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.
17. having breastplates ] This must be understood of the riders chiefly, but perhaps not exclusively: comparing Rev 9:9 we cannot be sure that St John would not use the word “breastplate” of the defensive armour of a horse, if he had such in his mind. In fact, the word is used in later Greek of defensive armour generally, not the breastplate only.
of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone ] All these are expressed in Greek by adjectives. The last means only “ like brimstone;” and though the terminations of the two former would properly indicate the material, yet the “jacinth” seems so incongruous with the other two, that it is easiest to understand all three as referring to colour only: they had breastplates of fiery red, of smoky blue, and of sulphurous yellow. Whether all had tricoloured armour, or whether there were three divisions, each in a distinctive uniform, may be doubted: but the three plagues corresponding to these colours, which we hear of directly after, are almost certainly inflicted by the whole army alike: and this affords some presumption that the attire of all was symbolical of all three.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And thus I saw the horses in the vision – That is, he saw them as he proceeds to describe them, for the word thus – houtos – refers to what follows. Compare Robinsons Lexicon on the word (b), and see Mat 1:18; Mat 2:5; Joh 21:1; Heb 4:4. Prof. Stuart, however, refers to what precedes. The meaning, as it seems to me, is, that he fixed his attention on the appearance of the immense army – the horses and their riders, and proceeded to describe them as they struck him.
And them that sat on them – He fixed the attention on horse and rider. Their appearance was unusual, and deserved a particular description.
Having breastplates of fire – That is, those who sat on them had such breastplates. The word rendered here as breastplate denoted properly a coat of mail that covered the body from the neck to the thighs. See the notes on Eph 6:14. This would be a prominent object in looking at a horseman. This was said to be composed of fire, and jacinth, and brimstone; that is, the part of the body usually incased in the coat of mail had these three colors. The word fire here simply denotes red. It was burnished and bright, and seemed to be a blaze of fire. The word jacinth – huakinthinous – means hyacinthine. The color denoted is that of the hyacinth – a flower of a deep purple or reddish blue. Then it refers to a gem of the same color, nearly related to the zircon of the mineralogists, and the color mentioned here is deep purple or reddish blue. The word rendered brimstone – theiodes – means properly sulphurous, that is, made of sulphur, and means here simply yellow. The meaning of the whole then is, that these horsemen appeared to be clad in a special kind of armor – armor that shone like fire, mingled with blue and yellow. It will be necessary to look for the fulfillment of this in cavalry that was so caparisoned.
And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions – Resembled, in some respects, the heads of lions. He does not say that they were the heads of lions, or that the riders were on monsters, but only that they, in some respects, resembled the heads of lions. It would he easy to give this general appearance by the way in which the head-dress of the horses was arrayed.
And out of their mouths issued – That is, appeared to issue. It is not necessary to understand this as affirming that it actually came from their months, but only that, to one looking on such an approaching army, it would have this appearance. The pagan poets often speak of horses breathing out fire and smoke (Virgil, Geor. vol. ii. p. 140; iii. 85; Ovid, Met. vol. vii. p. 104), meaning that their breath seemed to be mingled smoke and fire. There is an image superadded here not found in any of the classic descriptions, that this was mingled with brimstone. All this seemed to issue from their mouths – that is, it was breathed forth in front of the host, as if the horses emitted it from their mouths.
Fire and smoke and brimstone – The exact idea, whether that was intended or not, would be conveyed by the discharge of musketry or artillery. The fire, the smoke, and the sulphurous smell of such a discharge would correspond precisely with this language; and if it be supposed that the writer meant to describe such a discharge, this would be the very language that would be used. Moreover, in describing a battle nothing would be more proper than to say that this appeared to issue from the horses mouths. If, therefore, it should be found that there were any events where firearms were used, in contradistinction from the ancient mode of warfare, this language would be appropriate to describe that; and if it were ascertained that the writer meant to refer to some such fact, then the language used here would be what he would adopt. One thing is certain, that this is not language which would be employed to describe the onset of ancient cavalry in the mode of warfare which prevailed then. No one describing a charge of cavalry among the Persians, the Greeks, or the Romans, when the only armor was the sword and the spear, would think of saying that there seemed to be emitted from the horses mouths fire, and smoke, and brimstone.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. Breastplates of fire-jacinth, and brimstone] That is, red, blue, and yellow; the first is the colour of fire, the second of jacinth, and the third of sulphur.
