Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

The White Horse Gallops!
(Revelation 6:2)

Here are a few examples of the ride of the White Horse as it galloped to the lands of the northern 10 tribes of Israel. All of the apostles -- with the possible exception of John -- were put to death for preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God to the people of Israel dispersed amongst the pagan nations of the then-known world.

by John D. Keyser

There is a long and ancient tradition that many of the Messiah's original twelve apostles and other disciples carried the Good News of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God to the far-flung regions where the twelve tribes of Israel had migrated to. Simon Zelotes was one of these.

Simon Zelotes

According to Dorman Newman:

"Some say he [Simon] went to Egypt, Cyrene and Africa, and all over Mauritania, preaching the Gospel to those remote and barbarous Countries. And, if we may believe our own Authors, he came into these Western Parts, as far as our Island of Great Britain; where having converted great Multitudes, with manifold Hardships and Persecutions, he at last suffered Martyrdom by Crucifixion, as 'tis recorded in the Greek Menologies." [1]

By the time of the Messiah, many of the twelve tribes of Israel had reached the British Isles, to be followed, later in history, by the rest of the tribes under the guise of the Jutes, Anglo-Saxons and Normans.

Probably one of the earliest historical traditions regarding a visit to Britain by Simon is mentioned by Dorotheus. This we find in the book, St. Paul in Britain, as follows:

"The next missionary after Joseph [to come to Britain] was Simon Zelotes the Apostle. There can be little doubt, we think, on this point. One Menology assigns the martyrdom of Zelotes to Persia in Asia, but others agree in stating he suffered in Britain. Of these the principal authority is Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre, in the reigns of Diocletian and Constantius (A.D. 300). His testimony we consider decisive:-- 'Simon Zelotes traversed all Mauritania, and the regions of the Africans, preaching Christ. He was at last crucified, slain, and buried in Britain....We conclude Simon Zelotes suffered in the east of Britain, perhaps, as tradition affirms, in the vicinity of Caistor, under the prefecture of Caius Decius, the officer whose atrocities were the immediate cause of the Boadicean war.'" [2]

There is also Eastern confirmation that Simon traveled to the British Isles to eventually be murdered there. Notice what Lionel S. Lewis lists in his book: [3]

"(2) Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople and Byzantine historian, A.D. 758-829, wrote (Book II, c. 40): 'Simon born in Cana of Galilee, who for fervent affection for his Master and great zeal that he showed by all means to the Gospel, was surnamed Zelotes, having received the Holy Ghost from above, travelled through Egypt and Africa, then through Mauritania and all Lybia, preaching the Gospel. And the same doctrine he taught to the Occidental Sea, and the Isles called Britanniae.'

"(3) Greek Menology. The Menology of the Greek Church celebrates St. Simon's Day on May 10, and supports the statements of his having preached and been martyred in Britain (Annales Ecclesiastici, Baronius under A.D. 44. Sec. XXXVIII)."

George F. Jowett came to the same conclusion --

"Simon was unusually bold and fearless, as his name implies. In spite of the volcanic turmoil seething through Britain during the Boadicean war, Simon openly defied the barbaric Edict of Paulinus, and the most brutal Catis Decianus, to destroy anything and anyone Christian. He decided to conduct his evangelizing campaign in the eastern part of the Island. This section of Britain was the most sparsely inhabited by the native Britons and consequently more heavily populated by the Romans. It was far beyond the strong protective shield of the Silurian arms in the south and the powerful northern Yorkshire Celts.

"In this dangerous territory Simon was definitely on his own. Undeterred, with infinite courage, he began preaching the Christian Gospel right in the heart of the Roman domain. His fiery sermons brought him speedily to the attention of Catis Decianus, but not before he had sown the seed of Christ in the hearts of Britons and many Romans who, despite the unremitting hatred of Decianus for all that was Christian, held the secret of the truth locked in their hearts.

"The evangelizing mission of Simon was short-lived. He was finally arrested under the orders of Catis Decianus. As usual his trial was a mockery. He was condemned to death and was crucified by the Romans at Caistor, Lincolnshire, and there buried, circa May 10, A.D. 61." [4]

Some say that Simon was put to death by the British, not the Romans, but there is some controversy regarding this.

