1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
1 And G2532 the fifth G3991 angel G32 sounded, G4537 and G2532 I saw G1492 a star G792 fall G4098 from G1537 heaven G3772 unto G1519 the earth: G1093 and G2532 to him G846 was given G1325 the key G2807 of the bottomless G12 pit. G5421
2 And G2532 he opened G455 the bottomless G12 pit; G5421 and G2532 there arose G305 a smoke G2586 out of G1537 the pit, G5421 as G5613 the smoke G2586 of a great G3173 furnace; G2575 and G2532 the sun G2246 and G2532 the air G109 were darkened G4654 by reason of G1537 the smoke G2586 of the pit. G5421
3 And G2532 there came G1831 out of G1537 the smoke G2586 locusts G200 upon G1519 the earth: G1093 and G2532 unto them G846 was given G1325 power, G1849 as G5613 the scorpions G4651 of the earth G1093 have G2192 power. G1849
4 And G2532 it was commanded G4483 them G846 that G3363 they should G91 not G3363 hurt G91 the grass G5528 of the earth, G1093 neither G3761 any G3956 green thing, G5515 neither G3761 any G3956 tree; G1186 but G1508 only G3441 those men G444 which G3748 have G2192 not G3756 the seal G4973 of God G2316 in G1909 their G846 foreheads. G3359
5 And G2532 to them G846 it was given G1325 that G3363 they should G615 not G3363 kill G615 them, G846 but G235 that G2443 they should be tormented G928 five G4002 months: G3376 and G2532 their G846 torment G929 was as G5613 the torment G929 of a scorpion, G4651 when G3752 he striketh G3817 a man. G444
6 And G2532 in G1722 those G1565 days G2250 shall men G444 seek G2212 death, G2288 and G2532 shall G2147 not G3756 find G2147 it; G846 and G2532 shall desire G1937 to die, G599 and G2532 death G2288 shall flee G5343 from G575 them. G846
7 And G2532 the shapes G3667 of the locusts G200 were like G3664 unto horses G2462 prepared G2090 unto G1519 battle; G4171 and G2532 on G1909 their G846 heads G2776 were as it were G5613 crowns G4735 like G3664 gold, G5557 and G2532 their G846 faces G4383 were as G5613 the faces G4383 of men. G444
8 And G2532 they had G2192 hair G2359 as G5613 the hair G2359 of women, G1135 and G2532 their G846 teeth G3599 were G2258 as G5613 the teeth of lions. G3023
9 And G2532 they had G2192 breastplates, G2382 as it were G5613 breastplates G2382 of iron; G4603 and G2532 the sound G5456 of their G846 wings G4420 was as G5613 the sound G5456 of chariots G716 of many G4183 horses G2462 running G5143 to G1519 battle. G4171
10 And G2532 they had G2192 tails G3769 like G3664 unto scorpions, G4651 and G2532 there were G2258 stings G2759 in G1722 their G846 tails: G3769 and G2532 their G846 power G1849 was to hurt G91 men G444 five G4002 months. G3376
11 And G2532 they had G2192 a king G935 over G1909 them, G848 which is the angel G32 of the bottomless pit, G12 whose G846 name G3686 in the Hebrew tongue G1447 is Abaddon, G3 but G2532 in G1722 the Greek tongue G1673 hath G2192 his name G3686 Apollyon. G623
12 One G3391 woe G3759 is past; G565 and, behold, G2400 there come G2064 two G1417 woes G3759 more G2089 hereafter. G3326 G5023
13 And G2532 the sixth G1623 angel G32 sounded, G4537 and G2532 I heard G191 a G3391 voice G5456 from G1537 the four G5064 horns G2768 of the golden G5552 altar G2379 which G3588 is before G1799 God, G2316
14 Saying G3004 to the sixth G1623 angel G32 which G3739 had G2192 the trumpet, G4536 Loose G3089 the four G5064 angels G32 which G3588 are bound G1210 in G1909 the great G3173 river G4215 Euphrates. G2166
15 And G2532 the four G5064 angels G32 were loosed, G3089 which G3588 were prepared G2090 for G1519 an hour, G5610 and G2532 a day, G2250 and G2532 a month, G3376 and G2532 a year, G1763 for to G2443 slay G615 the third part G5154 of men. G444
16 And G2532 the number G706 of the army G4753 of the horsemen G2461 were two hundred G1417 thousand G3461 thousand: G3461 and G2532 I heard G191 the number G706 of them. G846
17 And G2532 thus G3779 I saw G1492 the horses G2462 in G1722 the vision, G3706 and G2532 them that sat G2521 on G1909 them, G846 having G2192 breastplates G2382 of fire, G4447 and G2532 of jacinth, G5191 and G2532 brimstone: G2306 and G2532 the heads G2776 of the horses G2462 were as G5613 the heads G2776 of lions; G3023 and G2532 out of G1537 their G846 mouths G4750 issued G1607 fire G4442 and G2532 smoke G2586 and G2532 brimstone. G2303
