Sanctification Begins

Before we launch headlong into our analysis of the Four Horsemen, a quick review of our ‘Tree of Life’ is required. You may recall from several earlier posts that each of the seven Festivals of the Lord carry with them a particular theme. These ranged from the ‘redemption’ theme of Passover to the ’God with us’ theme of Tabernacles, and all told, these seven Festivals were prophetic precursors to the plan of salvation that the Lord would use to draw us back into a marriage relationship.

You may also recall that these themes would play a large role in the chain of events contained in the Revelation. So at this point we can note that the basic theme of ‘redemption’ represented by the Seven Letters to the Churches will now give way to the ‘sanctification’ process represented by the Seven Seals. Sanctification is the ‘setting apart’ of something for the Lord’s use, and it is the Seven Seals that will now begin to separate those “of the light” from those “of the earth”. In the end times, God will use the Four Horsemen to accomplish this task.


Spirits and Horses

Many readers of the Revelation wonder why the symbolism of a horse is used for these particular judgments, and the answer is not clear until you consider the symbolism found in other ancient writings such as the book of Enoch. The biblical evidence suggests that Jesus and the disciples were quite familiar with the writings of Enoch since they taught from it and quoted it, even calling Enoch a "prophet". And there in the ‘Parable of the Animals’ that described our prophetic future, certain angels were described as “great stars whose form partly resembles that of horses”.

We’ve previously made the textual case that stars often represent angels in the Bible, and we can easily equate these "great stars" or "horses" to great angels when we consider that each of the Four Horsemen ride out FROM heaven. So far, so good.

But we also have to acknowledge their individual riders, because while these horses will bear the load during these approaching evil days, the riders on their backs will be holding the reigns and directing the agenda. It is a simple parable of rank, with the riders representing the angelic leaders of this band of great angels.

If you wonder why horses are used to symbolize these great angels, just consider the nature of a horse. They are powerful and prideful animals, and we are no match for them physically. If left to their own devices, they simply run wild and procreate as they see fit. The only way to harness their power is to place a bit in their mouths and reigns around their heads so they can be directed where to go. But even then, the horse will buck it’s rider unless it is broken. Only then will it accept the direction of it’s master.

When we compare this nature to that of these great angels, we note that they are also powerful and prideful, just as Satan was prideful due to his splendor. And we are no match for them physically, just as we were no match for the horse. And when left to their own devices in the days of Jared, some of these great angels ran wild and procreated as they saw fit with ‘the daughters of men’, spawning the Nephilim that terrorized the earth. So the only way to harness these angels was for God to break them and put a bit in their mouths, and reigns on their heads. So in the end times, these horses and riders will ride out in obeyance of God and his agenda, whether they like it or not.


The First Seal Penalty - Spiritual Deception

As the first seal penalty is ‘spoken forth’ by Jesus as he reads from the ketubah, it’s no coincidence that the penalty is that of spiritual deception. If we look back to the seven signatories to the contract, Adam was the first of the seven, and he knew of spiritual deception first hand from his experience in the Garden. So since God is a God of patterns and types, he now applies the nature of that first sin to the nature of the first penalty;

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. (Revelation 6:1-2)

There is so much to say about this spirit rider that it’s difficult to know where to begin. But since we’ve been talking about the divine ketubah, let’s start by mentioning that Israel rejected their true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, portrayed as the true rider on the white horse in Revelation 19:11. So now, their penalty will be to endure a different messiah on a white horse. But in contrast to Jesus as the “good shepherd”, this one will be the “foolish” and “worthless” shepherd of Zechariah 11;

Then the LORD said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hoofs." (Zechariah 11:15-16)

This rider is called by many names in the pages of the Bible, including “the antichrist” and “the beast”, but the bottom line is that he will represent a counterfeit gentile messiah. And his goal will be to deceive the world into believing that HE is the true Son of God. It has always been Satan’s desire to be like God and to be worshipped by mankind, and so he will orchestrate his own trinity of sorts in order to counterfeit the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This first rider becomes the ‘son’ of this counterfeit trinity, which will become more apparent as we proceed through subsequent chapters.


The Mahdi - 12th Imam

Many commentators speculate about who this future antichrist will be, and the opinions typically range from a gentile Christian to an atheist to a Jewish Rabbi. But I believe that this false messiah will come from Islam instead. In fact, Islamic scholars are generally in agreement that their ’Mahdi’ or messiah figure can be found in the book of Revelation in this very passage; 

“I find the Mahdi recorded in the books of the Prophets…..For instance, the Book of Revelation says: ‘And I saw and behold a white horse. He that sat on him….went for conquering and to conquer’.” (Izzat and Arif)

Within this statement is the admission that the Muslim messiah is the Christian antichrist, and very compelling biblical arguments can be made to support this notion. Most Christians are not aware that Islam also has a highly developed eschatology, but that it's in polar opposition to the writings of the Jewish prophets. In virtually every instance Islamic prophecies run directly counter to Biblical prophecies, which makes our Messiah their antichrist, and our Antichrist their messiah. So where does that leave us with regard to this rider on the “white horse”?  Let’s examine that for a moment.

