Matthew 24:3-4. 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? And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.”
Deception leads to confusion and to wondering what is the truth, and to wondering who can be trusted. There have been many sides to the issues of the past two and a half years, and each side contends that they have the TRUTH. Unfortunately, one side’s “truth” is hotly contested by others holding different perspectives. This leaves everyone either confused, or contentious – many holding onto beliefs in what their particular ideological spokespeople say are sacred – and demonizing those who listen to and believe other ideological spokespeople.
Revelation 6 – The Four Horsemen
The First Seal
1 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.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Horses in the eras of the Bible were primarily intended for use in war. They were trained as a weapon in and of themselves, and as the carrier of a rider who was also trained, equipped and intending to kill.
A bow is a weapon also crafted for the purpose of killing; however, a bow without arrows has no real power to inflict damage of itself. This rider had a bow without arrows. While he did ride a warhorse (which could indeed hurt and kill), the rider himself would have been powerless in himself to truly harm anyone or anything. He was given a crown, (also known as a corona in English and in other languages), which indicates rulership and the power to overcome others. Although the rider did not truly have the power to inflict harm, he went out intending to conquer, and doing so successfully.
Whatever someone thinks as far as the veracity of what is said in the media, it seems that the covid pandemic (initially called the corona virus) and the manners in which it has been handled by governments worldwide, has had far-reaching implications for all sectors of society. It has changed how people relate to each other personally. It has changed many of the (taken-for-granted) freedoms such as freedom to gather, freedom to attend social and religious events, freedom of speech, freedom to travel, freedom to make personal choices about medical care, the freedom to make choices about running one’s business – surely the reader can think of others….
To conquer:
1: to gain or acquire by force of arms: SUBJUGATE – conquer territory
2: to overcome by force of arms: VANQUISH – conquered the enemy
3: to GAIN MASTERY OVER or win by overcoming obstacles or opposition
4: to overcome by mental or moral power: SURMOUNT
Source: Miriam-Webster
The corona pandemic has really conquered peoples worldwide.
While the following articles are not recent, they were accurate when they were published and still have usefulness in understanding what has happened and is happening today.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching economic consequences[1] including the COVID-19 recession, the second largest global recession in recent history,[2] decreased business in the services sector during the COVID-19 lockdowns,[3] the 2020 stock market crash, which included the largest single-week stock market decline since the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the impact of the COVID-19 on financial markets,[4][5][6][7][8][9] the 2021–2022 global supply chain crisis,[10] the 2021–2022 inflation surge, shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic including the 2020–present global chip shortage, panic buying,[11][12][13][14] and price gouging.[15] It led to governments providing an unprecedented amount of stimulus. The pandemic was also a factor in the 2021–2022 global energy crisis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic
Coronavirus: How the pandemic has changed the world economy
By Lora Jones, Daniele Palumbo & David Brown
BBC News (January 2021)
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225
https://news.gallup.com/poll/348716/covid-affected-people-lives-everywhere.aspx
The Second Seal
3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And 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.
Red horse “red” = pyrrhos meaning fire-like, fiery
“Peace” = Eirene – peace and by implication prosperity, quietness, rest
“kill” = sphazo = to butcher, slaughter, or to violently maim
“great sword” = megas machaira – a knife (i.e. dirk), war sword, an assassin’s dagger. (While John the Revelator would have had no context for such a thing, could a syringe and its needle have been seen as possibly a dagger? After all it is also sharp, and syringes have been known to be used as a delivery system for death.)
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-currently-at-war
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/287000
https://www.dailywire.com/news/timeline-antifa-violence-january-%E2%80%93-august-2017-frank-camp
https://www.city-journal.org/antifa-seattle-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone
https://www.theblaze.com/news/seattle-police-chief-violence-chaz
The Third Seal
5 When He opened the third seal, 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. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
“scales (pair of balances in some versions)” = zugos
“In ancient times, the value or quantity of a thing was determined by weighing it on scales. In fact, people bought and sold items by weight or measure rather than by our currency-based system. For instance, the shekel was not originally a unit of money but of weight according to which the price and quantity of things were determined. As such, scales were common marketplace items.”
“When mentioned in terms of foodstuffs, particularly bread, scales become a symbol of scarcity because, normally, bread would be sold by the loaf without much concern for exact weight. However, during a famine when each ounce of flour was valuable, flour would be rationed by weight or measure, and neither buyer nor seller would want to be cheated. Notice God’s prophetic warning in Leviticus 26:26: “When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back to you your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.” The prophet Ezekiel also mentions rationing by weight as a judgment from God:”
https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/3302/Pair-of-Scales.htm
“denarius” = denarion, pence. “The first century A.D. was a time when one denarius was approximately the amount of money some workers were paid for a full day of work.”
