THE VISION OF HIS RELEASE

When Jehovah God proffers the scroll that is in his right hand, to the Lamb that is seated on high, the true picture of the authority apportioned to Christ, is unveiled. Now, as the Lamb breaks open the first of the seven seals on the scroll of God, the first of the four horsemen of the apocalypse is released.

1And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2And 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 (Rev 6:1-2).

Many people have for a long time erroneously assumed that this horseman is Christ. And that is why many are today deceived by the false christianity that the first horseman of the apocalypse who rides the white horse, brings into the earth.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the Light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor 4:4).

When Jesus confided in his disciples on the vestige of the end of the age, it became the greatest prophecy of all time, in the bible. This is because it foretold of the clue that would precede his Coming. And owing to the fact that the one and only reason for which the bible was ever written by the Holy Spirit, was that mankind may finally gain entry into the kingdom of God, then discerning this prophecy becomes critical to the church. The divulgement that christianity means being a follower of Christ, hence can only give a hint that we have no choice but to allow Christ unlock the hidden secrets of the first seal, for todays church to seize. While it is true that Christ Jesus will return to the earth on a white horse, the rider of the apocalyptic white horse is not Christ. Prominence should be given to the attention that while the rider of the white horse holds a bow on his hand, Christ comes with a mighty sword.

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. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF LordS. (Rev 19:11-16).

On the other hand eminence must be given to the fact that, like the other three horse of the apocalypse, the man on the white horse in Rev 6:1-2, bring great suffering upon the church. Hitherto, in Rev 19:11-16 Christ brings abundant peace and joy into the church, after smashing the rebellious ones from the earth. By far, the most intense suffering caused by the four horsemen of the apocalypse, is that arising from the actions of the first horseman on the white horse. To make matters worse this rider of the white horse builds up and concentrates the intensity of his activity right before the second Coming of Christ; a time that is most crucial for the church to get it right. It is truly compelling when one fathoms that the reason the first horseman is first, arises from the fact that he causes the most suffering by far, on the church. As well relayed in the bible, the first horseman of the apocalypse ingresses into the church as a conqueror bent on conquest. To best understand the mission of this first horseman and the gravity of the great devastation he inflicts on the church, it is paramount to first deduce the true meaning of the word conquer. In basic laymans terms, to conquer means to come off with victory and nothing less. To put it in other words, it implies taking control of a place by force of arms or it equally means to win a victory over a people in a war. Therefore, one quickly understands the sadist mission of the first horseman who is mounted on the white horse as being, to forcefully conquer this most crucial dispensation between the first and the second Coming of Christ. The weightiness with which the first horseman launches battle against the christians emanates from the fact that he conquers by deceiving.

THE WHITE HORSE & SPIRITUAL DECEPTION

On the face value, the three other horsemen of the apocalypse would appear to cause more suffering than the first, but that is not the case in reality. Actually, the first horseman precipitates the majority of the gruesome episodes of the latter three horsemen. The catastrophic episodes resulting from the manifestation of the effects of the latter three horsemen, literally occur to mankind because of being deceived. And as a result of that, this first horseman is branded the most deleterious among the four horsemen of the apocalypse. He is most deadly because he leads mankind to eternal death. The most accurate oracle that would describe this first and most deadly horseman of the apocalypse, is that which catalogues him under the brand name spiritual deception. And indeed, he is called religious deception. However, to best understand the schemes and whims with which the man on the white horse achieves his overwhelming conquest over the church, one must examine the vehicle of his conquest. The first horseman thrives on the fact that since the onset of post-modernism and the clamour for globalization, man has increasingly become so casual and shallow, in his religious interests. These twin traits of spiritual casualness and shallowness in mans pursuit of Gods ways have been the greatest undoing of the church. It is this, that the first horseman has capitalized on and exploited to the max, globally. Remember, his mission was to ensure that he conquers and nothing less. Humanity is totally vulnerable because he has no idea of the gravity of suffering that is caused by this white horseman. Accordingly, the majority of people today do not perceive the extent of damage caused by this spiritual deception, not only in their personal lives but also globally in the church as a whole. Discerning the importance of the first horseman and how he impacts the church of Christ today, requires that we examine the interpretation that Jesus himself gave on this horseman. That interpretation is recorded in the book of Matthew;

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ”Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?î (Matt 24:1-3).

The stones that Jesus referred to, that make up the Temple buildings, were as a matter of fact, spiritual stones and not physical. Amazingly, in saying this, Jesus was precisely addressing only his disciples, which was a small group of people. Nowonder, he uses the phrase youí as they privately sought audience with him. Nonetheless, the Lord was referring to the spiritual stones that would make up the current church of Christ.

As you come to him, the living stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5).