18 By G5259 these G5130 three G5140 was G615 the third part G5154 of men G444 killed, G615 by G1537 the fire, G4442 and G2532 by G1537 the smoke, G2586 and G2532 by G1537 the brimstone, G2303 which G3588 issued G1607 out of G1537 their G846 mouths. G4750
19 For G1063 their G846 power G1849 is G1526 G2076 in G1722 their G846 mouth, G4750 and G2532 in G1722 their G846 tails: G3769 for G1063 their G846 tails G3769 were like G3664 unto serpents, G3789 and had G2192 heads, G2776 and G2532 with G1722 them G846 they do hurt. G91
20 And G2532 the rest G3062 of the men G444 which G3739 were G615 not G3756 killed G615 by G1722 these G5025 plagues G4127 yet G3777 repented G3340 not G3777 of G1537 the works G2041 of their G846 hands, G5495 that G3363 they should G4352 not G3363 worship G4352 devils, G1140 and G2532 idols G1497 of gold, G5552 and G2532 silver, G693 and G2532 brass, G5470 and G2532 stone, G3035 and G2532 of wood: G3585 which G3739 neither G3777 can G1410 see, G991 nor G3777 hear, G191 nor G3777 walk: G4043
21 Neither G2532 G3756 repented they G3340 of G1537 their G846 murders, G5408 nor G3777 of G1537 their G846 sorceries, G5331 nor G3777 of G1537 their G846 fornication, G4202 nor G3777 of G1537 their G846 thefts. G2809
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto the earth: and there was given to him the key of the pit of the abyss.
2 And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads.
5 And it was given them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man.
6 And in those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise find it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men's faces.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as `teeth' of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war.
10 And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months.
11 They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek `tongue' he hath the name Apollyon.
12 The first Woe is past: behold, there come yet two Woes hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 one saying to the sixth angel that had one trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, that had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men.
16 And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates `as' of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone: and the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceedeth fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths.
19 For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt.
20 And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
1 And the fifth messenger did sound, and I saw a star out of the heaven having fallen to the earth, and there was given to it the key of the pit of the abyss,
2 and he did open the pit of the abyss, and there came up a smoke out of the pit as smoke of a great furnace, and darkened was the sun and the air, from the smoke of the pit.
3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts to the earth, and there was given to them authority, as scorpions of the earth have authority,
4 and it was said to them that they may not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but -- the men only who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads,
5 and it was given to them that they may not kill them, but that they may be tormented five months, and their torment `is' as the torment of a scorpion, when it may strike a man;
6 and in those days shall men seek the death, and they shall not find it, and they shall desire to die, and the death shall flee from them.
7 And the likenesses of the locusts `are' like to horses made ready to battle, and upon their heads as crowns like gold, and their faces as faces of men,
8 and they had hair as hair of women, and their teeth were as `those' of lions,
9 and they had breastplates as breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings `is' as the noise of chariots of many horses running to battle;
10 and they have tails like to scorpions, and stings were in their tails; and their authority `is' to injure men five months;
11 and they have over them a king -- the messenger of the abyss -- a name `is' to him in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in the Greek he hath a name, Apollyon.
