This Sunday we will continue our series in Revelation by considering a beautiful, if enigmatic, passage. One doesn’t have to have grown up in the church to be familiar with the 6th chapter of Revelation. It’s here we find the horsemen, four in number, being released from heaven to wreak havoc on earth.

You’d be forgiven for thinking a Sunday spent reflecting upon the so called “four horsemen of the apocalypse” might be a bummer way to wrap up a pleasant weekend. In fact, the opposite is true. Revelation 6, while sobering, is anything but bleak. It’s a hopeful, poetic telling of what happens when Jesus, the Lamb of God, ascends to the throne room of heaven.

Historically, what do we know happens when Jesus is enthroned, picking up His rightful rule? Shortly thereafter, on the day of Pentecost, the sent-Spirit rides out to earth, spreading the good rule of Jesus upon the back of the church. This is precisely what’s recounted for us in Revelation 6. In this reading, we, the church, are to be understood as the four horses: trotting from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the utter most parts of the earth. Revelation 6 is a passage of hope!

What of the war, famine, and death, you might ask? The Revelator contextualizes for the early church, and for us, suffering. As “team lamb” and “team dragon” interact, there is turmoil. Indeed, the rider of the horse, the Spirit, brings judgement. This should chasten us all, no question.

But insofar as we’re washed in the blood of the lamb, we ought not fear: not judgement, not suffering, not death, and certainly not the apocalypse. As horses of God, we ride on in mission: nourished by wine and bread, water and oil, and steered by His Spirit.

Dear friends, If you’re in need of hope and healing in this world of war, famine, and death, this is the Sunday for you!