Revelation
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.
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.
...
Jesus opened the third seal of this very important book and the third beast (the one with a face of a man, with six wings and full of eyes like all four beasts had in common) spoke and told John to come and see, to come look. And John was shown a black horse. What is the opposite of white? Black. If white is purity and light, black is impurity and darkness isn't it? White raiment is known as being the righteousness of Christ, if there were black raiment it would be the unrighteousness portray- filthy garments. The white horse traveling through a period of time when the early church prospered without gross persecution. The red horse traveling through a period of time where there was much blood shed for God's people in fact the bloodiest period of time in 303AD to 313AD before Christianity was finally accepted by the mainstream. Now this black horse and a rider with a pair of balances.
Balances- even today we use them to denote what? Justice.
Symbolism-
The scales (specifically, a two pan, beam balance) are one of the traditional symbols of justice, as wielded by statues of Lady Justice. This corresponds to the use in metaphor of matters being "held in the balance". It has its origins in ancient Egypt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weighing_scale
When you have two forces in play a balance can be tipped in favor of one or the other- or remain in it's non-tipped state symbolizing equality. You have two forces good and evil and Christ way overtips the one side of the balance to good so in this depiction along with the dark horse at a time when the Christian church was finally not suffering persecution represents what? The church of good and the church of evil perhaps? With the balance held as such in this time could it denote the birth of the corrupt church that would counter the pure church? It was historically a time when paganisn began to mingle with Christianity making it impure while retaining the title pure. Corruption, deception, darkness winds its way into the church and a corrupt church suits the purposes of Satan rather well. When you add the commerce of goods and payments to the picture we're adding what to the mix? A government, yes? An economy and every economy is ruled by a government. With the balances in the picture we have can imagine that symbol of civil power, of government power because once more meting out justice is government function. The involvement of government with religion - the beginning of the very corrupted pure Christianity began. Christ would have His disciples render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's, and to God what is God's, He did not promote a Christian government or a time when the church would work as any type of civil power, but rather claimed this was not His world, not our world. Yet during this period of time church and state held the beginnings of the formation of the pagan papacy.
...
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.
...
This time it's not saying where the voice is exactly coming from rather from the midst of the four beasts. It's not pinpointing the One Worthy who is opening the seals either. This voice is in the midst of the beasts and thus far 3 of the beasts have spoken as the seals were broken. This additional voice makes it stand out- makes us take notice.
A measure of wheat for a penny. Food = money.
Three measures of barley for a penny. Food = money.
Buying and selling. The great concern here isn't the purity of Christ but rather money, goods.
Yet there's an admonition- see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. Could it be that the wheat and the barley were being hurt? How could such commodities be hurt? For that matter how could you hurt oil and wine? Corruption can hurt it all. Here there is pointed mention of the wheat and the barley being sold and the admonition not to hurt the oil and wine. Nothing about selling the oil and wine but the fact the oil and wine could be hurt. If I tell you not to hurt something then the possibility exists that it can be hurt or else there need be no mention of it, right?
Throughout the Bible oil has had it's special place as well as wine in the service of God. Even Jesus in the parable of the Samaritan helping the wounded man had the man tending him with oil and wine- healing him, soothing him. If the oil and wine are hurt there can be no healing perhaps. Also consider the parable of the virgins and the oil in their lamps- those who brought extra were commended and welcomed to the feast while those who did not bring extra were shut out. Already in the vision of the seven churches the last church was admonished to buy eye salve to see, oil so that their eyes would be open to the truth's of Jesus that there would be Spiritual guidance. Wine as we know Jesus used to symbolize the blood He spilled for mankind. If there is a hurting of the oil an the wine there is a lack of spirit and blood both necessary to be in Christ fully. Those true to Christ while the corruption began in earnest during the time of the third seal needed to guard the truth of the oil and wine, the spirit and blood and hold fast to that truth as it was being corrupted and brought into ruin so easily, so deceptively.