And the heads of the horses] Is this an allegorical description of great ordnance? Cannons, on the mouths of which horses’ heads were formed, or the mouth of the cannon cast in that form? Fire, smoke, and brimstone, is a good allegorical representation of gunpowder. The Ottomans made great use of heavy artillery in their wars with the Greeks of the lower empire.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We have no such description or representation as this in any other place of holy writ. Some understand it of the several coloured breastplates that the soldiers wore; some of a red and flaming colour, like fire; others blue, like the jacinth; some pale: all such as wear them look terribly. Mr. Mede hath here again a peculiar notion; thinking that the Holy Ghost doth here signify their fighting with great guns, (not known before the siege of Constantinople), which throw out fire and smoke, &c., and so alter the air, the medium by which we see, that the opposite party in fighting appear to those that use these arms, as if they were covered with breastplates that were red, and blue, and pale. To confirm this, he tells us of Chalcondylass report of this siege, who mentioneth great guns used at it of that vast bigness, that one of them required threescore and ten yoke of oxen and two thousand men to draw it, &c. It is at least a very ingenious conjecture, and I could not but mention it in honour to the learned author; leaving it to my readers liberty, whether he will, with Mr. Mede, judge this literal sense of the text is best, or interpret all these phrases more generally, only of a terrible appearance of those armies.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. thusas follows.
of firethe fierycolor of the breastplates answering to the fire whichissued out of their mouths.
of jacinthliterally,”of hyacinth color,” the hyacinth of the ancients answeringto our dark blue iris: thus, their dark, dull-coloredbreastplates correspond to the smoke out of their mouths.
brimstonesulphur-colored:answering to the brimstone or sulphur out of their mouths.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them,…. In such numbers, and with horsemen on them, and in such order, and in appearance, as follows:
having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth and brimstone; which may be understood either literally of their external breastplates, which being of polished iron, according to the custom of these people, looked at a distance like sparkling fire, and seemed to be of the colour of hyacinth, or of a sky colour, and appeared as flaming sulphur; though some think that their breastplates were of different colours, some looked like fire, others like jacinth, and others like brimstone; or it may denote that they would be accoutred in scarlet, blue, and yellow, which are the colours the Turks have commonly wore; or this may be understood of their internal breastplates, and the disposition of their minds, having in their breasts nothing but wrath, fury, desolation, and destruction; a fire devoured before them, and behind them a flame burned:
and the heads of the horses [were] as the heads of lions: gaping and roaring for their prey, or all bloody with it, and looked fierce, and savage, and terrible: this designs not so much the strength, boldness, and intrepidity of their horses, which are warlike creatures, and very undaunted in battle, as of the men that sat upon them, who were like David’s heroes and warriors, 1Ch 12:8.
And out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone; which may be referred either to the horses, or to the horsemen, or both: some interpret this allegorically, and by “fire” understand either the tyranny of the Turks over their own people, or their fury against others, or their blasphemy against God, and Christ, and his people, being like so many railing Rabshakehs against the God of the Christians; and by “smoke” the false doctrine of Mahomet, which came out of the same bottomless pit the doctrine of the Romish antichrist did; and is fitly compared to smoke for its disagreeableness, darkness, levity, and duration; [See comments on Re 9:2]; and by “brimstone” the immorality and sad corruption of manners among the Turks, and what is allowed of, or winked at, as fornication, polygamy, sodomy, c. but rather this is to be taken more literally, and represents the firing of guns on horseback in battle. Guns are a late invention, and the use of them was found out in the age this trumpet refers to and were much made use of by the Turks in their wars, and particularly great guns or cannons; these were used by Amurath at the sieges of Belgrade, and of Constantinople m; and by Mahomet the Second at the taking of Constantinople, where a gun or cannon was used of that size, as to be drawn by seventy yoke of oxen, and two thousand men n. Gunpowder set on fire is fitly signified by fire, smoke, and brimstone, which is made of nitre, charcoal, and brimstone; and the firing of guns on horseback is most aptly described by these coming out of the mouths of horses and horsemen: nor could it well appear to John to be otherwise, who could never have seen a gun, and one fired off in his life; nor could he well represent to others what he saw in vision, than in this manner.
m Chalcocond. l. 5. p. 152, 163. n Chalcocond. l. 8. p. 252.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And thus I saw in the vision ( ). Nowhere else does John allude to his own vision, though often in Dan. (Dan 7:2; Dan 8:2; Dan 8:15; Dan 9:21).
