Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 4 * BOOK 11

REVELATION 6, CONTINUED

Let’s turn to Revelation Chapter 11. And here is where you can pick up a time frame if you will just take time to study it. You will find here in verse 3, where God says:

Revelation 11:3

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy (speak forth the Word. The word “prophesy” in Scripture can mean either one. To speak about the future or just speak forth the Word. They are His witnesses, and they are going to minister primarily to the Nation of Israel and the area of Jerusalem.) a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”

That is 3 ¹/2 years. We know that is not the last 3 ¹/2 years, because you see when you come to end of their ministry in verse 12.

Revelation 11:12a

“And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, `Come up hither.’ And they ascended up to heaven…” And then in verse 13:

Revelation 11:13a

“And the same hour was there a great earthquake,…”

This is at the middle of the Tribulation and not the end. These two witnesses will minister the first 3 ¹/2 years. That is why I’ve come to Chapter 11 (the middle of the Tribulation), after Chapter 6 (the beginning of the Tribulation) because again we are going to come right back to an event at the beginning of the Tribulation. It is the appearance of the two witnesses. I’ll have to comment on who those two witnesses might be. We can’t be dogmatic because the Scripture doesn’t tell us. There’s nothing in this verse that says that it’s going to be so and so. But we can speculate. The one that I think is a little easier to decide on than the other, is Elijah. I think that it’s very possible that one of these two witnesses will be Elijah, because Elijah was taken up without having died. And there is a good reason for that. Let’s go to the Book of Malachi. It’s the last book of your Old Testament. Malachi Chapter 4 and verse 5:

Malachi 4:5

“Behold (the prophet writes. God is speaking through the prophet), I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:” That’s plain English. I know it was originally in Hebrew, but for us it’s in plain English. Before the great and terrible day of the Lord, Elijah will come.

Malachi 4:6

“And he (that is, Elijah) shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

Alright, flip back if you will to Matthew Chapter 11. Again, we are in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Now in Chapter 11 he makes an unusual statement. Starting with verse 11. Jesus is speaking and he says:

Matthew 11:11,12

“Verily I say unto you, `Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now (and remember that this is during Christ’s earthly ministry) the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.'”

Matthew 11:13,14a

“For all the prophets and the law prophesied (of the coming kingdom) until John. And (what’s the next word?) if (a little word like that is so easy to gloss over. but it’s loaded) ye will receive it,…”

Who is Jesus talking to? Jews. He’s talking to the Nation of Israel. If they would receive what? The King and the Kingdom. That’s what He’s offering. He’s their King and He’s ready to set up the Kingdom, if Israel would accept the King and the Kingdom at this point and time. Remember that it’s an offer. We know according to prophecy that it couldn’t have happened because Christ had to die. But nevertheless, it was still a valid offer. They had the opportunity to accept Him as their King. So read it in that light.

Matthew 11:14a

“And if ye will receive it (the Kingdom then), this is Elias,…”

Who is? John the Baptist. Think about that for a minute. Jesus is offering the Kingdom to the Nation of Israel in fulfillment of those Old Testament Covenants. The Abrahamic and all the rest of them. The Old Testament said, “that before the return of Christ or the setting up of the kingdom, Elijah had to come.” But Jesus said, “If you accept the kingdom now, then what? John is the prophesied Elijah.” That’s hard for us to comprehend, but that’s what He’s saying. But since Israel did not accept the King, and did not accept the Kingdom, what has to happen? Elijah has to come. Come back to Revelation Chapter 11. I have to feel that on the basis of those two scriptures, one of these two witnesses will quite likely be the Old Testament Elijah brought back on the scene. He was also at the Mount of Transfiguration. Back to Revelation 11:4:

Revelation 11:4

“These (the two witnesses) are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”

In other words, they are God’s messengers for that time. The candlestick refers to the light that a candlestick gives forth. In the midst of the Tribulation darkness and wickedness and iniquity, in the great cataclysmic events that are taking place, these two men will still be like a spiritual lighthouse. Now verse 5:

Revelation 11:5

“And if any man will hurt them (or try to), fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies (they’re going to have a special power for their protection as they proclaim the Word of God): and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.”

In other words, these two witnesses are going to have that kind of power. And then in verse 6, is another reason why so many people feel that one of these witnesses is going to be Elijah, because he’s going to do the same thing that he did in his Old Testament experiences.

Revelation 11:6

“These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy (or their speaking. Remember Elijah stopped the rain for three years back in the Old Testament.); and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.” Now that kind of language gives us an idea that it could be Moses. See? Now I never get dogmatic about this. Others say it has to be Enoch, because Enoch didn’t die either. This isn’t all that basic to our doctrine. All we have to do is believe that our Sovereign God is in control, and is going to bring these two men to the city of Jerusalem at the very onset of the seven years of Tribulation. Now verse 7:

Revelation 11:7

“And when they shall have finished their testimony (their 3 1/2 years), the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit (I think the beast could either be the Roman Empire which is now the E.C. and is now back on the scene. Or the beast here could be in reference to the Anti-christ himself. I throw this out to get you to study. I remember years ago as our class was dismissed, a lady walked out the door and she had just been a visitor. She had come from another part of the country. And she said, “Well, I don’t know that I agree with you, but I’ll give you credit for one thing. I have already promised myself that starting tomorrow I’m going to study my Bible.” And that is the only reason I teach. Then verse 7 winds up with this government that I think will be the Anti-christ or the revived Roman Empire) shall make war against them (They will try to destroy these two men. And they are going to succeed), and shall overcome them, and kill them.” So these two men will be put to death.

Revelation 11:8

“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”

So that was what city? Jerusalem. So they are going to be killed and left to rot on the streets of Jerusalem. Just because of their mortal hatred for these two men. Verse 9:

Revelation 11:9

“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.” They will just lie out in the hot sun for 3 ¹/2 days.

Revelation 11:10

“And they that dwell upon the earth (not just Israel, but the whole earth, from one end to the other) shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

Well, how did they torment them? By simply pointing out their wickedness, and their iniquity. And the righteous judgment of God which is already to a certain degree upon them. And the world is going to hate them. But the amazing thing is that verse 11 says something that 50 or 60 years ago was almost hard to swallow, and the average Bible believers had problems with this. All you could say was that God in His wisdom knows how He is going to do it. And now you see it is so common. What is it?

Revelation 11:11

“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them (God brings them back to life), and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.”

Who saw them? The whole world. How do they see them? Television. We do that everyday. It is very common now to see a news broadcast from the other side of the earth. I can remember when I was a kid, I would hear a preacher preach on this, and I can still hear mom and dad talk about, how that was going to be possible. How can the people of the world see two dead people lying on the streets of Jerusalem. Now, we just take that for granted. It will probably be on the 5:30 national news. And the whole world will see these two witnesses suddenly ascend.

