                                                                                                                                                                                                      /
1  And I saw when the Lamb opened     Zechariah 6:1-5&7-8  And I turned,      Matthew 24:4-13 ...Take heed            "seven seals"                                                                   /
one of the seals, and I heard, as        and lifted up mine eyes, and            that no man deceive you.                 As we study the seemingly horrible                                          /
it were the noise of thunder, one        looked, and, behold, there               For many shall come in my name,        destruction and death that results                                           /
of the four beasts saying, Come          came four chariots out from              saying , I am Christ; and shall        as the seven seals are opened by                                             /
and see.                                 between two mountains; and              deceive many.                           the Lamb beginning the day of wrath,                                         /
2  And I saw, and behold a white         the mountains were mount-                And ye shall hear of wars and          we must continuously remind our-                                             /
horse: and he that sat on him had        ains of brass.                          rumours of wars: see that ye be         selves that the Lamb is in control                                           /
a bow; and a crown was given unto         In the first chariot were              not troubled: for all these             and is performing his task of right-                                         /
him: and he went forth conquering,       red horses; and in the second           things must come to pass, but the       eous judgment upon the willful and                                           /
and to conquer.                          chariot black horses;                   end is not yet.                         belligerent worshipers of the                                                /
3  And when he had opened the             And in the third chariot                For nation shall rise against          deceiver.                                                                    /
second seal, I heard the second          white horses; and in the                nation, and kingdom against king-                                                                                    /
beast say, Come and see.                 fourth chariot grizzled and             dom: and there shall be famines,     "a white horse and he that sat on him"                                          /
4  And there went out another            bay horses, ....                        and pestilences, and earthquakes,        The first horseman comes with the                                           /
horse that was red: and power was         These are the four spirits of          in divers places.                       purpose of conquering, but he is                                             /
given to him that sat thereon to         the heavens, which go forth              All these are the beginning of         riding upon a white horse in the                                             /
take peace from the earth, and           from standing before the Lord           sorrows.                                manner of the later coming of the                                            /
that they should kill one another:       of all the earth. .....                  Then shall they deliver you up         Redeemer.  Could it be that this                                             /
and there was given unto him a            ...So they walked to and               to be afflicted, and shall kill         appearance will fool many?  For                                              /
great sword.                             fro through the earth. ....             you: and ye shall be hated of all       this reason many scholars see this                                           /
5  And when he had opened the             ...have quieted my spirit in           nations for my name's sake.             as being of the type of the anti-                                            /
third seal, I heard the third            the north country.                       And then shall many be offended,       christ which will come to conquer                                            /
beast say, Come and see.  And I       Psalms 45:5  Thine arrows are              and shall betray one another, and       but will first appear as a savior                                            /
beheld, and lo a black horse; and        sharp in the heart of the               shall hate one another.                 to many willing to follow a false                                            /
he that sat on him had a pair of         King's enemies; whereby the              And many false prophets shall          hope.                                                                        /
balances in his hand.                    people fall under thee.                 rise, and shall deceive many.                                                                                        /
6  And I heard a voice in the         II Chronicles 20:9 If, when evil            And because iniquity shall          "another horse that was red,...                                                 /
midst of the four beasts say, A          cometh upon us, as the sword,           abound, the love of many shall        and lo a black horse"...                                                       /
measure of wheat for a penny, and        judgment, or pestilence, or             wax cold.                             and behold a pale horse: and his                                               /
three measures of barley for a           famine, we stand before this             But he that shall endure unto        name that sat on him was Death,"                                               /
penny; and see thou hurt not the         house, and in thy presence              the end, the same shall be saved.       Many artists have painted very                                               /
oil and the wine.                        (for thy name is in this             Mark 13:19-20 For in those days shall      graphic demonstrations from their                                            /
7  And when he had opened the            house,) and cry unto thee in            be affliction, such as was not          imaginations of the terrible                                                 /
fourth seal, I heard the voice of        our affliction, then thou               from the beginning of the creation      appearances of the four horseman.                                            /
the fourth beast say, Come and see.      wilt hear and help.                     which God created unto this time,       All of which have control of many                                            /
8  And I looked, and behold a pale    Daniel 5:27 ... Thou art weighed           neither shall be.                       horrors that this world knows well                                           /
horse: and his name that sat on him      in the balances, and art                 And except that the Lord had           from its past history.  For this                                             /
