Temple Baptist Church - 11-8-2020
Revelation 6:3-8
Introduction:
A. The First Seal has been opened: the introduction of the “Man of Sin.” “That Wicked” who was mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9:
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (9) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders …”
B. The “god of this world.”
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Matthew 4:8-9 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (9) And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
C. Tonight, as we open the next seals, 2-4, I want to look at the end-time and conditions that set up the government of Antichrist.
D. We live in the last of the last days, the end of the world as we have known it, the beginning of the end and the revelation of Jesus Christ.
E. The end-time government will be Dictatorship and Socialism!
Socialism defined: a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community, usually through a centralized government.
F. How will Socialism take over the world? BY THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE!
Revelation 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.
G. The First Seal: The Person of Socialism: The White Horse.
Revelation 6:1-2 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. (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.
1. Antichrist comes with the Removal of Righteousness. The “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” has been taken out, leaving world-wide unrighteousness.
Revelation 4:1-2 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. (2) And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
2. Antichrist comes with Great Deception: “behold a white horse.” He will be the “Great Pretender.”
Revelation 19:11-13 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. (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. (13) And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
3. Antichrist comes with Universal Acceptance. “a crown was given unto him …” He will come by “The Will of the People.” He will have a “bow” but no arrows. They will see him as he is and still accept his person.
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
4. Antichrist comes with Divine Delusion. “God will always give you what you want but it will always cost you what you’ve got.”
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
H. The Second Seal: The Power of Socialism: The Red Horse.
Revelation 6:3-4 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. (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.
1. Socialism is equated with Marxism and Communism. When I think of the Red Horse, I think of the “Red Scare” of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Back in those days, people thought that the “Reds” were coming. People built “Bomb Shelters,” and some remain to this day. I believe there is one on Trinity Church Road here in Laurens. Remember when the walls came down in Communist countries. The people were set free and later freely accepted the same system of government that had enslaved them. America follows closely in their path.
2. Socialism says “Peace, Peace” but has the power to rob its populace of peace: both inner peace, that is a solace to its people, and outward peace, to surround its people. In America today, before the Rapture of the Church, we see killing-robbing-burning, etc. all around us with people’s hearts failing them with fear. On Christmas Day of 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day” which was published as a song in 1865. It is one of my favorites. In the third verse of the song, he wrote these words:
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
3. Socialism destroys the Sanctity of Life. “They should kill one another …” While animal life is prized, human life is not! Save the puppies and kill the babies! People killing each other like animals across our land. Socialism is about the welfare of the whole instead of the welfare of the individuals.
J. The Third Seal: The Product of Socialism: The Black Horse.
Revelation 6:5-6 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. (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.
1. Socialism brings with it the Death of Capitalism. Capitalism is the power of the people to choose their own destiny while Socialism is the power of the government to choose destiny for the people.
Capitalism defined: an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state
1a. Abraham Lincoln, in his “Gettysburg Address,” spoke these words about the intended course of our nation: “that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom[8]—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
2a. Big People, Little Government; Big Government, Little People!
3a. Freedom, a contraction of two words: free and dom. “Free to choose one’s destiny.” Socialism makes one’s choice and seals one’s doom.
2. Socialism brings with it Poverty. “a measure of wheat for a penny.” A measure of wheat was what it took to sustain a man while a penny was a day’s wage.
Matthew 20:2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3. The bare necessity of life is one meal! Socialism destroys the Constitutional right of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This well-known phrase is found in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the "unalienable rights" which the Declaration says have been given to all humans by their creator, and which governments are created to protect.
4. No socialistic nation on earth prospers!
K. The Fourth Seal: The Purpose of Socialism: The Pale Horse.
Revelation 6:7-8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. (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.
1. Socialism is progressive in nature and advances almost without notice in its beginning.
The past 3 weeks, we have looked at the revelation and revealing of the Antichrist. The “god of this world” is a God hater from the beginning and has conditioned this present evil world for his revealing and acceptance.
2. Socialism destroys the power of the people. As the people gradually relinquish their power to the government, government takes over all aspects of their lives. Someone once said, “Socialism is the most perfect form of human government until the other man’s money runs out.” Government like to govern! Two things that I ALWAYS vote against in public referendums: 1) to give the government more power 2) to give the government more money. They abuse them both!
3. Socialism destroys all who oppose it. In our economy, the voices of the conservative people are constantly being silenced through censorship or threat of violence. It will be amplified greatly during the Tribulation Period. Death and then hell follow. Capitalism is the right of personal choice while socialism is the removal of personal choice. They eventually turn on and, in the Tribulation Period, kill those who would dare to stand against their policies.
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