“Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 6:1-17

The First Seal—Rider on White Horse

6 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” ² I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

The Second Seal—War

³ When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” ⁴ And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

The Third Seal—Famine

⁵ When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

The Fourth Seal—Death

⁷ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” ⁸ I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal—Martyrs

⁹ When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; ¹⁰ and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.

The Sixth Seal—Terror

¹² I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; ¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. ¹⁴ The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

This text from John's vision of the end times deals with the begining of the period known as the great tribulation, the releasing of God's judgment against the evil on earth. There are those who believe that the church, Jesus' bride will be taken from this earthly realm before the begining of these judgments. There are many scriptures that support this idea of the rapture of the church, including this from 1 Thessalonians 4:

 ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 

My intention here is not to present a case for or against the rapture of the church. Many scholars have spent a lifetime studying and interpreting the scriptures that surround the end times and the  rapture of the church and there are still many opinions about if and when it will take place. I don't believe God has called me to spend my life trying to figure when He is coming back.  My desire is to understand what the Spirit is saying to me and to the church today and how that understanding should change the way I live. 

Jesus says this about the end times in Matthew 24: ³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only... ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  

We are called to live each day expecting Jesus to return, living in a manner that would please Him if He did. Many books have been written and movies have been made about the rapture of the church. The problem I have with the focus of that message, that Jesus will spare the church from going through the tribulation is that while it plays well in the comfort of western society and culture, that message will not sell very well in places around the world where people are already suffering from diseases, starvation, lack of water even persecution and death. How do we encourage those who are already suffering with the hope of the rapture? Rick Joyner shares a vision he had concerning the end times. I'll share it with you.

RICK JOYNER QUOTE GOD TV:  THE GREAT TRIBULATION

http://www.morningstarministries.org/ 

He shared a vision where he was at the helm of a ship and Jesus was standing next to him watching the radar screen.  

“And there was a blip on the screen and it kept getting closer and closer.  And I just naturally turned the ship and the blip kept coming, it didnt move.  I turned the other direction.  It still kept coming.  Finally I just braced myself for the impact.  We’re going to hit this, what ever it is.  And nothing happened.  I said, “Lord what was that?” He said, That was the great tribulation.  It’s a tiny little blip on the radar screen of all I am doing.  All you have to do is stay close to Me and you are not going to feel anything.”{End Rick Joyner quotes} 

That's what I have come to believe about the end times and the great tribulation. Just as with the other trials and tribulations we experience in this life, Jesus promise is that,  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Whether delivered through the tribulation or from the tribulation Jesus is our protection and will never fail us. We are called to be ready for His coming, whether that is an individual call to the end of our time on earth or as part of a call to His bride.

Revelation ends with these words Revelation 22:20

 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Can we say Amen?