Commentators on the Second Woe

H. A. Ironside

Two hundred thousand horsemen are hurled upon the west of Asia and upon Europe. They seem to be as unearthly warriors, with breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone. The horses' heads appear as the heads of lions, because of the unspeakable ferocity of those Asiatic hordes; while fire, and smoke, and brimstone seem to issue from thir mouths, telling of the Satanic character of this dire invasion. The result will be a third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issue from their mouths. When we recall the millions who have perished as the direct result of the recent war and pestilence, we can see how a greater war in the future may well tend to almost depopulate the earth, destroying one-third of the prophetic earth, which is identical with the limits of the old Roman empire. In verse nineteen we read: "for their power is in their mouth, and in their tails; for their tails were like serpents, and had heads, and with them do they hurt." Isaiah 9:15 helps us to understand both this passage and that in verse ten. "The prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail." Whether it be occult woe of the fifth trumpet or the carnage woe of the sixth trumpet, in each case lying prophets are the leaders in each movement and are responsible for the mental, spiritual and physical harm accomplished.