Voice of the Martyrs

I've been waiting to dance with you
In fields full of colors you've never seen
I've been waiting to show you beauty
You never dreamed that's always been in you
I've been waiting to see you tremble as you're embraced
By a world saturated with my love
I've been waiting for the day when at last I get to say
My child you are finally home

Sing O son of Zion
Shout O child of mine
Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind
For you are finally home

I've been waiting to watch you realize
What all your longing was for
I've been waiting to show you the thread of grace
That ran through all your pain
I've been waiting to let you drink the water of which
Your greatest joy on earth was just a taste
I've been waiting for the day when at last I get to say
My child you are finally home

Sing O son of Zion
Shout O child of mine
Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind
Sing O daughter of Zion
Cry out O child of mine
Dance with all the strength that you can find
For you are finally home

Every tear you cried dried in the palm of my hand
Every lonely hour was by my side
every loved one lost, every river crossed
Every moment, every hour was pointing to this day
*I've been longing for this day"

NPR reporter Kelly McEvers has completed a five-part series on the civil war in Syria. In the last installment, aired today, she interviews poor residents of the villages being shelled by the government forces, because it was thought that the villages were Rebel outposts. "In Derat Azza,"she says, "it's not just about how the world perceives the rebel movement. It's about how its own people perceive it. The more the people in these towns think the rebels are their only hope, the more they are likely to support the rebels. The next stop on the tour is to see women cooking over a fire because gas is too scarce and expensive these days. It's 100 degrees outside, but they're bent over hot coals, simmering eggplant, tomatoes and peppers in a kind of stew. We try to shoo the rebels away so I can ask the women a question. I have to come in close and whisper my question: Do you ever blame the rebels for this? Do you feel that the regime is shelling your town because the rebels are here?"

"Maybe", the elder one says. "I don't know."

Now maybe I am cynical, and maybe I am not in sync with the problems and perils of another culture, but it seems to me that this is just another example of a liberal media type who wants to shape the story instead of just report the facts. Ms. McEvers may believe that all war is unjust. She may think that if only the Rebels weren't there, these poor villagers could live their lives in peace. If only the people would toe the Government line, then the Government would not have to go on the offensive.

If everyone thought like that, there would have been no American Revolution; there would have been no Protestant Reformation; and there would be no martyrs.

In Revelation 6:9-11, the Fifth Seal is broken open, and the martyrs speak.  You will recall that when the first four seals were opened, angelic beings spoke and summoned Conquest, Bloodshed, Famine and Death to do their bidding.  But when the Fifth Seal is opened, this is what happened:  

When he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.  They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?  Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. (Revelation 6:9-11)

A few weeks ago I mentioned that in Roman times (when this book was written), a Ruler would bind his Last Will and Testament with seven seals, each one sealed by a witness to the Will.  I suggested that these seals were opened by those who had witnessed God's Will for the earth.  The first four seals were opened by angelic beings, bearing the likeness of a Lion, and Ox, a Man, and a Flying Eagle.  These creatures, or the persons whom they represent, were all witnesses to the Final Will of God concerning the Earth.  But in this case, the voices that are heard are human.  These specific humans are positioned under the altar; they had been slain because of the testimony they had maintained; they knew the word of God; and they were impatient.

Under the Altar In Exodus 29:12, we see this specific instruction given to the priests: "Take some of the bull's blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar."  We know the bulls were sacrifices made on behalf of the people of Israel.  The blood shed in the sacrifices was sacred.  It epitomized the life of the sacrificial victim.  Hebrews 9:22 says, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Since life was sacred, blood (a symbol of life) had to be treated with respect.  Eating blood was strictly forbidden.  Practically every sacrifice included the smearing or sprinkling of blood on the altar within the tabernacle, thus teaching that atonement involves the substitution of life for life.  The blood of the Old Testament sacrifice pointed forward to the Blood of the Lamb of God, who obtained for his people "eternal redemption".  Hebrews 9:12 says, "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."

