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. like unto horses ] See Joe 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 Joe 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for battle – The resemblance between the locust and the horse, dissimilar as they are in most respects, has been often remarked. Dr. Robinson (Bib. Research. i. 59) says: We found today upon the shrubs an insect, either a species of black locust, or much resembling them, which our Bedouin called Farras el Jundy, soldiers horses. They said these insects were common on Mount Sinai, of a green color, and were found on dead trees, but did them no injury. The editor of the Pictorial Bible makes the following remarks: – The first time we saw locusts browsing with their wings closed, the idea of comparing them to horses arose spontaneously to our minds – as we had not previously met with such a comparison, and did not at that time advert to the present text Joe 2:4. The resemblance in the head first struck our attention; and this notion having once arisen, other analogies were found or imagined in its general appearance and action in feeding. We have since found the observation very common. The Italians, indeed, from this resemblance, called the locust cavaletta, or little horse. Sir W. Ouseley reports: Zakaria Cazvine divides the locusts into two classes, like horsemen and footmen – mounted and pedestrian. Niebuhr says that he heard from a Bedouin, near Bussorah, a particular comparison of the locust to other animals; but as this passage of Scripture did not occur to him at the time he thought it a mere fancy of the Arabs, until he heard it repeated at Baghdad. He compared the head of the locust to that of the horse; the feet to those of the camel; the belly with that of a serpent; the tail with that of a scorpion; and the feelers (if Niebuhr remembered rightly) to the hair of a virgin (Pict. Bib. on Joe 2:4). The resemblance to horses would naturally suggest the idea of cavalry, as being referred to by the symbol.
And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold – The writer does not say either that these were literally crowns, or that they were actually made of gold. They were as it were ( hos) crowns, and they were like ( homoioi) gold. That is, as seen by him, they had a resemblance to crowns or diadems, and they also resembled gold in their color and brilliancy. The word crown – stephanos – means properly a circlet, chaplet, encircling the head:
(a)As an emblem of royal dignity, and as worn by kings;
(b)As conferred on victors in the public games – a chaplet, a wreath;
(c)As an ornament, honor, or glory, Phi 4:1.
No particular shape is designated by the word stephanos and perhaps the word crown does not quite express the meaning. The word diadem would come nearer to it. The true notion in the word is that of something that is passed around the head, and that encircles it, and as such it would well describe the appearance of a turban as seen at a distance. On the supposition that the symbolic beings here referred to had turbans on their heads, and on the supposition that something was referred to which was not much worn in the time of John, and, therefore, that had no name, the word stephanos, or diadem, would be likely to be used in describing it. This, too, would accord with the use of the phrase as it were – hos. The writer saw such head-ornaments as he was accustomed to see. They Were not exactly crowns or diadems, but they had a resemblance to them, and he therefore uses this language: and on their heads were as it were crowns. Suppose that these were turbans, and that they were not in common use in the time of John, and that they had, therefore, no name, would not this be the exact language which he would use in describing them? The same remarks may be made respecting the other expression.
Like gold – They were not pure gold, but they had a resemblance to it. Would not a yellow turban correspond with all that is said in this description?
And their faces were as the faces of men – They had a human countenance. This would indicate that, after all, they were human beings that the symbol described, though they had come up from the bottomless pit. Horsemen, in strange apparel, with a strange head-dress, would be all that would be properly denoted by this.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. The locusts were like unto horses] This description of the locusts appears to be taken from Joe 2:4. The whole of this symbolical description of an overwhelming military force agrees very well with the troops of Mohammed. The Arabs are the most expert horsemen in the world: they live so much on horseback that the horse and his rider seem to make but one animal. The Romans also were eminent for their cavalry.
Crowns like gold] Not only alluding to their costly tiaras or turbans, but to the extent of their conquests and the multitude of powers which they subdued.
Their faces were as the faces of men.] That is, though locusts symbolically, they are really men.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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 Joe 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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. prepared unto battleGreek,“made ready unto war.” Compare Note, see on Joe2:4, where the resemblance of locusts to horses is traced: theplates of a horse armed for battle are an image on a larger scale ofthe outer shell of the locust.
crowns (Na3:17). ELLIOTTexplains this of the turbans of Mohammedans. But how couldturbans be “like gold?” ALFORDunderstands it of the head of the locusts actually ending in acrown-shaped fillet which resembled gold in its material.
as the faces of menThe”as” seems to imply the locusts here do not mean men.At the same time they are not natural locusts, for these do not stingmen (Re 9:5). They mustbe supernatural.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the shapes of the locusts [were] like unto horses,…. The heads of locusts, especially of some of them, are very much like the heads of horses: and here they are compared to horses
prepared unto battle; as they are in Joe 2:4. The horse is a warlike creature, swift, strong, and courageous, Job 39:21. Locusts sometimes have appeared in the form of armies, and have marched in great order with their leaders before them, and have pitched their camps very regularly; see Joe 2:7; of which we have lately had an account from Transylvania in our public papers. (This was published in 1747, Ed.) This part of their description may denote the wars of the Saracens, and the rapidity, force, and power with which they overran great part of the empire; and as it may be applied to the western locusts, the disputes, contentions, and quarrels raised by the Romish clergy.
And on their heads [were], as it were, crowns like gold; and in this shape some locusts have appeared, to which the allusion seems to be in, Na 3:17, “thy crowned men are as the locusts”. In the year 1542, it is said l, that locusts came out of Turkish Sarmatia, into Austria, Silesia, and other places, which had on their heads “little crowns”; see Eze 23:42. And the Arabians, as Pliny observes, go “mitrati” m, with mitres, turbans like crowns, on their heads. This may design the several victories and conquests which the Saracens obtained in Arabia, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, Spain, and many other places; and supposing this to have any reference to the western locusts, it may respect the triple crown of the head of then, the caps of the cardinals, the mitres of the bishops, and the shaven pates of the priests, in form of crowns.
