN. I don't watch CNN too much, but a food crisis coming. Get that. A food crisis. And so this is really, it indicates the scales rep uh indicate rationing of food, inflation, scarcity. And the thing about wheat and barley. Um basic food is rationed. Rationed. Luxury goods remain expensive, and it really shows the extreme economic disparity. Do not harm the oil and the wine, yet nicer things will be available for those who can afford them. The rich get richer, poor get poorer. I also think that this is representing that there's going to be a high class of people that are going to still have nice things, but I think it also represents medical care. So there's still going to be a certain number of people that will have plenty of money. But it also represents, I believe, the medical treatment. And so this, these will still be, you know, even during God's judgments, there's aspects of his mercy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So the price is skyrocket, loaf of bread cost a month's wage, and it reflects the global famine. Verses 7 through 8, we see the pale horse. When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the four fourth living creatures saying, Come and see. So I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and the name of him who was who sat on it was death. And Hades followed with him, and power was given to them over fourth of the earth to kill with the sword, with hunger, with death, by the beast of the earth. So pale, the pale horse, the rider's death, represents death from war, famine, disease, plagues. Hades follows, symbolizes the realm of the dead, indicating widespread mortality. A quarter of the earth is killed by combined disasters. What that second. And the last writer shows that there will be tremendous death from this dictatorship, war, calamity. Probably combined with the previous three horsemen. And our modern age has seen hundreds of millions killed by dictators, a war and famine. Matthew 24, 21. We see Jesus says, For then there will be great tribulation, such as had not been since the beginning of the world until this time, nor uh never will be. Throughout history, there will be periods, have been periods of famine and pestilence and wild beasts. But this is gonna be the really the epitome of it all. Worldwide, it had never been so worldwide as it's becoming.
SPEAKER_00And during this time, it's gonna be totally at its peak.
SPEAKER_01For example, during the siege of Lenigrad in World War II, a prolonged siege brought starvation, famine, mass civilian deaths, and it was a tragic mixture of war, famine that killed huge numbers. And then we know the plague in Athens in the 19th century, cholera pandemic devastated cities and regions, crippled society, and socially social collapse occurred. So this is just, this is not something new, but it's going to be on a worldwide scale. And it's going to be an act of God's judgment on a rebellious world. And we will look later as we move through Revelation. People will even know that it's Jesus, but they will try to hide from him and they will curse him, even though they know it. Verses 9 through 11, when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God, for the testimony which they held, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy, true, unto your you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed, as they were, where it was completed. So it was probably best to see this, it's probably best. To see this as the cry of the martyrs. For God's truth, these are martyrs that have been killed so far, probably from the first horsemen. And they are in heaven and they're praying for God's justice. Yeah. And this is also an indication that maybe we can see a little bit from heaven what's going on on earth. Because they that obviously they're in heaven. And there's nothing there that's that's so, yeah, maybe we can see a little bit in heaven, which is pretty cool. That gets onto a that takes a rabbit. I'm not going to take a rabbit today. But uh, for sure it's limited. But I think it's possible. The martyrs ask how long until God judges their oppressors, showing God's righteous timing. When God's people are persecuted, he will set it right. That's why he said it's it's best to, you know, uh, if you were never born, to hurt one of the one of the children of his faith. It'd be like a millstone tied around your neck thrown in the middle of the sea. Because the passage speaks of believers slain for the word of God, many Christians view it as uh including uh early church persecution, Roman emperors, uh under Roman emperors like Domitian and uh Nero. But uh, I take the view that this is the modern persecution, those that were persecuted modern during this time of the seven year.
SPEAKER_00Maybe I'm wrong. If I am, that's okay. But uh but they will get their they will get their judgment. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, so many people view 9 through 11, verses 9 through 11, not just as prophecy, but as encouragement. In the theological framework, I think, for suffering, perseverance, and hope, even within very dark and unjust circumstances, that we will see justice. We will, you know, Paul says, don't you know you guys will judge angels? Not that Jesus needs us, but we will still be acting in judgment and reigning with Christ. All that, all that suffering, it makes suffering look a little better when we see it that way.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh there's an estimate of 365 to 380 million Christians, one in seven believers globally, now face high levels of persecution or discrimination based on their faith.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Verses 12 through 17, we see the cosmic disturbances. Says, I looked. When he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, the moon became like blood, the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs, when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and very every mountain and island was moved out of its place. Kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves, in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and the rockets, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand? Now, this is what I was talking about earlier. You have people that are going to be, you're gonna have all these uh big shots, little shots too, but it really talks about it emphasizes great men, rich men, kings of the earth, the uh Rockefellers, the Illuminati people, the uh Rothschilds, even a lot of our leaders now. They're going to be hiding themselves, and they're gonna hide themselves, and they're gonna know who they're hiding from. Yeah. The face of him sits on the throne from the wrath of the Lamb, they even know who they're hiding from, but they hate God. They still hate God. That's why people say, Yeah, you know, why won't God give them a chance as people in hell? Because people in hell don't love God, they still hate God.
SPEAKER_00They don't want to get out of hell. Well, they do, but they don't.
SPEAKER_01Because they don't want the Jesus that who the true Jesus is what they don't want. Yeah. A great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth. Um these celestial signs are connected with the coming Messiah, um, with his second coming. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Zephaniah. Um, Zephaniah 1, 14 through 16, the great day of the Lord is near. It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter. Many men shall cry out the day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities, against the high towers. Joel says, the sun and the moon grow dark, stars diminish its brightness, for the day of the Lord is great and terrible. Who can endure it?
SPEAKER_00Massive earthquake. Um, you know, we see earthquakes in the Bible a lot.
SPEAKER_01And uh really the earthquakes is part of the fall, but it's also just really the judgment of God. It occurred Jesus' death. There was a massive earthquake. By the way, there's also an eclipse, too. Matthew 27, 51, if you're looking that up, the earth shook, the rocks were split, dead people came out. Actually, they weren't dead anymore. They they they came back to life. They were uh resurrected, not a glorified resurrection, because they had to die again, but they were brought back to life. Um and and the earthquakes, according to geological studies, continue to increase over and over. Yeah. The falling powers from heaven, the signs and wonders, and the kings, and they they hid themselves. You know, what sinners dread the most is not death. It's not. What sinners dread the most is the revealed presence of a holy God. Well, I hope you guys like this. And it's remember, Revelation, we as Christians don't need to fear when Jesus is near. We also don't need to be looking for, we need to know about it, but we're not looking for Antichrist, we're looking for Jesus Christ. And revelation's to prepare, not to scare. And I hope you guys keep studying the book of Revelation, prophecy. We see things happening. It should give us a motivation to live closer to Christ, more holy, and a more anticipation for that day to meet the Lord in the air and forever be with the Lord. So I hope you guys are doing well. Keep on keeping on and persevere. And remember that God can take your mess, turn to a message for his glory for your good.