(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)

I read or am asked frequently if the four horsemen of Revelation are riding in the world today.

The short answer to that question at the present time is, no, they have not yet been commanded to come forth by the living creature as described in Revelation Chapter 6.

The release of the four horsemen of Daniel’s 70th week (the 7-year Tribulation) is a time-and-action-specific event initiated by Jesus Christ after the removal of the True Church (Rapture) and upon the opening of the Seven-Sealed Scroll.

The King James and New King James read, “Come and see,” as if it is a command to John to witness this event. Other versions, such as the NIV, simply say “come” as if the living creature is ordering the horsemen to come forth. In my opinion, it is a minor difference, as all execution is under the authority of the Only One, Jesus Christ, who is worthy to open the seals of the scroll of judgment.

Having said that, I believe there can be no doubt that we are well into the “beginnings of sorrows” prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24:6-8 and Mark 13:6-8.

“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:6-8). Emphasis added by me.

Anytime something is said to be or have a beginning, there is a presumption that it will also have an end that is quantifiable.

That is the case here.

The end of this period of sorrows will come when the Lord removes the True, Christ-worshipping Church from this world as typified/described in Revelation 4:1, and, I believe, also in type (portrayed as in an analogy) by:

• The removal of Enoch (Genesis 5:24)
• The saving of Noah and his family in the Ark (Genesis 7:7).

It should be noted that Noah did not close the door of the Ark. God shut them in. (Genesis 7:16b)

• The mercy shown to Lot when he is removed from Sodom (Genesis 19:16).
• Jesus’ promise to keep the faithful and enduring church from the judgment of the “inhabitants of the earth,” or those who dwell on the earth.

Immersed (drowning) in sorrows

Based on what has now become “normal” human conduct in the world, I believe it is prudent to conclude that the sorrows we witness at present are so prolific and accelerating each day that the world is awash in those sorrowful conditions that Jesus articulated.

There is an unrelenting flood of violence, threats, senseless behavior, malevolence and malice that is manifest in every corner of the world.

Those few places that still possess the illusion of peace have become a target of the evil forces that are currently being allowed by God to proliferate.

An unrepentant world is now reaping what has been sown over so many centuries of rebellion and godlessness.

But this is still only the beginnings of sorrows, as Jesus accurately described it. As ever, the mercy of God is evident in that He warns, cautions and pleads with humankind to examine His Word and see the Truth of it.

God has applied His signature to His Word by virtue of fulfilled future prophecy. It is now verifiable history and undeniable proof that He is the Sovereign and only God.

And He told us so, as I frequently remind the readers of my commentaries.

“Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

The current sorrows will not compare with the sorrows to come when the Holy and only God will execute the transition from the warning stage to the judgments that He has made clear since the writing of the Book of Revelation on or about AD 95 by revelation of Jesus Christ to the apostle John. They are frightful, and they will be very real.

A critical distinction

• Who are those who are the “inhabitants of the earth,” or “those who dwell on the earth”?

They are all who are currently unsaved. All who reject the saving Grace of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who came for the specific purpose of paying the price of sin, which is death. They are those who have placed all their trust in this sin-besotted world system as their only foundation and have elected to reject Jesus Christ.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

For almost 2,000 years, God has made His requirements for salvation, the reason for them, and the revelation of His Savior clear so that no inhabitant of the earth has any excuse or legitimate reason to claim ignorance.

• Who are those who are NOT the inhabitants of, or who dwell on the earth?

They are those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior and have placed their complete trust in His sacrificial death on their behalf. Those who acknowledge Him and only Him as God and Savior. (Please see the special message at the end of this article.)

Because of this, God has promised eternal life in a place that Jesus has promised to those who have believed Him.

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).

It is critical to understand that it is not those who only believe IN Him on an intellectual level…

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! (James 2:19).

…but it is those who ACTUALLY BELIEVE Him.

“And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called a friend of God” (James 2:23).

Bathed in Hope

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8).

