Revelation

Chapter 9

The Fifth Trumpet and The Sixth Trumpet

Revelation 9 unfolds the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments, intensifying the woe announced at the end of the previous chapter. At the fifth trumpet, a fallen star is given the key to the Abyss, whose opening releases smoke that darkens the air and locust-like creatures empowered to torment those who lack the seal of God. Their suffering is so severe that people long for death but cannot find it, and the grotesque description of the locust army underscores that this is a judgment of demonic horror rather than ordinary warfare. The first woe ends with the declaration that two more still remain. The sixth trumpet then releases four angels bound at the Euphrates for a divinely appointed moment, leading to a massive mounted force whose plagues kill a third of mankind. Yet even after such devastation, the surviving rest of humanity refuses to repent of demon worship, idolatry, murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft. The chapter therefore shows trumpet judgments becoming more dreadful while also exposing the entrenched hardness of the human heart.

This chapter is significant because it makes explicit what earlier judgments have implied: divine wrath exposes not only the fragility of creation but the spiritual bondage and moral rebellion of humanity. The fifth trumpet presents torment that is limited, targeted, and terrifying, yet still not final. The sixth trumpet escalates to mass death on a staggering scale. In both cases the judgments remain governed by divine permission, timing, and boundaries, which means even these horrors unfold under the Lamb's sovereign plan rather than outside it. Just as important, Revelation 9 explains why judgment alone cannot save. The surviving earth-dwellers do not repent; instead they cling to idolatry and violence. The chapter therefore functions as a dark diagnosis of spiritual bondage and impenitence, preparing the reader to see that what humanity needs is not merely warning but redemption, witness, and finally decisive divine intervention.

2 sections·514 words·~2 min read

Begin reading Zoom into first section

Reader

Revelation 9

A continuous BSB reading flow. Turn on the guide when you want authored orientation; leave it off when you simply want the text.

vv. 1-12

The Fifth Trumpet

Open section

T¹hen the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss. ²The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit. ³And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. ⁴They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion. ⁶In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.

⁷And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads; and their faces were like the faces of men. ⁸They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions. ⁹They also had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. ¹⁰They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months. ¹¹They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon. ¹²The first woe has passed. Behold, two woes are still to follow.

vv. 13-21

The Sixth Trumpet

Open section

T¹³hen the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God ¹⁴saying to the sixth angel with the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵So the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number. ¹⁷Now the horses and riders in my vision looked like this: The riders had breastplates the colors of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and sulfur. ¹⁸A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that proceeded from their mouths. ¹⁹For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm.

²⁰Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.

Section map

Open the closer view when you want it.

Each section keeps the passage focused, adds summaries and cross references, and gives verse-level links.