The Four Horsemen

Father, you speak to us hard words, and as you speak your hard words to us, Father, if

we are honest, it opens up to us our confusion and our ambivalence and our desires to hide

from you and to run from you.

Father, we know that even your hard words are in fact words of mercy, that our calls

and appeals to us, Father, to turn and come to you, to receive grace and mercy from you.

So, Father, we ask in your mercy and in your kindness that your Holy Spirit would gently

but deeply fall upon us as we listen to your word and as we think upon your word.

And may your word work with power in our lives.

And this we ask in your name, Jesus.

Amen.

Please be seated.

Thank you.

Suffering.

What about suffering?

One of the things I tell people when I give advice about preaching is don't treat sermons

like school or like university lectures.

You know, in a university lecture, they can say, well, in the last class we looked at this

and today we're looking at this and sort of never say something like that in a congregation.

Hopefully the minister will remember his sermon long enough to give it and hopefully it will

have some impact in his life.

But you shouldn't assume that church is like a lecture hall where everybody's taking notes

and they're coming for the next installment in the lecture.

But just having said all of that, we're preaching through the book of Revelation.

And last week we looked at Revelation chapter 5.

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

And when we were looking at Revelation chapter 5, if there was sort of one overarching point

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

that we wanted to try to, we sort of could discover in Revelation 5, it was this.

That the only one who saves is the only one who is in control of God's unfolding plan for

the future.

And we spent, you know, about 40 minutes sort of unpacking that and talking about that and

seeing how it was in the scripture and sort of what it meant that the only one who saves

is the only one who is in control of God's unfolding plan for the future.

And while I was sort of all week as I was working on the sermon for last week, the thing that kept

going on in my mind is that surely a lot of people will wonder if that's the case, if it is the

case that the only one who saves is also the only one who is in control of God's unfolding

plan for the future, then what about suffering?

What about all the terrible things that go on in the planet?

Like how, George, do you handle that?

And how does the Bible handle that?

And I never made a single comment about suffering last Sunday.

And that's because I knew that in Revelation 6 we'd be looking at it.

And we'll look at it in Revelation 5, I mean Revelation 8, we'll look at it in Revelation 9,

Revelation 10.

We're going to spend a lot of time thinking about things like suffering over the next few

weeks as we go through the book of Revelation.

The other thing sort of about these sermons is I don't know if you've, I don't have actually

a bulletin up with me, but if you look at the bulletin in the notes, and I think it

comes up at some point in time in the sermon notes, I'm not sure about that, the slides,

but all of this, all of my sermons in the book of Revelation have a title.

And the title is, Following the Lamb in the Dying Days of the Dragon.

That's the overarching sermon series title, Following the Lamb in the Dying Days of the

Dragon.

And so last week in Revelation 5, that's where we actually met the lamb for the first time.

And today, as we talk a little bit about suffering, we don't yet meet the dragon.

What we meet are some of the dragon's friends.

First we meet the dragon's friends, and then we meet the dragon, which will be in a few more

chapters.

So it would be a great help to me if you were to turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

6, and let's meet some of the dragon's friends, at least in Scripture.

Revelation chapter 6.

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

We always have some free and available Bibles up at the front if you've forgotten to bring

your own Bible.

Those who use your iPads and phones to follow along the Bible, that's really great.

Just don't check your Facebook status or update at the same time.

Try to stay focused on the Bible.

That would be great.

So Revelation chapter 6.

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

Let's read it.

And Nora did such a spectacular job of reading it, didn't she?

When she reads a text like this, it grips us, actually.

And that makes it far easier to talk about it after having her read it.

Verse 1 of chapter 6.

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four

living creatures say with a voice like thunder, Come.

And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow, and a crown was given

to him.

And he came out conquering, and to conquer.

And I just sort of want to pause there for a second.

And here's the really striking thing.

I don't know how many of you noticed this, but it's actually quite striking.

Andrew, if you want to put the first point up for Rebecca, here's the thing which is

quite striking.

The Lamb who was slain opens the seals.

I don't know if you noticed that when Nora was reading it, and we're going to look at

the text again.

The rider that comes out conquering, and to conquer.

The rider that comes out with the power for people to fight each other and kill them.

The rider that comes out and is given the power to bring famine.

The rider that comes out and is given the power of death, and of famine, and of pestilence,

and of all sorts of civil unrest.

