And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 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.
And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 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.
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. 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.
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: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 9:13-21
Here observe, 1. The power of the church's enemies is restrained till God gives the word to have them turned loose. Revelation 9:13-21
2. When nations are ripe for punishment, those instruments of God's anger that were before restrained are let loose upon them.
The fact that the voice comes from the four horns of the golden altar of incense is significant. The noted commentator, Albert Barnes, in agreement with virtually all others, stated: “When it is said that this was ‘before God,’ the meaning is, that it was directly before or in front of the symbol of the divine presence in the most holy place.”
The horns of the golden altar of sacrifice in the court represented God’s mercy and protective power in times of crisis when life was in danger (see 1Kings 1:50, 51; 2:28) However, if Israel had not repented from her sin, the horns were broken off (Amos 3:14, 15) and no mercy was extended. In the daily service blood was rubbed on the horns of the altar of sacrifice (Leviticus 4:24, 25; Jeremiah 17:1) to indicate that the confessed sins of Israel had been forgiven.
The sixth trumpet is a vivid description of the gathering of the wicked by Satan’s three symbolic angels for the final battle against God’s remnant (Revelation 16:13, 14, 16). This final gathering, which began in 1844, will intensify until the close of probation.
--The persecuting waters dried up by the earth and by the French Revolution.
Inspiration tells us that the False Prophet (apostate Protestantism) will even make fire come down from heaven in the sight of men, a miracle that parodies the falling of fire from heaven in the days of Elijah and the manifestation of tongues of fire on the Day of Pentecost (see Revelation 13:13).
The persecuting waters of the symbolic River Euphrates flowed against God’s people for 1260 years.--The persecuting waters dried up by the earth and by the French Revolution.
--The persecuting waters flow once again when the lamb-horned beast from the earth gives the sword back to the beast and heals its wound.
--The persecuting waters dry up against Babylon for the final time when Jesus overcomes them and takes over the kingdoms of the world.
Notably, God has three angels that gather the remnant on God’s side and Satan has three angels who gather the wicked on his side.--The persecuting waters dry up against Babylon for the final time when Jesus overcomes them and takes over the kingdoms of the world.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. Revelation 16:13
*The dragon (or civil powers of the world) is a parody of God the Father.
*The dragon (or civil powers of the world) is a parody of God the Father.
*The beast counterfeits the ministry of the Jesus Christ the Son
*and the false prophet counterfeits the work of the Holy Spirit.
"Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world. The foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in Eden: "Ye shall not surely die." "In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4, 5.
Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism."
E.G.W.
Q: What is the meaning of the expression ‘the hour, the day, the month and the year’? A careful study of Revelation indicates that the hour is ‘the hour of God’s judgment’ (14:6, 7). Other parts of Scripture indicate that the day refers to the 10th day, the month is Tishri (the seventh month), and the year is 1844 (see Leviticus 23:27; Daniel 8:14).
The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary explains:
“The article [ten], once only before all the periods implies that the hour in the day, and the day in the month, and the month in the year, and the year itself, had been definitely fixed by God.” This verse is not describing the final and total destruction of the wicked after the close of probation at the end of the time of trouble because this army of demons is only able to destroy a third of humanity.
Note: The number of the enemy is huge in comparison to the 144,000 of Revelation 7:4. These are the only two verses in Revelation where John uses the expression “I heard the number” so they must be related in some way. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary explains:
“The article [ten], once only before all the periods implies that the hour in the day, and the day in the month, and the month in the year, and the year itself, had been definitely fixed by God.” This verse is not describing the final and total destruction of the wicked after the close of probation at the end of the time of trouble because this army of demons is only able to destroy a third of humanity.
Revelation 7:4 is transpiring during the sixth seal and Revelation 9:16 is occurring during the period of the sixth trumpet.
Notice --contrasts the number of God’s followers with those of Satan: “The remnant church will be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts. Satan numbers the world as his subjects; he has gained control of the apostate churches; but here is a little company that are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete.”
E.G.W.
Note: This army clearly rises figuratively from hell. These are the same spirits of demons in Revelation 16:14 that God releases to gather the kings of the earth and the whole world against God’s people. Note: Notice that what comes out of the mouth is what kills the wicked. In the book of Revelation, fire, brimstone and smoke relate to those who worship the beast and his image and receive the mark. Notably Revelation 16:13 explains that the evil spirits come out of the mouth of the threefold union.
Note: The horses have mouths like lions. Elsewhere in the Bible Babylon is portrayed as a devouring lion as is its king, Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 4:7) and Satan is described as a ravenous lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).Note: The expression ‘idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk’ comes almost verbatim from Daniel 5:23. Daniel describes the fall of Babylon when the Euphrates dried up. Thus, this verse links three passages: The fall of Babylon in Daniel 5, the drying up of the Euphrates in Revelation 16:12 and the sixth trumpet of Revelation 9:20.
Observe the impenitency of the antichristian generation under these dreadful judgments; the rest of the men who were not killed repented not, they still persisted in those sins for which God was so severely punishing them, which were, (1.) Their idolatry; they would not cast away their images, though they could do them no good, could not see, nor hear, nor walk. 
(2.) Their murders which they had committed upon the saints and servants of Christ. Popery is a bloody religion, and seems resolved to continue such.
(3.) Their sorceries; they have their charms, and magic arts, and rites in exorcism and other things.
(4.) Their fornication; they allow both spiritual and carnal impurity, and promote it in themselves and others.
(5.) Their thefts; they have by unjust means heaped together a vast deal of wealth, to the injury and impoverishing of families, cities, princes, and nations. These are the flagrant crimes of antichrist and his agents; and, though God has revealed his wrath from heaven against them, they are obstinate, hardened, and impenitent, and judicially so, for they must be destroyed.
--God’s three angels have gathered the righteous
have gathered the wicked. --
The sixth trumpet in Revelation 9:13-21 describes the gathering of the wicked for battle while Revelation 10 describes the gathering of the righteous on God’s side.
Drawn/taken from the book Daniel & Revelation by Uriah Smith---Study Guide by Stephen Bohr---Sermon by Walter Veith---Commentaries from Matthew Henry/Adam Clark---Revelation Made Clear
