‘And the shapes of the locusts were like horses made ready for war, and on their heads were, as it were, crowns similar to gold, and their faces were like men's faces. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war. And they have tails like scorpions, and stings. And in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.'
The locusts, invisible to mankind, are a mixture of strength and false piety. Their pseudo-golden crowns imitate the twenty four elders, their pseudo men's faces imitate the living creatures, long hair on men would be connected with the dedication to God of the Nazarites (Numbers 6:5). Thus they represent the anti-Heaven and their dedication is to Satan. But really they are like fearsome war horses, they have lions' teeth, they wear breastplates as of iron, they sound like the rushing of chariots and they have the sting of scorpions. In other words they have great power, are belligerent and are damaging to man.
‘Like horses made ready for war --- like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war'. This picture has in mind Joel 2:4-5, where Joel is speaking of a fearsome race, probably of locusts, who will invade Jerusalem. It is a symbol of fierce attack.
For ‘the teeth of lions', compare Joel 1:6. Joel is there describing the invasion of the ‘people' who would cause the earth to quake, the heavens to tremble, the sun and moon to be darkened and the stars to withdraw their shining (Joel 2:10). Here they are changed into equally fearsome spiritual assailants.
‘Crowns similar to gold, their faces like men's faces'. This is in contrast to the genuine ‘crowns of gold' of the elders (Revelation 4:4) and the face of a man of the living creature (Revelation 4:7). Their crowns are sham and their faces imitational. They are not the real thing.
‘As it were a breastplate of iron', a demonstration of strength and destruction, in contrast with the breastplate of righteousness (Isaiah 59:17; Ephesians 6:14). They are hard, unloving creatures.
Stated not to be exact descriptions they demonstrate that these creatures are not earthly, and mimic what God offers, while not enjoying the real thing. What they have is fading and unreal. But this does not mean that we can ignore the great danger they represent. We should thank God that His people are protected from them. In all this symbolism we are to see something fierce, and yet inadequate, strong, and yet held in restraint, vicious and without pity, but pitiful, attacking men's minds and thoughts and bringing them to agony and despair.
They may also be responsible for dreadful physical ailments, compare the woman whom Satan ‘bound' for eighteen years (Luke 13:16), and the mental ailments that produced such men as Hitler and other mass killers. As mentioned they are almost certainly invisible to us and the description is highly symbolic.
We are told by Peter that even in his day the Devil stalked around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). This similar description stresses that he has many minions who stalk round with him. Peter knew it as happening in his time. It happens too today. Those who do not bear the seal of God have reason to fear their activity. There is no reason for limiting these activities to ‘the end days' except in so far as the whole Christian era is the end days.