SOURCES OF SECURITY
Rev. 6:1-11
Sermon Objective: We can chase after hollow sources of security or trust the living God.
INTRO
Mitch Albom is the author of the bestselling book titled, “Tuesdays with Morrie.” He wrote another book recently called “Have a Little Faith.” In describing his motivation for writing it, he will tell you that up until a few years ago he would have been among the many that say “My faith is a private matter. Mind your own business.” But that all changed. He shares about the changes that have taken place within him since 9/11 as he saw all the things he trusted (government, work, the stock market) fail him. Afterwards he began to discover how thin his faith was and how much he depended on a sense of security from less-than-stable sources. It was during this time that he met a new friend; an inner city pastor in his native Detroit, Michigan. Albom does not mention his name but he says this Christian pastor who serves his flock selflessly and fearlessly in a dangerous environment has caused him to stop and look at the item (s) which he trusts for peace, security, and eternity. This pastor, himself a former drug addict and criminal, tells Mitch about how he met Jesus and it changed his life. It has turned Mitch back to God and his faith is no longer private; his peace of mind comes from a new source. He found he could not trust in any of his former sources and discovered trusting in God to be real!
(Taken from a television interview with Joe Scarborough’s “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, Nov. 5, 2009)
Have you given much thought to the sources of your security and peace of mind? The truth is that, in many instances, we are trusting in more than just God for security. We have placed our faith in other entities as well.
Secular Psychology talks about security needs and offers sources / places for those needs to be satisfied.
Politicians talk about similar issues and suggest alternate sources for provision.
The people you work with can probably offer other places to have these needs met.
The Bible offers you some advice on sources of security and peace of mind too. And as we think further on those sources and pursuits Chapter 6 of The Revelation is a wonderful place to be. Ironically, the way some people read The Revelation would actually erode peace of mind and security (they treat it like a Christian thriller novel or a spooky Nostradamus-type prophecy) when, in actuality it was written to embolden and reinforce an authentic source of security.
REV. 6:1-11
1I 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!" 2I 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.
3When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 4Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
5When 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. 6Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
7When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" 8I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following 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.
9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10They 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?" 11Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.
SERMON
This chapter does a wonderful job of helping John’s church (and our church) understand sources of security that span time and culture; it shows their frailty, and offers an alternative.
As you can see, the One exposing their frailty is none other than Jesus himself. As he opens the seals of the scroll he took from the hand of the Father our eyes are opened to man’s sources and God’s alternative.
The first four seals are familiar to many Christians. The imagery is drawn from Zechariah 6, but the four horsemen of the apocalypse serve a different role than the imagery does in Zechariah’s apocalyptic writing where they served as a fourfold patrol of the earth. Here they serve a role of judgment … or more accurately, “pre-judgment.” In His Olivet Discourse (Mark 13) Jesus said, these things are “the beginning of birth pangs” and “the end is yet to come.” (Mark 13:7-8).As you read Jesus’ sermon you discover this is all a precursor. These things will happen over and over throughout human history.
The Horsemen serve to illustrate sources of security that are destined to fail you.
Let’s take some time and look them over.
Some Trust in “National Security” (v. 1-2)
1I 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!" 2I 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.
Verses 1 and 2 erode any trust one can have in any nation for security and peace of mind. What nation was more secure and stable than Rome? It had no rivals … not even in our day. And yet, we know that even invincible Rome will fail its followers. In fact, that is a central point of this whole book!
The bow is used in the Old Testament as a symbol of military power (i.e. Hosea 1:5, Jeremiah 51:56) and the crown this rider wears is a “stephanos” (victor’s crown) not the diadem (ruler’s crown) which Jesus wears later in the book as He mounts a white horse.
In A.D. 62 the chink in Rome’s armor was exposed. Granted, Rome would not fall for hundreds of years but just a few years before this book was written fear was struck into the hearts of Roman citizens and it would never be forgotten. The watershed mark came from the east of the empire; from the Parthians under the rule Vologeses. The Parthians defeated Rome in that battle and were NEVER defeated by Rome afterwards. INTERESTING ENOUGH, THE PARTHIANS WERE FEARED ARCHERS AND RODE WHITE HORSES! In fact, they had the only mounted archer regiment of the day and some of them were so skilled they could ride their horses backwards in battle.
In a few minutes you will see the progression but, as you read the text as a whole, you quickly discern that the first seal of the scroll, when opened, exposes man’s trust in national security.
The first horse is “Conquest.”
Sadly, even today there are many who trust the nation or the government to provide them with security and peace of mind. Sadly, they are destined to be disappointed … or worse.
• Some Trust in “National Security” (v. 1-2)
Some Trust in “Homeland Security” (v. 3-4)
As I said, there is a progression amongst these first four seals … the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” as they are often called.
