Revelation 9:13-21
1599 Geneva Bible
13 ¶ [a]Then the sixth Angel blew the trumpet, [b]and I heard a voice from the [c]four horns of the golden altar, which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth Angel, which had the trumpet, [d]Loose the four Angels, which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 [e]And the four Angels were loosed, which were prepared at an hour, at a day, at a month, and at a year to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of horsemen of war were twenty thousand times ten thousand: for I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in a vision, and them that sat on them, having fiery habergeons, and of hyacinth, and of brimstone, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths went forth fire, and smoke, and brimstone.
18 Of these three was the third part of men killed, that is, of the fire, and of the smoke, and of the brimstone, which came out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in their mouths, and in their tails: [f]for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads wherewith they hurt.
20 [g]And the remnant of the men which were not killed by these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship devils, and (A)idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which neither can see, neither hear, nor go.
21 Also they repented not of their murder, and of their sorcery, neither of their fornication, nor of their theft.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Revelation 9:13 The sixth execution done upon the world by the tyrannical powers thereof working in the four parts of the earth, that is in most cruel manner executing their tyrannous dominion through 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 upon the fourth verse. This narration has two parts: a commandment from God, in verse 14, and execution of the commandment, in the verse following.
- Revelation 9:13 The commandment given by Christ himself, who is governor over all.
- Revelation 9:13 He alludeth to the altar of incense, which stood in the Court which the Priests were in, over against the Ark of the Covenant, having a veil betwixt them.
- Revelation 9:14 As if he should have said, These hitherto have been so bound by the power of God, that they could not freely run upon all men as themselves lusted, but were stayed and restrained at that great flood of Euphrates, that is, in their spiritual Babylon (for this is a Paraphrase of the spiritual Babylon by the limits of the spiritual Babylon long since overthrown) that they might not commit those horrible slaughters which they long breathed after. Now go to: 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 of that Babylon of theirs, which is the seat of the wicked ones, they may fly upon all the world, therein to rage, and most licentiously to exercise their tyranny, as God hath ordained. This was done when Gregory the ninth by public authority established for law his own Decretals, by which he might freely lay trains for the life of simple men. For who is it that seeth not that the laws Decretal most of them are as snares to catch souls withal? Since that time (O good God!) how great slaughters have there been? how great massacres? All histories are full of them: and this our age aboundeth with most horrible and monstrous examples of the same.
- Revelation 9:15 The execution of the commandment is in two points: 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 thief of that crew which are most prompt unto all assays, in this verse: as their multitudes, both most copious, of which a number certain is named for a number infinite, Verse 16, and in themselves by all means fully furnished to hide and to hurt, Verse 17, as being armed with fire, smoke and brimstone, as appeareth in the color of their armor, which dazzleth the eyes of all men: and have the strength of Lions to hurt withal, from which (as out of their mouth) the fiery, smoky, and stinking darts of the Pope are shot out, Verse 18. The other point is, that these butchers have effected the commandment of God by fraud and violence, in the two verses following.
- Revelation 9:19 That is, they [are] harmful every way: on what part soever thou put thine hand unto them or they touch thee, they do hurt. So the former are called Scorpions, Verse 3.
- Revelation 9:20 Now remaineth the event (as I said upon the first verse) which followed of so many and so 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. Hitherto hath been the general history of things to be done universal in the whole world: which because it doth 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 none other cause why the history of the seventh Angel is passed over in this place, than for that the same more properly appertaineth unto the history of the Church. But this is more diligently set out according to the time thereof, Rev. 11 and 16, as shall appear upon those places.
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