And their faces [were] as the faces of men; which may be expressive of the affable carriage of Mahomet, and his followers, especially to the Christians, and of his great pretensions to holiness and religion, and of the plausible and insinuating ways, and artful methods, used by him, to gain upon men; and being applied to the clergy of the church of Rome, may denote their show of humanity, and their pretended great concern for the welfare of the souls of men, their flatteries, good words, and fair speeches, with which they deceive the simple and unwary.
l Vid. Frentz. Hist. Animal. sacr. p. 5. c. 4. p. 799. m Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The shapes ( ). Old word from , to make like (from , like), likeness, in N.T. only here, Rom 5:14; Phil 2:7, “the likenesses were like” (). H is “midway between and ” (Lightfoot).
Unto horses (). Associative-instrumental case, as is the rule with (Rev 1:15; Rev 2:18; Rev 4:6; Rev 9:10; Rev 9:19; Rev 11:1; Rev 13:2; Rev 13:11), but with the accusative in Rev 1:13; Rev 14:14. So also (like gold) in this same verse.
Prepared for war ( ). Perfect passive participle of . This imagery of war-horses is like that in Joe 2:4f. “The likeness of a locust to a horse, especially to a horse equipped with armour, is so striking that the insect is named in German Heupferd (hay horse), and in Italian cavalett a little horse” (Vincent).
As it were crowns ( ). Not actual crowns, but what looked like crowns of gold, as conquerors, as indeed they were (Rev 4:4; Rev 6:2; Rev 12:1; Rev 14:14). These locusts of the abyss have another peculiar feature.
As men’s faces ( ). Human-looking faces in these demonic locusts to give added terror, “suggesting the intelligence and capacity of man” (Swete). Vincent actually sees “a distinct resemblance to the human countenance in the face of the locust.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Shapes [] . Lit., likenesses.
Horses. Compare Joe 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 [] is to be taken not as distinguishing sex, but in the generic sense : human faces.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And the shapes of the locusts,” (kai ta homoiomata ton akridon) “And the likeness (appearances shape) of the locusts; This is a comparison with the Arab horses, familiar to the Arabs in battle array, Nah 3:17.
2) “Were like unto horses prepared unto battle,” (homoioi hippois hetoimasmenois eis polemon) “(was) similar to that (of) horses already prepared (geared) for war,” moving in ranked array having war-gear or armor of protection from spears and swords and sharp instruments. The Greeks called it “the horse of the earth,” Joe 2:4; Pro 30:27.
3) “And on their heads,” (kai epi tas kephales auton) “And upon their (the horses’) heads; or locusts’ heads, similar to an horse’s head, with head-gear for warfare.
4) “Were as it were crowns of gold,” (hos stephanoi homoioi chruso) “A likeness appeared as crown’s of gold; the crown of gold symbolizes kingly rulers, Rev 16:12.
5) “And their faces were as the faces of men,” (kai ta prosopa auton hos prosopa anthropon) “And their faces (of the locusts) had the likeness in appearance of men,” Nah 3:17-18; Dan 7:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(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 Rev. 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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Shapes A minute description of the locust-demons. In nearly every point there is some basis in the natural locust; but some additional trait both shows them supernatural and suggests the symbolic signification. Infernal, soul-corrupting errors and lies are belligerent like horses prepared for battle; are dominant as with crowns; have very intelligent and plausible-looking faces; are winning, like women, but biting as with teeth of lions; they are self-fortified, as with breastplates; their sounding wings indicate their infinite number and their readiness for moral but not slaughtering battle; their stings indicate what miseries they en tail upon the unsealed and profane. Sin is often beautiful to sight, but has ever a sting in its tail.
Like unto as as The repeated as in this whole description must be specially noted. It indicates in each case resemblance, not a reality.
These locusts were only as horses, not real horsemen, such as meet us in Rev 9:16. It is a moral, or rather immoral, army that is here symbolized. Naturalists have remarked the resemblance of the locust to a horse. Hence he is called in German a heupferd, a grass- horse. So Joel, (Joe 2:4,) describing locusts, says, “Their appearance is as the appearance of horses.”
Crowns like gold ”Probably means the horns (antlers, feelers) of the locust tipped with yellow, that is, with a golden colour, and these are in all probability here called crowns to show that they are the emblems of victorious and irresistible march.”
Faces as of men However devilish or brutal in nature, error must wear an intelligent, rational, and humanized look. A distant resemblance in the locust to a human face is the natural base that suggests the symbol.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the shapes of the locusts were like horses made ready for war, and on their heads were, as it were, crowns similar to gold, and their faces were like men’s faces. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war. And they have tails like scorpions, and stings. And in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.’
The locusts, invisible to mankind, are a mixture of strength and false piety. Their pseudo-golden crowns imitate the twenty four elders, their pseudo men’s faces imitate the living creatures, long hair on men would be connected with the dedication to God of the Nazarites (Num 6:5). Thus they represent the anti-Heaven and their dedication is to Satan. But really they are like fearsome war horses, they have lions’ teeth, they wear breastplates as of iron, they sound like the rushing of chariots and they have the sting of scorpions. In other words they have great power, are belligerent and are damaging to man.
‘Like horses made ready for war — like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war’. This picture has in mind Joe 2:4-5, where Joel is speaking of a fearsome race, probably of locusts, who will invade Jerusalem. It is a symbol of fierce attack.
For ‘the teeth of lions’, compare Joe 1:6. Joel is there describing the invasion of the ‘people’ who would cause the earth to quake, the heavens to tremble, the sun and moon to be darkened and the stars to withdraw their shining (Joe 2:10). Here they are changed into equally fearsome spiritual assailants.