Similarly, the blood of the martyrs was sacred, pointing backward to the sacrifice of Christ.  This is the image that John portrays; a voice is heard from under the altar, where the blood of the martyrs has collected, saying, "How long, O Lord, until you avenge our blood?"  The position of the blood is what is important here.  It was placed there by the priests in the Old Testament because God commanded it.  It appears there in the Temple of Heaven, under the Altar that God Himself built.  It is collected there because it is precious, sacred and pure.

Souls of those who had been slain
The identity is what is important here.  These had been slain because of the Word of God, and the testimony that they held to.
The Twelfth Legion (historically identified as Legio XII Fulminata)
 was a historic and legendary group of soldiers that commanded both fear and respect within the Roman Empire. Their thunderbolt emblem immediately identified them to the populace as the soldiers that had been conscripted, trained, and implemented first by Julius Caesar in 58 BCE.They had fought battles that were immortalized in stories told to young men to inspire them to courage and valor. To serve in the Twelfth Legion was to be an integral part of the Roman power system as they served under not only Julius Caesar but, also, Mark Anthony. Thus it was considered unacceptable in 320 when the Twelfth Legion, which was guarding the Euphrates River at the time by order of the emperor Licinius, was found to be harboring forty Christians shortly after persecution of Christians was renewed. These forty were given the opportunity to renounce their faith and when they refused they were condemned to die.

So, they were led to a frozen pond by members of their legion and informed that they would die in the most painful way the emperor could imagine at the time. At the point of their colleagues' swords they were stripped of their clothing and forced to march to the center of the frozen pond so that they might die of exposure. As the forty men huddled together they began rotating who would stand on the outside of the group and who would experience the relative warmth of the interior. They knew that the biting winds would eventually kill them but they comforted each other with prayers and songs. In a moment of diabolical creativity, the guards began building hot baths on the shore of the frozen pond as Licinius had ordered them to do. They called to the huddled Christians that any of them might leave the pond at any time and warm themselves in a bath and by the fire if they would renounce their faith. Finally, one of the Christians broke and ran whimpering to the warm bath. He was willing to sell his faith for relief and though we cannot know his suffering we can look back through history and offer him our pity mixed with knowing compassion.

The remaining thirty-nine were surely shaken by their brother's renunciationbut they had little time to reflect upon it as the derisive cheers of their guards soon turned to astonishment when one of the guards dropped his weapon, stripped himself of his clothing, and joined the thirty-nine Christians on the pond. He came screaming his confession of faith and was welcomed with shouts of joy and happy songs. As the once-again-forty martyrs slowly died of exposure they shared their faith with the one who had recently converted at the testimony of thirty-nine men willing to die instead of renounce the Faith that sustained them. That guard received his first instruction in the Faith barefoot on a frozen pond only hours before dying. As the cold began to claim its first victims, the guards became tired of the affair and gathered up the lethargic and unconscious Christians. They burned them alive and scattered the ashes. After they had left, Chrisitans came and collected what remains they could so that they might bury the men who had chosen faith over life and honor.

Revelation 20:4 says, "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands."

And what did these brave souls sacrifice their lives for?

Because of the Word of God

• To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:16)
• We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.  Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.  (1 Thessalonians 2:8-9)
• We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. (Acts 13:32)
• A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time. (Titus 1:2)
• He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he said through his holy prophets of long ago. (Luke 1:69-70)
• But now a righteousness of God, apart from the Law, has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify. (Romans 3:21)
• The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you. (Galatians 3:8)
• For the Word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Even as we hold fast to the Gospel, even to the point of death, we long for the Second Coming of Christ.  With the martyrs of the book of Revelation, we pine for God's justice and final judgement.  "How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?" (Psalm 119:84)  "My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?" (Psalm 6:3).  

Then the angel of the Lord said, "Lord almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?" (Zechariah 1:12)

The overriding theme here is patience.  If it were left up to us humans, we would wreak havoc on the world right now.  But in every situation that has been quoted, the final decision has been left up to the Sovereign Lord.  Luke 2:29 says, "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace."  Failure to humble yourself before God will certainly result in dire consequences.  2 Peter 2:1 says, "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves."

