Proverbs 26 “To know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge”

Part 2  (Pro 26:3-5)

[Study Aired February 19, 2026]

Pro 26:3  A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.
Pro 26:4  Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Pro 26:5  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

The elect have a preeminence before the world in knowing that we are beasts (Ecc 3:19), and with that knowledge we can now look at any story in the bible that references an animal (Pro 26:3) and know that God is telling us something about ourselves or mankind in particular, “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts” (Ecc 3:21).

What befalls us all is death, and unless the Lord delivers us from these bodies of death, our fate is to be withheld from entering into the kingdom of God (Jer 5:25, Joh 3:3-5). Christ said it was expedient for him to go away (Joh 16:7) so that the church could then, with God’s holy spirit sent on Pentecost, be able to die to sinful flesh (1Co 15:31), and be raised together with Christ in heavenly places (Joh 3:5, Eph 2:6, Rom 6:4-6).

Jer 5:25  Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [cannot see the kingdom and cannot be raised or enter into heavenly places (Eph 2:6)]

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Gal 2:20, Php 2:12-13)
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,(Gal 2:20) that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.(Tit 2:11-12, Heb 12:6, Eph 2:8)

Pro 26:3  A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.

Our theme in these proverbs this week is to remember that we are beasts that God is working within, sanctifying to His glory, by the process [three stages horse, ass, and fool’s back] which we have been called unto (Rom 2:4). We are not to think it strange concerning the fiery trials that are to try us as the body of Christ (1Pe 4:12).

Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

A ‘whip’ compels the horse to go in the direction it ought to go, and that horse represents the power of man in his flesh, not having ever done good or evil in his flesh (Rom 9:11-13).

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Christ is typified by Jacob here, and Esau represents his flesh that God ‘hates’. As Christ did, we need to learn obedience by the things that we suffer, which is what is being shown with “a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back”. God’s elect, like Christ (1Jn 4:17), are filling up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for his body’s sake, the church (Rom 9:11, Heb 5:8, Col 1:24). Christ identifies with our need to go through temptation and judgment while in the flesh (Heb 4:15). He understands the nature of corruptible flesh that needs a bridle and a rod upon it to be brought into subjection unto God (Tit 2:12-13, Heb 12:6, Heb 5:6-7).

Heb 5:6  As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh (Eph 5:30, to think otherwise is the spirit of anti-Christ 2Jn 1:7), when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Christ our hope of glory within (Col 1:27) is the author and finisher of our faith who has all power over heaven and earth as the fit man of (Lev 16:21) so that he can cleanse the temple that we are and drive the beasts out of it, “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back” (Mat 21:12-13). Now we can worship God as true worshippers in spirit and in truth, in His temple that we are (Joh 4:23, 1Co 3:16).

Mat 21:12  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves [ ‘the temple that we are’ ].

Pro 26:4  Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

The minute we start to engage in pointless arguments about words, “strive not about words to no profit” as scripture says (2Ti 2:14), is the moment that we become “like unto him”. The best action to take with someone who is a fool (Psa 14:1) is to step away, is what we are being told. This scenario could easily play out in situations where someone is coming to us with a false gospel, another Jesus, and God’s word clearly says in those instances that you don’t open your spiritual house to that person and start to try to convince them of the true gospel. Bidding them ‘God speed’ is becoming a partaker of his evil deeds (2Co 11:3-4, 2Jn 1:10-11).

2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

At first glance we may say ‘well, how can someone believe in God and still be a fool who does not believe in God, who we should not invite into our spiritual house,?’ and the answer is that while they think they are serving God they are serving another Jesus, another spirit, and even the devils believe and are not converted (2Co 11:4, Jas 2:19). And even false apostles can come in the name of Jesus appearing as angels of light and are yet deceived and of their father the devil (2Co 11:13-14). They are convinced of the idols of their hearts and it behooves God’s elect to know when, and when not, to engage with people that God brings into our lives with these idols (Eze 14:4). Paul was warning the church of that very thing in these verses, (Act 20:30-32).

Jas 2:19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Act 20:32  And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Heresies will manifest in our midst to show us who is approved, and we may admonish that person with two admonitions (1Co 11:19, Tit 3:10-11), but when someone comes to us with another gospel, we try that spirit immediately and don’t even begin to open our spiritual house to that person. So there are several different scenarios that can play out in our witness for Christ, and we need God’s spirit and discernment to know how to address each one in a way that will glorify God (Php 2:12-13), hence the proverb that seems to contradict itself at first glance, but actually compliments the “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” approach we’ve been called unto (Pro 26:4-5, Mat 10:16).

Tit 3:10  A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Tit 3:11  Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Pro 26:5  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

On the other hand, we are told “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit”, which is also speaking of someone who may want to engage with us, or may be just acting like a hypocrite as Peter was, and Paul applied this proverb to his brother in Christ because He loved him  (Gal 2:11-14, Jud 1:22-24, Jas 5:20).

Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
Gal 2:14  But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

Jud 1:22  And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Jud 1:23  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. (Pro 26:5)
Jud 1:24  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy

Jas 5:19  Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20  Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.(Pro 26:5)

We can see by these examples that this proverb (Pro 26:5) can be used to represent a brother who needs to be restored from sin (Jas 5:20, 1Pe 4:8). If we don’t help our brother in this situation they will continue on in error, thinking because we have not challenged them and shown them with scripture the error of their way (Mat 18:4-20) that they are therefore right in their stance, and become “wise in his own conceit”. Conceit is spoken of in the book of Romans and is connected to a self-righteous spirit that we need to continually be on guard against in our own hearts (Rom 11:25, Php 3:9).

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness [“wise in his own conceit”], which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: [which righteousness will save us 1Jn 5:4]

God can keep us humble in this life, and through His chastening grace spoken of in (Pro 26:3), we can then go on to be His true witnesses who know how to fulfill the other two verses we’ve looked at tonight (Pro 26:4-5). “To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” is know our Father and Christ (Joh 17:3). We come to know them by putting of our flesh via His chastening grace, that will make us wise in His service (Eph 2:8).

Pro 26:3  A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.
Pro 26:4  Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
Pro 26:5  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Audio Links

Video Links

Awesome Hands – part 60

“The Horse and his Rider”
July 9, 2014

In the previous study, we left off with the Israelites both fearing and believing the Lord as the destroyed Egyptians washed up on the shore of the Red Sea.

In the study today, we are going to visit the Israelites as they joy and sing unto the Lord, and very shortly after being delivered, we will see that they once again murmur against the servant of the Lord.

Take heed, because the Israelites are “us”.

“He is become my salvation”

Exo 15:1  Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Exo 15:2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Exo 15:3  The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

The baptism of the red sea is the first experience of us truly being given a measure of faith of the Lord.

Just as a babe must learn to crawl, then walk and eventually run, we start off this part of our walk being given a bit of Faith to know the Lord is fighting on our side.

In the beginning of Exodus 15 we see the horse and his rider being thrown into the sea.

It is right after the Egyptians were utterly overthrown that this happens. So, I want to look a little closer at this type and shadow of what happens in our walks regularly as Egypt is conquered in our lives little by little, giant by giant, city by city.

Exo 15:1  Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Exo 15:21  And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Of course, the direct reference found in chapter 15 of the “horse and his rider” would be that of the Egyptian and their chariots which were pursuing after Israel.

For us, there are also admonitions of what these riders and their horses represent and just what the Lord is doing with His people as He works out this war in their lives.

