Evil and the Justice of God
For Meditation
One of the great existential questions of history is how God can be all good and all powerful in the face of so much evil in the world. Many have stumbled or lost their faith entirely over this question. In this section of the book of Revelation, John boldly looks that question straight in the face. After the glorious heavenly throne room scene of chapters 4 and 5, we are snapped back into earthly reality in chapter 6, as the Lamb begins to break the seals. We see the unfolding of human history symbolized in the “four horsemen of the apocalypse,” conveying the corruption, injustice, violence and death that gallops across the centuries of human societies. In these horsemen, we see the full effects of human rebellion taking their toll on humanity and creation, but we also see God somehow allowing the effects of human sin to take their course. Jesus remains on his throne even in the face of such atrocities, somehow working out his purpose and using the worst aspects of evil and sin to bring about his redemptive purposes.
We also see in this section the reality of the coming judgment, a huge theme in the book of Revelation. While terrifying and sobering, we see judgment here as also a necessary aspect of hope. We all need to know that evil will not finally win, that the horsemen will not continue to gallop forever, and that one day the world will ultimately be made right.
As you prepare for worship this week, practice the silence that we read about in Revelation 8:1. Heaven and earth are in silenced awe at the judgment of God and the completion of his purposes. Try sitting in total silence for 30 minutes, or even just 5, and contemplate with awe the Lamb who sits on the throne.
Revelation 6; 8:1–5
1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 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?”
11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Note: We will not be going through the Revelation series at our outdoor services. Instead, we’ll be looking at short stories about Jesus from the Gospel accounts. Keep up with this Revelation sermon series by listening here.