was Death, and Hell followed with        found wanting.                          shortened those days, no flesh          reason many scholars have seen this                                          /
him. And power was given unto them    Isaiah 65:12 Therefore will I              should be saved: but for the            to be symbolic of the many suffer-                                           /
over the fourth part of the ear          number you to the sword, and ye         elect's sake, whom he hath chosen,      ings of the saints down through                                              /
to kill with sword, and with             shall all bow down to the               he hath shortened the days.             the history of the church and they                                           /
hunger, and with death, and with         slaughter: because when I called,    Hebrews 2:14 ...him that had the           can give approximate dates for the                                           /
the beasts of the earth.                 ye did not answer; when I spake,        power of death, that is, the devil;     reign of each horseman.  Periods                                             /
9  And when he had opened the            ye did not hear; but did evil        II Timothy 1:8 Be not thou therefore       of expansion of the church, foll-                                            /
fifth seal, I saw under the altar        before mine eyes, and did               ashamed of the testimony of our         owed by periods of great suffering,                                          /
the souls of them that were slain        choose that wherein I delighted         Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but       followed by corruption and finally                                           /
for the word of God, and for the         not.                                    be thou partaker of the afflict-        by martyrdom.  Other scholars see                                            /
testimony which they held:                                                       ions of the gospel according to         this reign of terror upon the earth                                          /
10 And they cried with a loud         Psalms 79:5-6  How long, Lord?             the power of God;                       to be happening simultaneously in                                            /
voice, saying, How long, O Lord,         Wilt thou be angry for ever?         Luke 18:7-8 And shall not God avenge       the last days with all the horsemen                                          /
holy and true, dost thou not judge       Shall thy jealousy burn like            his own elect which cry day and         riding over the earth as a team.                                             /
and avenge our blood on them that        fire?                                   night unto him, though he bear          The latter interpretation would                                              /
dwell on the earth?                       Pour out thy wrath upon the            long with them?                         seem to be more in line with the                                             /
11 And white robes were given unto       heathen that have not known              I tell you that he will avenge         words of Jesus as recorded in                                                /
every one of them; and it was said       thee, and upon the kingdoms             them speedily, Nevertheless, when       three of the Gospels (Matthew 24,                                            /
unto them, that they should rest         that have not called upon               the Son of man cometh, shall he         Mark 13 and Luke 21).                                                        /
yet for a little season, until           thy name.                               find faith on the earth?                                                                                             /
their fellow servants also and        Psalms 44:21,24-26 Shall not God        Romans 8:36 As it is written, For       "the souls of them that were slain                                              /
their brethren, that should be           search out? for he knoweth the          thy sake we are killed all the        for the word of God"                                                           /
killed as they were, should be           secrets of the heart.                   day long; we are accounted as            Saints will be present on earth                                             /
fulfilled.                                Wherefore hidest thou thy face,        sheep for the slaughter.                at the time of the beginning of                                              /
12 And I beheld when he had opened       and forgettest our affliction        Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the        these sorrows and will be slain                                              /
the sixth seal, and, lo, there was       and our oppression?                     tribulation of those days shall         to join their brothers already                                               /
a great earthquake; and the sun           For our soul is bowed down to          the sun be darkened, and the moon       at the altar and add their voice                                             /
became black as sackcloth of hair,       the dust: our belly cleaveth            shall not give her light, and the       to those already slain who are                                               /
and the moon became as blood;            unto the earth.                         stars shall fall from heaven, and       urging the Lord to return to the                                             /
13 And the stars of heaven fell           Arise for our help, and redeem         the powers of the heavens shall         earth and put an end to the                                                  /
unto the earth, even as a fig tree       us for thy mercies sake.                be shaken:                              suffering.  The Lord must wait                                               /
casteth her untimely figs, when                                                                                          yet a "little season" until his                                              /
she is shaken of a mighty wind.                                                                                          purposes are fulfilled.                                                      /
14 And the heaven departed as a       Joel 2:10-11 & 30-32  The earth                                                                                                                                 /
scroll when it is rolled together;       shall quake before them; the                                                 "every mountain and island were moved                                           /
and every mountain and island was        heavens shall tremble: the sun                                                out of their places"                                                           /
moved out of their places.               and the moon shall be dark,                                                      The final days of the wrath will                                            /
15 And the kings of the earth, and       and the stars shall withdraw         Luke 23:29-30 For, behold, the days        see forces acting on the earth                                               /
the great men, and the rich men,         their shining:                          are coming, in the which they           that have not happened in the                                                /