‘Crowns similar to gold, their faces like men’s faces’. This is in contrast to the genuine ‘crowns of gold’ of the elders (Rev 4:4) and the face of a man of the living creature (Rev 4:7). Their crowns are sham and their faces imitational. They are not the real thing.
‘As it were a breastplate of iron’, a demonstration of strength and destruction, in contrast with the breastplate of righteousness (Isa 59:17; Eph 6:14). They are hard, unloving creatures.
Stated not to be exact descriptions they demonstrate that these creatures are not earthly, and mimic what God offers, while not enjoying the real thing. What they have is fading and unreal. But this does not mean that we can ignore the great danger they represent. We should thank God that His people are protected from them. In all this symbolism we are to see something fierce, and yet inadequate, strong, and yet held in restraint, vicious and without pity, but pitiful, attacking men’s minds and thoughts and bringing them to agony and despair.
They may also be responsible for dreadful physical ailments, compare the woman whom Satan ‘bound’ for eighteen years (Luk 13:16), and the mental ailments that produced such men as Hitler and other mass killers. As mentioned they are almost certainly invisible to us and the description is highly symbolic.
We are told by Peter that even in his day the Devil stalked around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1Pe 5:8). This similar description stresses that he has many minions who stalk round with him. Peter knew it as happening in his time. It happens too today. Those who do not bear the seal of God have reason to fear their activity. There is no reason for limiting these activities to ‘the end days’ except in so far as the whole Christian era is the end days.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 9:7-10 . Only now, after John has described how he has seen the miraculous locusts rise from the abyss, and what plagues they are to bring, does he proceed to describe the extraordinary phenomenon more minutely and fully. An essential feature in this description, Rev 9:10 , has express reference to what is said in Rev 9:3-5 : in other respects the individual points of the description are not to be urged, as the context itself not only does not suggest a special interpretation, which must prove allegorical, but rather excludes it; e.g., there is no question as to something special according to Rev 9:3 sqq., either as to the teeth of lions, or the hair of women. The infernal locusts are to torment men only after the manner of scorpions (Rev 9:10 ); of a biting, as with the teeth of lions, nothing whatever is said. But if individual features be pressed in violation of the context, manifest preposterous interpretations follow; as, e.g., the reference of the teeth of lions to the erroneous doctrines and calumniations with which heretics have lacerated the orthodox church. [2560] That which is aimed at is the general impression in a description, in which the actual form of natural locusts lies, in a certain way, at the foundation. These infernal locusts, however dreadful their supernatural form, are nevertheless always to be known as locusts; only in what is described in Rev 9:10 , they have a wonderful peculiarity of their form corresponding to the plagues committed to them (Rev 9:3 sqq.), which is without all natural analogy.
. Incorrectly, Hengstenb. and Ew. ii.: their likeness. designates regularly [2561] the product of an , i e, the form so far as it is just like a model. [2562] The forms of the locusts were like . . This pertains to the forms as a whole. Cf. Joe 2:4 . In books of travel, it is expressly noted, that the form of the locust has a certain resemblance to that of a horse. [2563] The similarity is especially manifest if we think of the horse as equipped ( . .), so that its head rises from the breastplate like the head of the locust from its thorax (Rev 9:9 ).
. . . . From the fact that the natural locust has nothing on its head that looks like a crown, it does not follow that the . . are nothing else than the polished helmets of soldiers, who are to be understood under the allegory of locusts. [2564] . does not mean helmets; and even if there were some ground, in general, for such allegory, yet, at all events, the individual features of the allegory as such could first be harmoniously comprehended, and afterwards be obtained in their individual points. But any mingling of (assumed) allegory and literal statement is to be rejected; and hence the exposition is entirely inadmissible which ascribes helmets, meant literally, to locusts, meant allegorically. The same fundamental principle applies to the other features of the description; so that, e.g., the hair, like the hair of women, ascribed to the locusts, could not be the long hair of barbarian warriors. [2565]
The supposition is readily suggested, that also the words . ., . . . , contain an allusion to the natural form of the locust. But even if John says that upon the heads of the locusts there was something “like gold-like crowns” ( . . , cf. Rev 4:6 ), he could scarcely have thought of the two antennae about an inch long; [2566] it is more probable, [2567] that the rather strong, jagged elevation, which of course is situated, not on the head, but in the middle of the thorax, [2568] but which in the popular view, not readily distinguishing the line of division between head and thorax, may appear as if upon the head of the insect, serves as the natural type. The yellowish-green brilliant coloring of that elevation of the thorax may then have given John the natural opportunity for describing that which is crown-like on the heads of the demoniacal locusts as . .
. . The expressly marked comparison dare be denied here as little as the other features of the description. Hengstenb, therefore, is incorrect when, like the older allegorists, not only mistaking the simple comparison for an (imaginary) allegory, but also confounding the literal with an allegorical interpretation, he says, “Their faces were like the faces of men, since a fearful look, the dreadful look of men, shines through the look of locusts. In fact, they were actually faces of men.” The text nowhere says this, but gives an idea of the faces of the demoniacal locusts by representing them as like the faces of men. This also has its natural foundation in the fact, that the head of the locust has actually a faint resemblance to the human profile. [2569] The more strongly this similarity is regarded, as expressed in the supernatural locusts whose entire form has in it something monstrous, the more dreadful must it appear.
