Revelation 9:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

NIV: They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

NASB: They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

CSB: They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only those people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads.

NLT: They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

KJV: And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

NKJV: They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Prior verses described Satan being given a key to a bottomless pit. Using this key, he releases a swarm of demonic creatures first compared to locusts. In the ancient world, massive swarms of locusts could devastate crops and obliterate food supplies. These creatures are not insects, however, and they have a much different purpose. They are described as having a power like that of scorpions, known for their sting, and later verses expound on their terrible appearance.

We learn from this verse that the locust-like demons John saw were told not to target vegetation but only unbelievers, those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. God protects His children. Psalm 91 declares this truth. The psalmist writes: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty…For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence" (Psalm 91:1–3). In verses 9–10, the psalmist writes: "Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent."

Of course, a believer may experience illness, injury, and even death, but only if the Lord allows it. When He does allow adversity and death, it always works for the believer's good. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). From prison the apostle Paul testified: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

The specific mission of these creatures, and the narrow effect they have, is one challenge to interpreting later descriptions as a reference to modern war machines.

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.''