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Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice coming from the horns on the golden altar that is before God, saying to the sixth angel, the one holding the trumpet, “Set free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!” Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour, day, month, and year were set free to kill a third of humanity.
Revelation 9:13 – 15
I’ve seen a fair amount of commentary on who these four angels are and I have come to the conclusion that, we just don’t know. My research has indicated however, that we may not be clear on the meaning of the passage. Many take the phrase “bound at the great river Euphrates” to indicate that there are four (fallen) angles who are physically bound, chained, or otherwise incarcerated there and who will be loosed to destroy another third of humanity. I mean, it’s easy to see why, it’s what the text states – right?
What we must always bear in mind is that we are dealing with a translation. In fact, there is significant and growing evidence that we are dealing with a translation of a translation. Honestly, even within the plain English, there is room for interpretation here:
Bound
adjective1 – tied; in bonds.
Dictionary.com
2 – made fast as if by a band or bond.
3 – secured within a cover, as a book.
4 – under a legal or moral obligation.
5 – destined; sure; certain.
I highlight this, not because it is particularly important to what we’re going to discuss, but to illustrate that we must be vigilant with regards to “rightly dividing” the word of God. The text does say that they had been “prepared for this hour, day, month, and year”, and while that doesn’t preclude our initial perception, it does lend a measure of credence to alternative views on the nature of these angels’ binding.
The number of soldiers on horseback was 200,000,000; I heard their number. Now this is what the horses and their riders looked like in my vision: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and sulfurous yellow in color. The heads of the horses looked like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths. A third of humanity was killed by these three plagues, that is, by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came out of their mouths. For the power of the horses resides in their mouths and in their tails, because their tails are like snakes, having heads that inflict injuries. The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk about. Furthermore, they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.
Revelation 9:16 – 21
So there are a number of ways in which we can approach this portion of the prophecy. The traditional, naturalist view would hold this all to be symbolic; the angels representing nations, the army and their steeds to be the “natural” extension of these nations. Here again however, we see that things don’t quite “wash” with that idea. At least not entirely.
John was shown four angels after which the text abruptly moves into a description of an army of 200,000 cavalrymen whose appearance is… otherworldly to put it mildly. Again there are those who point to this as evidence of symbolic language – and again, this is not something I disagree with in principle – but let’s be honest, in a world of some 7.8 billion people, 200,000 is nothing. These would have to be some severely bad-ass cavalry; which is precisely what the text describes if I take it literally.
Many take and offer purely mundane explanations of what is being described and this is where I begin to take umbrage. Nothing we have seen from the appearance of Yeshua to Yochanon on the isle of Patmos, to the entirety of the Apocalypse itself is mundane. What we are witnessing through the eyes of John is a singular event; nothing like this has happened before, and once completed, will never occur again. So I ask, exactly how mundane am I to interpret such an event to be? Clearly, my position is “not very – if at all”.
To be clear, I am not saying the text isn’t symbolic – it obviously is. What I am saying si that we need to slow down and be cautious before applying ‘information filters‘, lest we arrive at the wrong conclusions. At the very least, we will be prone to miss important details if we insist on seeing everything here through the specific scope of symbolism and metaphor.
Backtracking to those horsemen; due to my childhood fascination with mythology, these horsemen remind me of something. Have you ever heard of a Chimera? The earliest known literary reference to a Chimera comes to us from the hand of Homer;
“a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire.”
– The Iliad
Pictured right is the Chimera of Arezzo – an ancient Etruscan bronze sculpture depicting a Chimera. Granted, this and the descriptions found elsewhere do not match the description of the 200,000 horsemen exactly, but you see it right? The similarities are glaring and obvious.
In Greco-Roman mythology, the Chimera were the progeny of two serpentine giants, Typhon and Echidna. Regardless of lineage or source, what we see here is clearly the amalgamation of multiple creatures – creatures that are clearly not intended to be put together in such a way. (Your Genesis 6 alarm-bells should be ringing very loudly right about now.) In modernity, the term Chimera has been adopted to refer to anything that is essentially a combination of two or more genotypes. If you think this is the stuff of science-fiction, think again.
It would be easy to dismiss this and adhere to the tenant that this is all symbolic – after all, we are presented with a myriad of imagery throughout this text that certainly seems to defy our “logic” and presents us with fantastic creatures we’ve never seen – the question I am asking however is – is this grounds for rejecting a literal view? Let’s be honest, most of us haven’t personally witnessed events like the most profound or miraculous of those recorded in scripture, yet we believe they occurred. It seems to me that, for the most part, we have little difficulty attributing the fantastic and miraculous to the past, but in trying to peer forward, we fail to apply the same principle.
Folks – that is illogical.
