Revelation 9:7

9:1-12 Upon sounding the fifth trumpet, a star fell from heaven to the earth. Having ceased to be a minister of Christ, he who is represented by this star becomes the minister of the devil; and lets loose the powers of hell against the churches of Christ. On the opening of the bottomless pit, there arose a great smoke. The devil carries on his designs by blinding the eyes of men, by putting out light and knowledge, and promoting ignorance and error. Out of this smoke there came a swarm of locusts, emblems of the devil's agents, who promote superstition, idolatry, error, and cruelty. The trees and the grass, the true believers, whether young or more advanced, should be untouched. But a secret poison and infection in the soul, should rob many others of purity, and afterwards of peace. The locusts had no power to hurt those who had the seal of God. God's all-powerful, distinguishing grace will keep his people from total and final apostacy. The power is limited to a short season; but it would be very sharp. In such events the faithful share the common calamity, but from the pestilence of error they might and would be safe. We collect from Scripture, that such errors were to try and prove the Christians, 1Co 11:19. And early writers plainly refer this to the first great host of corrupters who overspread the Christian church.

{7} And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. (7) The form of these hellish spirits and administers, is outlined by signs and visible figures in this manner: that they are very expert and swift: that wherever they are in the world, the kingdom is theirs: that they manage all their affairs with cunning and skill, in this verse: that making show of mildness and tender affection to draw on men with, they most impudently rage in all mischief: that they are most mighty to do hurt Re 9:8 that they are freed from being hurt by any man, as armed with the colour of religion and sacred authority of privilege: that they fill all things with horror, Re 9:9 that they are fraudulent: that they are poisonous and extremely offensive though their power is limited. Re 9:10. All these things are found in the infernal powers and communicated by them to their ministers and vassals.

Revelation 9:7-9. The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle — In this and the two following verses, the nature and qualities of these locusts are described, partly in allusion to the properties of natural locusts and the description given of them by Joel, and partly in allusion to the habits and manners of the Arabians, to show that not real but figurative locusts were here intended. The first quality mentioned is their being like unto horses prepared unto battle; which is copied from Joel 2:4 . The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, &c. Many authors have observed that the head of a locust resembles that of a horse. The Italians, therefore, call them cavalette, as it were little horses. The Arabians too have in all ages been famous for their horses and horsemanship. Their strength is well known to consist chiefly in their cavalry. Another distinguishing mark and character is their having on their heads as it were crowns like gold — Which is an allusion to the headdress of the Arabians, who have constantly worn turbans or mitres, and boast of having those ornaments for their common attire, which are crowns and diadems with other people. The crowns also signify the kingdoms and dominions which they should acquire. For, as Mede excellently observes, “No nation had ever so wide a command, nor ever were so many kingdoms, so many regions subjugated in so short a space of time.

It sounds incredible, yet most true it is, that in the space of eighty or not many more years, they subdued and acquired to the diabolical kingdom of Mohammed, Palestine, Syria, both Armenias, almost all Asia Minor, Persia, India, Egypt, Numidia, all Barbary, even to the river Niger, Portugal, Spain. Neither did their fortune or ambition stop here till they had added also a great part of Italy, as far as to the gates of Rome; moreover, Sicily, Candia, Cyprus, and the other islands of the Mediterranean sea. Good God! how great a tract of land! how many crowns were here! Whence also it is worthy of observation, that mention is not made here, as in other trumpets, of the third part; forasmuch as this plague fell no less without the bounds of the Roman empire than within it, and extended itself even to the remotest Indies.” They had also faces as the faces of men, and hair as the hair of women — And the Arabians wore their beards, or at least mustaches, as men; while the hair of their heads was flowing, or platted like that of women; as Pliny and other ancient authors testify. Another property, copied from Joel, is their having teeth as the teeth of lions; that is, strong to devour. So Joel describes the locusts, (chap. Revelation 1:6 ,) as a nation whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, &c.; and it is wonderful how they bite and gnaw all things, as Pliny says, even the doors of the houses.

Shapes (ὁμοιώματα) Lit., likenesses. Horses Compare Joel 2:4. The likeness of a locust to a horse, especially to a horse equipped with armor, is so striking that the insect is named in German Heupferd hay-horse, and in Italian calvaletta little horse. Crowns Not actual crowns, but as crowns. Milligan remarks that any yellow brilliancy about the head of the insect is a sufficient foundation for the figure. As the faces of men There is a distant resemblance to the human countenance in the face of the locust. Men (ἀνθρώπων) is to be taken not as distinguishing sex, but in the generic sense: human faces.