. This feature of the description also is to be apprehended in the same way as the preceding. The words . . are intended only relatively; the point of comparison, however, can lie only in the length of the hair, since long hair is peculiar to women, not to men. [2570] In the description which is intended only to make visible the fact that the miraculous locusts have long hair like that of women, there is no special allegorical reference, either to the long hair as it is found in barbarian warriors, [2571] or to the fact that “the spirits of darkness,” or men serving as their instruments, “look so mildly and tenderly from beneath the tresses of women,” while back of these locks they conceal the teeth of lions. [2572] Every thing upon which such allegorical interpretation must lay importance has been improperly introduced. It may appear doubtful whether John, in representing the wonderfully long hair of the supernatural locusts, thinks of it according to the analogy of the antennae of the natural locusts, as is most simple, or whether he understands the hair in the other parts of the body, e.g., the legs; [2573] but it is certain, that if the context is otherwise to be regarded as harmonious and free from perplexity, every other reference, except that indicated by the simple comparison, is to be regarded out of place.
. . . Joel already (Rev 1:6 ) ascribes the teeth of lions to natural locusts. There, as here, nothing else is illustrated but the desolating voraciousness, but not “the rage of the enemy.” [2574] This feature is highly significant in order to answer to the figure of locusts as such, but, like what is said in Rev 9:7 , is entirely irrelevant in reference to the particular plague which is to be brought by the infernal locusts (Rev 9:3 sqq.).
. . . . Incorrectly, Hengstenb.: “The iron cuirasses show how difficult it is to approach these horsemen.” Instead of the breastplate of natural locusts, to which natural history has given the significant name thorax , [2575] the supernatural locusts have a cuirass compared only with a coat of mail.
. . , . . . Like natural, these demoniacal locusts also have wings, whose rushing is very naturally [2576] illustrated by the comparison, . In these words neither the [2577] nor the [2578] is to be regarded as interpolated, since the idea “as the sound of chariots of many horses running to war,” is as readily understood as it is throughout suitable. Yet it dare not be said, that, while the rattling of the wagons corresponds to the whizzing of the locusts, the horses are specially mentioned, “because the mass of riders, and not of wagons, are the proper antitype of the locusts.” [2579] Already the expression, in which the belongs to . as its subjective genitive, forbids the distinction made in the interests of a perverted (allegorizing) collective view. The entire noise, which is caused as well by the chariot-wheels, as also by the hoofs of the horses driven in the chariots, is designated, since it is designedly that not the chariots alone are mentioned.
. . The Comparatio compendiaria [2580] states that tails of the locusts are like the tails of scorpions; in connection with which, the particular ( ) is expressly marked, that is the special subject of consideration. Beng., Hengstenb., [2581] are not willing, however, to acknowledge any breviloquence, but regard the locusts’ tails as the (entire) scorpions, and appeal to Rev 9:19 . But in the latter passage, where the subject refers to heads and mouths situated in the serpent-like tails of the horses, not only the context in general, but also the special determination . , forbids us finding in the words . a comparatio compendiaria ; while, in Rev 9:10 , the intention and expression lead to this most simple mode of statement.
. . . . , . . . The inf. . explains the power in the tails furnished with scorpion-like stings. [2582] It is worthy of observation, how this last feature again reverts to the description of the same plagues as are commanded in Rev 9:3 sqq.; [2583] and thus the whole appears to be harmoniously rounded off. Also the designation is repeated from Rev 9:5 , in order once more to emphatically mention that the infernal beasts, with their scorpion-like equipment and power, are to plague men after the manner of locusts during five full months. [See Note LVII, p. 292.]
[2560] Calov., etc.
[2561] Cf. Winer, p. 89.
[2562] Cf. Eze 1:16 ; Eze 10:21 , where the Heb. stands; Rom 1:23 ; Phi 2:7 .
[2563] Cf. Winer, Rwb ., i. 575.
[2564] Eichh., Heinr.
[2565] Against Vitr., etc.
[2566] Ewald.
[2567] Cf. Zll., De Wette.
[2568] Cf. Winer in loc .
[2569] Cf. Zll., Ew., De Wette.
[2570] Cf. 1Co 11:14 sq. Winer, Rwb ., i. 527.
[2571] As even De Wette tries to establish, although properly rejecting the interpretation of the locusts as warriors.
[2572] Ebrard.
[2573] Ewald.
[2574] Hengstenb.
[2575] De Wette.
[2576] Cf. Joe 2:5 . Winer, Rwb., in loc .
[2577] De Wette.
[2578] Ew. i.
[2579] Hengstenb.
[2580] Cf. Rev 13:11 ; Mat 5:20 .
[2581] Cf. also Winer, p. 579; De Wette.
[2582] Cf. Rev 6:8 .
[2583] Ewald, Hengstenb.
NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR
LVII. Rev 9:7-10
For a very full and condensed statement of the devastations caused by locusts, and their peculiarities, in which some of the features here detailed appear, see Pusey on Joe 2 . The significance of the individual features is thus briefly interpreted by Luthardt: “At the basis of the description, there lies, for the most part, reality; but it is increased to what is monstrous and terrible. ‘On their heads, as it were crowns of gold;’ i.e., they are mighty powers. ‘Their faces were as the faces of men;’ i.e., they are intellectual beings, intelligences. ‘They had hair as the hair of women;’ i.e., they are seductive powers. ‘Their teeth were as the teeth of lions;’ i.e., back of their seductive appearance is inevitable destruction. Cf. Joe 1:6 . ‘They had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron;’ i.e., they are unassailable. ‘The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle;’ i.e., they rush like military squadrons irresistibly. Cf. Joe 2:5 . ‘Tails like unto scorpions;’ i.e., malicious force inflicting injury backwards.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
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.
Ver. 7. Like unto horses ] Fed and fierce, to run and rush into the battle, as being driven by the devil. Si videris persecutorem tuum nimis saevientem, scito quia ab ascensore suo daemone perurgetur. (Bernard.)
