SEVEN TRUMPETS (6-1) | 2ND WOE - THE KILLING HORSES (REVELATION 9:13-21)
1. Revelation
a) John wrote Revelation while a prisoner on the Island of Patmos, approximately 85-95 A.D. Its purpose is to give encouragement and hope for all Christians to continue watching for the return and triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also is to warn of the Final Judgment that nonbelievers will endure on that Last Day.
b) John wrote that Revelation is special because,“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
c) A brief view of the Book of Revelation. It gives you some basic understanding of the book of Revelation.
2. The Sixth Trumpet (2nd Woe - The Killing Horses)
Revelation 9:13-21
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.” 15 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. 16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 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. 18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded 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 and have heads, and with them they do harm.
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.
3. The Altar And The Angels
Revelation 9:13-15
a) Altar
i) As we have seen previously, the altar signifies the sacrifice of Christ our High Priest. Therefore whatever horrors appear in this vision, the fact of redemption through grace remains true above all.
b) Voice
i) The voice John heard came from the four horns of the altar, so this voice has the authority of none less than Christ the Great High Priest. He has the authority to open and shut, to bind and release (Revelation 3:7).
c) Euphrates
i) This river begins at the cradle of mankind (Genesis 2:8-15). It signifies mankind flowing out into the world taking with him not only the word of God but also disobedience.
d) Prepared for the hour
i) The four angels "had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year" (Revelation 9:15).
ii) There are two important principles underlying these words.
@1. Times and seasons in visions represent the subjection of all things to God. What God determines will take place will happen at the very hour he determines. Jesus spoke of "times and seasons which the Father has put in his own authority" (Acts 1:7).
@2. Satan is always prepared to act at any hour, day, month, and year. He is vigilant, and when a time to act comes his way, he is not taken by surprise. He will have servants ready prepared.
e) Four
i) There are four angels to represent that tribulations affect the whole world. They reach "the four corners of the earth" (Revelation 7:1) meaning everywhere, north, south, east, and west.
f) To kill a third of mankind
These angels are like the angel who opened the bottomless pit, and their vast army is like the locusts that came up from the pit (Revelation 9:1-3). They are restrained. As in the four scourges that followed the first four trumpets (Revelation 8:6-12) the damage is limited to one third. The angels are released to kill, but they are not allowed to do so without restraint. As terrible as the tribulations are, there is quite some comfort in knowing that evil does not have full reign in this world. It does not even have half. The one third signifies that Evil has the lesser reign.
4. The Second Woe
Revelation 9:16-19
a) Two hundred million
i) In the vision, the army of the four angels numbered two hundred million. John heard this number. It is huge indeed, signifying the dreadful and mighty power of the forces that Satan can assemble. Myriads of evil beings follow him. However, it is a countable number, even as big as it is. God's number is one that "no man can count" (Revelation 7:9). Satan is incredibly powerful, but nowhere near as powerful as Christ. Satan's power is finite; God’s is infinite.
b) Horses
i) The horses in the vision remind us of the locusts in the previous vision, and they represent much the same thing.
c) Fire, smoke, brimstone
i) The riders of these horses had colored breastplates - the colors of fire, smoke, and brimstone, the plagues that came from the horses' mouths. Fire, smoke, and brimstone signify evil deeds. When God judges evildoers, they are portrayed as being cast into a lake composed of fire, brimstone, and smoke (Revelation 14:9-11, Revelation 20:10).
d) Heads like lions
i) One would expect horses to have heads like horses, not like lions. But horses are servants of men, so these horses have lion-like heads to signify kingship. However they are still horses, not lions, and so they represent a false king. The mouths of these horses represent that king’s law.
e) Tails like serpents
i) Not only do these tails indicate the evil nature of the antichristian king and with whom he is allied, but the tails do harm and show the power of the wicked king to enforce his law with military might.
5. The Wicked World
Revelation 9:20-21
a) At the time John saw these visions, Rome was a pagan superpower corrupted by Satan the serpent of old. Whilst the Roman empire is well represented by these horses, the spirit of antichrist evident in that empire is not unique to it. The spirit of antichrist is ubiquitous and remains quite evident in the world long after Rome has fallen. Nor is it hard to find wicked kings and rulers at any given time in the world’s history.
b) Did not repent
i) The rest of mankind who were not killed, did not repent (Revelation 9:20-21). We may be surprised to find that in this vision the evil is not what God views as the main problem. He certainly recognizes the evil men have done. He certainly abhors that evil, and will punish it.
ii) However what concerns and angers God more is that "they did not repent". Had they repented and defected to Christ's kingdom, God could have solved the problem of their sins by exercising his grace through the sacrifice Christ the Lamb had made for them. However, although God gave them "space to repent" (Revelation 2:21; Romans 1:21-23) they did not want to. That's the main problem.