Revelation 11:12

“And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, `Come up hither.’ And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”

Right in view of the cameras up they go, and this is going to shake people up. But remember this will be the time of the supernatural and God isn’t going to hide it. And when these two witnesses who have been put to death, are suddenly made alive, and ascend right out of the midst of Jerusalem, the whole world will witness it. Now these are Tribulation days. The days of Supernatural. Alright let’s go on to verse 13:

Revelation 11:13a

“And the same hour (remember this is the mid-point of the Tribulation) was there a great earthquake,…” You have to remember that Jerusalem and especially the valley of the Jordan, and the Dead Sea, and the Sea of Galilee, are setting right on a tremendous fault line. It’s historical. In fact, that’s probably why the Dead Sea is so deep and why it is so far below sea level (approximately 12-1400 feet below sea level). Because at times the fault has literally dropped the surface of the earth in that area. Remember the whole Jordan valley is below sea level. Even the Sea of Galilee is 600 feet below sea level. So when the Bible speaks of great earthquakes in that part of the world it is not unusual.

So we know we are at the mid-point of the Tribulation. Remember I told you rather than go verse by verse chronologically, take Revelation by events. The beginning (the appearance of the Anti-christ and these two witnesses), and at the mid-point we have the end of these two witnesses and have a great earthquake. We studied earlier how the Anti-christ will come in and desecrate and defile the Temple at the mid-point. We will try to look at that in our next lesson. But for now let’s look at Revelation Chapter 7. And here again is a portion of Scripture that has been so completely perverted that we have a lot of confusion and it doesn’t have to be. It is so plain. Now since these two witnesses are beginning to proclaim Godly things, and I think again just like Jesus said, they are going to be proclaiming the King and the Kingdom is coming. Out of their preaching, almost immediately, they will have a response of their prophesying or speaking, by the 144,000 young Jewish men that we find in Chapter 7. Now let’s read it:

Revelation 7:1

“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth (remember this is supernatural experiences in a supernatural time), holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.”

Revelation 7:2,3

“And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt (or judgment on) the earth and the sea, Saying, `Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.'”

Now isn’t that easy to understand? These servants, I feel, have been listening to the two witnesses and so they are responding. Now look who they are in verse 4:

Revelation 7:4

“And I heard the number of them which were sealed (or designated or commissioned): and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand (now watch where they come from) of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”

So that there are no mistakes, He names them in verse 5-8 except for one. And that question comes up often. Why isn’t Dan and Ephraim mentioned in these 12 tribes? Remember, they moved up into the northern part of Israel, and what were the tribes guilty of? They were the first ones to go into idolatry. And, consequently, they are left out of these 12 tribes. So we have 12,000 from each of the other 12 tribes all sealed and they are given a particular mission. And here it comes in verse 9. As a result of their sealing:

Revelation 7:9

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations (that indicates that the 144,000 will not limit their ministry to just the Nation of Israel), and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;”

Now remember back in Chapter 6 when we talked about that 5th seal, in verse 9-11 it reads:

Revelation 6:9-11

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, `How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’ And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

This is where it all begins. These 144,000 young Jewish men will be encircling the globe in a miraculous way. They won’t have to buy any airline tickets. I think they will be Spirit sent. They won’t have to learn a language. They will know every language and dialect everywhere they go. And these 144,000 young Jews will circle the globe at least three or four years out of this seven. And here are the results of their ministry. Verse 13:

Revelation 7:13,14

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, `What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?’ And I said unto him, `Sir, thou knowest,’ And he said to me, `These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Now that is a vast number of people from every tribe and tongue and nation. And they will martyred almost as soon as they believe. But a few will survive. And we will pick them up in a later lesson. There will be some survivors, as we saw in the Book if Isaiah a couple of lessons ago. What I think we have here is sort of a compensation, or an evening out of what the Nation of Israel literally missed. They were originally going to be the vehicle to bring the pagan, Gentile world to a knowledge of their Jehovah. And they missed it. But the 144,000 will sort of make a compensation for that.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 3 * BOOK 11

REVELATION 6, CONTINUED

Let’s go back to the horsemen of the Apocalypse in Revelation Chapter 6 for a quick review. First we have the appearance of the Anti-christ. He signs the seven-year treaty with Israel which gives them relative peace and safety. Then I feel you will have that great invasion of the red horde from the north, which in turn will precipitate a great demise in the food supply. That will trigger the famine (or the black horse in verses 5 and 6), as well as the pestilences. And remember that we showed you in Matthew 24 that Jesus foretold that these things were just the beginning of sorrow or travail. These are the beginning days of the Tribulation. It’s going to be the most awful seven-year period in human history. We will be seeing that, as Jesus spoke of it in Matthew 24. But now, turn to Revelation Chapter 6. Remember, these horsemen were also seals, and we have four of the seals off (there were seven seals on the scroll to begin with). Now He opens the fifth seal. And John, in his visionary experience, of course:

Revelation 6:9

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:”

I have to feel he was making reference to the Tribulation martyrs. Later we’re going to show that, yes indeed, there will be multitudes of non-Jews who will have a salvation experience during this turmoil. But they will not live very long to tell about it, because it’s going to be a period of time where they are going to be martyred immediately. These are the ones I feel that John sees in a prophetic light, and these who have been martyred for their faith will cry:

Revelation 6:10

“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, `How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?'” And, of course, we know that He’s going to.

Revelation 6:11

“And white robes were given unto every one of them (that is, these that had been martyred for their faith); and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

That’s all part of the fifth seal. Now we come to the sixth seal. Remember there’s only seven that are holding this scroll together, and Christ is the One that is opening it in order to be able to read that mortgage and pay it off. Okay, we’re coming back to that scroll that was in Revelation Chapter 5:

Revelation 6:12a

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and , lo, there was a great earthquake;…”

In Matthew 24, that was one of the things that Jesus had mentioned, that there would be famine and pestilence and earthquakes in divers places. We’re already seeing a tremendous increase in earthquake activity; thousands of percent in the last twenty or thirty years. There’s so many earthquakes taking place every day that the media doesn’t even bother to report them. I read recently in one of the daily papers there where three or four earthquakes; not huge, but 4.6 or 5 on the Richter scale. There was one in China, one in Southern Russia and one in Iran. They’re taking place every day. This is contrary to history; it hasn’t always been that way. In verse 12 we’re approaching the mid-point of this seven years. We’re about at the end of 3 ¹/2 years as we get to the sixth seal.

Revelation 6:12b

“…and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;”

All you have to do is know the circumstances. When there’s tremendous earthquakes, there’s more than likely volcanic eruptions as well. As we know from the past, volcanoes can spew out so much dust that the sun can almost be blocked out. I think that’s what we have here. It isn’t that God all of a sudden is going to blacken the sun, per se. But as a result of all these activities on the planet, the sun will almost become like we’ve seen it at times, like a little red glow. And the moon became as blood, again because of all the pollution that has been blown into the atmosphere. Then verse 13. This is God dealing primarily with the Nation of Israel. Jeremiah said it was the time of Jacob’s trouble. I’ve pointed out over the years, for those of you who have been following from Genesis on, that whenever God was dealing with Israel in the land, the supernatural was commonplace. Beginning when Moses went into Egypt, the plagues were supernatural events that were under God’s control. The opening of the Red Sea was supernatural. The life and escapades of Samson were supernatural. And the appearance of the Angelic hosts at Christ’s birth was supernatural. The opening of the prison, when Peter was in captivity, by the use of a earthquake – what was it? Supernatural. So this is what I’m talking about. When God is dealing with that Nation of Israel, as He will be in these seven years, we’re dealing with the supernatural every day – things that are beyond the ordinary. In verse 13, we even have cosmic disturbances.

