THE SEVEN SEALED BOOK
and a different pre-trib rapture view
To the Church,
the Body of Christ, of which I am most grateful to be a part.
The 3rd Seal reveals Satan's Church Age scheme to effect poverty for most, but luxury for some.
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2004 Indian Ocean 227,898 deaths
2005 Kashmir 87,351 deaths
2008 Sichuan 87,587 deaths
2010 Haiti 160,000 deaths
2023 Turkey-Syria 59,259 deaths ​​​​​​​​​​​
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And last, but not least, the word "troubles" in Mark 13:8 is from the Greek word tarache, which, according to Strong's Concordance, means "disturbance, i.e. (of water) roiling, or (of a mob) sedition." These meanings indicate things beyond the "famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes" (Matt. 24:7) that are commonly focused upon. It is easy to see disturbances relating to water "roiling" having to do with such things as hurricanes, typhons, and flooding. And, the latter definition, "(of a mob) sedition," needs no comment beyond our present-day nightly news! Do the uprisings that have happened in the world and in our day lend to poverty conditions? Suffice it to say that such does not help matters much.
Now, by the data available in 2020, according to poverty statistics for the year 2017 (search "poverty statistics" on the Internet), 9.2 percent of the world's population, or 689 million people, were struggling to live on less than $1.90 a day. That's over twice the population of the United States. Further, 24.1 percent of the world was living on less than $3.20 a day and 43.6 percent on less than $5.50 a day. That latter percentage represents over three billion people (3,310,984,000 to be more exact). That's right at 10 times the population of the United States. What is going on?
Consider: How long has Christ's Bride endeavored to help those who have been impoverished by all the famines, disease outbreaks, and catastrophes that have occurred abroad, only to have so many of Her efforts rode roughshod over by something? That something, I submit, stems from the activity of the rider on the black horse of the 3rd Seal. And if so, as can be imagined, such a one would have zero sympathy for the tears, the little children with swollen stomachs, the sickly and dying, or those ravaged by the devastation he leaves in his path as he spurs his steed onward in his campaign to effect poverty.
Notice also that something is said about "the oil and the wine" (vs. 6). These are normally understood to represent luxuries of the rich, which are to be left alone. In the context of how the rich fare, the extent of destitution in this world, so often to the point of starvation, is troubling. It is like a picture depicting sprinkles of lavish prosperity on a big black canvas of abject want. If the scheme of this rider on the black horse has been to keep things so unbalanced in our world (again, from as far back as the first century), he has certainly not received the recognition due him for a job well done.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful," and there are none who have been more merciful than His Bride. But there will not be a time when She can say Her mission is accomplished, for this rider is not going to be returning to his corral, not this side of Christ's return, anyway.
And then, there is the last horseman, who may be the most sinister of them all.​​​​​​​​
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PROPOSITION O
John's account of the opening of the seals continues thus, from Revelation 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.
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.
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And, what was the third category of bad things, or tribulation, Jesus warned of in His Olivet Discourse that would characterize what the future held? Again, from Matthew 24, we read:
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7 ...and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
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In Mark's account of Jesus' discourse, we find a little more that He said, something I don't recall others ever pointing out. Consider from chapter 13:
8 ...and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles...
While it may be a little more difficult to see the parallel of all the things Jesus speaks of above with what John records concerning the opening of the 3rd Seal, the connection is definitely there. The information of the 3rd Seal, in the setting of the first century, reflects a day's minimum of food costing a day's wages (cp. Matt. 20:2). This bespeaks shortages of food and also poverty conditions to a degree hardly realized in America, but so common in the rest of the world. The connection with what Jesus spoke of is this: We know that famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and "troubles" lend to poverty conditions. In a moment we will look at some very telling poverty data. But first, I would like to point out a few things relating to what Jesus said.
The word "pestilences" is from the Greek word loimos, which means "a plague" (Strong's Concordance). My old hardback Webster's defines it as "a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating" and shows the Bubonic plague (commonly referred to as the Black Death) for an example. An estimated "75,000,000 - 200,000,000" have died from this pestilence, which "peaked in Europe from 1347 to 1351" (Black Death/Wikipedia). Of course, COVID-19 is a modern day pestilence that our generation will always remember. According to the World Heath Organization, as of "July 2023, there have been 768,983,095 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,953,743 deaths." My wife and I (sickest I've ever been!) would be two of those "confirmed cases"!
The word "earthquake" is from the Greek word seismos, which means "a commotion, i.e. (of the air) a gale, (of the ground) an earthquake" (again, Strong's Concordance). Interestingly, this is the word from which "tempest" is translated in Matthew 8:24, which reads, "And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep." Also interesting is that tornados can cause seismic activity, something scientists are beginning to use to measure their intensity. So, the word "seismos" that Jesus used would take in more than what we commonly regard as earthquakes.
Moreover, while some individuals may have not personally felt an "earthquake" (I have felt two in my life, one that really scared me), they are very common from a worldwide perspective and certainly happen in accord with what Jesus said, "in divers (various) places"! As a matter of fact, no truer words have ever been spoken, as a little Google searching will reveal. Just in terms of a very abbreviated list of the earthquakes that have occurred since the turn of the millennium (2000-2023), consider these top five (as far as fatalities go), shown in Wikepedia...​​
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