The speculation of the end of days or “the last day” or “the day of the Lord” has taken up a great deal of the thought time of the human race from our very beginnings, as most societies of our human family have at least some speculation about these matters.  So, for the instruction and teaching of my two readers, ‘myself’ an ‘I’, I will precede with a brief, albeit, hopefully an instructive erudition.  (Actually, I may have three readers, if I include “me”.  So for ‘me’, ‘myself’ and ‘I’, we proceed:  (A Meditation for Holy Week, 2017)

From the Revelation, chapter 5:1-14 NIV:

                Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scrolls?”  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it.  I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.  Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep!  See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.  He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

                Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.  The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.  He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.  And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.  Each one had a harp and they were holding bowls of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 

                And they sang a new song, saying:

                 “You are worthy to take the scroll

                And to open its seals,

                Because you were slain,

                And with your blood you purchased for God

                Persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

                You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,

                And they will reign on the earth.”

 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and then thousand times ten thousand.  The encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  In a loud voice they were saying:

                 “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

                To receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

                And honor and glory and praise!”

 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them saying,

                 “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

                Be praise and honor and glory and power,

                                                                Forever and ever!”

 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

This section of the Apocalypse, chapter 5 is a rather remarkable section.  It transitions between the first four chapters of the Revelation of John in which the author introduces his vision of the end of days and also instructs the seven churches of his pastorate.  If we assume the author is John the apostle, we find it even more remarkable, perhaps written in the last period of John’s life before he was by report “boiled in oil” on the island of Patmos.  Even if he did not die as a martyr, the implication of this text is that even the Apostle John, who by most in the early church was expected to live until Jesus returned, died in his faith in Christ without seeing Jesus return.  This passage then provides a needed corrective for those in the early church (and later) who might choose to speculate that they (or we) are living in the last days before the return of Jesus to the earth to rule and reign over the new heaven and the new earth.

Since John the Apostle died without seeing the destruction of the old creation and its subsequent rebirth as foretold by the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, with the risen Christ Jesus reigning as Lord and God of the whole creation, following the marriage supper of the Lamb (which is the new heaven and the new earth), we are given a corrective on our human speculation either to predict or fully understand this event.  If the writer of the Revelation is not the apostle John, but instead one of his disciples, also called “John”, the vision is still authoritative and the corrective for the church family still exists.  No one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth (‘the place of the dead”) is found worthy to open the scroll, sealed with seven seals by God the Father, except Jesus Christ the Son, who is the Lamb of God, crucified, dead and risen into life—He alone is worthy to open and to read this scroll of the Living God, who rules both heaven, earth and those ‘under the earth’.  This expression simply means, God rules everything; there is nothing which is outside God’s rule and God’s power!  This power to rule and reign over the earth and all creation is being given by God the Father to Jesus Christ as Lord.  He alone is given by God the Father the ability and the right to bring the old creation to its end and to usher in the new creation of God which has been prepared for all those who love and worship Jesus Christ!

This is a grand and marvelous vision of God our Father’s plans for his children, his creation, for his earth!

So with the much needed caution, we tread carefully into what is for so many “murky waters.”  The interpretation of the Revelation of John has been so twisted and manipulated over the centuries as to render it seemingly incomprehensible.  So with that in mind, let us begin.

In this study, we focus only on the breaking of the seven seals.  The scroll, as described in this text is rolled up as would be customary in the first century A.D.  It is sealed with seven seals (as of wax?) and as it is unrolled, each of these seals must be broken for the writing on the scroll to be read.  John describes the process of the unrolling of the scroll in a poetic fashion (some say “allegorical”) which enables the drama of the text to unfold in a meaningful, although not always completely clear way.

“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.”

                                                                                                                (The Revelation 6:1-2 NIV)

Some have speculated the rider on the white horse is Jesus Christ.  However, this is not true.  This rider is another, someone given “a crown” and “a horse” and “a bow” to ride out “as a conqueror” bent on conquest.  If this rider were Jesus Christ he would have something in his bow with which to accomplish his conquest.  This rider is given authority to seek conquest (that is, to rule over much of the earth = a dominant power), but nothing more, nothing less.  It is expected, therefore, that the “last days” for the earth and its peoples will be in a time of a dominant, powerful world power.  (“white” = “somewhat benign”)

“When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”  Then another horse came out, a fiery 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.”  (The Revelation 6:3-4 NIV)

The second horse, however, is not so benign.  When he comes forth, the “fiery horse” and his his rider is given the right to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other.  His “large sword” means symbolically that he causes a great deal of terror among nations and provokes people to “kill each other.”  It is possible the second horse rides in opposition to the first.  It is also possible that these simply act in concert as part of God’s divine plan unfolding upon the earth.

“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, “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!”

(The Revelation 6: 5-6 NIV)

The third, “black” horse speaks of famine.  But the famine is not equal for everyone.  “Bread” and “barley” are staples of food.  “Oil” and “wine” are non-essentials, more likely found in the homes of the wealthy.  So we see a division developing between the rich and the poor, and in this case “the bread” and “the barley” are limited, but the “oil” and “the wine” are not.   So, there is not enough food to feed the earth’s peoples and it is the poorest who suffer the most, lacking the basic necessities to live.

“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 followed 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.”   

