Tremble and Hope

It’s not “RevelationS.” I know we as black people like to add additional soundings to words. Kroger(s); Walmart(x); Family member’s name (Chanda(la)).

What is this about Lord? And is this Jesus here the same Jesus as the one in the Gospels? How do you reconcile this.

What is this about? Is the Jesus of the Gospels the same as the Jesus of Revelation? You may feel I don’t know if to be glad, mad, or sad. Looking at the fourth seal you may not know where to start.

Well I start here.

I start here:

It’s impt. we know it is not “RevelationS” b/c this book is about one thing, one chief Person, Jesus Christ. It’s the revealing of Jesus. You may say, “Jesus, I’ve never seen you this way.”

I start here:

In fact, the book starts out, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place.” It’s about Jesus, it’s about God’s drama at the end of the age.

1- This fourth seal is about the revelation that Jesus Christ is Lord!

1- This book and the fourth seal is about the revelation that Jesus Christ is Lord!

a. It is Jesus who is releasing the seal judgments.

a. Yes this is the same Jesus whose train of the robe filled the temple in , who was crucified in Jerusalem in the gospels, and is now exalted to the highest place in the book of Revelation.

It’s not Satan’s hey day. God is the one granting authority for these judgments to take place, and setting limits.

Fourth Seal

b. And yes it’s Jesus releasing the seal judgments. I start with Jesus b/c…

Now we come to the fourth seal and the fourth horse. First there was a white horse sent out to conquer, and then there was a red horse sent to take peace, next there was a black horse impacting our economy and food…and now we’ve come to the worst horse yet.

I don’t say this for hyperbole, but this horse is escalating what the last three horses have begun. This horse both summarizes the destruction of these horses and adds to it!

We get to the fourth seal. We enter into the text, and John is seeing and he’s hearing. He SEES the Lamb, remember this is about Jesus Christ. says Jesus is the only one found worthy to open this scroll or look into it. Jesus opens the fourth seal.

For John looks and he SEES the Lamb. (Remember this is about Jesus Christ.) says Jesus is the only one found worthy to open this scroll or look into it. John sees the lamb opening up the fourth seal, and hears the fourth living creature...

And its as if for all eternity the fourth living creature has been waiting to cry out “COME!” And a pale green horse—pale green is the color of death, sickness, and dying. A pale green horse comes out, whose Rider’s name is Death and Hades is following close behind him.

And Death and Hades are given permission, they are given authority to kill a fourth of the earth—by sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beast.

Hold up: How could a good God do all of this? I thought you said this book was about Jesus Christ. How could Jesus release all this? My Jesus wouldn’t.

2- In fact the book is called, “Revelation,” not, Revelations.

b. I know many of us grew up calling it Revelations. You know black people add their own endings to words. We do.

How Could a Good God?

If we were to be honest many of us have our “how coulds.”

How could Jesus take my wife away? How could Jesus take my mother? Why did cancer have to take him out? How long? And how could God allow this to happen, to me?

My brother, my sister, I don’t know the answer to that. But I know God has promised to never leave or forsake us.

I don’t know the answer to that, but I know God’s character that God is good. And all He does is good. I know that God is the Father of lights and in him is no darkness or shadow of turning.

I may not know everything tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow.

While meditating on this passage I too heard myself asking, “God, why would you allow this? Why would you give Death and Hades permission?”

I began to tremble at the thought of the weight of these judgments, recognizing this is only the beginning. They are “the beginning of birth pains” as Jesus said.

And as I sat in fear and in wonder meditating on this scripture of desolation like we’ve never seen before—not the bubonic plague, not yellow fever, not the World Wars—I began to tremble.

A Just Response

a. No shade if you’ve been calling it that—but that’s not the book’s name. It’s not RevelationS. You know we like to add endings to words anyway, down south it’s not Kroger its Krogers. Up north its not Walmart, we call it Walmarx. Many of us have family members our much of our lives we called them the wrong name, or didn’t know their actual name.

The seals don’t contradict God’s goodness. Jesus is releasing these seals as a just response. Everything God does is Just.

i. No shade if you’ve been calling it that—but that’s not the book’s name.