In every one of these cases, as this suffering unfolds, as this suffering and hardship comes

to earth, it comes as the Lamb opens the seal.

Just as I was between these two services, the 8 o'clock service and the 10 o'clock service,

I was in a coffee shop going over my notes, and I sort of rewrite my notes slightly between

the two services, because, you know, just sort of sometimes moving things around.

And I couldn't help but overhearing that every single person in the coffee shop, and probably

on the street outside, heard this street person talking to another street person.

And it was very, very interesting.

He was talking to this other street person, obviously post-hangover, or maybe present hangover,

post-drinking present hangover.

And he had a loud, loud, smoker's raspy street person voice.

And he was explaining to the other guy, as I'm sitting down, preparing to open up Revelation

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6, how, you know, people, I just finally understood, and people need to understand that

the way everything is, and the way I am, and the way everything is, it's just all because

of mutations.

It's all just because of chance and mutations.

There was a mutation, and then another mutation, and another mutation, and another mutation.

And here I am, and here you are, and here everybody else is.

And it's, in fact, the governing story of our culture was being articulated by this street

person.

Part of the governing story of our culture, that these blind, irrational forces over time

created what is now life on earth, and everything that we see.

And in the context of a culture that believes that it's blind, irrational, or non-rational,

irrational forces that bring about the things that we see, the book of Revelation has a very,

very powerful, different message.

It isn't that the way that things are are a result of blind, powerful, huge, irrational,

uncaring forces.

But the Lamb who was slain opens the seals.

Why is this really important?

If the Lamb who was slain opens the seals, repentance is always an option.

If I'm just a product of mutation, who can I call to?

What can I do?

If everything that's going on in the world is completely and utterly just due to the military-industrial

complex or global oil or capitalism or socialism or the modes of production doing their unchanging,

doing their sort of inevitable changes to bring about certain types of social constructs and

situations, then what on earth can we do?

But if, in fact, the Lamb who was slain opens the seals, even though the seals are going to

describe great hardship, and they're going to describe more than just hardship, as we're

going to get to in a moment, but if this, in fact, is true, and it doesn't mean that there

isn't a military-industrial complex, it doesn't mean that there aren't economic forces, it doesn't

mean that there aren't those things, that they don't exist, but it means that they have a vastly

different power context than our culture tells us.

It means that repentance is always an option, that prayer is always an option.

But it's very, very important to just hear this as we go through each of the seals.

Now, just one other thing very, very briefly.

Some of you have maybe been wondering when I'm going to do something, which is usually what

ministers and churches in North America do when they talk about the Book of Revelation.

Some of you are saying, okay, George, I have, okay, I've licked my pencil.

Okay, is this before the rapture or after the rapture?

Is it before the tribulation, in the middle of the tribulation?

Is the tribulation going to have these four stages?

And here's, you see, what often happens with people who talk about the Book of Revelation

in North American churches.

They have this sort of timeline, which they've sort of developed from reading the Book of Revelation

and 2 Peter and 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

And they've developed it from reading Daniel and Ezekiel and Isaiah and Zechariah

and a whole pile of other books, which would take us too long to list.

And they sort of have this timeline, and there's the rapture, and there's the tribulation,

and there's the judgment, and then there's the millennium, and then there's this, and then there's that.

And so what they do is that while they're reading the Book of Revelation,

what they really do as they read the Book of Revelation is they don't actually preach the Book of Revelation.

I don't mean to put anybody down.

What they don't do is actually try to preach the Book of Revelation.

What they try to do is place everything in the timeline.

I'm not going to do any of that.

If you're hoping for a timeline, you can listen to CHRI.

I think MacArthur is doing another sermon of series on this,

and he can tell you the timeline if you want.

I'm not going to talk about that at all.

I'm going to preach the Book of Revelation.

Here's one of the problems with looking at the Book of Revelation

and trying to fit it into a timeline.

Before we get into it, this is just a bit of a time-out learning moment.

Just skip down to Revelation 6 and look at verses 12 and 13.

Chapter 6, verses 12 and 13.

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake,

and the sun became black as sackcloth.

The full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth

as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

So turn your page to Revelation chapter 8 and look at verse 12.

Revelation 8 · chapter mention

Two chapters later, verse 12.

The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck,

and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars,

so that a third of their light might be darkened.

One moment, I thought all the stars fell from heaven.

