First Presbyterian Church
What's a Presbyterian to do with Revelation, Part 6
Sermon for August 31, 2003
by Pastor Susan Barnes

NRS Listen for the word of God as it is found in Revelation 6.

6:1 Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, "Come!" 1 And again I looked up and saw four chariots … 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot black horses, 3 the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled gray horses. 5 The angel answered me, "These are the four winds of heaven going out, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go toward the west country, and the dappled ones go toward the south country."

Zechariah 6:1-6
2 I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out surely (1)c onquering and to conquer. 3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, "Come!" 4 And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword. 5 For thus says the LORD: Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament, or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the LORD, my steadfast love and mercy.

Jeremiah 16:5
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, "Come!" I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, Then he said to me, Mortal, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem ; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.

Ezekiel 4:16
16 and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's pay, and three quarts of barley for a day's pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!"

Joel 1:10
The fields are devastated, the ground mourns; for the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil fails. 11 Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley; for the crops of the field are ruined.

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, "Come!"

8 I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth. I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs, and will tear open the covering of their heart; there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild animal would mangle them. 14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your destruction? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. Hosea 13:8, 14

Jeremiah 16: 4 They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried; they shall become like dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth. 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; You shall make an altar on which to offer incense; 10 Once a year Aaron shall perform the rite of atonement on its horns. Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it once a year with the blo od of the atoning sin offering. It is most holy to the LORD.

Exodus 30:1, 10
10 they cried out with a loud voice, "Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?"

Ps 13:2
How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Ps 74:10
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

Ps 79:5
How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?

Ps 79:10
Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes.

Psalm 79: 12
Then the angel of the LORD said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah , with which you have been angry these seventy years?"

Zech 1: 8
In the night I saw a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen; and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses …. "They are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth." …

14 Thus says the LORD of hosts … I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they made the disaster worse. … My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem . Zecharaih 1:8-16

11 They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed. 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,

2 For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their hoards; he has doomed them, has given them over for slaughter. 3 Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. Isaiah 34:2-3

13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall wither like a leaf withering on a vine, or fruit withering on a fig tree. Isaiah 34:4

14 The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

NRS Isaiah 34:1
Draw near, O nations, to hear; O peoples, give heed! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it.

15 Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful,

Is 34: 12
Her princes shall be no more; for her kings and her great men shall be destroyed. ( LXX)

and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, they climb among rocks; all the towns are forsaken, and no one lives in them. Jeremiah 4: 29

19 Enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. 20 On that day people will throw away to the moles and to the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship,21 to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts in the crags, from the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. Isaiah 2:19-20

16 calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; ”

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel , shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars. They shall say to the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us. Hosea 10:8

Jeremiah 4:23
I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.

17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? "

Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and by him the rocks are broken in pieces. Nahum 1:6

All these texts about the terrible day , who are they directed to? Who should be afraid? In the old testament, sometimes its Israel , who has collaborated with invaders and worshiped their gods , broken God's laws and oppressed the poor . Sometimes it is the invaders and occupiers: Babylon or Syria . Sometimes it's the vassals of the invaders, like Judah . Sometimes it is the nations that are at ease, standing by, while Jerusalem is undergoing disaster.

In Revelation, it is directed against those who are persecuting the followers of Jesus. Those who are turning them into the Roman authorities to be executed. John uses the OT stories of judgment executed on Israel for her faithlessness, as well as descriptions of the destruction of Israel 's enemy, to describe what has happened and what will happen to the people, followers and non-followers.

But despite all these terrible events, all the plagues that will afflict the earth, you 'll notice what doesn't happen: the readers are not called to bring about any of these judgments: In chapter three and four, the seven churches are called to do just a few things: repent, be faithful, hold fast , and do not fear.

Do not fear? It seems like John is doing everything he can to scare us, but really he is trying to motivate the early Christians to persevere despite their suffering. A few Sundays ago I read a letter from the governor , asking the emperor the best way to interrogate and condemn Christians, since they were traitors to Rome because they wouldn't worship the emperor . They were in a precarious position.

I thought of this text as I read about the bombings in Iraq this week. Terrorists seem to be killing the very people who could bring justice to their country. It seems as if a rider has come to take the peace from the earth.

Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim was the leader of Shiite Muslims in Iraq . He was exiled In Iran for 23 years. When he was in Iraq , he was imprisoned twice, but was freed by Saddam Hussein, fearful that the Shiites would rise up if Hakim stayed in prison much longer. The second time, he left the country for 23 years. He returned to Iraq this last May. Shiites celebrated al-Hakim's return. “Under Saddam Hussein's rule, Shiite Muslim leaders were not allowed to conduct traditional Friday mid-day prayers. Worshippers were not allowed to pray in the courtyard and street outside the mosque. They could not put up pictures of their leaders or the green flag of Islam.” In May, they could do all those things. (2) One cleric even hoped for a country where religious men would perform religious duties. I wasn't sure if he meant that religious men would be free to perform their religious duties, or if religious men would perform religious, not political duties.

Hakim said, “‘we don't want a Taliban state and we don't want Islam on American terms, either.' That doesn't mean Iraq will be a sealed-off bastion of mosques and holy cities. ‘We want to build a modern state that takes advantage of our vast resources' and in which “good” women will have a strong role.” (3) On Friday, he delivered a sermon at the Imam Ali mosque, urging peace and unity in the effort to rebuild postwar Iraq . As he left the shrine, a car bomb exploded, killing him and 80 others. The top US offic ial said Hakim was “a widely respected religious scholar, one of the pillars of the opposition to Saddam and a key participant in the building of democracy in Iraq . By murdering him, the terrorists are trying to strike a blow against the holy city of An Najaf , against harmony and democracy in Iraq , and against free- dom the world over. They will fail .” (4)

“Residents of Najaf said immediately after the bombing that men bearing guns had rushed to the office of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most senior cleric in the city and indeed in Iraq, begging him to issue a edict consecrating an immediate jihad, or holy war, against the assassins.