and the chief captains, and the           And the Lord shall utter his           shall say, Blessed are the barren,      recorded history of man.  This                                               /
mighty men, and every bondman, and       voice before his army: for his          and the wombs that never bare, and      earth has often trembled and                                                 /
every free man, hid themselves in        camp is very great: for he is           the paps which never gave suck.         shook in minor localized earth-                                              /
the dens and in the rocks of the         strong that executeth his word:          Then shall they begin to say to        quakes that have often killed and                                            /
mountains;                               for the day of the Lord is              the mountains, Fall on us; and to       injured many.  But never has there                                           /
16 And said to the mountains and         great and very terrible; and            the hills, Cover us.                    been recorded happenings that were                                           /
rocks, Fall on us, and hide us           who can abide it?                    Matthew 24:21-22 For then shall be         so global in nature.  So great that                                          /
from the face of him that sitteth         And I will show wonders in             great tribulation, such as was not      all men will be pleading for their                                           /
on the throne, and from the wrath        the heavens and in the earth,           since the beginning of the world        lives to be ended in order that                                              /
of the Lamb:                             blood, and fire, and pillars            to this time, no, nor ever shall        they will not have to face the                                               /
17 For the great day of his wrath        of smoke.                               be.                                     judgment to come.  It would seem                                             /
is come; and who shall be able to         The sun shall be turned into            And except those days should be        to indicate that all learned men                                             /
stand?                                   darkness, and the moon into             shortened, there should no flesh        will know that the day of wrath                                              /
                                         blood, before the great and             be saved: but for the elect's           has come.  Often in the past men                                             /
                                         and terrible day of the Lord            sake those days shall be short-         have predicted and tried to                                                  /
                                         come.                                   ened.                                   attribute minor disturbances to the                                          /
                                      Isaiah 34:4  And all the host of        Ephesians 5:6-8 Let no man deceive         wrath of God, but all of these                                               /
                                         heavens shall be dissolved,             you with vain words: for because        minor disturbances are insignif-                                             /
                                         and the heavens shall be rolled         of these things cometh the wrath        icant when compared to the final                                             /
                                         together as a scroll: and all           of God upon the children of             days.  Man has a tendency to label                                           /
                                         their host shall fall down, as          disobedience.                           minor tragedies as an "act of God"                                           /
                                         the leaf falleth off from the            Be not ye therefore partakers          when in fact they are often the                                              /
                                         vine, and as a falling fig              with them.                              result of stubbornness and stupid-                                           /
                                         from the fig tree.                       For ye were sometime darkness,         ity of man.   Man will continue to                                           /
                                      Isaiah 2:10 Enter into the rock,           but now are ye light in the Lord:       build upon volcanos, flood plains,                                           /
                                         and hide thee in the dust, for          walk as children of light;              and lands known for their trembl-                                            /
                                         fear of the Lord, and for the                                                   ings!  He will continue to think                                             /
                                         glory of his majesty.                                                           that catastrophes happen to                                                  /
                                      Isaiah 2:19 And they shall go                                                      the other person only and will                                               /
                                         into the holes of the rocks,                                                    continue to be unprepared for the                                            /
                                         and into the caves of the earth,                                                natural phenomena of this earth                                              /
                                         for fear of the Lord, and for                                                   and even more so he will not be                                              /
                                         the glory of his majesty, when                                                  prepared for the day of wrath                                                /
                                         he ariseth to shake terribly                                                    when the purposes of the Lord                                                /
                                         the earth.                                                                      will require the final destruction                                           /
                                                                                                                         of those that love evil.                                                     /
                                                                                                                                                                                                      /
1  And after these things I saw       Daniel 7:2  Daniel spake and said,                                              "holding the four winds"                                                        /