How, if they all fell from heaven in chapter 6,

could there still be stars in the sky to fall, a third of them, in chapter 8?

See, here's the thing if you read the book of Revelation.

How many here, I can't really see, oh, here I can see.

How many people here have seen the movie Groundhog Day?

Okay, probably half the congregation have seen Groundhog Day.

Okay, for the other half of you, if you want to understand most of the book of Revelation,

watch the Groundhog Day.

I'm only partially joking, I'm serious.

Because the literary structure of the book of Revelation is that

the first six seals have this progression,

then there's an interlude,

and then the seventh seal, what does the seventh seal do?

The seventh seal introduces the seven trumpets,

and then the six trumpets go right back through destruction,

then there's a long interlude,

and then the seventh trumpet, and what does the seventh trumpet do?

It goes right back, it goes to the bulls,

and all of a sudden it goes right back through the entire same process.

In fact, what you have is the Groundhog Day.

That what you have is a recapitulation,

that you're having a description of increasing series of judgment,

deepening judgment,

and deepening offers of mercy,

and deepening sense of the choice between the two different paths.

And in a literary way, it sort of develops it,

and then there's a pause, and then it develops it,

and then there's a pause, and it develops it,

and then it gets to the end.

It gets to the end.

In fact, most of the book of Revelation,

from chapter six on almost to the end,

is describing life between the crucifixion,

resurrection of Jesus, and the second coming of Jesus.

And so some of you might say,

well, does that mean then, George,

that what it's talking about with the horses and the riders and all that,

okay, is it, are they demons?

Are they humans?

Are they demons?

Are they humans?

Are they, is it sort of something which is happening today?

Is it something that's going to happen at the end of the day?

What do you think?

And my answer is yes.

Yes.

It's all of those things.

It's something which is true of life today,

and it's something which will,

when the final end does come,

will also see it far more clearly

for those who are alive when Jesus finally comes back.

But it describes life.

It describes our experience.

It describes what's going on in the world

from the moment of the crucifixion,

the resurrection of Jesus,

and chapter five of Revelation

describes the resurrection and ascension of Jesus

and what he's like in heaven

and what's going on between now and his return.

But all the way through this,

the lamb who was slain opens the seals.

The lamb who was slain opens the seals.

Some of you might say,

okay, George, this is, okay, that's sort of interesting

and maybe I hadn't thought of that before.

And I'm a little bit relieved

that you're not going to spend

the rest of the book of Revelation

saying things like

that the first horse is the United States,

the second horse is Iran

and the Ayatollahs,

and the third horse, which is black,

is North Korea,

and the fourth horse is Russia.

Like I'm, you know, many of us,

some of us are very disappointed,

I'm not going to say that,

and others are maybe very relieved.

But what on earth does it mean?

Okay, George,

we sort of have a bit of a sense

that to understand that it's the lamb

who was slain opening the seals

does mean that, in fact,

repentance is always an option,

that we can't take

the governing story of our culture

in terms of blind forces

determining so much of what exists,

and we can understand that, in fact,

there's a chance of action,

that there's always choices for human beings,

that we can take action,

that we can pray into things,

that we can call people to repentance,

that we can call the U.S. administration,

the Canadian administration,

we can call the Russians and Iranians

and Israelis and the left

and the right and the Republicans

and the Democrats,

we can call people to repentance,

but what on earth is going on here?

Well, let's look.

Let's go back and read verse 1,

let's go back to chapter 6,

and let's look at the four horsemen

of the apocalypse.

Now, I watched when the lamb

opened one of the seven seals,

and I heard one of the four living creatures,

sorry, just back up

if you weren't here last week,

chapter 5,

God has a scroll in his right hand,

and his palm is open,

and there's a scroll line across it,

and it's a scroll that's sealed

on the outside with seven seals,

and the lamb takes the scroll

from the one on the throne,

who's the father,

and the implication is

is that the scroll contains

basically God's plan for the future,

and the lamb who is slain

takes the scroll

and begins now to open the seals.

So verse 1 of chapter 6,

now I watched when the lamb opened

one of the seven seals,

and I heard one of the four living creatures

say with a loud voice like thunder,

come,

and I looked,

and behold,

a white horse

and its rider had a bow,

and a crown was given to him,

and he came out conquering

and to conquer.

Remember I said that,

you know,

are these creatures,

what they aren't is angels.

