Revelation 9

Revelation 9:1

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

And the Fifth Angel blew his trumpet, and I saw that forescribed Apostate both of the East and West Church, to receive yet more power to prevail in their impieties and ambitions; and, as it were, to set open the gates of hell.

Revelation 9:2

And he opened the bottomless pit: and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And, accordingly, this Apostasy succeeded: so as the instruments and agents therein did, by their errors and impieties, set open the way to the pit of hell; from whence there arose such fogs of misbelief and erroneous doctrine, as that thereby the light of the Gospel was much obscured.

Revelation 9:3

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth; and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And there came out of this hellish smoke new swarms of Saracens in the East, and of superstitious abettors of usurpation and errors in the West; which wasted a great part of the Church, and, by the sting and poison of their false doctrine, had permission to envenom very many in all places.

Revelation 9:4

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Yet, so did it please God to restrain the power and success of their infection and annoyance, as that they should not pre-

Revelation 9:5

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

And even over them also, was the power of these noisome persons so limited, as that they should not utterly destroy them; but oppress and afflict them for the space of a hundred and fifty years, after their first seizure upon every several region which they should infest; at which time their tyranny should abate: the proceedings of which pernicious agents should be, at first, more easy and tolerable; and, afterwards, should grow to extremity and painful death.

Revelation 9:6

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

And, therefore, in those grievous oppressions, both of body and of estate and of soul, men shall be so vexed, that they shall be weary of their lives; and shall wish to be freed from that servitude, even by death itself, and shall not be allowed it.

Revelation 9:7

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.

And the form and deportment of these infernal locusts was altogether martial, like unto barbed horses prepared to the battle; carrying all by a cruel and impetuous violence, and bearing down all oppositions before them: and, through their happy success, they triumphed as kings, and had the very forms of crowns upon their heads; and they carried themselves, for their own advantage, friendly and plausibly to those whom they meant to work upon.

Revelation 9:8

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

And they were altogether effeminate in their dispositions; being given up to wantonness and lust: and, to maintain their luxury, they were immoderately ravenous and cruel; by strong hand invading the dominions and inheritances of their opposites.

Revelation 9:9

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

And they were strongly defenced against all hostile attempts: the Eastern locusts, by their own conquests; the Western, by that hand which they had got over the kings and princes of the earth, which were ready prest for their maintenance and supportation: and when they were provoked, their preparations and threats were great and terrible, like to the rattling of many chariots, and neighing of horses to the war.

Revelation 9:10

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

And these hellish locusts, besides their ordinary effect of wasting and spoiling the earth, had dangerous venom in them, and deadly stings in their tails, which were like to those of scorpions; and had permission from God, to torment and impoison those with whom they had to deal, for the space of the forenamed hundred and fifty years.

Revelation 9:11

And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

And they ranged themselves under one kingdom or government; the Eastern locusts, under their Mahomet; the Western, under their universal head; both of them under Satan, the Prince of Darkness, who, being a man-slayer from the beginning, hath his name from Destruction.

Revelation 9:12

One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

One great calamity and misery to the Church is already fore-shewed; which is in the joint endeavours of the Eastern and Western locusts; and, behold, there are two more and more grievous afflictions yet remaining. IX. 13, 14. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the Sixth Angel sounded; and, as the temple on earth resembles heaven, and the golden altar in the temple, being near seated to the Holy of Holies and the Propitiatory, signifies and imports a near approach to the throne of God, I heard a voice coming as it were from the four corners of that golden altar which is before God, Saying to that Angel, which had the charge to sound the sixth trumpet, Hitherto the evil spirits have been restrained from the extremity of their machinations against my Church, which is in the Eastern parts, about the great river Euphrates; but now I do, in my infinite justice and wisdom, see it to be time to let them loose, to inflict their greatest mischiefs upon those coasts.

Revelation 9:15

And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

And those four evil angels, which were to be executioners of God’s wrath, were let loose; which, howsoever they were restrained before, yet were ever forward and eagerly prest to

Revelation 9:16

And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

And the number of those Turkish armies shall be exceeding great, above the proportion of all those Christian forces which shall oppose them.

Revelation 9:17

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

And then I saw their horses, and the riders on them, in my vision; armed strongly, and set forth in a terrible fashion; their breastplates and targets representing nothing but fire and fury against their enemies; and their horses were fierce and lion-like; and the riders of them were furnished with such engines of death, as carried sulphur, and fire, and smoke in the mouths of them.

Revelation 9:18

By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

And by these instruments of death a great part of the Europeans were slain; the main force of the Turks consisting in their troops of horses, and the military preparations of this kind.

Revelation 9:19

For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

Such power and success shall they have in their battles and open assaults: but, withal, they shall underhand work much secret mischief, by their serpentine plots and devices; whereby they shall withdraw many from their Christian religion to accursed Mahometanism.

Revelation 9:20

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.

And the rest of those European Christians and neighbouring nations, which have yet escaped those plagues of Turkish cruelty, have not been warned by so severe a hand of God to repent of their wicked works, and especially of their idolatry; wherein they have, under a pretence of holy devotion, worshipped the Devil, and fallen down before idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.