At this point I feel as though I’m at a fork-in-the-road moment. We’re in Revelation 6.
I have to keep reminding myself of why I am doing these Reflections. My goal is to ‘diagnose’ coronavirus. I am considering two possible ‘diagnoses.’ The first ‘diagnosis’ is that coronavirus is a random event, a strange combination of circumstances that led to the virus possibly travelling from one species to another and then to humans. In this case, the treatment may include lockdown, contact tracing, testing, and perhaps, in the future, vaccination. The second ‘diagnosis’ is that coronavirus is something God has brought about. It could be an act of judgement on human sin or it could be an aspect of ‘End Times.’ In this case, the ‘treatment’ is repentance. If the diagnosis is wrong, the treatment won’t work.
Plagues have happened all through human history. The fact that there is coronavirus does not in itself prove anything. However, coronavirus could, taken with other events that are happening, strengthen our view that we are in ‘End Times.’
Here is Revelation 6:8:
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they [i.e. the four horsemen] were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
(The Greek word that is translated ‘pestilence’ literally means death, but a commentator (Osborne) tells us that it ‘often translates the Hebrew word for pestilence … Thus there is a double meaning in the term, death by plague.’)
However, there are at least two ways to see things. One of the most highly-regarded commentaries on Revelation is by Gregory Beale. Beale considers that:
Rev. 6:1-8 describe the operation of the destructive forces that were unleashed immediately on the world as a result of Christ’s victorious suffering at the cross, his resurrection, and his ascent to a position of rule at his Father’s right hand. The natural inference of this is that all the events described in 6:1-8 are not reserved exclusively for a period of severe trial immediately preceding Christ’s final coming.
Beale is not saying categorically that there will be no increase in the kinds of events described in 6:1-8 before Christ comes again. However, if the four living creatures called the horsemen out 2000 years ago, then whatever ‘step-change’ in death and destruction they brought with them happened then. We should not expect such a dramatic change in the future. Clearly, in this understanding, we can’t take the idea of a fourth of the earth dying literally, as such a thing did not happen 2000 years ago. But if ‘a fourth of the earth’ doesn’t mean something like ‘a fourth of the earth’ then what does it mean?
The other view is that Revelation 6:1-8 describes a step-change in death and destruction that either lies in the future, or, conceivably, could be starting now.
Revelation 6:8 tells us that the four horsemen ‘were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill…’ I wasn’t sure quite what that meant, but two other respected commentators seem to take the view that it means, literally, that a fourth of the earth’s population will die! Gulp!
Robert Mounce tells us that:
They [i.e. the four horsemen] bring about the death of one-fourth of humankind.
Grant Osborne says:
Once more God “gave” … the demonic forces … “power” to inflict terrible suffering on humanity … it is likely that all four together kill one-fourth of the human race, today about 1.5 billion people! That is more than all the wars of the last two hundred years put together.
Osborne’s commentary came out nearly 20 years ago, in case you were wondering about the maths!
So, there is our fork in the road. According to one view, we should NOT expect a step-change in the level of war, strife, famine, pestilence and death associated with the going-out of the horsemen, either in our day or in the future – because the horsemen went out 2000 years ago. In the other view, the going-out of the horsemen lies in the future, or, conceivably, is happening in our time, and it will bring with it a step-change in the level of war, strife, famine, pestilence and death.
I lean towards the second. For the departure of the horsemen to be significant then there must be a change in the level of war, strife, famine, pestilence and death, and it must affect a fourth of the earth. Nothing in the past (for example, the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70) qualifies.
Have a good day!
Simon