Actually,

Rebecca,

put up the next point,

and we'll have that

in the back of our mind

as we read all of these,

the four horsemen.

The lamb who was slain

in mercy

allows and limits

the four horsemen

to do

as they desire.

The lamb who was slain

in mercy

allows and limits

the four horsemen

to do

as they

desire.

So the first

creature comes

at the bidding

ultimately of heaven,

by the permission of heaven,

and this

represents

the horsemen

that is conquering

and desires to conquer.

Look at the next one.

When he opened

the second seal,

verse 3,

I heard the second living creature

say,

notice when he opened,

the lamb opened

the second seal,

I heard the second living creature

say,

come.

And out came another horse,

bright red.

Its rider was permitted

to take peace

from the earth

so that people

should slay one another

and he was given

a great sword.

And this horse

and its rider

represents

civil war,

family fighting,

church fighting,

fighting between

what used to be allies.

Verse 5,

when he opened

the third seal,

I heard the third

living creature

say,

come.

And I looked

and behold

a black horse

and its rider

had a pair

of scales

in his hand

and I heard

what seemed

to be a voice

in the midst

of the four living creatures

saying,

a quart of wheat

for a denarius

and three quarts

of barley

for a denarius

and do not harm

the oil

and the wine.

Excuse me,

this is a picture

of famine.

The ancient world

at denarius

was at an average

working,

take whatever

you folks make

in one day

and that's,

you know,

if you are lucky

you work five days

and you live

for seven days

out of what you make

for five days

so in the ancient world

a denarius

was what a person

made for one day

and they'd have

to work six

or in some parts

of the world

every day of the week

and so a quart

of wheat

is what one man,

a working man

would consume

just by himself

and it's describing

a state of affairs

where everything

is ten times

more expensive

than it normally

would be.

It's describing

a famine.

It's describing

a situation

where the grain

is so expensive

that people

can't work enough

to buy enough

to eat

and it's describing

famine

in very powerful

picture language.

Verse seven,

when you open

the fourth seal

I heard the voice

of the fourth living

creature say,

come,

and I looked

and behold

a pale horse.

In the original language

it's the color

of death.

it's the color

that a corpse

would be

in a morgue

and its rider's

name was Death

and Hades

followed him

and they were

given authority

over a fourth

of the earth

to kill

with sword

and with famine

and with pestilence

and by wild beasts

of the earth.

Now why is it

that I say

that the lamb

who was slain

in mercy

allows and limits

the four horsemen

to do as they desire?

Is God causing evil?

No.

If you look

at the text

what he does

is he limits

he allows

and he limits.

