Rev 9:12-19, Part 1  "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. 13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt." 

As throughout the book of Revelations this passage of scripture is full of biblical signs and the lessons taught in this passage are based on the understanding of those signs.  Some of the signs we have already dealt with previously.  We will now endeavor to show the meaning of the signs that we haven't previously considered.  The signs that we haven't yet considered in this passage are these: 

          1.  Four horns of the golden altar;

          2.  The Euphrates River; 

          3.  Four angels bound in the Euphrates River;

          4.  The Jacinth stone. 

As we have previously concluded, four is the bible number associated with the work of the Spirit.  In addition, we have shown that the horn is the bible symbol for authority.  In Chapter 8 we studied the golden incense altar where our High Priest, Jesus Christ, makes intercession for us based on his atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Thus the "four horns of the golden altar" show to us that the passage is dealing with the working of the Spirit and His authority and is an aspect of Christ's intercessory work on behalf of his people. 

The Euphrates River was one of the four rivers that parted from the River of Eden.  Euphrates means rushing.  A rushing river is a powerful river and has great destructive capability.  The Euphrates River appears in the scriptures twenty one times.  At least fifteen times its usage is as a boundary or border.  The Euphrates River was one of the borders or boundaries of the possession of the children of Israel that God gave unto them.  Judah's King Josiah was killed at the Euphrates River.  The army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt was destroyed at the Euphrates River.  At the commandment of God Jeremiah hid the garment that he had worn about his loins at the River Euphrates and when he returned it was marred so that it was good for nothing.  The total depravity of man under the law of sin and death is like the Euphrates River.  Total depravity as a bible doctrine is a boundary for the true believers.  It separates them from all other religious beliefs.  While many profess a belief in the depravity of man, yet they couch it in the idea that there is a spark of good in men and that they can somehow produce faith and become children of God through their efforts.  This belief is totally erroneous and contrary to the doctrine of total depravity.  Just as a very good King such as Josiah was killed at the Euphrates and a very strong army such as Egypt's was destroyed at the Euphrates so all of mankind is destroyed under the law of sin and death.  Rom. 5:12-19 teaches us that we all died in Adam and were condemned in Adam and were made sinners in Adam.  Thus when Adam sinned in the garden of Eden, the effects of his sin were passed on to all of his posterity.  Rom. 3:9-20 declare to us the effects of total depravity upon all of mankind.  In this passage all of mankind are declared to be condemned (none righteous), incapable of understanding spiritual things, incapable of seeking after God, together becoming unprofitable (in Adam), incapable of doing good, all of their actions both verbal and physical of being evil, and of having no fear of God.  God's people go outside the boundaries of truth when they declare that man can somehow do something in order to get right with God or to get himself born of the Spirit or of doing something to merit eternal life. 

The four angels bound in the Euphrates River were loosed.  Again four is the bible number of the work of the Spirit.  The angels in the book of Revelation are messengers and often they represent the gospel ministry.  They, however, were like those to whom they preach, bound in their own total depravity.  It is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that makes us free from the law of sin and death.  When the Spirit quickens us into spiritual life, we are freed from the bondage of total depravity.  We can then begin to seek after God, to understand spiritual things, to do good, to refrain from evil, to know the way of peace, and to fear God.  In the flesh, we still possess a depraved nature, but in the new birth, we are given a new nature.           

The Jacinth stone is a deep blue stone.  Blue is the bible color associated with the law or commandment:  Num. 15:38 "Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God."  Thus, the Jacinth stone represents the law or commandments of God.

Rev 9:12-19, Part 2  "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. 13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt." 

"One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."  The word, "woe," is defined as an exclamation of grief.  Isaiah, in relating his experience of grace in Isaiah chapter 6, declared himself in a state of woe.  However, he didn't remain in that state of woe very long as the Lord showed him his deliverance.  The Lord often turns woes into blessings.  For instance, when a child of God sees himself as a convicted ruined sinner he is in a state of woe.  However, when he sees that Jesus died to redeem him from his sins he sees himself in a blessed state.  If he did not see himself to be a sinner, he would never have understood the blessings of salvation!  Sin and our perception of sin brings us into states of woe. 

"And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God."  The voice is the voice of the Lord who speaks in many ways unto his children.  Here He speaks from the four horns of the golden altar.  As we have determined the four horns of the golden altar indicate the working and the authority of the Spirit proceeding from the golden incense altar where Jesus Christ intercedes on behalf of his people.  The authority is the authority of Christ through the Holy Spirit and comes through the mercy of God in his redemptive work and intercession of behalf of his people.   

"Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates."  The angel, as the messenger of God, delivers the Lord's message with the trumpet, which is typical of the gospel.  Previously we studied the relationship between the river Euphrates and the doctrine of total depravity.  We also noted that the angels along with all of God's children are bound by the doctrine of total depravity and are loosed by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.  The four angels seem to be typical of the four gifts of the gospel ministry, as we will show later.  The four gifts of the gospel ministry are set forth for us in Eph. 4:11 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers."  The true ministry of the Lord will preach the total depravity of man.          

"And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men."  The words hour, day, month, and year are units of time that depict a range of time from a short duration to an intermediate duration.  The gift of the apostles and prophets were of short duration and lasted for only a few years until the canon of scripture was complete.  The gift of evangelist is of longer duration, but in any particular location is shorter than the gift of the pastor and teacher, which last as long as the church lasts.  The message of all these gifts is the same message, however.  The message of total depravity of all mankind must be a part of their teaching.  As can be seen in this teaching the third part (flesh) of man is slain according to this message. 

"And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them."  The phrase "two hundred thousand thousand comes from the Greek words "duo murias murias murias."  Duo means two.  Murias means a large indefinite number which generally is expressed as ten thousand.  By doing the math on duo murias murias murias we would have 2 x 10,000 x 10,000 x 10,000 which adds up to 2 trillion.  Certainly this army of horsemen is an overwhelmingly numerically superior army to any other army that has ever existed.  This army as we will see was in direct opposition to all of mankind.  This army is the army of sins.  While all of mankind is condemned by the single sin of Adam, yet judicial payment of sin had to be made for all the sins of all the elect.  Thus it was the many offenses of the elect that Jesus came to redeem us from.  

"And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone."  As we have previously seen fire is associated with the wrath of God.  Jacinth is associated with the law of God.  Brimstone is associated with the executed judgment of God.  Consequently, we were under the wrathful judgment of God's broken law, which demanded that every sin and disobedience receive a just recompense of reward.  

"And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone."  The lion uses its mouth to devour its prey.  Sins had devoured us.  We were their prey and we were devoured under the wrathful fiery judgment of God because of sins. 

"And out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone."  Both, practically, in the covenant of the law of sin and death and, experimentally, in the experiences of God's children sin had consumed us.   

"By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths."  These three symbols indicate God's executed judgment of sin and the result of that executed judgment is death.  The wages of sin is death.  Since all sin is judged, we either personally suffer the judgment of sin or Christ suffers in our room and stead.  For the elect, Christ suffered the judgment of sin in their room and stead.  For the born again child of God, the soul is cleansed in the new birth and the spirit is added.  The flesh, however, remains in its depraved (dead) state until the resurrection when the flesh will be changed and fashioned like the glorious body of Christ.  Here in time the flesh is dead to the things of God as the following scriptures show: 

          1.  Rom. 7:18 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:"

          2.  Rom. 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."

          3.  1 Cor. 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

          4.  Rom. 8:10 "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."

          5.  Gal. 5:19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." 

"For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt."  The poison is in the head of the serpent.  The poison of sin began when the serpent in the garden enticed first Eve then Adam to transgress the commandment of God.  God, however, made provision for the deliverance from sin as he pronounced sentence upon the serpent.  Gen. 3:14 "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."  Here God promised that the woman's seed would bruise the serpent's head and the serpent would bruise the heel of the woman's seed.  The promised woman's seed is the Lord Jesus Christ and the heel of Christ (body) was bruised at the cross of Calvary, but at the same time thru His death, burial, and resurrection Jesus bruised the head of the serpent, thus destroying the source of the serpent's poison.  According to Heb. 2:14, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage," Christ has delivered us from the fear of death by destroying him who had the power of death.

Rev 9:20, 21 "And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." 

According to the scriptures, all men died in Adam.  However not all men realize or believe that they died in Adam.  Anyone who has not been born of the Spirit of God has no fear of God before his eyes and God is not in all of his thoughts.  The wicked through the pride of his countenance will not seek after God.  They have not the laws of God written in their heart and no courtroom set up in their heart.  Therefore, they have no conviction of sin.  How can someone repent of the works of their hands when they see no evil in the works of their hands? 

Any worship of the unregenerate is according to custom, tradition, or the training and teaching of man.  Thus, they worship devils and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood: which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.  They hear not God's word, because they are not of God.  The preaching of the cross to them is foolishness.  They repent not of evil because they have no nature but an evil nature.  True repentance is impossible for them in an unregenerate state.  Godly sorrow leads men to repentance.  But these have no fear of God before their eyes, thus godly sorrow is impossible with them and consequently repentance is also impossible.