Author's note: Article written for Daily Renegade.com
This is the first of several studies that will present different ways to look at familiar scriptures, scriptures we think we know but may have deeper or even a completely different meaning than we’ve been taught. These studies aren’t meant to be considered dogma; they are meant to provoke discussion and personal study, They will never, in any way, present a different gospel.
Let us begin with two verses of scripture, one you are likely familiar with; and one, at least as we will interpret it, may be less familiar.
The first,
“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” Proverbs 25:2, ESV
and the second is,
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying; My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”
Isaiah 46:9-10 KJV
The first scripture from Proverbs should encourage us all to dig deep into the Word of God. There are treasures that it has pleased God to hide in His Word. If you look at the meaning of the word ‘glory’ from this verse in the Hebrew, it can mean splendour, dignity, reputation, and of course, glory. In other words, seeking the glory of God in His Word may increase your reputation, dignity and even splendour in the Kingdom. With this in mind, let us look at the second verse like treasure hunters.
The verse from Isaiah encourages us to look at the former things of old, the Torah, because God (the creator God, whom there is none other) has declared the end of things from the beginning of things. The thing that God has concealed in this verse is that, not only is the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) full of types and shadows of things to come, it can actually be read as prophecy.
Those of us who have had a church background, have been told that everything in the Bible points to Jesus, from Passover, to David, to the Shepherd in the Psalms, and this is very true. But, God is so awesome that he layers actual prophecy in all of His Word. It is our glory to dig it out.
Scholars acknowledge that the book of Revelation is full of imagery from the prophets Daniel and Zechariah. This is factual. But, with our new understanding that the end was revealed in the beginning, can we find the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse somewhere before they are found in Zechariah? The answer is yes. They can be found in Deuteronomy but, what most of us have been taught about them, particularly the White Rider may not be quite right.
Let us first look at who the mainstream scholars say he is.
“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Revelation 6:2
Many say the rider is Jesus Himself. After all, Jesus is named as the rider on the white horse in Revelation 19:11-12.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written that no man knew, but he himself.”
Those that don’t ascribe to this view point out that Jesus, as He appears in Revelation 19, has many crowns. Also, the crowns of Jesus are diadems, which are kingly ornaments; whereas the rider from Revelation 6:2 has a crown like a wreath of laurel given as a prize.
The rider in Revelation 6 had a bow but the rider in Revelation 19 has a sharp sword coming out of his mouth,
“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations;” Revelation 19:15 KJV
We know from other scriptures that this sword is the Word of God,
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
But what about the bow, especially given that no arrows are mentioned? We will get there.
So, if the rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 isn’t Jesus, who is it? Most scholars say that the rider is the Antichrist, or Beast as he is known throughout the book of Revelation from chapter 13, verse 1 on.
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”
It is thought that this rider, because he comes conquering and to conquer and is riding on a white horse, white representing righteousness in several passages of Revelation, is a false Jesus, thus the Antichrist. It should be noted that this is the only rider that most scholars personify, or make an actual person.
Let’s forget for a moment, what others have told us about these horsemen and use scripture to interpret scripture. Let’s become treasure hunters.
Deuteronomy 32 contains “The Song of Moses.” The song is given by God to Moses just before his death, just before the Israelites go into the Promised Land, just as their wanderings are coming to an end. It is a prophecy of, and a witness against rebellion. It is a treasure trove that is absolutely chock full of gems.
As we read the Song of Moses, we find that God provided every need for Israel, called Jeshurun in this passage, but when he became fat on God’s provision, he rebelled (vs. 13-15). This provokes The Rock of his salvation and brings judgment.
Just a side note, this is the first place that God is directly referred to as the Rock. Of course, we have seen water from the rock in the wilderness and such; but, God taking the name, Rock, this is it. This is how Daniel knows how to interpret the rock that fills the earth in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2).
What are the judgments that are brought on by the rebellion of Jeshurun (which means Upright One)? The first judgment is that God hides His face from them (vs 20).
The second judgment is that, because they have provoked Him to jealousy with idols and false gods, He will provoke them to jealousy with a people that isn’t a people (vs 21). That’s us, Folks, the Christians.
