The Man Comes Around and Revelation

The Man Comes Around and Revelation

I had some trouble finding an allusion to write about.  I do not think my mind works toward associating things as allusions to the BIBLE.  I finally ran across this song that seems to very clearly allude to events in the book of Revelation.  This is a song by Johnny Cash named The Man Comes Around.  While listening to the song and reading the lyrics, I realized that it is packed full of allusions to Revelation and even a few allusions to other books of the BIBLE.  Let me show you a few of these.

Introduction to the Song

The song begins with Cash quoting these words from Revelation 6:1-2:
"And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder: One of the four beasts saying: "Come and see." And I saw. And behold, a white horse."  (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnycash/themancomesaround.html)  By starting the song with this quote, I think he tells us that this song is an allusion to some of the events that will take place during the tribulation period.  "Reference to the "white horse" reminded me of the four horsemen in the book of Revelation."(http://eh376.weebly.com/allusion-assignment.html)  This song is going to be about the Apocalypse.  After speaking these few lines, Cash begins to sing. 

The First Verse

The first verse of the song goes like this:
      "There's a man goin' 'round takin' names.
      An' he decides who to free and who to blame.
      Everybody won't be treated all the same.
      There'll be a golden ladder reaching down.
      When the man comes around." (Lyrics)
Cash already told us that he is talking about the rider of the white horse.  We know this horseman with be a conqueror and a king.  In the first lines of this verse, he tells about the man taking names and deciding between free and blame.  This is the duty of none but Jesus Christ.  He must be alluding to how Jesus has the book of life where He keeps the names of all his believers.   "Those who believe in Jesus will be saved and will escape punishment."  (http://wesleyanarminian.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/the-meaning-of-the-man-comes-around-by-johnny-cash/)  The song tells how everyone will not have the same fate.  Some will receive harsher treatment than others.  Cash goes on to talk about this ladder coming from heaven.  "The ladder reaching down could refer to Jacob’s ladder"(The Meaning) from Genesis 28:12.

Another Verse

A few verses later in the song Cash speaks of Armageddon. His words are:
      "Till Armageddon, no Shalam, no Shalom.
      Then the father hen will call his chickens home.
      The wise men will bow down before the throne.
      And at his feet they'll cast their golden crown.
      When the man comes around."(Lyrics)
In the first line, we see that shalam and shalom will not come until after the final battle takes place on Earth.
"Shalom is a Hebrew word that means peace.  Shalam is a variation that probably means the same thing."(The Meaning)  There will be no peace.  The father hen is God, and He will call home his people, the saved of the Earth.  Then, the wise men casting their crowns before the feet of God is from Revelation 4:10.  It says, "the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever.  They cast their crowns before the throne."(Literary Study Bible)
All of these things start when the man comes around.  That is the beginning of the end.  The horseman is the first of the four and the first seal releases him.

The Conclusion

I think Johnny Cash is trying to depict the beginning of the tribulation in this song.  The rider of the white horse being the man that comes around and all the other allusions to the book of Revelation.  This is his depiction of the end times through song.  Every line seems to add more and more detail taken straight from scripture.  This song is packed full of allusions to Revelation and some other books of the BIBLE as well.
  Here is a link to the song.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=k9IfHDi-2EA