Understanding the Horse in the End Times
There seems to be a never ending stream of disagreement in the “body of believers” today. Christians, Jews, Hebrew Roots people, Messianic believers… which of these groups is God working with? Which one is considered the “children of God” and which group is not? Who is right… who is wrong… everybody wants to be the “favorite son”.
It would be so much more civil if we behaved like Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof:
"He's right."
"He's right, and he's right? They can't both be right."
"You know, you are also right.”
I think we can be a little more like Tevya. If we look at the various groups who are included in the Bible (especially in Prophetic writings) we just might find ALL groups have a role in the End Times.
In order to understand prophetic or apocalyptic literature (such as Revelation), it is important to have a grasp on prophetic symbolism in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is full of all kinds of animals, trees, and even people who have symbolic representation. Did you know that there are multiple animals who play a role in prophecy? We can see these animals as people or people groups including:
Sheep - “lost sheep” of the House of Israel
Camel - Arabs/Muslims
Donkey - Messianic Believer
Ram - Jewish Leader
Birds - often represent evil idol-worshippers or scavengers
Locusts - swarms of soldiers attacking Israel, including the traditional enemies of Israel (Amalek)
These are just a few examples - there are many more. Today, however, I would like to focus on one animal that is usually ignored - the Horse. Some of you may have read teachings that the “Horse” refers to either sun-god worshippers, or a false Jesus. While those are interesting insights, I believe they are also shortsighted. The Horse has an important role in the final days, but we need to go into the Hebrew language to really understand it.
Question: do you know what Jesus’ real name is? Most of us have always know Him as “Jesus”, and now many understand Him as “Yeshua”. However, His real name in Hebrew is Yehoshua, which means “Yahweh is Salvation”. In our English translation bibles, Messiah’s name has been changed from Yehoshua (English: Joshua) to Jesus. This change came over the years through different translations
Hebrew: Yehoshua
Aramaic: Yeshua
Greek: Iesous
Latin: IESVS
English: Jesus.
The pronunciation of His name is not as important as understanding the actual meaning of His name. If we understand His name as Yehoshua (Yahweh is Salvation), then we can see His work more clearly in the Old Testament. However, people know Him as Jesus, not Yeshoshua, and most Christian believers only know the name Jesus. So what is the importance of His name being spelled JESUS? I believe it is PROPHETIC!
The NAME Jesus is not found anywhere in the original Hebrew bible, but the WORD “Jesus” can be found in the Hebrew language. It is Hesus, pronounced “hey-soos”. Hesus is a variation on the Hebrew word for “horse”. Although the word for horse (“sus”) is found throughout the Tenach, the specific rendering of the word “Hesus” is only used eleven times in the OT and all the usages relate to prophetic events, including the use of Hesus in the four horses of Zechariah. I believe that the Hesus horse is symbolic of the Christian (Jesus) church, both as a body of believers, and as a military force in support of the nation of Israel. As many of us know, there is a division in Christianity between those who support Israel and the Jewish people, and those who do not. This division shows the positive and the negative aspects of the Hesus/Jesus church, as we will see by studying the Hebrew.
First let’s take a look at the Soos, or Horse in Hebrew. It is spelled in Hebrew as Samech, Vav, Samech (see illustration). The horse is often used as a sign of battle or military strength. In the ancient Paleo script, the Samech is a shield or thorn that holds something up, and that you can lean on,; it upholds and supports. In Hebrew, though, there is also a negative connotation to a word or letter. The negative meaning of the Samech is “to grab, to hate, to twist; deceptive”. In the word “sus” we have two samechs - one as a shield, and one as a thorn. The Vav in Paleo script is a nail, and is often used to hold two things together. The Vav is also the number of Man (six). So we see that the word “sus” can mean “A man holding two shields”. One shield can be supportive strength, the other deceptive and twisting. The word “Hesus” adds the letter Hey to the front of the word. The Paleo of Hey is a man who has discovered a revelation - he looks like he is jumping and saying “hey, look at this!”. Put that with the “sus” and we have the Hey-sus - the “Revelation Horse”.
Where do we find the use of Hesus in scripture, and how would the Hesus/Jesus church be involved in the end of days? We find several specific examples. As I said previously, the word “sus” is found multiple times in the Bible, but the “Hesus” is used only eleven times, and refer to prophetic events.
1 & 2 Kings: In the battles with Aram, the ten lepers come out of the city after the siege of Jerusalem and find only donkeys and “Hesus” horses. Understanding the meaning of ten lepers includes: the number ten refers to the House of Israel/Ephraim (the ten lost tribes). Lepers are those who are “unclean”; again this would be the House of Israel/Ephraim who needs to be healed by Yeshua of their leprosy. When the ten tribes “come out”, they find donkeys (Messianic believers) and Hesus horses (Christians).
Psalms 33 & 147: These are exhortations not to trust the strength of the Hesus (the “Christian” army), but trust in G-d Himself.
Esther: Mordechai rides the Hesus horse and shames his enemy, Haman. We can see today that the Hesus/Christian church supports Israel’s leadership against her enemies.
Amos 2:15: Referring to The Day of the Lord “"He who grasps the bow will not stand [his ground], The swift of foot will not escape, Nor will he who rides the horse (Hesus) save his life.” This is another exhortation not to trust in any military strength but G-d for protection.
Zechariah - Some of the Hesus horses are destroyed in the plague of Zechariah 14, and some are saved and are wearing bells inscribed “Holy to the LORD”. This may point to the final battle where the Hesus church that fights against Israel will be destroyed, while the Hesus church that fights for Israel will be considered holy to G-d.
Finally, the horses of Zechariah - these horses are connected to the four horses found in Revelation six. The Hesus horses of Revelation are used to bring in militant Islam, the enemy of Israel.
I hope you enjoyed this understanding of the role of the Horse in prophetic events. If you would like to learn about how the Hesus/Jesus church is connected to the Four Horses of Revelation, you can watch my teaching “The Four Horses of Revelation” on our website www.coffeewithmyfriends.com. Shalom!