The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million. Rev 9.

 

When I was a child watching cartoons on the television, the announcer, in some silly voice, would say, “When we last saw our hero, Dudley Dooright, he was trying to save Nel." At this point, they would show you Nel tied to the railroad tracks. Well, it is easy to lose your focus on who the hero is when everywhere you look in the Revelation there is death and destruction.

In short, God is trying to get the attention of the Jews who rejected Him; and, He is trying to get the attention of those people who are called the nations/Gentiles. To the Jews, this is everyone outside of the Jewish faith. If you were not born and raised a Jew, and, you accepted Christ into your life, you are adopted into the family and no longer thought of as part of the nations.

Look around you, what are the nations doing? Bombing, shooting and generally causing mayhem. Sadly, this is happening everywhere.

When we last look at Revelation 9 someone unidentified, has said to the sixth, trumpet-blowing angel, release the four angels who are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Revelation 9:14 NASB "one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

Ponder this for a moment.

• Angels who are bound.

  There has to be a reason for this, and it cannot be good. The logical assumption is that they are dangerous, and we see the evidence for this, as they proceed to kill off one-third of the earth's population.

• If angels are God's created beings, then who would be the one to bind them?

  God/Jesus.

• One last thing. It only took one angel to kill all the unprotected firstborn in Egypt that night of the first Passover, so how much damage can these four pull off?

  The short answer, they kill off a third of humanity.

  • Why did I mention the unprotected? Because Moses made the declaration with the instructions that “God's people” were to put the blood of the Lamb upon their doorposts (there were a few other things they had to do – all of which were part of a training process necessary because these people, that were to be called Israel was effectively Egyptians.) Because we are selfish humans, you have to know that there were some that did not comply and they found out the hard way that God should not be challenged.

    At the opposite end of the spectrum, there had to be some Egyptian individuals and families that took shelter in the homes of the Jews. In case you did not know, Caleb was a Kenizzite and not a Jew, and yet we come to learn that he and his kinfolk made it out of Egypt after that night; and, Caleb was one of the 12 spies that went into Canaan to spy out the land. He, along with Joshua, came back with a good report about the land, while the other ten whined.

Revelation 9:15 NASB And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year were released so that they would kill a third of mankind.

I want you to hold to a thought, “they, (the four), will kill a third of mankind. I am asking you to hold this thought because the next few verses may confound you. I tell you this because, if a church leader was brave enough to teach on this portion of the Revelation, they typically attributed the 2 million troops to the Chinese. Much like getting us focused on Gorbachev, the then president of Russia, with his red birthmark on his forehead, from in the early '80s, this misleading information about the Chinese enforced the idea that no one could understand the Revelation.

So, focus on what we do know.

We just saw that four, presumably, angry angels were released from the Euphrates, for the express purpose of wreaking havoc upon the earth.

Revelation 9:14 NASB ... "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

All doubts about their mission was eliminated when we saw that the outcome of their work kills off one-third of humanity.

Revelation 9:15 NASB And the four angels, ... were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.

If I went no further, I would say, I got it, but suddenly someone hit the pause button for a second, and when they came back they decided we need a full and detailed description of what these four angels are capable of dispatching.

Revelation 9:16-19 ERV I heard how many troops on horses were in their army. There were 200,000,000. (17) In my vision, I saw the horses and the riders on the horses. They looked like this: They had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow like sulfur. The heads of the horses looked like heads of lions. The horses had fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths. (18) A third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues coming out of the horses' mouths: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur. (19) The horses' power was in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails were like snakes that have heads to bite and hurt people.

• Two million troops on horses and they looked like this:

• They had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow like sulfur.

• The heads of the horses looked like heads of lions.

• The horses had fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths

• A third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues coming out of the horses' mouths.

  • The three plagues coming out of the horses' mouths: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur.

We have nothing in the context that explains how we went from angels to two million troops on something similar to a horse.

