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                           SATAN'S CAVALRY
                  The Four Horsemen of Revelation 6
                           By Bill Jackson

.    With a voice like a clap of thunder, the first living creature
addresses the aged apostle: "Come and see."  John sees a panoramic
unfolding of the conflict of the Ages, the full manifestation of
Satanic power and the glorious revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
ing of kings and triumphant Victor over Satan.

.    The first picture that flashed before the Apostle was of four
horses, each different yet all bearing features that spoke of the
devastation of mankind.  These four horsemen begin the drama that is
concluded when Jesus Christ returns in majesty, defeats Satan, sets up
His Kingdom and wipes away all tears - tears that had been the result
of the workings of Satan in the realm of time.

.    It is possible to differ in exact prophetic interpretations, and
at the same time agree on general truths.  Some assign Rev. 6 to post-
Rapture; others see Satan working throughout time in these ways and
believe that, while it will be more concentrated in the tribulation
period, Satan is even now developing his master plan (an endeavor to
produce something that will rival that which God is making).
Therefore, it is not surprising that Satan's production is a
counterfeit of God's truth (Isa. 14:14; 2 Cor. 11:14).

.    2 Thessalonians 2:7 tells us that, in the same time of the
Apostle Paul the "mystery of iniquity", Satan's master plan, was
working.  We can trace this counterfeit, (a satanic system of
religion, morals, economy and government) many centuries as we study
biblical and secular history.

.    In the pages following, I will look at the characteristics of the
horsemen of Rev. 6.  I believe we'll see in them a blueprint of
Satan's efforts to create, in this world, counterfeit systems that
will bring satisfaction to men.  We will see both the dismal failure
of Satan's devices and the eventual complete judgment of these by a
triumphant Christ, who will then usher in His millennial Kingdom of
perfect religion, morality, economy and government.

.    The chief aim of this study is to help God's people see where we
are today, and to realize our Christian responsibilities.  Although
the way of many may seem prosperous, if it is not in Christ it is
doomed to failure and defeat.

                           The White Horse

.    It is a plain scriptural fact that Satan tries to pose as a
wonderful creature.  When he appeared to Eve in Eden, he came in a
beautiful form and spoke words that sounded most pleasing.  When he
tempted the Lord Jesus in the wilderness, three times he tried to
present himself as a benefactor of Christ, to satisfy His hunger,
accomplish His mission and prove His Deity.

.    The image conjured up for us by medieval artists of a loathsome
creature breathing venom and hate is not the image that Satan gives
himself.  Because of the unreality of the old concept of Satan, many
dis-believe his existence.  Scripture assures us of Satan's reality
and reveals his true image.

.    We're told in 2 Cor. 11:14 that Satan is transformed into an
angel of light.  The word "transformed" means disguised, and we can be
sure that Satan performs this masquerade with the near- perfection.
So effective is his disguise that we are explicitly told to prove all
things (1 Thess. 5:21).  We can take nothing for granted.  A man may
be the graduate of a fundamental school and speak like an angel, but
we are still to measure his teachings by God's Word.

.    Satan is known as the arch-deceiver.  His earthly agent, spoken
of in 2 Thess. 2:9, comes "with all deceivableness".  Jesus' prophecy
in Matthew 24:24 is enough to send a chill down the spine, for false
satanic manifestation will, if it were possible, deceive the very
elect.

.    In Rev. 19:11-16 is pictured for us the Lord Jesus Christ coming
in final power and victory.  Notice that He is on a white horse, that
he has a weapon, and that He is crowned with many crowns and comes
conquering.  Then, we look at the first horsemen of Rev. 6.  He, too,
is on a white horse; he has a weapon and a crown, and he comes forth
to conquer.

.    One difference is the company he keeps.  The horseman of Rev. 6
comes with three fellow horsemen, all of whom contribute to man's
misery.  The Horseman of Rev. 16 comes with the armies of Heaven,
clothed in white linen.

.    The horseman of rev. 6 brings with him destruction and death; he
is indeed clothed with vesture dipped in blood, but He who comes to
mete judgment upon the earth is only worthy because He's the Lamb for
sinners slain, and because of His shed blood He is the One who unlocks
all the mysteries (Rev. 5:5,6), and then executes God's judgment upon
the earth.