May God keep our eyes and hearts open to Him. May we remember these words and understand that during great famines of a spiritual nature we can hold fast to Christ and His sacrifice for us through the Holy Spirit's comforting, guiding, admonishing. As the end approaches the Spirit of God is withdrawn from the earth and we who long to be His and standfast in Him need to protect the spiritually precious, gifts that cannot be bought but need to be given to us by Christ, who counsels us to buy of Him- Him who has paid the highest price so that we may have the gift of eternal life in Him, now and forever He reigns! All glory to God in the Highest! All praise, all honor, all majesty heavenward. By His grace and mercy. Amen.
9/8/10
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Melchizedek
King of righteousness, the king of Salem (q.v.). All we know of him is recorded in Gen_14:18-20. He is subsequently mentioned only once in the Old Testament, in Psa_110:4. The typical significance of his history is set forth in detail in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Heb. 7. The apostle there points out the superiority of his priesthood to that of Aaron in these several respects,
(1.) Even Abraham paid him tithes;
(2.) he blessed Abraham;
(3.) he is the type of a Priest who lives for ever;
(4.) Levi, yet unborn, paid him tithes in the person of Abraham;
(5.) the permanence of his priesthood in Christ implied the abrogation of the Levitical system;
(6.) he was made priest not without an oath; and
(7.) his priesthood can neither be transmitted nor interrupted by death: “this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.”
The question as to who this mysterious personage was has given rise to a great deal of modern speculation. It is an old tradition among the Jews that he was Shem, the son of Noah, who may have survived to this time. Melchizedek was a Canaanitish prince, a worshipper of the true God, and in his peculiar history and character an instructive type of our Lord, the great High Priest (Heb_5:6, Heb_5:7; Heb_6:20). One of the Amarna tablets is from Ebed-Tob, king of Jerusalem, the successor of Melchizedek, in which he claims the very attributes and dignity given to Melchizedek in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Obviously Melchisedec was unique. Christ was and is unique as well. Not High Priests from the established priesthood but rather High Priests uniquely called to be so of God.
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Before God established the priesthood, there were priests. Most of the priests were worshippers of false gods. Priests that would offer sacrifices of all sorts to their gods, priests that had their own ranking orders. The idea of priests was not foreign and newly introduced. Priests were those who offered sacrifices.
What made Melchizedek unique was HIS God. The God He sacrificed to. He didn't sacrifice to false gods. He knew of the ONE TRUE God, the Most High God above all others. He knew of the reality of God in a world teeming with false gods. Not looking to any man, to any king, to any other to work his office of priesthood for, Melchizedek looked solely to God. The priesthood He embraced was for God and God alone, doing God's will. He didn't need to be ordained by any other because He was accepted by God- His priesthood was accepted by God. When He sacrificed to God His sacrifices were accepted. God ordained Him just as God ordained His Son- accepting His, the greatest of sacrifices.
We choose to follow the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We accept Him as our High Priest, the One who sacrifices for us, His sin-filled people.
People were instructed by God to live under the sacrificial system so that even though they were sin-filled they could be forgiven of those sins and no longer be separated from Him by those sins. When Melchizedek offered a sacrifice His sacrifices were accepted by God- His heart was pure, He made atonement for His sins that separated Him from God. Jesus was accepted of God, Jesus was without sin, the sacrifice He made was for OUR SINS, sins He took on Himself willingly so we could be at one with God again. No sacrifice we could make on behalf of ourselves would be accepted- the sacrifice of the innocent Lamb, the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice EVERY lamb offered, every bullock, every dove, every single sacrifice offered pointed to the ultimate sacrifice--
Christ the Great HIGH PRIEST ordained of God, not of man.
Let us contemplate this as much as we can, understanding how blessed we are to have such a High Priest, a pure, incorruptible High Priest, a High Priest forever ordained by God Himself. When people are searching for acceptability by God they often seek for it in many, many ways but there is only ONE way for us to be accepted by God and that is through His Great High Priest- Jesus Christ. We can only go to our High Priest and seek His intervention with God on our behalf, only then can we be accepted- because HE is accepted and HE loves us and willingly offered Himself for us. We need to trust FULLY in Him and what HE'S done, HE alone saves.
By His mercy!
By His grace!
By His love!
By His sacrifice!
By His righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
9/8/11
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.
