Revelation 9

The Fifth Trumpet Brings the First Terror

1Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.#9:1 Or the abyss, or the underworld; also in 9:11. 2When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke.

3Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions. 4They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting. 6In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!

7The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces. 8They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion. 9They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle. 10They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people. 11Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer.

12The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!

The Sixth Trumpet Brings the Second Terror

13Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God. 14And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.” 15Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth. 16I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops.

17And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths. 18One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses. 19Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.

20But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! 21And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

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Revelation 9: NLT

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Revelation 9

1And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and #ch. 8:10; [ch. 12:9; Luke 10:18] I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given #See ch. 1:18the key to the shaft of #ver. 2, 11; ch. 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3; Luke 8:31; Rom. 10:7the bottomless pit.#9:1 Greek the abyss; also verses 2, 11 2He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft #[Gen. 19:28; Isa. 34:10] rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and #[Joel 2:10]the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3Then from the smoke came #See Ex. 10:4locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4They were told #ch. 6:6; 7:3not to harm #ch. 8:7the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have #See ch. 7:2, 3the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were allowed to torment them #ver. 10for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6And in those days #Job 3:21; 7:15, 16; Jer. 8:3people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

7 # Joel 2:4 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: #[Nah. 3:17] on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were #Dan. 7:8like human faces, 8their hair like women’s hair, and #Joel 1:6their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was #Joel 2:5like the noise of many chariots with #Jer. 8:6; [Job 39:21-25]horses rushing into battle. 10They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people #ver. 5for five months is in their tails. 11They have #[Job 18:14; Prov. 30:27; Eph. 2:2] as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is #See Job 26:6Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.#9:11 Abaddon means destruction; Apollyon means destroyer

12 # [ch. 8:13; 11:14 ] The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

13Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from #Ex. 30:3the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release #[ch. 7:1] the four angels who are bound at #ch. 16:12the great river Euphrates.” 15So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released #See ch. 8:7to kill a third of mankind. 16The number of #Ezek. 38:4mounted troops was #[Ps. 68:17; Dan. 7:10] twice ten thousand times ten thousand; #ch. 7:4I heard their number. 17And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire#9:17 Greek hyacinth and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were #[1 Chr. 12:8; Isa. 5:28, 29]like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

20The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, #See ch. 2:21did not repent of #Deut. 31:29; Jer. 1:16; 25:14the works of their hands nor give up worshiping #See 1 Cor. 10:20demons #Ps. 115:4-7; 135:15-17; Dan. 5:23and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21nor did they repent of their murders or their #ch. 21:8; 22:15; Gal. 5:20sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

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