Revelation 9

The fifth angel sounded there falleth a star from heaven which hath the key of the bottomless pit 2 where issueth smoke as the smoke of a furnace 3 and out of the smoke come locusts which sting the men that have not the seal of God 7 the form men and arming of these locusts is described 11 and the name of their kings Abaddon 13 after this the sixth angel sounded whereupon the four angels by the river Euphrates are loosed and there appears a great multitude of horsemen which slay the third part of men 20 after all which men do not repent of their idolatry and sins.

1. And the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star fallen from heaven upon the earth[some understand by this star Mahomet and his followers whom about the year six hundred and twenty did take together his ungodly doctrine out of Judaism, gentilism and christianism and brought the same to light of the bottomless pit as followeth and afterwards by his Arabians Saracens as armed locusts did propagate the same through a great part of the world partly by deceit and partly by violence as such armies are compared to locusts or grasshoppers Judges 7:12 Isaiah 33:4 Joel 1:4 and 2.4etc from which places this description is for the most part taken but this book by stars are every where meant the overseers and teachers of the churches as is shewed chapter 1.20 therefore here far more aptly the bishop of Rome with his adherents is to be understood who set up himself as an universal bishop among the Christians about the very same time who after the ruin of Roman empire instead of minding only the spiritual care hath rather given himself to earthly and temporal care and hath set up a new dominion and is therefore saith to be fallen from heaven upon the earth] and to it was given the key of the abyss [that is power to open the pit of the deepest part of the abyss that is of hell Luke 8:31 whence arose this thick smoke whereof in the sequel which power in God’s just judgment is unthankfulness was given to it as is also said hereafter verse 4.5 and as Paul speaketh 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 9,10,11.]

2. and it opened the pit of the deep and there arose the smoke from the pit as the smoke of a great furnace[by smoke here is meant false and idolatrous doctrine which Paul 1Timothy 4.1 calleth doctrines of devil consisting in the forbidding of marriage and the use of meats which God created to be used with thanksgiving as also of idolatry image worship their own merits and satisfactions and other superstitions as is expressed hereafter verse 20] and the sun and the air[that is Christ and his doctrine as above chapter 8.12 and elsewhere] where darkened by the smoke of the pit.

3. And there came out the smoke of the locusts upon the earth and unto them was given power as the scorpion of the have power[that is out of the idolatrous and superstitious doctrine these locust had their original for the forbidding of the marriage of certain meats by the inventing of purgatory by doctrine of their own merits and satisfaction and the like the multitude of monks and the others called religious orders were so exceedingly increased through Christendom as is well known.]

4. And to them it was said that they should not hurt the grass of the earth neither any green thing neither any tree[that is true believers which grow and flourish in the Lord‘s field Psalms 1:3 and 92.13 this is said to shew here is not said of the grasshoppers properly so called by the hypocritical and fruitful men as their following description also sheweth]but only the man which have not seal on their foreheads [see of this seal on the forehead of God above chapter7.3,4.]

5. And power was given unto them and not that they should kill them but that they should be tormented by them [namely in their consciences through the uncertainty of their of their through the uncertainty of the sufficiency of their merits through fear of purgatory and the like whereas those that are marked with seal of Gods spirit are free these as God testifieth Romans 5 verse 1,2 8.1] five months [that is the time that the locusts are wont to be in the field in their vigor and strength from the beginning of the spring till after harvest or the whole time of the summer whereby is signified that these locusts shall be not in straight way removed or hindered from vexing men as the grasshoppers from the plagues of Egypt were Exodus 10:9 but that they shall retain all property all the time that they are in their strength and vigor and the whole time that God hath appointed] and their torment was like the torment of the scorpion when it hath stung a man [namely whose stinging the longer it lasted the worse it growth if it be not cured in the beginning.]

6. And those days shall man seek doth [namely through anguish of heart] and shall not find it and shall desire to die and death shall free from them.

7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses which are prepared unto war and upon their heads were as it were crown like gold and the faces were as the faces of men [this description sheweth that here is only spoken of hurtful men that they are always ready for to persecute those that are true Christians and to make spiritual war against them like horses that stand ready prepared to make battle with their shaven crowns like the crowns of their heads do witness and declare on their dominion which they have under superior with his triple crown which with a fair countenance like men posses the heart of many by their long hair do indeed feign in mildness or meekness but they have teeth like lion teeth to hurt Christians by their inquisitions and other sharp and cruel proceedings which oppose their privileges and immunities granted them by their king of whom verse 11 like iron beast plates and by the noise of their wings do exalt themselves above others and make all the world afraid lastly which within their tails that is their superstitious doctrine do exceedingly vex and torment those men that have not the seal of God as was shewed verse 5.]

8. And they had hair as the hair of women and teeth as the teeth of lions.

9. And they had breast-plates as lion breast-plates and the noise of their wings was as the noise of their carets when many horses run to the battle.

10. And they had tails like scorpion and their stings in their tails and their power was to hurt men five months .

11. And they had over them the angel of the bottomless pit his name was in the Hebrew Abaddon and in the Greek language he had the name Apollony [Abaddon in the Hebrew and Apollon in the Greek signifieth perdition and destroyer and agreeth with the name which the apostle Paul giveth unto anti-Christ 2Thessalonians 2 verse 3,4,9 when he calleth him the man of sin and the son of perdition and adversary and he that exalieth himself above all that is called God whose cunning is after the working of Satan whereof see the exposition there.]

12. One wo is past [namely in respect of the vision which was shewed to the apostle for the thing itself came to pas a long while after and shall not be utterly abolished until the coming of Jesus Christ as Paul testifieth 2Thessalonians 2.8] behold they were yet two woes after this .