12 The first wo did go forth, lo, there come yet two woes after these things.
13 And the sixth messenger did sound, and I heard a voice out of the four horns of the altar of gold that is before God,
14 saying to the sixth messenger who had the trumpet, `Loose the four messengers who are bound at the great river Euphrates;'
15 and loosed were the four messengers, who have been made ready for the hour, and day, and month, and year, that they may kill the third of men;
16 and the number of the forces of the horsemen `is' two myriads of myriads, and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting upon them, having breastplates of fire, and jacinth, and brimstone; and the heads of the horses `are' as heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceedeth fire, and smoke, and brimstone;
18 by these three were the third of men killed, from the fire, and from the smoke, and from the brimstone, that is proceeding out of their mouth,
19 for their authorities are in their mouth, and in their tails, for their tails `are' like serpents, having heads, and with them they do injure;
20 and the rest of men, who were not killed in these plagues, neither did reform from the works of their hands, that they may not bow before the demons, and idols, those of gold, and those of silver, and those of brass, and those of stone, and those of wood, that are neither able to see, nor to hear, nor to walk,
21 yea they did not reform from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their whoredoms, nor from their thefts.
1 And the fifth angel sounded [his] trumpet: and I saw a star out of the heaven fallen to the earth; and there was given to it the key of the pit of the abyss.
2 And it opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up smoke out of the pit as [the] smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit.
3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them as the scorpions of the earth have power;
4 and it was said to them, that they should not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but the men who have not the seal of God on their foreheads:
5 and it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and their torment [was] as [the] torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall in no way find it; and shall desire to die, and death flees from them.
7 And the likenesses of the locusts [were] like to horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as crowns like gold, and their faces as faces of men;
8 and they had hair as women's hair, and their teeth were as of lions,
9 and they had breastplates as breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings [was] as the sound of chariots of many horses running to war;
10 and they have tails like scorpions, and stings; and their power [was] in their tails to hurt men five months.
11 They have a king over them, the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in Greek he has [for] name Apollyon.
12 The first woe has passed. Behold, there come yet two woes after these things.
13 And the sixth angel sounded [his] trumpet: and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which [is] before God,
14 saying to the sixth angel that had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound at the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, who are prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they might slay the third part of men;
16 and the number of the hosts of horse [was] twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those that sat upon them, having breastplates of fire and jacinth and brimstone; and the heads of the horses [were] as heads of lions, and out of their mouths goes out fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three plagues were the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which goes out of their mouths.
19 For the power of the horses is in their mouth and in their tails: for their tails [are] like serpents, having heads, and with them they injure.
20 And the rest of men who were not killed with these plagues repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the golden and silver and brazen and stone and wooden idols, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
21 And they repented not of their murders, nor of their witchcrafts, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
1 The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him.
2 He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke from a{TR adds "great"} burning furnace. The sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit.
3 Then out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 They were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those people who don't have God's seal on their foreheads.
5 They were given power not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion, when it strikes a person.
6 In those days people will seek death, and will in no way find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
7 The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people's faces.
8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like those of lions.
9 They had breastplates, like breastplates of iron. The sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, or of many horses rushing to war.
10 They have tails like those of scorpions, and stings. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months.
11 They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is "Abaddon,"{"Abaddon" is a Hebrew word that means ruin, destruction, or the place of destruction} but in Greek, he has the name "Apollyon."{"Apollyon" means "Destroyer."}
12 The first woe is past. Behold, there are still two woes coming after this.
13 The sixth angel sounded. I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 saying to the sixth angel who had one trumpet, "Free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!"
15 The four angels were freed who had been prepared for that hour and day and month and year, so that they might kill one third of mankind.
16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million{literally, "ten thousands of ten thousands"}. I heard the number of them.
17 Thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those who sat on them, having breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of lions. Out of their mouths proceed fire, smoke, and sulfur.
18 By these three plagues were one third of mankind killed: by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur, which proceeded out of their mouths.
19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they harm.
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn't repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn't worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.
21 They didn't repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries,{The word for "sorceries" (pharmakeia) also implies the use of potions, poisons, and drugs} nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.
1 And at the sounding of the fifth angel I saw a star falling from heaven to the earth: and there was given to him the key of the great deep.
2 And he made the great deep open and a smoke went up from it, like the smoke of a great oven; and the sun and the air were made dark because of the smoke.
