Tag: apostle john

Good Friday (John 18:1-19:42)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The Death of Christ, by Melanie Twelves

Today’s Gospel lesson encompasses the full two chapters of events surrounding the arrest, torture, crucifixion, and death of Christ. Jesus died not only for white European heritage persons (like me) but for people of all races and ethnicities everywhere. And so, it is good and appropriate that the following comes from the First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament.

Every English translation of the Bible is accomplished by people translating from their own cultural perspectives and understandings. This particular translation comes through the cultural lens of American Indigenous peoples. And, in my view, this is a much needed addition to the many versions of the Bible now in print.

We have so many various translations, because we deem Holy Scripture important enough to be translated for all of the various peoples who exist – with all of their particular societal assumptions, and angles on spirituality.

So, please read this slowly, out loud if you can, and let the redemptive events of Jesus be seen in a way that will help your own understanding of Christ and his loving sacrifice for the whole world. This is Good Friday…

When he finished sending up his prayers, he and the ones who walked the road with him walked across the Valley of Darkness (Kidron) and entered a garden with many olive trees.

Speaks Well Of (Judas), the betrayer, knew about this place because Creator Sets Free (Jesus) would often go there with his followers. The betrayer came into the garden, and with him came a band of lodge soldiers sent from the scroll keepers, head holy men, and Separated Ones (Pharisees), representing the elders of the Grand Council. The air was filled with the smell of burning torches as they entered the garden carrying clubs and long knives.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) knew all this would happen, yet he turned to the soldiers and asked, “Who have you come for?”

With one voice they answered back, “Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth)!”

The betrayer, Speaks Well Of (Judas), was standing there with the lodge soldiers when Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered, “I am he!”

The Guards Falling Backwards, by James J. Tissot (1836-1902)

At the sound of his voice they all moved back and fell to the ground.

He asked them again, “Who have you come for?”

They answered, “Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth).”

“I told you already, I am the one you are looking for,” he said, “Let these other men go.”

He said this to fulfill his promise, “None of the ones you gave to me have been lost.”

Right then, Stands on the Rock (Peter) drew his long knife from its sheath and cut off the right ear of the servant of the chief holy man. The servant’s name was Chieftain (Malchus).

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) turned to Stands on the Rock (Peter) and cried out, “Enough of this! Put your long knife back into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup of suffering my Father has asked of me?”

The lodge soldiers, along with their head soldier and the Grand Council representatives, the took hold of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), tied him securely with cowhide strips, and took him first to Walks Humbly (Annas), one of the high holy men. He was the father of the wife of Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas), the chief holy man who had advised the Grand Council by saying, “It will be better if one man dies for all the people.”

Stands on the Rock (Peter) and one other follower had been watching from a distance. Since this follower was known by the chief holy man, he entered the courtyard of the house. But Stands on the Rock (Peter) stood outside the gate. This follower spoke to the gatekeeper, a young woman, who then let Stands on the Rock (Peter) in.

The Denial of St. Peter, by Gerard Seghers, c.1620

She said to him, “Are you not one of his followers?”

“No!” he told her, “I am not.”

The night was growing cold, so some of the men, along with the solider guards from the lodge, built a fire in the courtyard to keep warm. Stands on the Rock (Peter) stood there with them, trying to stay warm.

Back inside, the chief holy man began to question Creator Sets Free (Jesus) about his followers and his teachings. Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to him, “I have spoken openly to all, in the gathering houses and the sacred lodge. I said nothing in secret. Why ask me? Ask the ones who heard me. They will know.”

One of the head soldiers struck him in the face and said, “Is that how you answer a chief holy man?”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered him back, “If I have spoken wrongly, tell what I said wrong. If I spoke what is true, then by what right do you strike me?”

Walks Humbly (Annas) decided to send Creator Sets Free (Jesus) to Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas), the chief holy man. So they took him, still bound by ropes, to Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas).

Outside in the courtyard, Stands on the Rock (Peter) was still warming himself by the fire. The other asked him, “You are not one of his followers, are you?”

