What is the meaning of Revelation 9:4? They were told Revelation 9:4 opens with a reminder that the demonic “locusts” (v.3) operate under God’s direct command, not their own impulses. • God sets clear limits on every judgment (Job 1:12; 2:6; Luke 22:31-32), displaying His absolute sovereignty even when He uses evil agents (Isaiah 10:5-7). • This control reassures believers that nothing reaches them apart from the Father’s permission (John 19:11). • The wording echoes the earlier angelic command, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God” (Revelation 7:3), linking the fifth trumpet to God’s earlier promise of protection. not to harm the grass of the earth Unlike ordinary locusts, these creatures are forbidden to devour vegetation. • Creation itself is spared here, highlighting that the judgment targets people, not plants (Genesis 8:22; Psalm 145:9). • By contrast, under the first trumpet the natural world was struck (Revelation 8:7). God now withholds that facet, underscoring that each trumpet has a distinct focus and limited scope (Exodus 8:22-23). or any plant or tree The restriction broadens: no green life may be touched. • Trees often symbolize stability and blessing (Psalm 1:3; Jeremiah 17:7-8). Preserving them keeps a testimony of God’s goodness even amid wrath (Romans 2:4). • The instruction mirrors Revelation 7:3 again, reinforcing that God consistently preserves what He has declared off-limits. but only those who did not have the seal of God Here is the true target: unsealed humanity. • Earlier, 144,000 servants were “sealed on their foreheads” (Revelation 7:4). This mark signifies ownership and security (2 Timothy 2:19; Ephesians 1:13-14). • The pattern recalls Exodus 12, where the blood on the doorposts distinguished Israel from Egypt; judgment “passed over” the marked homes. • God draws a sharp line between believers and unbelievers, as in Ezekiel 9:4-6, where a protective mark spared the righteous. on their foreheads The forehead—the most visible part of a person—publicly declares allegiance. • God’s name will one day be on the saints’ foreheads (Revelation 22:4), while the beast will brand his followers similarly (Revelation 13:16-17). Everyone bears a mark; the only question is whose. • Old Testament commandments were to be “between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:8), symbolizing continual, conspicuous devotion. Likewise, the seal here proclaims the believer’s covenant with God for all to see. summary Revelation 9:4 shows the fifth-trumpet locusts acting under strict divine orders. Their attack bypasses earth’s vegetation and falls exclusively on people lacking God’s protective seal. The verse highlights God’s sovereignty, His faithful distinction between His own and the unbelieving, and the public nature of spiritual allegiance. Those marked by God remain secure, while the unsealed face torment, proving yet again that refuge is found only in belonging to the Lamb. |
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