July 27: LOVE, OBEDIENCE, RIGHTEOUS ANGER
And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. Revelation 9:17
John’s vision of the sixth trumpet plague horses and their riders is absolutely packed with symbolism. Bear in mind that Satan’s “hometown” was the heavenly city of God. He is the mastermind behind all deceptive devices, as he has eyewitness information from which to coopt the things of God for his own evil purposes: ideas that he actively counterfeits.
Let us look closely at the breastplates of these demonic riders. The fierce, primary colors of red, blue, and yellow worn by these horsemen clearly reveal that they want to stand out, attracting attention by virtue of their appearance. A normal presentation of wartime soldiers is one of camouflage. John’s descriptive adjectives add a dimension that reveals the motives of the archenemy. We already know that he desires worship that is due only to God (Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:7). Here is a glimpse of him before he cultivated the seed of selfishness that corrupted his character: You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created… (Ezekiel 28:14b-15a)
The red is fiery, symbolizing vehemence and forcefulness, like Satan’s pursuit of worship. The original use of fire as a symbol was to represent the powerful love of God: Many waters cannot quench love. Song of Solomon 8:7
The hyacinth blue (jacinth or sapphire) refers to a beautiful gemstone that represents loyalty and the courage to be obedient to God in a fallen world. But any gemstone in the wrong hands represents greed.
The yellow is the color of sulfur (or brimstone), and is associated with the righteous anger of God, whose indescribable love for His created ones is matched by hatred of lies and deceptions that cause His beloved to turn away from Him, the only Source of life and love. Satan’s fierce anger is based upon hatred for God and self-promotion – and he uses it to intimidate, manipulate, and control.
The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions. Satan has coopted the lion symbol for himself. With its regal mane and majestic presence, the lion became a symbol for characteristics of Jesus, including nobility, strength, bravery, wisdom, and authority. Satan promotes himself as being in possession of these attributes. In light of this “theft”, the lion symbol can refer to Babylonian philosophy (Daniel 7:4), its propaganda being put forth in all world religions, including Christianity (Revelation 18:2-4). These bizarre, lion-like horse heads even talk! What they are saying parallels the uniforms of the riders: red fire, blue smoke, and yellow brimstone. The red fire is feigned love for the people. The blue smoke is feigned obedience to God, which in reality is obedience to counterfeit doctrines designed to draw people away from God. The yellow brimstone feigns righteous anger in defense of those counterfeit teachings.
The sinners in Zion are afraid. Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil. He will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, and his water will be sure. Isaiah 33:14-16