Revelation 9 - Locusts reference

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Isa. 9:15, The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

These are false prophets who hate Israel.

Their objectives are to kill the body and the soul of Israel.

They look respectable, dress fine, and have nice things.

But their words are death, in the end, tail.

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Also see that this also fits the description of the entities in Rev 9:19.

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[Michael37]

 

 

 

[Marathoner]

22 hours ago, The_Truth_Seeker said:

I like to know what others feel with this? As I just been going over it again. Now these"locusts" (or whatever they are) are targeting a specific group of people.

To me these "locusts" are a manufactured product for the time period concerned. Perhaps our time period? 

It just got me thinking, there is reference to something that is comparable to that when a scorpion stings, and it makes me wonder, if these locusts are a manufactured product, could we be looking at something that is targeting a specific group using some kind of "directed energy weapon"? 

Let us be wary of our assumptions regarding the scriptures, remembering that scripture explains scripture. Our assumptions need to be given the left foot of fellowship... the ol' heave-ho, in other words.

Josheb has done an excellent job of addressing the many references to "locusts" in his contribution above. I highly recommend reading it. 

I'll briefly address the assumption that scriptural prophecy, especially that which is found in the book of Revelation, is all about our day and age:

It isn't. In fact, believers over time have had a tendency to assume that scriptural prophecy is all about them and their day. This has been a time-honored tradition among some and continues apace today. Wars, rumors of wars, plagues, and tribulation have beset man upon this earth for a terribly long time, longer than any of us here have been alive. Those who believe that the majority of the book of Revelation is about this day and age share much in common with the previous generation who believed the same. The generation before them believed that, too.

This has nothing to do with the Lord being slack concerning His promises. What did the Lord say? Only the Father knows the hour of His return. Locusts are just that: locusts... and the notion that the book of Revelation foretells the distant future doesn't hold water. Aye, portions of Revelation describe events which were in the past of the time it was written! What?

Yes. The birth of the Word made flesh is described in the book of Revelation, proof that a considerable portion of Revelation constitutes what was (past) and what is (the present time of the authorship). Alas, locusts are simply locusts.  

[appy]

I agree that chapter 9 certainly stirs our wildest imaginations and speculations of what John saw. I honestly do NOT see or read  after verse 11, that John was still speaking of the same creatures or same event. For verse 12 says.....

Revelation 9:12 (NIV)
12 The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.

[Dennis1209]

There are some interesting things to consider about these locusts. Their leader’s name in both Hebrew and Greek is Destroyer. In biblical examples of people demonically possessed, tormenting them is always associated.

Are these locust stings external or internal? How giant are these locusts, the size of regular grasshoppers, or much more extensive? Some would assume these locusts would be invisible to our naked eyes. If so, why would John give us such a detailed visual description of them if no one can see them visually?

It is interesting to ponder the Hebrew and Greek names of the Destroyer. Adorning the front of CERN Headquarters is a statue of Shiva the WHO, Shiva the Destroyer. Is this just a harmless coincidence, or might there be something to it? Will the Lord grant them their sought-after goal?

According to a former Director of CERN, their goal is to unlock the god particle (Higgs boson). To penetrate and send something or receive something to another dimension (spiritual). I do not discount the Lord sending them a little help with the keys?

[Marathoner]

2 hours ago, Dennis1209 said:

According to a former Director of CERN, their goal is to unlock the god particle (Higgs boson). To penetrate and send something or receive something to another dimension (spiritual). I do not discount the Lord sending them a little help with the keys?

The "god particle" is an unfortunate moniker bandied about by popular media which doesn't describe attributes of the Higgs boson, @Dennis1209. Like the locust which is just a locust, the Higgs boson is a quantum (subatomic) particle. That's it in an anticlimactic nutshell. 

We'll recall a few of the wild-eyed conspiracy theories swirling around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of CERN:

It's going to create a black hole! (It didn't)
Life as we know it is over the moment that experiment begins! (Still here)
The LHC is actually a "stargate" that the <insert name of shadowy epoch-spanning conspiracy here> uses to travel time! (Influenced by far too many sci-fi movies/television shows)

Many years ago I wrote a paper for a psychology lecture about this very topic, how popular media treatments butcher academic research. I furnished two examples in that essay which demonstrated this phenomenon in action. Unfortunately, the bulk of scientific research is locked behind a paywall --- peer-reviewed journals are expensive to access --- leaving the average person little choice but to pay attention to sensationalist journalistic treatments which routinely exaggerate what is otherwise a dreadfully boring subject. I followed that up with a paper describing a method whereby a person might accurately read academic publications and interpret the results therein. The end result? "This study reveals areas where further research is needed." 

