“Sword” and “Bow”

Next Part Growth of Counterfeit Movement Parallels True Church

Notice another crucial difference. The Christ in Revelation 19:1-21 brandishes a sword (also see Revelation 1:16) out of His mouth, not a bow in His hand, as in Revelation 6:1-17. The sword, symbolically, is His Word, the Bible (Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17). Christ comes reproving nations with His Word, while the horseman of Revelation 6:1-17 comes with another source of power, represented by a bow. Even if we did not know the meaning of the bow, it could clearly not be the Word of God—a “two-edged sword”—or it would not be identified differently. And nowhere in the Bible is God’s Word referred to as a bow.

The presence of a bow connects the rider of this horse to the ancient patriarch of false religion, Nimrod—described as a “mighty hunter” in Genesis 10:1-32. Nimrod, whose name means “rebellion,” founded the city of Babylon (meaning “confusion”). This city eventually grew into the capital of the Babylonian Empire and seat of the Babylonian Mystery religion, referenced a number of times in Scripture.

Notice this powerful, identifying quote from Alexander Hislop’s The Two Babylons: “But we have seen that Kronos was the first King of Babylon, or Nimrod; consequently, the first Centaur was the same. Now, the way in which the Centaur was represented on the Babylonian coins, and in the Zodiac, viewed in this light, is very striking. The Centaur was the same as the sign Sagittarius, or ‘The Archer.’ If the founder of Babylon’s glory was ‘The mighty Hunter,’ whose name, even in the days of Moses, was a proverb—(Gen 10:9, ‘Wherefore, it is said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord’)—when we find the ‘Archer’ with his bow and arrow, in the symbol of the supreme Babylonian divinity, and the ‘Archer,’ among the signs of the Zodiac that originated in Babylon, I think we may safely conclude that this Man-horse or Horse-man Archer primarily referred to him, and was intended to perpetuate the memory at once of his fame as a huntsman and his skill as a horse-breaker” (p. 42).

How revealing!

The sequence of events in both accounts is also revealing. As the first seal is opened, the Revelation 6:1-17 white horse is unleashed at the beginning of a series of end-time events. It is followed by the remaining seals leading up to the Great Tribulation. Then, as the seventh seal is nearly completed, the second white horse and its rider (Jesus Christ) appear. This is at the sound of the last trumpet of the seven trumpet plagues. This is the Return of Christ and His victory over those who attempt to oppose His triumphal Return. The horsemen of Revelation 6:1-17 and 19:1-21 represent opposite ends of this spectrum of time. These could not possibly describe the same event. The riders plainly arrive years apart. So then, these are different riders on different horses at different points in time!

A Specific Counterfeit

A vital distinction must be made at this point. The rider of the Revelation 6:1-17 white horse does not represent all false religion. This first seal does not encompass belief systems such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and others. What the rider does represent is a counterfeit Christianity—a counterfeit CHRIST. This is so obviously then “another Jesus”—and the one that the apostle Paul warned about (II Cor. 11:4).

Anything that passes as a counterfeit must seem authentic. Counterfeit money is designed to closely resemble real bills and coins. Any differences are very subtle, else the user is not fooled.

In the same way, the counterfeit of the true Church has to seem real. It appears “spiritual” and thoroughly organized. It appears to be well-established, with centuries-old “roots” reaching back to the original apostles. To the undiscerning, this “Jesus” and his teachings look, sound, feel and seem like the genuine article. But they are not the Christianity of the Bible—the one taught by the true Jesus Christ.

We will see that this false religious system is a counterfeit of God’s true Church!

Almost immediately after Jesus founded His Church, Satan devised a counterfeit to keep the masses unaware of the message the true Church was proclaiming after Jesus’ death. Notice: “The god of this world [the devil] has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (II Cor. 4:4).

Satan’s purpose has been to deceive mankind about God’s truth, and he has done this through his counterfeit religious system, masquerading as genuine Christianity.

Matthew 24:1-51 Reveals More

Jesus foretold the confusion and misunderstanding that would surround this rider’s identity! He disclosed events that would occur prior to His Second Coming. The first event is synonymous with the white horse. Answering His disciples’ question pertaining to the sign of His coming and of the end of the age, Jesus first warned of religious deception in the sequence of what would occur.