Not only is God sovereign, he is Holy and True.  Revelation 3:7 says, "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.  What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts, no one can open."  God promises to reward patience.  Revelation 3:10 says, "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth."

A number of scriptures deal with vengeance, and I will not quote them here.  Among them are 2 Kings 9:7, Psalm 78:10, Revelation 16:6, and Revelation 18:20.  Suffice it to say: Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord.

So these martyrs who want to see God's vengeance on their blood, but who also want to see the Kingdom of God with the Lamb of God enthroned, the message they received was to be patient.  Their number was not yet complete.  That is to say, there would be more deaths; more souls would be added to their numbers. Apparently the first four seal visions did not completely kill off every living person; in fact, it did not kill off every sinful person, because the martyrs that had yet to die would have to be killed by someone.  Jewish thought held that God rules the world according to a predetermined time schedule and that the end awaits the death of a certain number of the righteous.  The 1988 Demi Moore movie The Seventh Sign deals with this: the end of the world awaited the birth of the child she carried, as the Guf, or "pool of souls" would be empty when her child was born.  The movie plot borrowed from Christian tradition, bringing in Apocalyptic events surrounding the end of the world, as well as Jewish traditions, that say only that the Messiah would come once the last soul is freed from the Guf.  The movie didn't really work as either a religious treatise or an apocalyptic horror film.  But it does discuss the various views of the end of the world and the events that lead up to it.

We all have a desire to know what will happen at the end of the world.  But are we prepared?  Hebrews 11:40 says, "God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."  We cannot attain perfection without God.  The only way to know God is through His Son, Jesus Christ, who was the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  Do not attempt to navigate the end of the world without knowing and trusting in Him.


Let's live a life for Jesus
And work for Him each day
Tell some poor soul who is lost in sin
About the Christian way
Then all the angels in glory
Will sing the glory song
Because we've helped some newborn soul
Make Heaven his home.

Heaven is a wonderful place,
Filled with glory and grace,
I want to see my Saviour's face,
Heaven is a wonderful place.

Many folks talk about Jesus,
And say they're going there some day
But you can't tell by the way they live
That they're heading that way
So we've got to be kind of careful
Of the things we say and do
Because someone's future in Heaven may
Depend on you.

Heaven is a wonderful
filled with glory and grace;
I want to see my Saviour's face,
for Heaven is a wonderful,
Heaven is a wonderful, yes,
Heaven is a wonderful place.

Night of the Living Dead

Don't you know what's goin' on out there? This is no Sunday School picnic! --Night of the Living Dead, 1968

 

A couple of months ago, the Centers for Disease Control in Washington came out with a  pamphlet called "Preparedness 101: Don't Be A Zombie".  The tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign, including the poster shown above, used the tag-line, "If you're ready for a zombie apocalypse, then you're ready for any emergency."  The purpose of it was to raise awareness for preparing for known hazards, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods, by making people think about unknown hazards. It advised people to make an emergency kit, including bottled water and imperishable food items, first aid kits, and flashlights.  There has long been a fascination for the "undead", so the CDC used it as the basis for its awareness campaign.  It has been wildly successful, too, becoming an overnight internet sensation.

I thought of this when I read the passage from Revelation 6:7-8 which describes the opening of the Fourth Seal.

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"  I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!  Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."

We know from our previous study what the fourth living creature looked like.  Revelation 4:7 says, "The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle."  The eagle was thought to be the strongest of the predatory birds, and the only one among the four creatures with the ability to fly.  This sense of strength was seen in Psalm 103:5, when it is used to describe a gracious and good God, "who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."  The same imagery is used in Exodus 19:4, when God reminds his people of his provision for them: "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagle's wings, and brought you to myself."  Elsewhere in Isaiah 40:30-31, the image is used as encouragement to the faithful: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

When this creature summons, he is answered by a Pale Horse, whose rider was Death, followed closely by Hades, the place of the dead.