Following the White Horse of Conquest is another incompetent source of security.
3When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 4Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
As is often the case, when national security is eroded civil unrest soon follows. Internal, domestic harmony is replaced by bloody civil war as internal powers compete for the people’s trust and control. We need not look very far back in history to see this verified. Nigeria, Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places show evidence of the progression.
IF THE WHITE HORSE SUGGESTS INVASION FROM WITHOUT THEN THE RED HORSE SUGGESTS INTERNAL STRIFE; THE PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED AMONG THEMSELVES. The term used here for the sword is the Roman Sword which was designed for close-in combat (Zechariah 14:13; Isaiah 19:2). It is significant that the horseman does not slay the people. He takes their peace away and that leads them to do the dirty work.
As troubling as war among nations can be, civil war is even moreso.
● It is humankind at its worst
● It is power out of balance
● It is brother killing brother
● It is marked by hate and strife
● War is evil
To shed civil blood is to shed the blood of relatives, neighbors, and friends. War is often romanticized or sterilized for the public but for its victims and observers it is bloody, cruel, inhumane, miserable, horrid, and has many “side effects.” Christ NEVER sits on the red horse. Christ is in battle against it and will defeat it … as the slain Lamb.
How many people do you know who think they are safe within their neighborhoods and nation? For everyone you meet like that you can probably find another who, as either a victim or a assailant, illustrates that we are a mere few steps away from unrest and insecurity at all times.
Do you trust in domestic harmony to give you security and peace of mind? It is a dangerous place to locate one’s trust. It can erode in a heartbeat.
• Some Trust in “National Security” (v. 1-2)
• Some Trust in “Homeland Security” (v. 3-4)
Some Trust in “Financial Security” (v. 5-6)
Again, keep in mind there is a progression amongst these first four seals. They build on each other.
THE WHITE HORSE OF CONQUEST STRIPS NATIONAL SECURITY AWAY. THE RED HORSE OF CIVIL UNREST REMOVES ANY FAITH IN HOMELAND SECURITY. And then we read verse 5 and 6.
5When 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. 6Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
Our third horsemen rides a black horse and carries as set of scales… a tool used for measuring weight and value. The scales suggest a time of scarcity; commodities are carefully measured out at inflated prices. From somewhere in the distance a voice is heard announcing the prices for essential food supplies. These prices suggest food is about twelve times higher than normal. The times are so bad that a man could only buy enough wheat for himself with a day’s wages. If he bought less nutritious barley he could feed three. The buyer has no money for anything else – every penny of every day goes just to provide for the bare essential ration of food.
Famine, you understand, was often the result of warfare as invading armies lived off the lands they conquered. It is also the result of the cities demanding more than their share and more than could be produced by the agricultural areas. Preserving the oil and wine underscores the social inequity existing in time of scarcity. It is the poor not the rich who suffer. Human greed exacerbates and exploits famine … it rapes the land. Even today, on a global scale, humans do this as some areas of our world are deprived and exploited so the fortunate among us can have more … luxuriously more.
The Roman economic system was touted and celebrated for its ability to make grain and other foodstuffs widely available (18:13) but the limits to its ability to fulfill this were well known by the poor and the residents on the outskirts in places like Asia-Minor (where the 7 churches being written too were located).
It is worth noting that famines under Nero had done the very thing John writes about. They had left the rich’s luxury untouched. In Domitian’s reign (who reigned while John wrote this book) it happened again. DOMITIAN ACTUALLY CREATED A LAW SAYING THAT ANYONE WHO LET THEIR VINEYARDS GO OUT OF CULTIVATION SHOULD BE PROSECUTED – AN EXACT REPRESENTATION OF WHAT JOHN IS WRITING ABOUT.
IF CIVIL UNREST IS POWER OUT OF BALANCE THEN FAMINE IS NATURE OUT OF BALANCE. That’s when we have most of what we don’t need and little of what we do need. The necessities are scarce while the luxuries (oil and wine) are mockingly plentiful.
Let me ask you … are you trusting in the economy to give you peace of mind? It may be the stock market or it may be the produce market – they are inherently linked. If so, your trust and hope is located in a very perilous place.
• Some Trust in “National Security” (v. 1-2)
• Some Trust in “Homeland Security” (v. 3-4)
• Some Trust in “Financial Security” (v. 5-6)
Some Trust in “Physical Security” (v. 7-8)
With the fourth horseman, the progression of human sin comes to its ultimate consequence.
The White Horse of Conquest strips national security away. The Red Horse of Civil Unrest removes any faith in homeland security. The Black Horse of Famine shows the frailty of financial security. And then we read verse 7 and 8.
