Revelation 9:4-12

The locust and their work Revelation 9:4-12: Locusts are a universal symbol of destruction. The locusts are not literal. We know this because these locusts would not touch the grass, nor any green thing, or tree, as locusts do, only men. (Revelation 9:4) These locusts had a king over them. (Revelation 9:11) Literal locusts do not have a king over them. "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands." (Proverbs 30:27) These locusts do not hurt the land, nor do they hurt the people of God.

The kings over these locust had names in the Hebrew tongue Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." Both the words Abaddon and Apollyon means "destroyer." The name is mostly translated simply with the word "destruction" as in Job 26:6. "Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering."

The locusts came out of the smoke. They did not hurt the vegetation. Neither did they hurt the people of God. As people swallow the lies of the Devil (false doctrine) these locusts sting them. False doctrine does not hurt the faith of God. It did have a destructive effect on the Roman Empire.

The locusts are described in a very vivid way. They: (1) are as horses armed for battle, (2) have victory crowns, (3) have faces of men to picture intelligence and beauty, (4) have beautiful hair to represent strength, (5) have powerful teeth like lions, (6) have breastplates for protection, (7) the wings make a mighty sound like the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle, (8) their tails have destructive power like scorpions.

The Roman Empire bought into the lies of Satan and fell from internal spiritual decay. Here God uses this trumpet both to picture punishment and as a warning and a call to repentance. God can destroy wicked nations with natural calamities of as the result of internal decay. The Roman Empire was rotten on the inside!