sigh… the antichrist is an alegory. revelations is a story that is meant to act as a fable. the rider on a white horse is not literally a rider on a white horse any more than George Orwelle’s Animal Farm is about a literal farm of animals. it was written in a time when Rome was persecuting jews and christians for not participating in the state religion. it was an awful time to be alive, and writing directly about what was happening was a great way to get yourself imprisoned as a heretic. it’s written so weird compared to the rest of the new testament because it’s a radical piece of warning against authoritarianism written to get past the roman censors.

the antichrist should not be understood to be anything different than a charismatic political leader who represents everything the christ, Jesus, did not. the antichrist would therefor be anyone from any era who brings about death and destrution via:

• their thirst for money
• their love to weild power over others
• their willingness to exploit anyone different from themselves
• their relationship with the religious orthodoxy obliterating any empathy they could show

similarly, the return of the christ should not be understood to be literally jesus. the return of christ should be understood to be someone who:

• sets aside their pride to spend time with people different from theirselves
• allows empathy to override orthodoxy
• challenges authority not to weild power themselves, but for the betterment of others
• views pacifism not as a virtue, but as an aim

thiel backed the antichrish and slanders the reborn christ because he doesn’t understand the theology. he doesn’t even understand his favorite books, Tolkein, or their messaging. he is an empty hollow vessel of a person masquerading as something more than he is. he is the rider on the white horse