Actually what he sees

what we see here

in picture language

is something

we won't turn

to it right now

but later on

if you want to look

in Romans chapter one

the second half

of Romans chapter one

you'll get

a very

very powerful

picture of

what God

sometimes does

and the picture

is that there's

this human

propensity

to do wrong

things

and it's like

the tug

it's like the current

in the stream

and the current

in the stream

is sort of

always there

but God

in his grace

and mercy

is always

restraining that

and so the picture

is it's almost

as if there's

a boat

in the stream

and the boat

is tied up

to a dock

and the stream

is constantly

wanting to bring

that boat

and push the boat

in a particular

direction

but the boat

is tied up

and sometimes

what God does

in judgment

is he

unties the boat

in other words

he's been

restraining

this evil

but sometimes

what happens

is he takes away

his power

to restrain

and he allows

the natural course

of what is

desired to happen

and it's

one of the ways

that sometimes

it both reveals

that God

as an act

of common grace

and common mercy

is restraining

human evil

but that sometimes

still by mercy

and grace

he allows

that

to not be

restrained

or not restrained

as much

and we see

evil revealed

I see the evil

in myself

I see the evil

around me

the lamb

who is slain

in mercy

allows and limits

the four horsemen

to do

as they desire

as they desire

and that's

what's being

portrayed here

now

some of you

might say

this doesn't

sound very much

like mercy

well

it's

just

the beginning

of the chapter

it's the first

four seals

it's in the next

two seals

and the interlude

that we see

how it's connected

to mercy

so

let's look

and see

how it is

that it's connected

to mercy

how it is

that judgment

and God

and all of that

can be connected

to mercy

let's look at

verse 9

when he opened

the fifth seal

I saw

under the altar

the souls

of those

who had been

slain

for the word

of God

and for the witness

they had borne

just sort of

pause there

for a moment

notice now

that the fifth seal

isn't something

of Jesus

saying

okay

come out

horsemen

or those desires

to conquer

of conquering

and conquering

more and more

and more

and more

and more

and more

and more

it's not a matter

of it being

coming out

what we see

here now

is an act

of revelation

that John

is able

to see

something

and what

he sees

and John

is writing

this in the

mid-90s

and so

there have

been Christians

now for 60

years

in fact

many believe

that following

early church

writers

who wrote

somebody who

wrote just

shortly after

this

that this

was written

while there

was in fact

the first

sort of

major persecution

of Christians

in the Roman

Empire

and there

would have

in fact

been many

martyrs

as John

was writing

this

and John

himself

is writing

this

while he's

a political

exile

on the

island

of Patmos

and what

he sees

are those

who died

for Jesus

again verse 9

when he opened

the fifth seal

the lamb

opened the fifth

seal

I saw under

the altar

the souls

of those

who had

been slain

for the

word of

God

and for

the witness

that they

had borne

that's the

witness to

Jesus

witness to

the lamb

who was

slain

they cried

out with

a loud

voice

oh sovereign

Lord

holy and

true

how long

how long

how long

how long

oh sovereign

Lord

how long

before you

will judge

and avenge

our blood

on those

who dwell

on the

earth

then they

were each

given a

white robe

and told

to rest

a little

longer

here's the

frightening

thing

until the

number of

their fellow

servants

and their

brothers

and sisters

should be

complete

who are

to be

killed

as they

themselves

have been

please put up

the next

point

Rebecca

the saints

are in

God's

presence

and cry

out to

him

how long

how long

so the

first four

horsemen

the lamb

the lamb

I said

in his

mercy

allows

these

things

to happen

as they

desire

it's

in a sense

in a picture

form what

Romans 1

talks about

in terms of

what God

sometimes does

in human

affairs

releasing

or removing

his restraint

and allowing

freedom

allowing freedom

greater freedom

and the

greater freedom

is used

to evil

to pain

and suffering

to conquering

to causing

famine

to fighting

and to sword

the greater

freedom

is used

for these

things

and it

has all

sorts of

repercussions

on the

earth

people die

Christians die

non-Christians

die

all sorts

of people

die

and now

the fifth

seal is

opened

and John

sees

well

here's the

thing

you know

often in the

west

when we talk

about what

happened

in Nazi

Germany

to the

Jews

we call

it the

holocaust

and holocaust

means sacrifice

but the

more common

use of the

word

and in fact

the common

use of the

word in

Israel

is shoah

which means

calamity

see the

question is

this

as bad

things happen

to us

as we

suffer

is it

a sacrifice

or is it

a calamity

see if it's

a sacrifice

it means

it has

meaning

if it's

a shoah

a calamity

there is

no meaning

there is

no meaning

it's just

suffering

it's just

pain

and death

and no

meaning

and what

John sees

here

what God

shows

John

is that

as the

fifth seal

is open

some of

those

who've

been

affected

by the

fourth

seals

what do

they do

do they

say

I no

longer

believe

in

God

I

no

longer

trust

God

what he

sees

is he

sees

people

in