7When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" 8I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following 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 final horseman rides a horse of a cadaverous color and he has an accomplice in his wake; Hades (the grave). In Hebrew the word “deber” (death) also means “pestilence” or “disease”; Greek’s “thanatos” (the word used here) does too. John uses “thanatos” to mean sickness later in the book as well (18:8). John is probably suggesting death by pestilence, or plague, which the Scriptures teach often follow or accompany famine (cf. Jer. 14:12; Ezek 5:17; 14:21; Luke 21:11). But regardless, the final source of security and hope is removed and the grave claims its prize.
Sickness and death have been the consequence of sin since the world began. And yet, somehow we seem to think there is assurance of health and that somehow we can escape death. Everyone eventually comes to the rude awakening that there is no such security and death cannot be avoided.
IF CIVIL UNREST IS POWER OUT OF BALANCE, AND FAMINE IS NATURE OUT OF BALANCE, THEN DEATH IS EXISTENCE OUT OF BALANCE. You were not created to die … for that matter … you were not created to sin which leads to death.
All four of these sources of security can justifiably be called judgment or “prejudgment” because all of them are the evidence of human self-will and violate the plan of God.
• The earth is sacred and man’s invasion via conquest turns it into a place of insecurity where peace (shalom) cannot exist.
• The community is sacred and yet man’s lust for power and control can even turn us against our neighbor.
• The land is sacred and yet we exploit and rape it as if we have no moral responsibility.
• The body is sacred and yet all that goes before leads to a place where we destroy ourselves.
We try and try to have security in the very things which are incapable of providing us with the peace we seek.
• THE WHITE HORSE DRAINS THE FREEDOM FROM OUR LIVES.
• THE RED HORSE DRAINS THE COMMUNITY FROM OUR LIVES.
• THE BLACK HORSE DRAINS THE PROSPERITY FROM OUR LIVES.
• THE PALE HORSE DRAINS THE VITALITY FROM OUR LIVES.
Kim Damon wrote a short poem / reading that talks of the hollow counterfeit sources of security our world offers. I’d like to share it with you:
Only you satisfy, Lord
Every day my thoughts are bombarded by images and messages designed to influence my buying habits, energy use and devotion. More than ever I feel the need to keep my mind renewed. Yet it all smells so good, sounds enriching and looks so entertaining. Lord help me stay focused, when so many things vie for my attention.
Is it possible in this day and age to be in the world and not of it? Are all the promises to fulfill and refill my needs going to be kept if I give my devotion? I know the answer…
Only you satisfy, Lord.
I have learned and relearned this truth so many times. Why does my heart crave what the world gives me and yet feel empty when I receive it? I keep coming back to the same thought to learn again, and again:
Only you satisfy, Lord.
You are my missing piece. All others things are temporary counterfeits that delight with anticipation more than they ever deliver. Your fulfillment is the only satisfaction that lasts.
Only you satisfy, Lord.
You said you do not “give as the world gives”, Lord, my heart has found this to be true. Teach me to come and get the living water. I want to be nourished by You alone. Let my heart yield to no other, but you.
Only you satisfy, Lord.
WRAP-UP
• Some Trust in “National Security” (v. 1-2)
• Some Trust in “Homeland Security” (v. 3-4)
• Some Trust in “Financial Security” (v. 5-6)
• Some Trust in “Physical Security” (v. 7-8)
I have provided you with a picture of Albrecht Durer’s woodcut called “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” He created this is 1498.
• The white horseman with the bow is furthest away because it is deemed by most people to be the furthest thing from their reality.
• The red horseman with the sword is one step nearer because we can easily grasp how we bring the sword on each other.
• The black horseman with the scales is the largest in Durer’s woodcut because it is the most common and easy to understand by the masses – economic difficulties loom largest in people’s minds.
• The ashen horseman of sickness and death is lowest to the foreground. The viewers eyes are intended to be drawn to the horseman with the scales but death is the threat that sits in the lap of each viewer. Death has a companion – Hades who has a very large mouth and gorges himself on human flesh.
And yet … and yet … in the midst of this graphic tale of human failure God is showing us where real security lies! Even as it seems the world is falling apart we have God and the Lamb calling us themselves! Even as the pale horse of death claims the body and Hades (the grave) claims the soul (20:13), Jesus holds the keys to both (1:18)! “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
The fifth seal offers an alternative source of security and peace of mind. It shows God’s awareness, involvement, and ultimate protection for those who trust Him. We will look at this in some detail in coming days.
I hope you will not wait until it is too late in judgment and sorrow to lean on Jesus and Jesus alone. I hope you will take a cue from Mitch Albom and choose to turn to the Faithful One.
He who has an ear
Let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
