Hell on earth
"And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth........." Rev. 9v3.
The very mention of locusts should strike terror into every heart. The illustration here is of something like a volcano belching out its toxic contents high into the sky such that the sun and the air are darkened by its smoke. In the future men will go to hell, but here in Revelation 9v1-21 hell comes to men. If ever there was a picture of "all hell breaking loose" it is this! From the smoke appears what looks like numberless locusts. In the bible locust plagues were used by God as a form of government. It will become clear that these are not literal locusts but they are locust- like in their character and in their unmitigated destruction.
The biblical account of the plague of locusts in Egypt is found in Exodus 10v12-15. The description could not be more graphic. A serious of extracts from that portion is as follows "they went up over all the land of Egypt"; "very grievous were they": "the land was darkened": "they did eat every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees": "there remained not any green thing in the trees or the herbs of the field." The picture is of swarming locusts stripping bare the land of all vegetation. The Lord used the threat of the locust swarms as a measure of discipline on Israel (2nd Chronicles 7v13). Again in Joel chapter 1 we have the record of the devastation of the locust swarms. Later on in Joel 2v26, when God promises restoration to His people He said "I will restore unto you the years that the locust hath eaten." Such was the devastation of the locust armies that they wiped out years of produce. In the same context God described them as "My great army which I sent among you."
The point of it all is total devastation of everything in their pathway. It has even been recorded that a swarm of locusts were able to strip bare the bark of trees. The locusts mentioned here however are not literal; they are metaphorical, but their force is no less than the real thing, indeed it may be much worse. These are demon spirits who have been enchained in darkness for centuries, who are the worst of beings in existence, who have no love for humanity save to satisfy their own desires, and as we shall learn later only have a limited time in which to vent their destruction.
From this putrid dungeon they emerge to carry out their infernal work. The illustration is very solemn; it is of hateful demons, in countless numbers, having been given bodies in which to express themselves and have been let loose on the earth. The earth is now infested with these powerful and hateful creatures. The power however is not their own; they were "given power as the scorpions of the earth have power." In His judgment of the world God will use any agency no matter how evil, but they will always remain under His restraint. There is a kind of poetic justice about all of this in that the "earth dwellers" have chosen to follow Satan and it is as if God is saying to the world, let Me introduce you to your new friends! What follows is truly hell on earth. The mention of smoke warrants attention, because smoke is a symbol of the judgment of God as seen from passages like Genesis 19v25, Exodus 19v18, Revelation 9v17-18, Revelation 18v9 & Revelation 19v3. All the symbolism combines together to present a picture of pure terror.
The very mention of locusts should strike terror into every heart. The illustration here is of something like a volcano belching out its toxic contents high into the sky such that the sun and the air are darkened by its smoke. In the future men will go to hell, but here in Revelation 9v1-21 hell comes to men. If ever there was a picture of "all hell breaking loose" it is this! From the smoke appears what looks like numberless locusts. In the bible locust plagues were used by God as a form of government. It will become clear that these are not literal locusts but they are locust- like in their character and in their unmitigated destruction.
The biblical account of the plague of locusts in Egypt is found in Exodus 10v12-15. The description could not be more graphic. A serious of extracts from that portion is as follows "they went up over all the land of Egypt"; "very grievous were they": "the land was darkened": "they did eat every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees": "there remained not any green thing in the trees or the herbs of the field." The picture is of swarming locusts stripping bare the land of all vegetation. The Lord used the threat of the locust swarms as a measure of discipline on Israel (2nd Chronicles 7v13). Again in Joel chapter 1 we have the record of the devastation of the locust swarms. Later on in Joel 2v26, when God promises restoration to His people He said "I will restore unto you the years that the locust hath eaten." Such was the devastation of the locust armies that they wiped out years of produce. In the same context God described them as "My great army which I sent among you."
The point of it all is total devastation of everything in their pathway. It has even been recorded that a swarm of locusts were able to strip bare the bark of trees. The locusts mentioned here however are not literal; they are metaphorical, but their force is no less than the real thing, indeed it may be much worse. These are demon spirits who have been enchained in darkness for centuries, who are the worst of beings in existence, who have no love for humanity save to satisfy their own desires, and as we shall learn later only have a limited time in which to vent their destruction.
From this putrid dungeon they emerge to carry out their infernal work. The illustration is very solemn; it is of hateful demons, in countless numbers, having been given bodies in which to express themselves and have been let loose on the earth. The earth is now infested with these powerful and hateful creatures. The power however is not their own; they were "given power as the scorpions of the earth have power." In His judgment of the world God will use any agency no matter how evil, but they will always remain under His restraint. There is a kind of poetic justice about all of this in that the "earth dwellers" have chosen to follow Satan and it is as if God is saying to the world, let Me introduce you to your new friends! What follows is truly hell on earth. The mention of smoke warrants attention, because smoke is a symbol of the judgment of God as seen from passages like Genesis 19v25, Exodus 19v18, Revelation 9v17-18, Revelation 18v9 & Revelation 19v3. All the symbolism combines together to present a picture of pure terror.
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