3 And from the smoke locusts came out on the earth; and power was given them, like the power of scorpions.
4 And they were ordered to do no damage to the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only to such men as have not the mark of God on their brows.
5 And orders were given them not to put them to death, but to give them great pain for five months: and their pain was as the pain from the wound of a scorpion.
6 And in those days men will be hoping for death, and it will not come to them; and they will have a great desire for death, and death will go in flight from them.
7 And the forms of the locusts were like horses made ready for war; and on their heads they had crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates like iron, and the sound of their wings was as the sound of carriages, like an army of horses rushing to the fight.
10 And they have pointed tails like scorpions; and in their tails is their power to give men wounds for five months.
11 They have over them as king the angel of the great deep: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek language Apollyon.
12 The first Trouble is past: see, there are still two Troubles to come.
13 And at the sounding of the sixth angel a voice came to my ears from the horns of the gold altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel who had the horn, Make free the four angels who are chained at the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were made free, who were ready for the hour and day and month and year, that they might put to death a third part of men.
16 And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: the number of them came to my ears.
17 And so I saw the horses in the vision, and those who were seated on them, having breastplates of fire and glass and of burning stone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and a smell of burning.
18 By these evils a third part of men was put to death, by the fire, and the smoke, and the burning smell which came out of their mouths.
19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails: because their tails are like snakes, and have heads, and with them they give wounds.
20 And the rest of the people, who were not put to death by these evils, were not turned from the works of their hands, but went on giving worship to evil spirits, and images of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood which have no power of seeing or hearing or walking:
21 And they had no regret for putting men to death, or for their use of secret arts, or for the evil desires of the flesh, or for taking the property of others.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Revelation 9
Commentary on Revelation 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
Re 9:1-21. The Fifth Trumpet: The Fallen Star Opens the Abyss Whence Issue Locusts. The Sixth Trumpet. Four Angels at the Euphrates Loosed.
1. The last three trumpets of the seven are called, from Re 8:13, the woe-trumpets.
fall—rather as Greek, "fallen." When John saw it, it was not in the act of falling, but had fallen already. This is a connecting link of this fifth trumpet with Re 12:8, 9, 12, "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, for the devil is come down," &c. Compare Isa 14:12, "How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning!"
the bottomless pit—Greek, "the pit of the abyss"; the orifice of the hell where Satan and his demons dwell.
3. upon—Greek, "unto," or "into."
as the scorpions of the earth—as contrasted with the "locusts" which come up from hell, and are not "of the earth."
have power—namely, to sting.
4. not hurt the grass … neither … green thing … neither … tree—the food on which they ordinarily prey. Therefore, not natural and ordinary locusts. Their natural instinct is supernaturally restrained to mark the judgment as altogether divine.
those men which—Greek, "the men whosoever."
in, &c.—Greek, "upon their forehead." Thus this fifth trumpet is proved to follow the sealing in Re 7:1-8, under the sixth seal. None of the saints are hurt by these locusts, which is not true of the saints in Mohammed's attack, who is supposed by many to be meant by the locusts; for many true believers fell in the Mohammedan invasions of Christendom.
5. they … they—The subject changes: the first "they" is the locusts; the second is the unsealed.
five months—the ordinary time in the year during which locusts continue their ravages.
their torment—the torment of the sufferers. This fifth verse and Re 9:6 cannot refer to an invading army. For an army would kill, and not merely torment.
6. shall desire—Greek, "eagerly desire"; set their mind on.
shall flee—So B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic read. But A and Aleph read, "fleeth," namely continually. In Re 6:16, which is at a later stage of God's judgments, the ungodly seek annihilation, not from the torment of their suffering, but from fear of the face of the Lamb before whom they have to stand.
7. prepared unto battle—Greek, "made ready unto war." Compare Note, see on Joe 2:4, where the resemblance of locusts to horses is traced: the plates of a horse armed for battle are an image on a larger scale of the outer shell of the locust.
crowns—(Na 3:17). Elliott explains this of the turbans of Mohammedans. But how could turbans be "like gold?" Alford understands it of the head of the locusts actually ending in a crown-shaped fillet which resembled gold in its material.
as the faces of men—The "as" seems to imply the locusts here do not mean men. At the same time they are not natural locusts, for these do not sting men (Re 9:5). They must be supernatural.
