Revelation 9:13-14

 Then the sixth angel sounded.  And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

·        When nations are ripe for punishment, those instruments of God’s anger that were before restrained are let loose upon them (MH)

·        They are angels especially “prepared” for a specific work of judgment in the end-times. (CS)

 Ezekiel 43:15  The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four horns extending upward from the hearth.

Jeremiah 13:5  So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

Revelation 9:12

 One woe is past.  Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.

·        The worst is yet to come (DG)

·        Woe – a curse

Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked!  It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

Lamentations 5:16  The crown has fallen from our head.  Woe to us, for we have sinned!

Revelation 9:11

 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

·        Satan has a hierarchy, which includes a demonic king over the locusts from the bottomless pit named “Abaddon” (Hebrew) or “Apollyon” (Greek), which means destroyer (English), thus describing his purpose.

·        This king is not Satan, who rules from the heavenly places and not the bottomless pit (Eph. 6:12). He is the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2). Beelzebub is the ruler of the demons (Mt. 12:24). Satan will be thrown into the bottomless pit after Jesus’ coming (Rev. 20:1-3).

 Psalm 17:4  Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.

Daniel 11:14  Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South.  Also, violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall fall.

Revelation 9:10

 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails.  Their power was to hurt men five months.

·        Tails: Power of the sting in their tails (Rev. 9:3, 5, 10)  (CS)

·        They have a set time also.

Deuteronomy 8:15 …who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock….

Psalm 41:7  All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt.

Revelation 9:9

 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.

·        Breastplates: Iron speaks of durability in battle (like the other demons in Rev. 9:17).

·        Wings: Sound of chariots running into battle will cause terror.  (CS)

 Joel 2:4-5 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like swift steeds, so they run.  With a noise like chariots over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array.

Job 20:24  He will flee from the iron weapon; a bronze bow will pierce him through.

Revelation 9:8

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

·        Hair: Like women's hair emphasizes their human appearance.

·        Teeth: Locusts have teeth, but not strong ones like a lion with the ability to tear apart their prey.  (CS)

 Nahum 3:17  Your commanders are like swarming locusts, and your generals like great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges on a cold day; when the sun rises they flee away, and the place where they are is not known.

Joel 1:6  For a nation has come up against My land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion.

Revelation 9:7

 The shape of the locusts was like the horses prepared for battle.  On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.

·        Heads: Crowns with something like gold points to their supremacy (Rev. 14:14).

·        Faces: Human faces emphasize that these demons have human abilities like intelligence and emotion.  If these demons were men then they would not be likened to men.  (CS)

 Daniel 7:8  I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.

Joel 1:6  For a nation has come up against My land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion.