January 25th, 2026
by Lars Dahl
by Lars Dahl
The ninth chapter of Revelation stands as one of Scripture's most unsettling passages. Many readers approach it with anxiety rather than curiosity, wondering how a loving God could allow such terrifying imagery. Yet this passage was never intended to frighten believers or drive seekers away. Instead, it reveals a profound truth about the nature of divine judgment: even in wrath, God remembers mercy.
The Restraint Within Judgment
When the fifth angel sounds his trumpet, a star falls from heaven, receiving the key to the bottomless pit. Smoke billows forth like a gigantic furnace, darkening the sun and sky. From this smoke emerge locust-like creatures with power like scorpions, creatures designed not to destroy the earth, but to torment those who have rejected God's seal.
What's remarkable here isn't the terror itself, but the boundaries surrounding it.
These creatures receive explicit instructions: they may not harm grass, plants, or trees. They cannot touch those sealed by God. They cannot kill, only torment. Their activity is limited to five months. This isn't chaos unleashed; this is measured, purposeful judgment with clear constraints.
The Nature of Scorpion Pain
Understanding scorpion venom helps us grasp the spiritual reality being portrayed. Of the 1,400 species of scorpions worldwide, only 25 possess venom toxic enough to seriously harm humans. But the pain they inflict is distinctive. It strikes immediately with fire-like intensity, overwhelming the nervous system without destroying tissue. The agony lingers for days, returning in waves, creating mental anguish alongside physical suffering.
The victim desperately wants relief, but it doesn't come.
This is the picture Revelation paints: torment without death, prolonged misery that becomes psychological as much as physical. People will seek death and not find it; they will desire to die, but death will flee from them. This reveals a sobering truth: existence without God becomes unbearable.
When Death Becomes Desirable
Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern. People desire death when the weight of sin, guilt, and separation from God crushes their spirit. Job cried out under overwhelming despair and loss. David wrote of how hidden sin dried up his strength and joy, pressing his soul toward hopelessness. Jonah asked to die when shame and spiritual blindness overtook him.
The common thread? Unconfessed sin produces shame, fear, and hopelessness that distort perspective and drain life of meaning.
In Revelation's judgment, people seek death when sin is fully exposed and grace is resisted, when guilt is felt but repentance is refused, when life without God becomes more painful than the thought of death itself. Yet the Bible's answer is never escape through death, but hope through repentance, forgiveness, and restored fellowship with God.
The Disturbing Details
John struggles to describe what he sees, repeatedly using the word "like" to approximate the reality. These creatures are "like" horses prepared for battle, with crowns "something like" gold, faces "like" human faces, teeth "like" lions, breastplates "like" iron, and tails "like" scorpions.
Why all this careful qualification? Because John, a first-century man, is describing something beyond his frame of reference—something supernatural, intelligent, and intentional. If these were merely literal insects, such elaborate detail would be unnecessary.
Every feature communicates something specific:
The Deception of Attraction
One detail stands out as particularly chilling: they have hair like women's hair and teeth like lion's teeth. This disturbing paradox reveals something that looks inviting on the surface but proves devastating beneath.
Here we encounter one of Satan's oldest strategies: deception through attraction. Evil rarely announces itself honestly. It often appears relatable, appealing, even human—until its true nature is revealed. No matter how attractive the appearance, the teeth tell the truth. The end result is always destruction.
This invites sober self-examination. How many paths appear appealing in the moment but lead to ruin? We must learn not to judge a direction by how it feels initially, but by where it ultimately leads.
The Sound of Inevitability
The iron breastplates tell us these creatures cannot be easily resisted or stopped. Human strength and wisdom prove ineffective against them. But perhaps even more terrifying is the sound they make—their wings roar like an army of chariots rushing into battle.
The noise announces what's coming. Fear precedes pain. The sound itself becomes part of the torment, declaring the inevitability of judgment. Yet even here, limits remain. Boundaries are set. This is not uncontrolled violence.
The Destroyer Defined
These creatures have a king—the angel from the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon; in Greek, Apollyon. Both mean "the Destroyer."
Scripture deliberately provides both languages because Revelation addresses a global church, Jew and Gentile alike. But notice something crucial: this being is defined by what he does, not who he is. The Bible doesn't waste time debating Satan's nature—it defines him by his function. He is the destroyer, and that's all he has ever been.
These names aren't merely labels; they're divine commentary. They tell us that Satan's end is certain, his destiny sealed.
The Mercy in the Measure
After describing this first terror, John adds a sobering note: "The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!"
Yet within this warning lies an unexpected grace. God limits judgment. The fact that suffering has boundaries is not evidence of abandonment—it's evidence of mercy. Even in wrath, God restrains evil. Even in judgment, He remembers those who are His.
The question this passage ultimately poses isn't "Why would God allow this?" but rather "What does it mean that God restrains this?" The real terror isn't what's described in Revelation 9, it's what would happen if God removed all boundaries entirely.
This passage stands as both a warning and an invitation: a warning to those who persist in rejecting God's grace and an invitation to those who recognize their need for His seal of protection. The choice, as always, remains ours.