Having (). Accusative masculine plural of , probably referring to the riders ( ‘ ) rather than to the horses ( ).
Breastplates as of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone ( ). There is no (as) in the Greek, but that is the idea of these three adjectives which are only metaphors. is an old adjective (from , fire), here only in N.T. H is also an old word (from , hyacinth, then of a sapphire stone Re 21:20), of a red color bordering on black, here only in the N.T. is a late word (from , brimstone), sulphurous, here only in N.T.
As the heads of lions ( ). This of the horses, war-horses as always in the Bible except in Isa 28:28. These horses likewise have “fire and smoke and brimstone” (, brimstone, is old word, in N.T. only in Rev. and Lu 17:29) proceeding (, singular because it comes first and the subjects afterwards) out of their mouths. Both rider and horse are terrible.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Thus [] . After this manner.
In the vision [ ] . Or “in my vision.” See on Act 2:17. The reference to sight may be inserted because of I heard in ver. 16. Of fire [] . Rev., “as of fire.” Fiery red.
Of jacinth [] . Uakinqov hyacinth is the name of a flower and also of a precious stone. The noun occurs only Rev 21:20, and the adjective only here. According to classical mythology, the flower sprang up from the blood of Hyacinthus, a beautiful Spartan youth, who was accidentally killed during a game of quoits. It was thought by some that the letters AI, AI, the exclamation of woe, could be traced on the petals, while others discovered the letter U, the initial letter of Uakinqov. The story of the slaying of Hyacinthus is told by Ovid.
“Lo, the blood Which, on the ground outpoured, had stained the sod, Is blood no more. Brighter than Tyrian dye, Like to the lily ‘s shape a flower appears, Purple in hue as that is silvery white. Nor yet does such memorial content Phoebus Apollo at whose word it rose. Upon its leaves he writes his own laments, And on the flower forever stands inscribed AI, AI”
“Metamorphoses,” 10., 175 sqq.
As a stone, it is identified by some with the sapphire. As to color, the hyacinth of the Greeks seems to have comprehended the iris, gladiolus, and larkspur. Hence the different accounts of its color in classical writings, varying from red to black. A dull, dark blue seems to be meant here. Of brimstone [] . Perhaps light yellow, such a color as would be produced by the settling fumes of brimstone.
Of the horses. In the Bible the horse is always referred to in connection with war, except Isa 28:28, where it is mentioned as employed in threshing, the horses being turned loose in the grain as in the Italian triglia. The magnificent description in Joh 39:19 – 25 applies to the war – horse. He is distinguished not so much for his speed and utility as for his strength (see Psa 33:17; Psa 147:10), and the word abbir strong is used as an equivalent for a horse (Jer 8:16; Jer 47:3). The Hebrews as a pastoral race, did not need the horse; and, for a long time after their settlement in Canaan, dispensed with it, partly because of the hilly nature of the country, which allowed the use of chariots only in certain places (Jud 1:19), and partly because of the prohibition in Deu 17:16. Accordingly they hamstrung the horses of the Canaanites (Jos 11:6, 9). The great supply of horses was effected by Solomon through his connection with Egypt. See 1Ki 4:26.
Proceedeth fire and smoke. Compare Virgil.
“Then, if the sound of arms he hear from far, Quiet he cannot stand, but pricks his ears, Trembles in every limb, and snorting, rolls The gathered fire beneath his nostrils wide” ” Georgics, ” iii, 83 – 85.
Also Job 39:20 : “the glory of his nostrils is terrible.”