Now we are getting into what happens in the book of Revelation. Deuteronomy 32:23-25 says,
“I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.”
A closer look reveals that these verses contain all four of the horsemen listed in Revelation 6. If you are unfamiliar with these horses, they are white, red, black and sickly pale or green. They are commonly interpreted as the Antichrist, War, Famine and Death by pestilence and beasts, respectively. So, it appears from these verses that the mainstream interpretation is correct, except for the white horse.
Notice again that the rider on the white horse comes conquering and to conquer but has no arrows for his bow. God’s judgment from the Song of Moses includes God spending His arrows. This means that the white rider likely isn’t the Beast, more commonly known as the Antichrist, but a judgement from God just like the other horsemen, and God provides him with arrows as he rides.
Can we verify this interpretation from somewhere else in the Bible? We can. In the first chapter of Zechariah, the prophet sees horses and riders, one of which was white, and asks,
“O my lord, what are these? ...And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth,” (vs. 9 and 10).
So, the Bible says that the riders are spirits from God walking to and fro through the earth.
We see then that the horsemen are judgments from God. Can we find these particular judgments anywhere else? You have probably guessed that the answer is, yes. We can find these particular judgements in the book of Ezekiel chapter 14. The passage is linked so that you can read it for yourself but a summary is offered here.
The chapter begins with certain elders of Israel coming to Ezekiel. God gives Ezekiel insight into their hearts. These elders have come apparently to seek an oracle but they are actually tainted by Babylonian idolatry and really don’t want the truth of God. God tells Ezekiel that He will first turn His face away from them (remember Deuteronomy). Then God says he will answer them with false prophets and will then punish the prophet as well as the seeker. The punishments named are; breaking the staff of bread or famine, noisome or dangerous beasts, a sword or war, and pestilence.
John the Revelator gives us clarity on the prophecies in Deuteronomy, Zechariah, and Ezekiel. But, it was Jesus who ordered the events and actually set up the Horsemen for John.
Matthew 24:4-7:
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (white horse).
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (red horse):
“and there shall be famines (black horse),
“and pestilences (pale horse), and earthquakes in divers places.”
The white horse and rider are deception and Christian heresy, the main one being the prosperity gospel, “Jesus died so that you can be rich,” for example. Another would be the ‘hyper-grace’ that says you can live in sin and it doesn’t matter. The rider on the white horse doesn’t claim to be Christ. Christians wouldn’t fall for that. The rider on the white horse comes in the name of Christ and declares that Jesus is the Christ. Read the passage again. The words of Jesus could easily have been, “Many false teachers will come in My name making a declaration of Me.”
Consider the letters to the churches in Revelation 2. The heresy of the Nicolaitans are mentioned in two of the churches. It isn’t so much about what that heresy is, it is about the fact that while it was hated by the church at Ephesus, it was held as doctrine in the church at Pergamos. This church was addressed by Jesus and still had a candlestick, but was in grave danger of believing a lie and losing it. There is another notable fact about the church at Pergamos; it is where the seat of Satan is.
The Bible never refers to the Beast of Revelation as the Antichrist. Antichrist is always a spirit that manifests in anyone who opposes Christ. Here are the only four references to antichrist in the Bible. Notice that the Bible capitalizes none of these references.
“Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time.”1 John 2:18
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:22
“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye hae heard that is should come; and even now already is it in the world.” 1 John 4:3
“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”2 John 1:7
So, with that in mind, the rider on the white horse is indeed the antichrist; but it is the antichrist spirit, the spirit of deception. It is not the Beast that rises from the sea, requires worship, institutes the mark and so on.
Beware of Christian heresy.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 2:1 (remember Ezekiel 14?)
There are many mainstream preachers today,
One might even say, “Run!”
If you would like to know how to become a Christian, there is a short video called, “What Must I do to be Saved,” or read the blog post, “The Gospel.” If you have any questions or need prayer, please email areasoningtogether@gmail.com . If you would like further Bible study, please visit the blog, A Reasoning Together.
Note: All scriptures are from the King James Version unless otherwise indicated and taken from the website, Bible Hub. Many translations and study tools can be found there.
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