Revelation 6:13,14

“And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”

In other words, tremendous earthquake activity. And this is only in the first half. The second half is going to be far worse. Even rulers and men in high places are getting shook up:

Revelation 6:15,16

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains (and they actually plead for death): And said to the mountains and rocks, `Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:'”

Do you see for the last 1900 plus years, mankind has not seen the wrath of God. Now we know there has been a lot of calamity. We know that there has already been a lot of earthquake activity, and wars and famine and so forth. But that has not been the wrath of God. I’ve always maintained that the things that come upon the human race, that plague us, are not acts of God’s wrath. They are God permitting Satan to bring suffering and turmoil to God’s creation. God is not in the business tonight of pouring out His wrath. He’s a God of Grace, tonight. Paul says in Romans Chapter 5, that where sin abounded, what’s always greater? His grace abounds even more. But, grace has ended here with the out-calling of the Body of Christ just before the Tribulation begins. We are seeing the wrath of the Lamb being poured out. Verse 17, and it’s repeated twice in two verses:

Revelation 6:17

“For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

Do you remember Psalms Chapter 2? We’ve used it so often coming up through the Old Testament. After mankind, Jew and Gentile, have rejected the King, they’re going to go into a period of perplexity and derision – and that’s where the world is tonight. They don’t know where to turn. And then what does the next verse say in Psalms Chapter 2?

Psalms 2:5

“Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.”

It’s no longer the Age of Grace. All these events take us up to the mid-point of this seven years. We’ve had the appearance of the Anti-christ. We’ve had the permission (if I may use that word) for Israel to go back into Temple worship. She’s going to go back under the Law you might say. She’s getting closer to that all the time. Now back again to Revelation 6. As we come to the end of the Chapter, let me repeat verse 17:

Revelation 6:17

“For the great day of his wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand?”

The Bible does not actually refer to the Tribulation as being the wrath of God until the last 3 ¹/2 years. The first 3 ¹/2 are going to be bad enough, but the last 3 ¹/2 years will be beyond human comprehension. Let’s go to Matthew 24 once again. I’ve said before, you can’t study Revelation without studying Matthew 24. Here Jesus is speaking of this very thing. Starting at verse 8, what does Jesus call all of these things that are taking place (the tremendous loss of life in that ¹/4 of world has died – and all the pestilences and famine)?

Matthew 24:8

“All these are the beginning of sorrows.” It’s not the wrath of God yet. Now verse 9:

Matthew 24:9

“Then (that is in this first half) shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (remember at the close of the last lesson I took you to Jeremiah 30:7 because it is the time of Jacob’s trouble. This is right now primarily God dealing with the Nation of Israel, although it will be world-wide), and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”

We see that this is already coming on the scene, where the hatred of the Jew is bubbling to the surface, and will keep on increasing.

Matthew 24:10-12a

“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound,…”

Remember that the Church is gone from the earth. Today the Church is really the only break from wickedness across the world. It’s the Christian influence that still holds things in check. But at this time it will be gone. It will be like lifting a great dam out of a river; that reservoir will suddenly just wash down that river bed taking everything in it’s way. I think that will be the picture of iniquity and wickedness that will break loose as soon as the True Church, the Body of Christ, is removed. Now verse 13. This verse has been twisted and lifted out of context and mistaught too often.

Matthew 24:13

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

This is not talking about salvation! We’re talking about physically surviving. Let’s go for a moment to the Book of Isaiah Chapter 24. We’ll come back to this later. This is exactly why Jesus said what He said. Those who are fortunate enough to have come through this whole seven years will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Isaiah 24:1a

“Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down,..” We’re dealing with the Tribulation here.

Isaiah 24:2-5

“And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.” It’s even going to hit the super, super rich. Now verse 5:“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Now verse 6 and watch the language very closely:

Isaiah 24:6

“Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth (the reason for the Tribulation is to pay off the curse. The earth is going to be delivered from the curse), and they that dwell therein are desolate (because of the awful events that have taken place): therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned (I think there will be tremendous nuclear activity), and few men left.”

In other words, there will be survivors. Some are going to make it all the way through this awful seven years. Now come back quickly to Matthew 24. Remember Jesus is on the earth talking to the Twelve, during His earthly ministry. Now verse 14:

Matthew 24:14a

“And (what the next word?) this (speaking to that which was contemporary with His day.) gospel of the kingdom…”

Now a lot of people twist that and try to make it the Gospel of Grace. Some people will fly off the handle and accuse me of saying that there is more than one Gospel. Yes, I’ve said it for over 20 years and still do because the Book says so. They didn’t know the Gospel of Grace at this time. Christ hadn’t died yet, He hadn’t been raised from the dead yet. There could be no Gospel as we know it. It hadn’t been accomplished. But what Gospel did they know? The King is coming. The King is here. And it was called by Jesus over and over through the Gospels, the Gospel of the Kingdom. Good news, the King is ready to set up His Kingdom as it was being offered to Israel. Now then Jesus is using that back drop. The Kingdom Gospel that He and the Twelve had been preaching for almost 3 years now and He says:

Matthew 24:14

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall (at a future time.) be preached in all the world for a witness unto (how many?) all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Now, you see how simple that is when you put it in the right prospective. I’ve had good friends of mine lift this verse out of context, and say we have to get the Gospel into every nation before the Lord can come. That’s not what Jesus was talking about. The Gospel of Grace is a calling out a people for His Name, absolutely. But it’s going to end, and the Tribulation is going to come in and then Jesus said, “The same Gospel of the Kingdom that He preached in His three years of ministry will be proclaimed again during the Tribulation.” Now can you keep that? Put that up here. Just stop and think. If that Good News is proclaimed to every nation on earth, that the King is coming, it will last for the whole seven years. Notice Jesus did not mention the Church Age and the Gospel of Grace. He skips over it from His ministry to the Tribulation. And that will be the message that the 144,000 young Jewish men will preach to the world. The King is coming, and indeed He will be!

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 11

REVELATION 6, CONTINUED

As I have told you before, the only reason I teach is to help people better understand and enjoy their Bible. We have never attempted or intended to build a group or organization. We just like to teach the Word, and we have people taking it into their churches and Sunday schools and taking advantage of it.

Last lesson we were discussing the aspect of the red horse in Revelation Chapter 6. I like to tie it in with Ezekiel 38 be it right or wrong. I’m very comfortable putting this great invasion of Israel in the early stages of the Tribulation. Remember, after the Anti-christ signs that peace treaty of seven years with the Nation of Israel, she will suddenly drop her guard, thinking her borders are guaranteed with this treaty. So when you come to the language in Ezekiel 38, I think it is so appropriate that under those circumstances, with an outside power now guaranteeing their sovereignty and their safety, that it becomes what Ezekiel calls a land of unwalled villages.

