Zechariah 8:9-17

9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Let your hands be strong-you that have recently been hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets who were present when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the LORD of hosts. 10 For before those days there were no wages for people or for animals, nor was there any safety from the foe for those who went out or came in, and I set them all against one other. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the LORD of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.

14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Just as I purposed to bring disaster upon you, when your ancestors provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, 15 so again I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, says the LORD. (Zechariah 8:9-17, NRSV)

The following is from an E-mail sent December 19, 2003, for December 20, 2003:

Zechariah's news is good: "For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things" (Zech. 8:12). "I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid" (v. 15). God does have his expectations: "Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, says the LORD" (vv. 16-17).

Revelation 6:1-17

Six of the Seven Seals

6 Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, "Come!" 2 I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, "Come!" 4 And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, "Come!" I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, 6 and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's pay, and three quarts of barley for a day's pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!"

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, "Come!" 8 I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; 10 they cried out with a loud voice, "Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?" 11 They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Revelation 6:1-17, NRSV)

After those in the heavenly throne room sing songs of praise to the Lamb (Rev. 5:11-14), he opens the seals: (1) a white horse and its rider, who conquers (6:1-2), (2) a red horse and its rider, who "take[s] peace from the earth" (vv. 3-4), (3) a black horse and its rider, whose scales and words symbolize famine (vv. 5-6), (4) a pale green horse and its rider, Death (vv. 7-8), (5) the fifth seal, which, when opened, reveals "the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given" (vv. 9-11) , and (6) the sixth seal, which “unleashes a great earthquake, and its catastrophic effects on the cosmos and on human society” (Jean-Pierre Ruiz, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Rev. 6:12-17). (The seventh seal comes later, 8:1-5, after an interlude, chap. 7, “two visions which provide the promise of divine protection for the faithful during the time of tribulation [vv. 1-8] and assurance of ultimate salvation [vv. 9-17],” Ruiz.)

The first four seals, the four horses and their riders, remind us of visions in Zechariah. The angel tells Zechariah that the horsemen on red, sorrel and white horses “are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth (Zech. 1:10, cf. vv. 7-17). They report that “the whole earth remains at peace” (v. 11). Later in Zechariah, the vision of Four Chariots (Zech. 6:1-8) includes horses of four colors, red, black, white and dappled gray (v. 2). “In ch. 1, the divine emissaries completed their patrol and returned to deliver a report to their lord; here [Zech. 6] they go out, not to gather information but, apparently, to initiate God’s judgment upon the earth” (Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Zech. 6:1-8). The four horsemen of Revelation bring judgment, and so relate most directly to the horses and chariots of Zechariah chapter 6, though the four colors are not interpreted separately as are the four colors in Revelation chapter 6. (The colors differ in sequence, but match in color, except for “dappled gray,” Zech. 6:3 [based on the LXX, “Meaning of Heb uncertain,” NRSV text note], and pale green, Rev. 6:8.) The rider of the red horse “was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword” (Rev. 6:4), thus “effectively annulling the ‘pax Romana,’ the self-congratulatory designation of Roman imperial rule as ‘the Roman peace’” (Ruiz, on Rev. 6:4). “The black horse symbolizes famine, which follows upon war,” and “the pale green horse symbolizes pestilence and death” (Ruiz, on vv. 5, 8).

The promises for the faithful, presented in Revelation chapter 7, are noted above. It is worth remembering that God is in control through all of these experiences of judgment and destruction. It is the Lamb (Jesus Christ) who opens the seals and initiates these events.

Matthew 25:31-46

The Judgment of the Nations

31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46, NRSV)

The following is from Sunday, July 24, 2005:

Following the Parables of the Ten Maidens (Mt. 25:1-13) and the Talents (vv. 14-30), Matthew presents the scene of judgment “when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and . . . sit[s] on the throne of his glory. “All the nations (ethnē, grammatically neuter, but often ‘Gentiles’) will be gathered before him, and he will separate people [literally ‘them,’ masculine plural] one from another [again, masculine plural].” For “all the nations,” J. Andrew Overman compares the same phrase in the Great Commission, “make disciples of all nations [panta ta ethnē,], and suggests, “A better translation would be ‘all the people of the world’” (NOAB, 3rd ed., on v. 32). “For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

Jesus’ point is the separation of the “sheep” from the “goats” (Mt. 25:33), and the criterion for the separation. To one group he says:

Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. (Mt. 25:37, NRSV)

When they ask, “when was it that we [did these things]?” (vv. 38-39), it is explain that when it was done “to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (v. 40).

What he says to the other group, and their response, is a negative mirror image of what he says to the first group. The other group has not done these things. They ask, “When was it that we [did not do these things]?” (v. 44), and the answer takes a similar form. They have not done it “to one of the least of these” (v. 45), and so “these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (v. 46). It is a sobering thought that the criterion is expressed in terms of sins of omission, not brutal atrocities. But doesn’t our neglect of those less fortunate have something of the same effect? We can only be thankful for God’s grace and longsuffering! “For his steadfast love (mercy KJV) endures forever” (the refrain in the second line of each of 26 verses in Ps. 136).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com