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The arms and mode of warfare used in the siege of Constantinople -- and its eventual over-
throw and subjection -- were distinctly noticed by the apostle John:

Verse 16: "and the number of cavalry soldiers was two hundred million! -- I heard the
number."

The term for "two hundred million" is two myriads of myriads in the original Greek. Com-
menting on this, Josiah Litch writes: "Innumerable hordes of horses, and them that sat on them!
Gibbon describes the first invasion of the Roman territories by the Turks thus: 'The myriads of
Turkish horses overspread a frontier of six hundred miles, from Tauris to Azeroum, and the blood
of 130,000 Christians was a grateful sacrifice to the Arabian prophet.' Whether the number is de-
signed to convey the idea of any definite number, the reader must judge. Some suppose 200,000
twice told is meant, and then, following some historians, find that the number of Turkish warriors
in the siege of Constantinople. Some think 200,000,000 to mean all the Turkish warriors during the
391 years fifteen days of their triumph over the Greeks" (ibid., pps. 183-184). Nothing can be af-
firmed on this point, and it is not at all essential.

Verse 17: "Here is how the horses looked in the vision: the riders had breastplates that were
fire-red, iris-blue and sulfur-yellow; the horses' heads were like lions' heads; and from their
mouths issued fire, smoke and sulfur."

The first part of this description may have reference to the appearance of these horsemen.
Fire, representing a color, stands for red, "as red as fire" being a frequent term of expression in
years past; iris (jacinth or hyacinth in some versions of the New Testament), for blue; and sulfur
(brimstone), for yellow. These colors were predominant in the dress of the Turkish warriors so
that the description, according to this view, would be accurately met in the Turkish uniform --
which was composed largely of red (or scarlet), blue and yellow.

The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions in appearance, to denote their strength,
courage and fierceness; while the last part of the verse undoubtedly refers to the use of gunpowder
and firearms in warfare -- which had only just been introduced. As the Turks discharged their
firearms on horseback, it would appear to the distant observer that the fire, smoke and brimstone
issued out of the horses' mouths.

A large number of Bible commentators, including such men as Adam Clarke and Albert
Barnes, agree in applying the prophecy concerning the fire, smoke and brimstone to the use of gun-
powder by the Turks in their warfare against the Eastern Empire. However, many of them think that
this verse alludes simply to the heavy ordnance -- the large cannon -- employed by that power;
whereas the prophecy distinctly mentions the "horses," and the fire that issued from their mouths,
as though smaller arms were used, and used on horseback. Barnes thinks this was the case; and a
statement from Gibbon confirms this view. He says: "The incessant volleys of lances and arrows
were accompanied with the smoke, the sound, and the fire of their musketry and cannon" (The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. VI, chapter 68, p. 388).

Here is good historical evidence that muskets were used by the Turks; and secondly, it is
undisputed that in their general warfare they fought principally on horseback. The inference is

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