Revelation 9:5

“And to them it was given that they should not kill them, etc.] As the power of the locusts was limited with respect to the persons they should hurt, so with regard also to the mischief they should do; for even those whom they were suffered to annoy they might not kill, that is, utterly root out and destroy, so as that they were no more: and thus, though the Saracens killed great numbers in the eastern empire, by their frequent incursions and ravages, and made large conquests, yet they could never destroy the empire itself, or bring it in subjection to them; nor did they ever take Constantinople, the metropolis and seat of the empire, though they often besieged it. And as for the western…”

“they . . . they--The subject changes: the first "they" is the locusts; the second is the unsealed. five months--the ordinary time in the year during which locusts continue their ravages. their torment--the torment of the sufferers. This fifth verse and Rev 9:6 cannot refer to an invading army. For an army would kill, and not merely torment.”

“And to them it was given - There is here the same indefiniteness as in the former verse, the impersonal verb being here also used. The writer does not say by whom this power was given, whether by God, or by the leader of the host. It may be admitted, however, that the most natural interpretation is to suppose that it was given them by God, and that this was the execution of his purpose in this case. Still it is remarkable that this is not directly affirmed, and that the language is so general as to admit of the other application. The fact that they did not kill them, but tormented them - if such a fact should be found to exist - would be in every sense a fulfillment of what is here said.…”

“Not to kill them - Very few of them were killed: in general, they were imprisoned and variously tormented. Revelation 9:6”

“9:5 torture them for five months: This time period is a symbolically complete number based on the fingers on a hand. It is also the normal life span of locusts, suggesting that their entire purpose was to torture people.”

“it was: Rev 13:5, Rev 13:7; Dan 5:18-22, Dan 7:6; Joh 19:11 they should not: That is, should not kill them as a political body, state, or empire; and accordingly, however they desolated the Greek and Latin churches, they could not extirpate them, nor gain possession of the empire. Rev 11:7; Job 2:6 they should be: Rev 9:10 five: Five prophetical months, each consisting of 30 days, and each day denoting a year, amount to 150 years; and accordingly, from the time that Mohammed began to propagate his imposture ad 612, the building of Bagdad, when they ceased from their ravages, ad 763, are just 150 years. and their: Rev 9:3 Revelation 9:6”