****Please read the scripture from the Bible first as this is God's Word****

In Revelation chapter 5 we see that God, the One who is on the throne, is holding a scroll. We also see that there is nobody that is worthy to open the scroll. There is great sorrow, but then it is reveled to us that the One who was slain is worthy. That is Jesus Christ. He was the perfect sinless lamb that was slain for our sin. He is the one worthy to open the scroll with 7 seals on it.

In Chapter 6 we get a glimpse at what the scroll says. It reveals to us what is to happen here on earth in the future. This is also known as the times of the great tribulation which is to last 7 years. This is also known as the time of judgment. Some seem to think that this is the time where God sits back and just watches, and observes us. That is not correct. God was on the throne yesterday, he is on the throne today, and He will be on the throne tomorrow, in control of the entire universe. God is in control, He is accomplishing his purpose even through the evil that is on the earth.

God's standard is perfection, and we see that we are unable to achieve that standard, and the only means that we are able to defeat our imperfections is through Jesus Christ's blood on the cross (Romans 3:23). That is why it is so vital for you to trust on Jesus for your forgiveness of sins and not of yourselves and of your works. We CANNOT save ourselves. Jesus already paid the price, it is the free gift of God, we just need to accept His precious gift (Romans 6:23 & Ephesians 2:8 - 9 & 1 Peter 1:23 & Titus 3:5 & Acts 16:31). It is never to late to repent, ask God for forgiveness, and trust on Jesus as savior for the forgiveness of all past, present, and future sin.

God will judge according to his perfect timing, we don't know when that will be. Some of us tend to see the world and all its evil, even to the point where we would like to see the judgment come now, so that all that is unjust will be justified. We have all committed sin against God and there are some of us that have had sin committed against us, but we must be patient, and trust God with those sins for he will repay. We need to TRUST that God will repay and take vengeance on those who have sinned against you (Romans 12:19), therefore don't carry grudges and thoughts of revenge. Most important, remember to repent for your sin. God is perfectly just and knows every sin committed against him and against you. He will judge everyone perfectly according to his law and commandments.

We should be thankful that God is longsuffering and that he is merciful because if he had already cast judgment upon us, a lot of people would not be saved, including myself. We should use this time of grace wisely, and not foolishly. God has allowed us this period of grace so that we have time to repent, and so that the gospel of Jesus can reach the ends of the earth. Are you using your time wisely, or are you indulged in sin, or serving other gods?

I used to be indulged in my sin. If God had decided to judge mankind earlier this year, I wouldn't be saved. I was serving other gods and indulged in my sin (not a wise use of my time). I had many gods, I had the god of technology, the god of entertainment, the god of materialism, the god of alcohol, the god of music. For example, I used to be indulged in secular worldly music that teaches us how to indulge in sin and justifies our sin. The worst part of that is that I was forcing it upon my own children. The purpose of the worldly secular music is to justify peoples sin, such as lust, greed, pride, selfishness, and things of that sort (take some time to actually read the lyrics of the music as you will see there is no Godly biblical message that is presented, it is all sinful nature). I now choose not to listen to that music nor sever the purpose of that music. I am tempted at times to listen, but I pray to God to remove the temptation from my life and He has, this is just another example how we can't do things by our works, the only way to defeat the temptation is by way of faith upon Jesus. We need to use our time left here on earth wisely and server God only.

Let's put this chapter into perspective to see what we will expect during the time of judgment and tribulation. Keep in mind, John is in Heaven viewing these things that are to come.

We see in verse two when Jesus opens the first seal, John sees a white horse and he that sat on the horse had a bow and a crown. The white horse is symbolic for a conqueror. The one that is riding is equipped with a bow for battle (a weapon of warfare). The crown symbolizes the earthly authority for this individual. This individual described here is viewed as the anti-Christ. (Understand, God will allow this to happen to serve his own purpose.)

When the second seal is opened John sees a red horse. Notice in verse four we see three powerful phrases. We see "Peace taken from earth (no peace)", "kill", and "sword". The red horse is symbolic for blood shed. When you add up these three ingredients what do we get? War. There will be war during the tribulation.

John saw a black horse when Jesus opened the third seal. The one who sat on the horse was holding a pair of balances with a measure of wheat and a penny in one and three measures of barley and a penny on the other. This is figurative speech for famine. You seen a measure of wheat for a penny is basically one meal for one for one days pay, which is just enough to cause starvation. What comes with starvation? The body gets weak, the immune system is weak, and disease enters. There will be famine.

The forth seal opened by Jesus shows us a pale horse. The name of the one who sat on the horse was Death. Hell followed with him. Notice where it says that "power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword, hunger, death, and with the beasts of the earth", this shows that ¼ of the earths population will be killed by one of these tactics.

When Jesus opened the fifth seal we see that there will be people who will have been killed for having faith on God. If you continue to read, you will see that they will be rewarded with white robes and best of all, spend eternity with our Father in heaven.

Have you ever stopped for a moment to really digest the fact that these things will happen. This isn't some figurative speech or some symbolic thing, these events will happen. There is a heaven and a hell, and when we die we will spend eternity in heaven for believers or in hell FOREVER. This is the time for us to put down our pride, and forgive others, as well as ask God to forgive us of our sin, put away our false gods and idols, wake up and realize that the choice we make will affect the destination of our eternal lives forever. We need to tell others about the gift from God. This is REAL, and these things will happen! Are you ready for this?

posted by Ben at 10:24 AM