At the turn of the twentieth century, around 1900 A new Christian journal was launched It was called “The Christian Century” and it survives to the present day Now in its 103rd year At the time this journal of theology, ethics, and opinion was launched It’s declared purpose was to usher in a new age in which Christian values would be expressed through the agency of human institutions Church and state working together to bring about a sort of heaven on earth Optimism was high at the time In the year 1900 – as the Christian century began Europe had been at peace for thirty years - a generation The enlightenment, or age of reason, had seemingly rid humanity of Medieval superstition And led to an age of progression almost every aspect of life In learning, in science and medicine, in exploration and knowledge of the human family Most were convinced that humankind would continue to progress upwards That people would get better That the social world in which people lived would continue to improve And that the great problems afflicting the human family The problems of warfare and division Of poverty and famine Of crime and punishment Of disease and sickness All of these things would continue to be eradicated and overcome as humanity progressed Increasingly upwards For the better The Christian Century journal was launched to coincide with this inevitable progress That the twentieth century was expected to usher in And to give it a Christian voice The journal continues But the idea that humanity is progressing, for the better Is dead Since it was launched the world has passed through two catastrophic wars A holocaust A cold war And seen the rise of a new threat in the form of global terrorism The current generation – those aged under forty and less Are the first to formally reject this since the Enlightenment began Some 250-300 years ago The current generation do not believe that things are getting better They are the first generation for centuries to believe that their lives will not be better than that if their parents And they do not believe that the great problems afflicting humankind will be solved Either in their lifetime or beyond The twentieth century was not the Christian century The Christian century will not come in the form of heaven on earth It will not come by trying to make people good or through efforts to improve the social conditions in which people live or through political action if the Book of Revelation teaches us one thing, it is this the kingdom of God will only come in its fullness and the many evils that afflict humankind will not be finally overcome until the end of all things when Christ shall return in triumph – as the creed proclaims “he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end” this morning’s reading from the book of Revelation the second in our series presents us with the image of four horseman each rides a different coloured horse each symbolises and represents something about the human condition the vision begins with the opening of seven seals as each seal is opened a new vision unfolds the first is the white horse its rider wears the crown of a victor and holds a bow the symbols are of military power and of victory this horseman represents the spirit of conquest and of war the second horse is bright red in colour to its rider is give power to take peace from the earth he holds aloft a large sword clearly the symbol is of war, of violence, and of bloodshed the third horse is black in colour its rider holds a pair of scales and declares “A quart of wheat for a days pay” the scales were used in the market places to weigh produce, grain or wheat or barley, against coins a quart of wheat would barely feed a single person for a day the image is one of inflation and of scarcity and famine finally, the fourth horse, is the most ominous the pale horse represents death its rider is given power to kill through war, famine, and disease or pestilence together the four horseman are – as the social philosopher and theologian Jacques Ellul has said “four images that comprise the chief components of human history” the Christian century did not eradicate form the world in which we live war, violence, famine, disease, and death these things have – tragically been a constant in human experience form the time when John received these visions and wrote them in the book that has come down to us as Revelation right through the centuries to the present time they are very much part of the human condition and the human experience today conquerors still ride out to conquer as they did in St John’s day as a result war, violence, terrorism, continues famine and scarcity claim more lives than ever in a world that has more than enough resources many times over for every person to be clothed and fed adequately huge numbers still starve to death every day the black horse of famine continues to ride across the globe and we know that in the wake of these three horseman of war, of violence, of famine comes the final horse the pale green horse symbolising death Revelation is a confronting book It describes the human condition in sometimes uncomfortable and confronting detail Those to whom St John wrote and addressed these visions Christians living in the Roman Empire towards the end of the first century Knew and recognised these four horseman As do we Some nineteen centuries later We read about these four horseman in the newspapers almost every day We hear of their conquests each night on the six o’clock news The Scriptures remain as true and as relevant to us As they were to the first hearers and readers And the message of Revelation remains the same John writes to inspire hope in those to whom he writes The four horseman might be rampaging across the globe They might be at work now in Iraq and Palestine In Bali last year And in New York two years ago They are sweeping across parts of the globe suffering scarcity and famine and grinding poverty And they touch our lives too, from time to time And the lives of those we know and love They will not – however - ride for ever For there will be a time when war and violence When hatred and division among peoples When greed and poverty And even death itself shall come to an end and be no more as St Paul has written “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” Well might we echo the voices of those who cry out from under the throne just a few verse after this description of the four horseman “how long O Lord until you put an end to suffering and violence” the Book of Revelation does not answer that question But it does answer a larger and more important question God will have the final victory Evil will be overcome The human family will be reconciled to God And death and suffering and sin will be no more Until that day, the four horseman of the apocalypse continue to ride However Christians are to have hope For through the eyes of the prophet and seer John We have a glimpse, an insight, a foretaste Into how the big picture story ends As another of the prophets has written, the day will come In days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more In the name of God Father, Son ,and Holy Spirit. Amen. |