Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Revelation 9:1
1. The last three trumpets of the seven are called, from Revelation 8:13, the woe-trumpets. fall—rather as Greek, "fallen." When John saw it, it was not in the act of falling, but had fallen already. This is a connecting link of this fifth trumpet with Revelation 12:8; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 12:12, "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, for the devil is come down," c. Compare Revelation 12:12- :, "How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning!" the bottomless pit—Greek, "the... read more
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Revelation 9:2
Revelation 9:2. There arose a smoke out of the pit,— As a great smoke hinders the sight, so do errors the understanding. St. John keeps to the allegory, says Grotius: a smoke takes from us the sight of the stars. Smoke, especially when proceeding from a fierce fire, is also a representation of devastation. Thus when Abraham beheld the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the smoke of the country went up, as the smoke of a furnace. The great displeasure of God is represented by the same figurative... read more