Revelation 9 with References

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer). And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.


And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.


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. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the door frame and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”


They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer). Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.


During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. To those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the Lord Almighty.’ They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!


The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. Your guards are like locusts, your officials like swarms of locusts that settle in the walls on a cold day—but when the sun appears they fly away, and no one knows where. “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness.


They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course.


They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.


They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer), in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God.The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.
And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.


The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number. The chariots of God are tens of thousandsand thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains. Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung;
their horses’ hooves seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue.

A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.

The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury. The elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and arouse his anger by what your hands have made.” They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.’ They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God—gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods. No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.