The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: The 200 Million Horsemen
The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter
Blog to discuss the book "The Apocalypse - Letter by Letter: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Revelation" and current events that point to the events described therein.
The "smoke" here is the same kind of "smoke" that came up out of the "abyss" at the beginning of Chapter 9, and the [color of] fire alludes forward to the Dragon [Satan] in Chapter 12, the Dragon that is not "red," as most translations state, but "flame-colored" or "fire-colored." Thus, John informs the reader of three things:
(1) The spiritual origin of the 200 Million Horsemen is the "abyss." (2) The second woe comes as a consequence of the first. (3) The 200 Million Horsemen are the signal preparation shortly before the advent of the Beast and his empire.
Mark and hark: the second woe begins with the 200 Million Horsemen and culminates in the 3½-year reign of the Beast.
That the "horses'" heads are like "lions'" heads means that those organizations have the authority and power not only to propagandize, but also to devour, i.e., to kill.
From their mouths issue "fire," "smoke," and "sulfur": from this description, some people have drawn and asserted that John hinted at modern weapons. I do not know whether the Seer intended that hint, if such hint there was, although I understand why some people assert it. I do not desire to speculate. I certainly do not want to opine, lest I put in John's mouth words that do not belong there, which would be tantamount to telling God that, when I want His "opinion," I will give it to Him.
However, I will assert most boldly and confidently as to what John meant when he wrote,
"By these three plagues the third of the men was killed, by the fire and the smoke and the sulfur which were issued out of their mouths." [Apoc. 9:18]
John had the spiritual always first and foremost in his mind, and so, by those words, he meant that sin was the root cause that killed "THE third of THE men," i.e., the third of the people, the third of mankind, LIVING AT THAT TIME.
The prophetic term "plague" means a divine judgment or punishment usually carried out by secondary agents. As people sow, so shall they reap; the wages of sin are--death.
However, the Greek noun [plëgë] does not mean plague, strictly speaking, but blow, stroke, impact.
The reason this term is translated as plague arises from the fact that, in the Apocalypse, the term connotes the blow or stroke of the "sword" of God, that is, the justice of God applied in the form of punishment to men for their sins. Indirectly, John has told the reader that the proper punishment for sin is sin itself.
The pandemic death and destruction inflicted by the 200 Million Horsemen will be, quite frankly speaking, the externalization of the hearts of billions of people. The very enormity of the event speaks for itself; and, yet, the majority of the people living at that time, like every majority in the past, will fail to perceive the event's significance. In verses 20-21, John conveyed this fact, bluntly,
"And the rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent."
History repeats itself because human nature does. "It's still the same old story...", as the old song says; and it will continue the same in kind, but worse in degree and extent, until the Little Lamb makes "heaven" new, and so the earth.
Twice directly, once indirectly, John mentioned that "the third of mankind" was killed; this percentage is literal, but approximate. There are now six billion people in the world. If the event of the 200 Million Horsemen began today, TWO BILLION human beings would die. As for the number of the injured, homeless, starving...it is a question.
Until the invention of the train, the horse was the swiftest means of movement for human beings. The symbolism of the "horses" was intended to convey the idea that the combatants will spread violence quickly from nation to nation, from region to region. The implication, then, is that the third of mankind will be killed in a relatively short span of time.
Bear in mind John's use of the definite article: it refers to the people living at that time when the event begins. Indeed, the phrase carries the meaning of "THAT third of THOSE people." Common sense understands that some of the total population will die from natural causes, but also that the total population will increase because of births; this means that demographics is useful more towards reckoning the event's geography, not its duration.
In round numbers, Asia has a population of 3.35 billion, Europe 1.0 billion, Africa 0.65 billion, South America 0.52 billion and North America 0.38 billion: the total human population of the earth is approximately 6.0 billion. The populations of Asia and Africa, combined, account for two thirds, or 4.0 billion; if that of Europe is added, then the amount becomes five sixths, or 5.0 billion.
At present trend, Europe's ratio of births to deaths is -1/2%; hence, even without compounding the negative rate, it is expected that Europe's population will decrease from 1.0 billion to 0.75 billion by 2050 AD. On the other hand, if the populations in Asia and Africa increase for the next fifty years at only half the rate of the past fifty, then, their populations combined will increase from 3.35 billion to 6.0 billion.
Thus, their total population in ratio to Europe's would be 8 to 1; and, if their historical rate of increase continued for that same period, the ratio would become, at least, 10 to 1.
Whatever set of figures is used, the result points to Asia as the main location for the event. It is most ominous that the four evil angels are bound at the Euphrates River in southwest Asia.
