Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: REVELATION #11 - 9:1-21)
J. 9:1-12 “FIFTH TRUMP: LOCUSTS FROM THE ABYSS”
1. 9:1-11 FIFTH TRUMP: DESCRIPTION OF THE TORTURE
a. 9:1 KEY TO THE ABYSS
Kai ho PEMPtos AGge-los eSALpi-sen, kai EIdon aSTEra ek tou ou-raNOU pep-toKOta [4098]eis ten gen:
And the fifth angel trumped, and I saw a star from :heaven fallen unto the earth:
kai eDOthe auTOhe kleis [2807]tou PHREa-tos [5421]tes aBUSsou [12].
and the key of the pit of the abyss was given him.
b. 9:2 THE PIT OF THE ABYSS OPENED
kai Enoi-xen [455]to PHREar [5421]tes aBUSsou [12];
And he opened the pit of the abyss;
kai aNEbe [305]kapNOS [2586]ek tou PHREa-tos [5421], hos kapNOS kaMInou [2575]meGAles;
and smoke went up out of the pit, as smoke of a great furnace;
kai e-skoTOthe[4654]ho HEli-os [2246]kai ho aER [109]ek tou kapNOU tou PHREa-tos.
and the sun was darkened and the air by the smoke of the pit.
c. 9:3 LOCUSTS AND SCORPIONS
kai ek tou kapNOU eXELthon aKRIdes [200]eis ten gen;
And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth;
kai eDOthe auTAIS e-xouSIa [1849], hos Echou-sin e-xouSIan hoi skorPIoi [4651]tes ges.
and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
d. 9:4 RESTRICTION UPON WHOM HURT
kai erREthe auTAIS HIna mea-diKEsou-sin [91]
And it was said to them that they should not hurt
ton CHORton [5528] tes ges, ouDE pan chloRON [5515], ouDE pan DENdron [1186],
the grass of the earth, neither anything green, neither any tree,
ei me tous anTHROpous HOIti-nes ouk Echou-sin ten sphraGIda [4973]tou TheOU ePI ton meTOpon [3359].
but only such :men as have not the seal of :God on theirforeheads.
e. 9:5 TORMENT - BUT NOT DEATH
kai eDOtheauTAIS HIna mea-pokTEIno-sin [615]auTOUS,
And it was given them that they should not kill them,
all' HIna ba-sa-nisTHEson-tai [928]MEnas PENte:
but that they should be tormented five months:
kai ho ba-sa-nisMOS [929] auTON hos ba-sa-nisMOS skorPIou, HOtan PAIse[3817]ANthro-pon.
and their :torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when it strikes a man.
f. 9:6 DEATH PREFERRED
kai en tais heMErais eKEInais zeTEsou-sin [2212]hoi ANthro-poi ton THAna-ton [2288],
And in those :days :men shall seek :death,
kai ou meheuREsou-sin [2147]auTON;
and shall in no wise find it;
kai e-pi-thuMEsou-sin [1937]a-po-thaNEIN [599], kai PHEUgei [5343]ho THAna-tos ap' auTON.
and they shall desire to die, and :death flees from them.
g. 9:7 LOCUSTS LIKE HORSES
kai ta ho-moiOma-ta ton aKRIdon [200]HOmoi-a HIPpois [2462]hetoi-masMEnois [2090]eis POle-mon [4171];
And the likenesses of the locusts werelike horses prepared for war;
kai ePI tas ke-phaLAS [2776] auTON hos STEpha-noi [4735]HOmoi-oi chruSO[5557],
and upon their :heads as if crowns like gold,
kai ta PROso-pa [4383]auTON hos PROso-pa anTHROpon.
and their :faces were as men's faces.
h. 9:8 And they had hair as hair of women, and their :teeth were as of lions.
kai EIchan TRIchas [5359] hos TRIchas gu-naiKON, kai hoi oDONtes [3599]auTON hos leONton [3023]Esan.
