(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Chapter 9
6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.
8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.
9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
10 They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.
Rev 9:6
During those days people will seek death but will not find it:
Luke 23:29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then “ ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’
Rev 6:15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”
Those who don’t believe in a redeeming God live in hopelessness when calamities strike and death looms near. In comparison, consider the hope Christians find in the following verses:
Isa 40:31 …those who hope in the LORDwill renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.
Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Hosea 13:14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?
Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Mark 9:23 …“Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Phil 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Rev 9:7
The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle:
Most people have never seen a plague of locusts descending on forests and crops. Their numberless hordes can dim the light of the sun and strip a field bare in a matter of minutes.
Exod 10:13 … By morning the wind had brought the locusts; 14 they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. 15 They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
For centuries, writers have used the image of swarming locusts to convey a feeling of overwhelming numbers:
Judges 6:5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.
Jer 51:27 “Lift up a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her; summon against her these kingdoms: Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander against her; send up horses like a swarm of locusts.
Nah 3:15 There the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down—they will devour you like a swarm of locusts. Multiply like grasshoppers, multiply like locusts!
Rev 9:7
On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold:
Crowns typically signify royalty, authority, and power:
2 Sam 12:30 David took the crown from their king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city
2 Kings 11:12 Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
In the declining centuries of the Roman Empire, mighty Barbarian kings tested their strength in brutal conflicts with the Romans and each other:
- Arminius (known in Germany as Hermann) served in the Roman army. He returned to his own people, and in 9 A.D., his Cherusci forces ambushed and massacred three Roman legions under Publius Quinctilius Varus.
- Boudica (or Boadicea), a warrior queen of the Iceni people of East Anglia (present-day eastern England), in retribution for her public flogging and rape of her two daughters, led a rebellion and according to the Roman historian Tacitus, massacred some 70,000 Romans and pro-Roman Britons.
- The Goth King Alaric laid siege to Rome and, in the summer of 410, became the first foreign enemy to enter the city in over 800 years. They plundered the capital for over three days.
- Attila led his nomadic people from what is now Hungary against the Empire. He accepted hefty gold subsidies in exchange for not attacking Roman territory—then did it anyway. He invaded Gaul (present-day France) in 450 and Italy in 452.
- Genseric, the Vandal king, also known as Geiseric or Gaiseric, led around 80,000 of his people to North Africa in 428 A.D. They established a kingdom that had significant control over the Mediterranean Sea for the next hundred years.
- Odoacer, an advisor to Attila the Hun, led a rebellion against Rome in 476 A.D. He overthrew the last Roman emperor in the West, the teenager Romulus Augustus, and declared himself ruler of the great empire.
Rev 9:8-9
Their hair was like women’s hair… their teeth were like lions’ … They had breastplates of iron:
Isbon Beckwith shares an old Arab proverb describing the locust as having a head like a horse, a breast like a lion, feet like a camel, a body like a serpent, and antennae-like the hair of a maiden9. Looking again at Ezekiel’s visions in 1:10, 10:14, and 41:19, we see fantastical creatures with multiple faces of oxen, lions, eagles, and men. Since no creature has yet been discovered that has multiple faces of animals, it must be assumed that this language is highly symbolic.
This fallen “star” has been identified as Satan (Rev 20:1-3), who releases the powers of deception and cruelty against the churches of Christ by blinding the eyes of men, smothering light and knowledge, and promoting ignorance and error10.
- The swarm of locusts seems to illustrate all the deceptions the Enemy uses to promote his treachery against mankind.
- The trees and the grass symbolize faithful believers who may experience physical suffering but are guaranteed spiritual safety through God’s perfect redemption. The “locusts” have no power to deceive those who have God’s seal.
- The short season (five months) could represent the limited years of persecution the church suffered during the first few centuries as well as the struggles most Christians endure as they grow in their relationship with Christ. During these periods, believers share the misfortunes common to all people but, through faith, are kept safe from spiritual corruption.
