Apocalipse 9

1 O quinto anjo tocou a sua trombeta, e vi uma estrela que havia caído do céu sobre a terra. À estrela foi dada a chave do poço do Abismo.

2 Quando ela abriu o Abismo, subiu dele fumaça como a de uma gigantesca fornalha. O sol e o céu escureceram com a fumaça que saía do Abismo.

3 Da fumaça saíram gafanhotos que vieram sobre a terra, e lhes foi dado poder como o dos escorpiões da terra.

4 Eles receberam ordens para não causar dano nem à relva da terra, nem a qualquer planta ou árvore, mas apenas àqueles que não tinham o selo de Deus na testa.

5 Não lhes foi dado poder para matá-los, mas sim para causar-lhes tormento durante cinco meses. A agonia que eles sofreram era como a da picada do escorpião.

6 Naqueles dias os homens procurarão a morte, mas não a encontrarão; desejarão morrer, mas a morte fugirá deles.

7 Os gafanhotos pareciam cavalos preparados para a batalha. Tinham sobre a cabeça algo como coroas de ouro, e o rosto deles parecia rosto humano.

8 Os cabelos deles eram como os de mulher e os dentes como os de leão.

9 Tinham couraças como couraças de ferro, e o som das suas asas era como o barulho de muitos cavalos e carruagens correndo para a batalha.

10 Tinham caudas e ferrões como de escorpiões e na cauda tinham poder para causar tormento aos homens durante cinco meses.

11 Tinham um rei sobre eles, o anjo do Abismo, cujo nome, em hebraico, é Abadom e, em grego, Apoliom.^[a]

12 O primeiro ai passou; dois outros ais ainda virão.

13 O sexto anjo tocou a sua trombeta, e ouvi uma voz que vinha das pontas^[b] do altar de ouro que está diante de Deus.

14 Ela disse ao sexto anjo que tinha a trombeta: “Solte os quatro anjos que estão amarrados junto ao grande rio Eufrates”.

15 Os quatro anjos, que estavam preparados para aquela hora, dia, mês e ano, foram soltos para matar um terço da humanidade.

16 O número dos cavaleiros que compunham os exércitos era de duzentos milhões; eu ouvi o seu número.

17 Os cavalos e os cavaleiros que vi em minha visão tinham este aspecto: as suas couraças eram vermelhas como o fogo, azuis como o jacinto e amarelas como o enxofre. A cabeça dos cavalos parecia a cabeça de um leão, e da boca lançavam fogo, fumaça e enxofre.

18 Um terço da humanidade foi morto pelas três pragas: de fogo, fumaça e enxofre, que saíam da boca dos cavalos.

19 O poder dos cavalos estava na boca e na cauda; pois a cauda deles era como cobra; com a cabeça feriam as pessoas.

20 O restante da humanidade que não morreu por essas pragas nem assim se arrependeu das obras das suas mãos; eles não pararam de adorar os demônios e os ídolos de ouro, prata, bronze, pedra e madeira, ídolos que não podem ver, nem ouvir, nem andar.

21 Também não se arrependeram dos seus assassinatos, das suas feitiçarias, da sua imoralidade sexual e dos seus roubos.

Apocalipse 9 Commentary

Chapter 9

The fifth trumpet is followed by a representation of another star as falling from heaven and opening the bottomless pit, out of which come swarms of locusts. (1-12) The sixth trumpet is followed by the loosing of four angels bound in the great river Euphrates. (13-21)

Verses 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 will keep his people from total and final apostacy. The power is limited to a short season; but it would be very sharp. In such events the faithful share the common calamity, but from the pestilence of error they might and would be safe. We collect from Scripture, that such ( 1 Corinthians. 11:19 ) early writers plainly refer this to the first great host of corrupters who overspread the Christian church.

Verses 13-21 The sixth angel sounded, and here the power of the Turks seems the subject. Their time is limited. They not only slew in war, but brought a poisonous and ruinous religion. The antichristian generation repented not under these dreadful judgments. From this sixth trumpet learn that God can make one enemy of the church a scourge and a plague to another. The idolatry in the remains of the eastern church and elsewhere, and the sins of professed Christians, render this prophecy and its fulfilment more wonderful. And the attentive reader of Scripture and history, may find his faith and hope strengthened by events, which in other respects fill his heart with anguish and his eyes with tears, while he sees that men who escape these plagues, repent not of their evil works, but go on with idolatries, wickedness, and cruelty, till wrath comes upon them to the utmost.

Footnotes

• [a]. Abadom e Apoliom significam destruidor.
• [b]. Grego: "chifres."

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 9

This chapter gives an account of the blowing of the fifth and sixth trumpets, and of the effects following upon them. The fifth angel blows his trumpet, and a star falls; the key of the bottomless pit is given to him, which being opened by it, out of it comes smoke to the darkening of the sun and air, and out of the smoke locusts, who have power like scorpions, Re 9:1-3; whose power is restrained from using it to the hurt of the grass, or any green thing or tree, only of those who had not the seal of God in their foreheads; but are permitted, though not to kill men, yet to torment them five months, which is worse than death unto them, Re 9:4-6. The shapes of these locusts, which are said to be like horses, are described by their heads, faces, hair, teeth, breastplates, wings, and tails, and are said to have a king over them, whose name is mentioned, Re 9:7-11. The blowing of this trumpet brings on one of the woes mentioned in Re 8:13, and the two other follow, Re 9:12. The sixth angel blows his trumpet, and a voice is heard from the horns of the altar, directed to the said angel, ordering him to loose four angels bound in the great river Euphrates, where they were prepared, for a determinate time, to slay the third part of men, and they were loosed accordingly, Re 9:13-15. The number of the army, under these angels, is given, Re 9:16, and the horses and horsemen are described; the riders by their breastplates of fire, jacinth, and brimstone; their horses' heads as heads of lions, fire, smoke, and brimstone, issuing out of their mouths, by which the third part of men are killed, Re 9:17,18. The reason of this slaughter is, because they had power both in their mouth and tails, which latter were like serpents, and had heads, with which they did mischief, Re 9:19; and yet such who were not killed by these plagues, but escaped, did not repent of their idolatry, murders, sorceries, fornication, and theft, Re 9:20,21.