Revelation 9 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 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. 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). The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.
John now describes the locusts that have invaded the earth. We can only imagine what these creatures look like. They almost look like something from Star Wars. It would not be hard to conclude that these are aliens, but I won’t say that lest I be ridiculed for poor exegesis. Rather than try to figure them out exactly, we can start with the broadest stroke of the brush and see the affect they bring, which is terror. The crowns of gold could be helmets like soldiers or could represent power. These creatures appear to be human, suggesting intelligence or recognition. Their teeth like lions implies viciousness. They are protected by breast plates of iron. All of this suggests danger. Their tails that sting suggests pain. Their ability to give this pain is limited to five month. Their king is destroyer.
The picture that comes to one’s mind with this description is not pleasant. We have become numbed to such images because of our exposure to science fiction movies or books. John did not have such stories to draw upon. This image would be terrifying to people of that day, as it should be for people today. This is not a story one should read to small children. What is the purpose of this paragraph? The warning becomes stronger with each of the trumpets and each of the woes. This is the first woe of three. These chapters are like a descent into a hole that keeps getting deeper and darker. That is a good description of sin. It gets deeper and darker until it consumes us. Sin and rebellion are consuming the human race in these chapters. Sadly, this is a picture of much of our world today. We should read these chapters and develop a sense of dread for sin.
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