Friday, December 3, 2010

REVELATION 6 (Part I)

By Odon Bulamba (29th April 2005)

We can be pastors or bishops, but if God doesn’t reveal the content of this book, it will remain sealed and today there are different schools that give different interpretations. For example, some believe the book of Revelation is not a book of salvation but just a book telling us about the end of the world, things to come. 

God wants to confirm in it that everything in His plan is true and will be fulfilled.

In the Chapter 5, we saw that the Lamb took the scroll from the right hand of God. It’s now the time to open it. The Chapter 6 tells us about the way the scroll was unsealed.


In the book of Revelation, we have three main things: seals, trumpets and bowls.
                  1.      Seals: things or tribulation that will happen by men and God allows them to happen.
God punishes only one fourth of the whole world.

2.      Trumpets: God Himself brings disasters in the world so that men can repent and go to Him.
God punishes one third of the whole world.

3.      Bowls: God punishes the whole world.

Sometimes people ask:
Why does God make things worse on earth? Why does He make rich and poor people, short and tall people, …?
God’s answer:
I do this so that I can confirm who I am. I want you to know who I am.  If injustice didn’t exist, God couldn’t leave the heaven and come to save us, so, salvation couldn’t exist.  Jesus Himself went into a poor situation on earth, so that we could relate to Him. He came that way to bring us closer to Him.

Revelation 6:1
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like a thunder: “Come!”

John saw the Lamb taking off the first seal and one of the living creatures spoke like a thunder. It’s frightening. John was afraid and thought he was asked to come, but it was not for him. The four
living creatures spoke only through he first four seals and then they disappear. John then saw a horse and observed.
Revelation 1: 19 tells us that John was chosen to know the things to come. Prophets, the spirit of revelation at work in all of us allows us to know things that will happen. God does it for us not to lose courage when things come. He tells us in advance to prepare us.

Isaiah 29:11-12, the book of revelation can be understood only if God reveals it. It’s a warning for all of us. Many people wrote many books about it: they put together countries, situations, George Bush … with the book of revelation, and they sell books and make money. This is why there is a huge confusion about the Bible. Please don’t sell the Word of God: you were given it freely; give it to people freely too. We know that at the end of times, people and churches will be lovers of money. Today pastors can fight because of the tithe, offerings.


THE WHITE HORSE
John faced that problem here: when he saw the living creatures talking and one of them say: Come, he saw a white horse with its rider holding a bow and he was given a crown. It was called a crown of victory.

Many people think that everything that is white means purity, and they think white means God. This verse has brought contradictions in the church of God.

Churches today are facing this serious problem. It destroys pastors, and churches, to the point that we go to church as a habit.
1. Some people say: it’s Jesus coming. But I’ve never read anywhere that Jesus rode a white horse and held a bow. It’s true that Jesus has a crown, but what kind is it?
2. Others say it’s the Antichrist

Who is the person riding the horse?

We find an identical picture of 4 horses in the book of Zechariah 8: 1 and 6:1-8. With these texts you’ll know which color represent which horse and who is who.

A conqueror is someone that fights something to become a champion.
Today the church is crossing a serious problem: Satan attacks people, attacks their souls. Someone might have been a Christian for years and still lacks patience or can’t make up their mind to live as a Christian, not to lie, not to judge people. Satan tries to pull men as much as he can to become a conqueror. He did it for Job and he is doing the same things with us: “If I attack Steve by touching Amber, he will fall”. Steve tries many things in his life and nothing works and he will feel his life has become heavy and Satan will come back to God and say: Look at Steve!

Satan is happy if we surrender our faith.
We must learn from Job: he persevered. This is how Satan will run away from your life.

If we can’t make up our mind we are just giving a crown to Satan saying: you are the conqueror, this is your crown.

But God asks: Why do you go to church, do you have a purpose?
When you eat your purpose is to make your body strong, but when you eat the food of the Word of God, what is your purpose?
We must know why we do it, why we pray …?

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