When Ezekiel was writing, the walls of the city were the first line of defense. When you speak of a land of unwalled villages what does it tell you? Here is a land with no defense. They have been guaranteed safety by some outside political and military force, but for the nation itself, she is there with no real visible defense. This Northern confederation of nations, that we think will be headed up by Russia immediately takes advantage of this fact. Today, hardly anyone dares to attack the Nation of Israel because they know they will have a fight on their hands if they do. More than likely they’ll get whipped. But here they now realize that Israel is complacent. Israel has finally gotten this almost Messiah-like atmosphere, that they no longer have to fear their enemies.

When we finally get into the Gospels, we will study about Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, who suddenly had his speech given back to him. I always tell people to read what he had to say in Luke 1:67-71 and to read it carefully.

Luke 1:67-71

“And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, `Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people (Israel), And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;”

This is exactly what Israel is looking for today. That they could be safe from their enemies. It’s not a spiritual thing. It’s physical. And they will swallow what the Anti-christ will promise. Now picking up where we left off in the Book of Ezekiel. Chapter 38 and verse 9. God speaking through the prophet to the Northern Confederation, because it will involve more than just the Russians.

Ezekiel 38:9

“Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land (not necessarily air power, but massive invasion armies.), thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.” It will be a consortium of all these nations listed in verse 5 and 6.

Ezekiel 38:10

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; `It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:'”

Ezekiel 38:11,12a

“And thou shalt say, `I will go up to the land of unwalled villages (Israel is now sitting there relatively safe and secure. Now’s the time for a surprise attack.); I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,'” Then to verse 12: “To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited,…”

What a perfect picture that is of Israel? It had been a no-man’s land for years, and now since 1948, it has blossomed into a land of production. They are building highways; they’re building apartments. It’s almost like being in America. Their traffic patterns are much the same as any major city here. I had a gentlemen in my class when we were still in Iowa who’s gone to be with the Lord now. He was stationed with an American group in Palestine during World War II. I can still remember his explaining the conditions. He said, “Why in the world would anyone want that country? I just couldn’t understand. There’s nothing there.” Well that’s not the case today. It’s a vibrant country. It’s producing. And they’re just constantly coming up in production of agriculture, technology and medical. The Nation of Israel is at the forefront of all these things.

Ezekiel 38:12b

“…and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations (that’s where the Jews have come from remember. Every nation on the globe.), which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.”

Ezekiel 38:13a

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, `Art thou come to take a spoil?…'”

Tarshish, I think, either refers to Spain or Great Britain, and I would probably say Great Britain. Some of the other nations involved there in the NATO alliance, will be under the rule or control of the Anti-christ at this time. And all they’re going to be able to say is, “What do you think you’re doing?” Because this has caught them so by surprise, they won’t have time to retaliate, militarily. And so all that they do I suppose, is tell the media at a press conference, “Well, all we can say is, `What do they think they’re doing’ and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Read on:

Ezekiel 38:13b

“…hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey (are you invading)? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods,…”

In other words, to take a great spoil? That’s about all the Western European nations are going to be able to do. But remember that God’s going to intervene in short order.

Ezekiel 38:14,15a

“Therefore (God says to the prophet), son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, `Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day (when they invade Israel) when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,…'” And that means everything from Lebanon, all the way, I think, to Moscow.

Ezekiel 38:16

“And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days (that’s the second time the word “latter” has been used. And that is why I have to feel that it will be in the Tribulation), and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen (or the Gentiles) may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog,…”

In other words, when the rest of the world will see what a Sovereign God can do to a modern military force.

Ezekiel 38:18

“And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.”

You need to remember that Russia has been anti-God for the past 70 years. And God hasn’t forgotten. God is always just. And when He pours out His vengeance, He has a reason. I think that Russia still is going to have to answer for all the millions that the Communists put to death, and for their ill-treatment of the Jew. God says, “My fury is coming up before me.”

Ezekiel 38:19

“For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, `Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;'”

As a result of this invasion. Now verse 21, and I want you to watch the language very carefully. God says:

Ezekiel 38:21a

“And I will call for a sword against him (that is, against these invaders) throughout all my mountains,…”

A lot of people don’t realize that Israel is mountainous. In fact, I was reading an article just the other day, of someone who was speaking to one of our head government people (I think in the State Department). He didn’t know that Israel was a mountainous country! I know that our younger generation hasn’t been taught geography like I was. But there are people who are, seemingly, in places of high authority and they don’t even know simple geography. But yes, Israel is mountainous. The very center of the country is just a string of mountains and valleys. Here is the very series of words that I tie with Revelation Chapter 6. And this is my reason for bringing it. I go by that basic rule of Bible study: Always go to the place of first mention. In other words, when something is mentioned in the Old Testament and then again in the New, see if they tie together. Now look at the language:

Ezekiel 38:21b

“…every man’s sword shall be against his brother.”

Do you see that? Now to those verses that we read in Revelation, Chapter 6, and I want you to see the comparison. Of course, I don’t get dogmatic. If anyone says, “I can’t see this,” that’s fine. This is the way I see it and I wouldn’t teach it if I wasn’t comfortable with it. Now back here now in Revelation:

Revelation 6:4a

“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they (that is, the combatants) should kill (who?) one another:…”

Not the enemy but each other! That’s what’s so unique about this great invasion of Israel. Go back to Ezekiel and compare the words. The Sovereign God is going to fight this battle here on the hills of Israel. And of course it happened before. Do you remember Samaria had been encircled and was under siege, and they were starving to death. Then the Lord gave them a prophecy that by tomorrow night at this time, they would have more food than they would know what to do with. And you know the Syrian army was put into a route because in their confusion, they were killing each other. So it’s happened before. Now look what Ezekiel then says again in comparison to the red horse statement in Revelation 6, that every man’s sword should be against his brother. In other words, they’re going to be annihilating themselves. God, Himself, of course, is going to come in with His own power.

Ezekiel 38:22,23

“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. (which of course is the same language of Sodom and Gomorrah, you’ll remember) Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

In other words, that Russian army or that Northern Confederation army will be defeated by not only its own confusion, but by a tremendous power of God. And it’s going to be utterly destroyed there on the hills and mountains of Israel. Now we have to go into Chapter 39 because these two chapters tie together:

Ezekiel 39:1

“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD; `Behold, I am against thee,…'”

It would be awful to have God simply tell America for example, “I’m against you.” I’m afraid the day is coming. But so far it hasn’t happened. Now then, verse 2. He says to this invading force:

Ezekiel 39:2

“And I will turn thee back (God will. And remember that He brought them down. And this is the way God deals with nations when He judges them. He brought them into the Nation of Israel. He destroyed them there. And now He says, “I’ll turn thee back”), and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:”

Ezekiel 39:3,4

“And I will smite thy bow out of the left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of they right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.”

Now some people believe that this is Armageddon and I just can’t agree with that. This is a separate war. A separate battle within the seven-year time frame. But it is not Armageddon.