Were as it were crowns ] Triple crowns, mitres, head tires, shaven crowns; which last is a ceremony so bald, that some priests in France are now ashamed of the mark, and few of them have it that can handsomely avoid it. (Spec. Europ.)
As the faces of men ] “But beware of men,”Mat 10:17Mat 10:17 . See the note there. Yea, beware of those that are looked upon as good men, who yet may act for Satan and not discern it, Mat 16:23 . The temptation lies in this, when angels from heaven, men of singular parts and piety, preach other doctrines, Gal 1:6 ; 2Co 11:15 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 .] The Apostle now returns to the description of the locusts themselves. And the shapes (so E. V., rightly: not, the likenesses . is the product of : the finished form of any thing which is made like ( ) to any pattern. See Winer, edn. 6, 16. A. 2, ) of the locusts ( were ) like horses made ready for war (this resemblance, cf. ref. Joel, , has been noticed by travellers. Winer, Realw. art. Heuschrecken , refers to Niebuhr, Beschreibung, 173. Ewald gives other references, and says, “refert omnino animal equini corporis qudam similia, unde nostris etiam Heupferd dici notum est.” And especially does it hold good when the horse is equipped for war; the plates of the horse’s armour being represented by the hard lamin of the outer shell of the locust: see below, Rev 9:9 ), and on their heads as it were crowns like unto gold (it is not easy to say what this part of the description imports. Elliott tries to apply it to the turban: but granting some latitude to , the will hardly bear this. The appearance of a turban, even when ornamented with gold, is hardly golden . I should understand the words, of the head actually ending in a crown-shaped fillet which resembled gold in its material, just as the wings of some of the beetle tribe might be said to blaze with gold and gems. So we have below . : the material not being metallic, but only quasi-metallic. Eichhorn and Heinr. understand these crowns of soldiers’ helmets: but this is quite arbitrary and gratuitous): and their faces ( were ) as the faces of men (Dsterdieck well observes, that we must not suppose them actually to have had human faces, but that the face of the locust, which under ordinary circumstances has a distant resemblance to the human countenance, bore this resemblance even more notably in the case of these supernatural locusts. It is not . . but . Nor again can we agree with Mr. Elliott’s idea that is here used to designate the male sex: an interpretation recommended to him by his wish to introduce the moustache of the Arabs. Wherever the general term is used for the particular sex, it must, as in the case of our “ man ,” be necessarily so interpreted by the context, as is the case in every one of the passages cited by Mr. E. in support of his view, viz. Mat 19:3 ; Mat 19:5 ; Mat 19:10 ; 1Co 7:1 ; Gen 2:18 ; Exo 13:2 ; Lev 20:10 ; Est 4:10 ( ); Ecc 7:28 ; Isa 4:1 . But here there is no such necessity in the context: nay, it is much more natural to take as the general term, their faces were like human faces, and then comes the limitation, not in the face, but in another particular), and they had hair as the hair of women (i. e. long and flowing, 1Co 11:14 f. De Wette quotes from Niebuhr an Arabic proverb in which the antlers of locusts are compared to the hair of girls. But perhaps we must regard the comparison as rather belonging to the supernatural portion of our description. Ewald would understand the hair on the legs, or on the bodies, of the locusts, to be meant, referring to , rough locusts, Jer 51:27 , where the LXX have merely , and the E. V. “rough caterpillars.”
To infer, from this feature, licentiousness as a characteristic in the interpretation, is entirely beside the purpose): and their teeth were as the teeth of lions (so also of the locust in Joe 1:6 , . Ewald rightly designates as very doubtful a fancied resemblance to a lion in the under jaw. We may observe that this, as some other features in the description, is purely graphic, and does not in any way apply to the plague to be inflicted by these mystic locusts), and they had breastplates as iron breastplates (the plate which forms the thorax of the natural locust, was in their case as if of iron), and the sound of their wings ( was ) as a sound of chariots of many horses (by the two genitives the sound of both, the chariots and the horses, is included. The chariots are regarded as an appendage to the horses) as they run to war. And they have tails like to scorpions (i. e. to the tails of scorpions: the construction called the comparatio compendiaria: see reff.), and stings (viz. in their tails: this is the particular especially in which the comparison finds its aptitude): and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months (see above on Rev 9:5 ). They have as king over them (or, “they have a king over them, viz.”. the two accusatives being in apposition. It favours this last alternative, that in this particular, of having a king, they are distinguished from natural locusts: for Pro 30:27 , ) the angel of the abyss (we can hardly with Luther, render “an angel from the abyss:” , though anarthrous, is necessarily defined by the genitive ); his name is in Hebrew Abaddon ( , perdition , from , periit , is used in the O. T. for the place of perdition, Orcus, in Job 26:6 ; Pro 27:20 (Keri: Chetib has ), in both of which places it is joined with , Psa 88:12 ; Job 28:22 . In all these places the LXX express it by . So that this is the local name personified: or rather perhaps that abstract name personified, from which the local import itself is derived), and in the Greek (scil. ) he has for his name Apollyon (the name seems chosen from the LXX , see above.
It is a question, who this angel of the abyss is. Perhaps, for accurate distinction’s sake, we must not identify him with Satan himself, cf. ch. Rev 12:3 ; Rev 12:9 , but must regard him as one of the principal of the bad angels). The one (first) woe hath passed: behold, there cometh (singular, the verb applying simply to that which is future, without reference as yet to its plurality) two woes after these things .