(The Revelation 6: 7-8 NIV)

The last horse, “a pale horse”, is a more general expression of the misery being given to the earth and its peoples.  “Death” and “Hades” (the repository which holds persons who have died until the last judgment) ride together.  A “fourth of the earth” in our day would be a whole lot of people!  Currently estimates place the world population around 7.5 billion, more or less.  One fourth of 7.5 billion is one billion, eight hundred and seventy five million persons (1.875 billion).  This is a lot of human beings, so whatever death is occurring, it is happening on a large scale.  We all know about “sword, famine and plague”.  The “wild beasts of the earth” are terrorists who prey on the rest of humanity.  The breaking of the fourth seal brings a whole lot of dying of humanity.

                “When he opened the fifth seal, I say 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 is given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters were killed just as they had been.”

(The Revelation 6: 9-11 NIV)

The fifth seal marks a transitional point in the story and instead of description we are given dialogue between God and his “martyrs”.  God has hidden these servants who have suffered greatly, to the point of death so they are close to his heart, placing them under the very throne of God.  Their presence, their voices remind God the Father they have died for the word of God (that is Jesus Christ) and for the testimony they maintained against evil, injustice and for the truth of the gospel of Christ.  They are given a white robe, signifying righteousness before God and are told to wait just a little longer until the full number of servants who will be “martyrs” of Christ are killed.

We are reminded in this text that dying for Christ and for the testimony of Christ and the truth of the gospel is a great privilege in terms of how this is viewed by God the Father.  So our goal is not to preserve our life in this world, but to take risks and to proclaim the good news of the truth of Jesus Christ to bring salvation and redemption to all who will receive Him.  Our goal is therefore not the preservation of our own lives, but rather to live as redemptive people in the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ.  Even if we suffer and even if we die for the sake of Jesus Christ, it is a privilege to do so, in the eyes of our God!  So the perspective of what is means for us to have life and death is turned upside down.  What we thought was important is no longer important, but what God says is important is the most important thing of all, that is to love and to serve, and if necessary to die for Jesus Christ our Lord!  In the view of the Revelation of John, to die as a martyr of the church, for the sake of Jesus Christ and his gospel is indeed a great privilege.  The author, “John” wrote to Christians in a time of terrible persecution of the church, to give them hope and faith in this pastoral letter.  It is equally likely that some of us, as Christians living today, will also see martyrdom for our Lord Jesus Christ.  We do not have to look far to see this happening already, in South Sudan, in Egypt (Coptic Christians), in the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon), in North Korea, in the Congo, in Nigeria, and in Palestine, where there are many believers in Christ.  There may be other areas as well, but these are those of which I am most familiar.

While those of us who live in the Western democracies have not seen martyrdom, there are many being persecuted, some for helping refugees from Syria and Hispanics from Mexico and South America.  The alt-right, white segregationists, neo-Nazis and others often persecute Christians and the church.  In Charleston, South Carolina nine Christians, including senior pastor Clementa C. Pinckney were gunned down by a follower of white supremacy philosophy while these Christians prayed in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on the evening of June 17, 2015.  What the news media terms “a mass shooting” and “a hate crime” for Christians can be considered a “martyrdom for Christ and his church.”  If such can occur in Charleston, South Carolina, it can occur in any part of the world!  No Christian who witnesses and gives to others the love of Jesus Christ is immune to such things as these.  We would all do well to remember that love is not always reciprocated in kind.

SOME GIVE HATRED IN RETURN FOR LOVE, BULLETS IN RETURN FOR A CUP OF WATER OR A GIFT OF FOOD OR MEDICAL CARE, KNIVES PLUNGED INTO THE HEART OF THOSE INNOCENT OF ANY CRIME, THE LOSS OF OUR HEAD SIMPLY BECAUSE WE PROCLAIM THE WORD OF GOD AND THE REDEEMING LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, CRUCIFIED AND RISEN FOR ALL HUMANITY!

 THE FIFTH SEAL is the seal of the testimony of the church of Jesus Christ throughout the ages.  In THE LAST DAYS (whenever are “the last days”), we will be called upon to give testimony as well as praise for our Lord Jesus Christ!  For all who sing the name of Jesus, call upon the name of Jesus, speak the name of Jesus, proclaim the good news of the name of Jesus, let us also remember that we are called to suffer for the name of Jesus.  White robes are given by God the Father to all who suffer and die for the testimony of Christ.  We do not pray for persecution, nor do we seek this in any form or fashion.  However, if it comes, should it come, when it comes—we will all be prepared in that great day and hour of our God calling to us.  “Come home, my child, I have a place prepared for you!” That place, for those who are martyred in the faith of Christ and for the sake of his gospel is under the very throne of our God!  I expect that will not be too bad a place to spend eternity with our Lord and with his people.  I can think of a lot of worse places we could be.

And so, today, as Christians, we give thanks for the hope and the promise of the good news, this wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, who himself suffered and died on the cross for us!  As we enter this Holy Week preceding Easter, in the year of our Lord, 2017, we pause to give thanks for the privilege and the joy of serving our Savior-Redeemer, Jesus Christ!  There is no greater privilege nor joy on this earth or in the world yet to come which will ever match or compare to the joy of knowing our Savior!  For any discouraged today, or any needing a good word of hope, here is your hope, your faith and your love:  In Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven.  In Jesus Christ we are given a new life.  In Jesus Christ, we are promised a place to be with Him and with his children forever.  In Jesus Christ, those who suffer and die for his sake will be greatly honored in the world which is coming.  So do not be afraid, my dear friends, we know where we are going and it will be joy when we arrive together there, for we will be with Jesus Christ, the one died that we might live in Him.  “Amen!”

“Amen!”  We praise you, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the name and by the power of God our Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!”  “Amen!”

Let all of God’s people say, “Amen!”

“Amen!  We praise you, God of the Living and the Dying, for all live unto You!”

A Voice of One among the Voice Of Many