The Lord knows the beginning from the ending, and with that in mind, we can know that the Lord is working a work in us for our good but also for the good of others around us.

Here is another mentioning of the “horse and his rider” which bears out how the Lord uses Israel and Judah for His purposes.

Jer 51:17  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Jer 51:18  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
Jer 51:20  Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
Jer 51:21  And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
Jer 51:22  With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
Jer 51:23  I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
Jer 51:24  And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
Jer 51:25  Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

As we can see and read, the Lord uses His people to bring His visitation upon brutish knowledge, graven images, molten images, work of errors with no breath or life in them, and He does this with “the portion of Jacob” who is not like “them”.

Why is the “portion of Jacob” not like them? The portion of Jacob is the “former of all things” found in Jer 51:19.

The “former of all things” is found in another place in Jeremiah and adds a little more detail to what we are witnessing.

Jer 10:16  The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Jer 10:17  Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
Jer 10:18  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
Jer 10:19  Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
Jer 10:20  My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
Jer 10:21  For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
Jer 10:22  Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Jer 10:24  O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
Jer 10:25  Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

What does this mean for us today?

What we have just read in both places in Jeremiah is a contrast of two different peoples, but with the contrast there is also a comparison, a “measuring stick” that can be easily missed.

The contrast is obviously between the “portion of Jacob” and “Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea” found in Jer 51:24. The comparison or measuring stick is against Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Thus saith the Lord …. Woe is me for my hurt ….my wound is grievous ….this is a grief I must bear … my tabernacle is spoiled …..my cords are broken ….my children have left and are not ….none stretch forth my tent and set up the curtains”

What we are being told in these examples is that the “portion of Jacob” is just like their counterparts “in times past,” like the “former of all things” of which they are being compared.

In addition to that, it is “with thee / the portion of Jacob” found in the verses in Jeremiah mentioned above which the Lord uses to bring His judgments to “them”.

The only way that can happen is that the “portion of Jacob” has to be rescued from their previous bondage of the “former things” in order to be used in this way. We must obtain mercy to show mercy, in other words.

Isa 10:20  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isa 10:21  The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

Jer 31:7  For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

Mic 2:12  I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

Mic 5:7  And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
Mic 5:8  And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

Isa 46:3  Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

1Pe 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1Pe 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

“A habitation prepared”

This is all to say that the Lord has the Israelites come through the Red Sea experience to be born into a life of protection by the Lord.

Exo 15:2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The red sea experience is an event in our lives that happens over and over in the sense that we are able to LOOK BACK at it (the Egyptians dead on the shore), and then re-live that experience in our hearts and minds so that we do not repeat the steps that it took to get us to the “red sea doubt” which we had in the Lord.

In not so many words, the Lord gives us the ability to recall what it is He has done for us in dragging us to Himself and in doing so our Faith is increased because of the past deliverances we have witnessed.

Keeping those events in mind causes us to put on His mindset found “in the heavens.”

Exo 14:31  And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Exo 15:4  Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
Exo 15:5  The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Exo 15:6  Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Exo 15:7  And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
Exo 15:8  And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
Exo 15:9  The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Exo 15:10  Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Exo 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Exo 15:12  Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

The “right hand” of the Father is where Jesus Christ sits, and we are seated in the heavenlies with Christ.

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

The “rod” is also representative of the power of God.

Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Jer 51:19  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.

Exo 15:13  Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Exo 15:14  The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
Exo 15:15  Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
Exo 15:16  Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
Exo 15:17  Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
Exo 15:18  The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

The “habitation of God”, which Israel is being led into, is also the “holy habitation” and the “mountain of thine inheritance”, the Sanctuary.

This temple is not one made with hands, unless of course you are speaking about the spiritual “awesome hands” of God.

Mar 14:58  We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

Joh 14:10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I peak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Act 7:48  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Act 7:49  Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Act 7:50  Hath not my hand made all these things?
Act 7:51  Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Notice “fear and dread” falls upon all those that see this happening with the people of God, INCLUDING the people of God themselves which we SAW with the ending of chapter 14.

They are the first ones to have fear come upon them as set forth in the pattern which we all must follow. However, one fear leads to belief and the other leads to destruction.

The “horse and his rider” which are thrown into the sea perish and are replaced with the one who comes riding on a white horse.

In the next study we are going to continue to read this chapter of Exodus and show that even though the Lord starts His work in us, there is a long process being worked in His people, until that work is finished.

The fire must burn everything thoroughly and completely and there will be much purified before we are perfected. Israel in this chapter will be a proof of just that to us.

Video Links

Rev 19:11- 16 – The Meaning of An “Opened Heaven”
Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [ was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12  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.
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Introduction
Knowing what heaven is and where heaven is located is essential to understanding all prophecy. There is no way to know God or His Son if you do not know where these two dwell. How well would I know any of you if I didn’t even know where you lived? I know many hundreds of people by name through e- mails, but those who I really know are those who feel comfortable telling me where they live, and these are those who want to get to know me by more than just a vocalized name. I have had literally dozens of people who have come to my house over the years, and I have been to many of their homes, simply because we want to get to know each other better.
We have gone to great lengths to demonstrate that God dwells in the heavens:

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, [ saying],
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 103:19  The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

We have also demonstrated that “the true heavens” are within God’s own people and that He dwells on His throne within His people in what the scriptures call “the heavens themselves”.

Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [ for us].
Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

“… By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place…” Christ never once entered the physical holy place in the temple while He was on this earth, because He was not a physical priest. But it was revealed to Christ that he was both a king and a priest and that His kingdom and His priesthood were not of this world, or this age, but are all “within you”.

Joh 18:33  Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
Joh 18:34  Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
Joh 18:35  Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Joh 18:37  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Christ knew that He, just like you and me, was not just on this earth, but while He was on this earth He was also, at the very same time, in the heavens.

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Now here is how our heavenly Father reveals such wonderful, heavenly Truths to us.

Luk 3:21  Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
Luk 3:22  And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

This was revealed to Christ just before He was “driven of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil.” Of course His mother had told him about the circumstances of His birth, but an “opened heaven” was required before Christ could be tempted by the Devil and before He could begin His earthly ministry. We too, require an opened heavens before we will be granted the exponential growth in the understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Mat 13:9-15).
An opened heaven was needed to convince Peter that the gospel was going to the Gentiles.

Act 10:11  And [ Peter] saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Act 10:12  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Act 10:13  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

Only after Peter saw heaven opened was he then given to understand that the gospel was going to the hitherto unclean Gentiles.
The revelation of Jesus Christ comes through “a door being opened in heaven”:

Rev 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door [ was] opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [ was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Rev 4:2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

So it is through “a door [ being] opened in heaven” that we are given this entire “revelation of Jesus Christ.”  including “they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb”.

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

It is through a “heaven [ which is] opened, that we see beyond that first resurrection, “marriage supper of the Lamb”, and we are permitted to see what takes place “in heaven” after that “blessed and holy” event. “These are the true sayings of God”.
Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
This is Christ sitting on a powerful “white horse”, coming to conquer all that is within His kingdom which is within us. This was announced at the opening of the very first seal:

Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

He is “called Faithful and True”, but why is this so?

Joh 15:9  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. (1Jn 5:2-3)

Christ was obedient to His Father to the end. That is how He “abode in His Father’s love” to the end. That is how He could Truthfully make this statement:

Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [ then], Shew us the Father?

