What Old Testament imagery parallels the locusts' description in Revelation 9:7? Locusts in Revelation 9:7 “ The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with crowns of something like gold on their heads, faces like the faces of men.” Key Old Testament Parallels • Joel 2:4-5 — “Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war-horses they run. With a noise like chariots they leap on the tops of mountains…” – Horses readied for war – Chariot-like roar – Swift, coordinated assault • Joel 1:6 — “For a nation has invaded My land, mighty and innumerable; its teeth are the teeth of a lion…” – Lion-like ferocity anticipates Revelation 9:8 – Invading army imagery, not mere insects • Exodus 10:12-15 — the eighth plague – Dense, consuming locust swarms as an instrument of judgment – Darkness of the sky mirrors the apocalyptic setting of the fifth trumpet • Judges 6:5; 7:12 — Midianite hordes “as numerous as locusts,” their camels “like sand on the seashore” – Military force compared to locusts, reinforcing the war motif • Nahum 3:15-17 — Assyrian troops likened to swarming locusts that disappear when the sun rises – Fleeting yet overwhelming armies Point-by-Point Echoes – Horses prepared for battle … Joel 2:4 – Crowns of something like gold … Exodus 28:36; Zechariah 6:11 (crowns tied to authority in judgment) – Faces like men … Joel 2:6 (“faces grow pale”) hints at human terror; troops move with human intent – Hair like women … Song of Songs 4:1 (long flowing hair used as simile of beauty that turns menacing here) – Teeth like lions … Joel 1:6 – Sound like chariots … Joel 2:5 – Breastplates like iron … Joel 2:7-9 (unstoppable warriors scaling walls) Why These Parallels Matter • John’s vision gathers familiar prophetic pictures of locusts, horses, and invading armies to portray a literal, future judgment even more dreadful than past calamities. • The Old Testament locust passages prepare readers to see God’s sovereignty in using natural and supernatural forces to call sinners to repentance. • Joel’s army becomes the prototype: real insects in his day, yet foreshadowing an end-time demonic host that combines insect, animal, and human traits described in Revelation 9. |
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