“No!” Stands on the Rock (Peter) denied. “I am not!”

One of the servants of the chief holy man, a relative of the man whose ear had been cut off, looked at him, and said, “Yes, you are! I saw you in the garden with him!”

Stands on the Rock (Peter) shook his head in denial – and right then a rooster began to crow.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was taken from the house of Hollow in the Rock (Caiaphas) to the lodge of the governor of the People of Iron (Romans). The tribal leaders stayed outside, for they did not want to become ceremonially unclean by going inside. It was early in the morning, and many of them had not yet eaten the ceremonial meal of Passover.

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) came outside to meet them.

They took Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and stood him before Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate). He took a good long look at him, then turned back to the crowd.

“What has this man done wrong?” he asked them.

“If he were not a criminal, would we have brought him to you?” they answered.

“Take him away!” Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) said to them. “Use your own law to decide what to do.”

“Our tribal law will not permit us to put him to death,” they answered.

This proved that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was right when he told them how he would die – by being nailed to a tree-pole – the cross.

Christ Before Pilate, by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1310

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) went back into his lodge and had Creator Sets Free (Jesus) brought to him, so he could question him in private.

Once inside, he said to him, “Are you the chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel)?

“Is this your question,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked, “or are you listening to others?”

“I am not from your tribes,” Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) answered. “It is your own people and their head holy men who have turned you over to me. What have you done?”

“My way of ruling is a good road. It is not in the ways of this world. If it were, my followers would have fought to keep me from being captured.”

“So, then, you are a chief,” he said back to him.

“It is you who have said it,” Creator Sets Free (Jesus) answered. “I was born for this and have come into the world for this purpose – to tell about the truth. The ones who belong to the truth will listen to my voice.”

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) shook his head and said, “What is truth?”

Then Spear of the Great Waters went outside to the tribal leaders and said to them, “I find no guilt in this man. By your own tradition we set free one criminal during your Passover Festival. Do you want me to release Creator Sets Free (Jesus), your chief?”

“No! Not him,” the crowd roared back. “Release Son of His Father (Barabbas)!”

Son of His Father (Barabbas) was a troublemaker who had caused an uprising.

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) turned Creator Sets Free (Jesus) over to his soldiers to have him beaten. The soldiers twisted together a headdress from a thorn bush, pressed the thorns into his head, and wrapped a purple chief blanket around him. They bowed down before him, making a big show of it, and kept mocking him, saying, “Honor! Honor to the Great Chief of the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel).”

Christ Mocked by Soldiers, by Georges Rouault (1871-1958)

They took turns hitting him on his face until he was bruised and bloodied.

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) stood before the crowd again and said, “I bring to you the one in whom I have found no guilt.”

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was brought forward, blood flowing down his bruised face. He was wearing the headdress of thorns and the purple chief blanket that was wrapped around him.

“Behold the man!” Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) said to them, “Take a good long look at him!”

The crowd stared at him in stunned silence.

But then the head holy men and the lodge guards began to shout, “Death! Death on the cross!”

“Then take him and kill him yourselves,” Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) said to them. “I find no guilt in him!”

They answered him back, “Our law tells us he must die, for he has represented himself as the Son of the Great Spirit.”

When Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) heard this, his fear grew stronger, so he took Creator Sets Free (Jesus) back inside his lodge.

“Who are you, and where are you from?” he questioned him.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) stood there and remained silent.

“Speak to me! Do you not know I have the power of life and death over you? I can have you killed or set you free,” he warned him. “Have you nothing to say?”

“The only power you have is what has been given you from above,” he answered. “The ones who turned you over to me carry the greater guilt.”

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) tried harder to have Creator Sets Free (Jesus) released, but the people would not have it.

They stood their ground, saying, “If you release a man who says he is a chief, you are not honoring the ruler of your people, for anyone who claims to be a chief challenges his power.”

When Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) heard this, he took Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and went to the Stone of Deciding, called Gabbatha in the tribal language, and sat down. It was now midday on the Day of Preparation for the Passover Festival.

He brought Creator Sets Free (Jesus) before the people and said, “Here is your chief.”