Y’all, this aint the first time we’ve experienced death!

i. “What’s his name?” I don’t know we always called him Balim. I had a cousin, I was an adult before I knew her actual name. I had heard it wrong growing up as a kid, and it wasn’t until I was in college that I learned her actual name.

ii. I know as black folks we have our own names for things-Walmart is Walmarx, Kroger is Krogers. My cousin. We call people Coco, Pookey, BoBo, sister, and niecy. I love that about us.

We experience death when we hear that our undocumented brothers and sisters in this country are fearing for their lives, scared they’ll be separated from their families and sent back to a country of which many had to flee.

b. I love that about us. But when it comes to the book of Revelation, I think it is important that we remember that this book is not called RevelationS but Revelation. Why? Because it is primarily a book about the Revelation of Someone: Jesus Christ.

c. I love that about us. But when it comes to the book of Revelation it’s important that we remember the name is singular, b/c it’s primarily about the Revelation of Someone: Jesus Christ. And this fourth seal is revealing something, Jesus Christ.

God is responding to the cry of Israel just like God did in sending Moses.

We experience death every time we hear of another unarmed black man or black girl demeaned, demoralized, persecuted, or killed for living while black.

3- This book is about Your Jesus. Your Lily of the Valley, Your Bright and Morning Star, Your Wheel in the Middle of a Wheel. (Mary’s baby who didn’t say a mumbling word)

c. It’s impt you know the the book name is singular, b/c it’s primarily about the Revelation of Someone: Jesus Christ. And this fourth seal is revealing something about Jesus.

3- This book is not about Satan’s hey day, but a glorious drama that GOD is unfolding in the earth. These judgments tell us something about God. Yes—this is the same Jesus as the Jesus in the Gospels, as Mary’s baby who didn’t say a mumbling word.

God is judging the earth for its idolatry.

Death death is all around us…

We experience death with every hate crime—24 people killed in the last two weeks alone from mass shootings in Pittsburgh and Thousand Oaks, CA??! And our hearts they groan, they mourn, they cry for justice...

a. This is your Jesus, your lily of the valley, your bright and morning star, your wheel in the middle of a wheel.

a. It is not Satan’s hey day, but a glorious drama that GOD is unfolding in the earth. These judgments tell us something about God.

b. This book is about Jesus and yes, even this fourth seal is telling us something about Him.

We experience

Many live under the threat of death every day around the world. And with this seal we can know God is releasing justice in the earth in response to the cries of God’s people!

After I have reminded myself that this seal is about Jesus, in fact this entire book, the consummation of all things is about Jesus….

We Must Tremble and We Must Hope

2- I begin to look at the text y’all and there I see the weightiness of destruction that is coming when God pours out God’s judgment on the earth.

says it’s the glory of God to hide a matter but the glory of kings to search things out.

This violence is meant to turn people to God! To make the wicked repent of their ways and to warn the faithful to stay the course and not quit.

These catastrophes are punishment for the idolatrous behavior of unbelievers.

After I have reminded myself that the book of revelation is about Jesus

2- I start to look at the text.

Just like at the cross, God is setting things right. There will still be people who refuse to be set right

A. It’s the Lamb that’s opening the scroll and loosing the seal judgments. There was only ONE in heaven or on earth or under the earth who was found worthy to open the scroll and look at it. No one else was able, no one else was deserving, no one else was authorized to do this.

A. I reflect on who it is that is opening the scroll and releasing this seal on the earth. “When He opened the fourth seal.” He is the Lamb.

a. That’s a place to thank God before anything even begins! There is only one found worthy to release this fourth seal judgment. If you did it you may be too vindictive, if I did it I may cast shade on somebody or judge unrighteously but we know that this one who has 7 horns and 7 eyes has all authority and sees everything fully. We can trust Jesus to judge rightly.

The Lamb is the only one found worthy. In heaven and earth and under the earth. No one else is able, deserving, or has the authority to release these seals.

a. This is a place to thank God that’s it’s not just anybody who is releasing judgment on the earth. It’s the one with, says, seven horns and seven eyes.

i. 7 horns meaning perfect authority and power,

ii. 7eyes: divine omniscience and omnipresence.

b. It’s the One who sees everything and judges rightly who is releasing the seal.

i. I am not more compassionate than God. I’m not more just. I am not smarter. I’m not even worthy to OPEN the scroll or to look inside. And neither are you. But the Lamb can be trusted to release the right amount of justice needed on the earth. It’s not too harsh! The Lamb sees everything. Everything God does is just.

