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1. The First Seal: A Rider on a White Horse (Revelation 6:1-2)

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Jesus Christ's Sermon About the Future of the World: Whoever becomes engrossed in the subject of the Last Days, will sooner or later come across the sermon of Jesus Christ about the Last Days which is reported in Matthew 24 and 25. There it will become clearer who will be the rider on the white horse and what will happen afterwards.

Jesus warned his disciples emphatically in this sermon about the Last Days not to speculate about how and when he will return. They should rather watch so as not to get deceived by false prophets or an anti-Christ.

The book of Revelation will neither provide us with spine-chillers nor satisfy our curiosity about the Last Days of the earth, but it will rather warn the church as well as every Christian against the temptation by anti-Christian powers and strengthen the tempted believers so that they will not be in doubt about the love of the Lamb of God.

If you compare the inner structure of Matthew 24:5-30 with the passage of Revelation 6:1-17, you may gain a spiritual guide so as to understand the seven seals:

Matthew 24:5-30	Revelation 6:1-17
v 5 describing the personified anti-Christ corresponds to	v 1-2 describing the first seal with the rider on a white horse
v 6-7 describing wars correspond to	v 3-4 describing the second seal with the rider on a red horse bringing war
v 7 describing famines corresponds to	v 5-6 describing the third seal with the rider on a black horse bringing rising prises and famines
v 7-8 describing earthquakes and epidemic plagues correspond to	v 7-8 describing the fourth seal with the rider, whose name is death, on a pale horse bringing sword, famine, pestilence and wild animals
v 9-14 describing the great tribulation and the martyrs correspond to	v 9-11 describing the fifth seal and the souls of the martyrs below the altar of burnt offerings
v 29-30 describing the signs on heaven which mark the beginning of the visible return of Jesus Christ correspond to	v 12-17 describing the sixth seal with the natural disasters and the events in heaven and on earth on the Day of the wrath of the Lamb of God
	The seventh seal turns into the seven trumpet and bowl judgments.

PRAYER: Living Lord Jesus, You warned Your disciples about the developments after Your ascension to Your Heavenly Father, and You repeated the word, "Beware". Help us to distinguish between the true and the untrue, between love and selfishness, to follow You by denying ourselves, and to endure to the end, waiting for You with expectancy.

QUESTION:

60. What did you understand about the relation between Christ's sermon in Matt about the end of time and His revelations in Revelation 6?

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