four angels standing on the four         I saw in my vision by night,                                                     Many have been martyred for the                                             /
corners of the earth, holding the        and, behold, the four winds of                                                  Word, but as Jesus had said, it                                              /
four winds of the earth, that the        the heaven strove upon the                                                      becomes necessary for the Lord to                                            /
wind should not blow on the earth,       great sea.                                                                      intercede or "no flesh should be                                             /
nor the sea, nor on any tree.         Jeremiah 51:1&3 Thus saith the Lord;                                               saved".  Once again the Lord                                                 /
2  And I saw another angel ascend-       Behold I will raise up against       John 6:27 Labour not for the meat          intercedes on the behalf of the                                              /
ing from the east, having the seal       Babylon, and against them that          which perisheth, but for that           nation of Israel as he did at the                                            /
of the living God: and he cried          dwell in the midst of them that         meat which endureth unto ever-          passover in Egypt and a large                                                /
with a loud voice to the four            rise up against me, a destroying        lasting life, which the Son of          number of the nation is marked for                                           /
angels, to whom it was given to          wind;                                   man give unto you: for him              preservation for later witnessing.                                           /
hurt the earth and the sea,               ...let the archer bend his bow,        hath God the Father sealed.             It is noted that at this time the                                            /
3  Saying, Hurt not the earth,        Ezekiel 9:3-5  And the glory of         II Corinthians 1:21-22 Now he which        four horsemen are called "the four                                           /
neither the sea, nor the trees,          the God of Israel was gone up           stablisheth us with you in              angels, to whom it was given to                                              /
till we have sealed the servants         from the cherub, whereupon he           Christ, and hath anointed us, is        hurt the earth and the sea".  They                                           /
of our God in their foreheads.           was, to the threshold of the            God;                                    are not of this earth and they are                                           /
4  And I heard the number of them        house. And he called to the              Who hath also sealed us, and           under total control of the Lord.                                             /
which were sealed: and there were        man clothed with linen, which           given the earnest of the Spirit         Are they angels of satan or angels                                           /
sealed a hundred and forty and           had the writer's inkhorn by             in our hearts.                          of the Lord?  We are not told, but                                           /
four thousand of all the tribes of       his side;                            Ephesians 4:30-32 And grieve not the       we naturally assume they are angels                                          /
the children of Israel.                   And the Lord said unto him,            Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye          of satan or demons since with the                                            /
5  Of the tribe of Judah were            Go through the midst of the             are sealed unto the day of              last horseman " Hell followed with                                           /
sealed twelve thousand. Of the           city, through the midst of              redemption.                             him".  Could this be satan himself?                                          /
tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve        Jerusalem, and set a mark upon          Let all bitterness, and wrath,         He was an angel, the highest of                                              /
thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were       the foreheads of the men that           and anger, and clamour, and evil        angels and even after his fall he                                            /
sealed twelve thousand.                  sigh and that cry for all the           speaking, be put away from you,         was allowed to stand before the                                              /
6  Of the tribe of Asher were            abominations that be done in            with all malice:                        Lord. (ref. Job 1:6-7).                                                      /
sealed twelve thousand. Of the           the midst thereof.                       And be ye kind one to another,                                                                                      /
tribe of Naphtali were sealed             And to the others he said in           tender-hearted, forgiving one        "sealed the servants of our God"                                                /
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of         mine hearing, Go ye after him           another, even as God for Christ's       Why are only ones of the tribes of                                           /
Manasseh were sealed twelve              through the city, and smite:            sake hath forgiven you.                 Israel sealed?  Why a limited                                                /
thousand.                                let not your eye spare, neither                                                 number of 12,000 from each tribe?                                            /
7  Of the tribe of Simeon were           have ye pity.                                                                   We are not told and this has lead                                            /
sealed twelve thousand. Of the        Judges 21:10 And the congregation                                                  many scholars to take the tribes                                             /
tribe of Levi were sealed twelve         sent thither twelve thousand                                                    and numbers to be symbolic in                                                /
thousand. Of the tribe of                men of the valiantest,...                                                       nature only and to symbolically                                              /
Issachar were sealed twelve           Numbers 31:5  So there were                                                        represent the church.  If they                                               /
thousand.                                delivered out of the thousands                                                  symbolically represent the church,                                           /
8  Of the tribe of Zebulun were          of Israel, a thousand of                                                        then why are we shown a large                                                /
