Devotional 18 February 2025

Revelation 6:3-4 ESV “When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” [4] And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.”

Every day we wake up to the never-ending news cycle. Tensions rise between countries, and murder on the streets. Then we look at our own lives: arguments, spitefulness, anger-it feels like everything is out of control!

War, conflict, and strife have plagued humanity since the fall. Yet, this passage reminds us that even these events are not beyond Christ’s sovereign hand. The red horse is not released at random—its rider is permitted to take peace from the earth, not by his own power, but as part of the divine plan. It is the Lamb that opens the seal. This echoes Daniel 2:21: “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.” The turmoil we see is not outside of God’s control but is unfolding exactly as He wills.

This moment in Revelation reveals the consequences of a world that rejects God. Just as Romans 1:28-32 describes how God gives people over to their sin, this rider unleashes the violence already within human hearts. Jesus Himself warned that wars and divisions would increase but they are not the end (Matthew 24:6-7). Yet He also commanded, “See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place.”

So how should we respond? Not with fear, but with trust. Christ, the Lamb who opens the seals, is the same Lamb who was slain for us (Revelation 5:6-9). The one who holds history is the one who holds His people. Even in a world consumed by strife, we can rest in this truth: “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever” (Psalm 29:10). “Come and see!” Nothing is out of control when the Lamb is on the throne.