Those who “have known Christ, have known the Father also”. But here is Philip admitting that he does not yet know either Christ or His Father. It is do very typical of babies to tell the Truth and not even realize that they have done so.
When we state emphatically, ‘No one can know that what he believes is the Truth’, what we are saying is that we do not believe it is possible to really be sure that we “know the Truth”, which is Christ, and if that is true and from our heart, then we will be “judged out of our own mouths [ as a] wicked and slothful servant” who says “I knew you…” but acts as if he does not know his Lord at all.

Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, [ Thou] wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Luk 19:22  And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, [ thou] wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Christ is “faithful and true, and in righteousness He is judging us and making war” against all these false and lying spirits within us.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Just stand with Christ, and you will know what those words mean. It is considered complete fanaticism to teach that we should even strive to “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”, much less to teach that “every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an accounting thereof”. But Christ’s Words stand true:

Mat 12:35  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

There is a spirit which teaches that fighting and seeking revenge is an ungodly trait, and that certainly is true when it is sought on our schedule for the satisfying of our flesh. But our God is a just God, and He Himself makes no bones about the fact that there is “a day of vengeance”, and that “vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord”.

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
Isa 63:4  For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
Isa 63:5  And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that [ there was] none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
Isa 63:6  And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
Jer 46:10  For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. [“Babylon the great the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth”]

These words are all a part of this revelation of Jesus Christ within you and within me. It is Christ who treads out the winepress of His wrath.

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Today is judgment day for those who are now being judged, and it is our words which will either justify or condemn us. If the words from our hearts are the words of Christ who has told us “man… shall live by every word that proceeds forth out of the mouth of God”, then we will be judged now, and He will tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” now and in this life. If we say we will not do so, then we will be judged out of our own mouths, and we will endure those words at a later judgment. If we are given to agree with our Lord, then this is what will be done in our lives while yet in these vessels of clay:
Rev 19:12  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.

Christ’s eyes, His Words, His messengers, His ministers and His walk are all “as a flame of fire, because everything about our Lord is going to serve to purify our lives.

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Act 7:30  And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
Heb 1:7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Christ’s “vesture is dipped in blood” while “the armies which were in heaven” are “clothed in fine linen, white and clean”. What is the difference? What are we being told?
Well, once again “the dream is one” and the “vesture dipped in blood”, and the “fine linen, white and clean” are one and the same thing.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Rev 7:14  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.

But who shed “the blood of the Lamb”, and how do we come to “wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb”?
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Until the words of Christ are in our mouths, and as long as the doctrines of the great whore are in our hearts and mouths, we abide under the wrath of God, and are subject to the work of the “sharp sword” with which Christ will rule the nations with a rod of iron”.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

It is in this position that Christ, in our lives, “treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” These are the very words of the seventh vial of God’s wrath upon Babylon in our lives.

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

So how does His vesture come to be “dipped in blood”? We were just informed how that was done.

Isa 63:3  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

“Their blood” means your blood and my blood. It is we who have shed “the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” while we were the slaves of that great whore, Babylon the great. In shedding their blood we have all shed the blood of Christ Himself.

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

Rev 18:24  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

We “have not yet resisted unto blood”, and yet all of God’s elect are said to be “lying dead in the streets of that great city where our Lord was crucified”. So what is “the blood of the saints and prophets” which “stains all the raiment” of our Lord?

Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Rev 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.

Is it not “the sharp sword that goes out of His mouth” which causes this blood to flow? Is it not with this sword that He “smites the nations and rules them with a rod of iron? Is it not with this same sharp sword that “he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God”? Let’s read it again:

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

What is this sharp sword?

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Here is this same verse according to The Bible In Basic English.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and full of power, and is sharper than any two- edged sword, cutting through and making a division even of the soul and the spirit, the bones and the muscles, and quick to see the thoughts and purposes of the heart. (BBE)

It is our sins and our rejection of this living and powerful word which causes us to be guilty of the blood of Christ, and of all the saints and prophets. In the same manner, it is the rejection of our false doctrines, which gives the Word of God its sharpness and its ability to bring life to those whose blood it sheds, by ‘casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ’, and His sharp two- edged sword Words.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

If “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” and they “keep us in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when our obedience is fulfilled”, it follows that the blood that flows to the horses’ bridles is the result of the work of the weapons of our warfare, and is nothing less than the destruction of all the lies of Babylon. The length, depth and height of this blood, which is tread out by our Lord, is but a measure of the number of false doctrines with which this great whore rules over our lives.

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

“The vine of the earth” is filled with the doctrines of Babylon. Remember it is Christ and His Christ who tread this winepress. Here is how He does this:

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

But all the nations are “as the small dust of the balance” to our Lord and Christ, and His Words of Truth are far more powerful than all the lies of Babylon. That is why Christ is said to have come “on a white horse, conquering and to conquer”, and that is why His name is said to be “on His vesture and on His thigh” and that is why He is called “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords”.

Isa 40:15  Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will learn what is “the supper of the great God”, and we will discover why ‘the fowls that fly in the midst of the heaven are called together unto that supper’.

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [ men, both] free and bond, both small and great.
Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet 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.
Rev 19:21  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [ sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

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Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen [ were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Rev 9:17  And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses [ were] as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
Rev 9:18  By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
Rev 9:19  For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails [ were] like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Rev 9:20  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Introduction

We have already established the spiritual significance of every symbol found in these six verses.
1) An army signifies ongoing spiritual warfare within us all.
2) Men on the horses signify the incredible power and intellect of the testimony and doctrines of this vast army which is within us.
3) The number two tells us that these are the myriads of witnesses to those doctrines.
4) The breastplates of fire and of jacinth, and brimstone on the horsemen tell us that we will be judged by the very doctrines we propound to others.
5) The death of “the third part of men” tells us once again, that we are dealing with the process of judgment upon “the inhabiters of the earth,” which is who we are.
6) The fact that the power of these horses is in their mouths, which are “as the mouth of a lion,” instead of coming out of the mouth of the men on the horses, tells us that the horse and his rider are both one and the same beast.
7) “Their power is in their mouth and in their tails” tells us that these are the false doctrines of false prophets with which doctrines we all have been hurt, and from which we are being delivered by the process of judgment which is at this very moment taking place in “the house of God.”
8) “The rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues” tells us that God’s wrath is on all ungodliness, and this is an ongoing, yet incomplete process in which we are “dying daily,” and being “crucified with Christ” daily.
9)”Yet repented not of the works of their hands” signifies the same ongoing judgment which is upon the “worship of devils” and “idols of the heart” with which we struggle for so very long.
10) “Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood” are these very same false convictions with which we struggle, ranging from the doctrine of salvation through good works, to “turning grace into lasciviousness.”
11) “Which neither see, nor hear, nor walk,” is the perfect spiritual description of these idols of the heart which have taken away our spiritual sight, our spiritual ears and therefore our ability to walk in Christ’s footsteps and live as Christ lived.
12) “Neither repented they of their murders” signifies the doctrine of a “Christian soldier” being blessed as a physical soldier fighting for his country, as well as failing to understand that hatred of one’s fellow man is spiritually the same as murder.
13) “Nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication,” both signify the tenacity of the false doctrines of “another Jesus,” which cling to us, even as we struggle to be free of them, and of him.
14) “Nor of their thefts,” tells us that we have stolen God’s Words and have twisted them, and have perverted them, and have used them in that way to cover the idols of our hearts, and the doctrines of “another Jesus.”
Since we have already given the scriptures for these symbols, we will take each symbol and put with it few verses of scripture which, without comment, will establish the meaning of that symbol.