8. hair of women—long and flowing. An Arabic proverb compares the antlers of locusts to the hair of girls. Ewald in Alford understands the allusion to be to the hair on the legs or bodies of the locusts: compare "rough caterpillars," Jer 51:27.
as the teeth of lions—(Joe 1:6, as to locusts).
9. as it were breastplates of iron—not such as forms the thorax of the natural locust.
as … chariots—(Joe 2:5-7).
battle—Greek, "war."
10. tails like unto scorpions—like unto the tails of scorpions.
and there were stings—There is no oldest manuscript for this reading. A, B, Aleph, Syriac, and Coptic read, "and (they have) stings: and in their tails (is) their power (literally, 'authority': authorized power) to hurt."
11. And—so Syriac. But A, B, and Aleph, omit "and."
had—Greek, "have."
a king … which is the angel—English Version, agreeing with A, Aleph, reads the (Greek) article before "angel," in which reading we must translate, "They have as king over them the angel," &c. Satan (compare Re 9:1). Omitting the article with B, we must translate, "They have as king an angel," &c.: one of the chief demons under Satan: I prefer from Re 9:1, the former.
bottomless pit—Greek, "abyss."
Abaddon—that is, perdition or destruction (Job 26:6; Pr 27:20). The locusts are supernatural instruments in the hands of Satan to torment, and yet not kill, the ungodly, under this fifth trumpet. Just as in the case of godly Job, Satan was allowed to torment with elephantiasis, but not to touch his life. In Re 9:20, these two woe-trumpets are expressly called "plagues." Andreas of Cæsarea, A.D. 500, held, in his Commentary on Revelation, that the locusts mean evil spirits again permitted to come forth on earth and afflict men with various plagues.
12. Greek, "The one woe."
hereafter—Greek, "after these things." I agree with Alford and De Burgh, that these locusts from the abyss refer to judgments about to fall on the ungodly immediately before Christ's second advent. None of the interpretations which regard them as past, are satisfactory. Joe 1:2-7; 2:1-11, is strictly parallel and expressly refers (Joe 2:11) to THE DAY OF THE Lord great and very terrible: Joe 2:10 gives the portents accompanying the day of the Lord's coming, the earth quaking, the heavens trembling, the sun, moon, and stars, withdrawing their shining: Joe 2:18, 31, 32, also point to the immediately succeeding deliverance of Jerusalem: compare also, the previous last conflict in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and the dwelling of God thenceforth in Zion, blessing Judah. De Burgh confines the locust judgment to the Israelite land, even as the sealed in Re 7:1-8 are Israelites: not that there are not others sealed as elect in the earth; but that, the judgment being confined to Palestine, the sealed of Israel alone needed to be expressly excepted from the visitation. Therefore, he translates throughout, "the land" (that is, of Israel and Judah), instead of "the earth." I incline to agree with him.
13. a voice—literally, "one voice."
from—Greek, "out of."
the four horns—A, Vulgate (Amiatinus manuscript), Coptic, and Syriac omit "four." B and Cyprian support it. The four horns together gave forth their voice, not diverse, but one. God's revelation (for example, the Gospel), though in its aspects fourfold (four expressing world-wide extension: whence four is the number of the Evangelists), still has but one and the same voice. However, from the parallelism of this sixth trumpet to the fifth seal (Re 6:9, 10), the martyrs' cry for the avenging of their blood from the altar reaching its consummation under the sixth seal and sixth trumpet, I prefer understanding this cry from the four corners of the altar to refer to the saints' prayerful cry from the four quarters of the world, incensed by the angel, and ascending to God from the golden altar of incense, and bringing down in consequence fiery judgments. Aleph omits the whole clause, "one from the four horns."
14. in, &c.—Greek, "epi to potamo"; "on," or "at the great river."
Euphrates—(Compare Re 16:12). The river whereat Babylon, the ancient foe of God's people was situated. Again, whether from the literal region of the Euphrates, or from the spiritual Babylon (the apostate Church, especially Rome), four angelic ministers of God's judgments shall go forth, assembling an army of horsemen throughout the four quarters of the earth, to slay a third of men, the brunt of the visitation shall be on Palestine.
