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Re 9:1
9:1 {1} And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a {2} star fall
from heaven unto the earth: {3} and to him was given the key
of the {a} bottomless pit.
(1) The first execution on the wicked men inhabiting the earth
(as the angel said before) wrought by the infernal powers
is declared from here to @Re 9:2-11 and after the
sixth execution to @Re 9:12-19 and lastly is shown the
common event that followed the former execution in the
world, in the two last verses @Re 9:20,21.
(2) That is, that the angel of God glittering with glory, as a
star fallen from heaven. He may be Christ, who has the
keys of hell by himself and by princely authority,
@Re 1:18 or some inferior angel who has the same key
entrusted to him and holds it ministerially, or by office
of his ministry, here and @Re 20:10 so the word
"falling" is taken; @Ge 14:10, 24:46, Heb 6:6.
(3) The key was given to this star. For those powers of
wickedness are sent to hell, bound with chains of darkness
and kept there until damnation, unless God lets them loose
for a time; @2Pe 2:4, Jude 1:6, Re 20:7 the history
of these agrees with this chapter.
(a) By the bottomless pit, he means the deepest darkness of
hell.
Re 9:2
9:2 {4} And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a
smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and
the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of
the pit.
(4) To this is added, the smoke of the hellish and infernal
dark spirits, darkening all things in heaven and in earth.
The spiritual darkness is the cause of all disorder and
confusion: For the devil at a certain time sent these
spirits into his kingdom, that he might at once and with
one action overthrow all things and pervert if it were
possible the elect themselves. By this darkness, all
spiritual light, both active as of the sun and passive as
of the air which is lightened by the sun, is taken away:
and this is that which goes before the spirits: it follows
of the spirits themselves.
Re 9:3
9:3 {5} 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.
(5) A description of the malignant spirits invading the world,
taken from their nature, power, form and order. From their
nature, for that they are like certain locust, in
quickness, subtilty, hurtfulness, number, and such like, in
this verse. From their power, for that they are as the
scorpions of the earth, of a secret force to hurt: for our
battle is not here with flesh and blood, but with powers
@Eph 6:12 This place of the power of the devils,
generally noted in this verse, is particularly declared
afterwards in @Re 9:4-6.
Re 9:4
9:4 {6} 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.
(6) Here the power of the devils is described according to
their actions and the effects of the same. Their actions
are said to be limited by the counsel of God: both because
they do not hurt all men, but only the reprobate (for the
godly and elect, in whom there is any part of a better
life, God guards by his decree) whom Christ shall not have
sealed, in this verse: and also because they did not have
all power nor at all time, no not over those that are their
own, but limited in manner and time, by the prescript of
God in @Re 9:5. So their power to afflict the godly
is none, and for the wicked is limited in act and in
effect, by the will of God: for the manner was prescribed
to them that they should not slay, but torment this
wretched world. The time is for five months, or for a
hundred and fifty days, that is, for so many years, in
which the devils have indeed mightily perverted all things
in the world: and yet without that public and unpunished
license of killing, which afterwards they usurped when the
sixth angel had blown his trumpet, as shall be said in
@Re 9:13. Now this space is to be accounted from the
end of that thousand years mentioned in @Re 20:3 and
that is from the reign of pope Gregory the seventh, a most
monstrous Necromancer, who before was called Hidebrandus
Senensis: for this man being made altogether of impiety and
wickedness, as a slave of the devil, whom he served, was
the most wicked firebrand of the world: he excommunicated
the emperor Henry the fourth: went about by all manner of
treachery to set up and put down Empires and kingdoms as he
liked: and did not hesitate to set Rodolph the Swedon over
the Empire instead of Henry, sending to him a crown, with
this verse annexed to it: "Petra dedid Petro, Petrus
diadema Rodolpho" that is, "The Rock to Peter gave the
Crown, and Peter Rodolph doth renown". Finally, he so
finely bestirred himself in his affairs, as he miserably
set all Christendom on fire, and conveyed over to his
successors the burning brand of the same who enraged with
like ambition, never ceased to nourish that flame, and to
kindle it more and more: by which cities, commonwealths and
whole kingdoms set together by the ears amongst themselves
by most expert cut-throats, came to ruin, while they
miserably wounded one another. This term of a hundred and
fifty years, ends in the time of Gregory the ninth or
Hugolinus Anagniensis (as he was called before) who caused
Raimond his chaplain and confessor to compile the writings
of Decretals, and by permission of the kings and princes,
published them in the Christian world, and established them
as Law: For by this trick at length the popes gave
themselves licence to kill whom they would, while others
were unaware: and without fear established a butchery out
of many of the wicked Canons of the Decretals, which the
trumpet of the fifth angel had expressly forbidden and had
hindered until this time. The effects of these bloody
actions are declared in @Re 9:6 that the miserable
world languishing in so great calamities, should willingly
seek death and prefer the it over life, by reason of the
severity of the miseries that oppressed them.
Re 9:7
9:7 {7} And the shapes of the locusts [were] like unto horses
prepared unto battle; and on their heads [were] as it were
crowns like gold, and their faces [were] as the faces of
men.
