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?
I would take issue with using only a backed out farscape long count perspective and not allowing for a more precise one to fit into the seven years of Daniel's seventieth week. In any event, I believe the Word of God clearly shows the born agains are snatched away before the man of sin / lawlessness can even be revealed.
Everyone in Dallas knows the fourth horseman was Don Meredith.
I think John’s revelations occurred at various times and may not be in any kind of chronological order, except for the chapters to the churches coming first. He didn’t understand them totally at the time, so he couldn’t put them in strict order? I believe I did read this at one time, although I am far from a biblical scholar.
Yellow is pale.
Agreed.
I am not convinced that one judgment has to “end” before the next one starts.
I don’t believe we are currently in the Biblical apocalypse. However it good to be prepared for it.
If the death toll of this event gets to 2.5 bill (aprox. one third of the world population) I will start to look for Horses, Bowls, and Trumpets.
Try listening to a couple of Born Again Christian Scholars. I can recommend Chuck Missler, Andy Woods, and the DTBM videos at Youtube, for starters. Then try reading a few essays at the Pre-Trib website: http://www.pre-trib.org/
The Word of God tells us to watch for the arrival in the first Heaven (the atmosphere and space around Earth) of our Redemption One, Jesus. Those looking for / watching for the arrival of the white horse devil are on the wrong observatory.
We are definitely in the Apocalypse. Don’t forget that it covers quite a span of years, a short time in the history of humanity but difficult for us to see with our 70+ life span.
The plagues will get closer together and become more and more intense before most people start to get the picture.
Nonsense! The apocalypse is a specific seven year span. You don’t know what you’re talking about. The apocalypse is the seven years of ‘Jacobs trouble’. You are babbling bullfeathers
No my dear. That is the Tribulation. Anyway let’s not argue about it. It’s so declasse.
Ah, so you want to silence someone who would point out that you are asserting from a source other than The Word of God. Got it.
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