The Sixth Trumpet Judgment
Horsemen, Dragoons, Steeds, and a River of Blood
“Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.” (Revelation 9:14-15)
The Four Horsemen of the Euphrates
An angel standing before God’s altar relays the Almighty’s command to the angel wielding the sixth trumpet of judgment: release the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates. The angelic trumpeter immediately obeys his Sovereign and blows his holy horn. A demonic prison long hidden beneath the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq is opened. Four bound demonic generals, burning with murderous rage in their black hearts, are unshackled and set free from their watery dungeon.
Though the angel standing before God’s altar had called these four “angels,” we recognize them for what they truly are—demons, bound in the murky depths of that ancient river. Beneath those soggy shores, they remain chained, thrashing about as they anxiously wait for the hour, day, month, and year God had planned to set them free. These four belong to a cadre of confined demons, possibly imprisoned due to some great pre-Flood sin.
This prison is a fitting place for demons. From a biblical perspective, the Euphrates River symbolizes sin, having witnessed some of humanity’s worst evils. Along with the Tigris, these two waterways once marked two of the four borders of the Garden of Eden, and thus witnessed the fall of humanity in all its disgrace. It was the site where Cain murdered his brother Abel, and where the rebellious Tower of Babel was built. It is also the land where the Jewish tribes had been exiled. As the nation of Israel’s easternmost boundary, the Euphrates became a symbol of her enemies. Spiritually, the Euphrates has long been associated with idolatry, demon worship, witchcraft, and astrology.
The most probable reason why these four demons had been confined—and, more alarmingly, a far worse one—is that they could possess such overwhelmingly destructive powers that God could never allow them to roam freely among humans and still ensure humanity’s survival. It appears this is the case, because the Four Horsemen of the Euphrates, once unleashed, attack mankind with such malice that they will kill (get this)—a third of the world’s population—a staggering number!
According to the Revelation narrative, a quarter of humanity had already been wiped out by the fourth seal judgment. Then millions more died between that time and Revelation 9. The sixth trumpet judgment further prophesies that a third of the remaining population will perish as well. Adding these death tolls together, we learn that a staggering half of the world’s population—four billion people based on today’s figures—will have perished, all within just the first three and a half years of the Tribulation. No wonder Jesus stated that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved (Matthew 24:22).
The 200 Million Soldier Army
“Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.” (Revelation 9:16)
The Four Horsemen of the Euphrates will not strike out on their genocidal rampage alone. Rather, the four demonic generals will lead the largest army the world has ever seen.
From his vantage point in heaven, John might have tried to count the troops as battalion after battalion marched in endless waves behind their designated general. The task, being impossible, led John’s angelic guide to declare their number—200 million! Such a figure must have staggered the old apostle, for that was the planet’s entire population in his century. The might of the Roman Empire had kept the known world subdued under its crushing boots, commanding 25 legions comprising 125,000 soldiers. The Four Horsemen of the Euphrates will marshal 1,600 times more troops than the entire Roman army!
The identity of these troops has been widely debated among Bible prophecy scholars. Are they human or demonic? Those who argue they are human note that China has claimed since 1965 that it could assemble 200 million soldiers. With a population of 1.4 billion, China could certainly mobilize such a massive army. In verse 17, John described the army’s color scheme as breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow, which reflect the colors of China’s flag and military uniforms. It’s possible that China, along with India, ruled by the King of the East, will be persuaded by the four demonic generals to hand over their people to form the most destructive army ever assembled in human history.
However, I don’t believe the 200 million are comprised of humans. Context suggests they are armies of released demons. The next group of angelic beings should make that clear.
The Chimera
“And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.” (Revelation 9:17-19)
The Four Horsemen of the Euphrates are called “horsemen” because they ride, well, horses, or creatures similar to them. John describes the fearsome beasts the generals ride, and they are unlike any living animal. Instead, these “horses” are demonic chimeras—hybrid creatures that exhibit features from multiple species.
Often found in classical mythology, the term “chimera” originated in Greek mythology. They were mythical fire-breathing creatures with the head and front legs of a lion and a snake for a tail. And what does John describe? Instead of a horse’s head, there is a lion’s head. From their mouths come fire, smoke, and brimstone. Where hair would be, their tails are like serpent heads. This does not mean that the Euphrates angels’ steeds were actually running wild in ancient Greece, but like most legends, myth is based on a kernel of ancient fact.
And the fact is, these Chimeras are very real. Their masters will ride these living war machines, like Sherman against Atlanta during the American Civil War, razing everything in sight. The bile-choking sight of the Chimeras’ three plague weapons—fire, smoke, and brimstone—will terrorize a world that, over the last three years, thought it had seen every horror that legend and modern warfare could conjure. By incendiary flame and serpent’s bite, the Chimera will gleefully participate in slaughtering a third of the world’s population.
Could these Chimeras be man-made tanks emblazoned with the Chinese winged lion-dragon, firing shells and flak while masking their positions with smoke bombs? Again, I don’t believe people are involved here, and for five reasons. First, John calls the four generals “horsemen,” so there are likely only four Chimeras, not 200 million soldiers riding 200 million Chimeras. Second, the Chimeras employ the biblical supernatural weaponry of wrath—fire, smoke, and brimstone—that God has displayed throughout biblical history. Third, what tanks have serpent’s heads for tails? Fourth, the sixth trumpet judgment, like the fifth, releases demons to plague mankind. This means the four generals, their army, and their steeds must also be demons. Fifth, if Satan is the ultimate commander of this army, why would he wipe out the Antichrist’s kingdom, which he rules? He could be attempting to annihilate the tribulation saints, but they remain sealed and protected by God. And sixth, the time is not quite right for the army from the East to march towards Armageddon to assemble at the very end of the Tribulation (16:12-16).
The Real Tragedy
The real tragedy of this demonic plague, authorized by God and enacted by the trumpet judgment angels, is not the body count. More tragic than even a billion people incinerated by monsters from the deep, like some kind of Pacific Rim kaiju, is the sad state of the hearts of the remaining three billion survivors.
What John revealed next in verse 20, to me, stands out as the most disheartening verse in the whole Bible: “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols…” Years earlier, when people hid in caves to escape the sixth seal judgment, the world conceded that behind the wrath was the Lamb, and His judgment served as a clarion call for the people to repent (6:12-17). Some responded in repentance, but many more did not. Will they finally repent under the assault of demonic overlords? Not even this time! Instead, the survivors will continue to worship the very demons that are slaughtering them. Crazy, right?
Why are the people worshipping their demonic tormentors instead of running to Jesus Christ for safety? The prophet Jeremiah revealed the tragic reason when he said that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
Along with idolatry, the outward expression of demonic worship, John lists four additional sins in verse 21 that the wicked will refuse to abandon. These five sins characterize behavior during the tribulation: idolatry, murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.
The people will refuse to repent because they’re junkies. The Antichrist’s followers are hooked on their next high, whether through drugs, magic, or sexual perversion. These manic addicts of evil steal and kill to satisfy their vilest passions. Instead of recognizing the fulfilling wonders of Jesus Christ’s unmatched love and grace, these denizens of the Devil will reject His priceless spiritual riches and cling to the fleeting, unfulfilling pleasures of sin. Tragically, during the Tribulation, the unredeemed will degenerate into beings as evil as demons.
So heed Christ’s call to repent and turn to Him for salvation. Don’t face a future in which you could devolve into such a wretched creature and an eternity of punishment in the Lake of Fire.
Resource
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