The movement from Revelation 5 to Revelation 6 is a seamless continuation of John's vision from within God's heavenly throne room, and yet the juxtaposition of nonviolence with sudden violence is jarring.
One moment we're processing the ramifications of Jesus' victory through nonviolent Lamb-power, the next we're witnessing the release of some of the most (in)famous and violent figures in Revelation: the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
These four horsemen may only appear for eight verses in Revelation (see 6:1-8), yet their identities and the violence they usher in have captured human imagination ever since. In just the last hundred years, Wikipedia lists close to 150 popular culture references to the Four Horsemen in books, comics, films, music, television, and video games.
This level of cultural familiarity with the horsemen shows just how good John's imagery is. The downside, however, is that we're likely to already hold an opinion about what they represent, even if we're unfamiliar with Revelation 6:1-8.
Considering how popular culture views the Four Horsemen as harbingers of judgement and the destruction of our world, this will make it harder for us to embrace a nonviolent reading of the Lamb's unsealing of the scroll.
