The second rider

Wednesday 25 August 2021

The second rider

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living being say : Come. And another horse, fiery red, appeared. He who rode it was given power to take away peace from the earth so that men might kill each other, and a great sword was given to him. Revelation 6:3,4

When the Lamb opens the second seal, the second living being calls out a horse, which is fiery red in color. Whoever rides it introduces general war between men. His weapon, a large sword, is reminiscent of close combat and therefore of a civil war, which generates violence and anarchy. More peace, more tranquility ; even among the civilian population, each is afraid of the other.

Do we want examples of recent massacres that can give us an idea of ​​the terrible times foretold by these verses ? In Rwanda, DRC, Angola, Sierra Leone, the deaths have counted in the hundreds of thousands or even millions ; it was the same in Europe, in the former Yugoslavia as also in Northern Ireland. What will it be then, when the fiery red horse is ordered to take away peace from all over the earth, and there will be no more brakes ?

Men did not want to accept the authority of the Lord, nor the rules of justice and goodness which characterize his kingdom; that is why they will reap what they sowed : injustice, hatred, anguish, fear of others.

Christians, the real ones, have accepted the Lord's authority over them. They have become the subjects of his Kingdom. Although their King is not yet manifested but hidden in heaven, this kingdom is made visible in Christians. They are inhabited by the Holy Spirit because they are a new creation. By their life and behavior, genuine Christians are presently a barrier to anarchy which, without them, would spread rapidly on earth and which will explode everywhere when the Lord takes away his Church.

It is therefore of prime importance that all of the Lord's redeemed today bear the fruit of the Spirit, as good subjects of Christ. This fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, benevolence, faith, meekness, self-control (Galatians 5:22).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)