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And thus I saw the horses in the vision,” (kai houtos eidon tous hippous en te horasei) “And thus (like this) I perceived the horses in the vision”; Joe 2:11.
2) “And them that sat on them,” (kai tous kathemenous pep I auton) “And those sitting upon them” riding them into battle and to their own death.
3) “Having breastplates of fire,” (echontas thorakas purinous) “Having or holding fire-colored breastplates,” of three colors; (1) of fiery red,
4) “And of jacinth, and of brimstone,” (kai huakinthinous kai theiodeis) “And 2) dusky-red or moderate red sulfurous,” in color or appearance, or smoky-blue and sulfurous yellow.
5) “And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions,” (kai hoi kephaloi ton hippon hos kephalai leonton) “And the heads of the horses appeared to be like heads of lions; kings of beasts, symbolizing rulers of gentiles for whom these men fought and died, Joe 2:4-11.
6) “And out of their mouths issued,” (kai ekton stomaton auton ekporeuetoi) “And out of their mouths pour forth, goes forth; the three plagues as follows, Rev 9:18.
7) “Fire and smoke and brimstone,” (pur kai kapnos kai theion) “Fire, smoke, and sulphur;- symbolized on the breastplates of the fire, smoke, and brimstone riders headed for death.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(17) And thus I saw . . .Better, And after this manner saw I the horses in the vision, and those who sat upon them, having breastplates fiery and jacinth-like, and brimstone-like, and the heads of the horses were as heads of lions; and out of their mouths goeth forth fire and smoke and brimstone. The seer proceeds to describe the general appearance of the horses and horsemen. After this fashion were they: the horses and horsemen were armed with breastplates of triple hue (corresponding to the three-fold destructive stream which goes forth from their mouth), the hues of flame, and dark purple (jacinth), and brimstone. The jacinth colour seems to be the dark purple or blue so often seen in smoke. The Poet Laureate uses the word azure to describe the colour of ascending columns of smoke (azure pillars of the hearth arise to thee): the colour here would be darker, the smoke not arising from peaceful dwellings, but generated among death-giving elements. The army is mainly of horsemen, and they are described as resolute and relentless: we are reminded of somewhat similar features in the Chaldean armies spoken of by Habakkuk, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation: they are terrible and dreadful: their horses also are swifter than leopards, &c. (Hab. 1:6-10).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. I saw The forms of the horses; he could only hear the number.
Fire Rather, fire-coloured, a fiery red.
Jacinth A dull, smoky red.
Brimstone An adjective, sulphureous. The three colours of the breastplates correspond to the three elements issuing from the horses’ mouths.
Out of their mouths Had real cavalries been described, swords and arrows would have been in their hands. But these are not war-men, but war-demons symbols of the furies of war. The fire is the blaze of warlike wrath; the smoke (see note on Rev 9:2) betokens moral darkness; the brimstone, destruction.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The further description of the seer confirms this interpretation:
v. 17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire and of jacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouth issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
v. 18. By these three was the third art of men killed, by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths.
v. 19, 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.
v. 20. 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;
v. 21. neither repented they of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their fornication nor of their thefts. The description of the great masses of horsemen enhances the general effect of the passage, to emphasize the terror and destruction of this great plague: And thus I saw the horses in the vision and those that sat upon them, having coats of mail, of fire and jacinth and brimstone; and the heads of the horses resembled heads of lions, and out of their mouth there went forth fire and smoke and sulfur. Here a host of attacking horsemen is described, with their armor gleaming red, dark-blue, and yellow. They were the instruments of divine wrath. No power on earth alone could stop the robbing and the murdering and the burning of these fiends. The heads of lions which the heads of their horses resembled showed the terrible power, the horrible anger which filled the hearts of the Mohammedan hordes, fire and smoke and sulfur issuing out of their mouths: By these three plagues were killed the third part of men, by the fire and the smoke and the sulfur which went forth out of their mouths. It was and is a murderous fanaticism with which the followers of Mohammed wage war, all the abominations of the abyss of hell being employed by them in their attempt to spread their false doctrine.