i. 9:9 FURTHER LOCUST DESCRIPTION
kai EIchan THOra-kas [2382], hos THOra-kas si-deROUS [4603];
And they had breastplates, as if breastplates of iron;
kai hephoNE[5456]ton pteRUgon [4420]auTON hos phoNEharMAton [716],
and the sound of their wings was as a sound of chariots,
HIPpon polLON treCHONton [5143]eis POle-mon.
of many horses rushing to war.
j. 9:10 SCORPION TAILS FOR LOCUSTS
kai Echou-sin ouRAS [3769] hoMOIas skorPIois [4551], kai KENtra [2759];
And they have tails like scorpions, and stings;
kai en tais ouRAIS auTON he e-xouSIa auTON a-diKEsai [91]tous anTHROpous MEnas PENte.
and in their :tails istheir :power to hurt :men five months.
k. 9:11 THE KING OF THE LOCUSTS
Echou-sin ep' auTON ba-siLEa [935]ton AGge-lon tes aBUSsou [12]:
They have over them as king the angel of the abyss:
Ono-ma [3686] auTO 'E-b-ra-isTI [1447]A-badDON, kai en teHel-le-niKE[1673]Ona-ma Echei A-polLUon.
his name in Hebrew isAbaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Destroyer.
2. 9:12 The one :Woe is gone: lo, yet two Woes come hereafter.
HeouAI [3759]he MIa aPELthen: iDOU, ERche-tai Eti DUo ouAI meTA TAUta.
K. 9:13-21 SIXTH TRUMP: LOOSING OF FOUR ANGELS AND HORSE ARMIES
a. 9:13-14 FOUR ANGELS LOOSED
Kai ho HEKtos AGge-los eSALpi-sen [4537], kai Ekou-sa phoNEN [5456]MIan
And the sixth angel trumped, and I heard one voice
ek ton keRAton [2768]tou thu-si-a-steRIou [2379]tou chruSOU tou eNOpi-on tou TheOU,
from the horns of the golden :altar :before :God,
LEgon-ta toHEKto agGEloho Echon ten SALpig-ga [4536],
14onesaying to the sixth angel that had the trumpet,
LUson [3089] tous TESsa-ras agGElous tous de-deMEnous [1210] ePI to po-taMO[4215]to meGAloEuPHRAte.
Loose the four angels :bound at the great :river Euphrates.
b. 9:15 THEIR ASSIGNMENT: SLAYING THE THIRD OF MEN
kai eLUthesan [3089]hoi TESsa-res AGge-loi,
And the four angels were loosed,
hoi he-toi-masMEnoi [2090]eis ten HOran [5610]kai heMEran [2250]kai MEna [3376]kai e-ni-auTON [1763],
those prepared for the hour and day and month and year,
HIna a-pok-teiNOsin [615]to TRIton ton anTHROpon.
that they should kill the third of :men.
c. 9:16 THE NUMBER OF THIS ARMY
kai ho a-rithMOS [706] ton stra-teuMAton [4753] tou hip-piKOU [2461]
And the number of the armies of the horsemen was
dis mu-riAdes [3461] mu-riAdon: Ekou-sa ton a-rithMON auTON.
twice ten thousands of ten thousands: I heard their :number.
d. 9:17 THE DREADFUL HORSES AND THEIR RIDERS
kai HOUtos EIdon tous HIPpous en tehoRAsei [3706], kai tous ka-theMEnous ep' auTON,
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them,
Echon-tas THOra-kas [2382]puRInous [4447]kai hu-a-kinTHInous [5191]kai theiOdeis [2305]:
having breastplates as of fire and hyacinth and brimstone:
kai hai ke-phaLAI [2776] ton HIPpon hos ke-phaLAI leONton [3023];
and the heads of the horses are as heads of lions;
kai ek ton stoMAton [4750]auTON ek-poREUe-tai [1607]pur [4442]kai kapNOS [2586]kai THEIon [2303].
and out of their :mouths proceeds fire and smoke and brimstone.
e. 9:18 THE SUMMARY OF THESE THREE PLAGUES
aPO ton triON pleGON [4127]TOUton a-pekTANthe-san [615]to TRIton ton anTHROpon,
By these three :plagues was the third of :men killed,
ek tou puROS kai tou kapNOU kai tou THEIou [2303] tou ek-po-reu-oMEnou [1607] ek ton stoMAton auTON.