An army

1) An army signifies the ongoing spiritual warfare within us all.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [ are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [ places]. [ Greek, epuranios – the heavens of our hearts and minds]
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Rev 19:14  And the armies [ which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Men on Horses

2) Men on the horses signify the incredible death dealing power and influence of the testimony and doctrines of this vast army which is in the world within.

Isa 43:17  Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
Nah 3:3  The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and [ there is] a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and [ there is] none end of [ their] corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:
2Co 11:13  For such [ are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  Therefore [ it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The number two

3) The number two tells us that these hundreds of millions are the myriads of false witnesses to those false doctrines.

Deu 17:6  At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; [ but] at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear [ thee, then] take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 23:31  Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Mat 26:59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
Mat 26:60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, [ yet] found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
Rev 11:3  And I will give [ power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [ and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Breastplates of fire and of jacinth, and brimstone on the horsemen

4) The breastplates of fire and of jacinth, and brimstone on the horsemen tell us that we will be judged by the very doctrines we propound to others. ‘Jacinth’ is the color deep blue which signifies the things of the spirit. It may seem strange that the horses which come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit with tails like scorpions, which are specifically designated as “false prophets who prophesy lies”, can have riders whose breastplates are of fire and of jacinth and brimstone.

Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

How is this possible? Here is how God uses evil and makes good come of it. Here is how God calls light out of darkness.

Isa 10:5  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
Isa 10:6  I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Assyians are Babylonians. Babylon is located in the land of Assyria and is the rod of God’s anger and indignation. It is while we are spiritually in the bondage of Babylon that God speaks to us these words:

Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that [ it is] an evil [ thing] and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear [ is] not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
Jer 2:29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
Jer 2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, [ thou] wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.

We all have transgressed against our Lord, have refused His correction and denied and destroyed His prophets. This is common to all men, and it is this experience itself that becomes the fuel for the fire and brimstone which will bring us to the jacinth blue at the end of God’s judgments upon our sins and false doctrines.

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments [ are] in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

You and I are “the earth”, the “vessel of clay in the Potter’s hand”, and we are experiencing God’s judgments if we are “His house”.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

The third part of men

5) The death of “the third part of men” tells us once again that we are dealing with the process of judgment upon “the inhabiters of the earth”, which ‘third part of men’ and which “inhabiters of the earth” is all the doctrines which inhabit  us. It is instructive that Jeremiah addresses the earth three times in this verse:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
Eze 5:2  Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, [ and] smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
Rev 8:10  And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

As the mouth of a lion

6) The fact that the power of these horses is in their mouths, which are “as the mouth of a lion”, instead of coming out of the mouth of the men on the horses, tells us that the horse and his rider are both one and the same beast with a mouth speaking great blasphemous doctrines which devour us all in our own appointed time.

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
2Ti 4:17  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and [ that] all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [ the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [ and] two months.
Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

Their power is in their mouth and in their tails

7) “Their power is in their mouth and in their tails” tells us that these are the false doctrines of false prophets with which doctrines we all have been hurt, and from which we are being delivered by the process of judgment which is at this very moment taking place in “the house of God”.

Job 16:10  They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.
Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

The head is our leader. The doctrine of our leaders has led us astray and into Babylon.

Isa 9:16  For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

The rest of the men

8) “The rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues” tells us that God’s wrath is on all our ungodliness, and this is an ongoing yet incomplete process in which we are “dying daily” and being “crucified with Christ” daily.

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [ this] one thing [ I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Yet repented not of the works of their hands

9) “Yet repented not of the works of their hands” signifies the same ongoing judgment which is upon the “worship of devils” and “idols of the heart” with which we struggle for so very long. All of this is leading up to the revelation and the judgment of Babylon within us in chapters 17 and 18. It is we who are admonished to “read, hear, and keep the things written therein”.

Jer 2:30  In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Col 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Col 3:7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [ is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood

10) “Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood” are these very same false convictions with which we struggle, ranging from the false doctrine of salvation through good works to “turning grace into lasciviousness”. These are all false doctrines called “idols of the heart.”

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
Eze 16:18  And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
Eze 16:19  My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, [ wherewith] I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and [ thus] it was, saith the Lord GOD.

Which neither see, nor hear, nor walk

11) “Which neither see, nor hear, nor walk” is the perfect spiritual description of these idols of the heart which have taken away our spiritual sight, our spiritual ears, and therefore our ability to walk in Christ’s footsteps and live as Christ lived.

Job 12:25  They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like [ a] drunken [ man].
Isa 59:12  For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions [ are] with us; and [ as for] our iniquities, we know them;
Isa 59:13  In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Isa 59:14  And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
Isa 59:15  Yea, truth faileth; and he [ that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw [ it], and it displeased him that [ there was] no judgment.
Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [ their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [ their] eyes, and hear with [ their] ears, and should understand with [ their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16  But blessed [ are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And [ some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth

Neither repented they of their murders

12) “Neither repented they of their murders” signifies both the hatred which is in our hearts for our fellow man, as well as the blasphemous doctrine of a “Christian soldier” being blessed as a physical soldier fighting for his country.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [ are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication,

13) “Nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication” both signify the tenacity of the false doctrines of “another Jesus” which cling to us even as we are being judged “in one day” and are struggling to be free of them, and of the influences of “another Jesus”.

Isa 47:9  But these two [ things] shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, [ and] for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [ if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [ him].
Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee (Pergamos), because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee (Thyatira), because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [ is] the Lord God who judgeth her.
Rev 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

14) The gold and silver implements of the temple signify the doctrines and thoughts of our Lord. “Nor of their thefts” tells us that we have stolen God’s Words and have twisted them and have perverted them and have used them in that way to cover the idols of our hearts and the doctrines of “another Jesus”.

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
Joe 3:5  Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

These are not physical idols in either Ezekiel or Revelation. These are idols made of God’s gold and God’s silver are “idols of the heart… images of men” which we have “made to ourselves”, and we commit whoredoms and fornication by believing in and living by those “idols of the heart.”

Summary

Here is what we have just seen in the demonstration of the spirit and of power.

Mat 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching [ was] not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

1) An army signifies ongoing spiritual warfare within us all.
2) Men on the horses signify the incredible power and inflence of the testimony and doctrines of this vast army which is within us.
3) The number two tells us  that  that there are myriads of false witnesses to those doctrines.
4) The breastplates of fire and of jacinth, and brimstone on the horsemen tell us that we will be judged by the words of our own mouths and by the very doctrines we have been teaching to others.
5) The death of “the third part of men” tells us that we are dealing with the process of judgment upon “the inhabiters of the earth,” upon the house of God first.
6) The fact that the power of these horses is in their mouths, which are “as the mouth of a lion,” instead of coming out of the mouth of the men on the horses, tells us that the horse and his rider are both one and the same beast.
7) “Their power is in their mouth and in their tails” tells us that these are the false doctrines of false prophets with which doctrines we all have been hurt, and from which we are being delivered by the process of judgment which is at this very moment taking place in “the house of God.”
8) “The rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues” tells us that God’s wrath is on all ungodliness, and this is an ongoing, yet incomplete process in which we are “dying daily,” and being “crucified with Christ” daily.
9)”Yet repented not of the works of their hands” signifies the same ongoing judgment which is upon the “worship of devils” and “idols of the heart” with which we struggle for so very long.
10) “Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood” are these very same false convictions with which we struggle, ranging from the doctrine of salvation through good works, to “turning grace into lasciviousness.”
11) “Which neither see, nor hear, nor walk,” is the perfect spiritual description of these idols of the heart which have taken away our spiritual sight, our spiritual ears, an therefore our ability to walk in Christ’s footsteps and live as Christ lived.
12) “Neither repented they of their murders” signifies the doctrine of a “Christian soldier” being blessed as a physical soldier fighting for God and country, as well as failing to understand that hatred of one’s fellow man is spiritually the same as murder.
13) “Nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication,” both signify the tenacity of the false doctrines of “another Jesus,” which cling to us, even as we struggle to be free of them, and of him.
14) “Nor of their thefts,” tells us that we have stolen God’s Words and have twisted them, and have perverted them, and have used them in that way to cover the idols of our hearts, and the doctrines of “another Jesus.”