Ezekiel 39:5

“Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD (and then look at verse 6. Underline it if you haven’t before). And (God says) I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles:…”

In other words, the homeland of Russia as well as the homeland of all these nations that have consorted against the Nation of Israel. The language is different than it is with the destruction of the army and Israel itself. Their (Israel’s) God is going to do it by sending pestilence and hail and brimstone. That’s God. But in Chapter 39 verse 6, I think God is using an outside force to destroy the Russian homeland. I’ll comment on verse 6 in more detail, but first let’s do verses 7-9 and pay particular attention to verse 9:

Ezekiel 39:7-9

“So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen (or Gentile) shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand staves, and the spears (remember Ezekiel is writing the language of his day. We would say today the tanks, armored personnel carriers and so forth), and they shall burn them with fire seven years:”

People will say, “This can’t be the Tribulation because there want be enough time for it.” But if you will remember in Scripture a part of a year was counted a whole year. A good example was when a King would serve Israel for 10 years and 1 month, it would say he served for 11 years. So using that rule of thumb, an invasion of the Nation of Israel within the first 11 months for instance, after the seven-year treaty is signed, will still make this prophecy come true. I might also point out that back in the 1960’s a Dutch scientist had perfected some sort of a process where he came up with a tank that was made with wood product that would actually repel shells and so forth. And the Russians bought a large quantity of them because they were so much more economical. Then after the war in 1967 in Israel, the Israelites captured some of these tanks and discovered that they burned like cardboard. Whether that is still the case, I don’t know. But if it is, then you see again the Scripture is so accurate. The Jewish people will use this equipment as firewood if this is the case.

Now I want to finish commenting on verse 6 as I had promised. I’m going to speculate, and I want to make sure that people understand that this is only speculation. I can’t prove it through Scripture, but I can certainly whet your thinking. And just consider the possibilities. Logically. Now I know that God doesn’t have to work in the terms of logic. I know that. But many times He does. Logically then, I’ve put it before my classes over the years, and I’ve never had anyone ridicule the concept at all. Logically, if you were sitting in a place of authority, whether it’s in the Kremlin or some other place in this Northern Confederation, and you were getting ready to invade the little Nation of Israel, I think that you would realize there’s only one nation on earth that might oppose you. And who would that be? America. We are the only friend that Israel has in the world. And I think that the Russian leaders would understand that if they invaded Israel, America would probably come to her defense.

Now I mentioned in my last program, and Time magazine just stated it again a couple of weeks ago, that every missile that has ever been pointed at America before, is still sitting there. Still pointing at the American target. Speculate, project, that’s all I can do. If you were the commanders, what would you do? I know what I would do. I would say, “Let’s unload everything that we have on North America. They’re the only possible enemy that we have.” And that’s what I think will happen. I think the Russians will unload everything that they have and will utterly knock the Western Hemisphere out of the rest of prophecy. Because there’s nothing for us in prophecy. Then, when it says that God will send a fire on the Russian homeland, we know that we have submarines all over the oceans of the world, loaded with ballistic missiles on board. So after we have suffered that initial attack, I think our military will still have enough left to give the command to unload all our submarines on the Russian homeland, which will destroy it.

I said that this is all speculation and I don’t say it to cause fear or anything like that, because you want to remember that in the Tribulation, events are going to start taking place that are so beyond human understanding. And that’s why I think it’s so logical to teach it. That when America retaliates and knocks out the whole Russian homeland, then you see between those two annihilations, North America out of the picture for the most part. And the Russian homeland is also out of the picture. Now I want you to come back to Revelation once more. And you can stop again at Matthew 24, because I told you that Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 are direct parallels. So you might as well stop first at Matthew 24 verse 7. And remember, I stopped in the middle of verse 7 with regard to the red horse. Alright, let’s go to the last part of verse 7. And this will tie us to the third horse of Revelation 6:

Matthew 24:7b

“…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Now flip back to Revelation Chapter 6 verse 5:

Revelation 6:5,6a

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast (or creature) say, `Come and see.’ And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts (or creatures) say, `A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny;…'”

What does that black horse indicate if you’re going to have to ration the food supply? Famine. Alright, come back to my premise. Take, for example, the great production areas of the North American Continent; whether it’s the great grain belt to the north, or the citrus growths in other areas such as California, that have vast food production. If you knock out the great food production area of Russia (the Ukraine), what does that do to the world’s food supply? It almost annihilates it. So what will the rest of the world suddenly find itself in? A famine.

The language in this verse boils down to the average worker (a field worker for example) having to work a full day, sun-up to sun-down, just to earn enough money to buy bread for the next day. It’s going to be runaway inflation caused by a shortage of goods. You’re going to have a tremendous decrease in the production of food stuffs. And whenever you have famine and the amount of death as we’ve seen in Somalia and so forth, what accompanies it? Disease. It just goes hand in glove. Now, lest you think that I’m stretching the point, come down to the fourth horse in verse 7, because these all tie together now. The black horse spoke of famine. What comes as a result of the famine?

Revelation 6:7,8

“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast (or creature) say, `Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

The fourth horse is the pale one. As a result of the demise of two great power structures, he now sees this pale horse and on him was Death; and Hell followed with him. And power was given over them to kill with the sword. And what have you, what portion of the world? One fourth. Whether it’s one fourth of the geographical area or one fourth of the population, either one. But this is the Tribulation. This is just the beginning.

Go back to Matthew 24 again. I guess you could just put a mark in it because we will be flipping back and forth. In Matthew 24, after these four horsemen have made their appearance (remember these are merely symbolisms. This isn’t really someone riding on a horse and announcing that the world is going to have famine. They are symbolic of these events that are going to come on the planet) Jesus goes on to say in verse 8 that there would be famine and earthquakes and pestilence in divers places.

Matthew 24:8

“All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

“Travail” is a better word. The King James uses “sorrow.” Your newer translations may have the word “Travail” because Jesus is speaking in terms of a delivery. When we were back in Chapter 5 of Revelation, I spoke of a scroll, which was the paying off of a mortgage. It was also a delivery of the earth from the curse that was instituted back in the garden. This is what Jesus is referring to; all these events that are going to come on the planet, beginning with these horsemen of Revelation. This is just a beginning. This is like the mother who is about to deliver. Her birth pains are relatively mild and far apart. That’s what we have here. As great as this is going to be, it is mild compared to what it is going to be at the end. And so he says, “These things are just the beginning of Travail.” This is the beginning of the delivery process. Look at one verse in the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 30:

Jeremiah 30:7

“Alas! for that day is great (that is, this Tribulation), so that none is like it: it is even the time of (who’s trouble?) Jacob’s trouble (the Nation of Israel); but he shall be saved out of it.”

So these things will have their vortex upon the Nation of Israel.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 11

REVELATION 6, CONTINUED

In our last program, we were into the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. After our last taping, I got home and picked up the mail and Time magazine was there. As I usually do, I turn to the last page where there is an essay of sorts. Here the writer was degrading the fact that from time immemorial the human race has always been looking forward to catastrophic events. An apocalypse of sorts. He was ridiculing the fact that after all it’s just human nature to look for evil things to come on the scene. He used various books that had been best sellers. So really I imagine that is how a lot of people feel. That we are just barking without any bite.

I have always been under the impression as I teach prophecy that I’m not going to be a sensationalist. We are not going to sensationalize, but teach the way we feel the Bible is putting all this right in front of us, so that for you and I who are believers, we can understand that we are not going to be here when all of this takes place. The Lord has graciously promised us that He has not appointed us to wrath, but rather to be saved out of it. But these are words of warning for those who never yet expressed salvation by faith in the Gospel, that is, by believing for your salvation that Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose from the dead as we find in I Corinthians 15:1-4.

