Revelation 9:4

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. NOT HURT THE GRASS ... NEITHER ANY GREEN THING, NEITHER ANY TREE - on which they ordinarily prey. Therefore not natural locusts. Their instinct is supernaturally restrained to mark the judgment as divine. THOSE MEN WHICH - `the men whosoever.' IN - `upon their forehead.' Thus this fifth trumpet is proved to follow the sealing in Revelation 7:1, under the sixth seal. None of the saints are hurt by these locusts; not true of the saints in Mohammed's attack, who is supposed to be meant by the locusts; for many believers fell in the Mohammedan invasions of Christendom....

1-12 Upon sounding the fifth trumpet, a star fell from heaven to the earth. Having ceased to be a minister of Christ, he who is represented by this star becomes the minister of the devil; and lets loose the powers of hell against the churches of Christ. On the opening of the bottomless pit, there arose a great smoke. The devil carries on his designs by blinding the eyes of men, by putting out light and knowledge, and promoting ignorance and error. Out of this smoke there came a swarm of locusts, emblems of the devil's agents, who promote superstition, idolatry, error, and cruelty. The trees and the grass, the true believers, whether young or more advanced, should be untouched. But a secret poison and infection in the soul, should rob many others of purity, and afterwards of peace. The locusts had no power to hurt those who had the seal of God. God's all-powerful, distinguishing grace wi...

Verse Revelation 9:4. _THEY SHOULD NOT HURT THE GRASS_] Neither the common people, the men of middling condition, nor the nobles. However, this appears rather to refer to the prudent counsels of a military chief, not to destroy the _crops_ and _herbage_ of which they might have need in their campaigns. _WHICH HAVE NOT THE SEAL OF GOD_] All false, hypocritical, and heterodox Christians....

AND IT WAS COMMANDED THEM - The writer does not say by whom this command was given, but it is clearly by someone who had the direction of them. As they were evoked from the “bottomless pit” by one who had the key to that dark abode, and as they are represented in Revelation 9:11 as under the command of one who is there called Abaddon, or Apollyon - the Destroyer - it would seem most probable that the command referred to is one that is given by him; that is, that this expresses one of the principles on which he would act in his devastations. At all events, this denotes what would be one of the characteristics of these destroyers. Their purpose would be to vex and trouble people; not to spread desolation over vineyards, olive-yards, and fields of grain. THAT THEY SHOULD NOT HURT THE GRASS OF THE EARTH, ... - See the

EXPOSITION REVELATION 9:1 AND THE FIFTH ANGEL SOUNDED, AND I SAW A STAR FALL FROM HEAVEN UNTO THE EARTH; _a star from heaven fallen unto the earth _(Revised Version); not _saw a star fall. _(For the distinctive character of the last three judgments, see on Revelation 8:2.) "A star" sometimes signifies one high in position. Thus Numbers 24:17, "There shall come a star out of Jacob;" Daniel 8:10, "And it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground." In Revelation 1:20

AND IT WAS COMMANDED THEM,.... The locusts, by Christ, who has a sovereign power over all men, and lays them under the restraints of his providence: THAT THEY SHOULD NOT HURT THE GRASS OF THE EARTH: true Christians, private believers, it may be those of the lower class; who for their numbers, and for their flourishing estate under the dews of heavenly grace, and the distillations of the doctrine of grace, and the clear shining of the sun of righteousness upon them, and for their weakness, may be compared to grass; and yet as these being a company reserved by Christ for himself, who will not break nor bruise them, so neither will he suffer others to hurt them, and resents every offence done to these little ones: NEITHER ANY GREEN THING; who have the truth of grace in them, are spiritually alive, and in prosperous circumstances, in a fruitful condition, being filled with the fruits of ri...

WHICH HAD NOT (Revelation 7:2); (Revelation 7:3). Contrast (Revelation 13:16); (Revelation 13:17)....

CHAPTER 9 Revelation 9:1 . The remaining three trumpets have a “woe” attached to each. This is announced in the last verse of the preceding chapter, where the word angel should be “eagle.” An eagle, the bird of prey, proclaims the threefold woe. He acts thus as a herald of great judgments (Matthew 24:28, Revelation 19:17). The fifth trumpet is a special judgment upon apostate Israel: because those who suffer are they “which have not the seal of God on their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4). The great tribulation in the second half of the week, comes now into prominence. If we turn to...

THE FIFTH TRUMPET OR THE FIRST WOE. The seer sees a star fallen on the earth. The star seems to represent a person, possibly Satan (_cf._ Luke 10:18). ABYSS: the word properly means bottomless, and is used in OT of the abode of the dead, _e.g._ Psalms 71:20. The abyss is approached by a shaft or well, here translated pit, which is closed and kept under lock and key. Revelation 9:3. out of the smoke came. locusts: _cf._ Exodus 10:13 and Driver's quotation of the observations of a modern traveller: we observed large dark clouds resembling smoke moving to and fro. One morning these clouds came down and proved

THE FIFTH TRUMPET. We are now prepared to listen to the trumpet of the fifth angel, and to behold the symbolism described by the prophet.. quote: And the fifth angel sounded, and. saw. star fall from heaven unto the earth; and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose. smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of. great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 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. 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. 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...