Posted on 03/21/2020 5:14:38 PM PDT by Fester Chugabrew
Beware the First Horseman of the Apocalypse!!
Going back to Leviticus 26, there is a Biblical archetype of “the four horsemen of the apocalypse.” It’s a four-fold judgment from God going forth over the world. The archetype “takes on flesh” in Revelation 6 with four literal horsemen. Most understand three out of four horsemen as war, famine, and pestilence.
But there is debate about what the first one is, particularly in Revelation 6. It’s “a white horse.” And “He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”
Who is this first horsemen of the apocalypse? Many think it is Jesus, given the “white horse” and “conquering” aspect. But does this fit the cursed tone of the other horsemen?
I believe Jesus gives us a hint of who the first horsemen is when he references the “four horsemen” archetype Himself: “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”
Before getting to war, pestilence, and famine, Jesus brings up antichrists who deceive many. It wasn’t until I studied Gnosticism (which is the “antichristian” theology) that I understood how antichrists are related to the other three horsemen of the apocalypse.
St. John says an antichrist is anyone who denies that Jesus has come in the flesh. This, of course, is Gnosticism, the great flesh-denying heresy of the early church. But theologically, something subtle is going on with Gnostic theology. At root, Gnosticism is the belief that there’s a fuzzy line where God ends and you begin. With a strong, orthodox Christian teaching, there’s no fuzzy line. God ends where Jesus flesh and blood is, and you begin where your flesh and blood is. The former is related to the latter only by way of gift (grace).
Gnosticism deems materiality, physicality, and the flesh as corrupt delusions. Consequently Christ in the flesh only seems to be human. Actually he’s more like a phantasm, an archetype, or an image of the mind. Here, the line becomes fuzzy where Christ ends and you begin. What aspect of your personal Christ is you projecting your own Self and labeling it “Christ”? Gnosticism would celebrate this dynamic: of course it’s Christ, because “Christ” is a flesh-less archetype available to anyone, therefore you are Christ and can indeed say, “I am Christ.”
Enter the first horseman of the apocalypse and how its related to the others.
When confronted with war, famine, and pestilence, people want a Savior. Of course, there is only one Savior, the flesh and blood Jesus with His flesh and blood Church gathering around His flesh and blood. Here is eternal salvation. But people want more (or less?). They want an earthly salvation. They want the elimination of war, famine, and pestilence. They want a Savior who will make that happen.
So they begin to project that Savior onto earthly institutions like government, or the CDC, or the WHO. Put another way, God leaks out of Christ (the Church) and into the political movements of people promising to end war, famine, and pestilence. A movement of people “working together” brings about the kingdom of God. Who are we waiting for? “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” It’s the projection of “Christ” onto the movements of humanity saving ourselves.
We are flirting dangerously close to this dynamic. In the face of a government declaring businesses and churches closed, we, to quote Nietzsche’s brilliant description of the herd mentality, “blink” and do what we’re told.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not talking about the big “A” Antichrist. Recall, the small “a” antichrist is a curse from God as prevalent as war, famine, and pestilence. They all go hand in hand. As surely as there is war, famine, or pestilence, you will have people ascribing godly powers to a state or movement of peoples to solve those problems. So, the curse of antichrist is always going on. And as St. Paul writes, “For there must also be [heresies] among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
What then? How should Christians respond to the four horsemen? As we see from Leviticus 16 the first time they pop up, through Jesus’ reference to them in the Gospels, and in Revelation, the answer is simple. Repent. Turn to Christ. Turn to the Church.
I’m not liking the direction people are going with Christian love, justifying avoidance of church and cancelling church as something done out of Christian love. Think about it, can you imagine something more deceitful, exactly what Jesus promised? “Out of Christian love we’re going to cancel ‘This do’ and ‘preach the Gospel’ and ‘baptize all nations.’ ” Did Jesus avoid the leper? Did God stay away from a flesh diseased by original sin? Heavens, did Jesus avoid the Cup, diseased with the curse of the world’s sins?
Do we avoid loving God out of a claim to love neighbor? And, when has this not been a motivation for “progressive” theological thinking, regarding abortion, gay marriage, or socialistic redistribution? Antichrist, remember, appears as a lamb, and the first horsemen, recall, is on a white horse.
Beyond all that, what about love for the waitress at Applebee’s? What about love for the person about to retire banking on a strong stock market? What about love for the unemployed, when unemployment is a major reason for suicide?
When a mosquito lands on your chest, you don’t use a gun to kill it, you know what I mean?
We can still show Christian love to those around us, preach the gospel, and make disciples, whether a church building is open Sundays or not.
What do some of these people think Christians do in countries where the church is persecuted?
The church still grows despite not having a building labeled a church to attend once a week.
It might be wise for the church in America to learn how to do Christianity without centering it around a church building.
agree this is complete overkill. I wish Trump would end the charade of government shutdown.
To be sure, the early Church was based on assemlies in a home, but it is just that: an assembly of people, more than one family. All we need look at is Christ and His disciples. They did not shun temple or synagogue.
Thanks.
I don't know. Corona is Spanish for crown and the arrangement of the stars on the Chinese flag does resemble a bow. It doesn't take too much stretching of the imagination to imagine the middle star having somewhat of a human form.
Obviously it's not white but don't some translations use the word pale instead of white? Pale as in death.
Had not thought of it that way. Might be a stretch here and there, but largely comports.
I guess white could symbolize death. When people are scared it might be said of them that they were white as a ghost.
interesting correlation. The pale horse is really green, not white.
Then after Rev 6 it really gets bad.
Christians, the true born agains, are instructed to look for Jesus returning for His own, to take us to The Father’s House. There’s a lot od looking for the antichrist. Personally, I am convinced by The Word of God that the alive born agains and ALL those born agains who have died since that fateful Day of Pentecost preaching by Peter will be snatched away BEFORE the rider on the White Horse can appear. Didn’t the Angel tell Lot that He could do nothing of the judgment upon Sodom until Lot was out of there? Yes he did.
There are four horses. The first is white and fourth is pale.
I think they are historical. The riders are the leaders and the horses are the mass movements they will ride in on, all in the future in John’s lifetime.
Look at it that way and see what you think.
I would say we have seen white and red but have not yet seen black and pale.
Actually Chapter 8 is when it gets real bad.
Chapter 7 is full of hope for the believer.
The judgement of God fairly well falls like a razor sharp sword between those who fear God and those who flip the bird. The former include many who, by our judgement, cast God off, and the latter those who, by all appearances, pray for DJT.
The Preterist assertion is not correct.
LOL! GMTA! About 2 minutes apart.
This is not preterist. In John’s lifetime the first horseman was still 1500 years away. The second still continues. The third and fourth are still to come.
Do you think the pestilences and locusts and earthquakes and wars are preterist because they’re happening now? There’s more of all of them to come.
Preterist means you think the destruction of Damascus has already occurred, when it is the oldest continually inhabited city on earth.
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