Revelation 9
9
Fifth Trumpet: The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit
1Then the fifth angel sounded: #Luke 10:18; Rev. 8:10And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to #Luke 8:31; Rev. 9:2, 11; 17:8the bottomless pit. 2And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the #Joel 2:2, 10sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, #Ex. 10:4; Judg. 7:12as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4They were commanded #Rev. 6:6not to harm #Rev. 8:7the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have #Ex. 12:23; Ezek. 9:4; Rev. 7:2, 3the seal of God on their foreheads. 5And they were not given authority to kill them, #(Rev. 9:10; 11:7)but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6In those days #Job 3:21; 7:15; Is. 2:19; Jer. 8:3; Rev. 6:16men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
7#Joel 2:4The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. #Nah. 3:17On their heads were crowns of something like gold, #Dan. 7:8and their faces were like the faces of men. 8They had hair like women’s hair, and #Joel 1:6their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was #Jer. 47:3; Joel 2:5–7like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11And they had as king over them #Eph. 2:2the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
12#Rev. 8:13; 11:14One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.
Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates
13Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the #Rev. 8:3golden altar which is before God, 14saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound #Gen. 15:18; Deut. 1:7; Josh. 1:4; Rev. 16:12at the great river Euphrates.” 15So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a #Rev. 8:7–9; 9:18third of mankind. 16Now #Ps. 68:17; Dan. 7:10the number of the army #Ezek. 38:4of the horsemen was two hundred million; #Rev. 7:4I heard the number of them. 17And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; #1 Chr. 12:8; Is. 5:28, 29and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; #Is. 9:15for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.
20But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, #Deut. 31:29did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship #Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37; 1 Cor. 10:20demons, #Ps. 115:4–7; 135:15–17; Dan. 5:23and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21And they did not repent of their murders #Rev. 21:8; 22:15or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
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Revelation 9: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Revelation 9
9
The Fifth Trumpet.#The fifth trumpet heralds a woe containing elements from the eighth and ninth plagues of Egypt (Ex 10:12–15, 21–23) but specifically reminiscent of the invasion of locusts in Jl 1:4–2:10. 1Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star#A star: late Judaism represented fallen powers as stars (Is 14:12–15; Lk 10:18; Jude 13), but a comparison with Rev 1:20 and Rev 20:1 suggests that here it means an angel. The passage to the abyss: referring to Sheol, the netherworld, where Satan and the fallen angels are kept for a thousand years, to be cast afterwards into the pool of fire; cf. Rev 20:7–10. The abyss was conceived of as a vast subterranean cavern full of fire. Its only link with the earth was a kind of passage or mine shaft, which was kept locked. that had fallen from the sky to the earth. It was given the key for the passage to the abyss. 2It opened the passage to the abyss,#20:1. and smoke came up out of the passage like smoke from a huge furnace. The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the passage.#Gn 19:28. 3Locusts came out of the smoke onto the land, and they were given the same power as scorpions#Scorpions: their poisonous sting was proverbial; Ez 2:6; Lk 11:12. of the earth.#Ex 10:12–15; Wis 16:9. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or any tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were not allowed to kill them but only to torment them for five months;#For five months: more or less corresponding to the life-span of locusts. the torment they inflicted was like that of a scorpion when it stings a person. 6During that time these people will seek death but will not find it, and they will long to die but death will escape them.#Jb 3:21.
7#Eight characteristics are listed to show the eschatological and diabolical nature of these locusts. The appearance of the locusts was like that of horses ready for battle. On their heads they wore what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,#Jl 2:4. 8and they had hair like women’s hair. Their teeth were like lions’ teeth,#Jl 1:6. 9and they had chests like iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was like the sound of many horse-drawn chariots racing into battle. 10They had tails like scorpions, with stingers; with their tails they had power to harm people for five months. 11They had as their king the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon#Abaddon: Hebrew (more precisely, Aramaic) for destruction or ruin. Apollyon: Greek for the “Destroyer.” and in Greek Apollyon.
12The first woe has passed, but there are two more to come.
The Sixth Trumpet.#The sixth trumpet heralds a woe representing another diabolical attack symbolized by an invasion by the Parthians living east of the Euphrates; see note on Rev 6:2. At the appointed time (Rev 9:15), the frightful horses act as God’s agents of judgment. The imaginative details are not to be taken literally; see Introduction and the note on Rev 6:12–14. 13Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the [four]#[Four]: many Greek manuscripts and versions omit the word. The horns were situated at the four corners of the altar (Ex 27:2; 30:2–3); see note on Rev 8:3. horns of the gold altar before God,#Ex 30:1–3. 14telling the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels#The four angels: they are symbolic of the destructive activity that will be extended throughout the universe. who are bound at the banks of the great river Euphrates.” 15So the four angels were released, who were prepared for this hour, day, month, and year to kill a third of the human race. 16The number of cavalry troops was two hundred million; I heard their number. 17Now in my vision this is how I saw the horses and their riders. They wore red, blue, and yellow breastplates,#Blue: literally, “hyacinth-colored.” Yellow: literally, “sulfurous.” and the horses’ heads were like heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur.#Jb 41:10–13. 18By these three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that came out of their mouths a third of the human race was killed. 19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like snakes, with heads that inflict harm.
20The rest of the human race, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands,#The works of their hands: i.e., the gods their hands had made. to give up the worship of demons and idols made from gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk.#Ps 135:15–17; Is 17:8; Dn 5:4. 21Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic potions, their unchastity, or their robberies.
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