God's

presence

look at that

in verse

10

he sees

them

underneath

the altar

it's an

image of a

sacrifice

that their

death

has somehow

or another

been a

sacrifice

they cried

out with a

loud voice

10

oh

sovereign

Lord

they're

now in

God's

presence

they speak

to God

and on

one level

they do

call out

how long

if you

read the

Old Testament

time and

time and

time and

time again

in the

Psalms

and in

other

poetry

the Old

Testament

they cry

how long

oh

God

how long

if you

are in

the midst

of

suffering

right now

it is

completely

and utterly

biblical

for you

to say

how long

oh

Lord

how long

oh

Lord

must I

bear

this

how

long

oh

Lord

make it

clear to

me

what it

is that

you desire

me to

know

or do

or to

become

grant me

strength

to bear

up under

this

help me

to understand

father

the meaning

of what

it is

that I

am going

through

how long

is a

biblical

prayer

and that's

what the

saints pray

in the

presence of

God

to God

how long

and they

cry out

and in our

version

it uses

the word

look at

that

and how

long

before you

will judge

and avenge

our blood

on those

who dwell

on the

earth

and in

the original

languages

those words

judge

and avenge

it brings

out two

things

it definitely

brings out

the meaning

of punishment

but it also

has the idea

of vindication

in fact the

vindication is

seen here by

the fact that

God's response

to their cry

about how long

is that they were

given a white

robe

told to rest

told to rest

it's a sign

that they've

conquered

that in fact

their suffering

had some

meaning

I haven't read

the rest of

the book of

Revelation

but right now

it's a promise

that there is

meaning in

their suffering

these saints

who talk to

God

about it

and pour out

their heart

to him

and they are

not rebuked

he says

you have

conquered

and they ask

when will we

be vindicated

see this is

the mercy

we'll see this

more in a moment

when we look at

what happens

in the sixth

seal

but you see

if

God

both punishes

and vindicates

in other words

he reveals

to the world

those who have

a lust

of conquering

and to conquer

and those who

have a lust

for battle

and for triumph

and for winning

even if it means

that people starve

and that there are

losers

and that you can

have pestilence

as long as you

survive

and you can

thrive

and if

in such a world

the saints

are vindicated

and if it is

in fact the lamb

who was slain

who opens the

seal

there is the

possibility

for those

of us

who have

given our

lives to

evil

to say

one moment

this powerless

and weak

person

that I have

just killed

that I

have

caused

this

famine

to

God

vindicates

them

and in the

revelation

of their

vindication

there is

the invitation

to repent

and to be

on the side

of the lamb

that's why

these four

horsemen

where God

allows

what is

desired

whether it's

by human

beings

using their

evil for

freedom

or whether

it's

hostile

demonic

powers

or

some

other

reality

encaptured

by these

images

and God

with limits

allows it

to happen

that now

when some

of the

victims

who are

saints

cry out

and ask

for their

vindication

there is

in fact

an opportunity

for people

to say

oh my

God

what have

I done

can God

have mercy

this is

made even

more clear

as we look

at the

next seal

the sixth

seal

because in

fact what

is put

before us

is that

in the

presence of

such evil

that there

are two

responses

which are

ultimately

possible

that in

fact if

we have

the courage

to look

internally

into our

own lives

and see how

it is that

we respond

to things

that we

will understand

that even

ourselves

even those

of us

whose suffering

is not

nearly that

which is

described here

that have

not had

that same

type of

terrible

things happen

to them

but even

if the

suffering

is just

the fact

that we

have a

boss

that's

really mean

to us

or a

mom

who never

loved us

enough

or a

dad

who sort

of ignored

us

or somebody

who cut

us off

or it's

just anxiety

and it's

just stress

and if we

look at it

this is

very powerful

and profound

why is it

that we

choose one

way or

the other

look at

what it

says in

the sixth

seal

verse 12

when he

opened the

sixth seal

I looked

and behold

there was

a great

earthquake

and the

sun became

black as

sackcloth

the full

moon became

like blood

and the

stars of

the sky

fell to

the earth

as the

fig tree

sheds

its winter

fruit

when shaken

by a

gale

the sky

vanished

like a

scroll

that is

being rolled

up

and every

mountain

and island

were removed

from its

place

then the

kings of

the earth

and the

great ones

and the

generals

and the

rich

and the

powerful

and everyone

slave

and free

hid

themselves

in the

caves

and among

the rocks

of the

mountains

calling

to the

mountains

and rocks

fall

on us

hide us

from the

face

of him

who is

seated

on the

throne

and from

the

wrath

of the

lamb

for the

great day

of their

wrath

has come

and who

can

stand

revelation

6 is

centered

around

two

questions

how

long

or

who

can

stand

who

can

stand

imagine

that a

person

is coming

against

you

and they

have a

gun

and they

come to

you

and you

see that

you're in

danger

and you

have a

choice

you can

look to

the right

and there's

a person

you can

see their

face

you can

call out

to them

for help