“measure” = choenix – one dry quart. “A dry quart of wheat is approximately enough to make 1.5 to 1.875 loaves of one-pound bread or the average amount of bread a person living in the Roman Empire ate per day.”
Source: https://www.prophecyproof.org/revelation-6-famine-cost-food/
All wheat production totaled 1.65 billion bushels in 2021, down 10 percent from the 2020 total of 1.83 billion bushels. Area harvested for grain totaled 37.2 million acres, up 1 percent from the previous year. The United States yield was estimated at 44.3 bushels per acre, down 5.4 bushels from the previous year. The levels of production and changes from 2020 by type were: winter wheat, 1.28 billion bushels, up 9 percent; other spring wheat, 331 million bushels, down 44 percent; and Durum wheat, 37.3 million bushels, down 46 percent. Oat production was estimated at a record low 39.8 million bushels, down 39 percent from 2020. Yield was estimated at 61.3 bushels per acre, down 3.8 bushels from the previous year. Harvested area, at a record low 650 thousand acres, was 36 percent below last year. Barley: Production was estimated at 118 million bushels, down 31 percent from the revised 2020 total of 171 million bushels. The average yield, at 60.4 bushels per acre, was down 16.8 bushel from the previous year. Producers seeded 2.66 million acres in 2021, down 2 percent from 2020. Harvested area, at 1.95 million acres, was down 12 percent from 2020.
This report was approved on September 30, 2021. Secretary of Agriculture Designate Seth Meyer 2021 USDA Small Grains Report.
From March 3, 2022 https://www.kxly.com/northwest-winter-wheat-crop-already-stressed-by-drought/
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/grain-stocks-wheat
https://www.macrotrends.net/2534/wheat-prices-historical-chart-data
The Fourth Seal
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=5290
Revelation 6 – a sobering preview of “coming attractions” ….
The first seal – the conquering and transformation of the entire world through the corona pandemic and the way it was managed by world governments. It has abated, but it is still a factor in our lives today.
The second seal – the possibility of a war that encompasses the entire world – may be on the horizon. The current war between Russia and Ukraine is quickly escalating and is drawing other nations of the world into participating in the conflict. There have been many, many wars in history, but in the scenario of the Time of the End, the war of the “red horse” will certainly encompass Israel, as Israel is the “apple of God’s eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10). Keep your eyes on Israel. If this war comes to her, it’s likely the war of Revelation 6:3-4.
The third seal – worldwide famine and starvation – has not yet been fully realized. However, the worldwide supply of grains and foodstuffs is being impacted by drought, war, supply chain issues and shortages of things like fertilizers and herbicides. Unchecked, these factors could lead to its full expression.
The fourth seal promises an escalation of all of the troubles previously experienced in the first three seals. Chapter 6 of Revelation is a horrifying preview of the circumstances promised for the world in the times before Jesus’s return to rule as King. These times will be very difficult for all people including those who have accepted Jesus’s kind offer of salvation/membership in His kingdom. Jesus has promised to return and to take those who are in His kingdom to be where He is. (John 14:1-3) Our hope and our strength are in knowing that He is faithful to keep His promises to His children, and our certainty that He will not give us more than we can bear without a way out (even if that involves our death). 1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 55:2
We who have accepted Jesus as Savior have that blessed assurance – that as Jesus has given us His life as a way for us to enter the presence of the LORD, we need not fear. Romans 10:10-11, 13 “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him (Jesus) will not be put to shame.’ For whoever calls on the Name of the LORD shall be saved.” For He has told us that He is with us, even unto the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20).
The Fifth Horseman – the End of the Age
Revelation 19:11-16
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Recently, as I have been praying “thy kingdom come”, I see in my mind’s eye God’s children all over the world lifting their hands and their prayers to their Father in heaven asking Him to please, please send His Deliverer. The Israelites of old, in captivity and oppression under the cruel bondage of Egypt, cried out to God to send them a deliverer, and He did! God appeared to Moses in the wilderness and gave him the command to go to Egypt and set God’s people free. And through the power of God, he did.
Today, God’s children all over the world are suffering cruel oppression from the evil forces in the world. They are being starved, tortured, murdered, betrayed. They are under the oppression of war and are losing everything – often including their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Just as God heard the cries of the Israelites and delivered them, He has heard the cries of His people today. He is sending His Messiah, our Deliverer Who will do battle against the evil one and his forces and Who will win the victory and set His people free.
Come King Jesus, Yeshua of Nazareth! Bind the evil one and fulfill God’s plan for You to rule and reign in righteousness and truth here on earth. Amen and amen!