Revelation 6A (2011)

Transcription

1 Revelatin 6A (2011) Having cmpleted ur intrductin t Tribulatin, we nw turn t the pening events f this amazing perid f human histry SLIDE 6-1 Since we ve reached ne f the majr milestnes f ur study, it s a gd idea t remember where we ve been We prgressed thrugh the first three chapters lking at the letters t the churches Then we studied chapters 4 & 5 t learn that the church age had ended and the church has been remved frm the earth Between chapters 4 & 5 we tk time t study the Rapture, which is the resurrectin f the saints Fllwing the Rapture, Jesus exercises His authrity as judge f the Church SLIDE 6-2 Then chapter 5, we saw Christ take the deed t the Earth s that He might exercise authrity as judge f the Earth S as Jesus begins t pen the deed ne seal at a time, His actins in Heaven trigger respnses n Earth, which we call Tribulatin All these judgments unfld in a cmplex, intertwined and ften verlapping series f events Smetimes these events are supernatural, s that everyne recgnizes the events are cming frm a heavenly surce SLIDE 6-3 Other times the events appear entirely natural, s that the wrld is unaware that the Lrd is exercising His authrity in their midst The current phase f ur study will cver chapters 6 thrugh 9 The perid begins with the cvenant described by Daniel and takes us thrugh the first half f Tribulatin It will lead us int the next phase f ur study, which is the midpint f Tribulatin defined by the Abminatin f Deslatin as described by Daniel as well 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Revelatin 6A 2 This midpint is itself a cmplex and verlapping series f events clustered arund the 3.5 year pint f Tribulatin Later, we ll mve int anther phase f the curse lking at the secnd half f Tribulatin, fllwed by still mre phases that examine the events fllwing Tribulatin During the intrductin, we studied numerus signs and warnings that will alert us t the appraching end f the age Sme events were prerequisites t Tribulatin SLIDE 6-4 Tribulatin culd nt take place until these events transpired Events like persecutin f Apstles, Temple destructin, Israel s scattering, the regathering f Israel, the apstasy f the Church, famines, earthquakes and wrld wars All f thse preceding signs have already happened r are happening nw The Bible gives us ther signs that Tribulatin itself was underway SLIDE 6-5 Sme signs will happen early in the Tribulatin: The signing f a cvenant, the man f lawlessness revealed, signs and wnders in the sky and martyrdm fr the saints Then Daniel tells us that the abminatin f deslatin will mark the midpint f Tribulatin Then in the secnd half, we will see: Unprecedented distress, Jews fleeing Jerusalem, false prphets deceiving many, and finally Christ s return Frm here, we turn t the pening f the first fur seals in chapter 6 Rev. 6:1 Then I saw when the Lamb brke ne f the seven seals, and I heard ne f the fur living creatures saying as with a vice f thunder, Cme. Rev. 6:2 I lked, and behld, a white hrse, and he wh sat n it had a bw; and a crwn was given t him, and he went ut cnquering and t cnquer. Rev. 6:3 When He brke the secnd seal, I heard the secnd living creature saying, Cme Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Revelatin 6A 3 Rev. 6:4 And anther, a red hrse, went ut; and t him wh sat n it, it was granted t take peace frm the earth, and that men wuld slay ne anther; and a great swrd was given t him. Rev. 6:5 When He brke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Cme. I lked, and behld, a black hrse; and he wh sat n it had a pair f scales in his hand. Rev. 6:6 And I heard smething like a vice in the center f the fur living creatures saying, A quart f wheat fr a denarius, and three quarts f barley fr a denarius; and d nt damage the il and the wine. Rev. 6:7 When the Lamb brke the furth seal, I heard the vice f the furth living creature saying, Cme. Rev. 6:8 I lked, and behld, an ashen hrse; and he wh sat n it had the name Death; and Hades was fllwing with him. Authrity was given t them ver a furth f the earth, t kill with swrd and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts f the earth. Jhn begins with then which is kai, meaning the next thing he witnessed We need t remember the scene we left at the end f chapter 5 Jesus is in the thrne rm hlding the land deed t the Earth As Jesus breaks the first seal, ne f the fur living creatures, says t Jhn cme The meaning in this cntext is t lk away frm his immediate surrundings and gaze dwn upn the earth This