Rev 9 (part 2 of 2)
(Reminder that Rev is full of cycles and mirrors like how chapters 8-9 reflect chapters 13 and 17 and 20 in many ways - so there's a lot to look forward to in future episodes. For now, just know that since I personally feel a recapitulation view on the book often makes more sense that a linear view, we will sometimes interpret certain verses through that lense).
(read 9:13-21)
13-14 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
Lots of angelic beings in this section. You've got the possible archangel blowing the 6th trumpet. You've got a being with a voice that comes out of the altar. And you've got four bound (so, possibly fallen) angels at the Euphrates. We see here that there's an authority structure in the angelic realm - orders and commands are given from angels to other angels.
The fact that the big voice angel makes an announcement from the altar could be an indication that this is the answer to the prayers of the martyrs and other saints that have risen with incense up to the altar to God. This voice could even be the voice of the angel that was ministering at the altar in chapter 8 - the one with the censor (incense bowl) that threw its contents down to earth after the incense and prayers went up to God.
We're seeing the throne room of God once again - the heavenly temple (that the ancient Jewish temple was built to emulate).
There's also a mention in this verse about the Euphrates river. The four probably fallen angels have been restrained at the Euphrates - the significance of this, according to a commentary by Beale and another author McDonough, is that it "evokes the OT prophesy of a northern enemy beyond the Euphrates whom God would bring to judge sinful Israel."
This idea of an enemy from the North was all over the OT, and it wasn't just literal. There was a layer of it that was spiritual - the enemy of the North was associated with the idol Baal.
I also want to note that the Euphrates river was prob the boundary of the Roman Empire. So there may be an implication here of, hey corrupt Roman Empire, you may think you're in control, but just you wait, when God decides it's time, something outside of you is coming for you.
The Enduring Word commentary also points out that "The Euphrates is also associated with the first sin (Genesis 2:10-14), the first murder (Genesis 4:16), the first organized revolt against God (Genesis 11:1-9), the first war confederation (Genesis 14:1), and the first dictatorship (Genesis 10:8-10)."
15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.
And you thought the spiritual warfare you've experienced was bad - this is going to be really bad. We all know that God's protection guards our lives every second of every day and without it we'd be toast. Well this is what happens when that protection is lowered; evil swoops in, dark and deadly as it always is, and the enemy's hatred for life and humanity is on display after the 6th trumpet sounds.
This is way worse than the previous trumpet! The locusts were only permitted to torment some people for 5 months. Now we're witnessing a massacre of 1/3 of humankind!
16 The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.
In other words 200 million! A number that some scholars suggest is just symbolic of huge and unprecedented. But I don't know - it sure seems that the enemy is trying to spread and infiltrate any way he can these days. A literal 200 mil isnt off the table imo.
Here's the Enduring Word commentary on this: "The army of the horsemen: Does this speak of a natural or a supernatural army? Is this an army of men or an army of demons?
If this describes a natural army of men, then the weird description may speak of modern, mechanized warfare. It may be John simply describes modern machinery in the only terms he can, and the result is this weird, grotesque, terrifying account.
But, a human army this size has never been seen. The total size of all armies – on both sides – at the height of the Second World War was only 70 million. In 1965 China claimed to have an army and militia of 200 million, but this claim was doubted by many. Even if such an army was assembled, and marched towards the west, it is hard (but not impossible) to see such an army killing a third of mankind (perhaps 2 billion or more).
Therefore, perhaps the safest interpretation is to see this as a literal 200 million strong army, but a demonic army invading earth. This continues the idea of the demonic army like locusts described earlier in the chapter."
So all the sudden there are mounted troops here - presumably that the four angels are in charge of / leading. Troops with demons enlisted. But also there's a strong case that this army includes the watchers too (the fallen sons of God referenced in Gen 6 that preceded a lot of, or all, demons).
It's also important to note that because chapter 9 and chapter 20 are so closely related, this army that's released here could very likely be a combo of humans and evil forces.
The Bible teaches us over and over again that there are human empires that come against God's ppl and God's goodness and God's world... that are empowered by supernatural evil. Some human leaders are controlled, manipulated and deceived by the enemy. And they cause great harm. And we look to the day when, after these events in Rev progress, God finishes restoring the Eden state - Heaven on earth. But also even now in the midst of the Battle - remember He has already taken back the keys. And you have already been given His Spirit Who quickens life in your mortal body. And you do have authority to kick the enemy out of your life and your mind and your soul and your family!
17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.
Scary and terrible. A purposely grotesque description of more spiritually charged creatures being released. The enemy that has been held back is now allowed to forge ahead, and they carry with them sulfur, which comes from hell. Some scholars say this lion-looking chariot group here is also coming out of the abyss like the locusts. It's possible.
BTW this abyss that we talked about last episode is the same abyss the legion of demons that Jesus cast out of a guy in Mark 5 BEGGED Jesus not to send them to yet. So he permitted them to possess pigs. No one wants to be in that abyss.
Here at the end, the prisoners in the abyss, and wicked humans that partner with such forces, are out trying their best one last time to come against Jesus. There's going to be a surrounding of Jerusalem and involvement of lots of humans, but we're going to continue to see that it's bigger than just a war between people.
Heiser teaches that the author John is using demonic imagery (imagery for supernatural evil beings) ... "but it also doesn’t exclude (in fact I would say in some respects it certainly would include) human armies as well. And if you think back to the Deuteronomy 32 worldview, this is the way things work. The human enemies of God (the human empires against God’s people) are being controlled and manipulated, they are under dominion, they are under judgment, they are being held captive—enslaved—by supernatural “princes” (to use Daniel’s language in Daniel 10) but that language is drawn from Deuteronomy 32 (the judgment at Babel)." You can check out his book The Unseen Realm for more on the importance of Deut 32.
18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.
Just like the last/final Egypt plague was the worst, this is truly horrific.
Now this next thought may be a stretch, but: long ago, a third of the angels rebelled. And we know from Gen 6 these rebelled angels procreated with humans, corrupting some of humanity's bloodlines and creating hybrid creatures like nephilim, other giant tribes, and possibly other things too.
Then all throughout the Bible you have God and holy angels and human worshippers of God battling against these rebellious angels (aka the watchers) and their usually wicked offspring.
So is this 1/3 wipe-out a reflection of other previous large wipe-outs in scripture that often had to do with corrupt bloodlines related to the 1/3 / fallen???
I don't know, I'm just throwing it out there.
19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.
Serpentine imagery here with the tails being dragon-y. There is OT precedent for describing the enemy like this, and it harkens to Leviathan, the sea dragon personification of chaos.
20-21 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Just like Pharaoh's heart remained hard during the plagues. Repentance is vital.