Among all the things in life that I hate, one of the worst is being ignored. I would rather be hated than ignored. When talking to my kids, at the very least I want an insincere, “Yes dad,” acknowledging that my child has heard me. I only get upset if there there is no response.
In addition, one of my biggest pet peeves in life is being interrupted. I don’t mind if you interrupt me because you have something valuable to contribute to the dialogue or if my hair is on fire. What I don’t like is when someone interrupts to change the conversation, or cuts me off in order to say something irrelevant to the discussion. There is nothing more disrespectful than being interrupted or ignored. It implies that what I have to say is not important to you.
We all want to know that what we say matters. We all want the dignity of having our voices heard. Not everyone will always agree with us, but even so, there is something satisfying about being listened to. One of the biggest indicators of being heard, regardless of whether or not we are agreed with, is silence from the one we are talking to. When I speak, and the other person is silent and looking at my eyes, I can assume that I am not being ignored. (And it isn’t too much to ask that when someone is speaking to me, I shut up and listen too!). Wouldn’t it be nice to know that God gives you such dignity?
In Revelation 5, a scroll was introduced, one with writing on both sides. Based on Ezekiel 2.9-10, the scroll contains a message of doom for God’s enemies. Jesus is worthy to open the scroll, thereby executing the sentence on the evil world. Now in chapter 6, Jesus begins breaking the seals of the scroll, and with each seal, a new punishment is meted out on the inhabitants of earth.
With the first four seals, four horsemen appear. This is an allusion to Zechariah 6.1-8, where four groups of colored horses are commissioned to go out and punish the nations that are oppressing God’s people. Likewise, these horsemen represent God’s judgment upon his enemies. The first one, white, is “bent on conquest.” This horse likely represents the evil forces persecuting Christians, attempting to pressure them to conform to society. In other words, this horseman is the “Kangaroo.”
The second horse is red and removes peace from the earth. The relevance of this horse may be twofold. First, it pictures international warfare and political struggles, since peace is taken from the earth. But, second, by extension, it may also represent warfare against believers.
A black horse comes third, carrying scales which pictures famine and skyrocketing food prices; a predictable result of international warfare. When food became scarce it was distributed in rationed amounts using scales. This would be a problem everyone had to deal with, not Christians exclusively. The basic necessities of life are hard to come by and no one is immune.
Finally, a pale horse named “Death” emerges, bringing the grave behind it. The author notes that Death and Hades were given power to kill by sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts. This line is taken directly from Ezekiel 14:21. What may come as a surprise is that when Ezekiel said these things, he did not have pagans in mind, but unfaithful Jews - God’s own people:
For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments -- sword and famine, wild beasts and plague -- to kill its men and their animals!
And yet, even in the face of horrific punishment, there is an expectation of hope for those who are faithful. Ezekiel 14.22:
Yet there will be some survivors -- sons and daughters will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled...”
Even God’s faithful people are experiencing the wrath of all four horsemen. No one is safe. Similarly, in Exodus, 5 out of the 10 plagues were experienced by both Egypt and Israel. In essence, “Tribulation” is something everyone endures. Christians are not immune to suffering simply because we proclaim Christ as our Lord, although we as believers have One to whom we can turn in those times who is able and willing to offer divine spiritual protection. The same cannot be said of the pagans of Rome.
In fact, the fifth seal pictures exactly that: the souls of those who had been killed “because of the testimony they had maintained” are found under an altar, a vision of spiritual protection. Though they have suffered physical death, yet they live and are protected from further harm. They ask a question that is sincere and direct: How long, Sovereign Lord, before you judge them and avenge our blood? In other words, “When is justice going to be served?”
The initial answer is only slightly comforting: Wait a little longer until more Christians have been killed like you have. After this, the sixth seal is broken and judgment reaches a cosmic level, involving the earth, sun, moon, stars, and sky. The response this generates is complete terror on behalf of the men on earth who caused Christians’ suffering, and now they have a question of their own: The great day of wrath has come: Who can stand?
While this question seems rhetorical at first glance, there is an actual answer: those who are sealed can stand! This is exactly the point of chapter 7. It is typical for biblical authors to portray history in a sort of “Two steps forward, one step back” kind of fashion. This is apparent in Genesis where 1.1 paints a general picture of creation and following that, the author takes a step back to show what happened specifically over the course of six days.
In Revelation 6, the author has taken two steps forward with the first 6 seals, but at the beginning of chapter 7 he takes a step back in order to show exactly how believers fit into the seal judgments. We know this because by the end of chapter 6, everything had been effected by the seal judgments, but in 7.3 nothing had.
Before the judgments have a chance to take place, God’s people are “sealed.” We should not get caught up on the figurative number 144,000; it is simply the sum of multiplied conventional numbers (12 x 12 x 1000) meaning “Complete”. Everyone who was supposed to be sealed was sealed - no one was forgotten. Yet there is more: the actual number of those who belong to God is so vast it could not be counted. 7.9 declares there “was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne.” The countless billions are an expansion on the original 144,000 so that the two groups are one in the same, being identified two different ways.
The image of being sealed points to the fact that though they had to endure tribulation on earth, they received spiritual protection of their souls, something unbelievers do not have access to. This is apparent when you read the songs they sing in 7.12 and 15-17. After figuratively portraying their spiritual protection, we then return to the seal judgments in chapter 8, and when the last seal is broken there is silence for about half an hour.
And there it is.
Divine silence.
“The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints went up before God.” With that, God silenced Heaven so that he could hear those prayers. He silenced Heaven because what His people were saying was important to him. He does not ignore them. He does not interrupt them. Instead, He gives them his full, undivided attention. He hears what they say and cares about their concerns.
Yes, there is comfort in knowing that we receive spiritual protection from those things that want to harm us, and it is also nice to know that God’s enemies will ultimately receive the punishment they deserve. How much more should we be comforted to know that God listens to his people! He cares about the things we care about, and he hears us when we speak to him. So much is this the case that he silences everything in the universe just so that his child can talk.
As a dad myself, I have gotten into the habit of tuning out those things that might distract me when my son wants to talk. I turn off the TV or radio and I look in his eyes. I want to hear what he has to say and if he has a legitimate request, I want to know what that is so I can fulfill it. When you and I pray, God tunes out the “distractions.” God goes beyond turning off the TV and radio when his child talks to him; When His kids talk, he completely silences all of Heaven and earth just to hear them!
So there are two lessons in these chapters. First, if you are a believer, you have been “Sealed” by God himself, protected from any spiritual harm that might come against you. There is no tribulation you cannot endure because you have access to divine help and protection. Second, you should know that when you pray, God silences Heaven just to hear your voice. He cares about the things you care about, is hurt by the things that hurt you, and hears you when you call.
The notion of an intimate relationship with a loving God is not simply some religious cliche. It is a reality. And sometimes, just knowing that God hears what we say, is concerned about the things that concern us, and offers us divine help and protection against tribulation is the only thing getting us through another tough week. Be encouraged! God loves you, wants to help you, and is able to help you! Not only that, but he silences the universe just to hear your voice!
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