Revelation 6: Riders On The Storm: The White Horse, Part I (Vs 1-2) Series

Revelation 6: Riders On The Storm: The White Horse, Part I (vs 1-2)

Over the next few months, we will be studying perhaps the most challenging of all Scriptures to interpret: Revelation chapters six through twenty two. I have been doing extensive study to prepare for these devotionals and the subsequent teaching from the pulpit, and will make a humble attempt to "rightly divide" God's Word. At some point I will provide a bibliography of the different resources used to arrive at the interpretations and observations you will see in these devotionals.

Let's just do a quick review of what we have learned over the past few months in these devotionals. John was transported spiritually to heaven to see God the Father on the throne, with a great display of majesty, beauty, glory and dazzling splendor. Surrounding the throne were four cherubim angels and twenty four elders, along with the Holy Spirit as represented by seven torches. These angels worshiped God for who He is, and the elders worshipped God for what He had done.

God the Father had a scroll in His right hand, and that scroll we found out was the title deed to the earth. No one in all of heaven, or on earth or in the earth was found worthy, and John openly and loudly wailed. John understood the consequences—that all of humanity would be lost if no one was found worthy. Jesus came forward and took the scroll out of the right hand of God. All of heaven breaks out in worship, and even the creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth and the sea loudly worshiped Jesus.

Now we will see this seven sealed scroll opened—in sequence—as the storm of the wrath of God will light on the earth.

Rev 6:1 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."

Here in verse one, we see that one of the four creatures—one of the cherubim—speaks in a loud voice. This was a voice that boomed like thunder. I remember back years ago setting off a quarter stick mortar on the hill above my friend the late Boose Smith's house near Rogersville. It was summer, and if you have ever heard a quarter stick mortar go off, you will not forget it. It was a very quiet night, and you could hear that boom roll and echo up the valleys near Rogersville. It was one of those things in life that I will never forget…and this reminds me of that sound. The voice, a booming voice said one word: "Come!". The words "and see" are inserted and not actually part of the original text and implied.

This announcement from the cherub is one that commanded the attention of John, and of us as well.

Two Common Misconceptions

There are people that say that Hell does not exist, that at best it is the invention of a cruel, controlling group of "religious people" to scare them into going to church. There are also those that say "If your God is so unloving that He would send people to Hell, then I want no part of Him." There are also those, and I have heard people actually say this, that Hell is what we are going through here on earth. These are lies that Satan has spawned to detract people from the idea of judgment and of the Final Judgment—Hell. If you don't believe in a literal Hell, then you must either believe that all people go to heaven or that you cease to exist. In either case, since you do not have to answer for bad behavior, why not just live it up? Tell me, would it be fair for men like Hitler, Hussein, Bin Laden and Nero to not have to face judgment?

Have you ever said "It can't get any worse than this?" I learned about 20 years ago that is not such a good idea, because it can—really fast. Sure, it seems like life is tough at times, and it is a "hell" to us because we suffer in some way or another. Truth is, until you read accounts of persecution and suffering such as found in Fox's Book of Martyrs we have no room to say that we have it so bad, or that "life is Hell".

Our work situation had gotten tough as we had just lost a secretary, and was training a new one at work that was about as green as could be. Drama sure did seem to be at it's highest, and I said "It can't get any worse than this". Well, it did..and it did in a hurry—a week later, we were in a car accident. Kay was suffered a lot of trauma including a badly broken ankle and lower leg, and I suffered a broken elbow; both of us required emergency surgery. Life for the next few months was harder than we could have imagined at that point in our life.