LEARNING DAILY

 

Revelation 6:1-2, `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 a white horse. He had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

 

Since I have been writing on the what lawlessness will occur after the Church is removed from the world and the Holy Spirit no longer restrains the lawless one from coming to power, I thought I might remind you why you do not want to be left behind. In Revelation 5 we read that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God and He alone is worthy to open the scroll of God and the seven seals it contains. When He opens the first seal, the rider of the first horse is commanded to come forth.

 

“Revelation 6 is where we read of the action of the tribulation begins” (David Jeremiah). Wrath is the subject of chapters 6-19 in The Revelation. God has been worshipped in the previous chapters; God now begins His judgment. When the first seal is revealed, Jesus Christ is revealed in all His power and glory. It is a time when God intervenes personally in the affairs of those people left on earth because they had no relationship with Jesus Christ, refusing the plan of salvation through His death on the cross, as well as God’s judgment upon the corrupt and evil world system.

 

The rider on the white horse has been confused with the rider on a white horse in Revelation 19:11. Some believe the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6:2 is the antichrist, while it is clear the rider on the white horse in Revelation 19:11 is Jesus Christ. In Revelation 19 the weapon Christ has is a sword; in chapter 6 the rider’s weapon is a bow without arrows. In chapter 19, Christ is wearing a crown – a kingly crown; where the rider in chapter 6 was a victor’s crown like one would wear going to war to conquer. It could be worn by anyone. Only Jesus Christ could wear the victor’s crown. The rider in chapter 19 is coming at the end of judgment when judgment will be ended.

 

Because there are no arrows with the rider in chapter 6 to deceives those on earth into believing the peace people have wanted and looked for thousands of years has finally come. He has come to conquer without war. We have discussed what the world will be like when millions of Christians are removed from it. Confusion, chaos, turmoil. Lawlessness greater than what we see right now. Here comes the “rider on the white horse” the lawless one promising to solve all problems and bring peace on earth; someone has to fix the problems! Remember the lawless one will be Satan’s tool and will perform signs and lying wonders through this antichrist. He comes at a time when the world needs a leader who has a plan and great charisma to gain the trust of world leaders, a plan to fix all the problems the world faces through peaceful means. He will have such great ability to speak in order to gain the attention and admiration of those left on earth; they will follow him wholeheartedly. Because Satan is guiding him, he will have great intellect and be clever in the way he solves the lawlessness and chaos after the rapture of the Church.

One last aspect of the rise to power of the Antichrist. He will become the prominent voice of a new religious movement. According to Daniel 7:25, he will speak “pompous words against the Most High God” and will persecute those who give their lives to Christ. (The Holy Spirit is no longer restraining evil but He is at work bring people to the salvation in Christ!).  Yes, there will be a false prophet that leads the new religion formed during the tribulation.

 

Is the rider of the white horse, the Antichrist, alive right now? I would only suggest that he appears at the beginning of the seven-year period known as the Tribulation. If we are as close to the rapture as the times suggest, the answer would have to be yes. The world stage is certainly set for his appearance, would you not agree?