Revelation 9:13-21

Revelation 9:13-Ecclesiastes : . The Sixth Trumpet or the Second Woe.— The loosing of the four angels of death, and the slaughter of a third part of the human race.

Revelation 9:13 . the horns: the corners.— the golden altar: cf. Revelation 8:3.

Revelation 9:14 . Loose the four angels: these angels are kept bound in the river Euphrates ( cf. Revelation 16:12) waiting for the day of vengeance. There is a striking parallel in a Syriac Apocalypse of Ezra, “ Let these four kings be loosed which are bound near the great river Euphrates which shall destroy a third part of mankind.” Many commentators see in this reference an expectation that the armies of Parthia were soon to be loosed on the Roman Empire.

Revelation 9:16 . The figure 200 , 000 , 000 is probably derived from Psalms 68:17, “ The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands.”

Revelation 9:17 . hyacinth is sometimes used as ( a) the name of a precious stone ( Revelation 21:20), ( b) of a dye, i.e. blue. The breastplates appeared as flame-coloured, smoky blue, and yellow like sulphur.

[ Revelation 9:19 . their tails: The Parthians twisted their horses’ tails to a point. There may be a further reference to their skill in shooting backwards.— A. J. G.]

Revelation 9:20 . the rest of mankind, i.e. the two-thirds who were not killed.— worship devils: both in OT and NT the worship of the pagan world is said to be given to demons ( cf. Deuteronomy 32:17, Psalms 106:37, 1 Corinthians 10:20).

Revelation 9:21 . The four sins mentioned in this verse are the characteristic vices of the pagan world. For the connexion between idolatry and immorality cf. Romans 12:1-Ecclesiastes :.— [sorceries: the Gr. word means magic spells inciting to illicit lusts.— A. J. G.]