These eastern warriors and their horses are described by their military
costume and their arms. Fire is _red_, jacinth _blue_, and brimstone
_yellow_,--the chosen colors of the Ottoman warriors, their military
uniform. The heads of their horses "as the heads of lions," denote
strength, fierceness and cruelty. "Fire, smoke and brimstone issuing out
of their mouths," may be supposed to indicate the employment of
gunpowder, first invented about that time, as an element of destruction.
The commander at the siege of Constantinople is said to have employed
cannon, some of which were of such caliber as to send stones of three
hundred pounds weight! Thus their power was in their "mouth:" but like
the locusts, "they had in their tails power to do hurt,"--the deadly
poison of the Koran. The Turks left behind them wherever they went, as
the Saracens had done before, the poisonous and ruinous religion of
Mahomet, more durable and injurious to men than all their bloody
conquests. By this abominable system of delusion, the remains of the
Greek church in the Eastern division of the Roman empire, were almost
extirpated; Christianity was nearly extinguished in that part of the
world where the gospel had shone brightly, and there Mahometanism
continues till the present day. Such has been the desolating effect of
the sixth,--the second woe trumpet. Thus the Judge of all the earth
punishes impenitent communities. Besides the positive effects of the
second wo, we have intimation of some that are negative in the close of
this chapter.


20. And 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: