Year 0, Day 17: Revelation 6

Confession

Okay, it's now confession time.  The next 17 chapters or so are some of my favorite ones in the Bible.  That means that the blog posts are going to get a little longer.  I know. I'm sorry.  But there is some really cool stuff in here!

Apocalyptic Literature

Beginning with Revelation 6, it is important to understand John's Apocalypse as the type of literature that it is: Apocalyptic, not Prophetic.  John is not interested in changing the culture around him (as someone acting in the role of a prophet would be).  Rather, John is interested in giving people hope in the midst of a sinful world that cannot be changed any more than the death of Christ has already changed it.  It is hope, not change, which is John’s goal in writing.  

We must remember that Biblically speaking the best way to give hope is to give remembrance.  All throughout the Old Testament the Bible bids people to remember what has happened to them (and their ancestors before them) so that they can find hope.  This is the essence of apocalyptic literature.

Historical Timeline

Additionally, before I go into the text too deeply I also want to mention several events that occurred within the Roman Empire three decades or less before John wrote this letter:

• 60 AD: a series of earthquakes should the Mediterranean region, causing much of the destruction of which the earlier section on the seven churches spoke.
• 62 AD: the once invincible Roman legions were soundly thrashed by the Parthians (present day Iranians).
• 64 AD: The Great Fire of Rome occurred, and Christians were blamed.  As a result, Christians in Rome were captured, sent to fight as gladiators, crucified, or burned as living torches.
• 66-70 AD: there was a bloody civil war in Jerusalem leading to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem under Roman (Pagan/Gentile) authority
• 79 AD: Mt. Vesuvius erupted, instantly killing almost all the people in the area of Pompeii.
• 92 AD: The western half of the Roman Empire experiences massive crop failures and famine spreads throughout the whole Roman Empire.

As we progress through the book of Revelation, you will find these examples lifted up time and time again.  John uses the imagery of events that already occurred to remind the people that should events like these (or other hard things) come that we can have hope.  God brought them through it once already; God can certainly do it again.  There is no need to fear when we have God on our side.

The Breaking of the Seals

So let’s look at this passage.  While we do it, stick a thumb in your Bible at Matthew 24.  Also, you’ll notice that a voice occasionally says “Come” after some of the seals are broken.  It is important to understand this voice not as being spoken to John (as was the case in Revelation 4:1).  Rather, the bidding voice is calling for the results of the seal to “come forth into the earth.” 

Furthermore, if you flip to Zechariah 6:1-8 you will see a passage from which John could have drawn as he wrote this.  In that passage, the four horsemen are specifically God’s agents against those who oppose Him.  That is significant.  So often we think of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse as evil beings or agents of Satan.  No, they come at the beckon of God.  They come as Christ undoes a seal.  These are God’s agents sent to the world in order to give the world what it wants as it rebels against God.  Although they may be difficult agents to understand, they are certainly much less difficult to see as God’s agent than the angel of death sent into Egypt right before the Exodus!

Let’s look at these horsemen.  We first get to the white horse, which historically has always stood for conquest.  In Roman days, a victorious military general rode through nearby towns in a chariot drawn by white horses.  Furthermore, the bow stands for military power.  Earlier I made comment about the Parthians, who defeated the Roman legions handily when Rome tried to push east into modern day Iran.  The Parthians were known for being incredible bowmen who rode into battle on white horses. 

So what is John saying?  First, I am confident that as John pens Revelation the history of the Roman defeat at the hands of the Parthians is in the front of his mind.  That will bring comfort to a people within the Roman Empire who are being persecuted as Christians.  The Romans who oppress them have weaknesses and have been beaten before.  Second, and perhaps more importantly, human history is filled with military conquest.  That is not necessarily a good thing, although remember that the four horsemen are also God’s servants.  Remember that I advised you to read Revelation 6 with a thumb in Matthew 24.  As Jesus says in Matthew 24:6, there will always be war and rumors of war.  So be the white horseman as he fulfills Christ’s words.

