XXXI

The Apocalypse

I think that there are few verses of the Bible that give one a more
sudden and startling thrill than the verse at the beginning of the
viiith chapter of the Revelation. _And when he had opened the seventh
seal there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour_. The
very simplicity of the words, the homely note of specified time, is in
itself deeply impressive. But further, it gives the dim sense of some
awful and unseen preparation going forward, a period allowed in which
those that stood by, august and majestic as they were, should collect
their courage, should make themselves ready with bated breath for some
dire pageant. Up to that moment the vision had followed hard on the
opening of each seal. Upon the opening of the first, had resounded a
peal of thunder, and the voice of the first beast had called the
awestruck eyes and the failing heart to look upon the sight: _Come and
see_! Then the white horse with the crowned conqueror had ridden
joyfully forth. At the opening of the second seal, had sprung forth
the red horse, and the rider with the great sword. When the third was
opened, the black horse had gone forth, the rider bearing the balances;
and then had followed the strange and naive charge by the unknown
voice, which gives one so strong a sense that the vision was being
faithfully recorded rather than originated, the voice that quoted a
price for the grain of wheat and barley, and directed the protection of
the vineyard and olive-yard. This homely reference to the simple food
of earth keeps the mind intent upon the actual realities and needs of
life in the midst of these bewildering sights. Then at the fourth
opening, the pale horse, bestridden by Death, went mournfully abroad.
At the fifth seal, the crowded souls beneath the altar cry out for
restlessness; they are clothed in white robes, and bidden to be patient
for a while. Then, at the sixth seal, falls the earthquake, the
confusion of nature, the dismay of men, before the terror of the anger
of God; and the very words _the wrath of the Lamb_, have a marvellous
significance; the wrath of the Most Merciful, the wrath of one whose
very symbol is that of a blithe and meek innocence. Then the earth is
guarded from harm, and the faithful are sealed; and in words of the
sublimest pathos, the end of pain and sorrow is proclaimed, and the
promise that the redeemed shall be fed and led forth by fountains of
living w