Ezekiel might be able to demonstrate the prophetic pattern, as it speaks of similarly attired horsemen.

Ezekiel 38:3-4 ERV Tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Gog, you are the most important leader of the nations of Meshech and Tubal, but I am against you. (4) I will capture you and bring you back. I will bring back all the men in your army, all the horses, and horse soldiers. I will put hooks in your mouths, and I will bring all of you back. All the soldiers will be wearing their uniforms with all their shields and swords.

• Does Revelation 9:16-19 compare well with Ezekiel 38:3-4?

  Not exactly; they both have horsemen with breastplates, riding horses, but we do not see the riders of Ezekiel killing off a third of humanity.

  The horses in the Revelation have fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their nostrils, we do not see that in Ezekiel. If it proves anything, it proves that God has a theme and plausible means to accomplish and end result.

  Think about the practical side of a mounted Calvary; do you see anyone attacking on horseback? What you do see are artillery units, missiles, and unmanned drones.

• Revelation 9:7-10 tells us that “The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle.”

  We are comparing apples to oranges, so this is not the answer.

• While there is no contrast in the Psalms it does tell us that He punishes the wicked with fire and brimstone.

  Psalms 11:6 NASB Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone ...

It is clear that God is using these angels to bring about some of His wrath; and, it is defined that the angels have enlisted a two million man Calvary of demonic horses and horsemen. These are NOT human by any stretch.

By the time we hit this point in the chronological rendering of the Revelation, we might assume that we are dealing with some point within the last three years of the time of wrath.

Wow, many might breathe a sigh of relief just knowing that you do not have to contend with the four angels. I, on the other hand, pity the fool, as Mr. T used to say, who has to endure this hellish pain and death. I can implore you, as so many do, to accept Christ into your life, so that you can come to the wedding supper of the Lamb. But I cannot make you do it. 

Notice how chapter nine finishes out.

Revelation 9:20-21 NASB (20) The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; (21) and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

• “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, … and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”

We are made aware of four terms: 

• murders
• The word takes on a whole new meaning when you come to realize that it also means slaughter. We have nothing in our Bibles that defines the Islamic prophecies of how the same man we call the false prophet becomes the enforcer of Sharia. Under this man's leadership, he mandates that everyone bows to Allah or loses their head. Is this concept found in scripture? Absolutely, as Jesus, in Matthew 24, describes how God has to cut the time short or NO ONE would live.
• sorceries
• This is the Greek word pharmekia (sound familiar?) Look at what it means: employment of drugs for any purpose. Open your eyes. Many of you are voluntarily submitting to a "vaccine" (an illegitimate term for a concoction approved for emergency usage. It would have had to go through lengthy trials to gain the name vaccine, but by having it approved for emergency usage the drug companies got to bypass the trials, and those of you who have accepted this "vaccine" have become the lab rats.) Are you aware that this so-called vaccine failed miserably in lab animals, to the point that they were about to give up on it?
• immorality
• The Greek word is porneia. What a shock heh? The Word Study Dictionary states that " Symbolically it stands for idolatry, the forsaking of the true God in order to worship idols." However, it has most recently come to describe a vast number of acceptable self-driven perversions. Take for example the word illicit. Illicit means: That which was not permitted or allowed; prohibited; unlawful; as an illicit trade; illicit intercourse or connection. It was not permitted, but now it is.
• thefts
• This is the Greek word klemma and means a thing stolen or the act of theft. Oh my, where do I begin. We had church stolen from us, along with our health due to a manmade disease. How about our moral base, our nation, our safety, etc...

Isn't it obvious that a shred of these fools that have stolen our lives, health, and liberty, have survived to this point?

So many have died up to this point that it is hard to say how many are left. One thing is for sure, those who are left seem to be hell-bent on murder.

How would you like that on your tombstone?

