Revelation of John 9:10 · Bible study
Revelation 9:10 Commentary: Scorpion Stingers and a Set Time
Greek · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What do the scorpion-like tails and five-month limit mean in Revelation 9:10? Examine apocalyptic imagery, divine sovereignty, and the limited power of evil.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The demonic locusts injure people with stings like scorpions, but their power is limited to five months, showing evil is both real and restrained by God.
- Key words: Exousia (authorized power), adikēsai (to injure, to do wrong), and the repeated phrase five months.
- Main debate: Whether the locusts represent specific historical forces (Saracens, papal Rome) or a recurring eschatological symbol of demonic torment.
- Theological theme: God’s sovereignty over judgment: he permits affliction but sets its scope and duration.
- Best use: Comforting those in prolonged suffering that God knows the limit, and warning the unsealed of coming accountability.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They have tails like those of scorpions, with stingers. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months.
KJV King James Version 1769
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and they have tails like to scorpions, and stings were in their tails; and their authority is to injure men five months;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
and they have tails like scorpions, and stings; and their power [was] in their tails to hurt men five months.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And they had tails like to scorpions: and there were stings in their tails. And their power was to hurt men, five months. And they had over them
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y tenían colas semejantes á las de los escorpiones, y tenían en sus colas aguijones; y su poder era de hacer daño á los hombres cinco meses.
E tinham caudas semelhantes às de escorpiões; e ferrões em suas caudas; e seu poder era de por cinco meses causarem dano aos homens.
Elles avaient des queues semblables à des scorpions et des aiguillons, et c’ est dans leurs queues qu’ était le pouvoir de faire du mal aux hommes pendant cinq mois.
und hatten Schwänze gleich den Skorpionen, und es waren Stacheln an ihren Schwänzen; und ihre Macht war, zu beschädigen die Menschen fünf Monate lang.
En zij hadden staarten den schorpioenen gelijk, en er waren angels in hun staarten; en hun macht was de mensen te beschadigen vijf maanden.
E aveano delle code come quelle degli scorpioni, e degli aculei; e nelle code stava il loro potere di danneggiare gli uomini per cinque mesi.
A ogony miały podobne niedźwiadkom, a żądła były w ogonach ich, a moc ich była szkodzić ludziom przez pięć miesięcy;
у ней были хвосты, как у скорпионов, и в хвостах ее были жала; власть же ее была — вредить людям пять месяцев.
有 尾巴 像 蠍子， 尾巴 上 的毒鉤 能 傷 人 五個 月。
And they have pointed tails like scorpions; and in their tails is their power to give men wounds for five months.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Revelation of John 9:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that the locusts of the fifth trumpet are unnatural, demonic beings equipped with scorpion-like tails containing stingers. The image combines the devastating swarms of locusts from the Old Testament (Joel 1, 2) with the venomous sting of a scorpion, a creature whose tail delivers painful, sometimes deadly poison. Barnes notes that real locusts lack a proper sting; the locusts John sees are armed with real stingers. The power to harm men is exousia, authorized power, not raw force. And the five-month limitation appears three times in this passage (9:5, 10, 15). As Adam Clarke explains, locusts ravage crops for about five summer months; here the duration is a deliberate boundary. Wesley calculates these as prophetic months, 150 years. All emphasize that the torment is real but restrained. The locusts cannot kill; they torture for a fixed season, under God’s permit.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Historical identification: Links the locusts to specific movements (Muslim Saracens, papal Rome) and calculates the five months as prophetic years.
- Symbolic / archetypal: Sees the locusts as a recurring type of demonic affliction; avoids pinpointing a single historical moment.
- Futurist: Expects a literal end-time swarm of demonic locusts that will torment the unsealed for five months before the final judgment.