As Christians, we understand that the coming antichrist (“instead of” Christ) will usher in a time of wars and revolution that will be unprecedented in world history. It is stated as such in the book of Daniel and in the Revelation, however it is also alluded to in the writings of most of the major and minor prophets. The primary goal of this antichrist will be the establishment of a one world order with him as the ruler, so that the world can be directed to worship a “god of fortresses” (Daniel 11:38) instead of Yahweh. And the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel make it quite clear that those who oppose this antichrist figure will be killed for their trouble.

So I ask the reader, ‘what religion on earth claims to have such a messiah figure in waiting?’ Yes, it would be Islam, and only Islam. Once again referring to the writings of their own scholars, consider how these biblical requirements are fulfilled by their Muslim Mahdi;

“The Mahdi will establish right and justice in the world and eliminate evil and corruption. He will fight against the enemies of the Muslims who would be victorious. He will reappear on the appointed day, and then he will fight against the forces of evil, lead a world revolution and set up a new world order based on justice, righteousness and virtue….ultimately the righteous will take the world administration in their hands and Islam will be victorious over all the religions.”  (Izzat and Arif)

In short, the Muslim messiah is the Christian antichrist, and the scriptural proofs for this are numerous. But if you wish to pursue this in depth, I would highly suggest Joel Richardson’s recent book “Islamic Antichrist.” Joel lived in the Mideast for many years, and has written extensively and persuasively about the ways in which Islamic eschatology provides the perfect fulfillment for the prophecies of the Bible. In fact, it’s my position that the book of Revelation cannot be understood or put in proper perspective unless you understand this Islamic component.


“He was given a crown”

This antichrist figure will be given a crown by God, albeit for a short time, in order to fulfill the first seal penalty. The various Hebrew words normally associated with a crown would be zer, netzer, qodqod, atarah, and kether. But the word for ‘crown’ that is used in the B’rit Chadashah is ‘atarah’, which means “crown” or “wreath”. Typically it refers to either a royal crown worn by kings, or a prayer shawl collar worn around the head without the prayer shawl itself. But it can also refer to any implement worn around the head that would provide dignity to the individual.

So why is this word important to our understanding? Well, if Satan indeed intends to use Islam to rise to power in the world - and I personally believe he will - then this atarah that the first seal rider wears around his head could provide some additional perspective about his identity. So, what religion has a future rider that will only be interested in his own glory, and what religion uses an atarah to bestow dignity to the wearer? I think the answer is clearly Islam, where skull caps, fez, turbans, and kufiya are regularly worn to bestow dignity on the wearer.

However, there is another application to the atarah that may be even more appropriate. Islamic militants in both Hamas and Hizbollah wear bandanas around their heads that declare their allegiance to Allah, as shown on the adjacent illustrations. This bandana or atarah is what marks them, and this symbolism will play a role a little later in this series, in a way that you may not expect. 


“A Conqueror”

While a small minority of commentators try to make a case that this rider is actually an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Hebrew word for conqueror in this instance is ’gabar’, which means “to be strong, to prevail, to be proud and insolent with respect to one’s own identity and agenda.” Of course, pride and insolence are not qualities possessed by the Lord. But consider how well this description fits the antichrist, as described in Daniel’s ’Kings of the South and the North’;

“The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.” (Daniel 11:36-37)


“Bent on Conquest”

From time to time as I research these passages, I choose to examine the pictographic form of a particular Hebrew word to see if it sheds any light on the word’s true meaning. In this instance I wanted to see if the Hebrew word for “bent on conquest” (‘bigevratoh’) would support my belief that the antichrist will ride to power as the Islamic Mahdi or 12th Imam. When I put the pictographs together…..I was stunned.

In the Hebrew New Testament, known as the B’rit Chadashah, the word ‘bigevratoh’ is spelled in the following manner, reading from right to left;




Of course, that's the modern Hebrew form of the word, using Aramaic Square Script letters. But the original paleo-Hebrew was written in pictographic form, and the corresponding paleo letters for the word ‘bigevratoh’ would look like this, reading from right to left;




Normally in these pictographic studies we outline the entire thought process behind the interpretation, but in this instance we'll just give the summation. When we examine this word in the context of a potential Islamic antichrist and apply the potential meanings available for each individual letter, the outcome lines up as 'house-trample-house-man-cross-nail'. Therefore, the pictographs describe the following conquest;

“The House that tramples the House of men of the cross and the nail”

There is only one religion on earth that has trampling as part of their agenda for the last days. Sharia law today will generally allow a Christian or Jew to live in a Muslim society as a kafir (second class citizen) as long as they pay a jizya tax that is applied only to non-Muslims. But this accomodation will change when their messiah or 'Mahdi' finally appears. Once that happens, Muslims world-wide will be obligated by Islam to gather and trample all Jews and Christians that will not denounce their belief that Jesus Christ as the messiah;

“The Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and Christians;  if they accept it they will be spared, otherwise they will be killed.”  (Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini)

This notion of the antichrist trampling Christians and Jews is specifically cited in Daniel 7:7 and also in Revelation 11:2;

"I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months." (Revelation 11:1-2)

The trampling of Jews and Christians will become standard operating procedure for this rider on the white horse in the last days, and when we get to chapter 13 in this series we’ll focus more intently on Islamic eschatology and how it fulfills the eschatology of the Bible. But in this post we need to get back to the 'archer' on the white horse.