Aristobulus

Another figure mentioned in the New Testament, and a disciple of the Messiah, who was also to met his death in Britain as a result of the ride of the White Horse, is Aristobulus. According to legend, having first visited the Celtic tribes of Northern Spain, he preached the Good News of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God in Britain and became its first overseer. In the Martyrologies of the Greek Church [5] we read:

"Aristobulus was one of the seventy disciples and a follower of St. Paul the Apostle, along with whom he preached the Gospel to the whole world [of Israel], and ministered to them. He was chosen by St. Paul to be the missionary bishop to the land of Britain, inhabited by a very warlike and fierce race. By them he was often scourged, and repeatedly dragged as a criminal through their towns, yet he converted many of them to Christianity.  He was there martyred, after he had built churches and ordained deacons and priests on the island."

A fragment of Haleca, Bishop of Caesar Augusta (Saragossa in Spain) and published by Bishop Ussher, attests that "the memory of many martyrs is celebrated by the Britons, especially that of St. Aristobulus, one of the seventy disciples." [6]

In the Adonis Martyrologia [7] we read --

"March 15. Natal day of Aristobulus, Bishop of Britain, brother of St. Barnabas the Apostle, by whom he was ordained Bishop. He was sent to Britain where, after preaching the truth of Christ and forming a church, he received martyrdom."

The details of Aristobulus' death can be found the writings of George F. Jowett, notice!

"Aristobulus was well respected by the Silurians [in Wales]; he had come to them from Jerusalem, through Spain, and was known to be loved by Joseph [of Arimathea] and the Avalon band.

"Aristobulus in his preaching zeal journeyed far beyond the territory of the Silurian shield into the lands of the British Ordovices, whose hatred for the Romans was bitter and black. This blinded them to the facts, and he was unknown to them. Aware of the many ruses the Romans had instigated against the Britons in order to trick them into submission, they allied the presence of the aged elder brother of Barnabas to some form of Roman political treachery, in which religion played a hypocritical part of the scheme. They rose and slew him, given as the year A.D. 58 or A.D. 59, according to present reckoning." [8]

Revered by the Brythonic Celts, Aristobulus lent his name to the medieval British kingdom of Arwystli -- which continues to this day as a cantref (Welsh land division) within the county of Powys, Wales.

Simon Peter

Peter, like so many of the others, suffered and died riding the White Horse of Revelation 6! Near the close of the gospel of John there is a hint given as to the manner of Peter's death. It agrees with the long-held tradition that Nero had Peter crucified head-downward on the Vatican Hill:

"'Most truly I say to you, When you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk about where you wanted. But when you grow old you will stretch out your hands and another [man] will gird you and bear you where you do not wish.' This he said to signify by what sort of death he [Peter] would glorify God...." (John 21:18-19 [9]).

This was fulfilled years later when Peter was an old man --

"Shortly after the dispatch of the second epistle [II Timothy] Peter arrived at Rome, and, according to the general tradition was crucified there in the Vatican, the scene of the other [earlier] martyrdoms, with his head downwards." [10]

Peter died as a result of his preaching of the gospel and because of the death of Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-24) -- not as a scapegoat for the burning of Rome as some believe.

Simon Magus made an immediate impact on the city of Rome when he arrived there in 42 A.D. It is recorded that shortly after his arrival an attempted revolt by Camillus Scribonianus (the governor of Dalmatia) was put down by the army which remained loyal to Emperor Claudius. The success in putting down this revolt was ascribed to SIMON MAGUS' ARRIVAL IN ROME and the subsequent beguiling of the populace by his "magical" powers.

In her book author Anna Jameson states: "The magician [Simon Magus], vanquished by a superior power, flung his books into the Dead Sea, broke his wand, and fled to Rome, where he became a great favorite of the Emperor Claudius and afterwards of Nero. Peter, bent on counteracting the wicked sorceries of Simon, FOLLOWED HIM TO ROME." [11]

Anna Jameson continues:

Simon became so well known in Rome that he was eventually honored as a god. THIS is the man the Catholic Church is founded upon -- NOT the apostle Peter!!

Notice what Hasting's Dictionary of the Apostolic Church [12] says: "The author or first representative [POPE] of this baptized heathenism...is Simon Magus, who unquestionably adulterated Christianity with pagan ideas and practices, with the aid and with the sanction of Christianity (so called) to set up a rival universal (OR CATHOLIC) religion."

