(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)

Chapter 9

17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.

18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.

19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

20 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.

21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Rev 9:17

Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions:

While it is unlikely that mankind will be literally assailed by warriors mounted on horses with the heads of lions, these images, and even the colors described, had powerful implications for the Church of John’s time as well as our own: 

  • Purinos, fiery red, the colors of fire and blood (Strong’s G4447);
  • Huakinthinos, sapphire, or, dark blue, the color of the mysterious depths of the seas (G5191),
  • Theion, burning bright yellow noxious fumes of sulfur (called brimstone, burning stone, in the OT). (G2303).

Rev 9:17

And out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur:

Consider the implications that the combined images of fire, smoke, and sulfur have for most cultures. For John, they would invoke images from the Old Testament:

  • Fire: For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deut 4:24)
  • Smoke: In my distress, I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it (Ps 18:6 )
  • Sulfur (KJV, brimstone): I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. (Ezek 38:22])

The same dire message is expressed in the following verses:

Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.

Deut 29:23 The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the LORD overthrew in fierce anger.

Job 18:15 Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.

Ps 11:6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.

Isa 30:33 Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.

Rev 9:19

The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails for their tails were like snakes:

According to some preterist scholars1, the horsemen can be compared to the Turkish invaders who emerged from Bithynia, the northwestern region of Anatolia (Acts 16:7, 1 Pet 1:1) around 1299 AD. These invaders terrorized the Christian world for several centuries. The Turkish soldiers and cavalry were known for wearing red, blue, and yellow uniforms, while their “lion-headed” horses symbolized fierce courage. The fire from their mouths was seen as the gunpowder and artillery used by the Turkish army.

But once again, the same descriptions could be applied to hundreds of invading armies of the time. What can be known for sure are the eternal principles being expressed. How many things, both good and evil, find their genesis in the mouth?

Psa 5:9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

Psa 10:7 His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.

Psa 59:12 For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride. For the curses and lies they utter,

Jer 9:8  Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully. With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them.

Isa 9:14-15 So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; 15the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Snakes and serpents are commonly portrayed as something dangerous to avoid:  

Deut 32:33 Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.

Job 20:16 He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him.

Ps 140:3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Isa 14:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.

And the tail is something that follows, the aftermath of poor decisions, the results of rebellion, and the devastation that is left when evil prevails:

Deut 28:13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

Deut 28:44 They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail.

Isa 9:15 …the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Rev 9:20

The rest of mankind …did not repent of the work of their hands… Nor did they repent of their murders…magic arts… sexual immorality or…thefts:

Jer 5:3 LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

Rev 16:9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

Rev 16:11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

Review the concept of repentance:

  • Hebrew, shuwb (shooɓ) Strong’s H7725, to turn back (not necessarily with the idea of returning to the starting point), to turn away. To retreat.
  • Greek, metanoeo (met-an-o-eh’-o) v. Strong’s G3340: to think differently or afterwards, regret, second thought, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction)

True repentance involves these things:

  • A recognition of truth (brought by the Holy Spirit, God’s reality);
  • the acceptance of that truth – acknowledgment of our brokenness and need for redemption, which leads to a broken heart and contrite spirit;
  • and turning away from the lies of the world to obedience to God.

Ps 51:17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Isa 57:15 For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Isa 66:2 …“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.

John Mark Comer writes:

The devil’s deceptive ideas get as far as they do because they appeal to our flesh’s animal cravings. But these, in turn, find a home in our bodies through the echo chamber of the world, which allows us to assuage any guilt or shame and live as we please. As a result, evil is often labeled good, and good, evil, and the soul and society devolve into a reign of anarchy via the loss of a moral and spiritual true north.2

To walk in opposition to God erodes faith, chips away at hope, and ultimately leads to spiritual death. To humbly submit to the Father brings true life:

Rom 6:21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2Chr 7:14 …if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Josephus foresaw the Jewish state’s downfall as actual historical events unfolded in AD 66. Compare the following verses to the historian’s eye-witness account of the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70:

Rom 1:18 [ESV] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Hos 9:10 [ESV] Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. 11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird— no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! … Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter… 14 Give them, O LORD— what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. … 16 Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death. 17 ​My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Deut 28:49 [ESV] The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, 50 a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. 51 It shall eat the offspring of your cattle and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; it also shall not leave you grain, wine, or oil, the increase of your herds or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish. 52 “They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you. 53 And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.

Josephus, The Jewish War, Book 6, Chapter 3:3:

[1] Now of those that perished by famine in the city, the number was prodigious, and the miseries they underwent were unspeakable; for if so much as the shadow of any kind of food did anywhere appear, a war was commenced presently, and the dearest friends fell a fighting one with another about it, snatching from each other the most miserable supports of life. … Moreover, their hunger was so intolerable, that it obliged them to chew everything, while they gathered such things as the most sordid animals would not touch, and endured to eat them; nor did they at length abstain from girdles and shoes; and the very leather which belonged to their shields they pulled off and gnawed: the very wisps of old hay became food to some; …There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, her name was Mary; her father was Eleazar, of the village Bethezob, which signifies the house of Hyssop… it was now become impossible for her any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, … and snatching up her son… she slew her son, and then roasted him, and eat the one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed.

Philip Schaff writes: There is scarcely another period in history so full of vice, corruption, and disaster as the six years between the Neronian persecution and the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophetic description of the last days by our Lord began to be fulfilled before the generation to which he spoke had passed away, and the day of judgment seemed to be close at hand. So the Christians believed and had good reason to believe. Even to earnest heathen minds that period looked as dark as midnight.3

Throughout history, man’s persistent rebellion against what is good and the embracing of evil has resulted in endless cycles of war and destruction. The following is just an example of the horrific cost of war. In all cases, the ones who suffer most are the elderly, women, and children4:

  • The Battle of Changping, China, 260 BC (650,000 Casualties)
  • The Battle of Kalinga, Mauryan Empire and India, 261 BC (200,000 to 300,000 Casualties)
  • The Siege of Jerusalem, 70 AD (1,100,000 Casualties)
  • Siege of Tenochtitlan, Spanish and Aztecs, 1521 AD (223,000 Casualties)
  • Genghis Khan (1162-1227): Slaughtered upwards of 40,000,000 – 11.1% of world population.
  • WWI: 15-22 million
  • WWII: 70-85 million (3% of the world population)

In the face of these tragedies, there stands Christ Jesus, who offers peace, abundant life, and redemption to all who will come to him:

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the LORDwill renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew Henry, Jameson-Fausset-Brown, et al. ↩︎
  2. Comer, Live No Lies , p. 243. ↩︎
  3. Schaff, Philip. History Of The Christian Church (The Complete Eight Volumes In One) . Kindle Edition, Location 5662. ↩︎
  4. List of wars by death toll, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_by_death_toll, retrieved Jun. 2, 2023. ↩︎

*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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