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.” 15 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. 16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 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. 18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded 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 and have heads, and with them they do harm.
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.
3. The Altar And The Angels
Revelation 9:13-15
a) Altar
i) As we have seen previously, the altar signifies the sacrifice of Christ our High Priest. Therefore whatever horrors appear in this vision, the fact of redemption through grace remains true above all.
b) Voice
i) The voice John heard came from the four horns of the altar, so this voice has the authority of none less than Christ the Great High Priest. He has the authority to open and shut, to bind and release (Revelation 3:7).
c) Euphrates
i) This river begins at the cradle of mankind (Genesis 2:8-15). It signifies mankind flowing out into the world taking with him not only the word of God but also disobedience.
d) Prepared for the hour
i) The four angels "had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year" (Revelation 9:15).
ii) There are two important principles underlying these words.
@1. Times and seasons in visions represent the subjection of all things to God. What God determines will take place will happen at the very hour he determines. Jesus spoke of "times and seasons which the Father has put in his own authority" (Acts 1:7).
@2. Satan is always prepared to act at any hour, day, month, and year. He is vigilant, and when a time to act comes his way, he is not taken by surprise. He will have servants ready prepared.
e) Four
i) There are four angels to represent that tribulations affect the whole world. They reach "the four corners of the earth" (Revelation 7:1) meaning everywhere, north, south, east, and west.
f) To kill a third of mankind
These angels are like the angel who opened the bottomless pit, and their vast army is like the locusts that came up from the pit (Revelation 9:1-3). They are restrained. As in the four scourges that followed the first four trumpets (Revelation 8:6-12) the damage is limited to one third. The angels are released to kill, but they are not allowed to do so without restraint. As terrible as the tribulations are, there is quite some comfort in knowing that evil does not have full reign in this world. It does not even have half. The one third signifies that Evil has the lesser reign.
4. The Second WoeRevelation 9:16-19
a) Two hundred million
i) In the vision, the army of the four angels numbered two hundred million. John heard this number. It is huge indeed, signifying the dreadful and mighty power of the forces that Satan can assemble. Myriads of evil beings follow him. However, it is a countable number, even as big as it is. God's number is one that "no man can count" (Revelation 7:9). Satan is incredibly powerful, but nowhere near as powerful as Christ. Satan's power is finite; God’s is infinite.
b) Horses
i) The horses in the vision remind us of the locusts in the previous vision, and they represent much the same thing.
c) Fire, smoke, brimstone
i) The riders of these horses had colored breastplates - the colors of fire, smoke, and brimstone, the plagues that came from the horses' mouths. Fire, smoke, and brimstone signify evil deeds. When God judges evildoers, they are portrayed as being cast into a lake composed of fire, brimstone, and smoke (Revelation 14:9-11, Revelation 20:10).
d) Heads like lions
i) One would expect horses to have heads like horses, not like lions. But horses are servants of men, so these horses have lion-like heads to signify kingship. However they are still horses, not lions, and so they represent a false king. The mouths of these horses represent that king’s law.
e) Tails like serpents
i) Not only do these tails indicate the evil nature of the antichristian king and with whom he is allied, but the tails do harm and show the power of the wicked king to enforce his law with military might.
5. The Wicked World
Revelation 9:20-21
a) At the time John saw these visions, Rome was a pagan superpower corrupted by Satan the serpent of old. Whilst the Roman empire is well represented by these horses, the spirit of antichrist evident in that empire is not unique to it. The spirit of antichrist is ubiquitous and remains quite evident in the world long after Rome has fallen. Nor is it hard to find wicked kings and rulers at any given time in the world’s history.
b) Did not repent
i) The rest of mankind who were not killed, did not repent (Revelation 9:20-21). We may be surprised to find that in this vision the evil is not what God views as the main problem. He certainly recognizes the evil men have done. He certainly abhors that evil, and will punish it.
ii) However what concerns and angers God more is that "they did not repent". Had they repented and defected to Christ's kingdom, God could have solved the problem of their sins by exercising his grace through the sacrifice Christ the Lamb had made for them. However, although God gave them "space to repent" (Revelation 2:21; Romans 1:21-23) they did not want to. That's the main problem.
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