2nd Seal - Peace From the Earth

(Rev 6:3-4 KJV) 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.

As Jesus opens your understanding, He shows you the progression of your experience of salvation. Under the first seal, He showed you that you can live a victorious life by obeying and following your Lord. He showed you that you can conquer sin and in so doing you will receive a great peace. Now in this second seal, you will see that Satan is enraged because of your decision to serve the Lord and he is out to take your peace away from you. His effort is to Take Peace From The Earth. The effort of your Lord is to give you peace. You are an earthen vessel; You are the earth that either has the peace of God flooding your soul or the turmoil of grief and heartache as a result of sin ruling your life.

In our text John tells us that it was the second beast that gives him the invitation to see what is revealed by opening the second seal. The second beast is described in chapter four and it is like a calf. The calf represents the sacrificial attribute of our God and the fact that if you are going to live a successful Christian life, you also must learn to deny yourself.

(Rev 4:7 KJV) And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

(Lev 9:1-4 KJV) And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; {2} And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. {3} And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering; {4} Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you.

(Luke 9:23-24 KJV) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. {24} For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Christ’s instructions sound somewhat like a paradox; if you give your life, you find your life but if you keep your life you will lose it. You will never really understand this until you give yourself, a living sacrifice to your Lord.

(Rom 12:1-2 KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If you don’t present yourself, a living sacrifice, to your Lord you will face the sword from your Lord.

(Mat 10:34-39 KJV) Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. {35} For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. {36} And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. {37} He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. {38} And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. {39} He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

The only way to obtain peace is to give yourself, a living sacrifice, to the Lord.

(Isa 59:1-8 KJV) Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: {2} But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. {3} For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. {4} None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. {5} They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. {6} Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. {7} Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. {8} The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

(Isa 48:18 KJV) O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

(Isa 48:22 KJV) There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

(Isa 57:20-21 KJV) But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. {21} There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

So we see from Isaiah that if we obey lies and follow sinful paths, we will not find peace. But if we will listen to God’s commandments, then we will have peace like a river. The peace that Jesus gives is given only to the righteous. There is no peace to the wicked. The word wicked is taken from the Hebrew word 7563. rasha', raw-shaw'; from H7561; meaning: morally wrong; concr. an (actively) bad person:-- + condemned, guilty, ungodly, wicked (man), that did wrong. The devil has convinced many that even though they are sinners, they are not wicked. But the Word of God says if you commit sin you are of the devil.

(1 John 3:8 KJV) He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

We learned from the message under the first seal that the horse symbolizes warfare. The color of the horse is an indicator of the type of warfare. The white horse represented our Lord leading to righteousness. The red horse represents sin and the guilt that sin brings.

(Isa 1:18 KJV) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

(Ezek 33:1-6 KJV) Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, {2} Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: {3} If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; {4} Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. {5} He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. {6} But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.

We know that in this passage God was talking to Ezekiel about the position of a preacher and his responsibility to warn the people of impending danger. That is what I am doing this day. I see a sword coming, it is the army of lies carried by the imps of hell to convince you that you can have peace without living holy. If you will take my warning, Confess, Repent and Forsake all sin, you will deliver your soul. If you do not take the warning, then your blood is upon your own head; you are guilty and you will not have peace. The devil will have succeeded in taking peace from you.

(Zec 1:7-11 KJV) Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, {8} I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. {9} Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these be. {10} And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. {11} And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

Zechariah tells us that red horses walk to and fro through the earth. Now Job tells us:

(Job 1:6-7 KJV) Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. {7} And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Yes, it is Satan that is going to and fro through the earth. Jesus said that he is seeking rest but cannot find it.

(Mat 12:43 KJV) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

The sword of the Lord is The Word of God.

(Heb 4:12 KJV) For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

(Rev 19:11-16 KJV) 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. {14} And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. {15} And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. {16} And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

Since the Lord’s weapon is The Word of God, it stands to reason that Satan’s weapon is the word of the devil.

(Psa 57:4 KJV) My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

(Prov 12:18 KJV) There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

(John 8:43-44 KJV) Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. {44} Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

(John 8:47 KJV) He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Jesus tells us that the devil is the father of lies. He was a murderer from the beginning, he abode not in the truth. And if you listen to him you will not be a child of God. Eve listened to him and look at the result.

(Gen 3:1-5 KJV) Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? {2} And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: {3} But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. {4} And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: {5} For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Well she listened to the devil and she ate the fruit. It seemed innocent enough. It was not any great sin. It was just a little thing. Well if you will study the result, you will find that it was big enough to cost Eve her peace. She was cast out of the garden and sentenced to suffer in childbirth. She was condemned to die. The warning that Jesus is trying to get across to you this morning is that the devil is a master at lying and twisting the Word of God. He is out to convince you that it is no big deal to commit a little sin. Whose word are you listening to? The Word of God will never tell you to commit any sin. It will tell you to obey the commandments of God.

(Psa 119:11 KJV) Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

(Psa 119:165 KJV) Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

(Isa 26:3 KJV) Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

(John 14:27 KJV) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

(John 16:33 KJV) These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

(Psa 85:10 KJV) Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Yes, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. They go together. You cannot have one without the other. Which horse and rider are you following this morning? The white horse that is conquering or the red horse that is taking peace from the earth? If you will Confess, Repent of and Forsake all sin, you can have great peace in your earthly being.

(2 Cor 4:7 KJV) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

(Phil 4:7 KJV) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

(Phil 4:9 KJV) Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Our God is a God of peace. Our Lord gives us peace because we obey Him. The devil rages and spreads his lies but he cannot take our peace as long as we obey our Lord. The peace of God flows through us like a river. It passes all understanding because it keeps our hearts and minds through every trial, through every situation and even to death. Have you allowed Satan to take your peace as Eve allowed him to take hers? Jesus still offers the way to peace.

(Luke 9:23 KJV) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

(Mat 11:28-30 KJV) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. {30} For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

(John 6:63 KJV) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

(John 14:23-24 KJV) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. {24} He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

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