Revelation 9:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.

NIV: And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.

NASB: Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

CSB: Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the earth.

NLT: Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions.

KJV: And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

NKJV: Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

This verse reports that "locusts" emerge from the billowing smoke that arises from the bottomless pit. Later verses will expand this description, showing that these creatures only bear resemblance to insects. Some interpreters even suggest that John might have seen military machines from the future.

John would have been familiar with a plague of locusts. These voracious insects often troubled the Middle East. Sometimes clouds of locusts were so dense that they blotted out the sun and covered so much of the land that scarcely a square inch was untouched. Exodus 10:12–20 identifies the eighth plague the Lord imposed on Egypt in the time of Moses as a plague of locusts. The swarm of locusts was so thick that it covered the entire land of Egypt and darkened it. When the locusts had eaten all the vegetation, not a green thing remained.

However, the locusts John saw were far different from the ordinary kind. As this verse states, they received "power like the power of scorpions." The most potent ability of a scorpion is its sting: painful with venom that inflames the nerves. The ill-effects of the sting may last for days. This passage will continue to explain the terrible effects of these demonic creatures.

Revelation 9:1–6 tells what happens when the fifth angel blows his trumpet. This trumpet judgment is more severe than the previous trumpet judgments. A star, presumably Satan, falls from heaven and receives a key to the bottomless pit. He uses the key to release a demonic force of locusts that torment unbelievers for five months. The torment is so severe that people seek death but are unable to find it. The verses that follow describe the locusts and tell what happens when the sixth angel blows his trumpet.

Revelation 9 tells us that under the fifth trumpet judgment John sees a star fall from heaven to earth. This ''star'' is Satan, and he is given the key to the bottomless pit. Using this key, Satan unleashes a plague of supernatural demons resembling locusts. They torment unbelievers for five months with such pain that people seek death unsuccessfully. They appear like horses prepared for battle, and they have a king, whose name is Apollyon, meaning ''Destroyer.'' Under the sixth trumpet judgment John sees four angels released from the Euphrates river. Their release coincides with a horde of two hundred million demonic mounted troops that kill a third of mankind. However, the survivors refuse to abandon their idolatry and to repent of their evil deeds.

The ninth chapter of Revelation continues the report of what happens when the seven angels blow their trumpets. Chapter 8 described the first four trumpet judgments; chapter 9 reports the fifth and sixth. The events in chapter 9 are much more severe than those which came before. The severity of judgments increases dramatically with each trumpet blast. These judgments precede the final series of events, called the bowl judgments. Revelation chapters 15 and 16 will reveal what happens under these judgments.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''