The Four Horsemen

The Conqueror

Based on what I could find, there has not been any period of recorded history where the entire world was at peace. There have been times of relative calm on a global scale, but even in those moments there are regional disputes, civil wars, and other organized conflicts. In fact, when you look around online for the most peaceful times in the world, some admittedly flippant responses point you to places where there isn’t very much human population - like the arctic or undiscovered islands.

When the white rider emerges, the vision is reminiscent of the only large force of mounted archers that the Romans had contact with - the Parthians - a force that was so fierce that Rome was never really able to conquer them. This rider symbolizes the truth that the rulers of mankind, above all else, desire power and that the conflict resulting from that will be the rule, not the exception.

Violence

A natural consequence of that desire for power and control is violence. Kids hit each other when they disagree over whose turn it is, teenagers get into fights over their pride, adults turn to violence and murder when they can’t get what they want in other ways. Disagreements escalate into arguments that escalate into fights that escalate into violence that can escalate to murder.

When the red rider emerges, it is given the freedom to take peace from the earth and a tool to commit violence. This rider symbolizes the truth that peace to all mankind is utterly beyond our reach and that violence and murder will be the rule, not the exception.

Scarcity

Another natural consequence of that desire for power and control is scarcity. Did you know that the average US home price in 2023 was around half a million dollars? And in 2013, just ten years earlier, the average was only around 300k? Food, gas, water, power, and about everything else is radically more expensive than it used to be. In this country it seems like it keeps getting harder and harder to make ends meet, and in some other countries getting the essentials is an incredible hardship. Inflation of costs, scarcity of goods, and all of the struggle that comes with it is something we are familiar with.

When the black rider emerges, John hears voices like he might’ve heard in a market announcing insane prices for basic goods and a need to protect what they have because there isn’t enough to go around. This rider symbolizes the truth that there will never be enough, that there will always be scarcity of one kind or another, and that economic difficulty will be the rule, not the exception.

Death

And at the end of all of this struggle and suffering is death. Cursed is the ground because of us; in pain shall we eat of it all the days of our lives; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for us . . . until we return to the ground, for out of it we were taken; for we are dust, and to dust we shall return. Death comes for us all and many of us have already felt it’s touch. We have felt the loss of friends, family members, and loved ones. One day, the reaper comes for us all.

When the pale rider emerges, his name is death and hell follows him and he is given the freedom to take life. This rider symbolizes the harsh truth that death is part of our reality. We cannot trick it and we cannot escape it. Death and loss will be the rule, not the exception.

The Saints and All Creation

And as the four horsemen signal the calamity and strife that defines the state of the broken world, the saints cry out for justice. They cry out for the wrath of God to avenge their losses and their suffering. And they are told to wait, to rest in the presence of God until the time is right. As they rest, creation itself is in upheaval with all sorts of natural disasters and terrifying things happening - the heavens and the earth are trembling before the wrath of Almighty God.

When these seals are opened, we realize that this chaos we see around us, all of the brokenness that surrounds us, it is not just a passing thing or a temporary situation. No, this is the state of creation that has been broken by sin - broken by our sin. And this is the state that it will continue to be in. There is nothing we can do. Electing the right leaders won’t fix things, taking the right steps personally won’t fix things, expressing the right opinions on social media won’t fix things, advocating for just causes won’t fix things, grumbling over a drink with likeminded friends won’t fix things - nothing we can do will fix this brokenness, nothing we can do will bring order to the chaos. It will take intervention, divine intervention.

Who Can Stand?

But remember what each of these seals are on, the scroll from God’s right hand, the scroll that represents His plan for salvation for mankind. Remember the one who holds the scroll. Christ crucified for us. Until His second coming, humanity will have to deal with people striving for power, with violence, with scarcity, with death, and with injustice. But He promises the divine intervention that we need for everything to be set right. Through His death on the cross, He began to put an end to all of the brokenness, all of the suffering, all of the loss, and all of the death. So we hear the words of Revelation today and we acknowledge the reality of how bad this world can be, but we trust in Jesus work to set it all to the way that it should be. We can bear even the hardest parts of this life with joy and hope, because we know it is ultimately just a passing shadow. It reminds me of what Sam says to Frodo in The Two Towers, just as Frodo has given up hope and started to despair.

It’s like in the great stories. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.

We look forward to that new day when Christ comes again and when God’s perfect creation shines out, with each one of us rejoicing in it. Amen.