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Text -- Revelation 9:14 (NET)

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Context
9:14 saying to the sixth angel, the one holding the trumpet, “Set free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Euphrates a large river which joins the Tigris river before flowing into the Persian Gulf,a river flowing from eastern Turkey to the Persian Gulf


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Vision | Trumpet | RIVER | REVELATION OF JOHN | Jesus, The Christ | FOUR | Euphrates | Binding and Loosing | Angel | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Robertson , Vincent , Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , PBC , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Barclay , Constable , College

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: Rev 9:14 - -- One saying to the sixth angel ( legonta tōi hektōi ). Accusative masculine singular active participle of legō , personifying phōnēn and a...

One saying to the sixth angel ( legonta tōi hektōi ).

Accusative masculine singular active participle of legō , personifying phōnēn and agreeing with it in case, though not in gender. This voice speaks to the sixth angel (dative case).

Robertson: Rev 9:14 - -- Which had the trumpet ( ho echōn tēn salpigga ). Nominative case in apposition with aggelōi (dative), the same anomalous phenomenon in Rev 2:...

Which had the trumpet ( ho echōn tēn salpigga ).

Nominative case in apposition with aggelōi (dative), the same anomalous phenomenon in Rev 2:20; Rev 3:12; Rev 14:12. Swete treats it as a parenthesis, like Rev 4:1; Rev 11:15.

Robertson: Rev 9:14 - -- Loose ( luson ). First aorist (ingressive) active imperative of luō , "let loose."Another group of four angels (Rev 7:1) like Act 12:4, described h...

Loose ( luson ).

First aorist (ingressive) active imperative of luō , "let loose."Another group of four angels (Rev 7:1) like Act 12:4, described here "which are bound"(tous dedemenous ). Perfect passive articular participle of deō , evidently the leaders of the demonic horsemen (Rev 9:15.) as the four angels let loose the demonic locusts (Rev 7:1.), both quaternions agents of God’ s wrath.

Robertson: Rev 9:14 - -- At the great river Euphrates ( epi tōi potamōi tōi megalōi Euphratēi ). A regular epithet of the Euphrates (Rev 16:12; Gen 15:18; Deu 1:7)....

At the great river Euphrates ( epi tōi potamōi tōi megalōi Euphratēi ).

A regular epithet of the Euphrates (Rev 16:12; Gen 15:18; Deu 1:7). It rises in Armenia and joins the Tigris in lower Babylonia, a total length of nearly 1800 miles, the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire next to Parthia.

Vincent: Rev 9:14 - -- In the great river ( ἐπί ) Rev., more correctly, at .

In the great river ( ἐπί )

Rev., more correctly, at .

Vincent: Rev 9:14 - -- Euphrates The Euphrates was known as the great River , the River , the Flood . It rises in the mountains of Armenia, breaks ...

Euphrates

The Euphrates was known as the great River , the River , the Flood . It rises in the mountains of Armenia, breaks through the Taurus range and runs south and southeast until it joins the Tigris in lower Babylonia Its total length is from 1,600 to 1,800 miles, and it is navigable for small craft twelve hundred miles from its mouth. It was the boundary-line of Israel on the northeast (Gen 15:18; Deu 1:7; Jos 1:4. Compare 2Sa 8:3-8; 1Ki 4:21). It thus formed the natural defense of the chosen people against the armies of Assyria. The melting of the mountain snows causes an annual flood, beginning in March and increasing until May. These floods became an emblem of the judgments inflicted by God upon Israel by means of Babylon and Assyria. The brook of Shiloah which flowed past Zion and Moriah was a type of the temple and of its mighty and gracious Lord; and the refusal of allegiance to God by the chosen people is represented as their rejection of the waters of Shiloah which flows softly, and their punishment therefor by the bringing in of the waters of the mighty and great river (Isa 8:5-8; compare Jer 17:13). To the prophets the Euphrates was the symbol of all that was disastrous in the divine judgments.

Wesley: Rev 9:14 - -- To go every way; to the four quarters. These were evil angels, or they would not have been bound. Why, or how long, they were bound we know not.

To go every way; to the four quarters. These were evil angels, or they would not have been bound. Why, or how long, they were bound we know not.

JFB: Rev 9:14 - -- Greek, "epi to potamo"; "on," or "at the great river."

Greek, "epi to potamo"; "on," or "at the great river."