1 Thess 3:2 We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.
1 Pet 1:6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
The prophet Joel used similar language, warning rebellious Israel of coming judgment in the form of conquering armies:
Joel 1:6 A nation has invaded my land,a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness.
Joel 1:4 What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.
Joel 2:4 They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. 5 With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
Paul warned the young church that the wages of sin is death, but through Christ, the free gift of God is eternal life (Rom 6:23). In his vision, John sees disaster on the horizon for pagan Rome and stubborn Jerusalem. Whether the forces opposing God’s people are human, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, Genghis Khan, or Hitler’s Nazis, or the spiritual disasters that are the wages of sin, the ultimate consequences of rebellion against God always bring loss. In stark contrast, obedience and surrender to God always bring abundant life!
Rev 9:9
The sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle:
A futurist writer may see these images as symbols of the attack helicopters and tanks of modern invading armies. But this prophetic language has been employed by other Bible prophets to illustrate the evils that will befall those who defy God:
Ezekiel 23:24 They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards.
In the opening verses of the Book of Isaiah, the prophet states that he was prophesying during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah. Uzziah’s reign was in the mid-8th century BC, and Isaiah’s ministry must have begun a few years before the king’s death, probably in the 740s BC. The Jewish nation had been on a steady spiral down into idolatry and corruption, and Isaiah warned them of the coming “wages” of their sins:
Isa 3:1 See now, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: all supplies of food and all supplies of water, 2 the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, 3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.
Isaiah describes Judah’s sin :
Isa 2:8 Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
Isa 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.
Isa3:8 Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling; their words and deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.
In the summer of 587 or 586 BC, the armies of the Babylonian Emperor, Nebuchadnezzar II, surrounded Jerusalem and, after a 30-month siege, destroyed the city and Solomon’s Temple. The Kingdom of Judah was dissolved, and many of its inhabitants were exiled to Babylon.
In turn, Jeremiah (c. 650 BC – c. 570) foretold the eventual fall of Babylon (Jer 50), which was conquered by the Persians in 539 BC.
The images John was seeing and the language used weren’t new. History has repeatedly shown that corruption and idolatry contain the seeds of their own demise. Humanity, however, always seems to forget the lessons of history in its pursuit of everything except God. At the same time, God’s promise of spiritual abundance, peace, and hope is extended to anyone who obeys His word.
Rev 9:10
They had tails with stingers, like scorpions:
2 Chron 10:14 …he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”
Ezek 2:5-6 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.
Most of us have unpleasant memories of summertime mosquitoes, biting flies, and angry bee stings. John is witnessing spiritual stinging locusts that will only torment people who choose to walk in opposition to God. On a personal level, poor choices or deliberate abuse of others will eventually bring consequences that “sting.” Broken relationships and unresolved anger can overwhelm our lives and bring us to the point of despair. On a larger scale, communities, cities, and nations suffer in the same way if leadership leans in the direction of greed or malice.
But John also sees the promise that God extends to anyone who will listen and obey. The plant life, i.e., the believers, will not be harmed (Rev 9:4). While faithful followers of Jesus are not immune to violence and injustice, they can find hope and comfort in their faith. Believers are besieged but not defeated!
2Cor 4:8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
The list of calamities that can result from selfishness, greed, and callous disregard for the welfare of others is a long one. John sees how the ungodly become so tormented in mind and body that life itself ceases to have any value (Rev 6:15-16). Consider the stories that are frequently aired on the news that demonstrate this reality. What’s missing in the lives of people who cheat, steal, and murder without giving thought to the destruction they cause others or themselves?
John and the other disciples witnessed Satan’s attack on Jesus by Jerusalem and Rome:
Luke 22:66 At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.
Luke 23:13-14 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.
John 19:15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Luke 24:20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;
Luke 23:34-35 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
Yet, Jesus was not defeated:
Matt 28:6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Acts 10:40 …God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
And like Christ, believers are victorious:
Rom 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
Rom 8:39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
2Thess 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
Ps 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