13. And the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice out of the four horns of the altar which was before God [this hath respect to the altar of the incense which hath four horns and stood in the holy place before the holy of holies on which altar the priest did daily offer incense but on these four horns the high priest offered only once a year Exodus 30:10 by which horns Christ over is understood who here in this chapter pronounceth sentence for the punishment of those that yet persecuted his church see above chapter 6.9.]

14. Saying to the sixth angel which hath the trumpet loose the four angels which are bound by the great river Euphrates [by these four angel is for the most part by all expositors understood that sort of the Mahumetanes which chiefly consisted of four nations which subdued all others under them namely the Arabians, Saracines, Tartars and Turks whereof the Arabians and the Saracines from the year six hundred and twenty used much violence against the Christians and especially against the Roman emperor in the east and west but were afterwards by the Christians driven again beyond the Euphrates till about the year thirteen hundred when the antichrist was at the highest and the orthodox Christians were most oppressed the Tartars and Turks were broken out of both through Armenia lying against the Euphrates and overrun and subdued all Asia and Africa and abolished the Grecian and eastern emperor whereof Constantinople was the metropolis in which wars much blood was shed and it seemeth that by these wars those kings that had given their power unto the beast were so full of employment that the orthodox teachers in divers countries in the mean while erected churches so that they could not be rooted out by all the persecution of antichrist as came to pass in France, England, Bohemia Switzerland and other parts of the world by Waldus, Wiclef, John, Hus,Jerome of Prague and others besides whereof more at large will be prophesied in the chapters following who re bound and see namely by God providence till the measure of sins of Christendom was filled up and testified verse 20 and that in Gods just judgment the reign shall be given to those nation to execute their ambition and greedy desire after their prey as Isaiah 10:5 Jeremiah 25:9.]

15. And the four angels wee loosed which wee prepared against the against the hour and day and month and year to slay the third part of men [for by these armies many hundred thousand Christians where slain and many others brought to apostate and thereby to spiritual death as the histories of those times and experience testify.]

16. And the number of the armies of the horsemen[this is expressed because their armies did most consist in horses which were exceeding great and much far surpass the armies of the Christians whereby also got their greatest victories as is expressed in the following verse] was twice ten thousand of ten thousand [that is an exceeding great multitude by this phrase is also elsewhere understood see Psalms 68:18 Daniel 7:10 and that these Turks and Tartars with some hundred thousand are wont to march into the field is sufficiently known by the histories] and I heard the number of them [to wit named in this vision.]

17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision and them that sat on them having fiery and sky color and brimstone-color breast-plate [forasmuch as these nations used to wear very few iron weapons therefore some do understand hereby their divers liveries which they used to were of such like colours others understand thereby their cruel hearts which they bear towards their Christians and their horrid blasphemies which they are wont to belch out against them] and he heads of the horses were as the heads of the lions [that is which are strong swift and cruel and are wont to rage not only by smiting but also by biting and renting in pieces] and out of their mouth went forth fire and smoke and brimstone [some apply this to the great gun which they carried in the discharge whereof there seemeth to issue fire smoke and brimstone out of the mouths others understand hereby all manner of cruelty which they should commit by their weapons.]

18. By these three was the third part of men killed namely by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone which came forth out of their mouths.

19. For their power is in their mouths and their tails [some apply this thereunto that they knew how to shoot and hurt not afterwards in pursuing but also backward in fleeing in former times with their bows but now with their guns] for their tails are like unto serpents [whose poison lieth in their heads and in their tails which also use to hurt most with these two as there are also such serpents found that have heads and their tails that is are called Amphisbaenae] and have heads and with them do hurt.

20. and the rest of the men which were not killed of these plagues [namely which God had sent among them for their idolatry and other sins committed by them as these words do plainly shew whence it appeareth tat idolatry which the Christians had set up in Grecia and in all the east-countries and had confirmed by their second Synod of nice and other Synods more was the cause why God in his just judgment sent this plagues and punishment upon them by whose example withstanding the western churches took no warning but still continued in the same idolatry as the words following do shew] repented not of the works of their hands [that is image worship for not devils but images are the works of men’s hands] that they should not worship devils [here no mention is made of the idolatry of the heathen which long before were most destroyed by the heathen for the Mahumetanes properly did not make war against the heathen which long before wee most destroyed by the Christians emperor in the east and west of the wars of Mehumetanes among themselves for they neither hath no worship images but they make war against the Christians images also those that were not killed by them but wee left alive were not heathen but Christians of profession so that here by the worshiping of devils respect is not had that they did indeed and in the truth because of those that depart from the true worship of God and set up a false worship forbidden by God do not serve God by it but the devil what boasting so ever they make as appeareth 2 Chronicles 11:15 Amos 5 verse 25,26 1Corinthians 10 verse 20 and as the apostle 1Timothy 4.1 calleth them doctrines of devils which they indeed esteem to be divine doctrines but because they oppose God’s institution and to be held to be no better than doctrines and service of devil]and golden and silver and copper and stone and wooden idols [or images]which neither can see nor hear nor walk that is taken out of the115 Psalms which the apostle applieth to the antichristian images which hath no more power when the images of the gentiles and the Jews have in this case.]

21. And they repented not also of their murderers [hereof besides the others of the martyrs they have slain of so many thousand in many ages by fire the sword and the halter and otherwise are sufficient witnesses] nor of their poisonings [or sorceries as this word signifieth both as both are too, too rife in kingdom of antichrist] nor of their fornication [whereof the public stews which in great multitudes are tolerated by them and whereof they gather tribute and concubinate of priest among the rest are a sufficient proof] nor of heir thefts [among which may justly be counted withholding of inheritances from right heirs and bringing the same to their own cloisters and the diverting of good dedicated to the worship of God toward the maintain of the idle bellies and towards worldly pride among many.]