What is clear: All Christians affirm that the locusts are sent by God as judgment, that their power is delegated and limited, and that the five months symbolizes a divinely appointed boundary on suffering.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the locusts | They are demonic beings released from the Abyss, not ordinary insects. | Some interpreters identify them with specific historical movements (early Islam, the papal system), while others see them as a general symbol of end-time demonic activity. |
| Meaning of five months | The period is a fixed, limited time set by God. The torment will not last indefinitely. | Was this a literal prophecy of 150 years (Wesley, Clarke) or a symbolic duration (representing the locust season in Palestine) or a yet-future chronological period? |
| Tails with stingers | The tails are the instrument of harm, delivering something like venomous stings that cause pain and suffering. | Do they represent false teaching or doctrines that poison the soul (Gill, early interpreters) or physical inflictions (Barnes, literal view)? |
| Target: unsealed people | Only those without the seal of God are harmed. The seal marks God’s people. | Is the seal a literal mark of protection, or a metaphor for saving faith? Both views affirm that Christians are ultimately safe from final judgment. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The vision draws on the ancient world’s fear of both locust plagues and scorpion venom. Locusts in the Near East arrive in vast numbers, devouring everything green and stripping fields bare. Their life cycle is linked to the seasons; they appear in spring and fade in autumn, roughly five months. Scorpions, common in the Middle East, hide in stone walls and strike with a painful, occasionally fatal sting. John amalgamates these terrors, describing creatures that are often interpreted as demonic forces let loose from the Abyss (Rev 9:1-2).
Early interpreters like the church historian Victorinus saw these locusts as a symbol of heretical teachings that sting the soul. By the Reformation, many Protestant commentators identified the locusts with historical movements: Saracens (early Muslims) or the papal system. Matthew Henry declines specific identifications but stresses the spiritual lesson. The five months may carry symbolic weight: five is a number of incompleteness or human weakness in Jewish tradition. Some see a reference to the 150 years of Islamic expansion (Clarke), but most modern readers avoid such precise historicism.
Literarily, Revelation 9 builds on Joel 2, where locusts are an army of judgment. But here the locusts are explicitly from the Abyss, ruled by a king named Abaddon (destruction) or Apollyon (destroyer). Their power is limited not only in duration but in target: they harm only those without the seal of God (Rev 9:4). This shows God’s sovereignty over even the worst evil.
Textual Notes
The verse shows minor textual variation. The KJV reads “and there were stings in their tails,” but Jamieson-Fausset-Brown observes that this reading is not supported by the oldest manuscripts (Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus). Instead, those manuscripts read “and they have stings: and in their tails is their power.” The difference does not affect the overall meaning: the stingers remain part of the tails, and the power resides there.
Reception History
The early church, through writers like Victorinus of Pettau (3rd century), saw these locusts as heretics who sting with false doctrine. During the Reformation, Protestant exegetes often applied the passage to the Papacy and its councils (e.g., Alcasar and Brightman). Others, including Isaac Newton, linked the fifth trumpet to the rise of Islam, identifying the five months with 150 years of Muslim conquest. In the 20th century, many interpreters stepped back from specific historical identifications, favoring a symbolic reading that emphasizes God’s control over spiritual evil. Modern evangelical and Catholic studies focus less on mapping history and more on the theological themes of judgment, mercy, and endurance.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Stinging tails: The locusts’ power to harm lies in their tails, like scorpions. Evil often strikes from unexpected directions, and its damage can be deep. The image calls believers to be watchful, not fearful.
- Limited time: Five months is a defined, capped duration. God does not abandon the world to chaos. He sets boundaries that evil cannot cross, a truth that offers hope in seasons of suffering.
- Targeted torment: The locusts hurt only those without God’s seal. Judgment is not random; it connects to spiritual allegiance. The passage invites self-examination and trust in God’s protection.
Five-point outline
- The locusts are demonic: released from the Abyss, they are not ordinary insects.
- They have scorpion-like tails: their harm is venomous, penetrating, and patient.
- They are given power (exousia): their authority is delegated; they act only as permitted.
- They harm for five months: the suffering has an expiration date known to God.
- They cannot kill: the limit is mercy even in judgment. Unrepentant humans are given time.