There is an endless Babel of allegorical and historical interpretation of these locusts from the pit . The most that we can say of their import is, that they belong to a series of judgments on the ungodly which will immediately precede the second advent of our Lord: that the various and mysterious particulars of the vision will no doubt clear themselves up to the church of God, when the time of its fulfilment arrives: but that no such clearing up has yet taken place, a very few hours of research among histories of apocalyptic interpretation will serve to convince any reader who is not himself the servant of a preconceived system.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 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 antenn 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 (Rev 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 (Rev 9:10 ) recapitulatory (= Rev 9:5 ; note , an abbreviated comparison like Homer’s ), partly (Rev 9:11 ) imaginative ( cf. Pro 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 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 probably suggested the synonym , 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. Both Caligula and Nero aped the deity of Apollo, among their other follies of this kind, as Antiochus Epiphanes had already done.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 9:7-11
7The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. 11They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Rev 9:7-9 “the appearance of the locusts” The physical description of these locusts is very similar to Joe 2:4-9 and also to a famous Arabian proverb that says, “locusts have a head like a horse, a breast like a lion, feet like a camel, a body like a serpent, and antennae like the hair of a maiden.”
This is obviously an allusion to the book of Joel in its description of:
1. the lion’s teeth (cf. Rev 9:8; Joe 1:6)
2. the vast number of chariots and horses rushing to battle (cf. Rev 9:9 and Joe 2:5)
Rev 9:8 Some see this as a reference to the Parthian hordes, cavalry with long hair. These were known for their skill as mounted archers. The Romans feared these barbaric invaders.
Rev 9:11 “They have as king over them” Pro 30:27 says that locusts do not have a king, but this is an allusion to a demonic swarm, not physical locusts.
“the angel of the abyss” The term “abyss” refers to the realm of the dead (cf. Rev 9:1-2; Rev 9:11; Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8; Rev 20:1; Rev 20:3; and Rom 10:7).
See full note at Rev 9:1.
“his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon” The Hebrew (Aramaic) term meant “destruction” and the Greek term meant “destroyer.” The Hebrew term was identified with Sheol, the realm of the dead (cf. Job 26:6; Job 29:22; Job 31:12; Psa 88:11 Pro 15:11; Pro 27:20).
Robert B. Girdlestone has an interesting comment on this term in his book Synonyms of the Old Testament: “This word is rendered “perish” in about a hundred passages. When used of persons it generally signifies death, when used of lands it implies desolation” (p. 273).
In Job 28:22 it is personified along with Death. This personification is also characteristic of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the intertestamental Jewish apocalyptic literature. This is somewhat unusual because the angel of death in the OT is a servant of YHWH (cf. Exo 12:23; Job 15:21) or even a personification of YHWH (cf. Exo 12:13; Exo 12:29). But here the angel seems to be the ruler of an imprisoned, demonic horde. This may be another way to show God’s control of all things.
Some have even asserted that as the emperors Nero and Domitian claimed to be the incarnation of Apollo, that this Greek name is a corrupted form and an allusion to Apollyon. There are two pieces of evidences to support this,
1. locusts were a symbol of Apollo
2. the term Apollo and Apollyon both come from the same Greek root
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
shapes = likenesses. See Rom 1:23.
horses. See Joe 2 for similar creatures which (Rev 2:8) it is impossible to wound or kill.
were. Omit.
Crowns. Greek. stephanos. Occ eight times in Rev., always connected with heavenly purposes except here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7.] The Apostle now returns to the description of the locusts themselves. And the shapes (so E. V., rightly: not, the likenesses. is the product of : the finished form of any thing which is made like () to any pattern. See Winer, edn. 6, 16. A. 2, ) of the locusts (were) like horses made ready for war (this resemblance,-cf. ref. Joel, ,-has been noticed by travellers. Winer, Realw. art. Heuschrecken, refers to Niebuhr, Beschreibung, 173. Ewald gives other references, and says, refert omnino animal equini corporis qudam similia, unde nostris etiam Heupferd dici notum est. And especially does it hold good when the horse is equipped for war; the plates of the horses armour being represented by the hard lamin of the outer shell of the locust: see below, Rev 9:9), and on their heads as it were crowns like unto gold (it is not easy to say what this part of the description imports. Elliott tries to apply it to the turban: but granting some latitude to , the will hardly bear this. The appearance of a turban, even when ornamented with gold, is hardly golden. I should understand the words, of the head actually ending in a crown-shaped fillet which resembled gold in its material, just as the wings of some of the beetle tribe might be said to blaze with gold and gems. So we have below . : the material not being metallic, but only quasi-metallic. Eichhorn and Heinr. understand these crowns of soldiers helmets: but this is quite arbitrary and gratuitous): and their faces (were) as the faces of men (Dsterdieck well observes, that we must not suppose them actually to have had human faces, but that the face of the locust, which under ordinary circumstances has a distant resemblance to the human countenance, bore this resemblance even more notably in the case of these supernatural locusts. It is not . . but . Nor again can we agree with Mr. Elliotts idea that is here used to designate the male sex: an interpretation recommended to him by his wish to introduce the moustache of the Arabs. Wherever the general term is used for the particular sex, it must, as in the case of our man, be necessarily so interpreted by the context, as is the case in every one of the passages cited by Mr. E. in support of his view, viz. Mat 19:3; Mat 19:5; Mat 19:10; 1Co 7:1; Gen 2:18; Exo 13:2; Lev 20:10; Est 4:10 ( ); Ecc 7:28; Isa 4:1. But here there is no such necessity in the context: nay, it is much more natural to take as the general term, their faces were like human faces, and then comes the limitation, not in the face, but in another particular), and they had hair as the hair of women (i. e. long and flowing, 1Co 11:14 f. De Wette quotes from Niebuhr an Arabic proverb in which the antlers of locusts are compared to the hair of girls. But perhaps we must regard the comparison as rather belonging to the supernatural portion of our description. Ewald would understand the hair on the legs, or on the bodies, of the locusts, to be meant, referring to , rough locusts, Jer 51:27, where the LXX have merely , and the E. V. rough caterpillars.
