Horsemen and Hope - Revelation 6
My brothers and sisters, it seems that every time we turn around these days some newspaper, television show, or online article is purporting to have seen a sign of the apocalypse…and claims that the days of Revelation are upon us. Around New Years in Arkansas it was thousands of dead fish in the river and thousands of birds falling from the sky.[i] In early February, during the recent uprisings in Egypt, someone claims to have spotted the fourth horseman of the apocalypse on video amongst the protesters,[ii] and later in mid-February, amongst the solar flares coming off the sun, another person claims to have spotted the second horseman.[iii] More recently, there are even comparisons being made to suggest that the nuclear reactor on the verge of collapse in Japan is the dragon of Revelation.[iv]
I share these with you, not because I believe they are signs from Revelation come to reality, but because we are coming to the part of Revelation that usually scares so many people. Even as recently as this week, when talking with someone about how we are journeying through Revelation during the first six to seven months of this year, I hear reactions of fear. I think I shared with y’all when we began this series that as God and I were wrestling about whether or not to do this series (and I remind you that God won out—as God always does—that is a message from Revelation), that one of the deciding factors that God used was a young woman who said to let her know when we were done and she might come visit because Revelation was just too scary. And while I will admit, and have admitted, that there are several, actually more than several, different interpretations of Revelation, I tend to side with the scholars that do not see Revelation as some futuristic tale of horrific events, but as a Book of Hope written to those facing persecution under the Roman Empire, as a Book of Hope for any who are suffering and struggling today, especially those who are feeling oppressed by some outside force, and as a Book of Hope for the future, for any who are oppressed.
As we enter chapter six, we find the first of three cycles of seven in Revelation. There are the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls of wrath. These three cycles of seven have been variously interpreted throughout the history of the church. There were some that would read these three different cycles and interpret them with the “historical-critical theory.” This theory suggested that these are three separate cycles that would occur in succession through history. Others, in a rejection of that theory, offer up what is called the “recapitulation theory,” which suggests that these are not three separate events in history, but three different accountings of the same event. Without taking a lot of time here to discuss it, I would suggest that both of these theories have their flaws which would suggest that the opposing theory is true. There is a third option, of probably many more. We have seen already how Revelation was written to address the persecution of those under the Roman Empire and give them direction and hope, and how that same word, God’s Eternal Word, not only provided hope for those struggling in Asia Minor, but also can provide direction and hope for us today. That theory, as suggested by other scholars, is that we understand and read these visionary cycles for how they address the reality of the struggle for God’s people, and the hope it offers them. Now because of similarities among these cycles, our speed in our journey through Revelation will pick up somewhat…where we have been hitting on every verse of each chapter, we will now focus in on particular sections and what new message those sections may bring to us.
Today we give heed to the seven seals, and we will touch on each of these because these seven seals, and the four horsemen that erupt from them, have had such an influence on popular media, from classic literature to film and television to, even, comic books.
The first seal is opened, and out of it came “a white horse! Its rider had a bow, a crown was giving to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.” What color was the horse? White. And we have talked about the color white before, in apocalyptic symbolism, white is the color of …victory. It is not the color of purity; it is not the color of purity; it is simply the color of victory. Now, if we are in one of the churches of Asia Minor and are hearing this message, have we encountered someone who has gone out conquering? Yes. Who? Rome and the emperor.
