1 At the sounding of the fifth angel, a star falls from heaven, to whom is given the key to the bottomless pit.
2 He opens the pit, and there come forth locusts like scorpions.
12 The first woe past.
13 The sixth trumpet sounds.
14 Four angels are let loose, that were bound.

the fifth. 12,13 8:6-8,10,12 11:14,15

a star. 1:20 8:10 Isa 14:12 Lu 10:18 2Th 2:3-8 2Ti 3:1-5

to him. 1:18 20:1

the bottomless. 2,11 17:8 20:10 Lu 8:31 Ro 10:7 *Gr:

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.

there. 17 14:11 Ge 15:17 19:28 Isa 14:31 Joe 2:30 Ac 2:19

and the sun. See on ch. 8:12 Ex 10:21-23 Joe 2:2,10

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.

locusts. Ex 10:4-15 Jud 7:12 Isa 33:4 Joe 1:4 2:25 Na 3:15,17

as. 5,10,11 De 8:15 1Ki 12:11 Eze 2:6 Lu 10:19

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.

that they. 6:6 7:3 Job 1:10,12 Ps 76:10 Mt 24:24 2Ti 3:8,9

hurt. 8:7

but. Corrupt and idolatrous Christians; against whom the Saracens chiefly prevailed.

which. See on ch. 7:3,4 14:1 Ex 12:23 Job 2:6 Eze 9:4,6 Eph 4:30

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.

it was. 13:5,7 Da 5:18-22 7:6 Joh 19:11

they should not. That is, should not kill them as a political body, state, or empire; and accordingly, however they desolated the Greek and Latin churches, they could not extirpate them, nor gain possession of the empire.

11:7 Job 2:6

they should be. 10

five. Five prophetical months, each consisting of 30 days, and each day denoting a year, amount to 150 years; and accordingly, from the time that Mohammed began to propagate his imposture A.D. 612, the building of Bagdad, when they ceased from their ravages, A.D. 763, are just 150 years.

and their. See on ver. 3

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.

shall men. 6:16 2Sa 1:9 Job 3:20-22 7:15,16 Isa 2:19 Jer 8:3 Ho 10:8 Joh 4:8,9 Lu 23:30

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.

the shapes. Joe 2:4,5 Na 3:17

their faces. Da 7:4,8

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

hair. 2Ki 9:30 Isa 3:24 1Co 11:14,15 1Ti 2:9 1Pe 3:3

and their. Ps 57:4 Joe 1:6

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.

they had. 9:17 Job 40:18 41:23-30 Joe 2:8

and the. Job 39:25 Isa 9:5 Joe 2:5-7 Na 2:4,5

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

tails. See on ver. 3,5

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.

they had. 12:9 Joh 12:31 14:30 16:11 2Co 4:4 Eph 2:2 1Jo 4:4 5:19

the angel. 1

Abaddon. that is, a destroyer. Joh 8:44

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

woe. See on ver. 1,2

two. 13-21 8:13 11:14

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

the sixth. See on ver. 1

a voice. See on ch. 8:3-5 Heb 9:24 10:21

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

to the. 8:2,6

loose. 15 16:12

the great. Ge 2:14 2Sa 8:3 Jer 51:63

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.

for. or, at. an hour. 5,10

for to. 18 8:7,9,11,12

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

the number. Ps 68:17 Da 7:10

horsemen. Eze 23:6 38:4 Da 11:40

I heard. 7:4

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.

having. This appears to point out the scarlet, blue and yellow colours, for which the Turks have always been remarkable. The 'four angels bound in the Euphrates' denote their four sultanies bordering on that river, where they were confined till after the period of the Crusades. The time for which they were prepared, 'an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year,' computing a year for each day, amounts to 391 years, 15 days; and from their first conquest over the Christians, A.D. 1281, to the taking of Cameniec from the Poles, A.D. 1672, which was the last conquest by which their dominion was extended, is exactly that period.

9

jacinth. 21:20

brimstone. 18 14:10 19:20 21:8 Ge 19:24 Ps 11:6 Isa 30:33 Eze 33:22

as the. 1Ch 12:8 Isa 5:28,29

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.

the third. See on ver. 15,17

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.

in their tails. 10 Isa 9:15 Eph 4:14

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. That is, those of the Latin and Greek churches, who escaped destruction, still persisted in their idolatrous worship of demons, etc.

yet. 21 2:21,22 16:8 De 31:29 2Ch 28:22 Jer 5:3 8:4-6 Mt 21:32 2Co 12:21

worship. Le 17:7 De 32:17 2Ki 22:17 2Ch 34:25 Ps 106:37 Isa 2:8 Jer 25:6 44:8 Ac 7:41 19:26 1Co 10:20,21 1Ti 4:1

and idols. Ps 115:4-8 135:15-18 Isa 40:19,20 41:7 42:17,18 44:9-20 46:5-7 Jer 10:3-5,8,9,14,15 15:19,20 51:17 Da 5:23 Hab 2:18-20 Ac 17:29 Ro 1:21-23

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

their murders. 11:7-9 13:7,15 16:6 18:24 Da 7:21-25 11:33

their sorceries. 13:13 18:23 21:8 22:15 Isa 47:9,12 57:3 Mal 3:5

nor of their fornication. 14:8 17:2,5 18:3 19:2 Mt 15:19 2Co 12:21