“It’s Rider Held A Bow”

There are no idle words in the Bible, and the fact that this rider is an 'archer' holds a specific meaning in Hebrew thought. In our summer sessions last year we learned how the words 'Moreh' and 'Torah' both came from the same root words 'yar' and 'yarah', which means "to throw". Moreh simply means 'teacher' because he is "one who throws the finger", or points out to students what it is that they need to learn. On the other hand, 'Torah' means "the way the teacher is pointing", or in other words, it's what the student needs to learn.

When we extend this thought to an archer, we note that the term 'moreh' can also mean 'archer', and the word 'Torah' can also mean the 'arrow' that the archer is shooting. In the context of the Bible, this mini-parable simply means that the Torah is the arrow that 'hits the mark' in identify Yahweh as God.

With this in mind, let's now employ the Hebrew language to learn a little something about this archer on the white horse. In the Hebrew New Testament his bow is called a ‘keshet’, which has a very interesting connotation according to the authors of the Lost in Translation series;

“We believe that this horse rider is a deceiver (or “deception”) - someone who wants to make us believe that he’s the Messiah. Indeed, the Hebrew word for ‘bow’, keshet, can also mean ‘deceptive archer’, one who has a deceitful intention for the arrow’s flight.  In fact, we should keep in mind that one of the meanings of the Hebrew word Torah is to “hit the mark”. This particular archer is not trying to hit the mark (Torah) at all; he’s trying to mislead people instead. His real aim is to hit something else entirely.” (Lost in Translation, Volume 2, Page 149)

According to Islamic eschatology, the mark that he will hit has already been identified, and it is a different Torah that this rider will use to convince "those who live on the earth” that the Hebrew Torah of today is a counterfeit;

"Ad-Danisaid that he is called the Mahdi because he will be guided to a mountain in Syria from which he will bring forth the volumes of the Torah with which to argue against the Jews and at his hands a group of them will become Muslim."  (Izzat and Arif)

Despite the fact that the Dead Sea Scrolls provided plenty of evidence that the Hebrew texts have been preserved virtually letter for letter for thousands of years, Muslim scholars still claim that Israel corrupted the Torah in order to supplant Ishmael with Isaac as the rightful heir to God's promises. So in the last days Islam will seek to 'turn the tables' by producing a new and different Torah whose aim will be to corrupt the world into believing just the opposite.

There are several passages in Daniel and in the Revelation that confirm this scenario, but for now I want to stay on this word ‘keshet’, because the pictographs reveal precisely what the ‘Lost in Translation’ comment advocates.  Consider the modern Hebrew spelling for the word keshet, which would look like this;
 



But in its paleo-Hebrew pictographic form, the individual letters would look like this;





In the context in which this word is used, we can easily choose the most appropriate meanings for each individual letter. Once again reading from right to left, they would line up as 'encircle-consume-cross'. When we consider the role that this archer is playing in this end times drama, we can clearly see what his bow represents;

“Encircling and Consuming the Cross”

This bow will be used to persecute those who believe in Jesus Christ. In other words, the false Torah that his arrow will hit will be used to implicate and condemn all Christians who know that Jesus Christ is the true Messiah.

Can the Hebrew meanings be any more explicit than this? Can we continue to deny that it is Islam that will spawn the antichrist of the last days? Christianity must re-examine it’s beliefs and forego this notion that Europe and a revived Roman Empire will produce the biblical antichrist. They will not. We continue to look to the West for this man of perdition, but he is coming from the East, and the way things are going today, we won't see him until it's too late.


No Arrows?

One last thing. Quite often a commentary will point out that this rider holds a bow but no arrows, therefore the idea has become that he will threaten war, but never implement it. Naturally then, the conclusion drawn is that this antichrist will usher in a time of peace through this show of strength.  But this is far from the truth.

If we simply read the surface text, it clearly states that this rider will ride out as “a conqueror bent on conquest.” Conquest requires war, and the wars and revolutions that he will initiate are described in Daniel 11 and 12 in great detail, and also referred to in the synoptic gospels. There will be no peace, false or otherwise, because this rider will be a warmonger from the beginning. He will indeed have arrows in his quiver, and he will use them. Why would we assume otherwise.  If we were shown a picture of a soldier with a gun, would we not assume he had bullets in the gun? 


NEXT WEEK:

Next week we’ll review the second seal rider on the ‘red horse’ of Esau.