What is the meaning of Revelation 9:6?

In those days

“In those days” ties the verse to the fifth-trumpet judgment (Revelation 9:1-5).

• The “days” follow the opening of the abyss, when demonic “locusts” are released to torment those who do not have the seal of God (Revelation 7:3-4; 9:4-5).

• Joel 2:1-11 foreshadows this dark, locust-like invasion, stressing a unique time of distress.

• Jesus warned of a future tribulation “unequaled” in human history (Matthew 24:21). Revelation 9:6 pinpoints the emotional climax of that period.

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men will seek death

• The torment is so intense that people actively pursue death as an escape.

• Jeremiah 8:3 recorded a similar reaction after judgment fell on Judah: “Death will be preferred to life.”

• Ezekiel 7:15-16 pictures fugitives longing for relief yet finding none.

• Physical agony, psychological horror, and spiritual dread converge, proving sin’s wages (Romans 6:23).

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and will not find it

• Ordinary means of suicide or fatal injury are rendered ineffective.

• God’s sovereign hand withholds death itself (Deuteronomy 32:39), showing He alone “holds the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18).

• Like Cain’s prolonged exile (Genesis 4:11-15), this prolonged existence becomes part of the punishment.

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they will long to die

• The verb highlights continual craving, not a passing wish.

• Isaiah 2:19 pictures people “fleeing into caves” from God’s terror—yet here even refuge in death is blocked.

• This longing exposes the emptiness of a life lived in rebellion; without repentance, suffering only intensifies (Luke 16:23-26).

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but death will escape them

• Death is personified as an evader, underscoring God’s deliberate restraint.

• Revelation 9:20-21 notes that even after this mercy-laden judgment, “the rest of mankind... did not repent.”

• By suspending death, God magnifies justice and still leaves space for repentance (2 Peter 3:9), yet many harden their hearts.

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summary

Revelation 9:6 unveils a future moment when unrepentant humanity will be so tormented that they hunt for death, only to find it unreachable. The verse spotlights the unmatched terror of God’s end-time judgments, His absolute control over life and death, and His desire that even severe discipline lead sinners to repentance rather than destruction.