Revelation 9:12-21 Meaning: The Surprising Tragedy of Unrepentant Hearts
12The first woe is past. Behold, there are still two woes coming after this.
13The sixth angel sounded. I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!”
15The four angels were freed who had been prepared for that hour and day and month and year, so that they might kill one third of mankind.
16The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million. I heard the number of them.
17Thus I saw the horses in the vision and those who sat on them, having breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the horses’ heads resembled lions’ heads. Out of their mouths proceed fire, smoke, and sulfur.
18By these three plagues, one third of mankind was killed: by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur, which proceeded out of their mouths.
19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads; and with them they harm.
20The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn’t repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn’t worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can’t see, hear, or walk.
21They didn’t repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.
12One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15And 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.
16And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
17And 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.
18By 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.
19For 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.
20And 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:
21Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
12The first Woe is past: behold, there come yet two Woes hereafter.
13And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14one saying to the sixth angel that had the trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates.
15And the four angels were loosed, that had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men.
16And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: I heard the number of them.
17And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates as of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone: and the heads of the horses are as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceedeth fire and smoke and brimstone.
18By these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths.
19For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt.
20And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk:
21and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
12The first woe did go forth, lo, there come yet two woes after these things.
13And the sixth messenger did sound, and I heard a voice out of the four horns of the altar of gold that is before God,
14saying to the sixth messenger who had the trumpet, `Loose the four messengers who are bound at the great river Euphrates;'
15and loosed were the four messengers, who have been made ready for the hour, and day, and month, and year, that they may kill the third of men;
16and the number of the forces of the horsemen is two myriads of myriads, and I heard the number of them.
17And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting upon them, having breastplates of fire, and jacinth, and brimstone; and the heads of the horses are as heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceedeth fire, and smoke, and brimstone;
18by these three were the third of men killed, from the fire, and from the smoke, and from the brimstone, that is proceeding out of their mouth,
19for their authorities are in their mouth, and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents, having heads, and with them they do injure;
20and the rest of men, who were not killed in these plagues, neither did reform from the works of their hands, that they may not bow before the demons, and idols, those of gold, and those of silver, and those of brass, and those of stone, and those of wood, that are neither able to see, nor to hear, nor to walk,
21yea they did not reform from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their whoredoms, nor from their thefts.
12The first woe has passed. Behold, there come yet two woes after these things.
13And the sixth angel sounded [his] trumpet: and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which [is] before God,
14saying to the sixth angel that had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound at the great river Euphrates.
15And the four angels were loosed, who are prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they might slay the third part of men;
16and the number of the hosts of horse [was] twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.
17And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those that sat upon them, having breastplates of fire and jacinth and brimstone; and the heads of the horses [were] as heads of lions, and out of their mouths goes out fire and smoke and brimstone.
18By these three plagues were the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which goes out of their mouths.
19For the power of the horses is in their mouth and in their tails: for their tails [are] like serpents, having heads, and with them they injure.
20And the rest of men who were not killed with these plagues repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the golden and silver and brazen and stone and wooden idols, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
21And they repented not of their murders, nor of their witchcrafts, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Meaning in one sentence
What happens when even the most terrible judgments fail to change human hearts?
Context
John has already recorded the first woe, a plague of demonic locusts that tormented people for five months. Now the sixth angel sounds his trumpet. A voice speaks from the golden altar in heaven, the same altar where the prayers of the saints are offered. It commands the release of four angels bound at the Euphrates River, who have been held in check for a specific moment in time. When released, they lead a cavalry of two hundred million mounted troops. The horses breathe fire, smoke, and sulfur, and with these three plagues they kill a third of humankind. But the passage does not end with the slaughter. It ends with a startling statement: the survivors still did not repent of their idolatry and sin. This is the real tragedy, not the judgment itself, but the hardened heart that refuses to turn.
Key Words
The Greek word for repent, metanoeō, appears twice in these verses in a negative construction, “they didn’t repent.” It means to change your mind, to turn from your old way of thinking and living. The tense used here (aorist) points to a decisive moment that never came. These people saw destruction and still did not change course.