(7) The form of these hellish spirits and administers, is
outlined by signs and visible figures in this manner:
that they are very expert and swift: that wherever they are
in the world, the kingdom is theirs: that they manage all
their affairs with cunning and skill, in this verse: that
making show of mildness and tender affection to draw on men
with, they most impudently rage in all mischief: that
they are most mighty to do hurt @Re 9:8 that they
are freed from being hurt by any man, as armed with the
colour of religion and sacred authority of privilege: that
they fill all things with horror, @Re 9:9 that they
are fraudulent: that they are poisonous and extremely
offensive though their power is limited. @Re 9:10. All
these things are found in the infernal powers and communicated
by them to their ministers and vassals.
Re 9:11
9:11 {8} And they had a king over them, [which is] the angel of
the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [is]
Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [his] name Apollyon.
(8) The order of powers of maliciousness: that they are subject
to one infernal king, whom you may call, The Destroyer: who
drives the whole world both Jews and Gentiles into the
destruction that belongs to himself. I cannot tell whether
this name has respect to the etymological interpretation of
Hildebrand, by a figure often used in the Holy Scripture:
which albeit it may otherwise be turned of the Germans (as
the sense of compound words is commonly ambiguous) yet in
very deed it signifies as much as if you should call him,
the firebrand, that is, he that sets on fire those that are
faithful to him.
Re 9:12
9:12 {9} One woe is past; [and], behold, there come two woes
more hereafter.
(9) A passage to the next point and the history of the time
following.
Re 9:13
9:13 {10} And the sixth angel sounded, {11} and I heard a voice
from the {b} four horns of the golden altar which is before
God,
(10) The sixth execution done on the world by the tyrannical
powers of it, working in the four parts of the earth, that
is, in most cruel manner execution their tyrannous dominion
through out the whole world: and killing the miserable
people without punishment, which before was not lawful for
them to do in that sort, as I showed in @Re 9:4. This
narration has two parts: a commandment from God, in @Re 9:14
and an execution of the commandment, in @Re 9:15.
(11) The commandment given by Christ himself, who is governor
over all.
(b) He alludes to the altar of incense, which stood in the
court which the priests were in, opposite the Ark of the
Covenant, having a veil between them.
Re 9:14
9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, {12} Loose
the four angels which are bound in the great river
Euphrates.
(12) As if he should have said, these till now have been bound
by the power of God, that they could not freely run over
all men as they lusted, but were held and restrained at
that great river of Euphrates, that is, in their spiritual
Babylon (or this is a paraphrase of the spiritual
Babylon, by the limits of the visible Babylon long since
overthrown) that they might not commit those horrible
slaughters, which they long breathed after. Now go to it,
let loose those four angels, that is, administers of the
wrath of God, in that number that is convenient to the
slaughtering of the four quarters of the world: stir them
up and give them the bridle, that rushing out of that
Babylon of theirs, which is the seat of the wicked ones,
they may fly over all the world, therein to rage, and
most licentiously to practise their tyranny, as God has
ordained. This was done when Gregory the ninth by public
authority established as Law, his own Decretals, by which
he might freely lay traps for the life of simple men.
For who is it that sees not that the laws of Decretal,
most of them are snares to catch souls with? Since
that time (O good God) how many great slaughters have
there been? How many great massacres? All history is
full of them: and this our age abounds with most horrible
and monstrous examples of the these.
Re 9:15
9:15 {13} And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared
for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to
slay the third part of men.
(13) The execution of the commandment is in two parts: one,
that those butchers are let loose, that out of their tower
of the spiritual Babylon they might with fury run abroad
through all the world, as well the chief of that crew
who are most prompt to all the work, in this verse: as
their multitudes, both most copious, of which a number
certain is named for a number infinite @Re 9:16 and
in themselves by all means fully furnished to hide and to
hurt @Re 9:17 as being armed with fire, smoke and
brimstone, as appears in the colour of this armour, which
dazzles the eyes to all men, and have the strength of
lions to cause pain, from which (as out of their mouth)
the fiery, smoky, and stinking darts of the pope are shot
out @Re 9:18 The other part, that these butchers
have effected the commandment of God by fraud and
violence, in the two verses following @Re 9:16,17.
Re 9:19
9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: {14}
for their tails [were] like unto serpents, and had heads,
and with them they do hurt.
(14) That is, they are harmful on all sides: on whatever part you
put your hand to them, or they touch you, they do hurt. So
the former are called Scorpions, @Re 9:3.
Re 9:20
9:20 {15} And the rest of the men which were not killed by these
plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that
they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and
silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither
can see, nor hear, nor walk:
(15) Now remains the event (as I said on the first verse),
\\see Geneva "Re 9:1"\\ which followed so many grievous
judgments in the most wicked world, namely an impenitent
affirmation of the ungodly in their impiety and
unrighteousness, though they feel themselves most vehemently
pressed with the hand of God: for their obstinate ungodliness
is showed in this verse: and their unrighteousness in the
verse following @Re 9:21. So far has been the general
history of things to be done universally in the whole world:
which because it does not so much belong to the Church of
Christ, is therefore not so expressly distinguished by
certainty of time and other circumstances, but is woven, as
they say, with a slight hand. Also there is no other reason
why the history of the seventh angel is passed over in this
place, then for that the same more properly appertains to the
history of the Church. But this is more diligently set out
according to its time, @Re 11:16 as shall appear on
those places.