Notice, now, what Lactantius says in his letter to Pope Donatus:

"And while Nero reigned, the apostle Peter came to Rome, and, through the power of god committed unto him, wrought certain miracles, and by turning many to the true religion, built up a faithful and steadfast temple unto the Lord. When Nero heard of those things, and observed that not only in Rome, but in every other place, a great multitude revolted daily from the worship of idols, and, condemning their old ways, went over to the new religion. He [Nero], an execrable and pernicious tyrant, sprung forward to raze the heavenly temple and destroy the true faith. He [Nero] it was who first persecuted the servants of God; he crucified Peter, and slew Paul...." [13]

The Acts of Peter, a document of spurious origin, backs this up when it states that Peter was executed because he induced prominent Roman ladies to leave the religion of Rome, an action which quite often caused family rifts and breakup. [14]

Another factor in Peter's death was Nero's friendship with Simon Magus. During his 25 years in Rome, Magus became a favorite of both Claudius Caesar and Nero; and Hegesippus, who wrote in the 4th century, describes the contest between Peter and Simon Magus over a kinsman of the emperor raised from the dead, and how Magus reached a dramatic end. Because of Magus' death, Nero was so enraged that he had Peter cast into prison. As far as Nero was concerned, this was the straw that broke the camel's back!

William Cave also mentions this:

"Such was the end of this miserable and unhappy man [Simon Magus]: which no sooner came to the ears of the emperor [Nero], to whom by wicked artifices he had endeared himself, but it became an occasion of hastening Peter's ruin.

"The emperor probably had been before displeased with Peter, not only upon the account of the general disagreement and inconformity of his religion, but because he had so strictly pressed temperance and chastity..." [15]

Since Simon Magus died in 67 A.D. after residing in Rome for 25 years (42-67 A.D.), this places Peter's death at the very end of Nero's reign -- after Magus' ignominious death.

Andrew

From what we know from church history and tradition, Andrew was martyred by crucifixion in the city of Patras -- which was on the northern coast of the Peloponnese in Greece. Given the fact that he was likely crucified there, he must have, like many of the other apostles, gone well beyond Judea to bring the Good News to all the tribes of Israel as the Messiah had commanded in Matthew 28:19-20. The church historian Eusebius wrote that he may have brought the gospel to as far away as Kiev -- which is now part of Ukraine.

According to William Steuart McBirnie,

"There are some impressive traditions about the later ministry of Andrew. One, recorded by Eusebius (HE III, 1, 1), is that he went to Scythia, which is southern Russia, in the area around the Black Sea. St. Andrew was known for a long time thereafter as the patron saint of Russia, and this adoption of Andrew as the holy patron was based upon the early tradition that he had preached the gospel in Russia." [16]

This is confirmed by an early apocryphal work entitled, The Acts of St. Andrew and St. Bartholomew, which gives as account of their mission among the Parthians; and according to the Martyrdom of St. Andrew (Budge) [17] "he was stoned and crucified in Scythia."

McBirnie goes on to say --

"Another strong tradition places his ministry in Greece. There according to tradition he was imprisoned, then crucified by order of the proconsul Aegeates, whose wife Maximilla had been estranged from her husband by the preaching of St. Andrew. Supposedly Andrew was crucified on a cross which...was made in the form of an 'X'. To this day that type of cross is known as 'St. Andrew's Cross.'" [16]

Dorman Newman covers the life and death of Andrew as was his understanding at the time (1685):

"St. Andrew went to Scythia and to Byzantium where he founded churches. Thence to Greece and finally to Patrae [Patras] a city of Achaia [Greece] where he was martyred. Aaegaas [Aegeates], proconsul of Achaia, after debate, ordered Andrew to forsake his religion or be tortured fiercely" [18]

From a book obtainable in the church of St. Andrews in Patras we get added information on the life and death of Andrew:

"Holy Tradition says that Andrew went to the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains (present day Georgia in Russia), and he preached to the race of Scythians as far as the Caspian Sea.

"He finally reached Byzantium (present day Istanbul) and there he ordained Bishop [Overseer] Stachys.

"Andrew was imprisoned and stoned and suffered much for Christ....In spite of this he continued his Apostolic task of ordaining priests and Bishops and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ....