The second seal is opened, and out of it came “another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword.” Now if we look at our sheet of apocalyptic symbolism, we note that “red” is a color of significance—red symbolizes war and conflict. Another question. If someone is going out conquering and they come upon a people who don’t voluntarily allow themselves to be conquered, what is going to happen? War…Conflict. So the rider of the red horse follows the rider of the white horse, as war would follow a conqueror…
The third seal is opened, and “there was a black horse! It’s rider held a pair of scales in his hand, and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay, and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay, but do not damage the olive oil and wine!” Black is not the color of death, as we so often associate it with, but in apocalyptic literature, black is symbolic of the lack of something…here as a result of the one conquering being victorious, it is the lack of food. Remember how we said that the persecution that most of those under Roman rule experienced was an economic persecution. We discussed how the Roman Senate would declare each emperor, after his passing, to be a god. Yet with Domitian’s rise to power, Domitian began to claim himself to be divine while still on the throne, and demanded, particularly in the outlying provinces such as Asia Minor, that the people were to go to the emperor’s temple and bow down and worship and pay homage to him. If you worshipped in the emperor’s temple you would be given a special means of being recognized, so that when you went to the marketplace, you would not have any difficulty. However, if you refused to worship the emperor, you did not receive the special recognition, and you would either have to pay elevated prices or be unable to shop at all. There are some who have suggested that the elevation in cost for wheat and barley indicated that there was a famine in the land, but the fact that the oil and wine were not touched, do not seem to back that suggestion, and it falls more under the idea that this horseman was representative of the persecution going on. How bad was the marketplace persecution? How much wheat was required to keep a person alive for a day? A quart. So a day’s wages earned a quart of wheat, and that was enough to keep a person alive for a day…so a worker breaks even, not too bad. Right? Well, what if that worker had a wife and children who were too young to work…you could have a family of four or more and have them survive on a quart of wheat, it wouldn’t happen. They could buy barley, though, right? Well, yes, barley was cheaper, but barley did and does not provide as many life sustaining nutrients as wheat did…things then were not too different than now…if you want to eat healthy, you better be prepared to pay more if you have to buy it from the store. In other words, if one’s family refused to worship in the temple of the emperor, then there would be a shortage of food in their home.
And my friends, if there is not enough food to keep one healthy, what happens? People get sick…and then people…die. “I looked and there was a pale green horse! It’s rider’s name was Death, and Hades (the place of death) followed with him.” The conqueror, war and conflict, deprivation of needed sustenance, disease, death…all naturally following one another.
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?”” Who are these folks under the altar? They are the martyrs…they are the ones who had been killed, as we read during the reading of the messages to the churches, because they refused to bow to the emperor…they are the ones who held on, who remained faithful, who were conquerors of the world…and though they had died or been put to death, they were the true victors. How do we know? Because they were each given a white robe…they were each clothed in victory. They want to know how long it will be before God intervenes and stops the persecution. They were told to be patient, to rest, a little longer, that there were more that would join them, persecuted and killed just as they had been…but then God would act.
The sixth seal was opened and “there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth...the sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” Suddenly all of creation was shaken and changed…this is not a new image…all we have to do is look to the Hebrew Scriptures and see in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Isaiah to see how the coming Day of the Lord will shake all of creation, as God comes in judgment. The sixth seal opening is the answer to the martyrs cry of how long…it will be but a little while and then God is going to act…God is going to deal with those who have persecuted and killed His people. There will be a judgment and the evil will be stopped.
As all of creation changes in the oncoming presence of God, what happens to the oppressors and to those who have not held fast to God? They run and hide… “in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains”…they beg the mountains and the rocks to “‘Fall on us and hides us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath ahs come, and who is able to stand?’” The fact that they thought they could hide proves that they do not know God, “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? Says the Lord Do I not fill heaven and earth? Says the Lord?”[v] “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle and the farthest limits of the sea, even there you hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; and the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.”[vi]
There is no hiding from God…there is no way to do what is evil in His sight and escape…that is the promise that the martyrs hear…that is the promise through Revelation six that the people undergoing persecution hear…God will come in judgment and will put and end to the evil, and those who have committed the evil cannot hide…they will not get away with it. The only way to find oneself safe when God comes is to repent of their evil ways, which we will see in later week’s is God’s desire, but hiding will do no good.
The word of hope from the sealed scroll is that you are undergoing persecution…you are struggling, suffering, dying…God sees it…God will reward those who remain faithful…and God will intervene…the hope to the people of Asia Minor…the hope to God’s people now…the hope to God’s people to come…
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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