Danger: Handle with Care

“Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there was a white horse. The horseman on it had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a victor to conquer. When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its horseman was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him. When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman on it had a set of scales in his hand. Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius — but do not harm the olive oil and the wine.” When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a pale green horse. The horseman on it was named Death, and Hades was following after him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.” (Revelation‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

Sometimes I think we are way too serious, and other times I think we are way too cavalier. I really don’t mean for that to sound fickle. It’s just that we often seem to be laughing when we ought to be crying and crying when we ought to be laughing. In some ways, that’s precisely how I feel as we delve deeper and deeper into this book. I titled this study, Danger: Handle with Care. We need to be careful as we try to read, listen, consider, meditate, pray, seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and understand the words of Christ’s Revelation. As Paul says to the young Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.” (2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

This particular passage and the scene referenced in it are often referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. That alone should give us pause as we begin to consider these things. I want to begin this week by reminding you that the things we are considering are of great importance, certainly for Jesus’ church but also for you and me personally. The author of Ecclesiastes says that there’s a time for everything, and this passage ought to cause us to realize there’s a time to laugh and a time to cry. John wept and wept when he was told there was nobody in all God’s creation worthy to open this scroll. In light of what he sees as each of these seals is broken, I wonder if he continued to weep?

How do you view God’s judgment? Perhaps your view is dependent on whether you think His judgment is or will be directed against you or not. Keep that contrast in mind as we begin to consider each of the following events. As Jesus takes the scroll from God’s hand, He begins to open its seals. Perhaps, like me, you’ve wondered how a scroll can have seven seals and each of them reveals something as they are broken and opened. Two things come to my mind related to this: 1) the breaking or opening of each seal does not specifically say that a portion of the scroll is revealed with each successive opened seal. I believe it is possible that simply opening each seal sets the related events in motion; 2) dreams have a way of happening that appear perfectly normal to us when the dream is occurring, but don’t seem to be logical upon awakening. As you can tell, I believe John’s “vision” of these things is a spiritual reality and not a physical reality.

First, the Lamb opens the first seal and John hears one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” This command is not spoken to John, it is spoken to the first horseman. It’s easy to rush past this and miss something I think is important. I have spent my entire life living in an area that is known for its thunderstorms – Oklahoma. When weather fronts hit the Rocky Mountains and are pushed over those 14,000-foot peaks, they roll down the other side of the Rockies and spill onto the plains of Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. 

When lightning flashes and thunder rolls across these Oklahoma plains, you don’t just see it and hear it; you feel it. It can make the dishes in the cabinets rattle and cause the whole house to creak. When one of the four living creatures speaks and God’s response pours forth like thunder, I don’t think you just hear it – YOU FEEL IT! Not because the living creature has incredible power, but because the events that flow out of these opened seals come forth with the AWESOME power of God! John says, “I looked…” but what he saw with his eyes, I believe, he also felt like that with that sudden CLAP of lightning and that DEEP roll of thunder that initially startles but then shakes you down to the core of your being.

“I looked, and there was a white horse. The horseman on it had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he went out as a victor to conquer.” (Revelation‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

Who is this mysterious horseman, and just what is his purpose? Well, everyone has an opinion on that question. Here’s what we know: he rides a white horse, carries a bow, is given (divine imperative – God does this) a crown, and he goes forth to conquer or in conquest. Don’t make the mistake of assuming this is Jesus; it isn’t. If you compare this description with the one in Revelation 19, you’ll quickly see this rider bears no resemblance to the “KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS” described in that passage. The description of this horseman does bear some resemblance to a Parthian mounted cavalryman and was greatly feared by the Romans, but I believe this is a false spiritual leader, messiah, or antichrist (see Matt. 24:4-5).

While this is the first of the four horsemen, it is important to note that each comes forth as a part of the purpose and plan of God and the opening of the scroll by the worthy Lamb. We often struggle to understand this part of God’s work— His just judgment. In Isaiah 6, God tells Isaiah: “And He replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed.” (Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭HCSB‬‬) God has given and continues to give us all the evidence and proof we need to believe in Him, believe His Word, and believe in His Son. But like the people of Isaiah’s day, we would rather believe a lie than to believe Him.

This is plainly seen in modern man’s obsession with spirits and spiritual things while rejecting the truth of God’s word and His clear declaration(s) about Jesus. We’re more likely to believe in alien life somewhere else out in the galaxy than the One who created us and gives us life. We’re able to look at something as simple as a child’s hand-written “I love Daddy” note and recognize it had an actual author but reject the love letter God gave us in the holy scriptures. We look at the complexity of a simple machine and acknowledge it had a designer while staring at the complexity of human, animal, and plant life and believe it exists because of a cosmic accident. 

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.” (Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭25‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

“For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false…” (2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

The LAMB opens the second seal, and John says, “I heard a second living creature say, “COME!” Personally, I think that lightning popped, and that deep rolling boom of thunder sent another wave of tremor through John. Then another horse burst forth, a fiery red one, and its horseman was empowered (again, a divine imperative) to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him.” This second horse, a fiery red one, carries its rider who was given the power to take peace and was given a large sword to bring war. Again, Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 24 when He says, “You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed; these things must take place, but the end is not yet.”

