“What is… a Monarchs Moniker, Alex?”
“Oooh, sorry, no, we were looking for… THE KING. Sobriquet is French for… nickname.”
The King… researching this has revealed our world is full of kings. Think about it… how long can a king really reign? Some come to the throne as children, but they don’t really run anything. The ones I looked up, at the upper end of their tenure were in place for 40 or 50 years… tops. Most were much, much shorter.
There are a few monarchs who have reigned a bit longer. For instance… See “Your Majesty, the Queen,” but we are talking about kings today.
The kings of England, France and the rest of Europe at the height of it all, were changing kings out like they were swapping tires… every couple years or so, for a while.
Here are a few others, titled as “kings of,” for your review…
Danaus plexippus, (king of the butterflies)
Richard Petty, (the king of NASCAR)
Elvis Presley, (the king of rock-n-roll)
Michael Jackson, (the king of pop)
Tyson Fury, (the gypsy king of boxing)
Jerry Lawler, (the king – of the ring WWE)
Richard the Lionhearted, (the king of England, one of many)
Charlemagne, (the king of western Europe, not for long, but was epic)
Clubs, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, (all have kings)
a real Lion, (the king of beasts)
A couple Ferdinand’s, (kings of Spain)
Benny Goodman, (the king of swing)
George Strait, (the king of country music)
and Roy Rogers, (the king of the cowboys)
seems like the title of KING gets tossed around rather handily,
BUT…
only a horse is regal enough for a… Triple Crown.
There has only been 13 Triple Crown winners, just a bit more exclusive than all of our kings, of the 13… there is only 1, who holds all three stakes records for time, 2 track records, and 1 world record, which would place him firmly as… The King of Thoroughbreds…
and that is Secretariat. The Super Horse.
I started to think of kings, and of horses, when I read…
“11Â Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!
The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12Â His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems (crowns), and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13Â He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14Â And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15Â From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16Â On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
~ Revelation 19:11-16
I wasn’t struck by the symbolism of the revelation of Jesus Christ, I wasn’t struck by the horror of the birds gorging themselves on flesh after the battle, what struck me was… how bad does it get in the future that He has to revert to charging in on a war-stallion? That’s as old school as it gets!
Why not come swooping in, flying a F22 Raptor, or a classic B52 Bomber, or an Apache Longbow-Tank Busting-Attack Helicopter??? Or if he was feeling a bit nostalgic for the old days… a P51-Mustang?? (it’s named after a horse)
But a horse? And his followers all get a white horse.
Now don’t get me wrong, if you could see into my soul you would see it contains… a campfire; a wolf; and… a horse… after all, I am a cowboy at heart.
Now maybe you don’t really appreciate the horse. Let me ask you, “Do you like dogs? Ever have a dog in your lap and you gently handle, scratch, and play with the dogs ear? You know that blissful feeling you get when the dog lets out a big, long sigh?”
Well, if you ever get the chance to be in the company of a good horse… walk up to him, wrap your arms around his neck and hug him as tight as you can… get a feel for him, feel his breathing, his heart, the heat they generate, the strength and power… and that my friend is as close to heaven as you’re gonna get here on earth… just sayin’.
Because he couldn’t describe what he was seeing any better the Apostle John described what he saw as he saw it… and it does have all kinds of symbolism attached to it.
Def. symbolism – symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts.
So what does the white horse symbolize?
Thundering under Jesus Christ it symbolizes, and confirms, His Kingship over all the earth and it’s many nations and kings. “Every knee shall bow…”
In Jesus’ day kings rode and entered into cities on majestic steeds, usually white in color. When he came the first time he arrived on a donkeys colt. When he returns it will be as the conquering king, atop a fiery white war stallion!
In an article at http://www.acts17-11.com/dialogs_horses.html
the author compares trusting a horse back in the day to today’s penchant of trusting in money.
But neither a horse nor money can save a mans soul.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
~ Psalm 20:7 (NIV)
So when we come to our own, personal, FINAL JEOPARDY question, will we be ready with the right answer? Or will we try to cut away to commercial?
I am ready…Even so come Lord Jesus!
Amen brother!