Given the power

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

GIVEN THE POWER

Rev 6:3-4

3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

NIV

 Once again we need to remember that John was instructed to write down what was now and what was to come later. Some Scholars would attempt to ascribe these descriptions to actual events in the past history of Israel, but they may not be as filled with the wisdom they so opening confess they have. These writings on the scroll are of events that are to come. Israel was already without peace, had been for centuries over and over again being captured by so many others and had been presently occupied by the Roman Empire. Here we see the second seal being broken and the second living creature saying to John, Come up here and look into the scroll and see what is now visual to read or see now that the second scroll has been broken. So John sees the red horse a fiery red horse, and its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. Can this be a picture of anyone else then Satan? Of course we have the riders on the black and pale horse yet, that also could be seen as Satan as well, but then maybe all three of them are him. From the very beginning when God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the most peaceful environment possible, the Garden he created for them and they had the pleasure of walking with him in the cool of the day, Satan disturbed that peace. Even before that when he was Lucifer, a great angel living in the peace of heaven, he disrupted that peace and stirred up division among the angels. Jesus brought peace to the earth, the angels proclaimed that to the shepherds, telling them “Peace on earth toward all men”. If mankind would live in that peace Jesus brings, there would be no conflicts, no wars, no killing of one another. But we know that is not the case for the rider on the red horse is roaring around, like a lion seeking whom he might devour. Yet on a more personal note, a life lesson we have to take to heart is that when we invite Jesus into our heart we experience his peace. The rider on the red horse has the power to take our peace. That sounds a little odd, that he would have the power to take the peace of Christ from us. But that is a fact in the sense that he will do everything in his power to disturb our peace, to cause us to doubt Jesus, to tempt us to, in some sense, kill others for our personal gain. We can see in our world today nations, world leaders who are certainly under the power of the rider on the fiery red horse. They are actually killing one another and there is no such thing as peace. Mankind seems rather to have this kind of life, than experience the peace of Christ. We cannot afford to allow Satan to have that kind of power over us, to steal our joy, our peace. If we stay close to Christ, keeping our heart pure, allowing the Spirit to direct us, Satan cannot disrupt our peace, no matter how much power he has been given. This is another lesson we should also know very well. Any power that Satan has, was given to him by God. Satan is not equal in power to God. It is not good and evil two equal diametrically opposed forces. What John saw was the rider on the fiery red horse who was given the power to take peace, given by God. This rider has no power of his own. He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.