JFB: Rev 9:14 - -- (Compare Rev 16:12). The river whereat Babylon, the ancient foe of God's people was situated. Again, whether from the literal region of the Euphrates,...

(Compare Rev 16:12). The river whereat Babylon, the ancient foe of God's people was situated. Again, whether from the literal region of the Euphrates, or from the spiritual Babylon (the apostate Church, especially ROME), four angelic ministers of God's judgments shall go forth, assembling an army of horsemen throughout the four quarters of the earth, to slay a third of men, the brunt of the visitation shall be on Palestine.

Clarke: Rev 9:14 - -- Loose the four angels - These four angels bound - hitherto restrained, in the Euphrates, are by some supposed to be the Arabs, the Saracens, the Tar...

Loose the four angels - These four angels bound - hitherto restrained, in the Euphrates, are by some supposed to be the Arabs, the Saracens, the Tartars, or the Turks; by others, Vespasian’ s four generals, one in Arabia, one in Africa, one in Alexandria, and one in Palestine.

Defender: Rev 9:14 - -- These four angels are also Satanic angels, "bound" because of past sin. They have not, like the previous group, been bound in the bottomless pit, but ...

These four angels are also Satanic angels, "bound" because of past sin. They have not, like the previous group, been bound in the bottomless pit, but "in the great river Euphrates," so apparently their particular sin was at a different time and place. Perhaps this particular horde of fallen angels, with their four captains, had been associated with the first great human rebellion after the Flood when Nimrod led mankind to rebel against God at Babel, located on the Euphrates. As a result, God had scattered the people around the world, confusing their tongues (Gen 11:9).

The invisible host of heaven, however, who had instigated this rebellion and whom Nimrod had sought to worship in his great temple tower built "unto heaven" (Gen 11:4), with a shrine dedicated to the host of heaven, the angels and their starry realms, had not been scattered. Rather they were confined to the Euphrates where they had established their base. This is not stated in Scripture, but seems a plausible explanation of why Babylon and its environs (including Bagdad, which has been a center of the Islamic rebellion against Christ), seems ever since to have been the greatest enemy of God and His people."

TSK: Rev 9:14 - -- to the : Rev 8:2, Rev 8:6 loose : Rev 9:15, Rev 16:12 the great : Gen 2:14; 2Sa 8:3; Jer 51:63

to the : Rev 8:2, Rev 8:6

loose : Rev 9:15, Rev 16:12

the great : Gen 2:14; 2Sa 8:3; Jer 51:63

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Rev 9:14 - -- Saying to the sixth angel, which had the trumpet - See the notes at Rev 8:2. Loose, ... - This power, it would seem, was given to the six...

Saying to the sixth angel, which had the trumpet - See the notes at Rev 8:2.

Loose, ... - This power, it would seem, was given to the sixth angel in addition to his office of blowing the trumpet. All this, of course, was in vision, and cannot be literally interpreted. The meaning is, that the effect of his blowing the trumpet would be the same as if angels that had been bound should be suddenly loosed and suffered to go forth over the earth; that is, some event would occur which would be properly symbolized by such an act.

The four angels - Compare the notes at Rev 8:2. It was customary to represent important events as occurring under the ministry of angels. The general meaning here is, that in the vicinity of the river Euphrates there were mighty powers which had been bound or held in check, which were now to be let loose upon the world. What we are to look for in the fulfillment is evidently this - some power that seemed to be kept back by an invisible influence as if by angels, now suddenly let loose and suffered to accomplish the purpose of desolation mentioned in the subsequent verses. It is not necessary to suppose that angels were actually employed in these restraints, though no one can demonstrate that their agency was not concerned in the transactions here referred to. Compare the notes on Dan 10:12-13. It has been made a question why the number four is specified, and whether the forces were in any sense made up of four divisions, nations, or people. While nothing certain can be determined in regard to that, and while the number four may be used merely to denote a great and strong force, yet it must be admitted that the most obvious interpretation would be to refer it to some combination of forces, or to some union of powers, that was to accomplish what is here said. If it had been a single nation, it would have been more in accordance with the usual method in prophecy to have represented them as restrained by an angel, or by angels in general, without specifying any number.

Which are bound - That is, they seemed to be bound. There was something which held them, and the forces under them, in check, until they were thus commanded to go forth. In the fulfillment of this it will be necessary to look for something of the nature of a check or restraint on these forces, until they were commissioned to go forth to accomplish the work of destruction.

