These locusts that John sees in this vision have on their heads something that resembles “crowns” [“On their heads were crowns of something like gold,” [verse 7]. They are, as it were, the kings of torment and torture.

Their faces are like the faces of men; their hair is like the hair of women; their teeth are like the teeth of a lion; their breastplates are like breastplates of iron; their wings are like the sound of rushing chariots [“…their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle,” [verses 7b-9]. The noises of great masses of horsemen and chariots rushing into battle would be overwhelming—an overwhelming sound, an overwhelming sight. In fact, it’s said in the annals of war that oftentimes foot soldiers ran, not in the face of an oncoming horse or chariot charge, but they ran at the sound even before the charge got to their positions. The sound was so ominous that they turned and ran. The sting in the tails of these scorpion-type locusts can hurt.

The “King” Over the Locusts (verses 11 and 12)

Verse 11: “And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”

We see there that their king is called “the angel of the bottomless pit.” He has two names. In the Hebrew language, his name is “Abaddon.” In that language, the name means “destruction.” I thought that was interesting that the actual pronunciation is “Ah-bad-un”—he is “a bad un” [he is a bad one]. That’s true! I looked it up! In the Greek language, his name is “Apollyon.” In that language, the name means “destroyer.”

Verse 12: “One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.” The first “woe” is past; but as we saw at the end of chapter 8, there are two “woes” yet to come. This first one at the sounding of the fifth trumpet is something that is so horrible to think about, to imagine—the vision of these creatures that are so destructive, these creatures that can bring so much pain and suffering and torment—what could be worse? Could anything be worse? Well, there are still two “woes”—two trumpets yet to sound, the sixth and the seventh.

A Summary of Revelation 9, Verses 2 and 3 (From Burton Coffman’s “Commentary on Revelation)

Verses 2-3: “And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”

Coffman, concerning the smoke: The smoke and the locusts are the hellish teachings, influences, thought styles, intellectual delusions, etc. that darken the true light of Christ in the world. The perverted minds of sinful men mislead the whole world, promising happiness, but giving, instead, wretched and miserable torment. The obscuration by smoke is surely the diffusion on earth of evil thoughts and ideas, the spirit of falsehood and hate, hostility to truth and enmity against God and man. The very air men breathe in their education, managing, governing, etc. is black murk. Hell spreads its pall over them. The light of truth shines, but men live in this hellish atmosphere. Now it is evident that this is a description of the way it is now in this present dispensation of God’s grace, and this awful blindness and debauchery of people is not natural. It is demonically inspired. The picture taken as a whole symbolizes a very grievous moral and spiritual darkening by the forces of evil. The smoke is the evil influence of Satan, which darkens men’s minds. The sun, which is darkened thus, is Jesus Christ, the Son, the only true light of our world. God uses even the work of the devil as a warning and punishment for the wicked, but the blame for the torments, which people suffer, is not upon God. Rather, it is upon the wicked themselves and upon Satan, whom they follow.

Coffman, concerning the locusts: Out of the smoke came forth locusts. The evil influence of Satan has results, and the locusts are that result. The locust is an organized entity of evil supported, induced and held together by the satanic influence, which it produced. Some scholars are very busy here with descriptions of plagues of locusts mentioned in the Old Testament, but the language here is figurative. No swarm of locusts ever had a king over them or the power to inflict a sting lasting for five months. Furthermore, these locusts did not even touch earth’s vegetation, such as the grass. It is a spiritual plague which is depicted here. Such a spiritual malignity is, in truth, the source of the forces that are chewing up our world. The locusts are symbols of wild ideas and false doctrines, which becloud men’s mental faculties. [End of Brother Coffman’s comments.]

I thought that was an excellent description that Brother Coffman presents there of what we talked about when we discussed this recently. Again, he is pointing out and saying that these are not literal things; they are figurative in their nature, representing the world at the time of John, representing the world even in our day.