"Already introduced by the eagle's proclamation in 8:13, the fifth trumpet sets the tone for the last three trumpets through its specificity and independence of the two to follow. This feature marks the last three seals too. The seventh trumpet also resembles the seventh seal in the way it solemnly concludes the whole and contains the next series within in its scope. As with the seals also, two episodes intervene between the sixth and seventh members. In so doing, the episodes set the stage for the seventh trumpet."321
9:1 Again John saw a "star"(cf. 6:13; 8:10), but this time the "star"was an intelligent being. If "fallen"(Gr. peptokota) has theological connotations, the "star"may refer to Satan (vv. 2, 11; cf. 1:20; Job. 38:7; Luke 10:18) or some other fallen angel. If, on the other hand, "fallen"simply describes his condition as having come to earth from heaven, an unfallen angel is probably in view. Since this angelic being simply carries out God's instructions faithfully, I tend to think he is an unfallen angel. The "bottomless pit"(lit. shaft of the abyss) is the abode of Satan (v. 11; 20:1-3), some demons (cf. Luke 8:31; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6), and the beast (11:7; 17:8). It is evidently a preliminary prison, not their final abode, which is the lake of fire (i.e., hell, 19:20; 20:10; cf. Matt. 25:41), from which this angel is about to release some of them temporarily. The angel received the key to the door of this pit from a greater authority who is probably God.
9:2 John saw smoke rising from the shaft leading to an underground chamber. The smoke probably symbolizes the terribleness of the place from which the locusts emerge (cf. Eph. 2:2). In Revelation smoke usually relates to judgment, doom, and torment (vv. 17, 18; 18:9; 19:3) though it also has connections with holy things (8:4; 15:8). The context specifies a negative connotation here (cf. Gen. 19:28; Exod. 19:18). What John saw resembled smoke billowing out of an active volcano.
9:3 What he saw was probably literal locusts (cf. Exod. 10:12-20).322The Old Testament attests the destructive power of locusts (cf. Deut. 28:38; 2 Chron. 7:13; Joel 2:25). They often swarmed in apparently limitless numbers (cf. Ps. 105:34; Nah. 3:15). Joel likened what would come on the earth in the day of the Lord to a locust invasion (Joel 1-2). The locust is a symbol of destruction throughout the Old Testament (cf. 1 Kings 8:37; Ps. 78:46). Yet the locusts John saw had the power to hurt people as scorpions can, which normal locusts do not. They also had a leader (v. 11), which normal locusts do not (Prov. 30:27). Probably these are demons who assume some of the characteristics of locusts.323
"Should we assume the prophet saw something like a motion picture of the future in his vision and then attempted to explain it in terms of images he understood? Or did he see a picture precisely in the images he gives, images which paint reality rather than describing it? Which description of those options is more literal'? Is it the one that focuses on how it might look to us, so we explain what he meant in words and images very different from the prophet's terms and images? Or should one focus on how it looked to the prophet and how it appears in the ancient text? We would thus attempt to understand his words in their literary character, both by examining the image in context and the Old Testament images and background(s) it evokes."324
9:4 God commissioned these creatures to inflict severe pain on the earth-dwellers who did not have God's mark of ownership and protection on their foreheads (cf. 7:3-8). Normally locusts eat vegetation, but these creatures will afflict human beings.
9:5 They could not kill people, and their mission lasted only five months. The wound they caused would be very painful but not fatal.
"The scorpion belongs to the largest and most malignant of all insect tribes. Its general appearance is like a lobster, but much more hideous. Its sting located near the end of its tail is not always fatal, but can be. It ranks with the snake in its hostility toward human beings (cf. Luke 10:19; 11:12)."325
9:6 Because of the influence of these scorpion-like locusts, people will seek death but will not be able to escape their pain. They long for death rather than repenting.
Since 4:1 John had been reporting what he saw, but now he spoke as a prophet predicting the future.
"For the first time the Apostle ceases to be the exponent of what he saw, and becomes the direct organ of the Spirit . . ."326
This is one of the indications that Revelation is prophetic rather than only apocalyptic in genre.
9:7 John proceeded to describe the creatures he saw from head to tail. Some interpreters view these beings as natural locusts while others believe they represent an army of men. Locusts resemble horses when viewed with magnification. However, John's description of these creatures seems to indicate that they were unusually grotesque and frightening (cf. Joel 2:4). Their crowns (Gr. stephanos) probably symbolize their victory over the objects of their oppression. Their resemblance to men suggests their intelligence, but clearly they are not men (cf. vv. 3-4).
9:8 The antennae of locusts are not hair, and while they have hair on their legs the comparison with the hair of women suggests hair on their heads. Perhaps the reference to hair like women's, presumable long hair, is to convey their wildness.
"An old Arab proverb is often quoted which says that the locust has 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 maiden."327
Long hair in biblical times was a sign of glory, so perhaps they have some glory. Lion-like teeth denote voracity.
9:9 Their iron breastplates, which covered the chest and back in John's day, gave them the appearance of invulnerability (cf. v. 17).328The sound of their activity will be terrifying, as the sound of battle is (cf. Joel 2:4-5; 2 Kings 7:6; Jer. 47:3). Indeed their sound signifies battle with earth-dwellers.
9:10 Their ability and their mission to sting people also suggest abnormal characteristics. This verse reprises verse 5. The repetition serves to stress the awfulness of their power to hurt people.
9:11 Their king is the (leading) angel of the abyss. This is further confirmation that the locusts represent demons. The names "Abaddon"in Hebrew and "Apollyon"in Greek both mean "destroyer."329The objective of these demons is to destroy people. God grants this lead creature permission here to carry out his objective against unbelievers as part of God's outpouring of wrath on earth-dwellers (cf. Job 2:6). Probably we should identify this angel as one of the hierarchy of fallen angels that emerges from the abyss with the other demons (cf. Eph. 6:12).330The revelation of his name simply expresses his objective. Identifying him as Satan is tempting,331but the text only calls him an angel. The appearance of Satan later (12:3, 9) is much more dramatic than the introduction of this angel.
This verse is transitional and clarifies that the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpet judgments are also the first, second, and third woes. It is unclear whether the eagle (8:13) or John is the speaker, though John seems the more likely candidate. "After these things"indicates that the woes are consecutive, not simultaneous.
