Fathers

Revelation 9

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And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 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. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 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. 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. 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. 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: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

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What the Fathers say

Revelation 9:17

Eastern Fathers

Oecumenius

The "fire" of wrath and punishment is a symbol; the "hyacinth" signifies that those sent are heavenly, for heaven is akin to the "hyacinth"; and the godlike ones please God, as if they were divine, for to please is to sing. And who would please God more than the holy angels?

Commentary on Revelation ↗

Dionysius bar Salibi

Their breastplates like fire and hyacinth and sulfur—By this he shows the clothes of those who will come from the places of the nations, because the peoples are dressed in a variety of colors who live at the banks of the Euphrates. And the heads of their horses like heads of lions, and out of their mouth comes fire—This is also said by Isaiah: they run like lions and like lion's whelps. For he says this showing the vehemence and bitterness of those who will be gathered with the Antichrist.

Commentary On The Apocalypse 9:17 ↗

Western Saints

Bede

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those who sat on them, etc. The malignant spirits, in whose hearts they preside, are clothed with their punishments. For we read that those worshipping the beast are to be tormented with fire and sulfur, and the smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever. Note that in the plague of locusts he did not say he saw horsemen, but only horses. Here indeed, the magnitude of the persecutions shows the open presence of the opposing power. …

Commentary on Revelation ↗

Alcuin of York

And thus I saw the horses in the vision: and they that sat on them, had breastplates of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone. These horses, that is preachers of errors, in whom the seduced people are also understood, have demons as riders, not to guide them, but to make them fall headlong. By the name of breastplates are symbolized the torments of the wicked, hard and impossible to get rid of with any prayer. By of hyacinth we should understand "of smoke," for out of fire comes smoke. …

Commentary On Revelation ↗