Jesus
opened one of the seals on that very important book in His hands. When He did so
there was a great noise- isn't thunder a great noise? Thunder sounded. How
ominous does that sound? You break a seal and thunder sounds. Again we can't
help but imagine a movie scene here- the thunder booming as the seal is broken
signifying something of importance taking place. And something important did
take place-
One of the four beasts surrounding the throne spoke to
John telling him to come and see... come look... And John was allowed to see the vision of a white horse with
a person sitting upon the horse holding a bow and then someone was giving the
person on the white horse a crown and after that the rider on the white horse
when forth conquering right away, his mission to conquer.
White is a
symbol of purity. Christ's righteousness is as a white raiment. To ride upon a
white horse is symbolic of going forth in purity, the righteousness of the new
faith in Christ. This coincides with the first Church- Ephesus and the time line
that was established there. There
was a sense of purity as our Savior brought the gospel message to the world.
That new message so different than any other message was given to us in the pure
righteousness of our Savior. The conquering our Savior did was over sin, over
eternal death resulting from sin. On the cross Jesus Christ secured forever His
right to save humanity, the victory over Satan was won. God's people having
lived in expectation of a Messiah now would live with the Messiah realized. Our
Lord conquered and His Apostles were given the command to continue to preach the
gospel of salvation in Christ to all.
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.
Jesus
opens the second seal and right away John hears the second beast -remember the
second beast around about the throne is like a calf filled with eyes- this beast
tells John to come and see. Again John is allowed another vision. He looks and
he sees another horse- this time a red horse going forth. A red horse, no longer
a white horse. If white symbolizes purity and righteousness, red symbolizes
what? Blood, destruction, impurity. The one who sat upon the red horse was given
power, power to take peace from the earth. This lull was to be destroyed, when
you take peace from something you bring what? Discord. The peace was to be taken
and power so people would kill one another, a great sword of death was being
wielded by the one upon the red horse. Think about what history reveals for the
time after the early church...
Note this-
'The spirit of this
period perhaps reached its climax as we come to the days of Constantine, the
first so-called Christian emperor, whose conversion to Christianity in A.D. 323
brought about a compromise between the church and the Roman Empire. The Edict of
Milan in A.D. 313, is said to have granted toleration to Christians and allowed
conversions to Christianity. Kenneth S. Latourette declares that the acts
immediately preceding and culminating in the Edict of Milan in 313 "still remain
the most significant of the many milestones in the road by which the church and
the state moved toward co-operation.' [4]
[4] Kenneth Scott Latourette,
A History of the Expansion of Christianity, Vol. I, The First Five Centuries, p.
159.
And Note this-
'The Diocletianic Persecution (or Great
Persecution) was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman
empire.[1] In 303, Emperor Diocletian and his colleagues Maximian, Galerius, and
Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and
demanding they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts
targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants
to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the
empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and
strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutionary laws were nullified by
different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius's Edict of
Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution
The persecutions of the early Christians grew so intense that it is
noted in history as - the 'last and most severe persecution' this took place
under the red horse period and it's fitting isn't it?
'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.'
A great sword indeed and it was geared towards the destruction of Christians,
the destruction of the early church, truly a horse of red with a rider set to
destroy.
The purity of
Christianity was quickly corrupted and then corrupted fully. History reveals to
us that all but one Apostle was murdered. These were God's chosen! These men
walked with Jesus and learned from the Master Himself. Given a charge they knew
that after the Savior was crucified that they could hope for no less of an end.
All who truly follow our Savior understand that persecution is to be expected-
physical and spiritual persecution.
The greatest accepted persecution of Christians took place
during a ten year period before 313 AD- this is all factual.
Read this…
'Nevertheless,
all above should not reflect Pope`s visit to Serbia in 2013, for the celebration
of 1700 years of the Edict of Milan.'
Pasted
from <http://thesop.org/story/20110616/will-the-pope-visit-serbia-for-the-edict-of-milan-in-2013.html>
Celebrations for
the EDICT of MILAN- 1700 years ago this took place. This historic event is
something we have to recognize when we look at prophecy. We are historic
witnesses to the fact that for two hundred some years after Jesus' death there
was intense Christian persecution, the followers of Christ were not accepted.
Great persecution took place and then…it was declared unacceptable to persecute
Christians.
Today Christians
are still persecuted, but NOT in a widely accepted manner at all.