Illustration hooks
- A person with a chronic illness learns that their treatment will last exactly five months, a finish line visible from the start. The wait is hard, but the limit is certain.
- A community hit by a natural disaster (a hurricane or wildfire) sees help arrive on a strict schedule. The devastation is real, but so is the timeline for aid.
- An employee under a toxic boss discovers that the boss is leaving in five months. The suffering does not end today, but it will end. Hope becomes possible.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God is in control, why does he allow torment? The passage shows that even demonic affliction operates within his boundaries.
- How can I know if I have the seal of God? The seal is given to believers (Rev 7:3); it marks those who are protected from final judgment, not from all pain.
- What does this mean for our world today? The imagery warns that evil is powerful but temporary. It calls us to repentance and endurance.
Leading a Discussion
This verse is part of John’s terrifying vision of the fifth trumpet. The locusts with scorpion tails bring real harm, yet they are confined to five months. As a group, explore how the passage balances the reality of suffering with the sovereignty of God. The goal is not fear, but trust.
Discussion questions
- Read Revelation 9:1, 12 together. What feelings does the imagery of locusts and scorpions stir in you? Why might John use such vivid symbols?
- The locusts have power to harm, but they cannot kill (v.5). What does this tell you about the limits God places on evil?
- The word for “power” in verse 10 is exousia (authority), not just raw force. Why does this distinction matter for understanding the source of the locusts’ ability?
- The five months appear three times in this passage. How does the repeated time limit shape your reading of the torment? Is it a punishment, a warning, or both?
- The locusts only attack those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads (v.4). What does this teach about divine protection and human accountability?
- Some interpreters see these locusts as specific historical movements (Islam, the papacy). Others see them as a general picture of demonic affliction before the end. Which reading makes more sense to you, and why?
- In your own life or in the world, where do you see evil that seems to have a limited, definable season? How does knowing that God sets boundaries on suffering affect your trust in him?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Revelation of John 9:3 | Then out of the smoke came locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. |
| Revelation of John 9:5 | They were given power, not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a person. |
| Revelation of John 9:19 | For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads; and with them they harm. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke interprets the tails like scorpions as a symbol of harmful doctrines that conquerors spread to those they defeat. He takes the five months literally as the typical locust season, but also allows that it could mean 150 prophetic years.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes draws a key distinction between ordinary locusts, which lack a true sting and only have a hard tool for egg laying, and the locusts John saw, which are armed with actual stings. He also notes that the Greek word for "hurt" here means to do wrong or injure, not simply to torment, implying the suffering comes from injustice.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible Schools offers a textual note on the phrasing, suggesting the original reads that the creatures have tails like scorpions with stings, and that their power to inflict harm lies specifically in those tails.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva annotators treat this verse as a literal description: the locusts wear iron-like breastplates and their wings roar like chariots with many horses charging into battle. The comparison underscores their terrifying, inv
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill interprets the tails of the symbolic locusts as false prophets, identifying the prophet as the tail from Isaiah. He singles out Muhammad and the Roman Catholic clergy, arguing that their doctrines and traditions, like scorpion stings, have poisoned and destroyed countless souls.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB draws attention to a textual variant: the oldest manuscripts read that the locusts have stings, and in their tails is their power to hurt. He notes that the Greek word for this power implies authorized authority, not raw force.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the fallen star as a spiritual condition rather than a person or angel. He identifies it with repentance separated from faith, a faithless remorse that becomes religious self-torment and opens the abyss within the human soul. This
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that these demonic locusts act under strict divine restraint: they cannot touch the grass, trees, or the sealed, and they cannot kill, only torment for a set time. Their king, named Destroyer in both Hebrew and Greek, rules a realm whose power is real but carefully bounded by God.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
And they have tails like scorpions - That is, each tail is like a scorpion, not like the tail of a scorpion. To hurt the unsealed men five months - Five prophetic months; that is, seventy - nine common years So long did these calamities last.