To infer, from this feature, licentiousness as a characteristic in the interpretation, is entirely beside the purpose): and their teeth were as the teeth of lions (so also of the locust in Joe 1:6, . Ewald rightly designates as very doubtful a fancied resemblance to a lion in the under jaw. We may observe that this, as some other features in the description, is purely graphic, and does not in any way apply to the plague to be inflicted by these mystic locusts), and they had breastplates as iron breastplates (the plate which forms the thorax of the natural locust, was in their case as if of iron), and the sound of their wings (was) as a sound of chariots of many horses (by the two genitives the sound of both, the chariots and the horses, is included. The chariots are regarded as an appendage to the horses) as they run to war. And they have tails like to scorpions (i. e. to the tails of scorpions: the construction called the comparatio compendiaria: see reff.), and stings (viz. in their tails: this is the particular especially in which the comparison finds its aptitude): and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months (see above on Rev 9:5). They have as king over them (or, they have a king over them, viz.. the two accusatives being in apposition. It favours this last alternative, that in this particular, of having a king, they are distinguished from natural locusts: for Pro 30:27, ) the angel of the abyss (we can hardly with Luther, render an angel from the abyss: , though anarthrous, is necessarily defined by the genitive ); his name is in Hebrew Abaddon (, perdition, from , periit, is used in the O. T. for the place of perdition, Orcus, in Job 26:6; Pro 27:20 (Keri: Chetib has ), in both of which places it is joined with ,-Psa 88:12; Job 28:22. In all these places the LXX express it by . So that this is the local name personified: or rather perhaps that abstract name personified, from which the local import itself is derived), and in the Greek (scil. ) he has for his name Apollyon (the name seems chosen from the LXX , see above.
It is a question, who this angel of the abyss is. Perhaps, for accurate distinctions sake, we must not identify him with Satan himself,-cf. ch. Rev 12:3; Rev 12:9,-but must regard him as one of the principal of the bad angels). The one (first) woe hath passed: behold, there cometh (singular, the verb applying simply to that which is future, without reference as yet to its plurality) two woes after these things.
There is an endless Babel of allegorical and historical interpretation of these locusts from the pit. The most that we can say of their import is, that they belong to a series of judgments on the ungodly which will immediately precede the second advent of our Lord: that the various and mysterious particulars of the vision will no doubt clear themselves up to the church of God, when the time of its fulfilment arrives: but that no such clearing up has yet taken place, a very few hours of research among histories of apocalyptic interpretation will serve to convince any reader who is not himself the servant of a preconceived system.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
the shapes: Joe 2:4, Joe 2:5, Nah 3:17
their faces: Dan 7:4, Dan 7:8
Reciprocal: Isa 13:4 – like as Jer 51:27 – cause Joe 1:6 – whose Rev 4:4 – crowns
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 9:7. It was fitting that these locusts were in the form resembling war horses, for the apostate institution has not hesitated at using carnal warfare for its defense whenever it was thought necessary. Crown of gold indicates both authority and wealth, and the clergy of Rome have ever been equipped with both, in order to carry out the schemes of the headquarters of the corrupt organization. Faces of men is an important identification also, because while the use of war horses is necessary in the program of Rome, it also requires the scheming trickery of human intelligence.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 7.
The horse-like locusts. “And the shapes of the locusts were like the shapes of horses prepared for battle”–Rev 9:7.
Shapes like horses: The composite appearance of the locusts-shape of horses for battle, heads as gold crowns, faces of men–shows this symbolism to be that of the rulers with their armies of destruction. The locusts were seen as horses “prepared for battle,” as the horses in cavalry battalions.
Heads as crowns: The heads of the locusts were seen as “crowns like gold” signifying that they were the armies of the Roman generals Vespasian and Titus, both of whom were given imperial crowns, in connection with their invasions of Judea and the siege of Jerusalem.
Faces as faces of men: The faces of the locusts, as men, identifies the symbolism with the imperial armies invading “the holy land” as swarms of locusts. It is not a new form of apocalypse at all. The prophetic vision in Joe 1:1-6; Joe 2:1-4 was the description of the invasion of the land of Judea by the armies of the north (1:6; 2:20), as a baneful swarm of locusts, having both animal-like and humanlike forms-“The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen so shall they run.” These visions of Joel, and of other pre-exile prophets, foretold the fall of Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar, having besieged the city, shut its inhabitants within the walls, inflicting upon them all the horrors of famine, pestilence and war, eventually burning the temple and its buildings, razing the walls, and reducing the city to rubbish and ruin–all the dreadful horrors of which were depicted by both Jeremiah and Joel.
As the prophet Joel’s apocalypse of the invasion of locusts concerned the Jerusalem of about B. C. 600, this vision of John’s apocalypse concerned the Jerusalem of A. D. 70, when Vespasian and Titus executed the imperial orders of Nero to besiege and destroy the city, the miseries of which exceeded all of its calamitous history before and after.
“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that desolation is near . . . for these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” Luk 21:20; Luk 21:22.
“For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Mat 24:22.
“For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation, which God created unto this time, neither shall be.” Mar 13:19.
The cumulative evidence is preponderant that John’s visions encompass the invasion of Judea and the fall of Jerusalem described by Jesus in the records of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 9:7-11. The locusts are now more particularly described, and the description consists of three parts; the first general, the second special, the third the locust king.
(1) The general description. Their shapes are like horses prepared for war. The same comparison is found in Joe 2:4; and the likeness of the locust to a horse is so marked that the insect is named in German Heupferd, and in Italian Cavaletta (Cheval).