We know, regardless what the scoffer may say, these things are coming on the earth. We are not saying it because it’s human nature to expect it. But only because the Word of God has laid it out so clearly that after almost 2000 years of God pouring out His Grace upon humanity, offering them salvation on a basis of faith plus nothing; after it has been walked underfoot and has been spurned and rejected for so long; God is still going to enter in with His wrath and vexation. We can’t take His Grace for granted forever.

The easiest way to understand Revelation is to take it on a chronological basis rather than chapter by chapter. Because the Book of Revelation does not unfold chronologically, you must skip back and forth, and the way you find out how these things fit is by watching the time factor. I’ll show that to you in the next lesson or so. How you can show from one aspect to a portion of the next whether we are dealing with the first half of the Tribulation, or the middle of the Tribulation, or the last half of the Tribulation. The timing is all in here, but you have to skip back and forth in order to pick it out. So we will try to carefully do that especially for those of you have never understood the Book of Revelation.

In verse 3 of Revelation Chapter 6, we come to the red horse. I’m going to be careful that some of the things I say today are strictly my own personal speculation, and when I digress from what the Word literally says I’ll try to make it clear that this is just my idea. It doesn’t have to mean anymore to you than anything else. But it may provoke some thinking on your part. I like to look at the red horse as a reference to the only military power on earth that has been known as red. And that is the red army of Russia. And so I like to think that I can tie the red horse of Revelation to Ezekiel 38. We like to emphasize all the things that take place at the beginning of the seven years. We will emphasize many things that take place in the middle of the seven years, and then another group of events that will take place at the end, and then we will fill in the details.

At the beginning, we see the Anti-christ signing the treaty with Israel. That is one of the first things. And that treaty, according to Daniel Chapter 9, will guarantee their borders for seven years. He is going to seemingly be everything that their Messiah had promised. Peace and prosperity, safety from their neighbors. So the moment the treaty is signed, God’s time clock starts ticking once again to complete that final seven years of prophecy. Shortly after the treaty is signed we are going to see the red horse, and I’m going to equate it with the Russian invasion, or the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38.

Before we go back to Ezekiel, let’s stop at Matthew 24 once again. Remember, this Chapter is totally dealing with the Tribulation. We studied up through verse 5 in our last lesson, so now in verse 6:

Matthew 24:6

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Now in verse 7, I think we see the red horse:

Matthew 24:7a

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:…”

I’ll stop there with the red horse. When we get to the next horse, the pale horse, we’ll come back and finish this verse. Now to Ezekiel 38 where we left off in our last lesson. This is a prophecy against Gog and Magog. I think almost everyone is agreed that Gog and Magog are the nations we now recognize as the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, etc. Let’s start with verse 2:

Ezekiel 38:2,3

“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:'”

Never lose sight of the fact that God is Sovereign. I know the point came up in our class last night. There are some things we can’t understand that God does. But it is not for us to question because He’s Sovereign. He is the all-knowing, and the Scripture tells us as plain as day, that His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are higher than ours. So we can’t always comprehend His ways of doing things. We must leave it in His hands and know that He never makes a mistake. Again, God is declaring prophetically, that the day is coming when He is going to bring this consortium of nations, headed up by the Russians. Now verse 4:

Ezekiel 38:4a

“And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army,…”

Like literally turning a horse, He will change their direction. Now this is my own personal view. All during the cold war, we know that our allied leaders were deathly afraid of a great Russian invasion of Western Europe. I know this to be true, because I have a friend who was a consultant to the military. He stopped by and saw me one day, after he had just come back from a consultant tour of Western Europe a few years ago. The red army was facing our forces there in East Germany and so forth. He said, “Les, the only thing I’m going to recommend to our authorities is that we had better get a neutron bomb ready and get it ready fast.” You know what a neutron bomb does, don’t you? It kills personnel, but not property as such. He said, “There would be no way to stop them unless we would use that sort of a weapon.”

So we know up until recently, Europe was constantly aware that the great Russian horde over there on that eastern border was in control, with no way to be stopped. But the Scripture says that I will turn thee back. And this is exactly what we have here. That all of a sudden, contrary to the world’s general thinking, the Russian forces will not concern themselves with Western Europe, because that will be the domain of the Anti-christ. That power has to be in place for the battle of Armageddon. Always remember that prophetically there are only three areas of the world that are involved in those last days of the Tribulation or the battle of Armageddon. And that is Western Europe, the Orient, and parts of Africa. There is nothing at the very end that concerns Russia, or the Western Hemisphere. There is nothing in prophecy that would involve those two great areas in that last great battle. Keep that in mind as we move on. God is going to turn the Russians away from Western Europe and bring them down into the Middle East. But not Russia alone.

I’ve pointed this out over the years. That here we have a consortium, especially before communism fell apart, that all of these nations listed here were either already communist or right on the verge of becoming so, and here they are in verse 5. These are the nations and the people that will come with the Russians. They will come down to the hills and mountains of Israel.

Ezekiel 38:5

“Persia (today we call it Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:”

Remember when you read these things, Ezekiel is using the language of his day. So this great mass of humanity is going to come down upon the Nation of Israel with all sorts of weapons.

Ezekiel 38:6a

“Gomer, and all his bands;…”

Almost all Bible scholars are agreed this is Eastern Europe. When General Patton was racing across Europe back in World War II, we thought he would be all the way to Warsaw before we knew it, but then the news came that he had stopped at the Elbe river for seemingly no reason. Their excuse was that he had run ahead of his logistics. But we found out later that was all agreed upon at Yalta. When Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met at Yalta, they divided Europe and, consequently, we had to stop at the Elbe river. But the Elbe river was for the most part the eastern border of the old Roman Empire. So that really divided, Germany just exactly where it needed to be divided in order for this Gomer to be set apart from that which was more or less Western European.

Now the other thing, when all of this division started to fall apart a few years ago, we all began to wonder about Ezekiel 38? And then, lo, I found an article hidden away in one of our newspapers, that Helmet Cole, the German President, or whatever his title is, had met with Gorbachev, who at that time was the Prime Minister of Russia. And even though communism was falling apart, they made an agreement that the East German Army would remain in the Warsaw pact for at least 4 more years. You don’t see that on the front page news. But you see what that said is that Gomer is still intact with his consortium of nations with Russia.

Now that four years still isn’t up. Whether that is true or not, I do not know. But I have to feel that the Warsaw pact militarily is still relatively intact. It’s still a viable military force. I do know from what I’ve read that the Russian army is east of the Ural Mountains. It’s poised there and it’s ready to move whenever the authorities tell it to. So if you think the Russian bear is dead and has rolled over, you’d better think again. It’s not dead. It’s certainly having a lot of economic problems, but it’s not off the scene. In fact, again I come back to Time magazine. Here again, just a few weeks ago, Time magazine had a little article that every single ballistic missile that Russian had several years ago are still in place; they’re still loaded; and they’re still pointed toward American targets.

