<p>9:9<em> And they had breastplates, like breastplates of iron</em> - Another allusion to how the locust has a firm and hard cuticle on the forepart of the breast, which serves for a shield or defence. &ldquo;&ldquo;Breastplates of iron&rdquo; speak of the Arabs&rsquo; armour. The poem Antar makes at least four references to a warrior&rsquo;s cuirass or breastplate. The Koran says, &ldquo;God hath given you coats of mail to defend you in your wars&rdquo; &hellip;&rdquo; (Quoted in Barnes, <em>op. cit</em>).</p><p><em>And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war</em>- Alluding to the noise made by locust swarms. They are similar to chariot horses in that the locust's head is similar to that of a horse. The locusts of Joel 1 which invade Israel are also described as war horses in Joel 2:4-6: &quot;Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle&quot;. The similarity with locusts is in the springing motion of chariots on mountain paths. This was surely the first century way of trying to express helicopter gunships and other modern military technology advancing into the land promised to Abraham in final judgment. Joel 2:8 speaks of how this locust army will not be deterred by weaponry: &quot;they fall headlong through weapons <em>shelach</em> means literally a missile, and do not cut themselves in pieces&quot;. The greatest missiles and military technology of the IDF and the West will be unable to restrain their ever forward march into the land. Currently, it is superior weaponry that enables Israel to survive and the West to control the jihadists. But the picture of the locust swarm is that absolutely no weapon can stand in their way. Perhaps it is by sheer force of suicidal numbers that the jihadists win- and thousands of Muslims are already flocking to Syria and Iraq to enlist in this great army. In Joel 2, the locust army attacks because Judah failed to respond to the call to repent made in Joel 1. But even at that late stage there is the possibility of repentance: &quot;Yet even now, is the saying of Jehovah, turn ye to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning&quot; (Joel 2:12). This fits the context of the trumpets admirably. The seal judgments in Revelation 6 appealed for repentance; those few who respond, the symbolic 144,000, are sealed and stand on Mount Zion; and then the trumpet judgments come. But even then there is the chance of repentance, so that God would leave behind a blessing, i.e. the harvest-produce which could be used for a meat offering and drink offering (Joel 2:14)- even though this had &quot;all&quot; been destroyed by the locusts (Joel 1:9, 13). And as a result of this, a remnant of repentant Jews is likewise pictured by Joel standing on Mount Zion (Joel 2:32).</p><p>The reference is also to the language of the cherubim chariots; Ez. 10:5 is the only other place in the Bible where we read of the sound of wings as chariots are in motion. The invaders will be led by the Angels, just as the locust army of Joel 2 is described in terms of the irresistible march of the Angels. But there may also be the hint that the invaders see themselves as a cherubic system, continuing the theme of the anti-Christ being an imitation Christ.</p>