The Rider on the White Horse : Cracks Open the Sky

After these things John heard what sounded like the loud voice of a massive crowd in heaven, saying,

“Hooray for God! Praise Him! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because His judgments are true and just. He has judged the one who dirtied the earth and hurt His servants!”

Then a second time the crowd shouted, “Praise to the Lord!”

The twenty-four shepherds and the four living creatures fell to the ground and worshiped God saying: “Amen! Give the Lord Praise! Yes!”

Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God all you His servants, and all you who fear Him, from the smallest to the greatest!”

Again John heard a huge crowd, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting:

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God Almighty reigns! Let’s rejoice and be happy and celebrate! Give Him glory because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come. His bride has made herself ready. She’s allowed to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen.” (The fine linen is the righteous things that His holy Children have done.)

Then the angel said to John, “Write this down: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet table at the Lamb’s wedding party!”

Then John saw heaven crack open and out came a white horse! The one riding on it was called “Faithful” and “True”! With justice He judges and rides out to war. His eyes are like a fiery flame, and there are many jeweled crowns on His head. He has a name written that no one knows except Himself. He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and He is called the Word of God. The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following Him on their white horses. He has a sharp sword (that’s the Word of God). And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

John also saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider on the horse and His army.

But, the beast and the false prophet who worked for him were captured. Both of them were thrown into the fiery lake.

Then John saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a huge chain. He grabbed the dragon — that old snake, who’s the devil, satan — tied him up, threw him into the bottomless pit, and locked it up — to stop satan’s lying tongue.

Do you wanna know what else happens? All the people who had died who belonged to Jesus will come back to life! They’re gonna get to be with Jesus for a new adventure! But not just them… all who have abandoned their lives to God will get to be with Jesus!

Sounds awesome, huh?! And like we said before, there are many thoughts and assumptions and presumptions about how all this will look, and when it will happen, and what it all means, but all of them are wrong simply because Jesus has not yet unrolled that part of the scroll.

And He’s always so full of surprises with His other, other, otherness in the way He thinks and plans, versus our little finite ways of thinking of time and space.

So eagerly watch and keep your eyes open for the adventure to come with the Bridegroom and His Bride because we don’t quite know what the Bride and Groom’s ruling together adventure is exactly. We don’t know if this is a new creation or a new dynamic or a new universe of life. And we don’t know how this relates to the current population of the earth.

But John also saw that satan will be released from his bottomless pit prison at some point and he and his kind will surround the city God loves… but then Boom Baby! Fire will come down from heaven. And the liar, the devil, will be thrown into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are too. And they’ll be punished there forever — no getting out ever, ever, ever.

But, we don’t really know yet if all this involves the current population as we know it or the earth as we’re used to thinking about it. Because we do know that similar to how the beast is not really a monster coming up out of the ground… and the grasshoppers aren’t really little bugs… and that God said a thousand years is like a day… So because of all that, you can be sure that all of these things are not going to happen in some literal, earthly, human, linear timeline sort of way.

But we don’t need to figure it all out. Where would the fun be in that? I like surprises. Don’t you?

John also saw a large, white throne with our special Someone seated on it; and the earth and the heaven took off from His presence.

John saw all the people who had died, great and the small, standing before the throne.

And there were books, lots of books, opened books. Another book was opened, too — a very special book — the Book of Life, Supernatural Life, God Life.

The dead were judged by what was written in the books about them. Each person was judged by their deeds, their choices, what they’d done.

And anyone’s name that was not found in the Book of Life ended up in the lake of fire with their partners in crime.

This is a great time to remind you that that fiery lake was a place prepared for the devil and his angels... not for you. Of course anyone who makes choices to partner with the devil, will end up there with him.

But, that is not what God wants or planned for you. God’s Big PLAN is that Jesus will wash clean all those who come to Him and let go of their mere-man-sinful-self-life.

And in exchange He will give them Supernatural Life in His Spirit.

Did you know?

When you hear the words “The Book of Life” or “Tree of Life” or “Forever Life,” understand that the original word for “life” in these contexts didn’t simply mean “natural physical life” like a bug or a puppy or a plant or a person has a physical life. Instead, that word was “Zoe life” which means “SUPERnatural Heavenly-Life — Indestructible and Everlasting — an all-encompassing Reality of an unseen world of Power and Truth and Love and Life.”

Jesus brought this Rivers-of-Alive-Water Life to His People from another dimension, a Universe that can’t be seen with human eyes and in earthly light frequencies.

So don’t ever think God doesn’t exist just because you can’t see Him or hear Him. Your dog hears things you don’t hear! Your radio hears things you don’t hear. So that would be silly to think something doesn’t exist just because you can’t see or hear it.

So your name doesn’t get in His Book of Zoe Life just because you did more good things than bad things. Your name gets in His Book of Life by the washing of Jesus’ Blood and the walking in His Whole New Supernatural Life by His Spirit.

So, stick with Jesus. Walk in His Ways. Draw close to Him and He will draw close to you. And then… He has an awesome plan and a place prepared for YOU!