The Apocalypse, or the Book of Revelation, is the last book of the Bible. It foretells future events, including the coming of four horsemen. It is God's last word to his people.
Written around 96 CE in Asia Minor, the author was probably the Christian from Ephesus known as John the Elder. John was in exile on Patmos, an island off the coast of Asia Minor, because he preached the Christian faith.
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day," according to John, "and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,' and, 'What you see, write in a book.'"
The book begins with short letters of exhortation to Christian churches in the seven leading cities of Asia Minor—Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea —the key area for expansion of Christianity into the Roman Empire and the recipients of John's apocalyptic letter.
Apocalyptic literature isn’t common today, so we aren’t used to reading and interpreting it. It was much more common in the ancient world. A complex style, it followed certain conventions that would have seemed more familiar to its audience at the
time.
The book is written symbolically and filled with visions. The first vision is of seven lampstands, which represent the seven churches of Asia Minor, the recipients of the letters.
The second is a scroll sealed with seven seals, which are opened one at a time, releasing dire threats that destroy the earth. Four of these, represented by the horsemen, are hunger, disease, war and death.
The first rider holds a bow and rides a white horse. He represents conquest. The second horse is red; its rider wields the sword of war. The rider of the third, a black horse, carries a pair of scales representing scarcity and hunger. The final horse is pale. Its rider is Death.
The third vision is of three great signs in heaven and of cosmic war. The prophecies have been interpreted various ways, depending on the historical setting of the interpretation. That’s easy to do, because essentially the book recounts the age-old struggle between good and evil, between God and Satan, the Great Red Dragon.
The fourth vision is a vision of judgment on Babylon, which seems to equate with Rome. The ruling power at the time had been corrupted by its own success. Incredible evils were perpetrated by its rulers, including persecution of Christians.
This was the setting of the book of Revelation. John was writing to comfort Christians whose lives were at risk for their faith. Though his book is a complicated one, his message is simple—God and good triumph over Satan and evil—in the cosmic battle, in the politics of earth, and in the daily lives of God's people.
The fifth and final vision is of the New Jerusalem, a scene of peace and harmony and joy.
How encouraging the book must have been to its original readers in the Roman Empire—hiding in caves, fearful for their lives. How encouraging it is for us today as we feel the breath of the four horsemen on our necks, the continuing threat of hunger, famine, plague, war and death, of falling cliffs, cracking earth and rising seas.
God's final word on the future of Los Angeles--and of all other places--is a word of hope. The God who made and loves us is in a cosmic battle with the forces of evil, and the outcome is certain. God wins!
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