Must the Four Horsemen Arrive Explosively?

10/16/2022

Art featuring the Four Horsemen generally depicts them bursting onto the scene in the most extreme and devastating manner imaginable, overwhelming everyone and ravaging everything in their path.

Albrecht Dürer - The Four Horsemen - c. 1498

Four Horseman of the Apocalypse - Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov - 1887

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Ernő Gebauer - 1960

Given the nature of the subject matter and the biblical source from which it originates, these depictions of explosive destruction are hardly surprising.

Nevertheless, the "end times" we are experiencing today generally lack this quality of explosive annihilation, most likely because destruction's ultimate detonation point has yet to be hit.

Sorath is clearly taking over from Ahriman, but Ahriman is still "managing" the destruction to some degree. The explosive destruction may overwhelm everything soon enough; until then, I tend to visualize the Four Horsemen resembling something akin to the depiction below:

The Four Horsemen of the Metropolis - Rose Freymouth Frazier - 2017

11 Comments

Gunner Q link

10/16/2022 22:08:10

I've always thought of the horsemen arriving sequentially. First the conqueror with incredibly long reach; then war, endless war everywhere; then then the privations inevitably caused by such war; and finally, death in every form.

Francis Berger

10/17/2022 07:33:48

@ Gunner - Yes, that is how the story goes in Revelations. Vastenstov attempts to capture this sequence in his piece, but paintings and etchings tends to depict the four horsemen arriving at once. I suspect the constraints of the media have much to do with it -- as does the need for dramatic effect.

If we examine our own "end times" we see that pestilence -- or at least a faux/hyped-up pestilence -- preceded the other three horsemen. This suggests the pestilence horseman we experienced via the birdemic was a psuedo-horseman concocted by the Ahrimanics rather than the real deal. Having said that, the real deal may be just around the corner.

Lady Mermaid link

10/16/2022 22:12:36

Bruce Charlton's recent post about destroying civilization leaves the question as to demonic motivations. https://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/2022/10/how-best-to-destroy-civilization.html

Now, the primary goal of demons is damnation of human souls. As The Screwtape Letters points out, the best way to achieve this goal is a comfortable, prosperous, materialistic society. The 1990s must have been the heyday for this type of thinking. The collapse of communism led many western leaders to declare "The End of History". Humanity was to ascend into a liberal secular democratic society. The Star Wars franchise illustrates the ideal of "fully automated luxury space communism"

However, evil is essentially parasitic. If man cuts himself off from God, he cuts himself from his own creative power. Man divorced from God will inevitably descend into chaos. (Romans Chap. 1). The 21st century has proved the promises of 1990s liberalism to be hollow. Rather than ascending into a technocratic utopia, modern man is going to have difficulty keeping the lights on this winter.

I think the demons want the 1990s secular liberal society. However, their inherent evil nature prevents them from maintaining any type of functioning civilization. However, this is good news from a spiritual perspective. While I do not wish for the four horsemen to come, suffering may save souls who would otherwise perish. That was the demonic dilemma in Screwtape. Some immature demons like to inflict suffering. However, suffering can cause man to turn to God leading to a defeat from the perspective of the dark powers.

10/17/2022 07:40:40

@ Lady Mermaid - The enslaving totalitarianism the Ahrimanics are striving to establish is spiritual death. So, from a spiritual perspective, the four horsemen are the "better" possibility. Either way, each of us is capable of aligning with God and Creation. I would hope the motivation to do so would not stem solely from suffering, but I suspect some people must hit rock bottom physically before they awaken spiritually. Of course, hitting rock bottom physically/materially can also lead to intense and terminal despair.

Hannah

10/17/2022 06:32:24

Ok that made me laugh.

10/17/2022 07:35:28

@ Hannah - I am glad someone out there detects the sly and somewhat dark humor I inject into posts like this one.

lea

10/17/2022 11:50:38

That selfie-stick is a highlight for sure. Insert 2nd rate 'dad' humor drum roll.

I hope you will forgive me this particular heresy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujayd9MuCFM

It is incredible to me that this series was written on the back of a dream from ONE single night. By an author that has long claimed to be staunchly atheist. As opposed to the Pfizer incident, this WAS divine intervention, but you might need to see more of the series to agree with me.

10/17/2022 17:03:29

@ lea - I never watched the series, but that's an interesting scene.

10/17/2022 12:48:11

It seems all we are left with is Vogon poetry anyway, consider the cultural end initiated. Glad i still have some blankets in storage.

10/17/2022 16:09:06

That phone on a stick and all horses holding back got me. Not with a bang, but a whimper came to mind. Since i have recently been accused of above average prose i feel a dificult promise lingering, imagination could be tinkering with the legitimate relinquishing of this vessel, lest i give up and finally release control of this ship, shoot from the hip and opt to take some sips meanwhile. Easy and redundant slips could reveal me as an agent of uncertainty, lest not we worry, all wordly spectacles' Sortie.

10/20/2022 00:59:56

Another red line has been crossed today. The CDC has voted to add the baby peck shots to the CDC vaccine schedule. Since most states base their vaccination laws on the CDC guidelines, this is a defacto peck shot mandate for children. State vax mandates don't just apply to public schools. Private schools, daycares, camps, and sports are affected by this.

This may turn the tide of the midterms. Many people are willing to take risks for themselves, but most draw the line when it comes to their own children. Suburban moms don't want to their children to be guinea pigs. Prayers are needed.

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Must the Four Horsemen Arrive Explosively?

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