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Revelation 9

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Revelation 9

The fifth trumpet releases the key to the bottomless pit, and from the pit arise locusts with the power of scorpions, tormenting those without the seal of God on their foreheads for five months with pain like a scorpion's sting yet unable to kill. The locusts have a king, the angel of the abyss named Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek—the destroyer—embodying the demonic nature of this plague that torments the unrepentant. The sixth trumpet releases four angels bound at the great river Euphrates, and an innumerable cavalry of 200 million crosses the Euphrates to slay a third of humanity, their horses breathing fire, smoke, and sulfur from their mouths. Yet despite these catastrophic plagues killing a third of humankind, the survivors do not repent of the works of their hands, refusing to cease worshiping demons and idols or abandoning their murders, sorceries, sexual immorality, and thefts—hardened resistance to God's escalating judgments. The refusal to repent even in the face of mounting disaster establishes the tragic reality that God's judgments are not redemptive but confirmatory, hardening those already opposed to him.

Revelation 9:1

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit — the fallen star (aster piptō) is personified as 'he,' likely Satan or a demonic ruler. The key (kleis) to the bottomless pit (phreatos tēs abyssou, the abyss) grants him temporary authority to release the imprisoned beings. The abyss represents the realm of chaos and demonic forces.

Revelation 9:2

He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft — the opening of the abyss releases smoke (kapnos) that darkens sun and air, creating a hellish atmosphere. The imagery evokes apocalyptic darkness and the presence of evil; the cosmic darkening emphasizes judgment's scope.

Revelation 9:3

Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of the scorpions of the earth — locusts (akris) pour forth from the abyss, granted power (exousia) like scorpions; both creatures symbolize plague and pain. The locusts' derivation from the abyss establishes their demonic origin, not merely natural disaster.

Revelation 9:4

They were told not to damage the grass of the earth or any green thing or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads — the locusts are commanded (laleō) to spare vegetation (compare the first trumpet) and attack only the unsealed. This establishes that God's sealing (chapter 7) provides actual protection; the marked faithful are exempt from this woe.

Revelation 9:5

They were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them; their torture was like the torture of a scorpion when it strikes a person — the locusts' mission is torture (basanizo), not death, for five months (duration suggesting divine limitation). The suffering inflicted mirrors scorpion-sting pain—agony without relief. The limitation to torment rather than death suggests divine mercy restraining evil.

Revelation 9:6

And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them — the torment is so severe that people desperately seek death but are denied it, a reversal of normal mortality. This emphasizes the anguish of the judgment; those who reject God face unbearable spiritual anguish.

Revelation 9:7

In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces — the locusts combine equine form (readied for war) with human visage (intellect, malice) and golden crowns (false majesty), suggesting demonic intelligence and ambition. The hybrid nature emphasizes their supernatural and hostile character.

Revelation 9:8

Their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth — the locusts bear women's hair (perhaps suggesting seductive attractiveness) and lion's teeth (ravenous destructiveness), combining deceptive beauty with lethal force. Deception and danger coexist in these demonic creatures.

Revelation 9:9

They have scales like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings is like the sound of many chariots with horses rushing into battle — the iron scales (note the plural 'them') provide armor-like protection (thorax sidērous); the wing-sound (psophos pterugōn) recreates the roar of military cavalry. The acoustic imagery emphasizes overwhelming, terrifying approach.

Revelation 9:10

They have tails with stingers, and in their tails is their power to harm people for five months — the stinging tails (ourā) enable their torment; the power to harm (kakoun) operates through stingers, echoing scorpion-imagery. The five-month limitation again emphasizes divine restraint.

Revelation 9:11

They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon — the locusts acknowledge a sovereign, the angel (angelos) of the abyss. Abaddon (destruction in Hebrew) and Apollyon (destroyer in Greek) name this figure by his nature: he embodies destruction. Whether Satan himself or a principal demon, he represents the anti-kingdom, destruction incarnate.

Revelation 9:12

The first woe has passed; there are still two woes to come — the proclamation of the fifth trumpet's completion establishes this as the first woe (mentioned in 8:13) and alerts readers to intensifying judgments ahead.

Revelation 9:13

Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God — the sixth trumpet's sound triggers a voice from the golden altar, the same altar where saints' prayers mingled with incense (8:3-5). The altar's four horns represent God's full attention and merciful presence even amidst judgment.

Revelation 9:14

Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates' — the voice commands release of four angels (angelos) bound at the Euphrates, a boundary associated with Babylon and the east (symbolic of paganism and chaos). Their release indicates the restraint upon evil nations is lifted.

Revelation 9:15

So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to kill a third of humankind — the four angels, released at a divinely appointed moment (prepared in advance with precision: hora, hēmera, mēn, eniautos), will execute their commission to kill a third of humanity. The redundancy of time-units (hour, day, month, year) emphasizes divine timing and control.

Revelation 9:16

The number of the troops of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number — the vast army (dyo myriades myriadon, literally ten thousand times ten thousand, or 200 million) of cavalry represents overwhelming military force. The precision of the number (heard, not merely seen) emphasizes its symbolic reality; this is demonic militarism at apocalyptic scale.

Revelation 9:17

And this is how I saw the horses in the vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur issued from their mouths — the cavalry combine military imagery (breastplates, riders) with eschatological symbolism (fire, sapphire-blue, sulfur). The horses' lion-heads (compare the first woe's locusts) suggest predatory violence; the triple emission (fire, smoke, sulfur) from their mouths evokes divine judgment and hellish destruction.

Revelation 9:18

By these three plagues the third of humankind was killed: by the fire and smoke and sulfur issuing from their mouths — the three means of destruction (fire, smoke, sulfur) operate together, consuming a third of humanity. The catastrophe's scale matches the judgment's severity.

Revelation 9:19

For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads, and with them they wound — the horses' power centralizes in mouth (word, threat) and tail (serpent-headed, poisonous deception). The serpent-tails echo Satan's tail sweeping stars (12:4) and emphasize demonic cunning.

Revelation 9:20

The rest of humankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands — nor did they give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk — the survivors' refusal to repent (metanoeō, turn around) despite the plagues indicates hardened hearts. The catalog of sins (works of their hands, demonic worship, idolatry to lifeless objects) reveals the root of judgment: rebellion against the living God.

Revelation 9:21

And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts — the enumerated vices (murders, pharmakia [sorcery/drug abuse], porneia [sexual immorality], thefts) frame the unsealed as morally depraved. Despite judgment, they refuse to turn; this hardening parallels Pharaoh's resistance (Exodus 7-12) and demonstrates human depravity's resistance to divine mercy.