Next week, Lord willing, We will consider what is the little book in the hand of Christ, and why it is that we are not given the message contained in the voices of the seven thunders.

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [ was] upon his head, and his face [ was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [ his] left [ foot] on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as [ when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

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Revelation 6:5-6 The Black Horse

Study Aired November 18, 2009

Updated April 26, 2024

Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 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.
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Introduction

Once we know the significance of the four beasts, we realize that they symbolize those who are “redeemed… to God… out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” The challenge is now to remember that it is only through these four beasts that we come to see what is the hidden truth behind these four seals. In other words, it is “by the church” that we are told “Come and see… the hidden things of the spirit.” It is of great significance that we are told ‘The first… second… third… and fourth beast say to us, “Come and see.” It confirms these words of our Lord:

Mat 10:40  He that receiveth you [the four beasts] receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Luk 10:16 He that heareth you [the four beasts who say “Come and see.”] heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Christ is revealing Himself to mankind by loosing the first four seals of this book which is in “the right hand of the Him that sat on the throne.” Christ does not Himself say, “Come and see.” Instead, He sends the four beasts to say to us, “Come and see.” If we do not receive what we see behind these seals, then we are not receiving Christ. If we are given to hear what these beasts show us, then we are hearing Christ. We must try the spirits to see if they are of God. Then we will know whether we are receiving and hearing Christ.

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3  Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1Ti 4:4  For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
1Ti 4:5  For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Of course these words have a physical application for babes in Christ, but the “meat” from which those very babes command us to abstain are the experiences which we find we are to live and keep, and which are hidden from the whole world behind the seven seals and behind these first four seals.

We saw in an earlier study that the first beast showed us a white horse hidden behind the first seal. We saw that the removal of these seals by Christ reveals hidden truths which this white horse rider represents. He has come to conquer all the lies that have held us in bondage all our lives, so He has a bow with which to do battle with His spiritual arrows, which typify His teaching and His doctrine. It is His Word and His doctrines with which He carries on this war within us as He brings us out of Egypt:

Num 24:8  God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

How blessed we are that God has spoken these words of comfort to us!

The second horse was a red horse, and we saw that the coming of the red horse rider into our lives necessarily takes away the peace we once knew when we fit in with this world. The coming of the conqueror on the red horse causes us to be “hated of all men.” Taking peace from our world is the unavoidable consequence of Christ coming into our lives. Christ has warned us that if He does take up His residence within us than there will be no peace in the kingdom of our old man and our enemies will become “they of our own household.”

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ in us which is the “hidden wisdom” behind the second seal and the red horse rider. This horse and its rider are also revealed to us by the second beast who says, “Come and see.”

The third horse is a black horse

Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 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.

Christ is opening our heavens when He opens the third beast, and He has the third beast show us that the revelation of Jesus Christ entails a black horse rider who must come into our lives.

We are also told that this black horse rider has a pair of balances in his hand. Why is this part of the revelation of Jesus Christ a black horse, and why is the rider of this black horse carrying a pair of balances? What does the color black symbolize?

Here is the link to the study on how the color ‘black’ is used in scripture:

It is important we remember that this whole Revelation is seen only when John ‘looks behind himself’ to see this part of what Christ is doing in our lives.

Here is an example of how this color black is used in God’s Word:

Pro 7:6  For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
Pro 7:7  And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
Pro 7:8  Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
Pro 7:9  In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
Pro 7:10  And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

This foolish young man is each of us in our own time. This ‘harlot’ signifies the same ‘harlot’ spoken of in Revelation 17-18. When we believe her lies we are “in the black and dark night” even if we think we are “rich and increased with goods and are in need of nothing” (Rev 3:17). Spiritual harlots never think of themselves as being evil or deceived and full of lies and ‘black… darkness’. Here is how spiritual harlots think of themselves:

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

When we are deceived we do not believe we are deceived, and spiritual harlots do not believe they are committing spiritual adultery. However, they are deceived, and who is it ultimately who deceives all the false prophets of this world? It is the Rider on this black horse who has given all false prophets “idols of [their] hearts.”

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men [“elders of Israel”] have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

How does the Lord go about deceiving all false prophets? The scriptures do not hesitate to let us know how the Lord goes about deceiving all false prophets:

1Ki 22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

That is how it is done. Just as in Job, chapters 1 and 2, the Lord Himself sends Satan as ‘His hand’ to afflict and to deceive and to trouble those He causes to oppose Him and His doctrines:

Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7  So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

Satan can do nothing he is not sent by God to do. He does exactly what he is sent to do; nothing more and nothing less. All evil spirits are “from the Lord”, and are “[His] hand”, sent by God to “trouble” kings, deceive prophets, and all those who listen to those false prophets.

It is the Lord who sends us away to Babylon. We must go into Babylon the Great before we can “come out of her My people.”

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

This revelation of Jesus Christ reveals that we must all come out of Babylon, and this black horse reveals that it is a work of the Lord on this black horse which first sends us into Babylon and then, through the tribulations and fiery trials of the seven trumpets and the seven last plagues the Lord drags us out of “that great city where also our Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:8). It is the coming out of Babylon and the dying to the flesh that is entailed in the opening of these seven seals, the blowing of the seven trumpets and the pouring out of the seven last plagues upon the kingdom of our old man, “the beast” within us, which drags us out of the darkness of Babylon and into the light of “The Sun of Righteousness”. An essential part of that trying journey, is all the black darkness signified and symbolized by this black horse rider. It is “written therein”, and it will be “kept” by all who are blessed to see and to know and to hear with spiritual ears the words of this prophecy.

Jer 4:28  For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

Rev 11:7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 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.

Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The words of this black horse in our lives have been spoken, and Christ “will not repent, neither turn back from” the words of this revelation which we must keep, live and observe. It so happens that this revelation requires that we must come to see ourselves as those who have crucified our own Lord in the city of His own people.

Luk 13:33  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
Luk 13:34  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

Christ will never gather us under His wings until we first come to see ourselves as those who helped nail Him to His cross; until we see that we are that city wherein all prophets have been put to death and repent of what we have done to Him and His doctrines.

Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 4:28 are words which have “proceeded out of the mouth of God”, and we live these words.

Jer 4:28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

Our “earth will mourn, and our heavens above will be black: because [the Lord] has spoken it.” This is the work of this black horse and his rider. This black horse works with the fourth horse, “a pale [green]horse”, which is producing the death of our old man, the beast within every man. This entire sealed book has been spoken by the Lord, and all these words have proceeded out of His mouth and therefore must be lived by those who are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God in “this present time.”

