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. 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.

Revelation 9:13-19

I’ve been wanting to do a post about this passage because it is very interesting to me but I think its also misunderstood. The exact nature of the judgements of Revelation is a secondary issue but I think its important because we are supposed to try and understand the Word of God, and a proper interpretation affects the lives of those who remain on the planet during the Tribulation. In any case, do your own homework if you are so inclined. It is a fascinating study.

Also, those who have not yet repented and trusted Jesus Christ for salvation need to understand what is coming and how bad things are going to get. You have two options: 1) repent and believe now to avoid all this, or 2) if not the first option, then hopefully repent and believe during the Tribulation when experiencing these terrible judgements from God. The first option would be highly advisable and wise.

Keep in mind this is just my opinion informed in part by my education and experience as a military officer of over 20 years as well as studying this material for years.

The issue I will cover in the next few posts is the 200,000,000 soldiers identified in this passage – who or what are they? To be clear, I am approaching this passage from a futurist, premillennial hermeneutic.

I think prophecy teachers in this camp are split on the interpretation. Some believe this is the Chinese army. Others believe this is a supernatural army.  I agree with the later for a number of reasons which I will put forth over the next few posts.

Practical Reasons

Here are some practical reasons why this is not likely the Chinese or any other human army:

1. Size. There is no nation on earth that has a military force anywhere near this size. The largest population and the largest military force in the world today belongs to China, and maybe this is why some believe this is their army. They have an active force of about 2.2 million and a total force of about 4 million but this is a tiny fraction of 200 million. Could they stand up and support a military force two orders of magnitude greater than what they currently have? I don’t think so.  Here is why:
2. Timing. Time required to build to 200 million seems a mismatch with the current pace of prophetic convergence. Many premillennial prophecy teachers believe we are very close to the rapture of the church and the Tribulation period. I agree. However, even if a military force of this size is possible, I don’t think it could be stood up to support the prophetic timeframe that many prophecy teachers believe has emerged. Things are beginning to move very fast towards the fulfillment of end time prophecy.
3. Logistics. The simplistic view seems to indicate a country, just because on paper they have the population, just stands up a military of over 200 million. Poof! 200 million people ready-to-fight. But a military force has a huge logistical tail required for its existence and effectiveness. Here are just a few considerations: secure basing, housing, feeding, medical care, training, pay, equipping, organizing by mission, command and control, transportation, fuel, etc. Military facility for 200 million people and associated equipment and logistical support would need to be scaled up by a proportional amount from current basing of 4 million. This would likely take decades assuming it could even be done at all.
4. Cost. No country could afford such a large force. The current military budget of China is over $293B for a total force of 4 million which equates to over $73,000 per person. Assuming a linear scale, a scale up to 200 million would require a budget of $14.6 Trillion dollars for a country that has a GDP of just over 17 Trillion and a weakening economy. Applying approximately 82% of total GDP to the military is nonsense, mainly because the very same people required for the military force are also required to produce the GDP, not consume it.

Most futurist prophecy teachers that believe this is some future version of the Chinese military don’t seem to think through the magnitude of the cost, material, and logistics required to mobilize such a large force. Now if you are China, why stand up a human army of 200 million at an unsupportable cost when the same military objectives (from a natural, human standpoint) could easily be achieved with a properly equipped and deployed military force of a tenth that size. China is asserting its influence very effectively today with their current military force. I believe their military will continue to be well funded and will grow in size, but a modern military with modern weapons does not need to be much bigger than they are curently to effectively meet their national goals of worldwide dominance.

What are the 200 million soldiers in this passage? If not the Chinese army, then what could they be?

Next post we will see what we can discern from the text.  There are spiritual reasons clear from a plain reading of the text why this cannot be the Chinese army.

What do you think?