sealed twelve thousand. Of the           every tribe, twelve thousand                                                    multitude "which no man can number"                                          /
tribe of Joseph were sealed              armed for war.                       I Timothy 2:3-4 ...God our Savior;         and of all "nations", "which came                                            /
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of      Joshua 13-19 (The tribes as given           Who will have all men to be            out of the great tribulation"                                                /
Benjamin were sealed twelve              portions of the land)                   saved, and to come unto the             immediately following the sealing?                                           /
thousand.                                 Manasseh   Gad       Reuben            knowledge of the truth.                 Does the "great multitude, which no                                          /
9  After this I beheld, and, lo,          Judah      Ephraim   Benjamin       Romans 11:25-28 For I would not,           man can number" indicate that the                                            /
a great multitude, which no man           Simeon     Zebulun   Issachar          brethren, that ye should be             great tribulation will last over                                             /
could number, of all nations, and         Asher      Naphtali  Dan               ignorant of this mystery, lest          many centuries as some scholars                                              /
kindreds, and people, and tongues,        Levi                                   ye should be wise in your own           would indicate.  More likely it                                              /
stood before the throne, and                                                     conceits, that blindness in part        indicates that the great tribul-                                             /
before the Lamb, clothed with                                                    is happened to Israel, until the        ation will only occur on this                                                /
white robes, and palms in their                                                  fulness of the Gentiles be come         earth when the population is so                                              /
hands;                                                                           in.                                     great that even a remnant or a                                               /
10 And cried with a loud voice,       Psalms 3:8 Salvation belongeth              And so all Israel shall be saved:      small percentage of the earth's                                              /
saying, Salvation to our God             unto the Lord: thy blessings            as it is written, There shall come      inhabitants would be a great                                                 /
which sitteth upon the throne,           is upon thy people. Selah               out of Zion the Deliverer, and          multitude.  That time is rapidly                                             /
and unto the Lamb.                    Jeremiah 3:23 ...truly in the              shall turn away ungodliness from        approaching and the "wickedness of                                           /
11 And all the angels stood round        Lord our God is the salvation           Jacob:                                  man was great" (Genesis 6:5)                                                 /
about the throne, and about the          of Israel.                               For this is my covenant unto           It appears that during the tribulat-                                         /
elders and the four beasts, and       Psalms 72:17  His name shall               them, when I shall take away            ion there will be present a large                                            /
fell before the throne on their          endure for ever: his name               their sins.                             number of both Israelites and                                                /
faces, and worshipped God,               shall continue as long as the            As concerning the gospel, they         gentiles who are "servants of our                                            /
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and           sun: and men shall be blessed           are enemies for your sakes: but         God".  Also the listing of the                                               /
glory, and wisdom, and thanks-           in him: all nations shall call          as touching the election, they          tribes of Israel is a great mystery.                                         /
giving, and honour, and power, and       him blessed.                            are beloved for the fathers'            Many times the tribes are listed and                                         /
might, be unto our God for ever       Psalms 104:31  The glory of the            sakes.                                  mostly as 12 tribes when in fact                                             /
and ever. Amen.                          Lord shall endure for ever:          Acts 5:14 And believers were the           there actually existed 13.  Usually                                          /
                                         the Lord shall rejoice in               more added to the Lord, multit-         the tribe of Levi is accorded                                                /
                                         his works.                              udes both of men and women;             special treatment since they did not                                         /
                                      Psalms 104:24 In wisdom hast thou       I Corinthians 1:24 ...Christ the           receive a territorial allocation and                                         /
                                         made them all: the earth is             Power of God, and the wisdom of         were made priests.  For this reason                                          /
                                         full of thy riches.                     God.                                    they usually are not listed among                                            /
                                      Psalms 69:30  I will praise the         II Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall         the twelve, instead Joseph's two                                             /
                                         name of God with a song, and            deliver me from every evil work,        sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) are                                              /
                                         will magnify him with thanks-           and will preserve me unto his           listed separately since they both                                            /
                                         giving.                                 heavenly kingdom: to whom be            received an inheritance (Joseph                                              /
                                      Psalms 66:2  Sing forth the honour         glory for ever and ever. Amen           as the favorite son received a                                               /
                                         of his name: make his praise         I Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King           double inheritance).  In this case                                           /