After I look at who it is that is releasing this fourth seal I meditate on what is happening...

B. In the text we are told that pale green horse that’s released. Pale green speaks of death, sickness, and destruction. Its Rider is named Death and Hades followed with him. THEY are given authority over a fourth of the earth—to kill with sword, famine, pestilence and by the wild beasts.

a. This fourth seal is the worst judgment thus far, and yet, Jesus said in that this is only the “beginning of birth paints.”

b. And yet, Jesus said, this was only the “beginning of birth pangs.”

C. Sword, famine, pestilence and death are reoccurring OT theme. Every time they’re mentioned there is a common thread— God’s judgment.

We know who’s releasing it, and what is happening (death is taking a fourth of the earth; 1, 2, 34) But why is it happening?

C. These judgments are being released in response to the cries of God’s people. Just like God sent Moses as a response to Israel’s cries, God is sending these seven seal judgments—yes, even death, as a judgment—in response to God’s people’s cry for justice!

C. Sword, famine, pestilence and death are mentioned in Ezekiel, they are mentioned in Jeremiah. They are a reoccurring OT theme. Each time they are mentioned there is a common thread—and that’s God’s judgment.

We know who it is who is giving permission to death to take a quarter of the earth—It’s the Lamb. The only one worthy, the only one who sees everything rightly and is just. And even with Death, God sets limits.

God’s response is just.

D. I love what Brian Blount, a black New Testament Scholar and President of Union Presbyterian Seminary says about this seal, “God is wielding terror as a just response.”

D. God has seven horns and seven eyes. God is the only one fair. God is the only one worthy to open the scroll and loose it’s seven seals—and yes, even this seal of Death. God sets limits on the death.

And it’s happening because....

a. The God of justice sees the threat of death that many live under every day, even here in America just by being Jewish or LWB.

b. The God of justice sees human trafficking.

c. The God of justice sees child abuse.

d. The God of justice sees Cameroonian children being kidnapped from school.

c. The God of justice sees domestic violence, rape, and abuse.

d. The God of justice sees two mass killings in our nation in the last two week.

The God of justice sees!! And will respond! God is setting things right, through this fourth seal—death—in order to awaken people to repent.

We are to Tremble and Hope

3- In the meantime we are to Tremble and Hope

Jesus says, watch and pray....

A. We tremble because it’s a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.

B. We tremble because God has said Vengeance is mine, I will repay.

C. We tremble because I read somewhere in Proverbs that,

“Jealousy is a husband’s fury,

therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.”

B. We tremble because a quarter of the earth dying such a violent death in judgment is only the beg. of birth pangs.

therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.”

He will accept no recompense,

Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.”

E. We tremble and we hope because Song of Songs says,

“Love is as strong as death,

And yet we hope...

Jealousy as cruel as the grave;

It’s flames are flames of fire,

E. We tremble and we hope because Song of Songs says,

A most vehement flame.

“Love is as strong as death,

Jealousy as cruel as the grave;

Many waters cannot quench love,

A most vehement flame

Many waters cannot quench love”

Nor can floods drown it.

A most vehement flame.

Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor can floods drown it.

All the wealth of his house,

If a man would give for love

All the wealth of his house,

It would be utterly despised.”

D. We hope because we hold onto ,

I will not be afraid of the arrow by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday

G. We hope because our testimony is that

Sometimes the clouds are low I can hardly see the road

I ask a question, Lord Lord, why so much pain? But he knows what's best for me Although my weary eyes They can't see So I'll just say thank you Lord I won't complain

G. We hope because says:

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Tremble and Hope!Tremble and Hope!

Tremble and Hope!

We tremble under the severity of what is to come—destruction like the earth has never seen before. We hope because we know who it is that is releasing the judgment. And we know that not even famine, peril or sword can separate the believer from the love of God.

We can trust Jesus to judge rightly because there is only one worthy to release this fourth seal of judgment. We tremble and we hope because we know God will release justice for the oppressed. Although our weary eyes they cannot see, we won’t complain…we hope! Because not even famine, peril, or sword can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.