.    They may look alike to some, but praise God for the eyes of faith
which can look upon the well-beloved of the Father and find Him
precious beyond compare and who through the Word of God can discern
the wiles of the masquerading father of lies.

.    The rider of the horse in Rev. 6 has a bow as his weapon, and it
is significant that, in history, the bow is first associated with
Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord (Gen. 10:8,9).  The kingdom
of Nimrod is the first such kingdom in the Bible; Nimrod's
designation, "mighty one", comes from the Hebrew "gibor" meaning
tyrant.  The name Nimrod means "let us rebel" and the expression
"before the Lord" has a hostile meaning.  Nimrod was an ungodly ruler;
the religious system springing from him, his wife Semirmis and her
illegitimate son Tammuz, was a satanic system (Babylon, Mystery
Religion, Woodrow).

.    This religion was Satan's organized counterfeit religion,
complete with false "virgin", a false son, and a supposed
resurrection.

    This religion dogged the Israelites whenever they
turned from God (Judges 2:13; Jer. 44:17; Eze. 8:14).  In that region,
there was still an organized heathen worship in the time of the
Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 10:21).  It was this paganism that united with a
church that had degenerated through the false teachings of Irenaeus,
Ignatius and Cyprian, so that it accepted the unsaved emperor
Constantine and became state religion.  The pagans flocked into the
church bringing the embryo of Satan's religious masterpiece -
Babylonian paganism with a thin veneer of "Christianity".  This is
embodied in the Roman Catholic Church today, and will be fully
manifested after the Rapture.

.    The rider of the first white horse is also given a crown, which
is of great significance.  We can search the world for an important
crown, and only one will be found - the papal crown that sits on the
shelf in the Vatican waiting for a crowned pope.  This triple crown of
the papacy embodies absolute power.  Both John Paul 1 and John Paul 2
shunned the crown, but a pope will again be crowned, and he will be
the head of the fully developed satanic super-church.

.    Therefore, in his disguising as the Lord Jesus, in his
association with the religious rebellion of Nimrod, and in his wearing
of the crown; the rider of the first horse displays himself as the
religious Anti-Christ.  At present he is in embryonic form, but he
will be fully manifested after the Rapture.

                            The Conqueror

.    The rider of the white horse goes forth conquering and to
conquer.  Already he has, by his disguise, bow and crown, been defined
as a religious leader.  Therefore, his conquest must be religious.

.    A student of church history can detect a water-shed in
religious movements.  This was the Protestant Reformation.  Prior to
this, all movements were going away from Rome (Waldensians, Hussites,
pre-Reformers).  After the Reformation, all religious movements, some
imperceptibly, are going toward Rome.

.    Prior to, and just after, the Reformation, Roman catholic
doctrine and practice was gelled by Thomas Aquinas, Pope Hildebrand
and the Council of Trent.  All of the movements within Roman
Catholicism to this day are going along guidelines set down at that
time.

    Even calling Protestants "separated brethren" instead of
"heretics", while a seeming contradiction of Boniface VIII's Unam
Sanctum ("it is necessary for salvation to be subject to the Roman
Pontiff"), is a confirmation of that encyclical.  The Roman Pontiff
(pope) is still laying down the laws for salvation, and even though
they seem to be more lenient, he now teaches a Baptism can be saved
because he is sincere, and, therefore, objectively, a Roman Catholic.

.    While Roman Catholic doctrine and practice was being completed,
many moved away because they could not agree with what was going on.
Now, however, the movement is toward Rome, and only those standing
fast on the Word of God are not moving.

.    The heart of any religious movement is its theology, and the core
of theology is the doctrine of Christ and the Bible.  Romanism
developed a Christology which portrayed a Christ who needed help from
Sacraments, devotions, works, etc. to effect salvation.  While giving
lip service to the Deity of Christ, Roman Catholics were in actual
fact denying His Deity by teaching the need of supplemental works to
His Atonement.  Since this took away from His perfection, it impugned
His Deity.  They also professed belief in innerrant scripture, but
supplanted its primary role by tradition.