Jesus’ assurance to the disciples is clearly intended to alleviate their fear and anxiety regarding this unavoidable situation. There will be wars and rumors of them, but don’t be alarmed by this because these things must take place. These things are all a part of God’s perfect plan; don’t panic. Aren’t you glad He gives us this assurance? Seriously! Without it, wouldn’t we be in a panic? We’d be running around, waving our arms, overwhelmed and wide-eyed because we think God’s not paying attention to what’s happening down here. On the contrary! What’s happening down here is God when we’re just wanting to sit around the campfire, gaze at the stars, and sing “Kumbaya.” Remember, I said we’re often laughing when we should be crying?

Now He opens the third seal, quakes the lightning and thunder: “I heard a third living creature say, ‘COME!’ And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman on it had a set of scales in his hand. Then I heard a voice coming from among the midst of the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius — but do not harm the olive oil and the wine.” The black horse and the scales in the rider’s hand indicate this horse brings famine with its food shortages and out-of-control inflation. But notice, the voice John hears is not the voice of one of the four living creatures. It comes from among, in the midst, or out of the middle of where they’re standing. And where do they stand? They stand around the throne. The voice appears to be God’s voice.

Does that shock you? It should. We talk a lot about God’s love. We sing songs about His mercy, grace, and forgiveness. All of those things are absolutely true of and about Him, and we ought to sing about them. But they aren’t the only things that are true about Him, far from it. He is also just, holy, righteous, and sovereign. When He deserves love, praise, obedience, and worship, we tend to turn those things back on ourselves. We sing songs about His love, His love for us. We praise His blessings when they’re lavished upon us. We offer to obey Him if He’ll do something for us. We gather to worship Him but complain when we’re inconvenienced by it. We want worship to be enjoyable; He wants worship to be genuine. 

What will it take for God to get our attention?

What will it take? Listen… Finally, He opens the fourth seal: “I heard the voice of a fourth living creature say, ‘COME!’” Did you brace yourself this time for that CLAP of lightning and that deep, low rumbling of the thunderous sound of the command? This time it’s a pale green horse and its rider is named Death, and Hades follows after him. They’re given – again, a divine imperative; but I believe this is a collective “they” referencing all four riders – authority over a fourth of the earth. The authority they’re divinely given is to kill using the weapons they’ve been given – sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts.

I would rather write, speak, and sing about the love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness of my God. But like Isaiah who cried out, “Here am I, send me,” I too must write, speak, and sing the words He gives for they are truth and they are life. God’s wrath is hard, but it is just and it is necessary. “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, but if it isn’t possible, not my will but yours be done.”

I’ve told you in past weeks that I believe this scroll holds the divine plan of redemption. It might shock you a bit to discover that God’s plan of redemption contains these elements of judgment. You can deny it, you can run from it, and you can live your life in whatever way you desire, but that won’t change the facts. God deserves love and worship, and to refuse or fail to give it to Him is to subject yourself to His just judgment. 

Why is judgment necessary? Because we chase after a false messiah when we seek to conquer our own lives and live as the rightful lord over it. Because we declare war against God’s desires for us and His right to rule over us. Because we hoard what we have and ignore the hurting and the hungry all around us. Because we would rather die than give up our right to rule our own life. In essence, our judgment is to receive the very things we pursued and to discover that they ultimately don’t give us life, they bring death.

These horses and their riders carry out the judgment of God, and many feel these are physical judgments. However, physical judgments would fall short of God’s divine plan of redemption. I believe these judgments include elements of physical judgment, but ultimately, they are judgments against spiritual life because we are made in the image of God. We are souls with a body, not bodies with a soul. The conquest, war, famine, and death plague are waged against man on both planes, physical and spiritual. Ultimately, this conquest is a spiritual conquest; this war is a spiritual battle for the soul of man; this famine is loss of the bread of life; and this death plague is eternal death for the soul. That’s a sobering realization. 

I titled this study, Danger: Handle with Care, because we need to handle these verses and their promised judgment with care. We need to be honest with people regarding them, but we must never be cavalier regarding His judgment and indifferent towards people who are facing it. Scripture says, “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭HCSB‬‬) “For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “So repent and live!” (Ezekiel‬ ‭18‬:‭32‬ ‭HCSB‬‬)

Let me end with one comment regarding a modern trend to trivialize God’s judgment and declare that God’s love is greater than that. There are many preachers/teachers who espouse a universalist approach to salvation in which nobody dies and all are redeemed. To preach such is to call God a liar and declare His word to be false. We must not be cavalier regarding His judgment, but we must never be blind to the truth of His judgment. You can’t read scripture honestly and openly and walk away without an acknowledgment that it declares a judgment day is coming. 

My prayer for you if you’re a believer is that you’ll handle these words with care and truthfulness as you share God’s Word with your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. My prayer for you if you’re not a believer is that you’ll hear the Word of God and His warning and surrender to His love before it’s too late.