It is as St. John writes: For the power of the horses lies in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails resemble serpents, having heads, and with them they do injury. That is the secret of the power of this false prophet, the false, alluring doctrine which comes forth from his mouth. The tongues of his teachers are truly inflamed of hell with a disastrous fire, a veritable mystery of iniquity. The old serpent, Satan himself, is their inspiration, and wherever they lift their heads, injury and destruction follows.
And now John makes an almost incredible statement: And the rest of men, that were not killed in these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, not to worship demons and idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they repented not of their murders nor of their magic arts nor of their fornications nor of their thefts. Even as Pharaoh hardened his heart in spite of the many evidences of God’s power performed in his sight, even as the children of Israel in the wilderness refused again and again to turn to the Lord in true repentance, in spite of the many miracles by which He sought to influence them, thus it has ever been in the history of the world. The Lord may send ever so many plagues, wars, pestilences, famines, and yet, as soon as He withdraws His chastening hand, men harden their hearts once more and refuse to repent of the works of their hands, of their idolatry, of their abuse of the name of God, of their murders and adulteries and robberies, hath great and small. Truly, this is a description of the abyss of human depravity, such a picture as we see but rarely in its entirety, although glimpses are seen often enough in these last days before the coming of the Lord in glory.
Summary
The prophet, in the description of the falling star and of the hordes of locusts swarming up from the pit of hell, draws a picture of some of the chief false teachers that have ever vexed Christianity; and, in a Similar manner, in the countless horsemen coming from the Euphrates, foretells the rise of Mohammedanism with its fake doctrines and all its attendant horrors.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
17 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.
Ver. 17. Breastplates of fire, &c. ] Muskets, arquebuses, pistols, and other spitfires; but especially those great guns and murdering pieces, so much used by the Turks, those mighty ordnance they brought before Constantinople, Rhodes, and other places, nothing inferior to those two that were cast by Alphonsus Duke of Ferrara, the one whereof he called the earthquake, the other Grandiabolo, or the great devil. (Chalcondylas. Peacham’s Valley of Vanity.)
a The early type of portable gun, varying in size from a small cannon to a musket, which on account of its weight was, when used in the field, supported upon a tripod, trestle, or other ‘carriage’, and afterwards upon a forked ‘rest’. The name in German and Flemish meant literally ‘hook-gun’, from the hook cast along with the piece, by which it was fastened to the ‘carriage’; but the name became generic for portable fire-arms generally in the 16th century, so that the type with the hook was subsequently distinguished as arquebuse croc: D
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 9:17 . Here only the writer refers to his “vision”. (horse and rider regarded as one figure: in the Persian heavy cavalry horses as well as men were clad in bright plate) . . ., “they wore coats of mail, the colour of fire and jacinth and brimstone,” i.e. , gleaming red, dark blue, and yellow, unless . (a favourite Oriental military colour) is meant to denote the colour of dull smoke. Plutarch, in his life of Sulla, describes the Medes and Scythians with their ( cf. Sir 48:9 ). , . . ., like Job’s leviathan, Ovid’s bulls (Metam. vii. 104), or Diomede’s horses (Lucret. ver 29, cf. Aen. vii. 281). They are also as destructive as Joel’s locusts. The description is a blend of observation and fantastic popular beliefs. Brimstone was a. traditional trait of divine wrath among people who “associated the ozonic smell which often bo perceptibly accompanies lightning discharges with the presence of sulphur”( E. Bi. 611). The symbolism is coloured by actual Parthian invasions ( cf. Rev 6:1 f.) and by passage s like Sap. 11:18 where God punishes men by sending “unknown, newly-created wild beasts full of rage, breathing out a fiery blast or snorting out noisome smoke or flashing dread sparkles from their eyes.” Mr. Bent recalls the curious superstition of the modern Therans, who during the eruptions of last century saw “in the pillars of smoke issuing from their volcano, giants and horsemen and terrible beasts”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
vision. Greek. horasis. Occurs: Rev 4:3 and Act 2:17. Compare App-133.
on. App-104.
of fire. Greek. purinos. Only here.
brimstone. Greek. theiodes. Only here.