.    The modernistic movement in Protestantism, from the very outset,
moved theologically closer to Rome by their denial of the Word of God
and the efficacy of the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

.    Pentecostalism, as it began in the early 20th century, while
vigorously denying any compromise with Rome, was nonetheless moving
theologically Romeward by reason of their insistence on contemporary
revelation, denial of eternal security and belief that the work of
salvation had to be supplemented by moral attainments of the believer.
These trends were not uniform throughout the movement (in which are
many sincere Christians), but the tend is there.

.    Neo-evangelicalism, with its compromise on the Word of God and
emphasis upon subjective religious experiences, likewise moves
Romeward.  Liturgical groups, Anglican and Lutheran, are daily moving
closer to Rome.  Neo-pentecostalism, with its subjective emphasis on
experience and by discarding plain commands of scripture by embracing
Catholic Charismatics, is likewise moving toward Rome.

.    It can be said that all roads lead to Rome except one; that leads
to Heaven.  All of these ecumenical advances can be seen as beginnings
of the complete victory of the religious Anti-Christ over all
religions that are left in the world after the Rapture (when the Lord
Jesus Christ will remove all true believers, even those who are now
caught up in movements with deficient theologies).  How far this unity
goes with non-Christian religions remains to be seen, but the Vatican
is probing ecumenical possibilities with Jews, Buddhists and even
Communists.

                            The Red Horse

.    The second seal is broken and lo, there appears a red horse, "and
power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth,
and that they should kill one another; and there was given to him a
great sword."

.    This represents Satan's political power on the earth.  It began
with rebellion against God and His government, and it produces war and
death.

.    Man has rejected God's government.  In 1 Samuel 7, Israel
demanded a monarchy in place of a theocracy, and the die was cast.
God's last political rampart was overrun and Satan, in ever increasing
intensity, has his way in governmental affairs of men.  There were
bright spots: the reign of King David; constitutional monarchies in
the fear of God as in the days of Queen Victoria; with its high ideals
of a democratic republic under God.  But on the whole, the picture is
getting dimmer.

   Today, the majority of the world lives with
restricted freedom, many with serious lack of human rights.  Even in
lands supposed to be free, many are finding out that freedom is
license to do evil while good is restricted.  In the midst of
political wrong, hatreds are being fermented among nations.  The
world, that once fought "a war to end wars" finds itself never without
hostility somewhere.  Means to achieve world peace are futile, because
of the nature of the rider of the red horse.  The only war to end wars
is Armageddon.

.    This political power wields a great sword, not for international
war, for he already has men killing one another in those.
Incorporated in this figure we see the preshadowing of a big
government far more hideous than that by which Christians are being
persecuted today.  And I'm not talking just about Communist
dictatorships.  In our own land, Christian ministers are behind bars.

Things are not going to get better; all of us can expect to feel the
edge of the governmental sword, as they control more and more in a
bloodthirsty effort to bring all aspects of life under their control.
Just like the masquerading rider on the first horse, the demon rider
of political dictatorship likes to appear benevolent - feed the
hungry, house the homeless, save the whales.  But the aim of public
welfare programs is public control, and the rider of the red horse is
with us today.  Praise God, we will not be here for his final
manifestation after the Rapture!

                           The Black Horse

.    The rider on the black horse represents Satan's endeavors in the
economic field, aided by man's greed.  We're living in a day when
staples are over-priced, and luxuries are affordable to the
comparative few.
     This economic trend is spurred by man's selfishness,
which is preparing the world for financial ruin.  We cannot fail to be
alarmed at the instability of the world's money, the fact that our
financial ups and downs are being manipulated by a core of elite
financiers, the apparent ignorance of the government economic
"experts" and the frightening increase in the use of imaginary money
(credit cards) and the hoarding of gold, silver, platinum or diamonds.

Yet even the lasting value of these is open to debate; every financial
system will crumble before the Satanic economy of the future.

