Revelationchapter 9

A.The Pit Opened: Locusts With a King Named Destroyervv. 1-12

1 Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss. 2 The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit. 3 And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them. 7 And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads, and faces like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions. 9 They also had thoraxes like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10 They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months. 11 They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon. 12 The first woe has passed. Behold, two woes are still to follow.

B.Loosed at the Euphrates: Two Hundred Million Horsemenvv. 13-21

13 Then the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God 14 saying to the sixth angel with the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number. 17 Now the horses and riders in my vision looked like this: The riders had breastplates the colors of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that proceeded from their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm. 20 Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

The last three trumpets are the three woes, and two sound here.

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The last three trumpets are the three woes, and two sound here. A star fallen from heaven is given the key of the pit of the abyss; smoke rises as from a great furnace, and out of it come locusts with power as scorpions, told to hurt only 'such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads,' and not to kill but to torment five months: 'in those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise find it.' Their shapes are like horses prepared for war, with Joel's locust army behind the vision, and their king is the angel of the abyss, 'whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath the name Apollyon.' The sixth trumpet looses four angels bound at the Euphrates, and the rest repented not of their murders and sorceries.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament.

Context

Apocalyptic · John — Revelation overview

A. 1–12 The Pit Opened: Locusts With a King Named Destroyer
B. 13–21 Loosed at the Euphrates: Two Hundred Million Horsemen

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Revelation 99 verses
- Revelation 9:1Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.
- Revelation 9:2The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
- Revelation 9:3And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth.
- Revelation 9:5The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion.
- Revelation 9:10They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months.
- Revelation 9:13Then the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God
- Read Revelation 9: 3 more there →
Revelation 85 verses
- Revelation 8:3Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
- Revelation 8:7Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all the green grass.
- Revelation 8:9a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
- Revelation 8:10Then the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
- Revelation 8:13And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead, calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the remaining three angels!”
- Read Revelation 8 →
Joel 24 verses
- Joel 2:2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be in ages to come.
- Joel 2:4Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like swift steeds.
- Joel 2:5With a sound like that of chariots they bound over the mountaintops, like the crackling of fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for battle.
- Joel 2:10Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.
- Read Joel 2 →
Joel 12 verses
- Joel 1:4What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
- Joel 1:6For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
- Read Joel 1 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Revelation 72 verses
- Revelation 7:2And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:
- Revelation 7:4And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:
- Read Revelation 7 →
Revelation 142 verses
- Revelation 14:1Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Revelation 14:10he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
- Read Revelation 14 →
Daniel 72 verses
- Daniel 7:8While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.
- Daniel 7:10A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
- Read Daniel 7 →
Romans 101 verse
- Romans 10:7or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
- Read Romans 10 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.