(1) The special description in seven particulars.1. On their heads were, as it were, crowns like unto gold,not crowns but as crowns, so that any yellow brilliancy about the head of the insect is a sufficient foundation for the figure. The crowns are emblems of victory (Rev 6:2), and the locusts are presented as a conquering host.2. Their faces were as faces of men,again not actually human faces, but faces suggesting the likeness, which the face of the locust is said to do. It is a question whether the word men is to be understood in the general sense of human beings, or (in contrast with women) of the male sex only. Chap. Rev 4:7 seems to determine in favour of the latter. Boldness and strength, perhaps even severity and fierceness, are suggested by the figure.3. And they had hair as hair of women. There is said to be an Arabic proverb comparing the antennae of locusts to the hair of girls. If so, we have a sufficient foundation for this feature of the comparison. What the idea may be it is not easy to say. But softness and effeminacy, with their attendant licentiousness, are probably the point in view.4. And their teeth were as teeth of lions. This feature, whether drawn from actual observation of the insect or not, is sufficiently accounted for by Joe 1:6.5. And they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron,a feature taken from the thought of the plate which forms the thorax of the locust, and which resembles the plates of a horse clad in ancient armour when prepared for war.6. And the sound of their wings, etc. It is said that locusts in their flight make a fearful noise (Smiths Dict, of Bible, ii. 132).7. And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months. There is general agreement that, in this feature at least, comparison with the insect as it exists in nature fails; although, if the insect be the Acridium lineola, and if the plate in Smiths Bible Dict. (vol. 2 p. 129) is to be trusted, there is a distinct sting in the tail. In such a case the sting now spoken of is only magnified, and declared to be like a scorpion, in order to bring out its destructive power.
(3) Their king. Unlike the insect-locusts of whom it is expressly noted in Pro 30:27 that they have no king, these locusts have a king, the head of their kingdom (Mat 12:26). They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. This angel is the expression of the abyss, in whom all its evil influences are concentrated. In other words he is Satan. It is no serious objection to this that we have found the star to be Satan (Rev 9:1). We are not told that the king spoken of issued out of the abyss, and we may quite easily think of the locusts either as his hosts or as those of the star.
The name of the king is in Hebrew Abaddon. The word is used for the place of perdition in Job 26:6; Job 28:22, Psa 88:12, Pro 15:11, but its first meaning seems to be perdition itself. Here, however, the idea of perdition is personified; and hence the mention of Apollyon, where the Greek term for perdition is so changed as to make it also a personification of the abstract idea. The character of the king and of his host appears in the name borne by the former. Their aim is not to save, but to destroy.
Before passing from this vision we have still to ask more particularly as to its meaning. All application to the host of the Mahomedans may be at once dismissed. The woe falls upon the whole world, not merely upon a part of it, and it is not permitted to affect the redeemed Church. At the same time it cannot find its fulfilment in mere war, or in the calamities which war brines. The woe is obviously spiritual. It issues from the abyss of hell; the smoke of it darkens the air; the torment which accompanies it is not one that brings death but that makes the soul weary of life. These circumstances point to a great outburst of spiritual evil which shall aggravate the sorrows of the world, make it learn how bitter is the bondage of Satan, and teach it to feel, even in the midst of enjoyment, that it were better to die than to live.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
That this is a metaphorical description of a terrible army of cruel men, seems very plain: some understand it of the Jewish Zealots, who appeared as warriors, and were devouring wasters; they looked like men, kind and friendly, and pretending to be redeemers of the people, saviours of, and benefactors to, their country; but at the same time plundering and carrying away the spoils of their brethren, without any tenderness or compassion.
Others apply all this to the papal clergy, numerous like locusts; well fed, like horses for battle; mighty, for earthly possessions; crowned like petty princes; alluring like women with their hair, and other ornaments, &c.
Others again make the application to belong to the Turks and Saracens, who are represented as having many crowns on their heads, and as moved with wings in regard of the many and vast conquests, says Mr. Mede, which they made in a short time, even in Palestine, Syria, Armenis, Asia the Less, and many others.
As to the king, named here Abaddon and Apollyon, some understand it to be the devil, others Mahomet, others the pope; to whom, to every of whom, the name of a destroyer too fitly belongs, as seeking and endeavouring to destroy men’s souls, and by blood and persecution to destroy and lay waste the church of Christ.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Though lies and false doctrines do not actually war against us, their shape, breastplate and the sound of their wings should warn us war is not far behind. Their victory crowns were not lasting, since they are only “like gold.” The appearance of their faces, hair and teeth lets us know these are men gone wild on the false teachings.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 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 Joe 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. Rev 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. They had also breast-plates, as it were breast-plates of iron And the locusts have a hard shell or skin, which hath been called their armour. This figure is designed to express the defensive, as the former was the offensive arms of the Saracens. And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle Much the same comparison had been used by Joe 2:5, Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap; and Pliny affirms that they fly with so great a noise of their wings, that they may be taken for birds. Their wings, and the sound of their wings, denote the swiftness and rapidity of their conquests; and it is indeed astonishing that in less than a century they erected an empire which extended from India to Spain.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:7 {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 Rev 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, Rev 9:9 that they are fraudulent: that they are poisonous and extremely offensive though their power is limited. Rev 9:10 . All these things are found in the infernal powers and communicated by them to their ministers and vassals.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The characteristics of the locusts 9:7-11
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
John proceeded to describe the creatures he saw from head to tail. Some interpreters view these beings as natural locusts while others believe they represent an army of men. Still others interpret them as demons. Locusts resemble horses when viewed through a magnifying glass. However, John’s description of these creatures seems to indicate that they were unusually grotesque and frightening (cf. Joe 2:4). Their crowns (Gr. stephanos) probably symbolize their victory over the objects of their oppression. Their resemblance to men suggests their intelligence, but clearly they are not men (cf. Rev 9:3-4).