What does Revelation 9:19 mean?

John has described the two-hundred-million-strong army using the imagery of horses. This verse tells us the horses' power resides in their mouths and in their tails. The locusts in John's earlier vision, as well as these invading "horses" are said to be able to use their tails as deadly instruments. For this reason, some interpreters believe the locust-like creatures released from the Abyss (Revelation 9:2–3) will have taken on the appearance of horses to participate in this next trumpet judgment.

Prior verses indicated that a third of the people remaining on earth would be killed in this attack. In horrific situations such as that, mass casualties become mass corpses that pile up like firewood. We can only imagine the panic, terror, and devastation of such an event.

Many unbelievers today trust in their own security on the basis of false gods, such as material goods and money, or in medical science. One of the purposes of the tribulation is to prove, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that nothing can prevent the wrath of God on sin. Only personal faith in the Savior will exempt anyone from eternal suffering in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11–15).