The term "pale" is translated several ways in different sources.  The Amplified Bible describes the horse as ashy pale, "black and blue as if made so by bruising".  This might refer to the parallel passage in Zechariah 6, where one of the horses is dappled.  But the actual Greek word used is chloros, the root of the English word "chlorophyll".  In other words, having a green pallor, like sickness.  This is where my mind went to Zombies. But my mind quickly returned to Biblical truth (God, forgive me!), and I searched for other references to the word "pale".

• Shame and Despair
  "Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob: No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale." (Isaiah 29:22)  Have you ever been caught in the act of doing something shameful? When you were literally caught with your hand in the cookie jar, could you feel the blood drain from your face, terrified of the punishment to come?
• Sickness and Death
  "Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?" (Jeremiah 30:6)  When the situation looks bleak, many of us have a physical reaction--we literally become sick.  Jeremiah was poking fun at the men, who apparently looked like women in labor, they were so pale-skinned.
• Spent and Exhausted
  "So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless."  If God were to show us exactly what would happen in the future, we would certainly grow faint.

The rider of the horse was accompanied by Death and Hades, the "place of the dead".  He was given power to kill a fourth of the earth.  I will confess I do not know whether this is geographic or demographic--whether it is a fourth of all known countries that will follow the Beast, or if it is one quarter of all living people.  It might even refer to this rider as the fourth of four Apocalyptic visions, where a fourth of the people who are slated to die will be killed by the conquering rider of the White Horse, and a fourth of those to be killed die in the war of the rider of the Red Horse, and a fourth of those to be slain die in the famine brought by the rider of the Black Horse.  This interpretation is mine; I have not read it in any of the commentaries that I researched in.  But it follows the axiom that God is in control--he has pre-destined those who should be saved, and also those who will damned to eternal Death.  But if you follow it logically, the first seal foretells of the conquest of sin; after all sin is brought to light, men wage war against each other, signified by the second seal.  Famine, the third seal, follows war, as crops and livestock would have been destroyed; and Death, the fourth seal, follows famine, as people die of hunger and malnutrition.

The latter part of verse 8 mentions four means of death for those who fall victim to God's wrath: sword, famine and plague, and by the beasts of the earth.  War and Famine have already been mentioned in the description of the Seven Seals in Revelation 6.  Plague is not mentioned as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but it could follow closely with injury and malnutrition.  Not every casualty of war is killed; some are maimed, and later contract sepsis in their wounds.  Infection is a definite possibility, as it would be with starving children affected by a Famine, unable to ward off illness due to malnutrition.  As for the wild beasts, some commentators write that as the human population decreases, the population of wild animals will increase, and animal attacks might be more common.  Jeremiah 15:2-3 says, "And if they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' tell them, 'This is what the Lord says: Those destined for death, to death; those for the sword, to the sword; those for starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.  I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,' declares the Lord. 'The sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy'."  Other commentators feel that this is a mis-interpretation of the original Greek word--that the word "beast" refers to the anti-Christ, who will be introduced later.

Some people equate Hades with the concept of Hell.  It is not quite the same.  Hades is mentioned as a gathering place for dead people, like a giant mausoleum or graveyard.  The Hebrew word Sheol refers to a place outside Jerusalem where people would deposit dead bodies to be burned, so that whatever killed them would not infest the city.  This word Sheol is often translated Hades, as it was literally a place of the dead.  Later in Revelation 20 we will see that there will come a time when the dead are judged, and Death and Hades will be thrown into a lake of fire.  "This lake of fire is the second death."  It is a literal Hell.  So the good news is that Death will be no more; the bad news is that those without Christ will be cast into the lake of fire, where they will long for death but never reach it.