.    Just as Satan has his hand in religion and politics to bring
about a one-world religion and government, so his plans include a one-
world economy.  Many financiers avow this as the only solution.  We
are closer to it than most imagine.  May we instead of looking out for
ourselves, look up for the coming of the Lord.

                            The Pale Horse

.    On the horizon comes a fourth horse, more ghastly than the other
three.  The rider is Death, and, following closely behind a spectre
called Hades.  Power was given to them to kill with sword, hunger and
the beasts of the earth.

.    In order to understand this horseman, we must investigate the
cause of death.  "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).  "Sin when
it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:15).  Death is the
result of sin, and even now, sin is bringing forth death.  Violent
crime is rampant; senseless murders that can only be explained by
reference to satanic temptation are making headlines, and that is just
the tip of the iceberg.  What we don't know about moral perversion
would chill us to the marrow.

.    Even now, sin is causing death with the sword and with hunger.
There is enough potential food for all human beings, but the
selfishness of man has deprived millions of an adequate diet.  If our
wasted time, money and resources were channeled to the hungry, the
world would be fed.

.    On the horizon are scourges that could blot out millions of
people.  In this age of grace, when full manifestation of satanic
power is divinely curtailed, there are still reported incidents of men
being killed by animals and insects.  What it will be like after the
Rapture defies description.

.    Yes, the the fourth horse is on the horizon now, and all the
misery and death now rampaging through the world is only a foretaste
of that to come.

                        Why does Cavalry Ride?

.    Satan's fall was due to his pride - "I will be like the most
High."  After he was judged by God and cast from his former estate,
Satan continued to try to prove that he can produce something that is
superior to God's KIngdom.  In this, not only is Satan the deceiver;
he is the deceived.

.    The four horsemen represent Satan's final attempt to produce a
kingdom over which he will be king.  The One World Church: most
religionists believe this is the only way to achieve spiritual
prosperity.

    Most politicians are working overtime to achieve
political unanimity of One World Government.  Economists look to One
World Currency to solve our economic woes.  The problem is that these
all derive their power from the same soul as the forth horse, for
Satan is incapable of moving other than immorally.  Even the moral
platitudes put forth by exponents of one world religion, government
and economy are mere facades to cover lurking wickedness.  It cannot
be otherwise, for the one who motivates this coming ride of the
Cavalry is Satan himself.

.    In order to understand this, we must consider how the conflict
between Satan and God was manifested throughout human history.

.    During the Ages of Law, God ordained a criterion, of human
action, that demonstrated the exceeding sinfulness of man.  God
decreed that man should keep the law, but He also gave man a way back
should he sin.  God was offering life to man if he would observe God's
requirements.  Satan was not only trying to trick God's people into
sinning against God, he was creating (outside  of God's chosen race) a
mysterious pagan religion that counterfeited all God was preparing
through Israel.

.    During the Age of grace, the Gospel is proclaimed to all mankind.
Through the Gospel message, God is saying that the structures built by
Satan - prosperity, popularity, religion and morality - are wrong.

He is calling upon men to repent; to turn from all the workings of Satan
and respond to the Gospel message.  The message of the Gospel is that
the Lord Jesus died, was buried and rose again, in an act of Atonement
to satisfy for our sins.  All that is entailed in prosperity and
satisfaction is found in Him.  A person's relationship to others
(political and economical) must be revolutionalized as they turn from
the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God.

.    However, Satan is also busy in this Age of Grace.  While God is
calling out a people for Himself, Satan is accelerating his programs.
False religion abounds, as do the progresses of political enslavement,
economic disaster and moral degradation.  And a conflict is still
going on, between God and Satan, for the souls of man.

.    During the first part of the Tribulation period, we will see
Satan working in all his fullness.  He is unleashed to bring into
completion his four-fold plan - religious, political, economic and
moral.  As the Satanic Cavalry rides, it is plain that Satan is
endeavoring to prove to the world that his plans are better than
God's.  However, not only do they utterly fail, God underlines His
majestic control over creation by pouring out awesome judgments upon
the world.