The Restraint Within Judgment
When the fifth angel sounds his trumpet, a star falls from heaven, receiving the key to the bottomless pit. Smoke billows forth like a gigantic furnace, darkening the sun and sky. From this smoke emerge locust-like creatures with power like scorpions, creatures designed not to destroy the earth, but to torment those who have rejected God's seal.
What's remarkable here isn't the terror itself, but the boundaries surrounding it.
These creatures receive explicit instructions: they may not harm grass, plants, or trees. They cannot touch those sealed by God. They cannot kill, only torment. Their activity is limited to five months. This isn't chaos unleashed; this is measured, purposeful judgment with clear constraints.
The Nature of Scorpion Pain
Understanding scorpion venom helps us grasp the spiritual reality being portrayed. Of the 1,400 species of scorpions worldwide, only 25 possess venom toxic enough to seriously harm humans. But the pain they inflict is distinctive. It strikes immediately with fire-like intensity, overwhelming the nervous system without destroying tissue. The agony lingers for days, returning in waves, creating mental anguish alongside physical suffering.
The victim desperately wants relief, but it doesn't come.
This is the picture Revelation paints: torment without death, prolonged misery that becomes psychological as much as physical. People will seek death and not find it; they will desire to die, but death will flee from them. This reveals a sobering truth: existence without God becomes unbearable.
When Death Becomes Desirable
Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern. People desire death when the weight of sin, guilt, and separation from God crushes their spirit. Job cried out under overwhelming despair and loss. David wrote of how hidden sin dried up his strength and joy, pressing his soul toward hopelessness. Jonah asked to die when shame and spiritual blindness overtook him.
The common thread? Unconfessed sin produces shame, fear, and hopelessness that distort perspective and drain life of meaning.
In Revelation's judgment, people seek death when sin is fully exposed and grace is resisted, when guilt is felt but repentance is refused, when life without God becomes more painful than the thought of death itself. Yet the Bible's answer is never escape through death, but hope through repentance, forgiveness, and restored fellowship with God.
The Disturbing Details
John struggles to describe what he sees, repeatedly using the word "like" to approximate the reality. These creatures are "like" horses prepared for battle, with crowns "something like" gold, faces "like" human faces, teeth "like" lions, breastplates "like" iron, and tails "like" scorpions.
Why all this careful qualification? Because John, a first-century man, is describing something beyond his frame of reference—something supernatural, intelligent, and intentional. If these were merely literal insects, such elaborate detail would be unnecessary.
Every feature communicates something specific:
- Horses for battle suggest unstoppable force
- Crowns represent delegated authority
- Human faces indicate intelligence and awareness
- Lion's teeth convey ferocity
- Iron breastplates signal invulnerability
- Scorpion tails promise torment without death
The Deception of Attraction
One detail stands out as particularly chilling: they have hair like women's hair and teeth like lion's teeth. This disturbing paradox reveals something that looks inviting on the surface but proves devastating beneath.
Here we encounter one of Satan's oldest strategies: deception through attraction. Evil rarely announces itself honestly. It often appears relatable, appealing, even human—until its true nature is revealed. No matter how attractive the appearance, the teeth tell the truth. The end result is always destruction.
This invites sober self-examination. How many paths appear appealing in the moment but lead to ruin? We must learn not to judge a direction by how it feels initially, but by where it ultimately leads.
The Sound of Inevitability
The iron breastplates tell us these creatures cannot be easily resisted or stopped. Human strength and wisdom prove ineffective against them. But perhaps even more terrifying is the sound they make—their wings roar like an army of chariots rushing into battle.
The noise announces what's coming. Fear precedes pain. The sound itself becomes part of the torment, declaring the inevitability of judgment. Yet even here, limits remain. Boundaries are set. This is not uncontrolled violence.
The Destroyer Defined
These creatures have a king—the angel from the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon; in Greek, Apollyon. Both mean "the Destroyer."
Scripture deliberately provides both languages because Revelation addresses a global church, Jew and Gentile alike. But notice something crucial: this being is defined by what he does, not who he is. The Bible doesn't waste time debating Satan's nature—it defines him by his function. He is the destroyer, and that's all he has ever been.
These names aren't merely labels; they're divine commentary. They tell us that Satan's end is certain, his destiny sealed.
The Mercy in the Measure
After describing this first terror, John adds a sobering note: "The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!"
Yet within this warning lies an unexpected grace. God limits judgment. The fact that suffering has boundaries is not evidence of abandonment—it's evidence of mercy. Even in wrath, God restrains evil. Even in judgment, He remembers those who are His.
The question this passage ultimately poses isn't "Why would God allow this?" but rather "What does it mean that God restrains this?" The real terror isn't what's described in Revelation 9, it's what would happen if God removed all boundaries entirely.
This passage stands as both a warning and an invitation: a warning to those who persist in rejecting God's grace and an invitation to those who recognize their need for His seal of protection. The choice, as always, remains ours.
Lars Dahl
Recent
Archive
2026
2025
August
September
October
November
Categories
no categories
No Comments