The sixth chapter of Book of Revelation describes four metaphorical horsemen that will appear as the end of the world approaches. These horsemen represent the various calamites that could overtake a sinful people.
1. Conquest and Deception, the Anti-Christ (White Horse)
It’s interesting that the horseman of conquest precedes the horseman of war. This is because people who start wars have to first be manipulated into supporting an authoritarian demagogue as their leader. A country must be conquered from within before it is ready to attack another.
Once der Fuhrer has the unquestioned support of the people, he can easily turn them toward violence.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
– Voltaire
Authoritarian demagogues come to power through lies and deception. The Book of Mormon is filled with examples (and warnings) of dangerous people who use “flattering words” to achieve “power and gain.” These people are said to be easily identified by how they mistreat the poor, the sick, the elderly, and children.
Yet, many people easily become blinded by lies, and the sophisticated manipulation of their emotions, and soon become deniers of the truth and defenders of evil. The current Republican regime, which controls all three branches of our federal government and holds the same trifecta in 23 states, is a clear example of a country being conquered by lies and deception.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
The Bible speaks of a dangerous evil demagogue in the last days who would be “anti-Christ.” Our current Con-Mander-In-Chief meets all the criteria for this designation.
2. War and Bloodshed (Red Horse)
Once a country’s government has been conquered, its people either blinded or corrupted, and its institutional guardrails have been taken down, it is ready to attack others. However, the bloodshed will often begin inside the failing country’s borders as the new authoritarian government works to consolidate its power and eliminate internal opponents and rivals.
An authoritarian demagogue will corrupt his country’s legal system to benefit himself. His allies are freed from jails and allowed to create chaos while his perceived “enemies” are harassed, threatened, investigated, and potentially locked up.
I got a pardon baby! … Now I am gonna by some motha f***in guns! I love this country!
-Jacob Chansley (the so-called “QAnon Shaman”)
Authoritarian demagogues also unleash police and/or paramilitary forces to harass, arrest, lockup, and/or deport racial and religious minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and immigrants. These groups are scapegoated as the cause of any and every thing that might be wrong in the country.
Authoritarian demagogues often wish to dominate, and even conquer, other countries. Genghis Don has mentioned several times his interest in annexing Greenland and Canada, and he practically declared war on Panama in his Inaugural address!!
3. Famine (Black Horse)
The citrus harvest in Kern County, California was interrupted a few weeks ago (yes, in January) by an immigration enforcement operation by the US Border Patrol. Fortunately, this time, the operation only lasted for 3 days. But some growers reported that a large majority of their workers simply did not show up for work.
If Greedy McGolfy’s deportation program continues through the summer and fall, agricultural products that cannot be harvested will rot in the fields. The loss of supply will first lead to higher prices and then to widespread shortages.
Normally if there is a crop failure in the United States, we would turn to our trading partners to help make up for the shortage. Unfortunately our Presidementia is planning to impose 25% tariffs on both Mexico and Canada as soon as February.
About 60% of our fresh fruit and 40% of our fresh vegetables are imported. In 2023, 63 percent of US vegetable imports and 47 percent of US fruit and nut imports came from Mexico. Canada is also a large supplier of agricultural products to the US.
If we increasingly have fewer workers to grow and harvest our own crops, and we insult and alienate our nearest neighbors by setting up trade barriers, what happens to our food supply?
4. Pestilence and Death (Pale Horse)
MAGA Republicans have long opposed the US health care system. During the Covid epidemic (which killed more than 1.2 million Americans) they loudly, and sometimes violently, opposed vaccinations and wearing protective masks.
Now their hero has signed an Executive Order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). He has also ordered the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to stop communicating with the public and with other scientific organizations.
This behavior is reckless and dangerous. It completely undermines our ability to be prepared for, or even be alerted to, the next pandemic. WHO monitors infectious diseases around the world and provides crucial timely information to doctors and scientists. Preventing government agencies from communicating with the public means an end to health advisories, public alerts, recommended procedures, and even updates to their websites!
Presumably the idea behind this dangerous stupidity is Dopy McGropey’s long-held belief that if a problem is not talked about it doesn’t exist.
The other long-term Republican denial, that is already bringing about pestilence and death, is climate change. The Republicans now in charge not only will not act on this problem, they are working to undo the positive actions taken by President Biden. They are not only short-sighted about the dangers, they are actually hostile to every possible solution.
Our future appears to be fated to include ever-worsening wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wind storms, hail storms, drought, and enlarged deserts. Eventually large portions of the globe may become uninhabitable.
Won’t Jesus fix it?
Some Christians actually welcome the disasters described above because they believe that the sooner the world is destroyed, the sooner Jesus will return.
That belief is based on a false understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, prophets in the scriptures have forecast death and desolation, but the reason is always to warn the people so they will repent and avoid the consequences of their sins.
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
But it they would not repent they must suffer even as I.
We Latter-day Saints believe that the people of God need to build “Zion” on the Earth – a place where the pure in heart dwell – to prepare for the Lord’s Second Coming. That challenge is very different than using our Christianity as an excuse to make a big mess and expect Jesus to clean it all up for us.
I am sure Jesus would prefer to return to an Earth full of love and righteousness rather than one that must be “purified” before it can withstand his presence.
The prophet Malachi says that the Lord “shall suddenly come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1). As of this writing, there are 367 LDS Temples in various stages of completion. Why could there not be a large group of righteous people awaiting the Lord’s coming at each one of them?
The Millennium of the Lord’s Peace will surely, eventually, arrive. How difficult and dangerous the transition period will be is, and has always been, up to us.
Sources:
“Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” Britannica.
Revelation 6:1-8, Old Testament, Bible.
Matthew 24:3-8; New Testament, Bible.
James Liddell, “‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley says he will ‘buy some motha f***in guns’ after Trump pardon,” The Independent, January 21, 2025.
Caleb Hamilton, “Kern County’s immigration sweep halts citrus harvest,” Valley Voice, January 16, 2025.
Kayla Tausche et al, “Trump threatens 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada on Feb.1, punting on Day 1 pledge,” CNN, January 21, 2025.
Rob Wile, “Here are the fruits and vegetables from Mexico that could see higher prices from Trump tariffs,” NBC News, November 26, 2024.
Joe Conason, “Why did Trump just silence public health officials again? “AlterNet, January 26, 2025.
Dan Clarendon, “Jimmy Kimmel lists his top 78 nicknames for Donald Trump,” TV Insider, June 15, 2024.
Thanks for this. Our national situation needs contextual analysis. For such see my website – lewjeppson.com – first item, from economist R D Wolff.