“Take him away! Take him away!” the crowd shouted with one voice. “Nail him to the cross!”

“Would you have me nail your chief to the cross?” he asked them.

This time the head holy men answered back, “We have no other chief than the Ruler of the People Iron (Caesar).”

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) then turned Creator Sets Free (Jesus) over to the soldiers to have him put to death on a tree-pole – the cross – so they took him away.

The cross was an instrument of torture and terror used by the People of Iron (Romans) to strike fear into the hearts of any who dared to rise up against their empire. The victim’s hands and feet would be pierced with large iron nails, fastening them to the cross. The victims would hang there, sometimes for days, until they were dead. This was one of the most cruel and painful ways to die ever devised by human beings.

The soldiers placed a wooden crossbeam on his back and forced him to carry it to the place where he would be executed.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) carried the crossbeam to the Place of the Skull, which is called Golgotha in the tribal language. There they nailed his hands and feet to the cross, along with the two others, and placed his cross between the two of them.

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) fastened a sign to the top of the cross where they attached the crossbeam with these words written on it:

CREATOR SETS FREE

FROM SEED PLANTERS VILLAGE

CHIEF OF THE TRIBES

OF WRESTLES WITH CREATOR

This was near Village of Peace (Jerusalem). So that many of the Tribal Members could read it, the sign was written in Aramaic, their tribal language, but also in Latin and Greek, the languages of the People of Iron (Romans).

The chief head holy men and the tribal leaders said to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate), “Do not write ‘chief of the tribes.’ Instead write, ‘He said he is chief.’”

But he answered, “What I have written will stand.”

The Crucifixion, by Georges Rouault

The soldiers stripped his clothes from him when they nailed his hands and feet to the cross. They tore one of his garments in to four pieces, one for each guard. His long outer garment was woven together into one piece, so they said, “Let us not tear this, we can draw straws for it.”

This gave full meaning to the Sacred Teachings that said, “They divided my clothes between them and gambled for my garment.” This is what the soldiers did as they kept watch over Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

Standing near the cross was Bitter Tears (Mary), the mother of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), who had come to see him, along with her sister. Two other women also came with her, Brooding Tears (Mary) the wife of Trader (Clopas), and Strong Tears (Mary) from Creator’s High Lodge (Magdala). He Shows Goodwill (John), the much loved follower of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), was also there with them.

When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) looked down and saw them, he said to his mother, “Honored woman, look to your son.” The he said to his follower, “Look to your mother.”

From that time the follower took Bitter Tears (Mary) into his family and cared for her.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus), knowing he had done all the ancient Sacred Teachings had foretold, said, “I thirst.”

There was a vessel of sour and bitter wine standing nearby. One of the soldiers dipped a cloth in it to soak up some wine. He wrapped the cloth around the tip of a hyssop branch and held it up to the mouth of Creator Sets Free (Jesus).

He then tasted the bitter wine, turned his head to the sky and cried out loud, “It is done!”

He then lowered his head to his chest and, with his last breath, gave up his spirit.

Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was dead.

Soon the sun would set and a special Day of Resting would begin when no work could be done. It was time to prepare for this day, so the Tribal members asked Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) to have the legs of the men on the crosses broken, which would make them die sooner. Then they could take the bodies down and prepare them for burial.

The soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men on each side of Creator Sets Free (Jesus). When they came to him, they saw he was already dead. Instead of breaking his legs, one of the soldiers took a spear and pierced his side. Blood and water flowed out from the wound.

The one who saw these things with his own eyes is telling the truth about this – so that all will believe. This was foretold in the ancient Sacred Teachings that say, “Not one of his bones was broken,” (Psalm 34:20) and, “They will look upon the one they have pierced.” (Zechariah 12:10)

Christ being lifted by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, by Antonio Canova (1757–1822)

He Gets More (Joseph) from High Mountain (Arimathea), a man with many possessions, was a follower of Creator Sets Free (Jesus), but in secret, because he feared the tribal leaders. Since it would soon be sunset, when the Day of Resting would begin, he went to Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) and asked permission to remove the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from the cross.