brimstone. Greek. theion, six times in Rev., and in Luk 17:29. See App-197.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 9:17. , of fire, and of jacinth, and of brimstone) Lucretius joins together the same colours in another matter: lib. iv.-
Lutea russaque vela
Et ferruginea-
(yellow, red, and black hangings). Ferruginea are the same as hyacinthina. Virgil says, ferrugineos hyacinthos; that is, according to Servius, of a dark colour. Wherefore in this passage, the breast-plates of jacinth and the smoke answer to one another; as the breast-plates of fire and the fire, and the breastplates of brimstone and the brimstone. Literal and figurative things are blended together in this and the following verses.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
having: This appears to point out the scarlet, blue and yellow colours, for which the Turks have always been remarkable. The “four angels bound in the Euphrates” denote their four sultanies bordering on that river, where they were confined till after the period of the Crusades. The time for which they were prepared, “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year,” computing a year for each day, amounts to 391 years, 15 days; and from their first conquest over the Christians, ad 1281, to the taking of Cameniec from the Poles, ad 1672, which was the last conquest by which their dominion was extended, is exactly that period. Rev 9:9
jacinth: Rev 21:20
brimstone: Rev 9:18, Rev 14:10, Rev 19:20, Rev 21:8, Gen 19:24, Psa 11:6, Isa 30:33, Eze 33:22
as the: 1Ch 12:8, Isa 5:28, Isa 5:29
Reciprocal: Exo 28:4 – a breastplate Eze 28:14 – and I Eph 6:14 – the breastplate Rev 9:2 – there Rev 16:8 – and power
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 9:17. Some commentators see an invasion of heathen armies into the domain of the Roman Empire. No doubt things of that nature took place at certain times through the centuries. However, the fundamental background of the vision being shown to John has not been changed, hence I believe all these descriptive phrases are symbolical of the fierceness of the judgments which the dupes of Rome brought upon themselves. For that reason I shall not attempt any further comments on the descriptions.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 17.
The apocalyptic horses: “And thus I saw the horses in the vision, having breastplates of fire, jacinth, brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.”–Rev 9:17.
Thus I saw . . . in the vision: In the manner of the narrative John “thus” saw these things–that is, not in physical life, not actual or real, but “in the vision”–therefore, it was not a description of fleshly animals, material armor or human riders, but symbolic of the woes to befall the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the land of the Jews.
Breastplates of fire, jacinth, brimstone: In verse 9 the army of locusts had breastplates of iron, to signify an impervious shield. Here “them that sat” on the horses, the horsemen, and “breastplates of fire, jacinth and brimstone” denoted the glittering colors of the bedecked armor.
Jacinth, known also as hyacinth, resembling amethyst (Exo 28:19; Exo 39:12), was an opaque stone consisting of crystallized quartz, a gem of dark blue-violet or purple-like color; the oriental amethyst belonging to a variety of sapphire mentioned frequently in the Old Testament; an ancient gem of brilliance and beauty, next to the diamond in lustre and hardness.
Brimstone was a sulphuric mineral substance of inflammable potency and yellowish hue, the fumes of which were odious and suffocating. It is figuratively employed in Job 18:15; Isa 36:9; and in Revelation to symbolize the terrible condition of suffering and punishment, temporally or spiritually, pertaining to both the present and the future state.
Fire, aside from its natural uses, was variously used in both Old and New Testaments as a metaphor of divine presence, as a purifier of intense emotion either of love, anger or hate, of the execution of penal judgment on men and nations and of the future eternal punishment of the wicked, all of which uses are figurative and carry the full intensity of the word in all of its connotations and applications. The “fire, jacinth and brimstone,” of verse 17, were used to figuratively describe the irredescent glitter of the horsemen’s armor, in the glowing red of fire, the blue-purple hue of the hyacinth, and the smokish yellow of brimstone.
The blending colors signified also the mingled sufferings to be inflicted with the awful intensity of fire and brimstone, as indicated by the corresponding expression in the same verse, that “fire, smoke and brimstone” proceeded from the mouths of the horses. The vision of two hundred million horsemen bedecked in armor of fire, jacinth and brimstone, riding horses with heads “as the heads of lions,” with mouths issuing “fire and smoke and brimstone,” presents a monstrous picture of the approaching speedy execution of judgment on Jerusalem.