The ayatollah's aides conveyed the request to him, said Tariq Ghazi, a Najaf resident, but they returned with a terse answer, ‘Jihad against whom?' (5) ”

As satisfying as it is to strike out, to do anything when a catastrophe happens, wise people find other outlets for their frustration. The young people in Iraq are angry about the lack of electricity, the bad water, the poverty, and especially the lack of progress. All violence does is provide a temporary outlet and escalate existing problems.

The four horsemen go out to all the earth. The first rider comes as a warrior with a bow, symbolic of Rome 's past defeats to the Parthian cavalry. The second, third, and fourth describe what happens in a conquest: internal strive, civil war, inflation, famine, pestilence, and death. (6) This happens to everyone in the land. We've seen it in Liberia as well as Iraq .

“In short, John's prophetic rhetoric insists that final redemption and salvation does not just pertain to the individual soul but require that the entire world be free of suffering and oppression. ” P. 62

When people have few resources and many stresses, violence results. I think John was trying to avoid that. He wanted the Christians to survive, but still witness to Christ, even though Rome declared that the emperor was Lord, and so all his rules were divine.

That made me think of what Alabama Supreme Court Associate Justice Douglas Johnstone said, recently: “I oppose the movement to govern in the name of God. People who govern in the name of God attribute their own personal preferences to God and therefore recognize no limits in imposing those preferences on other people.” (7)

We see that problem among Muslims in Iraq , and among Christians in Northern Ireland . The same problem is played out in quarrels in our courts about the separation of church and state. But it hasn't always been just in the courts.

159 years ago, in Philadelphia American Protestants and Irish Catholics began the Bible riots.

It started when public schools required their teachers to read ten chapters from the King James Version every school day, followed by the Protestant version of the Lord' s Prayer. Children were taught from anti-Catholic textbooks that said the Pope was the anti-Christ .

The Catholic bishop met with school officials . The Catholics didn't use the King James Version; they used the Douay Bible. Catholic churches still don't read from the King James.

The school board agreed, but didn't enforce the order. The bishop came back again, and suggested ending the religious instruction. The board compromised and let the Catholic students leave during that part of class. The Protestants thought that was part of a plot for the Catholics to take control of American schools. Catholics quoted the first amendment “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Protestants quoted, “Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Rumors flew , and one shoving match erupted into three days of rioting that left nine people dead, twenty injured, and a quarter of a million dollars in damage.

People read Revelation and think it predicts the future. But this earth has endured these same trials and tribulations over and over. During the civil war in Asia Minor, food was scarce, it was measured out on scales and carefully rationed . And so the rider on the black horse held scales. Wine and oil will be unaffected by the famine, but the victims won't be able to afford the price. Christians will be most affected, because they don't compromise on eating food sacrificed to Roman gods. Some food available, but its prices were inflated 8-16 times.

When Rome's power ends, the world will be shaken. The sun, moon, and stars figured prominently in the Roman pantheon of gods and goddesses. Their religion will fall with the stars. In the meantime, be faithful, know that your suffering matters to God.

One theologian said “To read Revelation is to share in the celebration of God's justice; to be open to feelings of passion, hatred, longing, and vindication as well as sorrow. But in the book, we aren't asked to engage in barbarism or violence ourselves; ” in chapter 6, it is the lamb who initiates all this by breaking the seals. “ Unless we can recognize the passions and desires that have led to so much conflict, victimization , and destruction, then we shall continue to use the deceit that has covered up human conflict .” (8)

How can God authorizer the calamities but not will them? God is aware of them; God isn't ignoring them or denying them. It is the ultimate question for all of us of faith. How can God be, when we suffer so? Different biblical authors answer in different ways. The psalmist asks, “How long must we endure?” The author of Revelation says, “be patient. Those causing the persecution will get theirs in the end. Let me tell you how terrible it will be. I'll use really scary stories from the prophets .”

But in the midst of the terror, there is hope enough to persevere. And even in apocalyptic Joel we have a description of God:

Joel 2:1-13
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion ; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near-- 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come. 3 Fire devours in front of them, and behind them a flame burns. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, but after them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. 4 They have the appearance of horses, and like war-horses they charge 5 As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. 6 Before them peoples are in anguish, all faces grow pale. 7 Like warriors they charge, like soldiers they scale the wall. Each keeps to its own course, they do not swerve from their paths.

8 They do not jostle one another, each keeps to its own track; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. 9 They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls; they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 11 The LORD utters his voice at the head of his army; how vast is his host! Numberless are those who obey his command. Truly the day of the LORD is great; terrible indeed-- who can endure it? 12 Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.

And so we are called to turn to the Lord.

(1) LXX rendering of Hebrew infinitive absolute ; could also be he came out conquering continually

(2) http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2003/05/iraq-030512-351976e7.htm

(3)

(4) Allam, Hanna, “Shiite leader called for peace, unity, ” the Oregonian, August 30, 2003 , p. A9.

(5) Mac F arquhar , Neil. “ Thousands Mourn Iraqi Ayatollah Killed in Bombing , ” August 31, 2003 , NewYork Times.

(6)Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza , Revelation: Vision of a Just World, p. 62.

(7) Dielman, Gary. “Baker grad plays a role in court battle in Alabama ,” Bak e r City Herald, 08-29-03 , p. 4.

(8) New Interpreter's Bible, XII, p. 617.