In my first post on this passage of scripture (Rev 9), I gave some practical reasons why the 200 million soldiers in Rev 9:16 are not likely a human army. I then did a post about applying a supernatural hermeneutic to Revelation 9 specifically and to the bible in general. Without a supernatural component to hermeneutics, its hard to understand the bible. Everything becomes an allegory to teach some humanistic lesson or we have to jump through interpretational hoops to make sure we have a scientific explanation of a particular account when no hoops are necessary. 

I am all for good scholarship and research to ensure we understand the meaning the Lord intends.  Lets dig into the words to capture the nuances and bring in extrabiblical historical texts and research. Lets listen to teachers and those wise in the Word of God that we trust. Lets make sure we account for types of language like simile, metaphor, and hyperbole, etc. This is the very Word of the Living God and He wants us to have right understanding. Lets prayerfully seek understanding according to the Word but lets not put humanistic, naturalistic garbage in front of the text.

That said, as you read Revelation 9 do you see a human army? I do not. So lets forget about China for a minute and see what we can pull out of the text.

The Four Angels Bound at the Euphrates

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

Four supernatural beings bound at the Euphrates for this specific purpose. Fascinating. Then there comes the description of the 200 million:

The number of soldiers on horseback was 200,000,000; I heard their number. ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ 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 9:16-19

John is simply describing what he saw.  So if we take it at a supernatural face value, it is an army of terrible entities we have never seen before. Nonetheless, here are additional reasons why I do not believe this is a human army:

1. The sixth trumpet is a judgement from God, not a battle.  Verse 15 is the key to the sixth trumpet.  Judgement is ordered from the golden altar before God.  These is zero indication from the text that this is a battle between human armies.
2. The judgement is against mankind. There is no indication that any particular people (with one exception) will be exempt and used as the instrument of judgement. Since mankind is spread across the globe, all of Revelation 9 can be taken as worldwide in scope. I believe we can assume believers living in this time will be exempt from the judgements of the first and second woe because its says so specifically in Rev 9:4 in regard to the first woe. I believe this can be extended to the second woe.
3. The description of the 200 million and the four angels does not fit a humanistic interpretation. How do four clearly supernatural beings bound at the Euphrates have anything to do with a human army? It does not seem to fit. These angels seem to be in command of the 200 million supernatural entities to eliminate 33% of the remaining population on the earth. The description John gives us is of terrible entities beyond our experience – but so are the entities from the abyss.
4. How does any nation put together an army of 200 million after the horrific fifth trumpet judgement? The first woe is another wholly supernatural judgement of unrepentant humanity. Five months of agony caused by locust beings from the abyss. How does any nation existing at that time, including the Chinese, pull together an army of 200 million under these circumstances?
5. The Chinese are not exempt. Chinese culture and government are among the most godless on earth. Those who think this is the Chinese military seem to exclude the Chinese from this judgement.  There is no reason to believe that the Chinese get a pass on this judgement.

There is no reason to allegorize the strange entities of Revelation 9 into some humanistic box because they do not align with our understanding of science. God has indeed used humans as instruments of judgement in biblical history. For example, the Babylonian army destroyed Jerusalem and took Judah into exile as ordained by God. But he has also used direct, supernatural judgement such as the destruction of the Assyrian army by a death angel in a single night (2 King 19:35) or raining down fire from heaven in His judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24). I believe the judgements of Revelation 9 will be direct, supernatural judgements.

I do not know what the entities of Revelation 9 are. But clearly the locust beings of the first woe are from the abyss and not human.  I believe the same can be said about the 200 million beings in the second woe.  There is no indication the abyss is closed again so could it be that this second wave of supernatural beings is also from the abyss? There are some interesting similarities between the locusts and the 200 million soldiers. Could these be the spirits of the Nephilim who were destroyed in the flood? Could they be a new generation of Nephilim or some other hybrid being brough forth through demonic technology. Speculation. 

Why Should the Church Care?

If you are a literalist, supernaturalist, premillennial dispensationalist like myself, then why does an accurate interpretation matter?  I believe we who now believe in Jesus Christ will be raptured and in the Lord’s presence far above all of what is happening on the earth at this point in the Tribulation. We won’t be under these terrible judgements.  But we should care because the people left on the earth – many who will come to know the Lord Jesus including some of our loved ones – need to be prepared for what is coming. If we can leave them with the right information, then perhaps they will see the bible is true and turn to the Lord before this happens.

All I can say from the text is that these are terrible supernatural entities that the unrepentant on the earth will encounter.  One day they will ride across the earth when released to accomplish their mission. No human force will be able to stop them. The only shelter will be found in Jesus Christ. All we can to right now is warn people.