March 7, 2022 (Monday)
Today, I’m going to veer from the lectionary. I seldom
address the “topic of the day” for several reasons. First, I believe in a
systematic approach to the Bible will lessen the impact of crisis in life. Preparation
and prevention is worth a truck load of triage. Second, getting sucked into the “topic of the
day” produces immature believers with little spiritual development. Finally, the
“topic of the day” can be a distraction, a tyranny of sorts, to keep us from
what is important.
Every now and then there is an “elephant in the room” that
needs to be addressed. You can feel the effects of fear and anger, but nobody
will speak about it. In discussing prophecy
in the Bible, most of us have heard of “Armageddon.” Sequentially, that battle
occurs late in what has been called “the Great Tribulation.” Focusing there, we
miss the human tragedy of the beginning of the events foretold in the book of Revelation.
Judgement on humanity begins with the four seals. Many will
recognize the idea of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse.” They are found in
Revelation 6:1 – 9. Let’s look at them today.
The first seal is the rider of the first horse. “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.” [Revelation 6:2 NIV] These riders can appear sequentially
or at the same time. It makes sense that they are related. In other words, one
causes the other. The first one listed is a person intent on conquering.
Throughout the history of the world, these types of rulers have been common.
The second rider, if there is one set on conquest, is “Then another horse
came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the
earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.” [Revelation
6:4 NIV] War follows the ambition to conquer. The way the verse is written
shows the effect is supernatural. Christians might call this “demonic.” If we
examine history, war is the way of the world.
The third rider if famine (more literally inflation), “Then I heard what
sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of
wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not
damage the oil and the wine!” [Revelation
6:6 NIV] Famine and inflation have been common through human history. Nothing
about these riders suggests a change in the course of history.
It’s the fourth rider that grabs attention… or more like
gets ignored. “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.” [Revelation 6:8 NIV] This is the break from the cycle of
history. Notice this rider is earth-wide.
At today’s current population (almost 8 billion), it would
mean the death of 2 billion people. This kind of death was practically
unthinkable before World War II. All this caused (or set in motion) by an
individual bent on conquest.
Final thought: One theory about THE “AntiChrist” is they
will come offering peace in a time of chaos.
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