May God bless us
and keep us and may the Holy Spirit guide us into a fuller understanding of His
word. By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and
forever, all honor, praise and glory to him!
Amen.
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Melchizedek
King of righteousness, the king of Salem (q.v.). All we know of him is recorded in Gen_14:18-20. He is subsequently mentioned only once in the Old Testament, in Psa_110:4. The typical significance of his history is set forth in detail in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Heb. 7. The apostle there points out the superiority of his priesthood to that of Aaron in these several respects,
(1.) Even Abraham paid him tithes;
(2.) he blessed Abraham;
(3.) he is the type of a Priest who lives for ever;
(4.) Levi, yet unborn, paid him tithes in the person of Abraham;
(5.) the permanence of his priesthood in Christ implied the abrogation of the Levitical system;
(6.) he was made priest not without an oath; and
(7.) his priesthood can neither be transmitted nor interrupted by death: “this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.”
The question as to who this mysterious personage was has given rise to a great deal of modern speculation. It is an old tradition among the Jews that he was Shem, the son of Noah, who may have survived to this time. Melchizedek was a Canaanitish prince, a worshipper of the true God, and in his peculiar history and character an instructive type of our Lord, the great High Priest (Heb_5:6, Heb_5:7; Heb_6:20). One of the Amarna tablets is from Ebed-Tob, king of Jerusalem, the successor of Melchizedek, in which he claims the very attributes and dignity given to Melchizedek in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Heb 5:10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Obviously Melchisedec was unique. Christ was and is unique as well. Not High Priests from the established priesthood but rather High Priests uniquely called to be so of God.
Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Before God established the priesthood, there were priests. Most of the priests were worshippers of false gods. Priests that would offer sacrifices of all sorts to their gods, priests that had their own ranking orders. The idea of priests was not foreign and newly introduced. Priests were those who offered sacrifices.
What made Melchizedek unique was HIS God. The God He sacrificed to. He didn't sacrifice to false gods. He knew of the ONE TRUE God, the Most High God above all others. He knew of the reality of God in a world teeming with false gods. Not looking to any man, to any king, to any other to work his office of priesthood for, Melchizedek looked solely to God. The priesthood He embraced was for God and God alone, doing God's will. He didn't need to be ordained by any other because He was accepted by God- His priesthood was accepted by God. When He sacrificed to God His sacrifices were accepted. God ordained Him just as God ordained His Son- accepting His, the greatest of sacrifices.
We choose to follow the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We accept Him as our High Priest, the One who sacrifices for us, His sin-filled people.
People were instructed by God to live under the sacrificial system so that even though they were sin-filled they could be forgiven of those sins and no longer be separated from Him by those sins. When Melchizedek offered a sacrifice His sacrifices were accepted by God- His heart was pure, He made atonement for His sins that separated Him from God. Jesus was accepted of God, Jesus was without sin, the sacrifice He made was for OUR SINS, sins He took on Himself willingly so we could be at one with God again. No sacrifice we could make on behalf of ourselves would be accepted- the sacrifice of the innocent Lamb, the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice EVERY lamb offered, every bullock, every dove, every single sacrifice offered pointed to the ultimate sacrifice--
Christ the Great HIGH PRIEST ordained of God, not of man.
Let us contemplate this as much as we can, understanding how blessed we are to have such a High Priest, a pure, incorruptible High Priest, a High Priest forever ordained by God Himself. When people are searching for acceptability by God they often seek for it in many, many ways but there is only ONE way for us to be accepted by God and that is through His Great High Priest- Jesus Christ. We can only go to our High Priest and seek His intervention with God on our behalf, only then can we be accepted- because HE is accepted and HE loves us and willingly offered Himself for us. We need to trust FULLY in Him and what HE'S done, HE alone saves.
By His mercy!
By His grace!
By His love!
By His sacrifice!
By His righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
9/8/11
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.
Jesus
opened one of the seals on that very important book in His hands. When He did so
there was a great noise- isn't thunder a great noise? Thunder sounded. How
ominous does that sound? You break a seal and thunder sounds. Again we can't
help but imagine a movie scene here- the thunder booming as the seal is broken
signifying something of importance taking place. And something important did
take place-
One of the four beasts surrounding the throne spoke to
John telling him to come and see... come look... And John was allowed to see the vision of a white horse with
a person sitting upon the horse holding a bow and then someone was giving the
person on the white horse a crown and after that the rider on the white horse
when forth conquering right away, his mission to conquer.