by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeds out of their :mouths.
f. 9:19 THE MOUTH AND TAIL OF THESE HORSES
hegar exouSIa ton HIPpon en toSTOma-ti auTON es-tin,
For the power of the horses is in their :mouth,
kai en tais ouRAIS auTON: hai gar ouRAI auTON HOmoi-ai [3664]Ophe-sin [3789],
and in their :tails: for their :tails are like serpents,
Echou-sai ke-phaLAS [2776]; kai en auTAIS a-diKOUsin [91].
andhave heads; and with them they hurt.
g. 9:20-21 YET - MEN UNREPENTANT IN SPITE OF PLAGUES!
kai hoi loiPOI ton anTHROpon hoi ouk a-pekTANthe-san [615]en tais pleGAIS [4127]TAUtais
And the rest of :men who were not killed with these :plagues
ou me-teNOe-san [3349]ek ton ERgon ton cheiRON auTON,
repented not of the works of their :hands,
HIna mepro-skuNEsou-sin [4352]ta daiMOni-a [1140], kai ta EIdo-la [1497]ta chruSA [5552],
that they should not worship the demons, and the idols :of gold,
kai ta ar-guRA [693], kai ta chalKA [5470], kai ta LIthi-na [3035], kai ta XUli-na [3585];
and :of silver, and :of brass, and :of stone, and of :wood;
ha OUte BLEpein DUnan-tai, OUte aKOUein, OUte pe-ri-paTEIN:
which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk:
kai ou me-teNOe-san [3340]ek ton PHOnon [5408]auTON, OUte ek ton pharMAkon [5331]auTON,
21and they repented not of their :murders, nor of their :sorceries,
OUte ek tes porNEIas [4202]auTON, OUte ek ton klemMAton [3809]auTON.
nor of their :fornication, nor of their :thefts.
NOTE: If Revelation chapter 8 was “scary”, then chapter 9 is even more so! This is a very serious insight of revelation in the coming judgment upon unrepentant sinners. It would seem that there would be a large-scale turning to God because of this prophecy. But when we read of the wicked kings of Judah, and allthose of Israel in the divided kingdom, and how they and their followers responded in exactly the same manner as has been foretold concerning the ungodly at the end of this age - then we shouldn't be too shocked or surprised.
9:12 - Look how God gives every opportunity and warning concerning coming judgments. But just as Pharaoh of old in the days of the First Passover and the Crossing of the Red Sea by Israel - yet refused to act upon the clear warnings of Moses; so it will be again at the end of this age.
9:13-21 - Notice how last day judgments gain in intensity. So it was in the days of Noah - and so it will be for this final generation. 9:20-21 twice reports that the ungodly at this time - do notrepent in spite of the merciful warnings of God. Could they have? Of course. But there is a point of no-return with sin. If we develop a pattern of disobedience and ungodliness, then like Esau of old, it is too lateto change. We have sinned away our day of grace, and our ways are now set in concrete. How serious is this insight.
Train up a childin the way he should go - and when he is old he will notdepart from it. This requires “loving discipline” on the part of parents. Corporal punishment is set forth by God through many of His Bible writers, especially the book of Proverbs. Our liberal, humanistic, God-hating age has become incorrigible, and rejects the teaching of God through His writers.
But there isa day of reckoning on the way! There is a spiritual “pay-day” some day. The apostle Peter clearly speaks and warns of this in his two NT letters.
God told Jeremiah and Ezekiel of their difficult task of warning a generation bound and determined to pursue its godless way. However, this kind of generation mustbe warned. For then at the Judgment seat of God it will be unable to say, “But we didn't know!” O, but they did! - and they refused to listen, amend their evil ways, and return to God. O, that manywould come to their senses like the Prodigal Son. The poor, foolish self-living course ended him in a pig-pen, where he came to his senses - and returned to his father's house, and received a royal welcome. There will always be a few in the ranks of the ungodly who will respond. Let us for theirsake, and for God's sake, be faithful in declaring a “heaven to gain - and a hell to shun.” - J.A.W.