I really don't understand those Christian denominations that do not give much weight or thought to the Old Testament.  At the end of the New Testament, if you have not repented, it will be too late for you.  But in the Old Testament, whenever it mentions Death, it also mentions Life.  The contrast is there for all to see: sin leads to death, but repentance leads to life; the Law condemns to death, but Grace gives hope for life.  Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says, "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.  For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers."  Hosea 13:14 says, "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.  Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Grave, is your destruction?"  The Apostle Paul quotes this verse in his explanation of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:55-56: "Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Jesus said in Revelation 1:18 "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!  And I hold the keys of death and Hades."  Jesus died and broke sin's curse, so that after my body dies, I will not have to endure the second death.  God is offering you his salvation.  Why wouldn't you take hold of it?

We may not enjoy living together, but dying together isn't going to solve anything. --Night of the Living Dead, 1968 

Drought's a-comin'!

 

Life was filled with guns and war,

And everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we'd all been ready,

Children died, the days grew cold,

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

How could you have been so blind,

The Father spoke, the demons dined,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

This is the big headline this week: Grain prices pushed to record highs on Thursday as scattered rains in Midwest did little to douse fears that the worst drought in half a century will end soon or relieve worries around the world about higher food prices.

The story goes on to explain the economic effects of a severe rain shortage: 70% of the US corn crop will not be harvested this year. This will drive up the cost of everything from corn flakes to meat and poultry. Ranchers are quickly liquidating their livestock herds because later this summer there won't be anything to feed the animals. Even our fuel costs will go up, since the government has mandated at least 10% ethanol added into gasoline formulations. And as we all know, ethanol is made from--you guessed it--corn. Unemployment will go up in the United States, as more of our food will be imported from around the world.

In the sixth chapter of the book of Revelation, John describes a worldwide famine brought on by the Wrath of God.

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine." (Revelation 6:5-6)

As we have seen in prior studies, the third creature is identified in Revelation 4:7: "The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had the face of a man...."  You will recall that the lion creature summoned the first horse, a white horse, whose rider was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.  He was sent to defeat sin.  The ox summoned the second horse, which was fiery red, whose rider was given a sword and was sent out to make war on mankind.  He was sent to divide men against each other.  So where the lion was swift and the ox was powerful, the figure of the man is crafty and intelligent--he gives orders on commerce and interest rates, and rationing during the severe drought.

In ancient times, when people lived in walled cities, opposing armies would set up a siege and not allow any of the food grown by local farmers to come into the city; nor would they let any traders leave the city to buy food from surrounding cities.  In later battles, an invading army may have set fire to the crops of the defenders of the land, causing a shortage of food.  This was a common tactic.

So it stands to reason that after the angel of war is sent to the earth, and is given authority to make men slay one another, that famine would follow.  A quart of wheat was just enough for one man to eat in a day; three quarts of the less nutritious barley would barely feed a small family.  The prices of these goods would be pushed to ten times their normal cost.  And yet the prices of oil and of wine would remain constant.  In the ancient world, when olive oil was used for cooking, this might have meant that the olive trees and grapevines had a deeper root, and might have survived the scorched-earth policy of the angel on the red horse.  In modern times, there may be government price subsidies for these commodities, so that oil and other petroleum products might still be available, and wine might still be abundant as men abuse it to try to escape reality for a time.

A parallel passage is found in Zechariah 6:2, 6: "The first chariot had red horses, the second black....The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the whit horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south." The country to the north of ancient Israel was primarily Babylonia, but it was also the direction from which most of Israel's foes invaded them.  Verse 8 says those  going toward the north have given God's spirit rest--thus the angelic beings sent to the north have triumphed over the enemies of God's people, and have pacified or appeased God's spirit (or anger).  See Zechariah 1:15, "But I am very angry with the nations that feel secure.  I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity."

Little did the residents of those countries know that their sin would bring on calamitous ruin.  Little do we today know that our sin will bring about the same results.  Ezekiel 4:16 and 17 says, "God then said to me: 'Son of man, I will cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem.  The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair, for food and water will be scarce.  They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.' "

Yet even in God's wrath, he shows favor to His chosen people.  Revelation 7:1 and 3 says, "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree...Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."  In coming blog posts we will see the protection God gives to His people, to help them survive and avoid the calamitous ruin brought on by sin.  The Lamb of God provided his own body as a sacrifice for our sin, so why wouldn't God protect us from the  effects of sin.

