Revealing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse:
Revelation 6: 1-8, 7: 9-17
How can we see Revelation as a spiritual journey, as a description of our development as a human being before God?
Revelation is a cryptic document which has been interpreted in many ways. Most of the interpretations fall into one or more of the following categories: the Historicist, which sees in Revelation a broad view of history; the Preterist, in which Revelation mostly refers to the events of the apostolic era (first century); the Futurist, which believes that Revelation describes future events; and the Idealist, or Symbolic, which holds that Revelation is purely symbolic, an allegory of the spiritual path and the ongoing struggle between good and evil. These approaches are by no means mutually exclusive, and can be (and usually are) used in combination with each other.
Chapter 6: 1-8
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Revelation: A revealing. A revealing about ourselves as well angels and demons.
Today, the players are the same, only the names have been changed of the horsemen to distract the ignorant.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in modern attire.
Chucky, Groucho, Ziggy, and Big Al. We'll discuss these in class...
The lectionary reading:
Chapter 7: 9-17
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
The process of spiritual development:
God may reveal himself to us in many ways and through many avenues, our surrounding nature, our society, our psyche all on the larger stage of the cosmos. If we are to develop, we must develop in relation to all of the above. Our lives proceed not in a vacuum, but one that is fraught with peril and danger. But in the end we are faithful to arrive at our fullest stage of development where “16 We shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on us, nor any heat.” For we will be the full light in Christ, having reached our full purpose as a creature created to journey to our full calling in God. Now that’s true revelation.
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