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

It is very important to carefully notice that we are not told to ‘live every word’, rather we are told that we are to “live by [G1909: epi, upon, on, at, by, before] every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” The point being, that we are to believe and live by every commandment of the Lord and do the things He says to do (Luk 6:46, Joh 5:2-3).

There are two more seals to be opened before we come to the seventh seal which is the seven trumpets. The seventh trumpet is the seven last plagues, which also “proceed out of the mouth of God.” We will see this “seven times” referred to later in the book of Leviticus in relation to a famine in the land, among other things (Lev 26:18, 21, 24, 28). It is all saying the same thing. It is all part of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us.

As we “look behind us” we see that all the seals, trumpets, and vials are all speaking to us, spiritual Jerusalem, we who have claimed the name of Christ, even as we rejected His doctrines. We have hated and killed our own Lord and have despised His doctrines. This black horse reveals that we have all been lacking eyes that see and ears that hear. It reveals that we ourselves have been “that great city wherein our Lord was crucified.” It is not ‘those people out there somewhere,’ but it is I, “the chief of sinners”, who is so deserving of being “chastised seven times for my sins.”

Rev 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.

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The only avenue to being the dead bodies of God’s two witnesses lying dead “in the street of that great city” is to first come to see ourselves as those who have “crucified our Lord” and as those witnesses He has sent. We will never do that as long as we see others as more blasphemous and more deserving of God’s wrath than we are. We will all first come to see ourselves as “chief of sinners.” This is the black horse and his rider in our lives.

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

What room is there for such a belief as a secret rapture to take us out of God’s wrath on the “chief… of sinners”?

Why are we “chief of sinners?” What brings us to such a sad state of affairs? It is our total ignorance of the heart and mind of our loving heavenly Father and the mind of His Son. It is the black darkness into which we have descended, even as we considered ourselves to be angels of light. It is a famine of the words of Truth.

What is the wheat and the barley?

Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Here is this “pair of balances.” Here is the meaning of our “bread by weight” as revealed to us in the scriptures. Here is Revelation of the meaning of the words of Revelation 6:6 as revealed to us from “that which is written” (1Co 4:6) in the Old Testament:

Lev 26:26  And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
Lev 26:27  And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
Lev 26:28  Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

The ‘barley’ and the ‘wheat’ are the staples out of which the bread is made. The bread is the Word of God. That Word of God is, of course, Christ.

Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The balance in the hand of the black horse rider, and the “voice in the middle of the four beasts” indicates that we look behind us to see that we have lived through a time in our own lives when Christ and His doctrines and Words were in very short supply. We were living “in the black and dark night” while believing the lying words of a harlot (Pro 7:9).

What is the oil and the wine?

The oil and the wine are also types of the anointing of the spirit of God, and the illumination which is that spirit:

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Exo 25:6  Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,

Lev 24:2  Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.

Exo 29:40  And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

Luk 5:36  And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.
Luk 5:37  And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
Luk 5:38  But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.

These commodities pertain only to these four beasts and four and twenty elders as those overcomers who have been redeemed from among men and found worthy to sit with Christ in His throne. Truth simply has no place in the lives of those whose very sustenance is their lies and smooth sounding false doctrines.

Num 4:16  And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

As we saw in the last study, the “comfortable words” spoken to God’s elect are words which “take peace away from the earth.” Those are words of light to those who have the charge of keeping the lamps of God’s tabernacle burning. Such ‘light’ as that appears as deep darkness to those who are the purveyors of smooth things, purveyors of deceit.

Isa 30:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Isa 30:11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel [and His doctrines] to cease from before us.

All the blessings produced by our severe trials appear as curses to the natural man.

Zec 1:11  And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

Zec 1:13  And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
Zec 1:14  So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zec 1:15  And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

We have an altar at which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat, because those who serve the tabernacle are those who cannot handle “the oversight of the tabernacle and all that therein is.” Those who serve the tabernacle are those who are “carried about with different and strange doctrines.”

All these “fiery trials” which we must endure as we are coming out of Babylon are “those who serve the tabernacle”. Our experience in coming out of the churches of this world are a service to us by “those who serve the tabernacle, signified by the Levites who were commissioned to help the priests, but were not even allowed to look on the holy things of the temple.

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

We have all been carried about by different and strange doctrines. That is the black horse and His rider coming with a pair of balances and with all the symbols of the paucity of Truth. This horse, too, must ride through our lives if we are to know the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In our next study we will consider the spiritual significance of the pale horse and his Rider in revealing Christ in us:

Rev 6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:8 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.

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Revelation 6:1-2

Updated April 17, 2024

Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Introduction

If we keep in mind that we are commissioned to “keep the things written therein” and the fact that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, then the first thought that should enter our minds is, “How does this prophecy apply to me?  Are these four horsemen evident in my life?” We also must remember that John is “looking behind” himself to see this revelation of Jesus Christ. If we can keep these principles in mind, then we will begin to see that the secrets hidden under these seven seals are all just the capstone on an entire Bible that is full of “the spirit of prophecy” and is full of “edification, exhortation, and comfort.” That is the very definition of the word ‘prophecy.”

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Who does God use to “show us these things? By whom does God “speak unto men?” God always uses “His body which is the church.”

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

We have seen that “the four beasts, and the four and twenty elders” around the throne of God are the symbols of God’s firstfruit elect through whom He is bringing all men to Himself. We saw earlier, that the 144,000 are just another symbol of God’s firstfruit elect, who, like the four beasts and the four and twenty elders, are revealed to be the kings and priests of God who will reign with Him on this earth.

Rev 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 5:7  And he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open the seals thereof: for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And have made us unto our God a kingdom and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Is this not what we are also told of the one hundred and forty four thousand?

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty- four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in midheaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people,

Both in the same order have harps, both sing a new song, both are “redeemed from among men.” One is “a kingdom of priests and will reign on earth.” The other “has the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on earth.” That is the work of a priest.  So they are both symbols of God’s elect who will reign as kings and priests on earth and will bring the knowledge of Christ and His Father to all men. That is what the four beasts do in revealing to us these four horsemen of the first four seals which hide from our view the revelation of Jesus Christ in our lives. Notice who it is who reveals each of these four horsemen.

Who reveals to us these four horsemen?

Here it is (Rev 6:1). It is “one of the four beasts” which says to us, “Come and see.” So the message hidden behind the first four seals of the revelation of Jesus Christ is shown to us by “one of the four beasts” who we are told signifies “those who [are] redeemed from among men, and [are] kings and priests who will reign on earth.” What does the first of these four beasts show us? He shows us that there is a “white horse” behind the first seal. The second beast reveals that there is a red horse hidden behind the second seal which is upon this revelation of Jesus Christ. The third beast reveals a black horse, and the fourth beast reveals a pale or a green horse.

Notice that it is Christ who opens the seals, but it is not Christ Himself who shows us what is behind that seal. Rather, it is the first, second, third and fourth beast which are used by Christ to say to us, “Come and see.”

Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Rev 6:3  And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:4  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 should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 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.
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Rev 6:7  And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:8  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.

Since we are told that it is the four beasts who are granted to reveal what is behind the first four seals, it is therefore the work of God’s elect who say, “Come and see.” That being the case, those four beasts are not at liberty to speculate about what a white, red, black and pale or green horse is. The Lord’s elect live by these words of admonition:

1Co 4:6  Now these things, brothers, I applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us ye might learn not to think above that which is written, so that ye may not be puffed up, one over the one against the other.