you turn

to the

left

and there's

a rock

and when

they come

to you

with a

gun

you say

I'm not

going to

turn to

the person

who has

a face

that I

can call

about

for help

I'm

going to

call out

to the

rock

to help

me

rock

help

me

mountain

help

me

very

very

very

powerful

imagery

put up

the next

point

please

Rebecca

earth

dwellers

try to

hide

from God

while they

cry out

to idols

who

can

stand

earth

dwellers

on earth

is

a

world

of

earth

and

it

doesn't

mean

that

Christians

don't

dwell

on

earth

but

it

becomes

a

description

of

those

earth

dwellers

who

are

in

rebellion

against

God

in fact

it

starts

to

introduce

a

fundamental

understanding

of what

it means

to be a

Christian

a

Christian

is a

resident

alien

on

earth

a

Christian

is a

pilgrim

and we

know from

the Old

Testament

we know

from the

New

Testament

that we

are to

pray

for the

blessing

of God

upon the

city

but

ultimately

the city

of Ottawa

is not

my home

and the city

of Ottawa

my citizenship

is not

ultimately

a citizenship

in Canada

my ultimate

citizenship

is the

kingdom of

God

the kingdom

of the

Lamb

who was

slain

and my

true home

is where

the Lamb

reigns

and while

I live

here on

earth

not as

an

earth

dweller

but one

who

lives

on

earth

I

seek

the

good

of

the

city

the

earth

dwellers

try to

hide

from

God

while they

cry out

to idols

who can

stand

why

is it

when I

at a

very

simple

level

why

is it

that when

I

suffer

or I'm

in stress

why

is it

that I

would turn

to idols

why is it

that I

would turn

to alcohol

or to drugs

or to gambling

or to spending

money in a mall

or to anger

or to fantasies

or to pornography

why when I am

under mild

struggling of stress

would I turn

to one of these

why would I

turn to rocks

and mountains

why is it

that these

people

seeing

or sensing

or feeling

or realizing

the face

of God

try to think

that being

in a cave

could hide

from the face

of God

and that an

idol

a rock

or a mountain

would help

or deliver

them

will suffering

incline my

heart to God

or away

from it

many people

when we

suffer

we turn

away from

God

why is it

that we

turn away

from God

when we

suffer

is it

that when

we turn

away from

God

and are

suffering

that we

stop

suffering

is it

that when

we

turn away

from God

and suffering

that all

of a sudden

our

suffering

has meaning

is it

that all

of a sudden

we only

are victorious

and we

tower over

things when

we turn

away from

God

like why

is it

that we

do that

why is

it

will

suffering

and climb my heart to God

or away from Him?

Why do I hide from God?

Why, if God has a face,

is it that I see or sense,

why is it that I speak to a rock

or an idol rather than God?

How can a rock help me?

How can an idol help me?

Why do I say that I'll only become

a Christ follower if God shows up?

Why would I choose to repent

and have suffering?

I mean, why would I not,

why would I refuse the chance

to repent and have suffering?

Now, somebody might be wondering,

am I sane, George,

are you sane,

are you sort of like those people

that make lots of,

they make it in the news

and they're just really,

really, really, really,

really, really, really,

add a few more reallys,

embarrassing,

that when something bad happens,

you get some radio preacher

gets up and says,

this is all because of the evil

that's going on,

and take your pick.

It's because there's not

enough Republicans,

there's not enough Democrats,

there's not enough rich people,

there's not enough programs

for the poor,

you know, fill in the blank

with your favorite evil,

and that's why this judgment

has happened.

George, is that what you're saying?

And that's not what the Bible's saying here.

The Bible's not saying

that God doesn't actually

allow evil to happen.

I'm not saying,

in that sense,

that radio preacher's

not wrong.

The radio preacher is,

and I don't mean to offend,

is hiding a profound arrogance

to think that he or she

knows exactly what it is

that God's doing.

And they probably don't.

They probably don't.

And it's arrogantly

overstepping the boundaries

to talk as if you know

when you don't know.

I mean,

the fundamental lesson

of the Bible

is always to humble us,

not to make us think

we're smarter than other people

and better than other people,

but to humble us,

to bring us to the point

where we call out to God

for mercy

and say,

how long?

The other problem,

and I know we,

maybe I'm going over time,

I apologize for it.

The other thing about it,

though,

is that when people

say things like that,

we get the wrath of God

all messed up

and confused.

Turn in your Bibles

with me to Matthew

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26

in closing.

Matthew chapter 26.

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

It's,

if you have a Bible

and you're not that familiar

with it,

there's the Old Testament,

the New Testament,

and Matthew is the first book

in the New Testament.

And turn in your Matthew

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26

to verse 36.

And

in the flow

of the book

of Matthew,

Judas is off

to betray Jesus.

Jesus has just instituted

the Last Supper

with his friends.

He's told them

he's all going to die.

He's going to be captured

within 12 hours

of the Last Supper.

A few hours,

in fact,

less than 12 hours,

he would be captured.