Revelation 6:1-6: a reflection

1I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, “Come and see!” 2Then a white horse appeared, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 3When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword. 5When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come and see!” And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand. 6I heard a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, “A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don’t damage the oil and the wine!”

This is a frightening vision: a white horse riding out to conquer, a red horse taking peace from the earth so that people kill one another, a black horse of famine with scales in its hand, a day's wages for a loaf of bread. Conquest, war, and hunger ride out across the earth. It is not a comfortable passage, and it is not meant to be.

But notice who is opening the seals. It is the Lamb. The terrors do not break loose on their own, out of anyone's control; they are released as the Lamb opens the scroll, one seal at a time. That does not make the suffering less real, but it means history's dark forces are not running loose beyond God's hand. Even conquest and war and famine ride only when the seal is opened.

And notice the strange limit at the end: a voice says, do not damage the oil and the wine. Even in the middle of famine, a boundary is set; the devastation is not total, not unbounded. When the world seems to be coming apart, war, ruin, scarcity, this vision does two hard, steadying things: it refuses to pretend the troubles are not real, and it insists they are not outside the Lamb's control, and not without limits. Hold that when the horsemen seem to ride in your own time.

Lord, when the world seems to come apart in conquest and war and want, remind me that the Lamb holds the scroll, that nothing rides beyond your hand, and that even judgment has its limits. Steady me in you.