Let’s move on to the red horse.  This rider is often called the horseman of strife.  The purpose of this horse and its rider is to remove peace from the earth, hence the gift of a sword.  Humanity has always had a competitive streak within it.  Nations quickly rise up against one another but there is almost always criticism when nations rise up to help one another.  It seems that essential to humanity is the need to compete and be superior to the neighbor.  John’s point here with this horse is that war and violence will always be a part of humanity.  In many respects, this is a commentary on the Roman Empire who grew and expanded through military conquest.  It is meant as a message of hope, however, in that when we experience times of war we are not alone in history.  Others have endured war.  Civilization – and more importantly, faith in God – has always endured in spite of our warring tendencies.

Let’s move on to the black horse.  This rider is often called the horseman of famine.  Grain, wine, and olives were the main crops of the Palestine area.  Although it is unthinkable, it is actually common to have a superabundance of oil and wine when there is a famine of grain.  Olive and grapevine roots are far deeper than grain roots and thus can usually survive a drought. 

Perhaps this is a commentary on just how fragile our necessities of life really are.  In a country where our pets eat better than a third of the world’s population, we can see just how fragile balance actually is.  John’s point in this passage is to remind the people that hardship and famine is always a threat.  Famine can actually cripple a whole empire or country in only a few months if left unchecked.  Yet we find that even in times of famine our priorities as human beings are still often on protecting our luxuries in life.  Notice that again this passage parallels Matthew, specifically in Matthew 24:7.

Next we head off to the fourth horse, the pale horse.  This rider is actually named death.  There can be no doubt that John borrows from Ezekiel 14:21 here.  John’s grand point is that the wages of our sin is death and none of us can escape that reality.  The world and all those on it are ultimately doomed to die.  Again we can see this passage following along in Matthew, specifically Matthew 24:9.

The fifth seal gives us the perspective of the Martyrs, who are either “under” the altar – or more likely at the foot of the altar.  This is a significant place to be found because of John’s understanding of the Old Testament concept of sacrifice.  Leviticus 17:11-14 tells us that with respect to sacrifice the most important aspect is the blood – that which conveys our life.  Leviticus 4:7 tells us that any blood which is not burned in the sacrifice is to be poured at the base of the altar.  Thus, those who are at the base of the altar are an offering to God. 

Those who die for the sake of righteousness die in God’s worthiness.  What looks like a waste of human life becomes useful in the hands of God.  What is it that Jesus says several times in Matthew 24?  The one who endures to the end will be saved.  John’s point in this seal is that any faith worth having is a faith worth enduring persecution.  In other words, if we believe something strongly enough we will eventually be persecuted for it.  Persecution, then, is expected.  At some point we should expect to be seen as “different” and treated as such.

The sixth and last seal in this chapter deals with traumatic natural disasters – see Matthew 24:7 and Matthew 24:29.  Earthquakes happen and continue to happen.  Water sources become contaminated through natural (and more recently human) means.  Astrological events (shooting stars, meteors, etc) occur outside of our ability to control them.  John’s point is that we live in a world that is beyond our control.

Note that all people fall in times of natural disasters.  Earthquakes destroy all in their path regardless of station in life.  Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and the like do not favor anyone.  In the end, when faced with a power greater than any of us can control we all turn tail and seek shelter where it can be found.  Human beings almost always choose to hide when we are faced with our own finitude.  So often when we could run towards salvation – even if it means death – we instead opt to hide and escape our inevitable end.

In the end, we come back to the lamb imagery we saw so gloriously in Revelation 5 - and notice the inherent parallel to Matthew 24:30.  We even return to the parallel to the horsemen in Matthew 24:31 as God's agents! 

The people call out being afraid of the “wrath of the little lamb.”  We like to think of Jesus as the loving and gentle one.  But here the image of Jesus is the one who brings God’s wrath onto humankind.  Yet, it is not a wrath that is undeserved.  Nor is it wrath that is unexpected.  It is only through the purifying fire of God’s wrath that we will pass into God’s glory.  So in bringing wrath and judgment, God actually brings love and new life.

The trailing question is pertinent.  “Who is able to stand?”  When God looks upon our sinful life with His eyes of perfection, what purpose is there in standing in the first place?