Chapter Thirteen – The White Horse—False Christianity
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Everyone hates having been deceived—lied to—especially by those they have known and trusted. The reader has probably experienced this. In every case, it is painful and disillusioning. The shock of betrayal can shake one to the core of his being.
For a moment, in your mind’s eye, try to place yourself in this situation. Now imagine that those who have done this to you are widely considered to be men of truth. And then next imagine that what you trusted them with were the most important things in life.
We have just framed the level of deceit that counterfeit Christianity represents, where presumably all people understand that eternal life is at stake. This introduces the much-talked-about, but little-understood, subject of the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
The book now takes another serious turn.
But before continuing, something else must be grasped in order to set up the subject.
Horses with Riders
Sometimes God chooses to use common experiences or activities as symbols or analogies in His Word. This is done to help human minds comprehend what is being described. God’s selection of analogy makes the next four chapters of this book easier to understand—especially for those who have ridden horses.
I have done this many times, in many situations, and ridden at virtually every speed. I have sat on horses at a standstill. I have ridden them at a walk, a trot and a canter, as well as at a gallop, and even at the exhilarating clip of a full run, flat-out, across a level field with my head down beside the horse’s mane.
As we turn to the subject of the Revelation 6:1-17 horses (with horsemen), fix in your mind this animal’s physical prowess. Bear in mind that for much of history, including the age of the writing of the New Testament, horses were man’s preferred means of transportation—for rapid travel, communication and, in the case of armies, invasion and conquest. The horse and rider are virtually inseparable from a place within every picture of history.
God knows this. Hence His choice of analogy.
For the past 2,000 years, millions have sought to understand the so-called “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” described in Revelation 6:1-17. Much written about, and seen in Hollywood films, none grasp their true significance. Religionists have crafted their own explanations, but have all ignored important clues in properly understanding what these symbolize. As with so much of Bible prophecy, this is also because they have not understood the keys to God’s Word.
In Revelation 6:2-8, we saw a series of mysterious horses are described—white, red, black and pale—each with its own rider, and coming in sequence. We also saw that none seem to recognize that Christ, the Revelator, had already shown to His disciples the prophetic meaning of these horses. With so much at stake, because of the unparalleled destruction these first four opened seals are foretold to bring, we must understand in fuller context their true—and truly horrific—meaning.
In the next six chapters there is a second purpose—and question. This question is big. We are also examining whether Jesus’ prophecies have been accurate. Did He speak the truth to His disciples about events preceding His Return—or are His words a jumbled hodgepodge of human imagination, perhaps put on His lips by others—or even by the apostle John? If so, we must again admit that at least some of the Bible is not worth the paper it is written on. And all of Jesus’ words stand in doubt.
This chapter describes the real meaning of the first seal of Revelation 6:1-2. But at this point, another question arises—and it is also big! As you read the chapters about the horsemen, and the two chapters that follow them, this towering question presents itself: Are the first four seals of Revelation still closed, or has Christ unsealed them? In other words, are they in effect today? Stay focused on this question as you read.
We now bear down. The next six chapters are not pleasant to read!
The Identity of the Rider of Revelation 6:2
John described what he saw as Christ began to remove the seals. Let’s read it again: “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, 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: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Rev. 6:1-2).
You learned that the first horseman’s identity has been almost universally misunderstood. You must understand this! The rider of the white horse is not who most think he is. Religionists and so-called prophecy experts have invented numerous theories about what the rider of Revelation 6:2 pictures. Some think he pictures Christ’s servants announcing His Second Coming. Others believe the white horse represents “the Church.” This could not be the case since God’s Church never went forth to conquer and subdue nations. Rather, the true Church is represented by a woman (Rev. 12:1) who nurtures those whom God calls. These and all other human interpretations are wrong.
Many Bible commentaries, referring to Revelation 19:1-21, which portrays Jesus Christ returning on a white horse, hastily conclude that the Revelation 6:1-17 rider also must be Christ. Let’s examine more closely whether these riders are the same.
Subtle, and not so subtle but overlooked, differences will be seen to be very important.
Notice Revelation 19:1-21 once again: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God…And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev 19:11-13, 15).
Clearly this is the true Jesus Christ. No one doubts this much.
Of course, there are similarities between the descriptions. Both riders are astride a white horse. Both are wearing a crown or many crowns, and they both conquer and rule. But, again, there are subtle differences. For instance, the Revelation 6 horseman wears “a crown,” whereas Jesus Christ wears “many crowns.”
“Sword” and “Bow”
Notice again 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 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!