                                         glorious.                               eternal, immortal, invisible, the       Joseph (probably representative of                                           /
                                      Psalms 66:7  He ruleth by his              only wise God, be honour and            Ephraim), Manasseh and Levi are                                              /
                                         power for ever;                         glory for ever and ever. Amen.          sealed and the tribe of Dan is                                               /
                                      Psalms 145:6  And men shall speak                                                  not sealed.  The tribe of Dan is                                             /
                                         of the might of thy terrible                                                    recognized as the first to enter                                             /
                                         acts:                                                                           idolatry in the promised land,                                               /
                                                                                                                         could it be that their sins have                                             /
13 And one of the elders answered,    Isaiah 1:18 ..though your sins be       I John 1:7&9 But if we walk in the         been so pervasive that none can be                                           /
saying unto me, What are these           as scarlet, they shall be as            light, as he is the light, we           sealed from this tribe?  Another                                             /
which are arrayed in white robes?        white as snow; though they              have fellowship one with another,       great mystery for the scholars to                                            /
and whence came they?                    be red like crimson, they               and the blood of Jesus Christ his       ponder.  When we appear before the                                           /
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou        shall be as wool.                       Son cleanseth us from all sin.          Lord there will be many mysteries                                            /
knowest. And he said to me, These     Daniel 12:1 ..and there shall be            If we confess our sins, he is          which we hope will be explained to                                           /
are they which came out of great         a time of trouble, such as              faithful and just to forgive us         us, or will they be of such minor                                            /
tribulation, and have washed their       never was since there was a             our sins, and to cleanse us from        importance that no explanation is                                            /
robes, and made them white in the        nation even to that same time:          all unrighteousness.                    necessary?  Today there are found                                            /
blood of the Lamb.                       and at that time thy people                                                     among the known Israelites, the                                              /
15 Therefore are they before the         shall be delivered, every one        John 12:26 If any man serve me, let        Jews, a very small number of                                                 /
throne of God, and serve him day         that shall be found written in          him follow me; and where I am,          believers in the messiahship of                                              /
and night in his temple: and he          the book.                               there shall also my servant be:         Jesus.  In the last days there                                               /
that sitteth on the throne shall      Isaiah 49:10 They shall not hunger         if any man serve me, him will my        will be a revival among the                                                  /
dwell among them.                        nor thirst; neither shall the           Father honour.                          Israelites who are scattered all                                             /
16 They shall hunger no more,            heat nor sun smite them: for         John 7:37-38 ...If any man thirst,         over this earth.  Many who have                                              /
neither thirst any more; neither         he that hath mercy on them              let him come unto me, and drink.        lost track of their true heritage                                            /
shall the sun light on them, nor         shall lead them, even by the             He that believeth on me, as the        and no longer realize that they                                              /
any heat.                                springs of water shall he               Scripture hath said, out of his         are Israelites.  In the last days                                            /
17 For the Lamb which is in the          guide them.                             belly shall flow rivers of living       when the time of the Gentiles has                                            /
midst of the throne shall feed        Ezekiel 34:23  And I will set up           water.                                  been fulfilled, their blindness                                              /
them, and shall lead them unto           one shepherd over them, and he       John 16:20&22 Verily, verily, I say        to the truth will be removed and                                             /
living fountains of waters: and          shall feed them, even my                unto you, That ye shall weep and        many of them will once again                                                 /
God shall wipe away all tears            servant David; he shall feed            lament, but the world shall             realize their heritage as servants                                           /
from their eyes.                         them, and he shall be their             rejoice; and ye shall be sorrow-        of the living God.                                                           /
                                         shepherd.                               ful, but your sorrow shall be                                                                                        /
                                      Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up             turned into joy.                                                                                                     /
                                         death in victory; and the Lord           And ye now therefore have                                                                                           /
                                         God will wipe away tears from           sorrow: but I will see you again,                                                                                    /
                                         off all faces; and the rebuke           and your heart shall rejoice,                                                                                        /
                                         of his people shall be taken            and your joy no man taketh from                                                                                      /
