“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
— Revelation 7
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Conquest, War, Famine & Death, an 1887 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov. Notice that the Lamb is visible at the top.
(This is the 11th post in a series about John’s Book of Revelation.)
In Revelation 6:1-8, John sees the four horsemen, the riders representing threats of everything that threatened the struggling Christians in the first century.
Of course, those same threats loom over us even now and in all times–threats of war and violence, conquest, economic collapses, even death itself.
John’s visions strip away the pretensions of security, pointing to the deep insecurities we all have because of the deep uncertainties that affect people today and in all times.
Revelation 6:17 raises the question “who can stand?” in such an (always) uncertain world.
Revelation 7 (see scriptures below) answers that those who can stand are those who have been redeemed by the Lamb.
New Testament Professor Craig R. Koester at Lutheran Seminary writes:
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“Being redeemed by the blood of the Lamb does not make the threats go away, but it gives people the promise of life that allows them to stand in the face of the threats, confident that God’s purposes are ultimately for life.”
The visions given to John in Revelation reveal that, in God’s eternity, the battle against evil has already been won–and never mind that the battle is raging still.
God’s triumph over evil doesn’t mean our fears and burdens are magically swept away, but that the light is always shining through the broken places. (“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” — John 1:7.) Revelation reveals that when God makes all things new there will be only light.
Revelation summons us to endure in hope and anticipation of the fulfillment, in the end, of God’s purposes.
So the takeaway today in this 11th lesson is:
11. Redemption in Christ doesn’t mean that we’re immune to fears and burdens and terrible things happening to us in this broken, violent-prone world. It does offer us “the promise of life” that enables us to stand up in hope and courage.
From Revelation 6:
6 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!” 2 I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering 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 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, 6 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,[f] but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, “Come!”
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Contrast that with this beautiful vision of what will be as described in Revelation 7:9-17:
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9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God,
and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
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