The Four Horsemen

Day 349: Revelation 6:1-17

“They 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?’” - Revelation 6:10 NIV

The one worthy to break the seals and open the scroll now begins the process of breaking all of the seals. As we established yesterday, this is what it takes to usher in the restoration of all things. For Jesus to accomplish this great work, we first see that He's going to have to deal with all that is wrong in the world.

The four horsemen are those we see cycling throughout history:

#1 - The Tyrant, focusing on world domination

#2 - War

#3 - Economic downturn

#4 - Death of the unnatural sort

Yet the fifth seal might take us off guard. When it is broken, the sacred Christian martyrs speak from under the altar. They ask a question that many of us have asked of God: "How long?" Their specific question has to deal with avenging their blood.

Our questions deal with the disappointments that keep rolling in the longer that we live.

Like the martyrs, we are told that the day is coming, and more still needs to take place. More sweet Christians will lose their lives. More of the lost will be found (2 Peter 3:9). The kingdom of God will keep advancing.

All the more reason to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (and His imminent return) today (Hebrews 12:1-3).

“The reason for the suffering of these martyrs is that they have been slain ‘because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.’ The costliness of faithfulness and testimony and of adherence to the word of God was notable in John’s day even as he himself suffered exile on Patmos. Throughout history such faithfulness to the word of God and to one’s testimony has often proven costly.” - Paige Patterson, Revelation, pg. 185