Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar 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, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Comment: One presumes that the sixth trumpeter acts following the other five. Another command comes from the altar before God to release the four bound angels. (Remember that there are both good and bad angels). We know that the angels were tied up somewhere near the garden of Eden. We know that they were bound until a God-dictated time and that they had control of an army of 200,000. That is a sizable army. We then have a description of upon what the troops were mounted. Is it an exact picture? I doubt it, although the facts are interpretable. Are the colours of the breast plates symbolic of national colours or maybe of power? The front end powerful and destructive like a lion with teeth – the teeth representing weapons to be fired possibly. Fire, smoke and sulphur like 3 plagues killed a third of mankind.The other end of the ‘horses’ were also destructive.
Sadly the tragedies don’t cause the other two thirds of mankind to repent of their evil ways. And remember for us sport or money or many other things can be ‘idols’. Idols are not necessarily hideous carvings from wood or stone.
Prayer: Lord teach me to keep short accounts with You. Teach me to repent as soon as I am conscious of sin in my life.
As I read it! 