The Wrath of God is as much a theme in the Bible as the endless love of God.  It is a shame that more of us do not think more about BOTH attributes of God, in order to avoid his wrath.

A man and wife asleep in bed,

She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone,

I wish we'd all be ready,

Two men walking up a hill,

One disappears and one's left standing still,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

The God of War--shaking our complacency

 

Yes, love, ...but not the love that loves for something, to gain something, or because of something, but that love that I felt for the first time, when dying, I saw my enemy and yet loved him. I knew that feeling of love which is the essence of the soul, for which no object is needed. And I know that blissful feeling now too. To love one's neighbours; to love one's enemies. To love everything - to Love God in all His manifestations. Some one dear to one can be loved with human love; but an enemy can only be loved with divine love. And that was why I felt such joy when I felt that I loved that man. What happened to him? Is he alive? ...Loving with human love, one may pass from love to hatred; but divine love cannot change. Nothing, not even death, can shatter it. It is the very nature of the soul. And how many people I have hated in my life.  --Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Life is full of contrasts--black and white, light and darkness, love and hate.  Living, and loving, is navigating not only human misunderstandings, but also divine contradictions:  God is Love, but without Hate how would you know what Love looked like? We all espouse a God of Peace, but most of the wars on earth have been based on religion, man's study of God.  We all aspire to a heavenly Joy, but only in contrast to the earthly sufferings we have experienced.

Last week we started a study of the Seven Seals in Revelation chapter six.  We started with the rider of the white horse, who brings all things on earth to light and conquers sin.  All those who dwell in darkness will have nowhere to hide; all who deal in deception will have no course to take.  They will all stand naked and unprotected from the second seal, the rider of the red horse.

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"  Then another hose came out, a fiery red one.  Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.  To him was given a large sword. --Revelation 6:3-4

 What did the second living creature look like? In Revelation 4:7, it says "The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox...."  What is the difference between a lion and an ox? A lion is stealthy and brave, quick and fast.  An ox is plodding and slow, but also powerful and not very graceful.  There is an old saying, "He is like a bull in a china shop."  This describes a person who is not graceful, or who does not care about his surroundings--he leaves a trail of destruction in his wake.  But here is something interesting: Ezekiel 1:10 describes an angelic creature with four faces, the faces appearing like the four beasts in Revelation 4.  The four beasts are again described in Ezekiel 10:14: Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle."  Instead of an ox, he sees a cherub.  The first time we see mention of cherubim in the Bible (there is no such word as "cherubs"--one cherub, two or more cherubim) is in Genesis 3:24: "After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." Artistic renderings of cherubim make them look like baby angels, but in reality they are all strong as an ox.  The sword of God's judgment, and these four strong creatures, stood between fallen humanity and God's garden.  Only through God's redemption in Christ do people  have access again to the tree of life.

This is the creature that introduced the second horseman described in Revelation.  The horse was red like fire; he may have even had the appearance of a red-hot flame.  Its rider was told to make War on earth.
In a natural progression, if all state secrets are known, then war erupts between states.  It is the same with families and individuals--families feud against other families when insults are made, and individuals quarrel when they dispense with polite "little white lies" and express how they really feel about one another.  So when truth is brought to light, conflict follows.  "Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend.  Even with her who lies in your embrace be careful of your words.  For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies are the members of his own household." (Micah 7:5-6)  Jesus himself quotes this passage in Matthew 10:35-36, when he said, "For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household'."  This is antithetical to those who preach that God is Love to the exclusion of his wrath, and that Jesus is the Prince of Peace without mentioning that he is the Lion of Judah, the conqueror of Sin and Death.

