The Book of
Revelation 9
21 verses≈ 4 minBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
Tap any post to go deeper
Where we are
- 1–3Seven churchesChrist among His lampstands
- 4–11Seals & trumpetsThe Lamb opens the scrollChapter 9
- 12–16The great conflictThe dragon, the beasts, the bowls
- 17–20The King comesBabylon falls; the Lamb wins
- 21–22All things newA new heaven and a new earth
The Fifth Trumpet
Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture
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. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.
Reflect
Kept under His seal
In the middle of this dark vision there is a line of comfort. The locusts 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.” God knows His own and keeps them. When the news or your own life feels dark, what helps you remember that you belong to Him?
And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads; and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions. They also had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months.
His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.
Revelation 9:11
The first woe has passed. Behold, two woes are still to follow.
Question
Quick question
The fifth trumpet is terrifying, but it is not without limits.
Whom were the locusts told they could not harm?
The Sixth Trumpet
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
The great river Euphrates
The Euphrates lay far to the east of Patmos and the churches of Asia. In the Old Testament it marked the edge of the land promised to Abraham, and the great empires that invaded Israel came from beyond it. John hears the command: “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
Then the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God saying to the sixth angel with the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
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. And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number.
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. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that proceeded from their mouths. 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.
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.
0:14
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.
Pray
While there is time
Thank God that He warns before He judges, and that He is patient. Ask Him to show you any “works of their hands” you have trusted in place of Him, and turn from them to Him today. And pray for someone you love who has not yet turned to Christ: that they would hear His call while there is time.
You’ve experienced
Revelation 9
0 of 22 chapters read
A verse to carry with you
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.
Revelation 9:20
or swipe left