begins a cmmn pattern in the bk f Revelatin Jhn is witness t events in Heaven He has been transprted there in a visin, s he describes what he sees there But the events that happen in Heaven will usually result in a respnse n Earth S when the angels want Jhn t recrd the resulting events n Earth, they tell him t Cme lk at the effect In respnse t the cmmand, Jhn says he lked (meaning upn the earth) and he saw a white hrse Each f the first fur seals results in the appearance f anther hrse, each a different clr SLIDE Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Revelatin 6A 4 We have n reasn t dubt that Jhn saw hrses just as he wrte, but it s als apparent that these fur hrses are symblic The variatin in clr and the descriptin f what they carry tells us they are symbls that cmmunicate what is actually happening n earth Let s lk at the first hrse The first hrse is white and it carries an unnamed rider - nly he SLIDE 6-7 The rider arrives with a bw but curiusly he has n arrws Like a gun with n bullets But when smene waves a gun at yu, yu are still intimidated A man carrying a bw suggests smene wh brings the threat f attack but it lacks the capacity t carry it ut He als has a crwn A stephans, the crwn yu earn r receive in recgnitin f yur achievements He ges ut cnquering and t cnquer Ging ut implies ut int the wrld And cnquering and t cnquer implies he begins t take cntrl but the prcess takes place ver time He desn t finish his cnquering in a mment, but he prgresses tward that gal ver a perid f time All these details wrk in harmny t reveal what s happening n earth as the first seal is brken The hrse is white because white hrses were traditinally reserved fr ryalty - symbl f a pwerful leader The man s crwn is a stephans rather than a diedem The man is earning his authrity ver a perid f time thrugh cnquest Finally, we knw the Tribulatin begins with the signing f a agreement brkered by a pwerful wrld leader 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Revelatin 6A 5 Let s lk at that verse in Daniel again Dan. 9:26 Then after the sixty-tw weeks the Messiah will be cut ff and have nthing, and the peple f the prince wh is t cme will destry the city and the sanctuary. And its end will cme with a fld; even t the end there will be war; deslatins are determined. Dan. 9:27 And he will make a firm cvenant with the many fr ne week, but in the middle f the week he will put a stp t sacrifice and grain ffering; and n the wing f abminatins will cme ne wh makes deslate, even until a cmplete destructin, ne that is decreed, is pured ut n the ne wh makes deslate. There is a prince wh is t cme, and he will make a cvenant with many This arrival f a prince with the pwer t brker such a deal makes pssible such a cvenant He riginates frm the peple wh destry the Temple and the city, that is the Rmans Since the Rman Empire disslved, we re nt ging t be able t identify the peple f this cming ruler except t say they are Gentile, likely Eurpean r Middle Eastern The breaking f the first seal results in the revealing f this leader What else can we learn frm scripture abut this man wh launches the wrld int Tribulatin The Bible gives this cming wrld leader a variety f names SLIDE 6-7 Frm seed f Serpent t a hrn t a prince t lawless ne But the title we all knw best is ne that the Apstle Jhn gave us in his letters Antichrist, r antichrists which means ne wh ppses Christ In light f hw many different ways the Bible describes this character, we need t take sme time t understand wh he is Even Jhn himself uses the term antichrist in at least a cuple f different ways S let s begin with Jhn s famus term SLIDE Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Revelatin 6A 6 1Jhn 2:22 Wh is the liar but the ne wh denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the ne wh denies the Father and the Sn. In this reference, Jhn teaches that a persn wh denies Jesus is the Christ is the antichrist T say Jesus isn t the Messiah is t ppse Christ This is why Paul describes unbelievers as enemies f Christ until we are recnciled by grace Everyne wh denies Jesus as Lrd is acting as an antichrist by definitin That s why in my English versin, the translatrs chse nt t capitalize antichrist They understd that Jhn wasn t talking abut The Man f Tribulatin Next let s lk at anther mentin by Jhn SLIDE 6-9 1Jhn 2:18 Children, it is the last hur; and just as yu heard that Antichrist is cming, even nw many antichrists have appeared; frm this we knw that it is the last hur. Here Jhn uses bth a singular and plural