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Revelation Chapter 9
Revelation Chapter 9
v1 The fifth (5th) *angels *trumpet sounded. And I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. This star had received a key. And that key opens the entrance of the hole whose depth has no end. v2 Then this star opened the entrance to the deep hole. Smoke came up from the hole, like the smoke that comes from a great fire. The sun and the air became dark because of the smoke that came from the hole. v3 *Locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth. They received the same kind of power that *scorpions have upon the earth. v4 But these *locusts must not damage the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree. They must hurt only those people who did not have Gods mark on their heads. v5 They did not have the power to kill people. But they could cause them pain for 5 months. And the pain that people suffered was like the pain of a *scorpion sting. v6 In those days, people will want to die, but they will not be able to die. They will hope for death to come, but it will not. v7 The *locusts seemed like horses that were ready for war. They wore something like crowns of gold on their heads. Their faces were like human faces. v8 Their hair was like the hair of women. Their teeth were like the teeth of lions. v9 On their bodies, they had what seemed to be iron shirts to protect them. Their wings made a great noise as they flew. This sound was like the sound of many horses and carts in a battle. v10 They had tails that sting like *scorpions. And their power to hurt people for 5 months was in their tails. v11 They have a king who rules them. He is the *angel in command of the hole whose depth has no end. His name in the *Hebrew language is Abaddon. In the *Greek language, he is Apollyon. v12 The first trouble has happened. After this, there are two other troubles yet to come. Verse 1 The fifth (5th) trumpet. John saw a star. It had just fallen from the sky. The star came to the earth. The star had fallen. This fact shows us that something terrible had happened. Stars belong in the sky. They should not fall. Isaiah uses a similar description in Isaiah 14:12-15. Isaiah seems to be referring to the events when the devil decided to oppose God. This star was really a person or an evil *angel. (In fact, John explains who the star was in verse 11.) The star had received a key. This key shows that the star had authority. The key could open the hole, whose depth has no end. This is a description of hell. Verse 2 This person (called the star) opened the door to the hole. Great clouds of smoke came out of the hole. As the smoke rose, it made the sky black. The light of the sun could not shine through the cloud. The hole was the place where evil devils lived. They were in prison. The *angels who fell went there. It was a terrible place. The *Lord will send *Satan there when Jesus comes back again. Verse 3 Out of the smoke, there came strange animals that seemed like *locusts. There was a great mass of them. *Locusts are insects. They fly together like great clouds. They destroy all the crops that they can find. These *locusts were like *scorpions in the way that they sting. *Scorpions are insects that have poison in their tails. It is painful when they sting with their tails.
Verse 4 Unlike natural *locusts, these *locusts did not eat the grass or the trees. They must not damage any plants. But they had power to hurt people. However, these *locusts could not kill anyone. But the *locusts had to sting all those who did not have Gods mark on them. These *locusts were evil. They came from the place of evil devils. But God would not allow them to hurt his people. God is in control. He sets limits on the power of evil things. Evil things cannot do anything that God does not permit them to do. Verse 5 The *locusts came to hurt people. For a period of five months, they stung the people. The stings caused terrible pain. The pain was like a *scorpion sting. There was no way to ease the pain. But the *locusts could not kill. Verse 6 The pain was so bad that people wanted to die. Death would be a freedom from the pain. They wished for death but it did not happen. Verse 7 John tried to describe these *locusts. He says that they were like horses. They were as horses that were ready for battle. They were like a fierce army that was ready for war. On the head of each *locust was something that seemed like a crown of gold. These were not the crowns of kings. Rather they showed that the *locusts were strong. They were able to overcome people. The faces of the *locusts were like human faces. They were as clever as people are. They were not like insects or animals. They were from the devil and they were cruel. Verse 8 They had long hair, which covered their heads. Their hair was like that of women. Women had long hair in the time when John wrote. Their teeth were like lions teeth. They were strong and fierce. When a lion shows its teeth, people are afraid. The sight of these *locusts frightened the people. Verse 9 There was no way to kill these *locusts. What seemed to be iron shirts protected them. No sword or arrow could cut the shirts. As they flew, they made a terrible noise. The sound was like the sound of a great army. The sound was like many horses and carts during a battle. The sound frightened people. Verse 10 They did not bite with their teeth. They had tails that sting. They were like the tails of *scorpions. The effect of a *scorpion sting is painful. So, these *locusts were able to hurt people. But the *Lord allowed them to do this for only 5 months. Verse 11 The army of *locusts had a king. He was the *angel of the great hole. This *angel was not a servant of God. In fact, this *angel was a servant of the devil. Or perhaps, he was the devil himself. This evil *angel was the leader of the *locusts. He led them as a king leads his army. His name in the *Hebrew language was Abaddon. He was the ruler of the world of the wicked devils. In the *Greek language, his name is Apollyon. His name means the destroyer. Verse 12 This was only the first of the three troubles. There were two more *trumpets still to come.
Verse 18 The riders did not kill people. The horses killed a third of the people. They breathed out fire with smoke and *sulphur. Verse 19 The power of the horses to kill was in their mouths. But like the *locusts, they had power to hurt in their tails. The tails were like snakes and they had heads. The horses could bite with their tails. When they did, it was like the bite of poisonous snakes. These bites were painful but they did not kill. Verse 20 Gods purpose in these troubles was that people should *repent. The awful things that happened should have caused them to turn to God. But the people still did not *repent. They still trusted in the things that they had made rather than in God. The people chose things that they made from gold, silver, metal and wood to be their gods. These gods have no life in them. They cannot hear or do anything. They cannot help and they are not useful. But people turn to these and not toward God. Verse 21 The people did not *repent of all the evil things that they had done.