Spear of the Great Waters (Pilate) released the body to him. So he and another man, Conquers the People (Nicodemus), who had come to Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in secret at night, took his body away to prepare it ceremonially for burial. Conquers the People (Nicodemus) had brought a mixture of myrrh and oils weighing about seventy-five pounds. Together they ceremonially wrapped his body for burial in the traditional way, using strips of cloth and herbal spices and oils.

So because it was the Day of Preparation for the Passover Festival, and the day of resting was about to begin, they laid the body of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) in a nearby burial cave that had never been used and then returned to their homes.

Whoever Believes (John 3:14-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Interview Between Jesus and Nicodemus, by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (New International Version)

For many, the truth about God’s purposes in Christ is confusing, even troubling. It was for Nicodemus. And even though there many today who simplify the exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus with a single Bible verse of John 3:16, taking a good look at the Gospel of John puts most of us with Nicodemus.

Nicodemus, a learned Jewish scholar, a Pharisee, found Christ’s words both confusing and troubling because it required him to let go of everything he understood – to let go and become like a newborn baby, receiving and discovering the world on new and different terms. In other words, Nicodemus had to unlearn some things before he could learn truth.

There are some things that are hard to grasp, not because they are so intellectually challenging, but because those things ask a lot of us, demanding our very lives. And so, we don’t so much want to understand; it would require a radical change.

But why would anyone not want to understand the good news that God so loved the world that gave the Son so that we may believe and have eternal life? Because we would then have to contend with the ways Jesus describes himself.

Jesus likened himself to the serpent that Moses lifted up in the desert (John 3:14; Numbers 21:4-9). In that story of Moses in the Old Testament book of Numbers, God sent poisonous snakes into the Israelite camp as punishment for the people’s incessant complaining against God.

Then, when the people repented, God told Moses to make a bronze snake, put it on a pole, and lift it up, so that anyone bitten by one of the poisonous snakes could see it and live. Jesus likened himself to the story. In the same way the bronze snake was lifted on a pole, Jesus explained that so must the Son of Man be lifted up, or exalted high above the people.

Visit of Nicodemus to Christ, by John La Farge, 1880

In the typical language of the Apostle John, using double meanings to a single concept, he meant to communicate that Jesus would be physically lifted onto the cross, above the people; and also that Jesus would be lifted up by God as the exalted One above all creation. (John 8:28; 12:32)

Just as the ancient Israelites were facing death because of their sin, and deliverance because of God’s action through Moses, so people everywhere in every age face the consequences of their sinful complaining; yet through the action of God through Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, they can look up to the exalted and glorified Lord and receive deliverance from sin, death, and hell.

There is more to looking up at the lifted One than a mere incline of the head and eyes. In modern terms, we would refer to the sheer action of looking as an intellectual assent to faith. The Apostle John, however, means to have us believe, not simply acknowledge.

Jesus did not tell Nicodemus to simply acknowledge him as Savior, to accept him into the heart, and so, be saved. No, this was an encounter that left an intelligent man and an accomplished scholar scratching his head in bewilderment as he went back out into the darkness.

Today’s Gospel lesson is a story about how any one of us might reject the light offered to us because of the way it exposes what is dark within us. Therefore, to believe requires ultimate trust in another. It isn’t to acknowledge that Jesus was real and had an actual ministry on earth; it’s more than believing something happened in history in the ancient world of the first century.

To believe is to let our own lives be transformed by the Jesus we encounter in this story. And here is what that means:

  1. Realizing and becoming aware of the ways we are complicit in and benefit from having our loyalties elsewhere, other than Jesus. To believe demands us answering the question: Whom shall you serve?
  2. Placing our ultimate trust, allegiance, and loyalty in Jesus Christ. To believe begs the question: To whom will you commit all that you have, and all that you are?
  3. Forsaking all other competing loyalties and “gods,” including both secular and religious deities. To believe means a single-minded devotion, which asks of us all: To whom and to what will you forsake in order to embrace Jesus?
  4. Confronting inconvenient truths of our own personal values which clash with Christ’s ideals of righteousness. To believe presses us to answer the question: To whom and for what are you truly living for?
  5. Willing to die to self and to anything that would hinder knowing Jesus and him crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again. To believe forces us to ask ourselves: Am I willing to die for Jesus?