White is a
symbol of purity. Christ's righteousness is as a white raiment. To ride upon a
white horse is symbolic of going forth in purity, the righteousness of the new
faith in Christ. This coincides with the first Church- Ephesus and the time line
that was established there. There
was a sense of purity as our Savior brought the gospel message to the world.
That new message so different than any other message was given to us in the pure
righteousness of our Savior. The conquering our Savior did was over sin, over
eternal death resulting from sin. On the cross Jesus Christ secured forever His
right to save humanity, the victory over Satan was won. God's people having
lived in expectation of a Messiah now would live with the Messiah realized. Our
Lord conquered and His Apostles were given the command to continue to preach the
gospel of salvation in Christ to all.
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.
Jesus
opens the second seal and right away John hears the second beast -remember the
second beast around about the throne is like a calf filled with eyes- this beast
tells John to come and see. Again John is allowed another vision. He looks and
he sees another horse- this time a red horse going forth. A red horse, no longer
a white horse. If white symbolizes purity and righteousness, red symbolizes
what? Blood, destruction, impurity. The one who sat upon the red horse was given
power, power to take peace from the earth. This lull was to be destroyed, when
you take peace from something you bring what? Discord. The peace was to be taken
and power so people would kill one another, a great sword of death was being
wielded by the one upon the red horse. Think about what history reveals for the
time after the early church...
Note this-
'The spirit of this
period perhaps reached its climax as we come to the days of Constantine, the
first so-called Christian emperor, whose conversion to Christianity in A.D. 323
brought about a compromise between the church and the Roman Empire. The Edict of
Milan in A.D. 313, is said to have granted toleration to Christians and allowed
conversions to Christianity. Kenneth S. Latourette declares that the acts
immediately preceding and culminating in the Edict of Milan in 313 "still remain
the most significant of the many milestones in the road by which the church and
the state moved toward co-operation.' [4]
[4] Kenneth Scott Latourette,
A History of the Expansion of Christianity, Vol. I, The First Five Centuries, p.
159.
And Note this-
'The Diocletianic Persecution (or Great
Persecution) was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman
empire.[1] In 303, Emperor Diocletian and his colleagues Maximian, Galerius, and
Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and
demanding they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts
targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants
to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the
empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and
strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutionary laws were nullified by
different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius's Edict of
Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution
The persecutions of the early Christians grew so intense that it is
noted in history as - the 'last and most severe persecution' this took place
under the red horse period and it's fitting isn't it?
'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.'
A great sword indeed and it was geared towards the destruction of Christians,
the destruction of the early church, truly a horse of red with a rider set to
destroy.
The purity of
Christianity was quickly corrupted and then corrupted fully. History reveals to
us that all but one Apostle was murdered. These were God's chosen! These men
walked with Jesus and learned from the Master Himself. Given a charge they knew
that after the Savior was crucified that they could hope for no less of an end.
All who truly follow our Savior understand that persecution is to be expected-
physical and spiritual persecution.
The greatest accepted persecution of Christians took place
during a ten year period before 313 AD- this is all factual.
Read this…
'Nevertheless,
all above should not reflect Pope`s visit to Serbia in 2013, for the celebration
of 1700 years of the Edict of Milan.'
Pasted
from <http://thesop.org/story/20110616/will-the-pope-visit-serbia-for-the-edict-of-milan-in-2013.html>
Celebrations for
the EDICT of MILAN- 1700 years ago this took place. This historic event is
something we have to recognize when we look at prophecy. We are historic
witnesses to the fact that for two hundred some years after Jesus' death there
was intense Christian persecution, the followers of Christ were not accepted.
Great persecution took place and then…it was declared unacceptable to persecute
Christians.
Today Christians
are still persecuted, but NOT in a widely accepted manner at all.
May God bless us
and keep us and may the Holy Spirit guide us into a fuller understanding of His
word. By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and
forever, all honor, praise and glory to him!
Amen.