Release the four angels who are bound. Rev 9: 12-14

 We ended the last post with descriptives of locusts, which have stingers in their tails; they act like scorpions; and, they are led by a fallen angel, named Abaddon and Apollyon, which just happen to be the names for Sheol/hell. The clues that we are given are so obvious, that I suspect John wanted us to figure out who it is. We are told in Revelation 9:1, that this fallen angel had obtained the keys to death and hell.

Wow, first off, why would anyone give this loser the keys to hell?

The answer lies in Adam's actions, or lack thereof, in the garden. It was an act that was sealed when Adam bit into that fruit. In a sense, this is one of those great mysteries spoken of in scripture, but it is only a mystery to those who do not wish to understand.

Consider that Satan told Jesus, all these kingdoms of the world, are mine to give.

The question is, how did Satan obtain such power and authority?

And again, we are back to Adam. God had given the man complete authority over the earth, and he relinquished that authority to Satan. God had to honor the man's actions, no matter how destructive. That seems like a no-win situation, but Jesus, as Pastor JD Farag consistently says. So God had a plan, and the garden was the opening volleys that would put Satan away permanently, and sort out those who would choose to love and follow Him.

Does Satan still have these keys and therefore the power of fear over hell?

In the first chapter of the Revelation, John describes hearing a voice. When he turned to see who was speaking, he sees Jesus. It is the description of Jesus that is mind-blowing.

Revelation 1:13-18 DRB And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. (14) And his head and his hairs were white as white wool and as snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire: (15) And his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace. And his voice as the sound of many waters. (16) And he had in his right hand seven stars. And from his mouth came out a sharp two-edged sword. And his face was as the sun shines in his power. (17) And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the First and the Last, (18) And alive, and was dead. And behold I am living forever and ever and have the keys of death and of hell.

In the process of His death and resurrection, Jesus stripped those keys out of Satan's hand.

Back to the locusts.

The sting is so severe that the victims will want to die, but they cannot.

Doesn't it seem odd that John would describe something as mundane as a locust with such detail?

I have never seen a locust much larger than about four inches, and yet, these have extensive details such as:

• A gold-tone crown on their heads.

• Bronze breastplates.

• Human-looking faces.

• Hair like a woman.

• And, there is that stinger, which does not belong on a locust.

End of page one.

The locusts seem to form militaristic squadrons as they attack humans with their lion-like teeth. The finale to this horror is the fact that these locusts have stingers in their tails. Imagine a locust curling its tail over its head and stinging you.

One woe is past:

Since Revelation chapter six began there has been an onslaught of woes. 

How does it get worse?

Revelation 9:12 DRB One woe is past: and behold there come yet two woes more hereafter.

How much time has passed at this point?

We have no known references to a calendar, and therefore cannot say. Nothing tells us that God's fury is being poured out in deliberate, five-month segments. We do know that the effects of the stingers cause the victims to suffer for five months; they will want to die, but they cannot.

When the wrath of God begins to be poured out in Revelation six, verse two, one of the first things we see is the entrance of the antichrist persona. Based upon this, all I can tell you is that if you, the reader is experiencing these things, then you are in the seven years of God's wrath.

Revelation 9:13-14 NASB (13) Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, (14) one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

In Revelation 8:1, we are introduced to the trumpet judgments (it is really a shofar blast, but that only makes sense to a Jew, and so our Bible translations like to call it a trumpet blast.) 

We are currently on the sixth trumpet blast.

“Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

Are you kidding me; it only took one angel to kill all the unprotected first-born in Egypt that night.

What are these angry and most likely fallen angels, going to do?

Jude 1:6 NASB And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

Pay attention to the way the words are laid out. I could interpret this to be saying that these angels are being held so that they can help to bring God's judgment on the great day. The terminology forces you to understand that judgment will come, and that the phrase “the great day” is referring to, NOT just one day, but the time we understand as the seven-year period in which God's wrath is poured out in judgment.

Has God used a variety of methods to bring about judgment?

The answer is a decisive yes. For example, He used Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire to judge Israel for ignoring the Sabbath years in which they should have given the land rest.

How can we define this great day?

Joel 2:30-31 NASB "I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. (31) "The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

End of page two.

1 Corinthians explains that we, who are confirmed in Christ, are not lacking as we await our redemption, because Christ will find us blameless in the day of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:6-8 NASB (6) even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, (7) so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, (8) who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, that is good news, but why?

It is good because judgment, which is wrath, is not meant for the body of Christ, and that means believers.

2 Peter speaks of the day of the Lord, but here it is described with blunt honesty. We are told that the heavens will pass away and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, all while people continue to try to survive on the earth.

2 Peter 3:9-10 NASB The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

The Revelation itself gives us something that may explain what these angels will do, but we have to jump forward in this saga, momentarily.

Revelation 12:1-4 NASB A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; (2) and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. (3) Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. (4) And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

When we get to Revelation chapter 12, it is best to understand this as a history lesson.

• The woman clothed with the sun, is Jesus, giving birth to, not only Israel, but to Jesus as well.

  This is not meant to push you into astrology, as that is the demonic version of astronomy, but we have a well-defined reason to understand the stars – astronomy, if you wish.

  • Isaiah 7:14 NASB "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

    The Hebrew word for sign is 'ôth and means a signal, a flag, a beacon, or a mark. The language the Holy Spirit chose to use was common, and so those who heard these words understood what a virgin was; they also comprehended the process of birth, but these words would not come to pass, in a physical sense, during any of their lifetimes. This means that they were to look at the stars and their alignments, for they were well aware of the patterns and the meanings. Remember that I said we are looking at Astronomy, not astrology, as astrology is demonic.

 End of page three

What do some of these scriptural examples look like?

For most, reading this paragraph immediately pulls them into the Zodiac, all of which is a perversion of what God designed to be prophetic beacons in the heavens.

It is evident that the purpose of the signs is multifaceted. 

A touch of honesty, when someone explains a relationship between scripture and the associated astronomical signs, I find it fascinating, for at least a moment, and then I forget what I heard.

When Jesus was born, is this when God, the Father, began pointing out the signs?

The answer is NO, and we have the Magi, who followed the signal that led them to Jesus, to confront such a question, as a portion of our evidence. Read Matthew 2:1-16.




Did the Magi hit the timing exactly and arrive at the moment of Jesus birth?

NO, but God did time it so that what the Jews deemed the lowest of humans, the shepherds, would be the first to see Him. The IVP Bible Background Commentary suggests this “Due to the proximity to Jerusalem, some scholars have suggested that the flocks here are the temple flocks raised for sacrifice. This narrative would have challenged the values of many religious people, who despised shepherds.”

The Magi, on the other hand, arrived at a time when Jesus was about two years old. We know this because, Herod, after interviewing the Magi, had all boys two years and younger, in the region of Bethlehem, killed.

• Genesis 1:14 NASB Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;

  The stars and their alignments, as I have already stated, are for signals.

One of the tremendous events, alluded to by Revelation 12 and these star signs were Israel and the birth of a nation.

• Isaiah 66:7-8 NASB "Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy. (8) "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.

This star alignment was recently brought forth, as Virgo had the sun in the area of her womb just as Revelation 12 spelled out.






Revelation 6:15-17 shows the kings, the rich, and the strong, who are hiding in their luxury, underground, caves, as they cry out hide us from the great day of the Lord. And in Revelation 16:14 the description includes a war associated with the day of the Lord.

End of page four.

This is the stuff bad dreams are made of. Migrating toward Revelation 16. Part 3

We are still within the seventh seal, and we are up to the sixth trumpet.

THE SIXTH TRUMPET BRINGS THE SECOND TERROR

Revelation 9:13-15 AMP Then the sixth angel blew [his] trumpet, and from the four horns of the golden altar which stands before God I heard a solitary voice, (14) Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Liberate the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. (15) So the four angels who had been in readiness for that hour in the appointed day, month, and year were liberated to destroy a third of mankind.

