Year 9, Day 351: Revelation 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Revelation 6 is an incredibly famous chapter.  This is the chapter about which everyone thinks when they hear the phrase “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”  Here we get our greatest biblical perspective on the figure of Death.  Here we see the martyrs in heaven waiting for justice to be done.  This chapter is filled with classic images.

I love the sequence of the seals.  The conquering horse and rider are first.  The horse and rider who remove peace are second.  Next comes the horse that speaks to economic interests.  The next horse to come is Death and Hades with famine and pestilence in tow.  The fifth horse is the martyrs under the altar.  The last seal in this chapter – the second to last in general – is a seal that brings geological catastrophe.

What is so great about the sequence of the seals?  It speaks to the pattern of human existence.  Human beings often seek to control what is in their vicinity.  In order to control it, we are often willing to take violent means – everything from asserting a physical presence to outright warfare.  Once we have gained control, we quest for economic dominance as we try to focus on pleasure commodities at the expense of basic needs.  Along the way, those who follow this pattern unchecked make martyrs of the people around them.  At some point, though, in spite of our dominance we always come against natural forces that we cannot destroy and ultimately display dominance over us.

In other words, the human existence is about control.  We quest and search for dominance.  We take names, make enemies, and make martyrs along the way until we come upon an immovable force that cannot be controlled.  Only at that moment are we open to learning humility.  Humility is not a natural skill within humankind.  It is only learned through judgment and outside influences acting upon us.

<><