The locusts of war: “ And they had breast plates as it were of iron” --9:9. Breastplates of iron: The breastplate is the armor of war. Its figurative use here is sufficiently obvious, showing the symbolic locusts to be men of war, and the whole scene descriptive of the Vespasian march on Jerusalem. The locusts were seen as haberdashed with breastplates of iron, as if shielded by the Roman soldier’ s impenetrable coat of mail, encompassing the vital portions of the body. The figure of “ iron” connected with breastplate denotes the irresistible force of the armies of invasion. Sound of wings as chariots: The whirling of myriad wings of the locusts were in sound as the wheels of bustling chariots and hustling horses racing to battle. Here again John joins Joel in the imagery of war in their respective visions of the locusts. Describing the Chaldean armies as swarms of locusts in their march on Jerusalem B.C. 584, Joel said: “ The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains shall they leap . . . as a strong people set in battle array.” The locust visions of Joel and John are parallel--the former describing the Old Testament war of Nebuchadnezzar on the Jews, the latter the Neroan war of A. D. 70 on Judea and Jerusalem. Joel referred to the locusts as “ people set in battle array,” or battle formation. John referred to the locusts as “ chariots running to battle.” The parallels and the applications are unmistakable.