“Liberate the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

After you sit under some of the teachings out there, you begin to develop at least the hope that Satan and his cohorts were put out-of-the-way. I know I did. But, if that were the case we wouldn't be having most of the troubles we have. Spend some time in the Word, sorting these out, and you will find out that Satan still runs around deceiving, and he has helpers in the form of fallen angels. (These are what many call demons. If you watch any of those ghost chaser shows, you know that these angels will throw stuff around the room. This is very real.)

The number of angels is an unknown to us, but Satan convinced a third of them to follow him. Four of those have been chained in Euphrates river. Remember, it only took one angel, working on behalf of God, to kill all the firstborn of Egypt in one night.

“So the four angels who had been in readiness for that hour in the appointed day, month, and year were liberated to destroy a third of mankind.”

The Greek word for readiness is hetoimazō (het-oy-mad'-zo), and means to prepare. Are the angels preparing for the time they would be freed, or is it that God has placed them there because of their destructive capabilities, while he awaits the proper time to release them?

Try reading some of Frank Peretti's books, such as This Present Darkness; Piercing the Darkness, or The Visitation, and you will get a fairly accurate picture of how these fallen angels operate on the earth. We seem to forget that they are extremely powerful even if they have fallen, but we - those who follow Christ and have his name, have all authority in the name of Jesus. And, every knee will bow before that name, even if it does not seem like it now.

So, four angels get released and destroy a third of mankind. Are they selective in whom they kill? It does not specify. I feel safe in saying that they will not be able to harm those sealed by God. And, if you are paying attention, they are not excluding their own followers. Isn't that a strange irony. Satan does not care about anyone, not even his followers.

What is this sudden transition?

Revelation 9:16 NASB The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

In verse 15 we see four angels, held in chains for years, now released upon the earth. But just that quickly we are looking at 200 million horsemen.

Where did 200 million horsemen come from? Are they human or inhuman?

When I was younger I heard that this would be a Chinese infantry. The impracticability of mounting 200 million horses becomes more evident when you see some practical numbers. The IVPBB Commentary gives us this: “Two hundred million” would be a huge standing army even today (nearly the entire population of the United States, almost four times that of Great Britain, over twice that of Nigeria, and eight times that of Canada); in the first century it may have represented more than the population of the entire world.” Is it impossible for God? No, but it seems highly improbable, especially after you read the description in verse 17.

Revelation 9:17 NASB And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.

It seems easy to associate passages like what we see in Ezekiel. However, because there is an undeclared quantity of people and horsemen I do not believe we should be looking for a physical, mounted force.

Ezekiel 38:1-6 NASB And the word of the LORD came to me saying, (2) "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him (3) and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. (4) "I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; (5) Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; (6) Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops--many peoples with you.

The visuals we see in verse 17 do not sound like anything from reality, horses with heads like lions, and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. Seeing as there is nothing like this on earth, then it has to be spiritual, even demonic, and they come out of the pit with these fallen angels.

By these three plagues.

Revelation 9:18-19 ESV By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. (19) For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed. We are within the seventh seal and the sixth trumpet. When I paid attention to what this said, I found myself saying, what plagues?

Coming out of the horses mouths are:

• fire
• smoke
• sulfur

“For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.” So, one-third of mankind dies because of them.

I was recently asked, what about the survivors of the time of wrath? It is hard to imagine anyone surviving. This tells us that they did not repent nor give up worshiping demons and idols.

Revelation 9:20-21 ESV The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, (21) nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Greek word translated repent here, means to think differently. All this is being done to get hardcore fools to think otherwise, change from their own way of doing things, and turn toward God. This shows a special kind of arrogance, as these people just continue the godless lives they were living.

In what ways do we worship demons? Idols I can understand, but unless you joined yourself to a Satanic cult, what else could this mean? The word worship here is proskuneō and means (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand). Hasn't the world's ways taught us that money and the pursuit of it, is the only way to go? In living like this haven't, we enslaved ourselves almost in worship to the ways of the world?