Revelation 9:13-21 Lesson 480

Revelation 9:13-21
Lesson 480

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The sixth trumpet and the second woe.

Millions die (9:14-19).

One-third of the human race is killed.
Unknown artist.

Study Tip:

Slow down when you read the Bible.
Take the time to meditate on each passage.
Listen to the true meaning of God's word.

The Revelation of Saint John the Divine

The King James Bible

Revelation 9:13-21
One out of three people die

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

15 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.

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

20 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:

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Margin notes:

"I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar." (9:13) - This altar is similar to the Levitical altar built per God's instructions 1500 years before John's vision. Both altars have four corner protrusions called "the horns" (Exodus 27:1-2; 30:2).

"Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates." (9:14) - Most Christians believe these are four fallen angels. However, some believe they symbolize human enemies of Christianity. Additional note: The Euphrates River is western Asia's largest and most important river. It begins in the mountains of Turkey and flows seventeen hundred miles through Syria and Iraq before joining the Tigris River near the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates is first mentioned in Genesis 2:10-15 as one of the rivers that watered the Garden of Eden. It is the eastern border of the Promised Land God gave to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7-8) and a natural barrier to Israel's enemies. The Bible sometimes refers to the Euphrates simply as "the river" (Exodus 23:31) or "the great river" (Deuteronomy 1:7).

"Prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year." (9:15) - God has already selected the day and time to unleash the three woes.

"To slay the third part of men." (9:15) - "To kill a third of mankind."

"The army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand." (9:16) - "The army were two hundred million horsemen."

"Having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone." (9:17) - "Wearing fiery red, blue, and yellow like sulfur breastplates."

"By these three was the third part of men killed." (9:18) - Remember, a fourth of the world's population has already been killed (6:8).

"Which issued out of their mouths." (9:18) - "Which came out of their mouths."

New Living Translation

Revelation 9:13-21
The Sixth Trumpet Brings the Second Terror

13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God.

14 And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River."

15 Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth.

16 I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops.

17 And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths.

18 One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues-by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses.

19 Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.

20 But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood-idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!

21 And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's question:

1. How many people were killed in this passage, and how did the survivors react to the carnage?

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Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. A third of the world's population will be killed (9:18). Despite this slaughter and the chaos so many deaths will cause, the survivors will refuse to repent (9:20-21) just as Jesus prophesized in Revelation 2:21.

Application thought for the day:

What do verses 9:20-21 teach us about the unrepentant?
How can you apply this to your life?

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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