Revelation Chapter 9
Showing all 21 verses for Revelation Chapter 9.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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. "
"John sees a star that has already fallen from heaven to earth, and it is given the key to a bottomless pit - a sealed shaft down into the realm of chaos and destructive spiritual forces."
I want you to see that even chaos has a leash on it. Nothing that frightens you is bigger than the hand that allows it, and that should steady you rather than make you fatalistic - you're never facing raw, unchecked darkness alone.
"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. "
"When the pit is opened, thick smoke pours out like the smoke of a huge furnace, and it blots out the sun and darkens the sky."
When you shut out truth for long enough, the world does start to look darker and more confusing - that's not me punishing you, it's simply what happens. I'd rather you stayed close to the light while it's freely offered.
"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. "
"Out of the smoke come locusts that spread across the earth, and they are given a sting like a scorpion's."
Real harm can come from choices, even when it doesn't look like it at first. I'm not hiding that from you - I'm being straight with you because I'd rather you knew the stakes than stumbled into them blind.
"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. "
"These locusts are told not to damage any grass, plant or tree - only to target people who do not carry God's seal on their foreheads."
I mark my own, and it isn't favouritism - it's relationship. Choosing to belong to me is choosing a kind of covering that the chaos around you can't just walk through.
"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. "
"These locusts aren't allowed to kill anyone; instead people are tormented for five months, with pain like a scorpion's sting."
Even when I let hard consequences run their course, I put a limit on them. My aim is always to get your attention and bring you back, never simply to grind you down for its own sake.
"And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. "
"In those days people will long to die, actually searching for death as an escape, but death itself will elude them."
I never want you living in a place this dark. If any part of your life already feels like this, please hear me: there is a way out, and it starts with turning towards me, not away.
"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. "
"The locusts looked like horses armed for battle, wearing something like gold crowns, with faces that resembled human faces."
When something looks impressive or crowned with success, ask what's underneath it. Not everything wearing a crown deserves your worship - test what you follow by its fruit, not its shine.
"And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. "
"They had hair like women's hair and teeth like a lion's teeth."
Charm and menace can live in the very same thing. I want you discerning enough to notice when something that looks attractive is actually built to devour you.
"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. "
"They wore what looked like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings sounded like a huge army of chariots rushing into battle."
Don't underestimate how loud and frightening consequences can feel once they arrive. I'd rather warn you plainly now than let you be caught off guard later.
"And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. "
"They had tails like scorpions with stingers, and for five months they had the power to torment people."
Pain that has a limit is still pain worth taking seriously, and I don't dismiss it just because it will eventually end. I sit with people in their hardest seasons rather than rushing them past it.
"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. "
"These locusts have a king ruling over them - the angel in charge of the bottomless pit, called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek, both names meaning 'Destroyer'."
I never dress up what harms you in flattering language. Call destructive things what they are, and you'll find it much easier to walk away from them.
"One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. "
"John notes that one disaster ('woe') has now passed, and two more are still to come."
I give warnings in stages, not all at once, because I want you to have space to respond at each step rather than being overwhelmed. There's always another chance to turn back before the next one lands.
"And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, "
"The sixth angel sounds his trumpet, and John hears a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that stands before God."
When you cry out to me in your worst moments, that prayer doesn't vanish - it reaches the altar and it moves things. I hear you even when the answer takes a form you didn't expect.
"Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. "
"The voice tells the sixth angel to release four angels who have been bound at the great river Euphrates."
Even destructive forces are 'bound' until the right moment - nothing is unleashed carelessly or too early. That should tell you something about how carefully consequences are actually measured out, even when they feel sudden.
"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. "
"The four angels, kept ready for this exact hour, day, month and year, are released to kill a third of humanity."
Even in the worst-sounding scenes, I want you to notice the exactness, not just the horror. Chaos that is this precisely timed isn't really chaos at all - it's accountability, working itself out on schedule.
"And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. "
"John hears the staggering number of this army of horsemen: two hundred million."
When I speak about the scale of what's at stake, I'm not exaggerating for effect. Some things really are that big, and I'd rather you took the size of the choice seriously than shrank it down to something manageable and safe to ignore.
"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. "
"John describes the vision: riders with breastplates of fiery red, dark blue and sulphur-yellow, horses with lions' heads breathing fire, smoke and brimstone from their mouths."
I want you to feel the full weight of what unchecked destruction looks like, precisely so you don't sleepwalk towards it. This isn't meant to traumatise you for its own sake - it's meant to make the alternative I'm offering look as good as it actually is.
"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. "
"A third of humanity is killed by these three plagues coming from the horses' mouths: fire, smoke and brimstone."
Even severe judgement in these visions stops short of everything - that's deliberate, and it's mercy wearing a hard face. I always leave room for a change of heart, right up until the very end.
"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. "
"Their destructive power lies both in their mouths and in their tails, which are like snakes with heads, and which also cause harm."
Some harmful things attack you coming and going, front and back - through what's said to you and what follows behind it. Stay alert to both, and don't assume you're safe just because you've dodged the obvious danger.
"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: "
"The rest of humanity, who survive these plagues, still refuse to change their ways - they keep worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, objects that cannot see, hear or move."
I don't force anyone's heart to turn - I never have. What I offer is real and freely given, but I will always respect your freedom to keep choosing something lifeless over me, even when it costs you everything.
"Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. "
"Nor did they repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality or their thefts."
These aren't arbitrary rules I hand down to control you - they're the basic fabric that lets people actually trust and care for each other. When I ask you to turn from things like this, I'm asking you to choose a life you can build real relationships on.