"From Byzantium he continued to Greece for his main Apostolic journey. He travelled to Thrace and Macadonia down through the Corinthian Gulf to Patros. It was in Patros that Andrew was to preach the Gospel of Christ for the last time.

"Aigeatis, the governor of Patros became enraged at Andrew for his preaching and ordered him to stand before the tribunal in his attempt to do away with the Christian Faith. When Andrew resisted the tribunal the governor ordered him crucified." [19]

It is fascinating to note that a few bones, reputed to be those of Andrew, were taken to Scotland in the fourth or fifth century by a Christian known as Regulus. "There they were buried at a place which was later called, 'St. Andrews.' The Apostle is today the patron saint of Scotland, and 'St. Andrews' Cross' is the official symbol of that great Christian country." [20] Why were these supposed bones of Andrew taken to Scotland, of all places? The answer can be found in the famous Scottish Declaration of Independence:

"Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea [Mediterranean Sea] and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today.

"The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner.

"The high qualities and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them [the 10 tribes of Israel in dispersion], even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles -- by calling, though second or third in rank -- the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter's brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever." [21]

Other Apostles and Disciples

Serenus de Cressy (ca. 1605-1674), a noted English scholar in church history, wrote the following:

"Again Flavius Dexter...affirms that the Western parts of the world, and this Island by name [Britain] was within eight years after our Saviour's Resurrection [31 A.D.] illustrated by the Faith of the Gospel: For saith he, 'In the one and fortieth year of Christ (being the time of Caligula's reign) Saint James returning out of Spain visited Gaul, Brittany [Britain] and the Towns of the Venetians, where he preached the Gospel: and so came back to Jerusalem to consult with...Peter about matters of very great weight and importance.' And he is therein seconded by Freculphus Lexoviensis, who affirms that the same Apostle [James] enlightened the people of Spain, and other Regions of the West with the Beams of Christ's Gospel." [22]

Further, on page 25, Cressy writes about Paul:

"Particular Witnesses in Antiquity of S. Paul's preaching the Gospel in this Island [Britain] are Theodoret, S. Hierome and others. The former of these Writing on the hundred and sixteenth Psalm, saith, 'Blessed S. Paul briefly teaches us to what Nations he had preached saving Truth, saying, From Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum he filled all nations with the Gospel of Christ. And after this he came into Italy, and continued his journey even to Spain: Moreover he brought salvation to the Islands also lying in the Sea [Britain].'  S. Hierom likewise mentioned the travels of S. Paul saith, 'He went (out of the East) as far as Spain: and from the Red sea, that is, the Southern Ocean to the Western Ocean.' But more expressly Venantius Fortunatus in his Poem of the Life of S. Martin, speaking of S. Paul, saith, 'He passed the Ocean, and through all Regions and accessible Islands, those which are inhabited by the Brittains and the utmost Thule, his Trumpet proclaimed the Gospel.'" [22]

Probably one of the lest known to history of the servants of YEHOVAH God is Joseph of Arimathea, and who vanishes from the pages of the New Testament after the death of the Messiah. Cressy notes, on page 31 of his history --

"Had it not been for that visible lasting Monument of Glastonbury, perhaps posterity had never been acquainted with the name of so illustrious a Patron of our Nation as S. Joseph, since no Books of that Age, if any were written, are now extant, and the wonderful changes in the very constitution of this Island [Britain], by a succession of several new Nations, would probably extinguish all ancient Traditions."

Cressy then goes on to recount the arrival of Joseph of Arimathea in Britain:

"Now the most eminent of the Primitive Disciples, and who contributed most to this heavenly building, was S. Joseph of Arimathea, and eleven of his companions with him, among whom was reckoned his Son, of his own name. These toward the latter end of Nero's reign, and before S. Peter and S. Paul were consummated by a glorious Martyrdom [A.D. 68 and 67 respectively], are by the Testimony of ancient Records said to have entered this Island [Britain], as a place for the retiredness of it, the benignity of the British Princes, and the freedom from Roman Tyranny, more opportune, and better prepared for entertaining the Gospel of Peace, then almost any Country under the Romans." [23]

These are but a few examples of the ride of the White Horse as it galloped to the lands of the northern 10 tribes. All of the apostles -- with the possible exception of John -- were put to death for preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God to the people of Israel dispersed amongst the pagan nations of the then-known world.