                                         away from off all the earth:            you.                                                                                                                 /
                                         for the Lord hath spoken it.                                                                                                                                 /
                                                                                                                                                                                                      /
                                                                                                                                                                                                      /
    Matters of Contention: Scholars have proposed many diverse identities       "unto living fountains of waters":  The servants of God who have suffered                                             /
         for the four horsemen.  Many have proposed that the rider on the            through the sorrows of the tribulation finally receive their                                                     /
         white horse is Christ which seems inconsistent with the nature of           reward as their Lord shall "dwell among them" and the pains of                                                   /
         the seals as a judgement and the nature of the other three horsemen.        life are no longer to be suffered.  It is to be noted that it                                                    /
         Others have proposed that the first two horsemen are the anti-              is especially pointed out that these are from the great tribulation,                                             /
         christ and his prophet, but they cannot provide an identity for the         obviously to differentiate them from those who are saints of                                                     /
         third horseman.  As mentioned the fourth horseman could be satan.           the times before the tribulation.  They are afforded a special                                                   /
         The proposed preferable interpretation is that they are four                place before the throne.                                                                                         /
         heavenly spirits or angels whose nature is to destroy. They have                                                                                                                             /
         been released to bring destruction upon the earth, but they are        "a great multitude":  The 144,000 were on the earth, now the scene sudde-                                             /
         allowed to destroy only as benefits the Lord's purposes.  Possibly          nly shifts to heaven where a great multitude of all nations are                                                  /
         all four are spirits of the nature of satan.                                seen, "they which came out of the great tribulation".  Proposals of                                              /
                                                                                     the identity of this group include all christians who have under                                                 /
          Many scholars have proposed that the 144,000 are representative of         gone the many tribulations of the church through out history.                                                    /
         the totality of the "true Israelites", the totality of the church           Others see this group to be only those that have experienced the                                                 /
         who are sealed unto salvation. (Galatians 3:29 "And if ye be                "great tribulation of the end times" and have been saved during this                                             /
         Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the            final time of great trial including the 144,000.  That the 144,000                                               /
         promise.)  Others propose that they are representative only of              evangelists are seen before the tribulation and the multitude are                                                /
         the christians that are alive at the beginning of the great trib-           seen after the tribulation and are the saved due to the witness of                                               /
         ulation.  Then why the details of listing the tribes by name?               the 144,000.  But the 144,000 are seen again in Chapter 14 before                                                /
         Paul in his inspired writings reminds us that the Lord has not              the throne, how does this fit in if this chapter presents scenes                                                 /
         forgotten his promises to the tribes, Romans 9:27-28 " Isaiah also          both before and after the tribulation.  A preferred interpretation                                               /
         crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of              is that the preserving of the 144,000 Israelites through the time                                                /
         Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:  For            of sorrows has served as a witness to many gentiles. Resulting                                                   /
         he will finish the work,..."  Others have proposed that these are           in their receiving salvation during these times and causing them                                                 /
         Israelites ( or Jews only ) who will be evangelists fulfilling              to have suffered persecution during these times, even to martyrdom                                               /
         the prophecy that the word will preached to all the world, but              in many cases. These scenes provide an enlightenment of the work of                                              /
         there is no statement that they are evangelists.  A preferred               the Lord to add to the kingdom during the time of the suffering                                                  /
         interpretation is that these are actual descendants of Israel of            during the opening of the six seals.  During these time the Lord is                                              /
         the many that are scattered through out the world and mostly have           still working to ensure that the maximum number of all nations will                                              /
         lost track of their heritage, but will be saved in the last days.           receive salvation.  II peter 3:9 " The Lord is not slack concerning                                              /
         The Lord has not lost track of them and has not forgot his many             his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to                                               /
         promises to them that is their to claim if they become believers.           us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should                                                 /
                                                                                     come to repentance."                                                                                             /
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