reference t antichrist In the first instance, I wuld expect the translatrs t capitalize the wrd Antichrist, thugh nt all translatins d s This Antichrist is smething the church had heard abut but it wasn t yet here This is nt the same antichrist as the ne Jhn mentined in the earlier verse Anyne wh denies Jesus is Christ is an antichrist in that sense But this is smething yet t cme, and it was a singular antichrist - smene that the church was tld t expect Then in the secnd instance the wrd is plural and it is present day Jhn says there are already many antichrists in the wrld 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Revelatin 6A 7 This reference is similar t the earlier ne: peple wh deny Jesus is the Christ And the fact that there these peple exist is prf that we are in the last hur, r in the end times Hw are is the presence f s many wh deny Jesus as Christ prf we are in the last hur Well, culd smene deny Jesus was the Christ in the time f David r Slmn r Isaiah r Daniel, etc.? N, because Jesus hadn t been revealed t the wrld Yu can t deny that Jesus f Nazareth was the Christ befre Jesus f Nazareth was brn It first required that there be a human Jesus Wh claimed t be Christ befre we culd have peple wh denied Jesus was the Christ S Jhn says an antichrist is smene wh denies Jesus is Christ, and the very fact that peple can nw make such a declaratin is prf that we are in the last hur We entered the last hur nce the Messiah had been revealed All that we await nw is His return And in the meantime, we have antichrists wh deny Jesus was Lrd S there is an Antichrist t cme and in the meantime we have antichrists wh deny Jesus is Christ A cuple f final mentins by Jhn SLIDE Jhn 4:3 and every spirit that des nt cnfess Jesus is nt frm Gd; this is the spirit f the antichrist, f which yu have heard that it is cming, and nw it is already in the wrld. 2Jhn 7 Fr many deceivers have gne ut int the wrld, thse wh d nt acknwledge Jesus Christ as cming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Jhn nw describes the spirit f the antichrist 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Revelatin 6A 8 This spirit is bth in the wrld nw and is cming And this spirit is the cause fr every spirit that des nt cnfess Jesus is frm Gd We knw that a spirit that des nt cnfess Jesus as frm Gd is the fallen spirit f an unbelieving man r wman What spirit is respnsible fr this unwillingness t believe the truth, bth nw and in the future? Lk at the secnd verse frm 2Jhn 7 Many deceivers have gne ut int the wrld, but there is ne Deceiver and Antichrist Clearly, we re talking abut Satan Satan is the spirit f the antichrist, bth nw and in the future Tday he is respnsible fr prducing generatin after f generatin f unbelievers, the sns f disbedience Paul calls them And nw that Christ has been revealed, Satan has a specific target f denial He leads the wrld t deny that Jesus is the Christ One day t cme, Satan will be the spirit respnsible fr raising ne man abve all thers in ppsing Christ Let s lk at sme ther Scriptures t see what else we can learn abut this cming ruler SLIDE Th. 2:2 that yu nt be quickly shaken frm yur cmpsure r be disturbed either by a spirit r a message r a letter as if frm us, t the effect that the day f the Lrd has cme. 2Th. 2:3 Let n ne in any way deceive yu, fr it will nt cme unless the apstasy cmes first, and the man f lawlessness is revealed, the sn f destructin, 2Th. 2:4 wh ppses and exalts himself abve every s-called gd r bject f wrship, s that he takes his seat in the temple f Gd, displaying himself as being Gd. Paul says that the day f the Lrd - r Tribulatin - will nt cme unless the man f lawlessness is revealed, the sn f destructin 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Revelatin 6A 9 He is called a sn because he is the sn r seed f Satan He exalts himself abve every s called gd r any ther bject f wrship He takes the seat in the temple f Gd, displaying Himself t be Gd Nw we see sme themes cnverging He is antichrist because he places himself in the place f Gd He is the ne wh permits the Jews t begin sacrifice in their temple again with that cvenant frm Daniel 9 But then we als remember Daniel 9:27 tld us abut a breaking f that cvenant Dan. 9:27 And he will make a firm cvenant with the many fr ne week, but in the middle f the week he will put a stp t sacrifice and grain ffering; and n the wing f abminatins will cme ne wh makes deslate, even until a cmplete destructin, ne that is decreed, is pured ut n the ne wh makes deslate The same he