These four beasts signifying the Lord’s elect overcomers who will rule with Him on this earth “tremble at the Word of God” and take great pains not to speak of themselves. These four beasts have grown past the milk of the word. These four beasts signify those who follow the principle of “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” to come to know and understand that Word.

Isa 28:9  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [them that are] weaned from the milk, [and] drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little:
Isa 28:11  For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
Isa 28:12  To whom he said, This [Christ is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isa 28:13  But the word of the LORD [Christ] was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

“Precept [must be] upon precept”, so let us go directly to the word of God to understand “precept upon precept” what these four various-colored horses and their horsemen are. Where in the Old Testament are four horsemen to be found? Here they are, and here is what they do:

Zec 1:7  Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Zec 1:8  I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
Zec 1:9  Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
Zec 1:10  And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
Zec 1:11  And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

Here in verse 8, we have a man on a red horse, and we are told “he stood among the myrtle trees.”  Myrtle trees are mentioned six times in the Old Testament.

– Original: הדס
– Transliteration: Hadac
– Phonetic: had-as’
– Definition:

1. myrtle (tree)

– Origin: of uncertain derivation
– TWOT entry: 475
– Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine
– Strong’s: Of uncertain derivation; the myrtle: – myrtle (tree).

Total KJV Occurrences: 6

• myrtle, 2
Neh_8:15; Isa_41:19

• tree, 1
Isa_55:13

• trees, 3
Zec_1:8; Zec_1:10; Zec_1:11

Three of the six entries for this word are right here in Zechariah 1, in verses 8, 10, and 11. The myrtle tree is mentioned once in Nehemiah as one of the trees of which branches could be used to make booths for the feast of booths, also called the feast of tabernacles. It is how the Myrtle tree is used in the prophecy of Isaiah which gives us the meaning of this tree as it is referred to here in Zechariah 1. Here are the verses from Isaiah which are so revealing:

Isa 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isa 41:19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
Isa 41:20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

The myrtle tree is planted by “the hand of the Lord.” The myrtle tree is associated with “rivers in high places… fountains in the midst of… valleys and a pool of water in the wilderness and springs of water… in dry land.” There is only one thing capable of doing all those things.

Now let’s look at the next entry for ‘the myrtle tree’ here in the prophecy of Isaiah and we will discover what that ‘one thing’ is which can do all these things:

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it [All those things of Isaiah 41:18-20].
Isa 55:12  For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. [For the ability to receive and live by “My Word”, which is Christ and His doctrines]
Isa 55:13  Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Here Isaiah tells us that the Lord contrasts the myrtle tree with thorns and briars. The connecting word ‘for’ in verse 12 associates the myrtle tree of verse 15 with “My Word” – the Lord’s Truth as opposed to the lies and false doctrines signified by ‘thorns and briers.’

Here are three verses which demonstrate what is the mind of the spirit in using the phrase ‘thorns and briers’ or ‘briers and thorns’:

Isa 32:13  Upon the land of my [apostate] people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:

Eze 2:6  And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

“Thorns and briers” are used by the holy spirit to signify the false doctrines of “Many false prophets who have gone out into the world” (1Jo 4:1). Conversely “the myrtle trees” signify those who are used as the Lord’s prophets who faithfully adhere to His doctrines.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Queen Esther, who lived about 34 years prior to Zechariah, was named Myrtle by her Hebrew parents. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, which means ‘myrtle’.

– Original: הדסּה
– Transliteration: Hadaccah
– Phonetic: had-as-saw’
– Definition: Hadassah = myrtle

• queen Esther’s Jewish name

– Origin: from of H1918
– TWOT entry: None
– Part(s) of speech: Proper Name Feminine
– Strong’s: Feminine of H1918; Hadassah (or Esther): – Hadassah.

Total KJV Occurrences: 1

• Hadassah, 1

Est_2:7

Going back to the first chapter of Zechariah, verse 11 tells us that this man on the red horse is “the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees.” The “man riding upon a red horse” is there with another red horse behind him. According to Brown-Driver-Briggs Concordance, the word translated ‘speckled’ in verse 8 is defined as “sorrel, reddish, tawny, bay.” So, what we have in verse 8 are two red horses, a bay horse, and one white horse. Zechariah sees these four horses “by night… and standing among the myrtle trees.” What are these four horses and the men, or angels, who are riding upon them? Zechariah wants to know, and the angel tells him who they represent. The rider is called “the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees”, which we have shown signify the Lord’s people.  It is “the angel of the Lord” who tells Zechariah, “These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.” While the four horses of Zechariah do not include the black and pale (green) horses which we find in  Revelation 6, we still learn that they signify “the angel[s] of the Lord.” Now we know who the riders of our four horses are. These four horsemen are “they whom the Lord hath sent…” to speak His fiery words of Truth:

Is it not a good thing when we are told that “all the earth is at rest?” That is certainly what any natural carnal-minded man would think, but that is not what those who are taught to “compare spiritual things with spiritual” think, and that is not what Zechariah thought.

Zec 1:12  Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
Zec 1:13  And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
Zec 1:14  So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zec 1:15  And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
Zec 1:16  Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

Why are there three red horses and just one white horse? The answer is that there is peace on the earth in the time of Zechariah. Christ is working all things, including the peace of the Gentiles, after the counsel of His own will. So He is here “among the myrtle trees” on two red horses, a brown horse and white horse. Later Christ will come to “take peace away” from the earth. At that time “the heathen will [not] be at ease” within us. This may sound discomfiting to the natural man, but is it comforting to the New Man who is signified by the myrtle trees among which the Lord is standing in the midst of the night. The fact that Zechariah witnesses this vision “by night… among the myrtle trees” signifies that when the earth is at peace, it is because the Lord’s people are being suppressed and oppressed by the man on the red horse because of their sins against Him.

The function of these four horses is explained in the preceding verses.

Zec 1:2  The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
Zec 1:3  Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Zec 1:4  Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
Zec 1:5  Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
Zec 1:6  But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

It is only through judgment that we return to the Lord, and when we do He returns to us:

Zec 1:3  Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

“The Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words” (Zec 1:13). When it is finally given us to “see the things of the spirit” and to “compare spiritual things with spiritual things,” then we, too, will agree that when the four beasts say “Come and see” what we are seeing are “good words and comfortable words” which reveal the making of the New Man within us as we “read, hear, and keep the things written therein.” That good work of the Lord within us will always be at the expense of the peace and comfort of the old man within us.

Why Horses?

Why are we talking about horses instead of a donkey or an ox or a camel? The reason we are talking about horses is to inform us that this is all speaking of the power which the Lord has to wage war, instead of the simple work of an ass to carry us and our possessions about…

Num 22:30  And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

… or the “increase that can come from the strength of an ox,”

Pro 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

… or the merchandise that can be carried by a camel.

Gen 24:10  And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

This revelation takes place in heaven, and there is “war in heaven.” We are waging a war against all the “principalities and powers of the heavens.”

Exo 14:9  But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

Eph 6:12  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. (NLT)

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Rev 19:19  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

“In righteousness He judges and makes war.” Peter tells us that “judgment is now on the house of God.” This is our “day of judgment.” This is our day of making war against “the principalities and powers in [our] heavens.” This is our “day of the Lord.” This is the day of our “war in heaven”, and that is why we are dealing with horses instead of any other animal here in the revelation of Jesus Christ within us.

We will consider the spiritual significance of each of these four horses and their riders in our future studies.

