19. their--A, B, C and Aleph read, "the power of the
horses."
in their mouth--whence issued the fire, smoke, and
brimstone
(Re 9:17).
Many interpreters understand the horsemen to refer to the
myriads of Turkish cavalry arrayed in scarlet, blue, and yellow
(fire, hyacinth, and brimstone), the lion-headed
horses denoting their invincible courage, and the fire and
brimstone out of their mouths, the gunpowder and artillery
introduced into Europe about this time, and employed by the Turks; the
tails, like serpents, having a venomous sting, the false religion of
Mohammed supplanting Christianity, or, as ELLIOTT
thinks, the Turkish pachas' horse tails, worn as a symbol of authority.
(!) All this is very doubtful. Considering the parallelism of this
sixth trumpet to the sixth seal, the likelihood is that events are
intended immediately preceding the Lord's coming. "The false prophet"
(as
Isa 9:15
proves), or second beast, having the horns of a lamb, but speaking as
the dragon, who supports by lying miracles the final Antichrist,
seems to me to be intended. Mohammed, doubtless, is a forerunner of
him, but not the exhaustive fulfiller of the prophecy here: Satan will,
probably, towards the end, bring out all the powers of hell for the
last conflict (see on
Re 9:20,
on "devils"; compare
Re 9:1, 2, 17, 18).
with them--with the serpent heads and their venomous fangs.
JFB.
Picture Study Bible