Revelation 9:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth;

NIV: Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.

NASB: They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.

CSB: they had hair like women's hair; their teeth were like lions' teeth;

NLT: They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion.

KJV: And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

NKJV: They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.

The description of the locusts that ascend from the bottomless pit continues in this verse. John writes that their hair resembles women's hair. This could possibly be about their manes, because John saw the locusts as appearing like horses (Revelation 9:7).

John also writes in verse 8 that the locusts' teeth were like the teeth of lions. This description concurs with Joel's prophetic description of the invading army from the north. Joel 1:6 says, "A nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions' teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness." The reference to lions' teeth emphasizes the ferocity of these demonic locusts. However, despite their appearance and potential destructive force, they cannot afflict God's people. Their mission is to torment "only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads" (Revelation 9:4). Believers have nothing to fear because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Revelation 9:7–12 more thoroughly describes the locust-like beings which ascend from the bottomless pit. They appear like horses galloping into battle. They have something on their heads resembling crowns. Their faces are humanlike; their hair is like women's hair; and they have teeth like lions' teeth. Their chests seem to be iron plated, and the noise of their wings sounds like chariots and horses rushing into battle. They torment humans for five months, and their leader is Apollyon. Joel 2:1–11 prophesies an invasion of locusts, sharing similarities to the description in this passage, and adding details some suggest are references to modern machines of war.

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.''

Accessed 5/5/2024 5:32:05 AM