Matthew 10:34 says, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace on the earth.  I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."  Could this be the large sword that was given to the rider of the Red Horse in Revelation 6?  Again, at first glance, this sounds like a contradiction of scripture--Isaiah 9:6 talks about the "Prince of Peace"; Luke 2:14 talks about an angelic blessing, "on earth peace to all men"; John 14:7 talks about Jesus taking leave of his disciples, saying "my peace I leave with you."  It is true that Christ came to bring peace--peace between the believer and God, and peace among humans.  Yet the inevitable result of Christ's coming is conflict--between Christ and the antichrist, between light and darkness, between God's children and the devil's children.  This conflict can even occur between members of the same family, as we have already discussed.

But there is hope.  Mark 10:29-30 says:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mothers or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions), and in the age to come, eternal life."

Jesus seems to be saying that if your belief in Christ causes you to break family relationships, He will give you a support system that can replace your family; one that will encourage you in the faith as much as a sister or a brother, a father or a mother.  And even beyond your immediate family, your spiritual family is a network that extends all across the world, so that wherever you go, you can find a spiritual kinship that will provide mutual support, mentoring, fellowship and love.  And on top of that, there is also the hope of heaven.  This extended family is available through Christian friends and churches; heaven is a reward for being faithful in life.  But it will not be easy--it does not come without persecution.

So, looking back at our passage, remember that the scroll is the Last Will and Testament of God; the Lamb (Jesus) was found worthy to execute the Will; and that the seven seals represent seven Witnesses to that Will.  The first one was a rider on a white horse, and that represents Light, and whose job is to reveal Sin.  The second was a rider on a red horse, and that represents War, whose job it is to cleanse the world of Sin. It is counter-intuitive for most of us to think of War as an attribute of God.  But throughout the Old Testament, God commanded His people to fight against the enemies of God, and to drive them out of the Promised Land.  Most wars throughout history have left a huge mess that took years to clean up.  This final War will clean up after Man, who introduced Sin into the world.  The sinful will be left without any means of support, as we will see when we study the Black horse next time.

This part of Revelation is setting the stage for future Judgment, but it is taking baby steps toward that end.  In fact, we will see that there are six seals opened in chapter six, but the seventh seal is not opened until chapter eight.  John was very meticulous in his description of his vision, and God showed him quite a lot of detail about the end of the world, and what we can expect to see in the coming age. Some of it is disturbing.  But whatever comes, we have the confidence that Christ is faithful, that even though our faith will be tested, God will allow us to overcome, if we put our trust in him.  We need to prepare now for the end times.  We need to shake our complacency and ask ourselves hard questions, like what does God have to do with War, Famine, or Death?  These are recurring themes in the Bible, but we tend to overlook them often.

We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?               --Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Our Redeemer is Faithful and True

 

As I look back on the road I've travelled,
I see so many times He carried me through;
And if there's one thing that I've learned in my life,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

[Chorus:]
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
Everything He has said He will do,
And every morning His mercies are new.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My heart rejoices when I read the promise
'There is a place I am preparing for you.'
I know someday I'll see my Lord face to face,
'Cause my Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

[Chorus]

And in every situation He has proved His love to me;
When I lack the understanding, He gives more grace to me.

[Chorus]

The song by Steven Curtis Chapman and James Isaac Elliott is a re-telling of Psalm 103:17.  But like so much of Scripture, each verse can be seen as a foretelling of other Scriptures.  I was reminded of this theme when I studied Revelation 6:1-2.

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals.  Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!"  I looked, and there before me was a white horse!  Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

As we have studied the Revelation of John, we have seen the image of the Lamb who was slain in Revelation 5:6 "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders."  Pictured as the sacrifice for sin AND as the mighty conqueror, John uses a special word for "lamb", seen 29 times in Revelation and once in John 21:15--it means one who has overcome, one that is victorious.  The idea of the lamb as a victorious military leader seems to come from the apocolyptic tradition.

We have also had the pleasure of studying the seven seals, the purpose of which is to conceal the message.  Isaiah 8:16-17 says "Bind up the testimony and seal up the law among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.  I will put my trust in him."  Daniel 8:26 says, "The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future."  We have also mentioned that in the Roman culture, the last Will and Testament of a ruler is sealed seven times, each seal representing a witness to the Will of the ruler.  Keep this in mind as we see who breaks the seals in the coming verses.

