Revelation 9:16-19

‘And the numbers of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million, I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw the horse in the vision, and those who sat on them, they have breastplates as of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone, and the heads of the horses are as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceeds fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three plagues were the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeds from their mouths, for the power of the horses is in their mouth and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents and have heads and with them they hurt.'

The four angels were clearly able to call on a multitude of assistants, possibly demons. We are not told the source from which they came, but they have been held back until the right time came. Like the previous horsemen these have tails which hurt. Whether the tails really had heads, or simply some appendage which enabled them to hurt men, is difficult to tell, but the point is that they were dangerous both in front and behind, and there were two hundred million of them (although they would spread out over a wide area). The likeness of their tails to serpents' heads connects them with the Great Serpent (Revelation 12:9). In having dangerous tails they parallel the flying scorpion-locusts. So these evil spirits, presumably from the abyss, are released under the four fallen angels. And their purpose, unlike that of the scorpion-locusts, is to cause wholesale bloodshed as well as spiritual distress. Once again we are not to see these evil spirits as being seen by men. Men will only be aware of their effects as they see the carnage and distress round about them, wrought by men under the influence of evil spirits. The problem before the Flood (widespread demon possession) is again raising its ugly head. Men alive at the time will see nothing of these creatures, but John is allowed to see the real cause of the bloodshed and distress. We notice that God does not carry out the carnage. Evil angels (and evil men whom they utilise) are sufficient cause.

‘Two hundred million' (twice ten thousand times ten thousand) - John was aware of the vastness of the number. He assures his readers ‘I heard the number of them' - to show the vast armies released. We remember how in the days of Jesus one man was possessed by a host, a ‘legion' of such evil spirits (Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30).

The evil warriors have ‘breastplates of fire and hyacinth (smoke) and brimstone'. This was the appearance of the breastplates in the vision, projecting the awfulness of these creatures. Fire and smoke is paralleled with brimstone partly to bring out the difference between the pure fire which speaks of God and the hellish fire in mind here. Brimstone is always a symbol of terrible judgment (Genesis 19:24; Deuteronomy 29:23; Psalms 11:6; Isaiah 30:33; Isaiah 34:9; Ezekiel 38:22; Luke 17:29; Revelation 14:10; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10; Revelation 21:8). ‘Hyacinth' is a blue colour. Here it represents smoke. So the combination seen is of an unearthly red, blue and yellow representing creatures from the abyss.

The horses have ‘heads of lions', this depicts their fierceness. They only purposes death. ‘From their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone', probably from the mouths of the horses, paralleling the breastplates of their riders, underlining the hellish nature of the visitation. Note how ‘smoke' has now replaced ‘hyacinth' in the trilogy. Thus the hyacinth spoke of smokiness.

From the mouths of these horses issues only destruction (Revelation 9:18), brought about by the fire, smoke and brimstone. They bring no hope for man. They are the opposite of the One from whose mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, which had a positive purpose and did offer hope as well as judgment (Revelation 19:15). We must not take these pictures literally. No sharp-two edged sword will really come out of the mouth of the Son of Man It speaks of a spiritual reality. Thus the same principle applies here. The spiritual effect of these evil creatures will be destructive

‘Their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they hurt'. So like the scorpion locusts these creatures' horses hurt viciously with their tails, suggesting the causing of spiritual distress and torment. Death proceeds from their mouths and great distress from their tails, as they incite mankind to evil. Their tails have heads of serpents which bite and bring misery. In other words the activity of these creatures is both deadly and spiritually distressing. They will be responsible for widespread slaughter. The last century has seen slaughter on a massive scale, partly at the hands of the Kaiser and a demon-possessed Hitler. This may well have been caused by these evil creatures. But what we can be certain of is that they cannot directly ‘hurt' those who have the seal of God on their foreheads. They come from the very gates of Hades, but they will not prevail against those who belong to Christ (Matthew 16:18), although no doubt they can produce conditions that result in the deaths of many of them. The seal saves from the wrath of God not the wrath of men. We are again reminded of Jesus words, ‘behold I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you' (Luke 10:19). Spiritually God's people are safe. But physically they will have to face tribulation (John 16:33).