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6 Hope of Israel Ministries BIBLE Correspondence Course Lesson 36

COMMENT: The occasion was the “sword” in Matthew 10:34. “Fire” and “sword,”
FIRST sending forth of the 12 disciples to when used figuratively, are commonly joined
proclaim that the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God together.
was at hand -- see verse 5. 8. Read Micah 7:6.
2. What would happen if the household COMMENT: The words of the Mes-
they visited was not worthy? Matthew 10:13. siah, recorded in Matthew 10:35, are a quo-
3. What did the Messiah then warn his tation from this verse in Micah. The birth of the
disciples would happen? Matthew 10:17-21. Messiah is foretold a little earlier in this same
COMMENT: Here we have the Mes- prophecy (Micah 5:2), and his sacrificial death
siah’s own words, spoken at the FIRST GOING is implied in Micah 6:6-7.
FORTH OF THE GOSPEL (the White Horse), COMMENT: It is highly instructive to
that the IMMEDIATE EFFECT would be trace out the CONNECTION between the going
antagonism, conflict and deadly strife. forth of the gospel and the various forms of strife
THE RED HORSE WAS TO FOLLOW -- including wars -- that followed. The Red
HARD UPON THE HEELS OF THE WHITE Horse always gallops hard after the White
HORSE! Horse. Various kinds of “wars and fightings”
4. Read Matthew 10:34 again. followed the message of the Kingdom of YEHO-
COMMENT: To put the entire matter VAH God everywhere, and have followed it
into a single vivid sentence, the Messiah draws a from the days of the apostles until now. The
word picture which STRIKINGLY AGREES Good News of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God
with this detail of the rider on the Red Horse: has DIVIDED families into hostile camps,
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on breaking the very closest ties of nature. Then, its
earth. I did not come to bring peace but a effects widening, it has SEPARATED commu-
sword.” nities into antagonistic parties; and then nations;
5. Compare Matthew 10:34 with and finally it has SET NATION AGAINST
Revelation 6:4. NATION.
COMMENT: When we compare the Sometimes the warfare has been con-
words of Matthew 10:34 with those of the fined to words, feelings and attitudes. But more
vision (Revelation 6:4), “And it was granted often than not, it has taken the form of PHYS-
to...take peace from the earth...and there was ICAL VIOLENCE -- persecutions, imprison-
given him a great sword,” it becomes strikingly ments, tortures, and where there was resistance
CLEAR that the prophecy and the vision refer to (as between Protestants and Catholics in France
the SAME THING! and elsewhere) civil wars.
6. The Messiah’s next words explain the It is safe to say that all other causes of
figurative expression “a sword” -- Matthew dispute PUT TOGETHER have not contributed
10:35-36. nearly so much to hostility between human
7. The words of the Messiah, recorded in beings as the single cause of religious difference
Luke 12:49-53, throw additional light on the regarding the Good News of the Kingdom of
subject. YEHOVAH God. How amazingly true were
COMMENT: Speaking prophetically those few words of the Messiah -- “I did not
and in highly figurative language of the period of come to bring peace but a sword”!
his absence, the Messiah used these words: “I
came to send FIRE on the earth, and how I wish Additional Reading...
it were already kindled!” Now it is clear from
what follows that the word “fire” in this saying is The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
descriptive of the SAME THING as the word

The Red Horse of Revelation 6:4