This is Hope based in Trust. In order that you be able to Trust, you must Believe Him.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

If you believe that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in it, you might ask yourself these three questions:

1. If God has the power to do these things, doesn’t it make sense that He would also have the power to reveal Himself to humankind by the written Word?
2. If that is so, would He not also be able, by His spirit, to inspire human individuals to accurately record His history, laws, precepts, and plan for humankind?
3. If that also is true, would He have sufficient power to get His Word printed, published and distributed over the entire world as is currently the case?

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Hope is only as good as that in Whom it is placed. You can have that Hope.

I pray that you Trust God and live.

The special message I promised you:

For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life:

You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.

It requires that you come before God on His terms.

And, what are His terms according to His Word?

• Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
• Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
• That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
• To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
• Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
• To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.

God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.

• No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
• No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
• Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.

If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.

“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).

There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.

The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God with all your heart, He will hear you.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Pro Salvator Vigilans

To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com

Wouldn’t it be nice if all born-again Christians thought the same things about what the Bible says vs. many differing from one another? Why is that? Since we are talking about “only” born-again believers, all of us “want” to know the truth, and since we all have the Holy Spirit in us, it seems obvious that we should all believe the same things, right? What causes the difference?

I hate to say it, but it is our sin nature. WHAT! WAIT! We don’t have a sin nature. We are born again, and all of our sins have been forgiven through Jesus paying the price for our sins – past, present and future. Yes and no. Yes, we have no sins through Jesus – SPIRITUALLY! But we STILL have sins PHYSICALLY! As long as we remain human beings, we will always have a sin nature. After becoming born again, our sin nature is now at war against our new “God-nature Holy Spirit in us.” Spiritual is “eternal,” and physical is temporary. Our desire is that our new God nature will win this battle big time in our sanctification walk with the Lord.

We all have our own biases, and it is the sin nature in us that can skew our beliefs to make many born-again believers differ from one another in what the Bible says and means. So, how do we know who is right and who is wrong? The easy answer is to research and study the Bible to see the truth, and if the truth is controversial, then it is a matter of comparing one’s beliefs to another’s beliefs to determine which side has the most “evidence” to hopefully reveal the truth. This process has been going on since the beginning, it seems.

An example of a controversial topic in the Bible is the rapture and when it occurs. Is it before the tribulation, in the middle of the tribulation, at the end, or somewhere else? We each have to determine for ourselves based on Biblical evidence that we consider the strongest to support our belief. Controversial topics are simply a debating match for the most part.

This article is going to deal with one of the largest controversies in the Bible – God’s sovereignty vs. our free will. It is Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Predestination vs. free will. The main emphasis behind these two beliefs is salvation. The “biggest” problem with the disagreement of this controversy is it makes the Bible WRONG by having an ERROR, and we KNOW the Word of God Bible has ZERO errors. The “true error” is what causes the so-called “error” in the first place. Let’s examine the so-called error between the two and then see if we can see an answer to support BOTH of them.

Let’s begin with Calvinism. What is it? Its basic belief is God’s will or sovereignty supersedes our free will, and God has already decided who will be saved and who won’t. This is referred to as predestination. They are saying that God has already decided who will be saved and who won’t. If that is true, then we don’t have free will – everyone who God rejects, He has rejected at birth, and there is nothing they can do with their supposed free will that will save them.

Arminianism is different in that it puts more emphasis on free will. “We” determine our salvation based on our free will, but we do recognize God’s sovereignty since God “is” sovereign over all things.

So, where is the so-called error in the Bible caused by these two different beliefs? Calvinists rely on the many verses in the Bible that say God is rejecting many people. Let’s look at a few:

1. John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” This makes it appear God has chosen X number of people to come to Jesus, and those people had no say so concerning God’s decision.

2. John 6:65 “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” This is similar to number 1.

3. John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit that will last…” They get excited about this verse supporting their beliefs because Jesus is saying point blank, “You did not choose me, but I chose you,” etc. There is a plausible answer, though.