Audio Links

Introduction

Psa 147:10  He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
Psa 147:11  The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

That is the spiritual significance of the horse. Spiritually the ‘horse’ typifies the strength of man, and our Lord has “no pleasure in the legs of a man.” Look at what the scriptures say to us about our spiritual desire to have horses:

Deu 17:14  When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
Deu 17:15  Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Deu 17:16  But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Deu 17:17  Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

This command is like “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it…” These verses in Deuteronomy 17 are a prophecy, words proceeding out of the mouth of God, by which we must now live.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

So what do we naturally do? We keep the name of being God’s people while we ignore what He says:

1Ki 10:26  And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
1Ki 10:28  And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
1Ki 10:29  And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out [of Egypt] by their means.

Horses are invariably mentioned in the context of waging wars

Jer 6:23  They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

Horses, in God’s Word, are powerful creatures within us. They are used both to destroy our flesh and to renew and build up our spirit. Like every other word, the ‘horse’ has both a positive and a negative application as a type of God’s Work which He is doing within us as we will see.

Christ has purchased our horses

Christ has paid the price for our whole world, including our horses. We may forget it at times, but the fact is that everything we are or have is actually just ours on loan.

1Ch 29:14  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
1Ch 29:15  For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
1Ch 29:16  O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

How has this come to be?

Gen 47:16  And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
Gen 47:17  And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

What happens to our horses when we fail to realize whose they are?

We all have to be brought to see that our strength is not our strength. The only way to do this is for God to strip us of our strength.

Exo 9:1  Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 9:2  For if thou refuse to let [them] go, and wilt hold them still,
Exo 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain [pestilence].
Exo 9:4  And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all [that is] the children’s of Israel.
Exo 9:5  And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
Exo 9:6  And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

Exo 9:15  For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence [same word translated ‘murrain’ in verse 3]; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
Exo 9:16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Exo 9:17  As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

It is only by stripping us of our strength that we can become strong.

Deu 11:7  But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did.
Deu 11:4  And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and [how] the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day;

He destroys the strength of the flesh “suddenly”

Jos 11:1  And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard [those things], that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
Jos 11:2  And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west,
Jos 11:3  And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
Jos 11:4  And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that [is] upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Jos 11:5  And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
Jos 11:6  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
Jos 11:7  So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
Jos 11:8  And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.

I will digress enough to ask just how “suddenly” do you suppose Israel “fell upon them?” The concept involved in Israel’s war with all of these overpowering forces is the same concept involved in this verse:

Isa 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, [Hebrew: pith’ôm, instantly] and they came to pass.

How long did it take our Lord to “suddenly” speak this world into existence?

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Intellectual ‘horses’ who deny these words will be destroyed, and their destruction will take no longer than their creation. It will be “suddenly,” it will be instantly, just as Joshua and Israel fell on the Canaanite kings and just as God spoke “the former things from the beginning” into existence. Christ will just look at such powerful carnal intellects and ask them, “How, pray tell, would it glorify me to take thousands of years to create an interdependent world? The things I am doing all have a spiritual message to them. What is the spiritual message I am supposedly conveying in making the creation days into creation ages? The work I am doing is “a short work,” and when I qualify just how short is short, then listen to what I say. The evening and the morning were the first through the sixth days in which everything in heaven and in earth were created.”

Our intellect is but one of the powerful horses which must be subjected to the will and the words of God. All that receives its strength from anything but faith in God’s Words, are powerful horses which must be “houghed” and destroyed .

Jos 11:6  And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough [hamstring] their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.

The horses are to be neutralized, and their chariots are to be burned with the fire that is the Truth of God’s Word.

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

God’s Word, Christ, is the center of every prophecy in scripture. Christ, His words, His doctrines, and His Christ are at the heart of every word of God, including the ‘horse’ in scripture. The white, the red, the black and the pale (green) horses of Revelation 6 are all the great powers of God, working the work of Christ in the lives of His creation. It takes a very powerful creature to make the point that is being made of the strength of these forces in our lives. Without these powerful creatures of warfare, the war would not be waged, but through these four powerul creatures, our whole lives are turned from death to life.

Job 39:18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
Job 39:19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
Job 39:20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
Job 39:21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
Job 39:22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
Job 39:23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
Job 39:24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
Job 39:25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

God uses four horses to prepare us to receive the three woes of His judgment

These are not wild beasts. They are four horses. These are all Christ working in us. It is Christ who comes on a white horse to conquer, and conquer He will.

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Rev 6:3  And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:4  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 should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 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.
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Rev 6:7  And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:8  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 [therion – a dangerous, venomous, wild beast] of the earth.
Rev 6:9  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:
Rev 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?
Rev 6:11  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.
Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  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.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  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;
Rev 6:16  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:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Let’s analyze who these four horses are. Remember that horses are not wild animals, but they are used to wage war.

1) The white horse rider is Christ who comes to us riding a white horse, conquering our lives.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. [What does the white horse rider do?]

Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

2) Christ is the red horse rider. Christ tells us plainly that it is He who has come to take peace away from the earth. It is Christ who rides the red horse through our lives.

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. [What does the ‘red horse’ rider carry with him?]

Rev 6:4  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 should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

3) Christ is the black horse rider. He tells us the virgins in the kingdom have oil in their lamps, that He is the bread of life, the wine is His blood, and He tells us that the day will come when we will want to see Him and will not be able to find Him.

Mat 25:1  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2  And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish.
Mat 25:3  They that [were] foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
Mat 25:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Joh 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world [but we squander our substance just as Christ foretold].

Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. [Meaning:]

Luk 15:14  And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. [What does the black horse rider do?]

Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast 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.
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

4) Christ rides the fourth ‘pale,’ (green) horse. Christ destroys the devil through death, and tells us that all power is given Him in heaven and in earth:

Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Heb 2:11  For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [What is this pale horse rider given? He is given power over a fourth part of the earth and over wild beasts]

Rev 6:7  And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:8  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 [therion – a dangerous, venomous, wild beast] of the earth.

“His name… was death… and power was given him… to kill with death.”

What are we told of Christ? “All power [even the power over death] is given to me… that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man… that throught death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Horses are powerful beasts within each of us. We all take pride in our horses when we are the rider. But Christ takes no pleasure in us as the rider of our horses.
There are four horses in scripture which are used by Christ to open to us the revelation of Jesus Christ. These four horses are ridden by Christ to wage war within us. Christ is riding the white, red, black, and pale horses as He wages war against the powers and principalities within our heavens. Remember this whole vision is taking place within the heavens:

Rev 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

It is only through Christ riding the white horse throughout our lives that we are conquered. It is Christ who comes to take  peace from our ‘earth’ as the rider on the red horse. We squander our inheritance, and are in want of bread and oil as Christ rides a black horse through our lives.  Finally we “die daily” as Christ rides His pale horse through our lives. In doing so He is given  power over the wild beasts in our flesh.

It is all the opening of the first four seals of the book of “the revelation of Jesus Christ,” and only after these four horses have ridden through our lives are we then prepared for the judgment to be found in the judgments which comprise the last three seals of this book.

Rev 6:9  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:
Rev 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?
Rev 6:11  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.
Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  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.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  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;
Rev 6:16  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:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The seven trumpet judgments are the seventh seal and the seventh trumpet is the seven plagues. The seven trumpets and the seven plagues are all found in the seventh of these seven seals of this revelation of Jesus Christ. It is Christ in us, as the four horsemen seals which prepares us for the judgment that follows.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

[The next installment of this study can be found here.]