13Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God. 14And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.”
15Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. 16I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops. 17And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armour that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulphur billowed from their mouths. 18One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulphur that came from the mouths of the horses. 19Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.
20But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! 21And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Revelation 9:13-21
Now we come to the second terror or the sixth trumpet where we have a repeat of similar things with which we are already familiar. We have been warned by the eagle that more terror is coming. Notice once again, we are reminded of the link between these terrors and the Altar of Incense. The sixth angel has heard the command from the horns on the altar of incense. We know already the coming judgements are God’s response to the plea from the martyrs under the altar. It is not that the command comes from the martyrs themselves but rather through the horns on the altar of incense, from God. This is the result of the accumulated prayers of the saints down through the centuries, but more importantly the command comes from the horns on the altar, symbolising the authority of God behind the command. This command comes in accord with God’s will. The waiting is over, the time is soon.
The angel with the sixth trumpet then commands that the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates are to be released. Now which angels does that statement refer to? The earthly experts are divided over the interpretation of this statement. Here are the options:
- The definite article applied to the four angels here refers to the angels given the task to hold back the winds in 7:1.
- The fact that the angels are bound indicates they are not good but evil angels. Thus they must be the leaders of the invading hosts.
- The definite article refers to specific angels, the only specific ones mentioned are those of Rev 7:1. But does that fit or is there another group of four angels?
- A specific set of four angels is meant but they don’t match those in 7:1 because the location is different – i.e. at the great Euphrates River. The angels are bound and moved location.
Much of the argument against these four angels being the angels holding back the four winds and the related judgements centres on the switch in the words used between Rev 7:1 and 9:14. The four angels holding back the winds are the only ones John has mentioned specifically. Thus mostly likely “the four angels” he refers to are those found in 7:1. However the essence of the argument against these angels being bad or evil angels is found in the different verbs used between these verses. The verb used in 7:1 for “holding” or “holding back” is [κρατέω] krateō meaning “to hold”, “hold back”, “subdue” or “hinder”. Whereas the word used in 9:14 is [δέω] deō meaning “bind”, “to tie (up)”, “hinder”, “prevent”, “impede”. Much is made by some commentators of the difference between the words. Their conclusion being that the angels are different because the action of ‘holding back the winds’ is different from being bound in chains or imprisoned. Deō (to bind) and luo (to loose) are the classic pair of words used in the concept and practise of “binding and loosing”. Hence the conclusion that the four angels mentioned in Rev 9:14 are evil angels. “Good angels are never bound in Scripture”. I don’t believe that the verb [deō] as it is used in 9:14 has the sense of “bind with ropes or chains” or anything like that. The same verb deō is found in Acts 20:22-23 which reads:
And now I am bound (compelled) by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.
Acts 20:22
I don’t think there is any negative connotation to the use of deō here in Revelation 9:14. The sense of the use of deō here is simply to indicate the angels prevented the wind from blowing in the same way Paul was prevented from going to Jerusalem to be jailed and suffer. It does not contain the sense that the Holy Spirit tied Paul up or imprisoned him. Rather Paul was prevented by the Spirit from going to Jerusalem. Similarly it is not that the four angels were bound as evil angels but were restricted or prevented from leaving in order to accomplish their task of holding back the winds.
There is more to this discussion but I will spare you the detail, related to the other side of the argument in connection with “binding and loosing”. The point that these angels must be evil angels by virtue of being connected with the rabbinical process of binding and loosing is erroneous. Advocates miss the point on “binding and loosing”. In Rabbinical thought, binding is when you are holding tightly to the law (or a specific law or commandment) and seek to follow it more closely. Loosing is when you hold a particular law loosely and don’t seek to keep or follow it.
I agree with Gordon Fee and other commentators who believe the four angels are on guard in the area around the Euphrates River protecting the land from invasion from the North. Where in 7:1, these angels were preventing the four winds of the earth from bringing with it more judgement, now in 9:14 the angels are told to release the judgments to follow. These angels have been appointed for this exact time: the hour, the day, the month and the year. At the right time, the voice from the altar of incense commands the angels to release the judgements to avenge the death of the martyrs and the accumulated prayers of God’s people. We sometimes wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers for justice and righteousness. He will, in His Time.
[If you don’t like the above take on the four angels, the other alternative is think of the four angels in 7:1 as different from the four angels mentioned in 9:14. The angels in 9:14 being evil angels who lead the hordes to come down to attack with a huge force. (See below) There are problems with this interpretation which are inherent in what is listed above. The four angels mentioned in 7:1 were appointed to hold back the winds of judgement. If they are different from the ones holding the winds back, the first set of angels have to be good angels who hold back the evil angels rather than the winds as stated in 7:1. Why would four good angels be holding back four evil angels when God has control of all angels? Under that interpretation, the command given to ‘release the good angels bound at the Euphrates’ is to release the bad angels leading or commanding the winds of destruction. It is a strange concept. Rather than one group of four angels with the authority to command the release of terror to come. I will leave you to come to the conclusion you like best.]I am going to move on to cover the rest of 9:15-16 before I close this Gem.
15Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. 16I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops.
Revelation 9:15-16
I think you can read between the lines as well as I can, to realise there is so much packed into these verses and much of it feels like one giant mixed-metaphor, packed with mind-blowing visions and strange if not weird word pictures. Our difficulty is how to interpret the images in a way which makes sense to the people in John’s day and has relevance for us in the 21st Century, including all generations between. Now that’s “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma…” Winston Churchill, in a radio speech, in October 1939, made that comment to describe a situation that was difficult to comprehend. (At the time, he was analysing the early events of the second war to end all wars.) It seems appropriate here. In the future we will apply all this, not to two so-called world wars, but to a war to end all wars or the final conflict between good and evil that will usher in the Life of the Age to Come. Let’s then take a peek over the wall.
There are two details in the text before us I want to highlight now and leave the rest for the following Gem.
- One-third of all the people on the earth killed.
- The army of [duo muriades muriadōn] mounted troops.
1/3 of all People of Earth Killed
I have drawn your attention to the repetition of One-Third before in Gem 2271. The ratio of one-third is a demonstration or a symbol of God’s grace and long suffering. God has promised over and over that judgement is certain and imminent. The eagle has proclaimed loudly and widely for all to hear that terror is coming. I’ve told you that judgement is connected with the prayers of God’s people and the request for vengeance (‘avenge our blood’) on the part of the martyrs. But I haven’t disclosed the connector. [Machtah] means “censer”, the instrument holding the coals, while [michitah] which looks identical and sounds similar, except for the vowels, means “terror”, “ruin” or “destruction”. The coming destruction is inextricably linked to the censer and the burning-coals-thrown-down represent the request of the martyrs for vengeance.
So why if vengeance has been prophesied, predicted and promised for so long; why does God not just hurl it down on the earth and be done with it? Because God is long suffering and continually gives those who belong to the earth the chance to repent, over and over and over. A third are taken out in judgement leaving twice as many the opportunity to repent. When they don’t, He takes another 1/3, leaving behind twice as many again. Are you getting the idea? You must surely be understanding by now. In the next Gem I will revisit the matter of the patterns and series of these visions. The visions are patterned and predictable; we need to understand that and the time frame on which they happen.
The Army of 200 Million Mounted Troops
The two features of this army to grasp are the size and make-up of the troops. The Greek term used here is [δύο μυριάδες μυριάδων] or “two myriad of myriads”. 2 x a myriad of myriads, where a myriad = 10,000. So the amount is 2 x 10,000 x 10,000 = 200,000,000. Somehow two hundred million is more bearable than two myriad of myriads. The shock to the inhabitants of the world in John’s time in hearing of an army two myriad of myriads is far more horrifying than us in this present day and age on hearing of an army of 200 million. Oh, I think you will agree 200 million troops is shocking enough, mind-numbing even. But for the people in John’s day hearing of an army of 2 myriad of myriads was incomprehensible. The point at the time was to describe an army that was beyond the bounds of counting. After all, this is the number of troops not the population of a country.
Now add to that the added fact that these troops were all mounted on horses, resulting in 200,000,000 horses and 200,000,000 riders on those horses. [I don’t think all these troops would have been mounted. They would have needed infantry as well. But the text appears to match the number of horses with the 200 million as well.] To the people in the world in John’s day, mounted troops were the scariest thing imaginable. Cavalry of any proportion conjured up a picture of abject horror. To be fighting against a force of that magnitude mounted on horseback would have been unimaginable. Troops on horseback were darn right scary. If you were an infantry soldier faced with an opponent on horseback you are at an immediate disadvantage as your opponent is seated so much higher than you. Add to that the spike on the horse’s chanfron armour protecting the head and throw in the fact that Roman war chariots had blades on the end of the wheel axles and you are beginning to understand. But you can tell can’t you, there is more to come. That is the way John has been told to record what he saw.
Time to pause and ponder.
It’s estimated that more than 1 million Allied troops fought in the Battle of the Bulge, including 500,000 Americans. This battle is considered the largest and bloodiest single battle fought during WWII.
Wikipedia
The Soviet Union mobilized the largest number of people at just under 34.5 million; this included roughly 35% of the population. Wikipedia
Wikipedia
In 1363, 850,000 troops fought each other in the Battle of Lake Poyang, a battle between two rebel groups, both of whom happened to also fight the Yuan dynasty.
Wikipedia
The Hundred Days Offensive, 8 August to 11 November 1918, ended with the official surrender of the German Empire, and the conclusion of the Great War. The combined number of casualties suffered by both sides was a staggering 2,242,075 total casualties, or a unnerving 21,768 casualties every day, for over 100 days straight.
Wikipedia