“To God, be the Glory, great things he hath done
So loved, He, the world, that He gave us His Son
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the LIFE-GATE that all may go in…” —Fanny Crosby
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In this video I take my audience through the last 3 of the 7 seals found in the Bible’s book of Revelation, (6:1-17, 8:1-2).
A little background on this episode;
As I was writing the first part of this Episode I was intuitively led to the idea that John the Baptist might be the rider on the first horse, Jesus the rider on the Red Horse and Judas as the black horse. And we already know Death and fan girl, Hades are associated with the Pale (Green) horse…
I believe following the nudge of my intuition led me to a more interesting tradition known as the “Harrowing of Hell.” Which comes mostly from the Gospel of Nicodemus which is an Apocryphal Text (Not classified as a Gnostic text to my understanding). This book tells a story as John the Baptist as Jesus’ forerunner, in Hades—and Abraham is there and Adam! I am going to unpack the ‘Harrowing of Hell' in a future episode.
In this episode, I draw a comparison to the nature of the White Horse as it is described in Revelation to the Biblical archetype, John the Baptist. In this episode I point out the similarities between the white horse and John’s role in Jesus’ ministry. and compare the features and characteristics of the White Horse to John’s ‘role’ in ‘God’s Enterprise.’ Then I do the same analysis of the Black Horse with the Biblical archetype of Judas
And I point out the similarity of the Role of Jesus as he comes to bring ‘a sword and not peace.’ I show how Jesus words were his sword and remind listeners that his parables are designed to ‘cut away,’ the false truth and set the captives free from the limitations of fear—as well as conquering Death and Hades
And I only did this as being led by my imagination, at first. Because anytime there are ‘unspoken’ things in the Bible, I apply my creativity to it sometimes.
And if we can view the first four riders as the 4 phases of Alchemical transformation it really makes sense that John, Jesus and Judas are our riders…
White, Albedo, Calcification, Purifying Fire
Red, Rubedo, Disolution, Embodied Fire
Black, Nigredo, Separation, Refining Fire
Pale (Green), Citrinitas, Conjunction, Revealing Fire
But, this is all a theory that could use a lot more work and development. And it is limited by a mostly Protestant-Christian view of Jesus, as the Messiah. This idea of Jesus as the Messiah becomes more solid, in my opinion when applied to an Alchemical framework.
Anyway, looking back, now. I think that this is a Gnostic framework that can apply to the Ministry of Jesus. On viewing the first 3 horses as these 3 Biblical Archetypes we can see the ‘cosmic confirmation,’ perhaps as Jesus, as the Messiah. This is him as having been announced as ‘coming on the clouds,’ I theorize.
Now I know this is not a ‘Southern Baptist’ perspective. That is why I remind everyone each episode about how this is a ‘Grown Folks Faith’ channel.
Beyond mentioning John, Jesus and Judas as the possible candidates for the riders of the first three apocalyptic horsemen, I finish up an Alchemical analysis of the remaining 3 seals. I liken the 5th seal to the alchemical process of fermentation. The sixth seal reveals distillation and the final, seventh seal represents coagulation.
I am seeking a perspective on the book of Revelation that is different from what we have been taught by the Protestant church. Mostly because the stories in Revelation scared the ‘hell’ out of me. Pun intended! Plus I think that Christians need to stop looking for ‘Jesus’ to save them and start acting like he already has.