15. were—"which had been prepared" [Tregelles rightly].
for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year—rather as Greek, "for (that is, against) THE hour, and day, and month, and year," namely, appointed by God. The Greek article (teen), put once only before all the periods, implies that the hour in the day, and the day in the month, and the month in the year, and the year itself, had been definitely fixed by God. The article would have been omitted had a sum-total of periods been specified, namely, three hundred ninety-one years and one month (the period from A.D. 1281, when the Turks first conquered the Christians, to 1672, their last conquest of them, since which last date their empire has declined).
slay—not merely to "hurt" (Re 9:10), as in the fifth trumpet.
third part—(See on Re 8:7-12).
of men—namely, of earthy men, Re 8:13, "inhabiters of the earth," as distinguished from God's sealed people (of which the sealed of Israel, Re 7:1-8, form the nucleus).
16. Compare with these two hundred million, Ps 68:17; Da 7:10. The hosts here are evidently, from their numbers and their appearance (Re 9:17), not merely human hosts, but probably infernal, though constrained to work out God's will (compare Re 9:1, 2).
and I heard—A, B, Aleph, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and Cyprian omit "and."
17. thus—as follows.
of fire—the fiery color of the breastplates answering to the fire which issued out of their mouths.
of jacinth—literally, "of hyacinth color," the hyacinth of the ancients answering to our dark blue iris: thus, their dark, dull-colored breastplates correspond to the smoke out of their mouths.
brimstone—sulphur-colored: answering to the brimstone or sulphur out of their mouths.
18. By these three—A, B, C, and Aleph read (apo for kupo), "From"; implying the direction whence the slaughter came; not direct instrumentality as "by" implies. A, B, C, Aleph also add "plagues" after "three." English Version reading, which omits it, is not well supported.
by the fire—Greek, "owing to the fire," literally, "out of."
19. their—A, B, C and Aleph read, "the power of the horses."
in their mouth—whence issued the fire, smoke, and brimstone (Re 9:17). Many interpreters understand the horsemen to refer to the myriads of Turkish cavalry arrayed in scarlet, blue, and yellow (fire, hyacinth, and brimstone), the lion-headed horses denoting their invincible courage, and the fire and brimstone out of their mouths, the gunpowder and artillery introduced into Europe about this time, and employed by the Turks; the tails, like serpents, having a venomous sting, the false religion of Mohammed supplanting Christianity, or, as Elliott thinks, the Turkish pachas' horse tails, worn as a symbol of authority. (!) All this is very doubtful. Considering the parallelism of this sixth trumpet to the sixth seal, the likelihood is that events are intended immediately preceding the Lord's coming. "The false prophet" (as Isa 9:15 proves), or second beast, having the horns of a lamb, but speaking as the dragon, who supports by lying miracles the final Antichrist, seems to me to be intended. Mohammed, doubtless, is a forerunner of him, but not the exhaustive fulfiller of the prophecy here: Satan will, probably, towards the end, bring out all the powers of hell for the last conflict (see on Re 9:20, on "devils"; compare Re 9:1, 2, 17, 18).
with them—with the serpent heads and their venomous fangs.
20. the rest of the men—that is, the ungodly.
yet—So A, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic. B and Aleph read, "did not even repent of," namely, so as to give up "the works," &c. Like Pharaoh hardening his heart against repentance notwithstanding the plagues.
of their hands—(De 31:29). Especially the idols made by their hands. Compare Re 13:14, 15, "the image of the beast" Re 19:20.
that they should not—So B reads. But A, C, and Aleph read "that they shall not": implying a prophecy of certainty that it shall be so.
devils—Greek, "demons" which lurk beneath the idols which idolaters worship.
21. sorceries—witchcrafts by means of drugs (so the Greek). One of the fruits of the unrenewed flesh: the sin of the heathen: about to be repeated by apostate Christians in the last days, Re 22:15, "sorcerers." The heathen who shall have rejected the proffered Gospel and clung to their fleshly lusts, and apostate Christians who shall have relapsed into the same shall share the same terrible judgments. The worship of images was established in the East in A.D. 842.
fornication—singular: whereas the other sins are in the plural. Other sins are perpetrated at intervals: those lacking purity of heart indulge in one perpetual fornication [Bengel].