This trumpet sounding ushers in a series of constantly morphing images not unlike how my dreams often progress. First, four angels are released from the Euphrates River to kill a third of mankind. Then they transmogrify into a massive army of mounted troops. Following that, the mounted troops fade into the background as the horses on which they are riding emerge as the lethal tools of war, belching fire, smoke, and sulfur while lashing their snake-like tails to inflict further injury. Finally, the entire scene is described as plagues rather than an army.
This trumpet sounding paints a picture that is an amalgamation of both war and natural disasters. The mounted troops speak of war. In the time when John wrote this, Rome had an ongoing power struggle with the Parthians and the boundary between the two was at the Euphrates. The Parthians never conquered Rome but were able to keep Rome from expanding into their part of the world. Hence the angels from the Euphrates River and the partial death and destruction indicated by the fraction 1/3.
I’ve already talked about the eruption of Vesuvius which emitted fire, smoke, and sulfur, like all volcanoes do. The devastation wiped out the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplantis, Stabiae, and other settlements. Even more intriguing is that Vesuvius was considered a divinity at the time of the AD 79 eruption and was depicted as a serpent in the frescoes of many household shrines in Pompeii. – Wikipedia. I don’t think it is hard to see the similarities between these events and the sounding of the sixth trumpet for the readers of this book who were suffering persecution under the thumb of the Roman empire.
The end is not yet, and though those who are sealed are affected by these events, they are not destroyed. And that’s hope and assurance to John’s readers and to us.
This trumpet sounding paints a picture that is an amalgamation of both war and natural disasters. The mounted troops speak of war. In the time when John wrote this, Rome had an ongoing power struggle with the Parthians and the boundary between the two was at the Euphrates. The Parthians never conquered Rome but were able to keep Rome from expanding into their part of the world. Hence the angels from the Euphrates River and the partial death and destruction indicated by the fraction 1/3.
I’ve already talked about the eruption of Vesuvius which emitted fire, smoke, and sulfur, like all volcanoes do. The devastation wiped out the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplantis, Stabiae, and other settlements. Even more intriguing is that Vesuvius was considered a divinity at the time of the AD 79 eruption and was depicted as a serpent in the frescoes of many household shrines in Pompeii. – Wikipedia. I don’t think it is hard to see the similarities between these events and the sounding of the sixth trumpet for the readers of this book who were suffering persecution under the thumb of the Roman empire.
The end is not yet, and though those who are sealed are affected by these events, they are not destroyed. And that’s hope and assurance to John’s readers and to us.
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