In “Horton Hears a Who”(1), a noble elephant (Horton) inadvertently finds an entire universe on a speck of dust, carried along on a pink clover. He is able to converse with the mayor of “Whoville” inside the universe, who is concerned that his universe may be in danger. Horton confirms the mayor’s suspicions, and takes it upon himself to seek a permanent refuge for the speck of dust, finding the perfect spot on the top of a mountain. So he journeys off on his mission.
In the meantime, a Kangaroo thinks Horton’s “discovery” is absurd. In her words, “If you can’t see, hear, or feel something, it doesn’t exist.” As the self-proclaimed author and enforcer of the rules in the Jungle of Nool, she insists that “believing in tiny imaginary people is just not something we do . . . OR TOLERATE....” Furthermore, she reminds Horton that “Our community has standards; if you want to remain a part of it I recommend you follow them.” Horton, however, refuses to give in; there are tiny people on that speck who need his help, because “though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small!”
The Kangaroo finally reaches a boiling point. Fed up with Horton’s failure to conform to the imposed standards of jungle society, she is able to convince an angry mob that Horton’s belief is not only silly, but dangerous to the jungle’s overall well-being - Their way of life is under attack! The Kangaroo’s angry mob finally confronts him with the threat of imprisoning him and destroying the speck of dust in a vat of hot oil. Before executing what she sees as just punishment upon Horton, the Kangaroo gives him just one last chance to change his mind. “You can make this all go away.” The Kangaroo is willing call off the angry mob and release Horton As Long As Horton is willing to admit that he was wrong, that she was right, that there are no people on that speck of dust. If he does that, then things can go right back to the way they were.
Horton is obviously in a no-win situation, having been given an ultimatum by the Kangaroo. If he refuses to give in to the pressure of the Kangaroo and her angry mob, he will face head on whatever wrath she has in store for him. Yet, if he does give in, thus saving himself, he does so at the expense of all the good citizens of Whoville. This is just simply not an option for him. He is unwilling to destroy Whoville in order to save himself, and ready to face whatever consequences the Kangaroo is poised to give.
Predictably, Horton’s response incurs the wrath of the Kangaroo who orders Horton to be caged and the speck to be destroyed in a vat of boiling oil. At one point in the melee, Horton even declares defiantly, "I'll Never Give In!" In the meantime, the people of Whoville make such noise that everyone in the jungle can hear them. It is the Kangaroo’s own son, tucked away in her pouch, who hears the noise from the speck and reaches out to save the entire population of Whoville.
It is this scene, the Kangaroo’s angry mob confronting Horton, that helps explain the message of the book of Revelation. First Century Christians lived as the minority in a pagan Roman world with little room for “tolerance”. Much like any pagan society, there were immense pressures to conform, particularly related to Caesar worship. Roman citizens considered Caesar a god, making offerings for him and building temples in his honor for worship. Christians were simply expected to participate in the dutiful worship of Caesar, even pronouncing “Caesar is Lord!” In addition, there were local deities, each of whom were worshipped in various places by various means, and again, Christians were simply expected to participate. While some Christians did cave in to the pressures of society, it was those who didn’t who were in danger of incurring the wrath of an angry mob.
Like Horton, 1st Century Christians in Rome had a belief that the rest of society was unwilling to accept. And like the Kangaroo, Roman society put immense pressure on Christians to get rid of that silly belief. A belief that Jesus rose from the dead and is Lord alone is just not something Roman citizens do. . . OR TOLERATE. Worshipping Christ alone, and not Caesar, put the Roman Empire’s well being in jeopardy. You could almost hear the Kangaroo’s words spoken to those Christians: Our community has standards; if you want to remain a part of it I recommend you follow them.
Like the Kangaroo, the Roman society felt that their way of life was under attack. Thus, they gave Christians an ultimatum: Either (a) give up that silly belief that Jesus rose from the dead and admit that Caesar is Lord; then things can go right back to the way they were; or (b) they will have to pay the price: be punished ruthlessly for maintaining their belief.
The Angry Mob scene in “Horton Hears A Who” is an allegorical reenactment of a possible 1st Century conversation between the leader of an angry Roman mob and a Christian church holding on to their belief that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. The Roman "Kangaroo" says, “You can make this all go away! Just admit that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead! Just admit that you were wrong! Just admit that Caesar is Lord and things can go right back to the way they were! You have the power to make this all go away!”
The book of Revelation was meant to encourage believers to respond to such pressure from Rome the same way Horton responded to the Kangaroo. No! Go ahead! Rope me! Cage me! Do whatever you want to me! I will not say that I was wrong! Jesus DID rise from the Dead! He DOES live and there is NO God but him! Jesus is Lord, not Caesar! I'll Never Give In!
Fortunately for Horton, he was spared at the 11th hour, ironically by the Kangaroo’s own son who heard the voices of Whoville, saved their society, and corroborated Horton’s belief. The fate of many of these 1st Century Christians was not as nice. They were pressured to conform and faced a torturous persecution and death if they didn’t.
As the letters of Revelation 2 and 3 will show, the author has two audiences in mind. The first audience are those who have faced the pressure to conform and have conformed. They have, in a way, given in to the Kangaroo. They have allowed the Kangaroo to take their speck of dust and throw it into the vat of boiling oil. They have saved their physical lives by worshipping Caesar and participating in pagan religious rituals. They have compromised their faith and the message to them from Jesus himself is “Repent!” The Kangaroo (Rome) will be punished for her wrongdoing and unless you repent and change your ways, your fate will be the same as hers!
The second audience are the “Hortons” of the 1st Century. They have faced intense pressure to conform, are staring death in the face at the hands of an angry mob and yet they have persevered, refusing to give in to the Kangaroo Their answer to Rome is, "I'll Never Give In!" The message to them is, Continue to persevere! Don’t give in! Don’t deny your faith even if they torture and kill you!
The rest of Revelation is not a documentary of how the world will end and in what manner. Instead, it is a symbolic portrayal of the ultimate fate of those who worship Caesar and those who worship Christ exclusively. The point is that you may, in fact, die because you are Christian; you may die at the hands of those who do not share your beliefs, nor tolerate your unwillingness to conform and compromise. If that is the case, so be it. There are things that are worse than death. In the meantime, be sure of this: in the end, God wins.
In light of this, perhaps the book of Revelation has far more to say to our society today than simply predicting the future.
(1) “Horton Hears a Who”. Dir. Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino. Perf. Jim Carrey, Steve Carell. Twentieth Century Fox 2008. DVD.
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