The four living creatures was mentioned in Revelation 4:6-7: "Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.  In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures...The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle."  These creatures are an exalted order of angelic beings whose task is to guard the heavenly throne and lead in worship and adoration of God.  I'm sure that one of the items near the throne that was being guarded by these special creatures was the scroll, the written Will of God concerning the final settlement of His estate, the heavens and the earth.  And now, after millenniums of time have passed, we get to see, through John's eyes, a glimpse of what happened when that scroll was opened.

At the command of one of the creatures, a white horse appears, with a rider who will break the first of the seven seals.  The imagery of the "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" was first seen in Zechariah chapters 1 and 6.  Zechariah 1:8 says, "During the night I had a vision--and there before me was a man riding a red horse!  He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine.  Behind him were red, brown, and white horses."  And Zechariah 6:1-3 says, "I looked up again--and there before me were four chariots coming from between two mountains--mountains of bronze!  The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, and the fourth dappled--all of them powerful."

Zechariah's vision had to do with vengeance on  the enemies of Israel, and for that reason the red horse was mentioned first--the color of blood, as the armies of God made war on the nations.  In John's vision, the white horse is the first one we see.  White is the color of purity, the color of light.  Revelation 19:11 says, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose name is Faithful and True.  With justice he judges and makes war."  His job is to wipe out the blackness of sin.  There is a striking parallel with the account of Creation: the first thing God did when he wanted to make us a home called Earth was to dispel the darkness.  In order to do that, he created light.  After that, every other creation followed in order; but without light, the rest of creation would have been futile.

There is a slogan used by minorities and oppressed peoples: No Justice, No Peace; Know Justice, Know Peace.  Their point is that unless oppressors are brought to justice and held accountable for their oppression, then peace will always be just out of reach.  Peace on Earth is just a dream.  In the same way, God knows that heaven and eternal rest cannot dwell where sin abides.  So to lay the foundation for the Peace that Passes Understanding, Sin must be conquered.  The rider of the White Horse is given a crown--not a royal crown signifying reigning over the earth, but rather more like a golden victory wreath.  This is the same word that is used in Revelation 14:14 "I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on that cloud was one like A Son Of Man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand."  The rider of the White Horse has overcome the world, and has conquered sin.  That is the mandate he is given in verse 2--to be a conqueror bent on conquest.

Psalm 45.4 says, "In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds."  Awesome, indeed: the first witness to the Final Will and Testament of God is a warrior riding a White Horse, who will wipe out the stain of sin.  Only then can the foundation of Heaven be laid.  There is no sin allowed in God's heaven.  If you are mired in sin, and are separated from God, I urge you to rid yourself of sin by means of confession and repentance.  God is Faithful and True; he will forgive, and show mercy.  But you must act now, before it is too late.  When the Lamb begins to read the Book of Life, it will be too late to add your name.  Once the rider of the White Horse traverses the earth, you will stand naked and ashamed before Him.  This is what we see when the second seal is broken--but more about that next time.  Until then, those of us who have confessed and believe will be able to say

We’ve been made

more than conquerors

Overcomers in this life

We’ve been made

victorious

Through the blood of Jesus Christ!

When troubles

come knockin’ at your door

Don’t be afraid,

It’s not like before

Don’t you give in,

don’t let it bring you down

You don’t have to worry anymore!

We’ve been made

more than conquerors

Overcomers in this life

We’ve been made

victorious

Through the blood of Jesus Christ!

Hold on,

we’re getting stronger everyday

There’s no reason

for you to go astray

Don’t be leaning

to your understanding

Lean on him and we’ll all say:

We’ve been made

more than conquerors

Overcomers in this life

We’ve been made

victorious

Through the blood of Jesus Christ!

We’ve been made

more than conquerors

Overcomers in this life

We’ve been made

victorious

Through the blood of Jesus Christ!