This whole description of these locusts speaks them no insects, but to be mischievous men; they were very terrible to look upon, like horses harnessed ready to fight; so Joel 2:4 . And upon their heads were as it were crowns like gold; this signified they should be great and rich conquerors. And their faces were as the faces of men; yet these were men.

7 . like unto horses ] See Joel 2:4 . Probably that passage is only a highly idealised description of a natural swarm of locusts, and the verse cited refers to the resemblance in shape of the locust’s head, and perhaps the legs, to a horse’s. It is doubtful whether the words “ prepared unto battle ” (more accurately “ unto war ”) suggest comparison between the frame of the locust and the plate-armour of a horse: such armour was rarely used in ancient times. More probably the comparison here is to the discipline of the locust host: as in Joel 2:7-8 . as it were crowns like gold ] Lit. as it were crowns like unto gold —perhaps a mere golden mark, such as it is quite possible a real insect might have. But, their faces were as the faces of men ] Marks them distinctly as differing from real locusts. The word used for “men” means, in classical Greek at least, “human beings,” not necessarily males. But in Hellenistic Greek it is not infrequently used in opposition to women, and probably the next clause marks it so here.

Revelation 9:7 . Arabian poets compare locusts in head to the horse, in breast to the lion, in feet to the camel, in body to the snake, in antennæ to a girl’s long, waving hair. The resemblance of the head in locusts and in horses has been often noticed ( Cavalleta, Italian ), and their hard scales resemble plates of equine armour. The rest of the description is partly fanciful (“crowns gleaming like gold,” human faces; yet cf. Pl. H. N. vi. 28, Arabes mitrati degunt, aut intonsa crine), partly ( Revelation 9:8-9 ) true to nature (woman’s hair [ i.e. , abundant and flowing, a well-known trait of the Parthians and Persians], and lion-like teeth, scaly plates on the thorax, and rustling or whirring noises), partly ( Revelation 9:10 ) recapitulatory (= Revelation 9:5 ; note ὁμοίας σκορπίοις , an abbreviated comparison like Homer’s κόμαι Χαρίτεσσιν ὁμοῖαι ), partly ( Revelation 9:11 ) imaginative ( cf. Proverbs 30:27 ). The leader of these demons is the angel of the inferno from which they issue. His name is Abaddon ( cf. Exp. Times , xx. 234 f.), a Heb. equivalent for שׁאול personified like death and Hades. The final syllable of the name is taken to represent as in Greek, a personal ending. Hence the LXX rendering ἀπώλεια probably suggested the synonym Ἀπολλύων , containing a (sarcastic?) gibe at Apollo with whom the locust was associated (“uelut proprium nomen Caesaribus,” Suet. Oct. 29); cf. Schol. on Aesch. Agam. 1085 and Plato’s Cratylus , 404, 405.

(7) And the shapes . . . —Translate, And the shapes (or, forms) of the locusts were like horses made ready for war. The resemblance of the locust to the horse (especially in the head) has been remarked upon by travellers, and has found expression in the Italian and German names cavalletta and heupferd. The resemblance is more distinct when the horses are made ready for battle: the hard shell or scales of the locust having the appearance of armour. Hence it has been thought that the sacred writer here alludes to this horse-like appearance of the locust. It seems a little doubtful that this is the case, or that in this or any of the descriptions here there is any reference to the anatomical features of the locust. (See Note on Revelation 9:10 .) And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.—Here again there has been a desire to find some physical appearance in the locust to suggest the crown of gold: the antennae, the rugged elevation in the middle of the thorax, have been imagined to have some resemblance to a crown; and the face of the locust, it has actually been said, bears under ordinary circumstances a distant (the adjective is most needful) resemblance to the human countenance.

7. prepared unto battle—Greek, "made ready unto war." Compare Note, see on [2695]Joe 2:4, where the resemblance of locusts to horses is traced: the plates of a horse armed for battle are an image on a larger scale of the outer shell of the locust. crowns—(Na 3:17). Elliott explains this of the turbans of Mohammedans. But how could turbans be "like gold?" Alford understands it of the head of the locusts actually ending in a crown-shaped fillet which resembled gold in its material. as the faces of men—The "as" seems to imply the locusts here do not mean men. At the same time they are not natural locusts, for these do not sting men (Re 9:5). They must be supernatural.