The First Horseman is firing arrows of deceit, causing confusion, delusion, and division among the nations to conquer them – who is next?
READ TIME: 5-6 Minutes
The Mission of the Horsemen
The first horseman rides to conquer kingdoms in preparation for the one true King to return and rule the earth. Before the new can come, the old must be torn down. The four horsemen are catalysts that disrupt the status quo to appease God’s wrath and ultimately usher in peace.
But before peace comes, the fullness of wickedness must peak on the earth to justify the wrath required to usher in a new age. God is just. He allows wickedness to grow so He can adequately deal with it once and for all. This concept is what Daniel 9:24 means by “bring sin to completion.”*
We saw this when God promised Abram the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates. God knew the wickedness among the land’s existing occupants would rise to intolerable levels. But in His just nature, He would wait for the evil to reach that level to justify ordering the deaths of every inhabitant (Genesis 15:12-21). Abram’s descendants would need to wait 400 years, but this was necessary to satisfy God’s laws of justice.
In an increasingly evil world, the horsemen will remove the impediments to the rise of wickedness over the earth so that, like the Amorites of Abram’s day, our sins may reach their limit. Free countries like the United States, which have embraced ungodly ways, must fall to allow Satan’s kingdom to reign.
(* Per the New English Translation notes: The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lekhalleʾ) is apparently an alternative spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kalaʾ, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.)
Governments Will be Conquered
We know that for the events of Revelation to occur, a major power shift must transpire. The Antichrist’s ability to assume control will be limited if western powers, such as the U.S., remain in the position they have historically taken. Could Israel be invaded if the U.S. is in its current state of strength and dedication to Israel? Not likely.
In my last post, I explained how the horseman on the white horse was tied to the conquering of Babylon, as evidenced in Zechariah 6. When I consider the story of Belshazzar, I see several key points that may form a pattern for how the first horseman conquers.
- Falling status/rising enemies – In Belshazzar’s day, Babylon’s power was waning while Media/Persia was rising.
- Weakened authority – Belshazzar was not the king, but assumed authority in the king’s absence (this is why Belshazzar made Daniel third).
- Influence of others – At his feast, Belshazzar surrounded himself by a thousand nobles. His actions were largely inspired by his desire to impress these people of influence.
- Rebellion against God’s Authority – In his hubris, Belshazzar made a move to descectrate things of God’s, thus exalting himself above God.
Similar to Belshazzar, we see how God sent a deceiving spirit to King Ahab to bring about his destruction. This spirit became a deceiving spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets. Though God’s true prophet, Micaiah, revealed this to Ahab, the King chose the words He wanted to hear, and he met his destruction on the battlefield.
I find it both intriguing and concerning that some of these same circumstances appear in our world today. Could the first horseman have his sights on the U.S.?
The First Horseman Rides in the United States
To answer this question, let’s look at the U.S. today compared to the Biblical account of Belshazzar and Babylon.
Falling status/Rising Enemies
As Babylon’s power waned, the Median/Persian Empire grew in strength. Today, the U.S. is perceived to be weaker than in the past. The disaster in Afghanistan communicated to the world that the U.S. was a falling power. Its military entered the Middle East in “shock and awe,” but it exited in a panicked withdrawal. At the same time, the military leadership under Biden seems to place woke ideals like transgenderism over military preparedness.
Meanwhile, Russia and China are rising, growing in military preparedness and boldness. With Russia invading Ukraine and China threatening to invade Taiwan, the U.S.’s strength and resolve are being tested.
Russia has been touting new weapons such as hypersonic cruise missiles, advanced submarines, and missile systems that masquerade as shipping containers. We would be foolish to believe that there aren’t submarines with nuclear capabilities off our coasts today. And counterstrikes would be far less effective today with S-500 missile defense systems guarding Russia.
Could the U.S. defend against a combination of cyberattacks that take our critical infrastructure, EMPs, and hypersonic cruise missiles sent from close range?
Weakened Authority
The media successfully squashed any claims of voter fraud in the last election. Even conservative outlets like Fox News quickly started adding the word “false” to every mention of voter fraud. Because of the strong divisions in this country, I believe there was more fear around the implications of a prolonged contested election than a desire to report the facts.
In doing so, they ignored what appeared to be highly improbable statistical irregularities in the votes and evidence of tabulation machine tampering.
Though any allegations were quickly classified as conspiracy theories, many Americans believe that Biden did not win the Presidency. While I don’t have enough facts to take a firm position one way or the other, there is a possibility that he did not legitimately obtain the votes to win the election.
If this is the case, then Biden is more like Belshazzar, a custodian of authority, rather than the true ruler.
Again, I’m not stating this as fact, but I find it intriguing when considering the first horseman’s history in conquering an empire by targeting a leader with borrowed authority.