It was alarming, and it said that our administration is alarmed. But there’s nothing that they can do about it. In fact, I feel that it’s more alarming than it was before Communism fell apart because now we don’t know who’s in control of the little black box. We have no way of knowing who can suddenly unleash those missiles on America. So we can’t get smug. Let’s move on down: Iran, Ethiopia, Lybia with them. Gomer, East Germany or Eastern Europe and all his bands. As we’re seeing in the news, these are all ethnic groups of people. Various tribes and what have you, that hate each other. In fact, I read a little news article again last night in Time magazine, that the reason the American powers that be, whether it’s the President and his administration or the military, realize that there’s not much that they can do because all these ethnic groups in east Europe hate each other with a passion. And whenever hate comes in like that, it’s a religiously based hate. In other words, they all have different ideas of religion. Never lose sight of that. Consequently, it’s a mixed bag. And we really don’t know how to go in and handle it. But somehow or other, these are all going to amalgamate when it’s time to come down into Israel. Then verse 6, and continuing on:

Ezekiel 38:6a

“Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah…”

That’s the nation of Turkey. Turkey up until now has never been in the Russian orbit, per se. But they are so close. In fact, when Communism fell after ruling Russia for 70 years, Turkey was one of the first sovereign states to make overtures to get back into a good fellowship relationship with Russia. So I don’t think it will take much for the nation of Turkey to all of a sudden come out of the Western influence and line herself up with the eastern nation. So watch this group of nations. We can’t put everything together specifically, but we do get a pretty good idea. So now verse 7:

Ezekiel 38:7

“Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.”

Ezekiel 38:8

“After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years (I always point out to my classes that Scripturally, the last days of Scripture are from Christ’s first Advent on. The last days of Scripture doesn’t necessarily mean the last seven years. But it’s been this last 1900 plus years that are considered the last days. But the latter days take you to the end times. That takes you, I think, into this final seven years. And that is the word that is used here. Now watch the language carefully) thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations,…”

What are we talking about? Present day Israel. Fifty years ago do you know that Israel was the land of Palestine? It was a no man’s land. No production, no farming, nothing. Since Israel is back in the land, everyone wants it. The production is unbelievable, both farm, agricultural, dairy and fruit farms. You name it and they have it. And where have these Jews come from? From almost every nation under heaven. And not only is the nation alive, but they have resurrected their dead language.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 4 * BOOK 11

PROPHECY: THE WHITE HORSE OF REVELATION 6

Let’s continue in Revelation Chapter 6. We left off in verse 2. Christ has taken the scroll from God the Father. And that scroll includes the mortgage that Satan is holding over the planet as a result of the curse. And the curse is going to be lifted by the time all of this is over. As we see the first seal of this mortgage removed, it’s the appearance of a white horse. There are many who feel that, because it is a white horse, it has to be Christ. But I’m convinced it is the false christ, because from Genesis Chapter 3, just as soon as man entered the scene, Satan came in as the master counterfeiter.

A master counterfeiter is so like the original, you have to be an expert to tell the difference. Well, Satan has done it. And he has been the counterfeiter from day one. And the human race has been falling over it time after time. That’s why I always like to give the illustration that when people come into the employment of our Treasury Department to work, for several months they do absolutely nothing but look at legitimate American Bills. They don’t look at counterfeits; they look at the legitimate, because after they have studied them for a long time, if they see one little mark that isn’t in an original, they can recognize it as counterfeit. And that is the way we have to study the Scriptures. We just have to be so aware of what the Book says, lest a counterfeiter comes in and we do not recognize him as a false teacher.

The white horse here is a counterfeit. Let’s take a look at the real one over in Revelation Chapter 19. The white horse in Revelation Chapter 6 verse 2 is the very first seal that will open the Tribulation of seven years. In Chapter 19, the seven years have run their course, and now we have the appearance of the genuine article.

Revelation 19:11,12

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called (watch these as they are all capitalized) Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.”

Revelation 19:13

“And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood (when we get to this, I’ll show you that it’s not His Blood that’s indicated, but the blood of His victims as He comes in wrath and vexation): and his name is called The Word of God.” And where else is He called the Word? In John’s Gospel Chapter 1:

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

In Revelation 19, Christ is on the white horse for His Second Coming. Verse 14.

Revelation 19:14

“And the armies (and we are included in this army) which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”

Throughout Scripture, who wears the white linen? Saints do (not angels). Go back with me to the Book of Matthew, Chapter 25. I’ve always said that all prophecy is directed to the Nation of Israel. No prophecy indicates the Church, as such. Not a word is breathed throughout the Old Testament about this Church Age comprised of Gentile believers. Not a word! However, the Old Testament prophets understood that there was “something” between His first advent and His coming in power and glory.

I can remember when I was younger, hearing Bible teachers picture this “something” as approaching the Rocky Mountains from east. There are two distinct mountain ranges with a valley between them. From a distance you can see the ranges, but you cannot see the valley between them. The peaks look like one range of mountains. But as you come to the first range, you suddenly realize that some of those you were seeing from the distance were still maybe a hundred miles away.

That’s the way the Old Testament prophets many times viewed these two advents. They saw them as one. And that’s why I used to put it on the board in the timeline. According to prophecy, it would just go beyond the Cross and that was supposed to be the end of prophecy, and Israel would have her King and and Kingdom, and we would go into the Kingdom Age. But it didn’t end up that way because Israel rejected it and, unknown to the Old Testament writers, we’ve now had that whole period of time opened up (the valley) and parenthesized, which we call the Church Age. But here’s what I like to point out. This shocks a lot of people until they see it: that even in the four Gospels there’s never a single hint God is going to turn to the Gentiles and call out a people for His Name. Jesus was so meticulously careful not to betray that. He knew. Don’t think He didn’t know the end from the beginning. But see, he never revealed anything that was kept hidden in the mind of God.

We will be coming to that sometime down the road. And I’ll show it so explicitly again, as we have in the past that God reveals things according to His time frame and not until. It’s interesting that there would be the armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean at His Second Coming. Here in Matthew 25, Jesus is speaking from the pre-Church situation, and He is not going to betray the secret in the mind of God. Watch His language in verse 31. I want you to see this carefully. I’m not saying this lightly:

Matthew 25:31

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory (what did Revelation say? He’s coming on that white horse, in righteousness; His name will be Faithful and True. King of kings and Lord of lords. Now when that happens), and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:”

Now I want you to be a Bible student. What am I always telling you to do? Constantly ask yourself a question. According to Matthew, who will be coming with Him? Angels. Does it mention anything about saints wearing linen white and clean? Do you see what I’m driving at? He doesn’t betray that here. It’s not time. And so He doesn’t include the Church here. Only the angels. Now, had He said, “and all the holy angels and the saints clothed in fine white linen,” then He would have betrayed the secret that was to have been kept in the mind of God until revealed to the Apostle Paul some time later. But He doesn’t. He’s the perfect sinless, errorless Son of God. And He said that which was appropriate to say.

Let’s come back to Revelation again. In Chapter 6, we don’t have any of the descriptions that are equal to Revelation 19, so this has to be the counterfeit. The counterfeit christ is the Anti-christ. As we come into this seven-year period of Tribulation, 3 ¹/2 years and 3 ¹/2 years, we are going to find ourselves confronted with an unholy trinity all through the Book of Revelation. Satan is the counterfeit of the Father. The counterfeit of the Son will be the Anti-christ. And the counterfeit of the Holy Spirit and His works will be what we refer to in the Book of Revelation as the false prophet. I think Revelation Chapter 19 is the only place where he is named. This is at the end of the Tribulation, and all the horrible judgments have all ready happened. And it’s time for the King and the Kingdom to come on the scene.