Note: All the races and areas mentioned in these quotes refer to the 10 tribes of Israel in dispersion. Writes researcher Steven M. Collins, "the Saca Scythians were relocated members of the [northern] ten tribes. Since ancient historians affirm the Parthians were kinsmen of the Sacae Scythians...it is evident that the Parthians were also part of the ten tribes of Israel." [24] Israelites, for the most part, founded Greece and Rome and many other areas, including the Iberian (Hebrew) Peninsula. Israelite traders sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar, up the western coast of Iberia, all the way to the British Isles, which was referred to in Scripture as "the ends of the earth."

The same volume states that "the House of Israel refers to the ten tribes of Israel who, in Jesus Christ's lifetime, included the Celts of Europe, the Sacae/Saka Scythians and the Parthians in Asia. Since the area of Parthian and Saka dominance extended as far as India, portions of the ten tribes of Israel could be found that far into Asia....the tribes of Israel then inhabited the British Isles and even portions of India at the eastern edge of Parthia's empire." [25] (ibid., p. 174).

Footnotes:

[1] Dorman Newman, The Lives and Deaths of the Holy Apostles, 1685.

[2] Dorotheus, Synod. de Apostol.; Synopsis ad Sim Zelot., as quoted in St. Paul in Britain Or, The Origin of British As Opposed to Papal Christianity, by R. W. Morgan. The Covenant Publishing Co., London, 1978, p. 79.

[3] Lionel S. Lewis, St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury or The Apostolic Church of Britain, James Clarke & Co. Ltd. Cambridge, England, 1955, p. 117

[4] George F. Jowett, The Drama of the Lost Disciples. Covenant Publishing Co. Ltd., London, 1980, pp. 158-159.

[5] Martyrologies of the Greek Church

[6] Bishop Ussher, Helecae Fragments in Martyr.

[7] The Adonis Martyrologia of St. Ado, Archbishop of Vienne in Lotharingia, under March 17.

[8] George F. Jowett, The Drama of the Lost Disciples. Covenant Publishing Co. Ltd., London, 1980, p. 187.

[9] Bible -- The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures.

[10] Thomas Lewin, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, Vol. 2, London 1874, p. 368.

[11] Anna Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art, HardPress Publishing, Los Angeles, CA 2018, p. 209.

[12] Hasting's Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, Vol. 2, pp. 514, 566.

[13] Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died, chap. 2. "The Ante-Nicene Fathers," vol. vii.

[14] George Edmundson, The Church in Rome in the 1st Century, London, 1913, p. 108.

[15] William Cave, A Complete History Of The Lives, Acts, And Martyrdoms Of The Holy Apostles, And The Two Evangelists, St. Mark And Luke, Arkose Press, 2015.

[16] William Steuart McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles. Living Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1973, p. 80.

[17] E. A. Wallis Budge, The Contendings of the Apostles. 2 vols. London: Frowde, 1899–1901 (translation of the Ethiopic version, vol. 2).

[18] Dorman Newman, The Lives and Deaths of the Holy Apostles, 1685, p. 43.

[19] Archimandrite Hariton Pneumatikakis, The First-Called Apostle Andrew.

[20] William Steuart McBirnie, The Search for the Twelve Apostles. Living Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1973, p. 82.

[21] Declaration of Arbroath, April 6, 1320. The only version to survive in its original form is kept by the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh.

[22] Serenus de Cressy, The Church History of Brittany [Britain] Under Roman Governors. [S.n.]: Rouen (Publisher), 1668, p.16.

[23] Serenus de Cressy, The Church History of Brittany [Britain] Under Roman Governors. [S.n.]: Rouen (Publisher), 1668, p. 28.

[24] Steven M. Collins, Parthia: The Forgotten Ancient Superpower and Its Role in Biblical History. Bible Blessings, Royal Oak, MI, 2004, p. 8.

[25] Steven M. Collins, Parthia: The Forgotten Ancient Superpower and Its Role in Biblical History. Bible Blessings, Royal Oak, MI, 2004, p. 174.

 

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Preparing the Way for the Return of YEHOVAH God and His Messiah to Set Up the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God Here On This Earth!

Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.
 www.hope-of-israel.org

 Scan with your
Smartphone for
more information