Influence of the Elites
If Belshazzar had been in a room alone, he arguably would not have desecrated the temple’s vessels. But he invited 1,000 nobles, likely to seek influence and support from the ruling class. In trying to impress the nobles, he committed the act that justified God’s order to conquer Babylon.
In Biden’s case, he was known in his previous political posts to be a moderate democrat. But to gain power and support in his party, he adopted the far-left positions of the many billionaire tech moguls and Hollywood elitists.
With Biden, it is hard to tell who is really in charge. In many media events, he has stated that “they” want him to do this or not do that, and he complies. He has also referred to Vice President Harris as the President several times. All the while, his staff have limited his opportunities to speak off-script because of his apparent diminished cognitive abilities.
It appears to me that, like Belshazzar, Biden is heavily influenced by the elites of the day.
Rebellion against God’s Authority
Amid his nobles, Belshazzar exalted himself above God, using what God considered holy for his own gain.
We see this also with Biden. Several of Biden’s liberal positions directly oppose God’s law, such as expanded abortion and transgenderism. And in pursuing his agenda, Biden has placed his woke initiatives above religious liberty. In doing so, he has rebelled against God, putting His own status above God’s will.
Take, for instance, the 2020 International Religious Freedom Report. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken highlighted the importance of religious freedom but added that it is not above other human rights. He also equated religious freedom to the freedom to “believe and worship freely.” The freedom to worship is a diminished version of freedom of religion. Freedom to believe and worship does not protect someone from standing against laws that stand in opposition to religious laws.
These human rights Blinken mentioned include expanded LGBTQ rights, which were the topic of two executive orders granting Title VII and Title IX protections. In Biden’s comments to these orders, he described God’s created genders as “stereotypes”.
Regarding abortion, Biden issued an executive order to reinstate a policy for the U.S. to fund abortions globally. His administration also issued a statement strongly supporting abortion rights in the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021.
Does God not consider created gender and life holy? Like Belshazzar “s desecration of the temple vessels, these policies are abominations and stand in direct rebellion to the sanctity of God’s creation.
So with these similarities, I wonder, is the handwriting on the wall for the U.S.?
How the First Horseman is Conquering in America
It is important to recognize that the first horseman conquers with a bow and not a sword. An archer fires arrows from a distance to weaken and thin out the opposition. If you ever watch a movie where armies battle, you will see that the archers direct the first strike. As arrows reign down, they punch holes in the opposing army’s ranks and cause confusion and division. This barrage opens the way for soldiers with swords to penetrate the ranks and slay the enemy soldiers.
Like an army, the horsemen work together as seen in Zechariah’s visions. And like an archer, the first horsemen fires arrows of deceit, causing confusion.
Do we not see this today?
Look around, we live in a society that calls good bad and bad good. We embrace lawlessness and defund the police as a solution. There is a historic shortage of workers, yet we pay people to remain at home. We live in the prosperity of capitalism yet seek the poverty of socialism. We’re so confused that we don’t even know male from female!
I believe Paul may have been indirectly referencing the influence of the first horseman when he wrote, “For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness. “
This delusion will appear as confusion to those who know the truth. Confusion in turn leads to division and is often a precursor to conquering. This concept is standard warfare – you surely know the saying, “divide and conquer.” We can see examples of this in Deuteronomy, Judges, and Samuel I.
What Does This Mean for America and the World?
I don’t mean to be America-centric on this topic. The first horseman rides across the world and we see these same issues in free countries throughout the world.
All of these countries are being opened up to be conquered. The world is being prepared for wickedness to reign, for the sin of the nations to be complete, and for martyrs to reach their limit.
Then, the redemption of the world will come.
We are entering a historic time, the end of a 2,000 year age. In 2025 we will begin the last 50 years (a jubilee) of the end of the Messianic/Church Age. Jesus began his ministry, endured death on the cross, and rose from the grave within the first seven years of the last jubilee of the prior age. Biblically, this is a significant time we are entering. And even secular scholars have highlighted this time as significant.
In the book, The Fourth Turning, the writers uncovered a centuries-old cycle of crises that occur at each turn of a generation. The last crisis was WWII, and the next is expected to occur before 2025. Author Tom Horn has also highlighted 2025 as a significant point in history in his new book, Zeitgeist 2025.
With America’s world dominance waning and dangerous countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea becoming bolder, we may be entering that crisis.
Has the rider on the red horse taken peace from the earth? I will explore that question in the next post.
Related Posts:
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Insights You Have Never Heard
The First Horseman of the Apocalypse: Past Victories Tell of What’s to Come
Dead Sea Scrolls Research Frames Timing of Jesus’ Return