The Little Scroll
Then I saw another powerful angel descending from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire. He held in his hand a little scroll that was open, and he put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. Then he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring, and when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded their voices. When the seven thunders spoke, I was preparing to write, but just then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders spoke and do not write it down.”
Revelation 10:1 – 4
So here we have another interruption in the general flow of the narrative. When such things occur, we should pause and carefully consider what is being presented. John would not take the time to write this, nor would God have revealed these things in the order that they were if it were not intentional. FYI… God is very, very intentional in everything He says and does.
First, let’s tackle the low-hanging fruit; this angel is not Yeshua / Jesus; that is to say, this event is not the second coming. The angel is described as powerful, which is fitting given what he has come to do, and the Rainbow over his head is significant…
I will place my rainbow in the clouds, and it will become a guarantee of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, then I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures of all kinds. Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy all living things.
Genesis 9:13 – 15
The appearance of this angel, more specifically the presence of the rainbow, is a reminder of the promise – the covenant – God made with the earth that He would ever again destroy all living things… with water.
When this angel, holding the little scroll speaks, the seven thunders sounded out and John is told not to write down what they spoke. If anyone tells you they know what these thunders said, feel free to roll your eyes and walk away – the only living human being who did or does know, was / is John. Period. We could spend an eternity trying to figure it out, or why John was told not to write it, but I think our time is better spent on more fruitful matters. That said, we will all find out soon enough.
Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets.”
Revelation 10:5 – 7
So we should be rightfully asking ourselves what is going on here. As it happens, it is made plain right within the words of the angel himself; “… just as he proclaimed to his servants the prophets.”
Repeat after me; “the Bible is a hyperlinked text“:
I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?” Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”
Daniel 12:5 – 7
In keeping with the principle that context matters, have a look at Daniel chapter 12. You will see that the context of this chapter is that of “the time of the end”. In fact, this is the context of the many chapters leading up to this passage as well. With that in mind, I see a very important clue within the passage from Daniel that applies to what John is describing to us in the Apocalypse: “… It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.” (Daniel 12:7)
Most biblical scholars hold that the ‘time, times and half a time” speaks of a period of years, making this statement equate to three and a half years and in the spirit of full disclosure, it’s a position I wholeheartedly agree with. I have no desire to enter into a debate on the issue of seven years versus three and a half years, but suffice it to say, there is quite the debate to be had. I strongly encourage you to research this for yourself. What you find may surprise you.
At any rate, it is clear to me, particularly when applying the parallel passage from Daniel, that we are now looking at the beginning of the period known colloquially as “the tribulation.” For clarity, this is not saying that it has begun, but that it is about to begin.
Now, what exactly is that scroll?
Then the voice I had heard from heaven began to speak to me again, “Go and take the open scroll in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it did taste as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. Then they told me: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
Revelation 10:8 – 11
Some have posited that this is the very same scroll we saw Yeshua, the Lamb of God, break the Seven Seals on – but honestly, I see nothing in the text that would lead me to that conclusion. In fact, I personally feel that were this the very same scroll we saw opened previously, the effects John experienced when eating it would have been reversed… that is, it would have been sour to the taste, but sweet on the stomach.
Do you understand why I say this?
Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 – 3
The principle I see playing out in the eating of the scroll is the same I see illustrated from the hand of Paul. When they say “There is peace and security,” in my analogy would be the sweet taste of honey… the sudden destruction would then be the sourness upon the stomach. If this were the Title Deed to the Earth, it seems to me that in it’s fallen state, it would be bitter, but it’s redemption sweet – you follow?
I could be wrong on that, Lord knows I could be wrong on all of this, but things the way they’ve traditionally been presented to me just don’t hold water. It’s a running theme in my faith-walk with the Messiah.
The crux here is to say, that while I don’t see this scroll as the same one that Yeshua opened, it is most certainly a proclamation. Kings do that you know? They call forth scribes to record proclamations, which are then sent forth to the people. Yeshua has already claimed His birthright, reclaimed “ownership” or authority over the world from the had of the adversary and been coronated. It is not fitting now, that He send forth a proclamation?
Next question; why was John instructed to eat the scroll? Honestly, the text tells us plainly: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.” This principle has been shown to us before – remember, “if it’s new, it’s not true and if it’s true, it’s not new.“
He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you see in front of you—eat this scroll—and then go and speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth and he fed me the scroll. He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving to you.” So I ate it, and it was sweet like honey in my mouth. He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.
Ezekiel 3:1 – 4
The point here is that the eating of a scroll is, in the prophetic, a sign of preparation to deliver the word of the Lord. Just as Ezekiel was told to eat the scroll and then prophecy, so too is Yochanon / John, instructed to do the same. Interestingly, the next portion of scripture addresses testimony and prophecy… but we’ll tackle that next week.
Until next time,
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You