The figurative use of these terms as metaphors of misery and woe is unquestionable when compared with the context of the several other passages in which the phrase “fire and brimstone,” and similar expressions occur. In an imprecatory psalm against his enemies David said, “upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone . . . this shall be the portion of their cup.” (Psa 11:6)
Prophesying God’s judgments upon Gog, Ezekiel said: “I will rain upon him . . . and upon the many people that are with him . . . an overflowing rain . . . hailstones, fire and brimstone.” (Eze 38:22)
Describing similar judgments on wicked nations and their rulers, Isaiah said: “The Lord will come with fire . . . to render his anger with fury and his rebukes with flames of fire . . . for their worm dieth not, neither shall their fire be quenched.” (Isa 66:24)
The allusion here is to that accumulation of filth and putrefaction in the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, always alive with worms, and its everburning fires day and night, to consume these sources of pestilence. From “Hinnom” was compounded the word Gehenna, which the Lord used to denote the word “hell.” In the application of the figure to the torments of hell Jesus said: “Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched”– Mar 9:44; Mar 9:46; Mar 9:48. The use Jesus made of these words cannot be applied literally to the torments of souls in hell any more than the language of David, Ezekiel and Isaiah could be applied literally to the rulers of the nations against whom they were inveighing. As a metaphor of eternal banishment from the presence of God, Jesus used the expression “outer darkness,” like “outer space,” a darkness beyond the physical darkness of this world. In reference to the misery of such banishment he used the phrase, “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.” An amateur in exegesis should recognize the figurative character of these expressions. So it is in the use of the word “fire” to indicate the intensity of suffering beyond degree: “Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched”–remorse is the worm and anguish is the fire–where remorse of conscience will never end and anguish of soul will never cease.
In an almost identical association of metaphorical phrases employed in the Psalms of David, in the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel and in the discourses of Jesus on Jerusalem, the visions of John employ the expressions “fire and smoke and brimstone” to describe the plagues of the four angels turned loose; and the atrocities which attended the invasions of their monstrous army were as smoke ascending from the fire of hell.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
St. John proceeds here in describing this vast army of Turks and Arabians, that with incredible swiftness did overrun and ruin the eastern churches; all these expressions of fire, and brimstone, and smoke, denote that cruel devastation and destruction which was occasioned by the Turks and Mahometans.
Behold here the instruments of Satan, how his own cruel and destructive nature is discovered, how exceedingly he is delighted in the perdition of mankind, having been a murderer from the beginning.
In the last two verses St. John declares, 1. What were the sins which produced so great a plague, namely, idolatry and the worshipping the works of their own hands, a sin very odious to God, and for which God suffered the Turks to be so severe a scourge to Christendom; what little reason had the Christians then to call their wars against the Turks the holy wars, when idolatry, the cause of it was not repented of? What success could they expect as long as the idoltry of Christians, and their other provoking sins, were so many?
Observe farther, What was the end God aimed at by such strong physic, by such terrible judgments as he then brought upon the world? It was to bring them to repentance? but so mad was antichristian world upon their idols, that they would not be reformed by the judgment with a sinful people, he will follow them with a variety and succession of plagues and judgments one upon another, till he has either brought them to himself, or brought them to nothing.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Now John saw what these horsemen looked like. Horses were swift implements of war in ancient times. Red, blue, and yellow breastplates covered both horses and riders. This was apparently their only armor, and it is defensive armor. Hyacinth is a flower that is most commonly blue, and brimstone is sulfur that is yellow. Lion-like horse heads could be very different from those of ordinary horses or just heads of horses that appear exceptionally bold and majestic. Lions are terrifying (cf. Rev 10:3), fierce (cf. Rev 9:8), and destructive (cf. Rev 13:2). Natural horses do not breath fire, smoke, and brimstone. These may be figures describing their prophecies of judgment (cf. Rev 11:5-6). This verse suggests that this army is probably something other than a human army of cavalry, probably an angelic army (cf. Rev 9:9). However some interpreters, both premillennial and amillennial, have believed that this will be a human army. [Note: E.g., Walvoord, The Revelation . . ., p. 167; and Hendriksen, p. 148.]