Is the army of 200 million in Revelation 9:16 a reference to China?

Introduction

Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. ¹⁶ I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops. (Revelation 9:15-16)

Having to face an army of 200 million would cause any people, nation, or world power alarm. It is estimated that when John penned these verses about 2,000 years ago, the world’s entire population was around 200 million! No one at that time could even fathom a nation being able to present an army of this magnitude. Rome, the world’s superpower at the time, had an active army of 125,000 with an auxiliary of about the same size; this army in 9:16 is 800x larger than Rome’s army during John’s life!

Today, China’s military is the largest in the world by active-duty personnel, with around 200 million active soldiers as of January 2024. This is twice the number of active-duty troops in the United States, the second-largest military in the world. Since the People’s Liberation Army of China boasts 200 million active service members, many view these verses as describing China’s military.

The Case for China

Our brothers and sisters in Christ who interpret the 200 million-man army as China’s army also view Revelation 9:15-16 as parallel with the kings from the east in Revelation 16:12, who cross the dried-up Euphrates River to come into Israel along with the size of their army.

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance. (Revelation 16:12)

The primary basis for relating these two passages to one another is that they both mention the Euphrates River and a large army. Others who adopt this view, that the army of 200 million is a human army and China specifically, also see a reference to this army from the East in Daniel 11:44-45.

The third reason many believe that these verses could be describing a future invasion of Israel is that the descriptions of the weapons that this army uses seem to describe a modern-day battlefield. The images could describe, in a very creative way, tanks, helicopters, artillery, missiles, and rocket launchers.

Revelation 9:17-19

And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths. ¹⁸ One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses. ¹⁹ Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people. (Revelation 9:17-19)

Another View Other Than China

It is easy to see why many choose to think that these verses could or do speak of a future invasion of Israel by China. But other believers think this is a vast army of demons and not flesh and blood. The following three reasons are why there is a portion of Christ’s Church that believes that the 200 million-man army consists of demons instead of people.

1. The fifth trumpet judgment depicts a demonic invasion in the form of locust-like creatures. Since the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments are closely linked as the first two of three “woes,” it follows that the army released by the sixth trumpet is also demonic in nature.
2. This army is commanded by four fallen angels (Revelation 9:14-15), much like the locusts in the fifth trumpet judgment. Given that their leaders are demons, it is reasonable to conclude that the troops they command are demonic as well.
3. The fire, brimstone, and smoke spewed by these horses are consistently associated with supernatural forces in Scripture. In Revelation, these elements are linked to hell on four occasions (14:10-11; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8), reinforcing the idea that this army is not of human origin.

If this interpretation is correct, it means that during the Tribulation, the earth will be overrun by demons, first tormenting people with excruciating pain (the fifth trumpet, Revelation 9:10), then slaughtering a third of humanity (the sixth trumpet, Revelation 9:15, 18). Regardless of whether these 200 million horsemen are human or demonic, they will bring about the most devastating loss of life in history, making this prophecy truly unparalleled.

Conclusion

For the above reasons, I lean towards the latter of these two views concerning the 200 million-person army. Scripture describes the Tribulation period as when the spiritual invisible becomes physically visible. I think this is one of those examples.

Yet, whether this army is human-led by demonic generals or demonic through and through, God will use them to judge the earth by killing 1/3 of the earth’s remaining population at the time. While this prophetic act that will come to pass is sobering enough, the truth is that those who survive this judgment will not repent of their sin and receive God’s grace (Revelation 9:21) and escape from the more severe judgment of the second death (Revelation 20:11-15)!

But what about you? Can you say you will escape God’s judgment for your sin with confidence? God has made a way for you not to experience condemnation for your sin, and that way is placing your faith in His Son. Would you like to trust in Jesus today and begin following Him? If so, watch the video below and respond. Please let me know if you begin following Jesus today by placing your faith in Him!

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