Amazing Facts Daily Devotional March 5th Sunrise Pride of Lions. When we think of soldiers in wartime, we picture them in camouflage, face paint, foliage—whatever doesn’t attract attention. But the Turks had the opposite idea. With their bright red, blue, and yellow uniforms, it was as though they wanted to stand out. Certainly, it was one of the distinct attributes John noted in his vision. No other nation had an army sporting such proud, fierce colors. Notice also the vivid qualities with which John imbues them: The red is “fiery”; the blue is a “hyacinth” gemstone; the yellow an acerbic “sulfur.” These colors make up not only their uniforms but the very character of the soldiers—their vehemence, their greed, their ruthlessness. Observe the parallel between their clothing and what comes “out of their [horses’] mouths”: It is also red like “fire,” blue like “smoke,” and yellow like “brimstone.” There is a unity to this army, a singleness of purpose—it exists to conquer and brings destruction wherever it goes. Now, we come to “the heads of the horses.” These are not the literal heads of the soldiers’ steeds. What does a head symbolize? It is the chief. These horses with the heads of lions are representations of Turkish leadership. Indeed, several generations of Turkish sultans carried the surname of Arslan, the Turkish word for “lion.” The name was a fitting characterization of a ruler who was supposed to embody nobility, courage, and strength. Author C. S. Lewis used a variation of this word, Aslan, as the name of his leonine representation of Christ in his beloved children’s series, The Chronicles of Narnia. What is fascinating are the detailed peculiarities that John is, line by line, collecting of these warriors. God was revealing their identity hundreds of years before they even existed so “that when it [did] come to pass, you may believe” (John 14:29). Praises to the only wise God, who uses His intimate knowledge of each person—�our comings and goings, the hairs on our heads, our innermost thoughts—for �our salvation. For Further Study: Job 10:16; Isaiah 5:28–30; 30:33 KEY BIBLE TEXTS And 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. Revelation 9:17