wh signed the cvenant t permit sacrifice will break that cvenant and put an end t sacrifice And Paul says he will take the seat in the Temple as if he were Gd Shuld any man enter the Hly f Hlies and take this step, it wuld be cnsidered a desecratin f the temple It wuld make the temple unclean, and abminatin Just as Daniel calls it S we knw that the antichrist is a man, whse arrival makes pssible a cvenant, which in turn begins tribulatin The man arrives cnquering and cntinues frward t cnquer further He arrives initially withut war and bldshed, prbably a plitical leader with great charisma and strng military allies But he lacks the capacity t carry ut military cnquest, at least initially 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Revelatin 6A 10 S he rules thrugh plitical means until such time that he can secure military frces If this man s rise t pwer is the result f the spirit f antichrist (Satan s) pwer and influence, then why hasn t it already happened? Certainly Satan has desired t see this result frm the very beginning T be wrshipped as Gd and t rule the wrld Paul tells us why SLIDE Th. 2:5 D yu nt remember that while I was still with yu, I was telling yu these things? 2Th. 2:6 And yu knw what restrains him nw, s that in his time he will be revealed. 2Th. 2:7 Fr the mystery f lawlessness is already at wrk; nly he wh nw restrains will d s until he is taken ut f the way. 2Th. 2:8 Then that lawless ne will be revealed whm the Lrd will slay with the breath f His muth and bring t an end by the appearance f His cming; 2Th. 2:9 that is, the ne whse cming is in accrd with the activity f Satan, with all pwer and signs and false wnders, There is a Restrainer in the wrld preventing the rise f the Antichrist The Hly Spirit stands between Satan and his desire t raise up a false christ thrugh whm the enemy might gain the wrld s wrship Gd s purpse in causing His Spirit t indwell the believer during the Church age is partly a result f the need t prevent Satan frm cunterfeiting Christ Prir t Christ s revealing in the man Jesus, Satan didn t have enugh infrmatin t prduce a cunterfeit S the indwelling ministry f the Hly Spirit wasn t required t stave ff the rise f the antichrist He culdn t put himself in the place f the Christ until there was a Christ revealed upn which Satan culd pattern his cunterfeit claims Satan has been waiting like the rest f the wrld t see the Christ revealed 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Revelatin 6A 11 This als tell us that the Church will never be in a psitin t identify this persn We shuldn t g arund perpetuating false accusatins that each new plitical wrld leader is the antichrist Scripture says he will nt be revealed until the Restrainer has been remved S Satan is fcused n cunterfeiting Christ s death and resurrectin But the Hly Spirit indwelling the Church is bstructing his plan until such a time that the Spirit and the Church with it are taken ut f the way At that pint, the lawless ne will make his appearance upn the wrld in accrdance with Satan s activity and pwer Next, let s take a lk at a few details frm Daniel cncerning this future ruler We will cme back t Daniel n numerus ccasins, particularly during the midtribulatin chapters f Fr nw we re lking at just a few pints cncerning the antichrist s activities Dan. 7:19 Then I desired t knw the exact meaning f the furth beast, which was different frm all the thers, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth f irn and its claws f brnze, and which devured, crushed and trampled dwn the remainder with its feet, Dan. 7:20 and the meaning f the ten hrns that were n its head and the ther hrn which came up, and befre which three f them fell, namely, that hrn which had eyes and a muth uttering great basts and which was larger in appearance than its assciates. Dan. 7:21 I kept lking, and that hrn was waging war with the saints and verpwering them Dan. 7:22 until the Ancient f Days came and judgment was passed in favr f the saints f the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints tk pssessin f the kingdm. Dan. 7:23 Thus he said: The furth beast will be a furth kingdm n the earth, which will be different frm all the ther kingdms and will devur the whle earth and tread it dwn and crush it. Dan. 7:24 As fr the ten hrns, ut f this kingdm ten kings will arise; and anther will arise after them, and he will be different frm the previus nes and will subdue three kings Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Revelatin 6A 12 Dan. 7:25 He will speak ut against the Mst High and wear dwn the saints f the Highest One, and he will intend t make alteratins in times and in law; and they will be given int his hand fr a time, times, and half a time. Dan. 7:26 But the curt will sit fr judgment, and his dminin will be taken away, annihilated and destryed frever. Hpefully, yu remember what we learned abut the furth beast f Daniel 7 The beast represented the last Gentile Kingdm t rule ver Jerusalem and Babyln But this furth beast was hideus and cmpletely differently frm the previus animals In particularly, it has ten hrns and then an eleventh Daniel is tld that the hrns represent the ttal number f wrld leaders in a future phase f this kingdm At this time, an eleventh ruler will emerge, and he will subdue three f the kings leaving 7 wh fllw him This gives us the path t plitical pwer that the antichrist will fllw First, there must be ten rulers in the wrld Then the antichrist will find sme rute t wrld supprt, such that he can rise int this elite grup f rules This is what Paul means when he says the antichrist will be revealed in accrding with Satan s activity Satan is the frce behind the man s rise t pwer Then Daniel cnfirms what Paul taught cncerning the antichrist s activities He speaks ut against Gd Wears dwn (persecutes and murders) the saints He desires t make changes t time and law Remember that ur wrld wide calendar is largely based n the Christian calendar 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Revelatin 6A 13 But this man will seek t change the basis fr cunting time, prbably trying t leave the Christian calendar fr smething else There are several ther interesting details in the passage f Daniel 7, but we will cme back t them later in the study at the midtribulatin pint Finally, let s lk Daniel 11 Dan. 11:36 Then the king will d as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself abve every gd and will speak mnstrus things against the Gd f gds; and he will prsper until the indignatin is finished, fr that which is decreed will be dne. Dan. 11:37 He will shw n regard fr the gds f his fathers r fr the desire f wmen, nr will he shw regard fr any ther gd; fr he will magnify himself abve them all. Dan. 11:38 But instead he will hnr a gd f frtresses, a gd whm his fathers did nt knw; he will hnr him with gld, silver, cstly stnes and treasures. Dan. 11:39 He will take actin against the strngest f frtresses with the help f a freign gd; he will give great hnr t thse wh acknwledge him and will cause them t rule ver the many, and will parcel ut land fr a price. This passage is describing the antichrist The cntext f Daniel 11 is very interesting, because in vs.1-35, the descriptin is f Antichus Epiphanies, a Rman general wh defeated Jerusalem He als defiled the temple and in s ding became a picture f the antichrist This cnnect is reinfrced in Daniel 11, because the prphet melds tgether a prphecy f Antichus with a prphecy f the antichrist The descriptin f the antichrist picks up in v.36 with the reference t king This is ur cnquering wrld leader n the white hrse wh magnifies himself abve every gd, as Paul said He prspers, but nly until the indignatin Gd has decreed is finished Frm this passage we learn sme interesting final details He will nt shw regard fr the gds f his fathers, r his ancestrs 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Revelatin 6A 14 S he will nt wrship in the style and traditins that preceded him He will take religin and wrship in an entirely new and different directin That makes sense since we knw he declares himself t be gd and t be wrshipped abve all ther gds Interestingly, he will nt shw regard fr wmen Sme have argued this mean he will be hmsexual, but that misses the pint entirely If he is an antichrist, he is a cunterfeit christ Jesus never shwed a rmantic interest in wmen because He was t be married t His Bride the Church Similarly, the antichrist will mimic this pattern shwing n interest in wmen t remain spiritually pure and abve human attachments He hnrs a freign gd f frtresses, a gd his father didn t knw S thugh he magnifies himself abve every gd knwn amng men, he himself des recgnize a gd wh he must wrship But this gd is a freign gd Freign in the sense that his ancestrs never knew r wrshipped this gd This gd is entirely new He is Satan, the spirit f the antichrist S t summarize this man wh launches the Tribulatin perid... I als recmmend the bk Islamic Antichrist by Jel Richardsn SLIDE 6-13 SLIDE Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.