In the great river Euphrates - The well-known river of that name, commonly called, in the Scriptures, "the great river,"and, by way of eminence, "the river,"Exo 23:31; Isa 8:7. This river was on the east of Palestine; and the language used here naturally denotes that the power referred to under the sixth trumpet would spring up in the East, and that it would have its origin in the vicinity of that river. Those interpreters, therefore, who apply this to the invasion of Judaea by the Romans have great difficulty in explaining this - as the forces employed in the destruction of Jerusalem came from the West, and not from the East. The fair interpretation is, that there were forces in the vicinity of the Euphrates which were, up to this period, bound or restrained, but which were now suffered to spread woe and sorrow over a considerable portion of the world.

Poole: Rev 9:14 - -- By these four angels or instruments of God to execute his vengeance, I find the most valuable interpreters understanding the Turks, considered as d...

By these four angels or instruments of God to execute his vengeance, I find the most valuable interpreters understanding the Turks, considered as distinct from the Saracens, and succeeding of them, whose empire began in Ottoman, Anno 1296, or thereabouts. Mr. Mede saith these four angels denote so many sultanies or kingdoms, into which the Turks were dispersed, having passed the river Euphrates, which river is famous for four things:

1. It was the boundary of David and Solomon’ s kingdom, Deu 11:24 Jos 1:4 .

2. It was that river by which Babylon stood, Jer 13:4-6 .

3. It was the boundary of the Roman empire, beyond which it could never extend itself.

4. And it also was the seat of the Turks, who having some years before come over the Euphrates, first divided themselves into a tetrarchy; of which one in Asia, another at Aleppo, another at Damascus, a fourth at Antioch.

Mr. Mede gives us a table or diagram of it, Clav. Apoc. 40. p. 102. Here they were bounded for a while, but about the year 1300 they were loosed, and began further to invade Europe; which is the severe providence of God, conceived to be here foretold as the consequent of this sixth angel’ s sounding. The Turks who, though come over the river Euphrates, had hitherto by the providence of God been bounded near unto it, not much contending to enlarge their territories, now joined together with the Saracens under Ottoman, and went further into Europe, and could by no means be stopped till they had got the empire of Constantinople.

PBC: Rev 9:14 - -- Re 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. Who are these four angel...

Re 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Who are these four angels? The word angel is interpreted in the Greek as being a messenger. Here there were four messengers loosed to carry on the assault against Jerusalem. Their work was to slay [destroy] the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

This corresponds with the four different groups Titus assembled at Caesarea to begin the march on Jerusalem:

1) Those who came out of Egypt with Titus. This was the core of the army of Titus which he would gather to go into Caesarea. They had formerly fought under Titus’ father when he laid Judea waste. Along with these were those who had been formerly beaten along with Cestius, ruler of Syria[1] under Rome. This occurred in 66AD. These were eager to avenge themselves against the Jews because of the defeat they had formerly suffered from the Jews. There are others whom Josephus calls auxiliaries that come from the kings.

2) Those who came to the assistance of Titus from Syria.

3) When Vespasian was declared to be emperor, Mucianus had been sent to Rome with four legions to keep peace there. These also returned to fight with Titus.

4) Three thousand drawn from those that guarded the river Euphrates

Again, the time element mentioned in Re 9:15, (an hour, a day, a month, and a year) is simply a figure of speech. I find no matching significance elsewhere.— Eld. Charles Taylor

[1] Cestius of Syria invaded Judaea and marched against Jerusalem (Syria was under Roman rule). Here he was defeated and many of his army slain by the Jews who had gathered at Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. He was terribly defeated and retreated back to Syria." This defeat happened on the eighth day of the month of Dius, [Marchesvan] in the twelfth year of the reign of Nero." Josephus on the " War of the Jews," chapter XX, page 703. Nero was emperor of Rome from 54AD-68AD. This would have been in the year 66AD.

Gill: Rev 9:14 - -- Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet,.... The sixth trumpet, which was given him, and he had prepared himself to sound, and had sounded: ...

Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet,.... The sixth trumpet, which was given him, and he had prepared himself to sound, and had sounded:

loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates; not the four angels in Rev 7:1; they stood upon the four corners of the earth; these were in, or at the river Euphrates; they held the four winds, that they should not blow, or restrained the savage nations, that they should not hurt; these are bound themselves, that they might not do mischief; nor are angels by nature at all intended; not evil angels, though they are bound in chains of darkness, and are reserved to judgment, they are admitted indeed to rove about in the air and earth, but are under the restraints of the power and providence of God; nor good angels, who are at the divine beck, and go in and out, and are detained and sent forth according to the pleasure of God, and are sometimes employed in killing great numbers of men; see 2Sa 24:15; but men are here meant, as appears from Rev 9:16, and particularly the Turks, as most interpreters agree; who dwelt on the other side the river Euphrates, and were let loose, or suffered to pass over that river into the eastern empire, to ruin and destroy it, as they did: these are called "angels", because of their might and force, their power and strength, with which they bore all before them; and for their great swiftness and rapidity in the victories and conquests which the Ottoman family obtained; who, from very small beginnings, raised themselves, in a very little time, to a large monarchy, and founded the Turkish empire, which, from them, is to this day called the Ottoman empire. Ottoman the First subdued great part of Bithynia, and fixed the seat of his kingdom at Prusa; or rather his son Urchanes, who conquered Mysia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, Caria, and the rest, to the Hellespont, and the Euxine sea. Amurath his son took Callipolis, Hadrianople, and the adjacent provinces. Bajazet added to the empire Thessalia, Macedonia, Phocis, Attica, Mysia, and Bulgaria; and Mahomet the Second took Constantinople itself, and thereby put an end to the eastern empire; and all this was done in a very few years: it is said of this last, that he conquered two empires, and twelve kingdoms, and above two hundred cities a. And these Ottoman Turks may be called angels, or messengers, because they were the messengers and executioners of God's wrath upon the eastern empire: they are signified by "four angels", either, as some think, because of the four names of Saracens, Turks, Tartars, and Arabians, though all Mahometans, under which they went, before they were united under one emperor, Ottoman; or rather because of the four principalities, or governments, into which they were divided, while they were upon the banks of, or near to the river Euphrates; the seat of one being at Iconium, another at Bagdad, a third at Aleppo, and a fourth at Damascus; and chiefly because, when they passed the river Euphrates, they had four princes at the head of them, Soliman Shak, and his three sons. Soliman himself, as he passed, not knowing the fords of the river, was drowned in it; at which his sons being so affrighted, two of them, Sankur Zengi, and Gun Tugdi, returned to Persia, but the third, Ortogrules, with his three sons (which made "four" again) Condoz, Sarubani, and Othman, or Ottoman, continued, to whom Aladdin, sultan of Iconium, gave them some land among the mountains of Armenia b; and from hence, by degrees, as before observed, a large empire was raised. Now these are said to be "bound in the great river Euphrates"; which river is to be literally understood, and is the same with that which is so called in Gen 2:14, and ran through Mesopotamia and Chaldea, and was the boundary of the Roman empire; so it was fixed by Hadrian c; and beyond which the Turks, before this time did rarely go, and if they did, retired again: for till this time, as the historian says d, the Turks had Asia, εντος του ευφρατου, "within Euphrates", and the Arabians Coelo-Syria and Phoenicia. Now here these were bound; they were not suffered to pass the river, or to make any inroads of any consequence further into the Roman empire; they were restrained, by the decree of God, from proceeding any further till this time; which, as he fixes a decreed place for the sea, that its waves should come thus far, and no further, so he restrains princes from their enterprises, and settles the bounds of empires, as long as he pleases; and they were kept back by the power of God from pouring in upon the empire, and pouring forth their fury upon it, who causes the wrath of men to praise him, and restrains the remainder of it; and they were also prevented from coming any further, as yet, through the internal divisions among themselves, and by the victories of the Christians in Palestine.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rev 9:14 On λῦσον (luson) BDAG 606-7 s.v. λύω 2 states, “set free, loose, untie – a. lit. a pers., animal,...

Geneva Bible: Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, ( 12 ) Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. ( 12 ) As if he should ha...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Rev 9:1-21 - --1 At the sounding of the fifth angel, a star falls from heaven, to whom is given the key to the bottomless pit.2 He opens the pit, and there come fort...

MHCC: Rev 9:13-21 - --The sixth angel sounded, and here the power of the Turks seems the subject. Their time is limited. They not only slew in war, but brought a poisonous ...

Matthew Henry: Rev 9:13-21 - -- Here let us consider the preface to this vision, and then the vision itself. I. The preface to this vision: A voice was heard from the horns of the...