4. Acts 13:48 “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” This is another very strong verse that seems to be saying God is “choosing” who will be saved.

5. Gal 15-16 – this is Paul speaking: “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him to the Gentiles…” This is another verse where Paul is saying God set him apart or chose him from birth. 2 Thes 2:13 – again, Paul speaking: “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” This is, again, another verse showing God did the choosing of these believers. Let’s do one more. Eph 1:4 Paul speaking: “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Sonship through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will…” Calvinists also get excited about this verse.

Now, let’s look at Arminianism. I will not put up Arminianism verses to counter each verse that supports Calvinism. You can do a Google search and find lots of articles that show debates over the meanings of Calvinist verses vs. Arminianism verses. I will mention a couple that will do the job, though. 2 Pet 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.” Also, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The controversy that causes a so-called error in the Bible is you have people saying there are verses in the Bible that show God chooses who will be saved and who won’t, and then you have verses in the Bible that say that God does not wish that ANY should perish and that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. I’m sorry, but you cannot have it both ways. It is impossible to say on one hand that it is God Himself who will do the choosing for salvation, and on the other hand, God saying that anyone who repents and chooses His Son will be saved.

So, what is the answer? How do we reconcile this to not be an error but something that supports both beliefs? Now, obviously, what I am about to say is MY OWN BELIEF as to how these might reconcile. I certainly know my belief, whether right or wrong, will not change anything, obviously, but I will share it anyway.

No way can I support Calvinism for one simple reason; it takes away our free will. That would mean that John 3:16 does not apply to us even though God’s word supposedly wants us to repent and embrace Jesus. God did not create us as robots. He wants us to LOVE, but you cannot love unless you have the “ability” NOT to love. That is called free will, and God would never take that away from us. It is our free will that brings Him joy and pleasure.

My own definition is this: God’s sovereignty is our FREE WILL under His control!

How did I end up marrying my wife? I met her at First Baptist Dallas Church in a Sunday school class. I used my own free will to decide to visit that Sunday school class many years ago. I decided to pursue her and date her and do all the things necessary for us to fall in love and get married. I did ALL of that with my “own free will.” Now, how does the “under God’s control” come into play? Even though I was “using my own free will” in all of this, God was orchestrating things behind the scenes to set everything up that would lead to us getting married. A few years ago, I wrote an article on RR entitled God’s Sovereignty Vs. Our Free Will that might help explain this a little more. Here is a link for those interested.

https://www.raptureready.com/2018/03/11/gods-sovereignty-vs-free-david-cogburn/

There is one more aspect I think is important to pay attention to when it comes to who ends up saved and who doesn’t. God obviously knows the future and who is going to be born and when they die, and if they ended up saved or not saved. God also is the only One who knows everyone’s HEART. What is the heart? It is our free will. It is our beliefs, our decisions. It is “why” we do everything that we do. It is what truly makes us who we are. This is how God knows who is sincere and who is not when they say the sinner’s prayer. The world can only look at what we say and do. Only God can look at WHY we say what we say and do what we do.

In the Bible, we see where God says that Jacob I loved and Esau I hated. God also says that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Why would He harden Pharaoh’s heart? Again, God, knowing the future, knows Pharaoh’s heart will never be drawn to Him; thus, He uses Pharaoh in a way to fulfill His plan. I would be surprised if God ever looked at anyone’s heart who, with their free will, would love to know Him and become His child and then to have God NOT save them. All of this is saying that God is searching for people who will fall in love with Him with their “free will,” and then He leads them in many different ways to become saved.

To me, the answer is “everyone’s heart.” When we see the Calvinist verses that show God is choosing, it’s based on their heart. When we see God using evil people to fulfill His plan, it’s based on their heart. Free will combined with the heart seems to support combining Calvinism and Arminianism together in a way that shows there are NO ERRORS in God’s word. Does this make sense? I hope so. It does to me.

Blessings and Maranatha,

David Cogburn

dcogburn789@gmail.com