Back on topic (CERN and the LHC have nothing to do with locusts in Revelation), the apostle exhorts us to steer clear of old wives' tales and related hysteria. The Lord Himself even addresses conspiracies in the Law and the Prophets. Such things are a waste of our time here on earth, for is He not Almighty? Heaven is His throne, and the earth is His footstool; we have nothing to fear from men who can only destroy this body of flesh and blood. Fear God instead. 

Locusts are still just locusts.  

[Marathoner]

As an aside, if I were still haunting the lecture halls and labs of college, I would scribble a paper about the present distrust of the media among so many. "The media lies to us!", some cry out. "You just can't trust the media these days," a common complaint we hear today.

So... what happens? Those who don't trust the media, trust the media. They don't trust the media but in reality, that's exactly what they do. Hehe. This makes the following meme all the more poignant:
 

[truth7t7]

18 hours ago, Josheb said:

Which weapons of war? 

Which weapons of war that the first century reader would have recognized?

Revelation Chapter 9 applies to a future generation, and has absolutely nothing to do with a preterist interpretation in a 1st century generation as you suggest

The book of Revelation was written during the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian 81-96AD when John was at Patmos imprisoned 95-96AD, several years after the 70AD destruction of Jerusalem by Roman armies

Jesus Is The Lord

[Marathoner]

On 3/10/2022 at 6:56 AM, Justin Adams said:

This is mostly cosmic allegory. Read all the prophets and get used to 'prophet speak'.

Quite right and the New Testament scriptures provide plentiful explanations of the above. The Lord and His apostles plainly reveal what was veiled from men in days of old. The Gospels collectively show us prophecy which the Word made flesh fulfilled by His coming in the fulness of time. The letters of His apostles further educate those of us who belong to the Lord, explaining what was once foreign to us all.  

Hence, we understand that all things are revealed in the Christ of God our Father, His only begotten Son who was, who is, and who is to come, the Almighty. The triplet is a recurring paradigm in prophecy given to us by the Son of the living God and the book of Revelation is all about the triplet: what was, what is, and what is to come. 

The same can be said of the Law and Prophets, the entirety of which is prophecy: 

• The Lord convicts the wicked of their wickedness; (what was)
• The Lord declares His judgment of the wicked, pouring out His wrath; (what is)
• And then the Lord speaks of His eternal love and mercy, declaring the redemption/restoration of His precious ones (what is to come)

Prophecies of Christ, on the other hand, are often rendered as a binary.

• God (our Father) is pleased to crush His humble servant;
• By His stripes we are healed: Christ is the fountain of Judah (Zechariah), the Messiah and Redeemer of not only Man but of all creation. Behold, He makes all things new (Isaiah and Revelation)

 

• Christ is called to sit at the right hand of our Father, to reign in the midst of His enemies;
• The Father sends His son in the great and terrible day of His wrath (the Prophets) when His enemies shall be destroyed (the Prophets and Revelation). That day --- the day of the Lord --- is the end when the former shall pass away.  

It's rather revealing that prophecy concerning man, the only living soul that God is tenderly inclined toward (we were given His gift of mercy even when we were dead in our trespasses), adhere to the triplet.

Adam brought sin into the world;
Our Father sent His only Son to redeem Adam;
In His only begotten Son, Adam is revealed to all creation as the heir of Almighty God. Man is the only created being invited to sit with the Almighty upon His throne. 

That's what I find astounding beyond words. Prophet-speak isn't impossible to navigate. No overactive imagination required.  

[branchesofHim]

7 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

Quite right and the New Testament scriptures provide plentiful explanations of the above. The Lord and His apostles plainly reveal what was veiled from men in days of old. The Gospels collectively show us prophecy which the Word made flesh fulfilled by His coming in the fulness of time. The letters of His apostles further educate those of us who belong to the Lord, explaining what was once foreign to us all.  

Hence, we understand that all things are revealed in the Christ of God our Father, His only begotten Son who was, who is, and who is to come, the Almighty. The triplet is a recurring paradigm in prophecy given to us by the Son of the living God and the book of Revelation is all about the triplet: what was, what is, and what is to come. 

Locusts is a shadow of what is to come indeed. Shalom

Exodus 10:[12] And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.
[13] And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
[14] And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
[15] For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
[16] Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.
[17] Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.
[18] And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
[19] And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.