While there is nothing in this world worth killing for, there are things worth dying for. The lifting up of Jesus lets us know that the true life God has promised us is not the life that we can secure for ourselves through self-interest, caution, and theological debate.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Dealing with a Clash of Belief (Acts 3:17-4:4)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

“And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.

“Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be. Moses, for instance, said, ‘Your God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to every word he speaks to you. Every last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from the people.’

“All the prophets from Samuel on down said the same thing, said most emphatically that these days would come. These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God’s covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: ‘By your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to bless you as you turn, one by one, from your evil ways.”

While Peter and John were addressing the people, the priests, the chief of the Temple police, and some Sadducees came up, indignant that these upstart apostles were instructing the people and proclaiming that the resurrection from the dead had taken place in Jesus. They arrested them and threw them in jail until morning, for by now it was late in the evening. But many of those who listened had already believed the Message—in round numbers about five thousand! (The Message)

I believe a lack of self-awareness is at the middle of a great many sins in this world. A lot of folks just simply do not realize how they come across to others; what impact their words and actions have upon others; and their illogical and nonsensical forms of thinking.

It’s frustrating and maddening for those who can see the blind spots in another’s life. And, keep in mind, it’s the same for others concerning some area of thought or dogmatic belief we may hold to, as well.

Recently, I had one of those surreal conversations. I had made a statement, quoting a verse from one of the New Testament Gospels about what Jesus said. Later in the day, a person who heard me say it, approached me and emphatically stated, “Jesus never said that.”

Even though I went directly to the verse and read it, the person then stated, “But that’s not from the King James or New King James Version.” So, I went to the New King James and read it. “You have to go to the King James because that’s the most reliable.” And then, after reading it there, the person dogmatically stated, “Well, that was added by a scribe. Jesus didn’t really say that.”

Even after all this, and pointing the person toward the field of textual criticism and how languages get translated, they still refused to consider the evidence right in front of their face. Yes, indeed, it is maddening! (Note: The person went so far as to begin attacking my biblical hermeneutic and my faith, because well, if you cannot accept the evidence, then you must go the ad hominem route of discrediting the person. *Sigh*)

People generally do not like their beliefs challenged nor upended. And some persons will do just about anything to maintain those beliefs – including verbal attacks against someone’s very personhood.

Apostle Peter preaching, by Lorenzo Veneziano, c.1370

And that is exactly what happened with the Apostles Peter and John. Their proclamation of Christ and his resurrection struck a nerve with the Jewish Sadducees who were the keepers of proper worship and liturgy amongst the temple. The Apostles’ teaching was so scandalous and threatening to their own beliefs, that they used their authority to throw Peter and John in jail – just for proclaiming a message the Sadducees didn’t like.

It never feels good getting toasted by those who claim insight and knowledge but are, in reality, a bunch of ignorant simpletons who don’t want to change and will hold onto their sense of power and superiority at all costs.

Yet, the consolation to all of this, is that there are others who are open-minded enough to listen well and adjust their belief systems to match the truthful evidence given to them. And so, despite the efforts of the Sadducees to suppress apostolic preaching, the fledgling group of Christ followers were being added by the thousands.

It turns out that nobody can resist the Holy Spirit of God, no matter how much earthly pull and power they possess.

Today’s New Testament lesson reminds us and teaches us that:

  • Self-awareness of why we hold to our particular beliefs, matters. We ought to hold our dogmatism very loosely.
  • Proclamation of the gospel, that is, the good news of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, makes a difference in lot of people’s lives.
  • Opposition is to be expected. There are some who view the good news of grace as the bad news of judgment against themselves; they will oppose it by any means possible.
  • Humility will always serve us well in the spiritual life, whereas condescending arrogance will never help anybody. For God’s sake, please have enough humility to listen and learn, even if (and especially) you don’t like what you’re hearing – no matter which end of the discussion you are on.