Revelation 19:20

“And the beast (Anti-christ) was taken, and with him the false prophet (here he is named. The rest of the time he’s referred to as a personality. Revelation 13 refers to him as the lamb with two horns) that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

They go into the lake of fire without benefit of the Great White Throne Judgment. They are the very first ones to inhabit the eternal doom of the wicked, the lake of fire. All the other lost are going to stand before the Great White Throne and at least have their moment of time, and I guess they can put up an argument if they feel like it. Because Jesus said in that day, and He was referring to the Great White Throne, they will say unto Me: “But Lord, didn’t we cast out demons in your name?” And what’s His answer going to be? “Depart from me I never knew you.” So there will be a time of rebuttal or whatever you want to call it. But not for the false prophet and Anti-christ. These two humans who are part of this unholy trinity will go to their doom.

Satan is going to go there as well, but he will join them sometime later. As we come through the Book of Revelation, be aware that Satan and the Anti-christ and the false prophet are working in unison, much like the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit today in the Age of Grace points people to God, the Son. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, to point lost people to the Son. For we believers, it’s the Holy Spirit’s work to teach and encourage and reprove us, so that we might in turn bring honor and glory to the Son. Now the false prophet is going to do the same thing during the Tribulation. He is going to cause people to worship the Anti-christ. Consequently, he fulfills a counterfeit role of the Holy Spirit. Both of these will be under the power of Satan. Now to Revelation Chapter 6. Once again, we see in verse 2 the white horse:

Revelation 6:2

“…and he that sat on him had a bow;…”

“Bow” is hard to track down since it can be pronounced and mean different things. You can’t really define this word from the Greek as to what is implied, so I’ll have to follow in the tracks of men I’ve read, that most agree it’s the bow that would shoot arrows. But, from our study of the Anti-christ out of Daniel, I trust I made it clear that Anti-christ is not coming in using power of military might or by fighting wars. How is he going to come in? Peaceably and with flattery. He is going to be a political maneuverer – a charismatic type individual. He doesn’t have to use his ammunition, but may come with the threat of power behind him which he will have. Even Western Europe still has NATO. But he doesn’t actually have the military power yet. He hasn’t come that far along.

Revelation 6:2

“…and a crown was given unto him:…”

The world is going to recognize him as their leader. Remember, he will come up out of the Common Market of Europe. The European Community (EC). There will be 10 nations in all and he will come up and usurp the power. Look at Matthew 24. It’s the perfect parallel of Revelation Chapter 6. So always compare the two. Note that Matthew 24 is all prophecy about the Tribulation. There is no Church Age doctrine in here whatsoever. This is strictly Tribulation ground.

Matthew 24:1,2

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, `See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, `There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'”

Jesus was looking toward the siege of the Roman armies under Titus. And that is just what the armies did. Once they got inside the city wall they devastated the city. Josephus recorded (and it’s not Scripture), that the Roman soldiers had heard it rumored that between the very building stones of Herod’s Temple, there was a lot of gold and other kinds of wealth. And soldiers being soldiers, tore it down stone by stone looking for that supposedly hidden wealth. But whatever the reason, we know that the Temple was destroyed just as Jesus said it would be. This Temple could not be destroyed by fire like King Nebuchadnezzar did to Solomon’s Temple, but remember Solomon’s Temple was built from the beautiful cedars of Lebanon. So it burned to a crisp. But Herod’s Temple was predominately of stone and of course the precious gold and silver, etc. But anyway it was all destroyed except that little segment of the wall that is now known as the Wailing Wall.

Matthew 24:3

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately (just the Twelve), saying, `Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming(remember in I Corinthians 1:22, the Jew requires a sign. They wanted to know when His Kingdom would be set up), and of the end of the world?'”

Jesus now begins to lay out the events of the seven years. It begins from the appearance of the white horse in Revelation 6 – the Man of Sin, the counterfeit christ, the Anti-christ.

Matthew 24:4,5

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, `Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, `I am Christ;…'”

Do you see that? That’s the white horse. He’s will come on the scene and practically convince the world that he is Christ. He’s what the world is looking for. And we are already seeing people like that. Sigma Moon from Korea, about 15 years ago, tried to tell the world that he was the Christ. And we’ve had others, and we will have still more. But it’s going to be culminated by the real counterfeiter, the real Anti-christ, and he’s going to convince the world that he is the Christ and he shall deceive many. Going back to Revelation, stop at I John, Chapter 2 for a moment. This is the same writer who wrote the Book of Revelation. Now let’s drop down to verse 18. And here again, as I have stressed before, is the one place where this Man of Sin is actually called the Anti-christ.

I John 2:18

“Little children, it is the last time (these writers of Scriptures had no idea there was going to be 1900 + years before this would happen. They thought it would be coming in a relatively short time): and as ye have heard that antichrist (here John is speaking of the real Anti-christ) shall come, even now are there many antichrists;…”

Of course there are. But they can’t hold a candle to the one that is coming. Now let’s go back to Revelation Chapter 6. So we see this Man of Sin comes on the scene and he begins to conquer and overtake nations. He is setting up his power base.

Revelation 6:2b,3a

“… and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal,…”

Remember these seals are on that mortgage, that scroll. He signs the seven-year treaty with the Nation of Israel as we saw back in Daniel. The next event which may be within the first month or so after the seven years have begun, is another horse. This one is red.

Revelation 6:4a

“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon (the red horse) to take peace from the earth (when you have the absence of peace, what do you have? War. I mean a real one. So this power entity, this rider of the red horse is going to bring war on the earth), and that they should kill one another:” I want you to underline those last three words, because I think this indicates what I’m going to show is the rider of the red horse. We won’t have time to take it all the way through during this lesson. But here we have the rider of the red horse, and his battle ground is going to be epitomized by not killing the enemy, but what are they going to do? They are going to kill each other. To whet your appetite, and as you are turning to Ezekiel, I want you to be thinking what great power on earth is associated with the color red? Russia. For over twenty years I’ve been teaching that I think the rider of the red horse will be the Russian invasion of Israel. Just as in Ezekiel 38 and 39. So in Chapter 38, and again, Ezekiel begins as he does so many times:

Ezekiel 38:1,2

“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, `Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,”

Most Bible scholars are convinced that Gog and Magog, Meshech and Tubal are Russia and her satellite nations. I have told my classes for quite some time not to believe for a minute that the Russian bear is dead. The Russian bear is alive and well. They may be crimped a little economically, and be a little cold and hungry, but the Russian army is setting there east of the Ural Mountains just as intact as it has ever been. I read again in one of the major news magazines recently, that Russia has not cut one person from their staff of espionage. They are just as busy with their spying activity as they have always been. They have not slowed down the production of any of their war materials. They recently sent another rocket into space. How are they doing all of this if they are destitute and broke? Listen, they are just as alive as can be. And we know they have their problems, but one day soon the Communist will come back in and take over and Russia will be right back on track.