Victory Belongs to God -- FPC sermon excerpt

Turn on the television or computer, and you are bombarded by live broadcasts of news events happening around the globe. The images are hard to forget: American soldiers patrolling the dangerous and rugged terrain of Afghanistan, Japanese people being pulled from the rubble of a massive earthquake, and Egyptians protesting for democracy.

Broadcasts of natural disasters — such as hurricanes, blizzards, and earthquakes — are particularly frightening and humbling. Now I know that nature has certain laws, and some natural disasters are necessary to maintain the equilibrium of the ecosystem. Human behavior has an effect as well, as our exploitation of the environment degrades the land, fouls the water, and pollutes the air. But when we witness the destructive force of cataclysmic events, we cannot help but wonder if there is anything mightier than the raw power of nature.

When lives are lost in natural disasters, we long for a sign of God’s healing presence. The death of little Jack Donaldson in the recent flooding here in Northern Virginia was absolutely heartbreaking. When houses are washed away by hurricanes or leveled by earthquakes, we want to see evidence that there is a power greater than all these troubles.

On top of this, when our own lives begin to look like a disaster scene, we have to ask: Who will come to the rescue?

Last week, this sermon series on Revelation began with a look at chapters 1 through 5. Today, as chapter 6 begins, the author John has just witnessed the worship of God and Christ the Lamb in the heavenly throne room. John’s gaze is fixed on the Lamb who is about to open the scroll. A secret plan of God is hidden there, but what can it be? You can feel the suspense and intense expectation.

As Christ the Lamb opens the seven seals one by one, John is stunned to see a series of visions of destruction, connected to four riders on horses and seven angels blowing trumpets. Heavenly voices make thunderous announcements, disclosing what will happen to the world. The mystery grows, as we wonder what the visions and announcements might mean to John and his church. And more importantly, we are curious about what they say to us today.

When the first four seals are opened, riders on horses appear — they are sometimes called “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” These riders represent all too well the reality of horrific destruction in the world, both in John’s time and in ours. Life is full of suffering and affliction, and there is little peace or justice to be found.

In this particular passage, grammar plays a role in understanding what is going on. As most of you know, the verbs in sentences can be either active or passive. An active sentence would be “The rider took peace from the earth” — the rider performs the action. But a passive sentence would be, “The rider was permitted to take peace from the earth” — in this case, someone else is performing an action on the rider.

In John’s description of the Four Horsemen, many verbs are used in the passive voice, such as, “Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth” (6:4). These riders were given permission by God to do what they did. The point of the “divine passive” is to communicate that Almighty God remains firmly in control, despite the presence of many destructive forces. But this raises a serious question: Why would a merciful God allow these destructive forces to afflict the innocent?

The very same question is raised by the souls of the martyrs. These men and women had been slaughtered for the word of God, and for the testimony they had given. As the fifth seal is opened, they cry out from under the altar of God’s temple in heaven, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge?” they ask. “How long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” (6:10-11). The cry of the faithful martyrs makes us wonder: If the almighty God who created the world is in control of history, why should the innocent suffer? Why does a merciful God not stop evil, sin, and destruction? Why does a God of justice allow the wicked to go free without punishment?

These questions continue to matter deeply to us today. No one likes suffering and injustice, and we tend to want justice to be swift. But Revelation reports that the faithful martyrs are told to rest a little longer, until their fellow servants and brothers and sisters — who were about to be killed as they were — were finished (6:11). It seems unfair to us that martyrs have to wait longer for justice, and that additional believers will have to die.