God is Not Mocked!
“I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne
(The Revelation 5: 1-2 NASB)
a book written inside and on the back,
sealed up with seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”
For years, my husband and I have looked forward to July. During this single month, we watch the Tour de France, and then every two years, the summer Olympics. This season brought no difference. On Friday night, we stayed up late to watch the opening ceremony, to watch the parade of athletes all coming together for one common pursuit—the winning of the Olympic medallions.
However, just two days from the opening ceremony, the Believers, the Christians, have reacted with one voice, repulsed by the mockery seen and felt during the opening ceremony. Rather than just the parade and celebration of the athletes from across the globe, we also experienced the parade of evilness, repulsiveness, and impending death.
- 1st Seal—a white horse, one with a rider who wears a crown and goes out to conquer.
- 2nd Seal—a red horse, one with a rider who brings division and war.
- 3rd Seal—a black horse, one with a rider who carries measuring scales to earth.
“When the Lamb broke the fourth seal,
(The Revelation 6: 7-8 NASB)
I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.”
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.”
- 4th Seal—an ashen horse (pale, greenish), one with a rider whose name is Death. Close behind Death comes Hades, and together, they kill one fourth of the earth with famine, pestilence, and wild animals.
During the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, scoffers and mockers of God attempted to ridicule the LORD, but we who believe in Jesus must take heart, must stand courageous, vocal, and steadfast.
The Bible clearly affirms God’s Truth. To the eternal praise of Jesus, believers will triumph—even over the fourth seal and the pale, ashen horse, and its rider Death.
The apostle Paul was given these words to write in The 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians—
“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
(The 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 15: 50-58 NASB)
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold, I tell you a mystery;
we will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed,
in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet;
for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed.”
[Paul speaks of the second coming of Jesus]
[God Is Not Mocked!]
“For this perishable must put on the imperishable,
and this mortal must put on immortality.”
[Paul speaks of our fleshly bodies]
“But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable,
and this mortal will have put on immortality,
then will come about the saying that is written,
“DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY?
O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”
[Paul speaks of the Triumph of Believers over Death]
“The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law;
but thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
[The apostle Paul then instructs the Believers, the Christians]
“Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast,
immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
We live in a thirsty land.
We live in a time when access to God’s Word is readily available, but in a time when more seem to turn away from The Truth of God.
No longer do we need to rely upon the temple authorities to stand and to read aloud the Bible.
No longer do only the wealthy have access to the scrolls filled with Scripture.
We have access to God’s Word on our phones, tablets, iPads, computers, and within our own copies of God’s Holy Word.
We can open &
We can read the Bible whenever we desire.
However, although we have access, still, a famine exists within our land. Child of God—
- We can choose to live close to the One Source who alone has the power to quench our thirst, who alone provides Living Water—OR—
- We can choose to walk through our days, dehydrated and panting, longing for the Living Water our Lord provides.
In the final book of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi reminds the reader of the coming day of our LORD & the judgment our Savior will bring.
“But who can endure the day of His coming?
(The Book of Malachi 3: 2-3a NASB)
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire and like a fullers’ soap.
He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, . . .”
The world may be filled with scoffers and those who delight in mocking our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the final book of the New Testament, the pale horse that Death rides is corpse-like in color, portraying a chilling scene of slaughter. We clearly view the eternal death and persecution of those who do not believe in Jesus.
Nevertheless—The Glory of the Lord is Apparent!
The psalmist reminds us in God’s Word how Believers in Jesus Christ will Triumph over Death to receive Eternity with Jesus Christ—
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
(The Psalms 1: 1-6 NASB)
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.”