Barclay: Rev 9:13-21 - --The horror of the picture mounts. The demonic locusts were allowed to injure but not kill; but now come the squadrons of demonic cavalry to annihila...

Constable: Rev 4:1--22:6 - --III. THE REVELATION OF THE FUTURE 4:1--22:5 John recorded the rest of this book to reveal those aspects of the f...

Constable: Rev 8:1--9:21 - --D. The first six trumpet judgments chs. 8-9 John received a revelation of more judgments to take place n...

Constable: Rev 9:1-21 - --2. The fifth and sixth trumpet judgments ch. 9 John continued to relay the revelation of the tru...

Constable: Rev 9:13-21 - --The sixth trumpet (second woe) 9:13-21 As will become evident, the severity of these jud...

Constable: Rev 9:13-19 - --A deadly attack 9:13-19 9:13 Someone near the four horns (symbolic of power) of the golden altar in heaven, probably the angel identified with it in 8...

College: Rev 9:1-21 - --See Notes on Chapter 8

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Introduction / Outline

Robertson: Revelation (Book Introduction) THE REVELATION OF JOHN ABOUT a.d. 95 By Way of Introduction Difficulty in the Problem Perhaps no single book in the New Testament presents so ...

JFB: Revelation (Book Introduction) AUTHENTICITY.--The author calls himself John (Rev 1:1, Rev 1:4, Rev 1:9; Rev 2:8). JUSTIN MARTYR [Dialogue with Trypho, p. 308] (A.D. 139-161) quotes ...

JFB: Revelation (Outline) TITLE: SOURCE AND OBJECT OF THIS REVELATION: BLESSING ON THE READER AND KEEPER OF IT, AS THE TIME IS NEAR: INSCRIPTION TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES: APOSTOL...

TSK: Revelation (Book Introduction) The obscurity of this prophecy, which has been urged against its genuineness, necessarily results from the highly figurative and symbolical language i...

TSK: Revelation 9 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Rev 9:1, At the sounding of the fifth angel, a star falls from heaven, to whom is given the key to the bottomless pit; Rev 9:2, He opens ...

Poole: Revelation 9 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 9

MHCC: Revelation (Book Introduction) The Book of the Revelation of St. John consists of two principal divisions. 1. Relates to " the things which are," that is, the then present state of...

MHCC: Revelation 9 (Chapter Introduction) (Rev 9:1-12) The fifth trumpet is followed by a representation of another star as falling from heaven and opening the bottomless pit, out of which com...

Matthew Henry: Revelation (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Revelation of St. John the Divine It ought to be no prejudice to the credit and authority of this b...

Matthew Henry: Revelation 9 (Chapter Introduction) In this chapter we have an account of the sounding of the fifth and sixth trumpets, the appearances that attended them, and the events that were to...

Barclay: Revelation (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO THE REVELATION OF JOHN The Strange Book When a student of the New Testament embarks upon the study of the Revelation he feels him...

Barclay: Revelation 9 (Chapter Introduction) The Unlocking Of The Abyss (Rev_9:1; Rev_9:2) The Locusts From The Abyss (Rev_9:3-12) The Demonic Locusts (Rev_9:3-12 Continued) The Horsemen Of...

Constable: Revelation (Book Introduction) Introduction Historical background The opening verses of the book state that "John" wr...

Constable: Revelation (Outline) Outline I. The preparation of the prophet ch. 1 A. The prologue of the book 1:1-8 ...

Constable: Revelation Revelation Bibliography Abbott-Smith, George. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & ...

Haydock: Revelation (Book Introduction) THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN, THE APOSTLE. INTRODUCTION. Though some in the first ages [centuries] doubted whether this book was canonical, and ...

Gill: Revelation (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION That this book was written by the Apostle and Evangelist John, is clear not only from the express mention of his name, a...

Gill: Revelation 9 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 9 This chapter gives an account of the blowing of the fifth and sixth trumpets, and of the effects following upon them. ...

College: Revelation (Book Introduction) PREFACE This commentary on the Revelation of John has been prepared for general readers of the Bible who desire to deepen their understanding of God'...

College: Revelation (Outline) OUTLINE I. PROLOGUE - 1:1-20 A. Introduction to the Prophecy - 1:1-3 B. Sender - 1:4a C. Recipients - 1:4b D. Prescript - 1:4c-5a E. ...

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