In this sermon, Greg examines the symbolism of the second and third horses who are told to come forth and show themselves for who they are. The second horse is given the title of societal conflict and the third is the horse of economic distress.
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Following the Little Lamb
• Greg Boyd
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Greg opens the sermon with an overview of the focus of the book of Revelation. He lays out how it is about the victory of the cross, through the slain lamb. He connects it to John 12:31-33, where Jesus says: “‘Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.”
The cross is simultaneously God’s judgment on the world, the deliverance of the world and the salvation of the world. The first two are in service to the third. Revelation is always about the victory of the cross in judging, delivering and saving the world. This victory was in principle already accomplished on the cross, but this victory will not be fully manifested until the end of the age when God will completely purge and transform the world to establish his eternal kingdom. Revelation is about the final judgment and salvation of the world. During this in-between time, Revelation calls for followers of the Lamb to manifest God’s coming victory and coming kingdom ahead of time.
This overview sets up the focus of this sermon which lies on the second and third horses from Revelation chapter six.
The command to “come” is a call for evil to show its true colors. The second rider is on a fiery red horse, symbolizing blood. This is the horse of societal conflict. As a culture ascends (symbolized by the first horse), the pursuit of greatness turns inward and results in internal embattlement. Civic strife becomes the norm. When turned inward, the king-of-the-hill mindset creates societal conflict, and at that point, the civilization is on its way to collapsing in on itself.
The third horse is black, which is a symbol of scarcity and financial struggle. This is the horse of economic distress. This is about the scarcity that is experienced by the masses while the few are thriving. While families are starving to death, trying to get by surviving on barley, the wealthy still get their nice olive oil and still drink their fine wine. This reflects a growing disparity between the wealthy few and the poor majority.
To follow the lamb, we are to move in the opposite direction of the four horses. We follow the Lamb by renouncing the horse of perpetual ascent and the insatiable conquering mindset. (This was covered in Greg’s previous sermon.) We follow the Lamb, whose way is never to ascend over others. His way is to descend under others, through humble acts of self-sacrificial service.
We also follow the Lamb by swimming upstream against the second horse, the horse of societal conflict. When it feels like society is unraveling, we love those who think we are enemies. We follow the Lamb by refusing to get caught up in the toxicity of our polarized context and by investing our energy into building bridges.
In addition, we follow the Lamb as we renounce the horse of economic distress. Whether good or bad economic times are coming, our job is to follow the Lamb wherever he goes. When others look out for the interest of themselves and they begin to hoard, we go in the opposite direction, and we tighten our belt to create economic space in our life so that we can share. While others use whatever advantages they have to their own benefit, we individually and collectively take whatever advantages we have and use them for the benefit of the poor, disabled and marginalized.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Generosity, Hospitality, Money
Sermon Series: The Wrath of the Lamb
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Focus Scripture:
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Revelation 6: 1-6
When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come!” 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. Then he broke 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, 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!”