Let’s read this all-important element of Jesus’ Olivet Prophecy to now set a larger stage: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:4-5). Only after this did He proceed to mention war, famine and pestilence. The “many” are the vast majority of thought-to-be Christian ministers who say that Jesus Christ is Christ (the Messiah), but who do not believe or teach what Christ taught, nor do they come with His authority.

Later in the same chapter, Jesus expanded upon these verses: “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Mt 24:11). According to this and related prophecies, not only would false prophets arise to deceive the great majority, but they would also infiltrate the true Church, causing many of God’s servants to fall away.

Toward the end of the last days, and especially during the time of the prophesied false religious leader of Revelation 13:1-18, false prophets were foretold to increase in number and means of deception. Here is Christ’s chilling warning: “For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not” (Matt. 24:24-26).

Here Jesus shows that false prophets will work miracles. Human beings are always impressed by such “signs and wonders,” regardless of their source, and will only too happily attribute the power of the performer to God.

Matthew 24:1-51 also mirrors the time sequence of the two riders of the white horses. The real Christ does not return (as shown in Revelation 19:1-21) until the time of the seventh and last trumpet (Matt. 24:27-31).

Beginning in the first century, false Christianity almost immediately arose, while war, famine and pestilence—depicted by the other three horses—continued more or less as they had always been. The counterfeit system became more firmly entrenched in the third and fourth centuries, but this was only a precursor—a tiny TYPE—of what would follow at the end of the age.

Since false teachers and ministers have been plying their trade for centuries, Jesus’ warning for the end of the age must involve a big increase in the power, prevalence and influence of false Christianity. Think of it this way: at the very end, the white horse suddenly accelerates from a relative standstill to a full run!

False Christianity, war, famine and pestilence have continued off and on for the last two millennia. But this does not mean that the first four seals of Revelation 6:1-17 were opened almost 2,000 years ago, and have been slowly accelerating to an all-out sprint just before Christ’s Return. (Realize that John did not record the Revelation until about 65 years after Jesus spoke to the apostles in Matthew 24:1-51. He would certainly not introduce things SEALED that had already been unsealed long before!) So then, the absolute explosion of these things—these conditions—in the last days is such that Jesus is telling us (in Revelation 6:1-17 and Matthew 24:1-51) that the tremendous increase of these things is the opening of the seals!

This booklet, and the others on the Four Horsemen, will bring a chilling picture of how this is happening, and will continue to happen.

Warnings from the Apostles

Before examining some history of this counterfeit Christian system, let’s examine a number of scriptures that warn of a movement that attempts to pass itself off as the standard-bearer of truth, but that is shrouded in mystery and deceit. Despite these inspired warnings from Peter, Paul, John and others, most have been ensnared by this clever fraud:

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I John 4:1).

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [license], and denying the…Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3-4).

“For the mystery of iniquity [lawlessness] does already work...” (II Thes. 2:7). (False teachers always deny the necessity of keeping God’s Law.)

Briefly referenced earlier, the apostle Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians defines how effectively these early false teachers misled the unsuspecting: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him [or ‘put up with it’]” (II Cor. 11:3-4).

In II Cor 11:13-15, Paul singles out ministers who appear to represent the truth and the true Christ, but are actually led by “another” spirit: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”

Can you comprehend the gravity of this passage, viewed in an end-time context? Most do not recognize false ministers because they appear to be ministers of light—just as the “god of this world” appears to be the true God. The devil is an effective COUNTERFEITER! He counterfeits true ministers with false, true doctrines with false and the true God with the false god—himself!

Peter added to Paul’s warning with a similar one: “There shall be false teachers among you, who privily [craftily, secretly] shall bring in damnable heresies…And many shall follow their pernicious ways” (II Pet. 2:1-2).

Paul also warned that this condition will worsen at the end of the age: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (II Tim. 3:1, 13).

Deceit is not new to planet Earth. But Paul warns of deceivers—“seducers”—growing worse “in the last days”!

With this foundation laid, we are now ready to examine how this counterfeit system began. As this is done, bear in mind that it is not my purpose to attack or slander churches or individuals. But the Bible and history clearly identify a large and powerful false system, with its offshoots (or “daughters”), and there is simply no escaping directly identifying this system.