.    Following the Tribulation, we are ushered into the Millennial
Kingdom, when God contrasts the ruin of Satan's reign to the Glory of
His own.  Following the Millennium comes the final choice that man
must make, and many rebel against God and follow Satan.  Having seen
the horror of Satan's rule and the glory of God's rule, they still
choose the former.  What a commentary on man's deceitful heart!

                      What Should Christians Do?

.    Any study that has, as its aim, mere dissemination of knowledge
cannot fulfill a really Godly purpose.  My aim is to get you to think,
in the light of all that is happening, what manner of persons you
ought to be (2 Peter 3:11).

.    We are living in a challenging generation.  There are three main
duties for every truly born - again child of God.

.    The first is to evangelize.  The Lord Jesus Christ has never
rescinded the Great Commission.  Our critical assessment of the
ungodly movements in the world must never outweigh our zeal to win
those in these ungodly movements to the Lord.  It is too easy to want
to be so insulted from Satan that we view everyone else with a narrow
judgment void of love and scriptural evangelism.  We must always be
obedient to the plain command of the Lord Jesus, and evangelize the
lost.

.    Next, we have a scriptural obligation to stand fast for what the
Word teaches, in the face of all who teach otherwise.  The innerrancy
of the Bible is under attack today.  Also under attack is the
scriptural truth of the once-for-all, perfect redemption purchased by
the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary.  Man-made decisions, exciting
experiences and moral reform are headlines today instead of redemption
from sin.

    Even the fact of sin is being obscured.  The trouble with
man is not confusion, depression and insecurity.  The trouble is sin.
There are many pseudo-Christian solutions to man's wrong attitudes;
there is only one solution to sin.  The Son of God bled and died on
Calvary to redeem mankind.

.    Because many who call themselves "Christians" err concerning the
Book and the Blood, there is a need to separate from this evil.
Because our century is a time of love and brotherhood, it is
increasingly unpopular to so stand, but failure to stand surrenders to
the enemy the precious heritage of our Savior and our Bible.  May we
always stand, against all odds, for this apostolic faith.

.    Thirdly, we must come out from all alliances with the
consolidating evil of this world.  This does not just include
religious affiliations; we must stand against political encroachments
(not of our rights, but of the right), against the economic mania of
rampant credit that is destroying us, against the moral evils of our
days.

    God's call plainly is for Christians to cease in their pursuit
of worldly alliances, unscriptural fellowship, selfish materialism and
unbridled lust.  Alas, how many who name His Name are so engrossed in
the world that they cannot hear His clarion call, "Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins." (Revelation 18:4)

                            The Conclusion

.    Today, in the midst of battle, we are not always sure who is
winning.  Anti-Christian forces are making headway in every arena.
Political forces militate against the people of God; the Financial
insecurity that is ravaging the world seems to reinforce the
prediction of economists that the only way out is One World Currency.

The increasing numerical identification of individuals is making a
probability out of what once seemed a science-fiction account of
computer-controlled international economics.  Does anything need to be
said about moral degradation?  One cannot even watch a football game
without being exposed to senseless nudity.

.    All is working toward a climax known, frighteningly, as "the
Great Tribulation".  This time of Satanic manifestation will be mixed,
of moral necessity, with God's awesome judgments.  But even that is
not the end.  Then comes the Millennium and then the final rebellion.
God's Word writes the closing chapter of evil in Revelation 20:10-15.

.    Just as the Gospel message is adjacent to man's sinfulness, right
after these awesome words of judgment come words of everlasting
Glory.  The conflict that seems muddied, uncertain and inconclusive
reaches a divine end.  As the Lake of Fire is open to all not written
in the Book of Life, life is eternally revealed to the saved.

.    Revelation 21 and 22 are the firm basis for the believer's
assurance that, although some battles may appear to be lost, and Satan
seems to have his way now, there is coming a day when every tear will
be wiped dry, and every conflict will be resolved in Victory for the
Right.  Then, not only in our hearts, but in the Universe He created
and died to redeem, Jesus Christ will reign as King of kings and Lord
of lords.

.    Satan's cavalry will rumble through God's creation, but the final
sound will be the shout of triumph and the everlasting song of
redeemed, "Unto Him..." (Rev. 1:5).

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