Broad meadows

In the last installment we examined Genesis 38 and this is last place that the sun or the goat appears in the book of Genesis. I examined the prophetic implications of color to some extent and we may look at that more as we get further into the law, but today I want to connect what I think we have learned so far with what I believe the seals in the book of Revelation are actually prophesying.

To get quickly to the point, I believe through this study of this sun/goat character that we have been examining is the main character of those seals. The sixth seal is particularly compelling as it ties the sun and the goat together, the goats last appearance in the 1984 NIV. The reason that I put it that way is that the word goat does not appear in the original Greek, it simply says “made of hair.” I think that goat is overall is implied in scripture through this study. I think part of the reason that what John the Baptist wore was camel hair was to emphasize that he was not the goat, the messenger before the (second) coming of Christ. Jesus himself makes the point that he is not the messenger to come in Mark 9:12, “Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things.” Elijah (the one to come that Jesus refers to) I think is the goat part of the sun/goat characterization that has developed.

In the last installment we examined the fact that it was not Perez who is marked with the scarlet thread, the ancestor of Christ, but Zerah. This would merge Zerah with the goat, not Perez. As a Christian, this sounds a bit confusing because the church doesn’t teach it. I think we will begin to unravel more of this mystery by continuing to follow these symbols horizontally through the Bible and then the reason will become clearer. The seal, the chord and the staff were also added during this chapter. All three of those also point directly, as in the case of the seal(s) of Revelation, or indirectly as in “what is a bow without arrows?” (in the first seal) but a stick (staff) and a chord.

The rider on the first horse is riding on a white horse. In most Christian eschatology, this rider is the antichrist. This makes little sense in a symbolic sense because everywhere else in the book of Revelation white is connected to the throne of God or righteousness and is also the color of the horse ridden in Revelation 19 by the one who is “Faithful and True.” The seals are not part of the tribulation, but rather what causes it. The seals themselves are a telling of what occurs during the lifetime of this character.

The second seal is interesting because I think it has already occurred, which would mean that the rider on the first horse is here as well. In the seals themselves, you don’t get a lot of information, so both close examination and symbolism become very important to understanding. The horse is colored red and if you recall from the last writing, Zerah is marked with a scarlet thread. The great sword the rider is given has two meanings as I see it. One, is the first rider is using the sword of the spirit, that is the word of God (Galatians 6:17). The other meaning is that during this time another sword would be released, a physical manifestation that causes men to slay each other. One simple method I use in spots like this is to use simple, but precise definitions of symbols to gain insight. What is a physical sword? What does it do? A sword is typically a sharpened metallic instrument that kills or maims by piercing the flesh. Sound familiar? The shot that came out in response to a Covid is that sword. I don’t apologize for saying that. I watched the early numbers come in to VAERS and they were staggering and typically a small percentage of what is actually happening. And its effect worldwide is still being felt. It is part and parcel going forward of the fourth seal, where death and hades await.

The third seal’s symbology is also interesting. The physical manifestation of it clearly implies inflationary times, but the symbols “wheat” and “barley” give this seal a fascinating spiritual twist. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, the wheat represents the righteous. So what of barley? While we haven’t been able to add this symbol so far to this line of prophecy, but I can assure you that it is coming up and I’ll write about it at that time.

Since I mentioned the fourth seal above, I’m going to move to the fifth seal. Under the altar are the souls of the righteous crying out to God for justice. He gives each of them a white robe and assures them of that when those who were to be killed reaches a certain number. We find out that number in the fourth seal where a quarter of the earth’s population dies. The fifth seal would be an unusual sign to give in that it would be something that would be totally unobservable to the people of earth. How could it ever be confirmed? I think the sixth seal is the confirmation.

The sixth seal, as mentioned above is squarely about the two witnesses to come. This series started with the prophecy of a prophet who begins his prophetic ministry after his death. The sun turning black as sackcloth is his death, the sackcloth tying him to the ministry of the two witnesses. His death reaching the number God set having been reached in the fifth seal. The seventh seal and what transpires afterwards will be explored in a future writing, God willing.

In the next installment, we will head back to where we left off, making our first entry into the book of Exodus.