If we want the world to be different, then the change begins with you and me. Christians have the opportunity, if they will take up the mantle, of being the most calm, humble, and attentive people in the room. In this time of the year, no other stance and skill can be more important amongst family, friends, and others during the holidays.

O Lord, you have told us what is good, and what you require of us: To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly. Help us walk together in love and compassion towards the cross, humbly with you and one another. Let your Holy Spirit guide us on the right path to truth and reconciliation with humility; and enable us to hear each other, for we do not want to walk by pride or self-sufficiency, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Second Woe Upon the Earth (Revelation 9:13-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. (New International Version)

In an apocalyptic vision of God’s judgment at the end of time, the Apostle John saw seven angels with seven trumpets. Each blast of the horn brought ever increasing levels of destruction upon the earth. The final three trumpets are also described as the three woes. (Revelation 8:2-6, 13)

The Sixth Trumpet (Second Woe)

The sixth angel sounded the sixth trumpet, which was also the second woe pronounced on the world. Four angels are released from their place of restraint. Whereas the invasion of locusts in the fifth trumpet (first woe) came from the pit of hell, the next invasion comes from the east, from the outskirts, that is, outside the Roman Empire.

The terrible angels go out to kill a third of all humanity. They lead a massive destructive force that overwhelms the earth. The incredible army looks something like centaurs, being horse and rider in one. And out of their mouths come fire, smoke, and sulfur. These are three plagues which brings death to a third of humanity.

The Response to the Second Woe’s Invasion

John records the human response to the divine judgment unleashed upon humanity with the four angels and their three plagues. In reality, it’s actually a lack of response; there is no change of heart and no repentant attitude from anyone. The awful devastation does nothing to elicit any sort of self-reflection, public awareness of sin, or reconsideration of ways by those left alive.

The Apostle records that the rest of the people, after going through such a traumatic time, keep up their worship of demons and their idolatry. They continue to murder, carouse, and steal, as if nothing had happened.

What’s more, John’s graphic and disturbing vision – from it’s very beginning – does not record a single person turning away from their evil ways. The surviving inhabitants of the earth act like old Pharaoh in Egypt during the days of Moses and the exodus; their hearts are hard, and they are not about to change.

What It Means For Us

A big question for us as contemporary people, two-thousand years removed from John’s apocalyptic vision is this: Do the judgments contained in the book of Revelation have any relevance for us today?

Some might dismiss all of this as weird historical story that nobody can really understand, so we might just as well put it aside as belonging in the past. Others grew up hearing “fire and brimstone” sermons from Revelation that did nothing for them other than help them decided that they never want to be in a church again and listen to a sinner about how sinful everybody is.

Although I do not condone hellfire preaching that does little more than make people feel bad, I do believe these difficult judgment chapters in the book of Revelation have something to say to us which we would do well to hear.

  • If we dig in and want what we want, without considering anyone else or even God, then we really cannot expect blessing either in this life or the life to come.
  • If and when disaster or destruction happens – and afterwards go on our merry way as if nothing even occurred – then we have come under divine judgment.
  • If we purposely stick our heads in the sand, and intentionally avoid what is happening around us in this world, then it will not go well for us in the end.
  • If we become angry, and nurse the grudge to the point of becoming hateful and unloving, then the hardness of heart will not recognize God’s visitation when it comes.
  • If we hurt and harm others without any remorse, or make excuses for bad behavior when called out on it, then we are no better than the unrepentant mass of humanity in the book of Revelation.

There is coming a time when it will be too late. The Day of the Lord will come. There will be a final judgment. But if you are reading this, there is obviously still time. Spiritual procrastination only leads to destruction. Spiritual attention to the here-and-now leads to life. What will you do “Today?”

Our Father who is in heaven,

uphold the holiness of your name.

Bring in your kingdom

so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.

Give us the bread we need for today.

Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,

just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.

And don’t lead us into temptation,

but rescue us from the evil one. Amen.