The word for power in verse 19 is exousia, which means authority or delegated right. The horses’ power is not raw strength but a permission granted by God. Even the terrifying judgments are under His control.
The phrase “works of their hands” translates erga tōn cheirōn. It refers to idols crafted from gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, objects that cannot see, hear, or walk. The tragedy is that people trusted what their own hands made rather than the God who made them.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians have understood this passage in two main ways. Many from the Protestant tradition (including Wesley, Clarke, and Gill) see these judgments as historical events: the first woe representing the Saracen invasions, and the second woe the Ottoman Turkish conquests that swept across the eastern Roman Empire. The precise timing (an hour, day, month, and year) is seen as God’s perfect scheduling of these historical armies.
Other Christians, especially in the evangelical and Pentecostal traditions, read the passage as referring to events still future, a massive end-time army that will bring judgment just before Christ’s return. Both readings agree on the central point: even the most severe judgment does not force repentance. The human heart must choose to turn.
A common misunderstanding
Some think God sent these plagues simply to punish sinners. In fact, the passage emphasizes that the plagues were designed to lead to repentance. The survivors saw fire, smoke, and sulfur, borrowing images from Sodom and Gomorrah, yet they clung to their idols. The judgment itself was an invitation, but they refused it.
Living This Out
This passage asks a question you can carry into tomorrow: what is the “work of your hands” that you trust more than God? It could be money, a career, a relationship, or even a religious habit you rely on for security. The people in this vision faced terrifying plagues and still would not let go of what they had made. This week, identify one thing you have been holding onto instead of repenting. Ask yourself honestly: if God sent a warning, would I cling tighter or turn to Him?
Main takeaway: God's judgments invite repentance, but even the most terrible warning cannot force a human heart to turn.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
In this story, God let some scary horses come out. They hurt people. But the worst part was that the people who lived still would not say sorry to God. God wanted them to turn back to Him. He always wants us to say sorry and come close to Him.
For ages 9, 12
The people in this vision saw terrible things happen, fire, smoke, and sulfur, and still they refused to stop worshipping statues made of gold and wood. God sent the judgment to get their attention, but they would not listen. It shows how easy it is to keep doing wrong even when you know better. What is one thing in your life that you keep doing even though you know God wants you to stop? That is an idol. God is asking you to turn away from it and trust Him instead.
Questions People Ask
Why does God allow such terrible judgments in Revelation?
God’s judgments serve multiple purposes. They punish evil, but they also call people to repentance. In this passage, the plague kills a third of mankind, but the survivors are given another chance to turn from their idols. God’s desire is that everyone repents, even when He uses severe means to get attention.
What does 'the rest of mankind did not repent' mean in Revelation 9:20-21?
It means that despite seeing overwhelming judgment, people continued in idolatry and sin. They worshipped demons and idols made by their own hands. They also kept committing murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft. The phrase highlights the depth of human hardness against God.
Are the events in Revelation 9:12-21 past or future?
Christians disagree. Many historical interpreters see the sixth trumpet as the rise of Islamic empires (Saracens and Ottomans), which devastated the eastern church. Others view it as a future end-time event involving a massive army from the Euphrates. Both perspectives agree that God is sovereign over history and that the purpose is to warn people to repent.
What are the 'works of their hands' in Revelation 9:20?
This phrase refers to idols crafted from materials like gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. These are objects of worship that people made themselves. The irony is clear: humans bow down to what they created, even though those items cannot see, hear, or walk. It shows the foolishness of trusting anything other than the living God.
Why is the Euphrates River mentioned as the location of the bound angels?
The Euphrates was the eastern boundary of the land God promised to Israel and the location of Babylon, a symbol of pride and idolatry. In the Old Testament, the river marked the origin of empires that oppressed God's people. In Revelation, the Euphrates reappears as a place where demonic forces are restrained until God’s appointed time.
For pastors & researchers
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