Pyrrinos G4447 correlation to Ezekiel 28 covering cherub and Revelation 9 at 6th trumpet

Question

Can anyone provide any input as to the horsemen in Revelation 9 in the 6th trumpet/4 angels that have breastplates of fire/pyrrinos G4447 wherein Thayers Greek Lexicon states this word correlates to being used in the Septuagint for Ezekiel 28:14 and verse 16; the King of Tyre/covering cherub in the holy mountain of God that walked up and down in the midst of the stones of "fire"? I have not found it to be mentioned in any commentaries anywhere that it is connected other than this same rare word being used in the Septuagint translation. In all my searches and studies of commentaries and scholarly content I have not found that these are mentioned as being connected. It really seems quite obvious to me that the 6th trumpet is describing what we are told are the events in Ezekiel 28 King of Tyre in relation to the 4 angels of Revelation 9, along with events in Revelation 12 and the dragon being cast out of heaven with his angels. It really seems kind of obvious that these fiery terrible creatures loosed on the earth at the events of 6th trumpet are describing something volcanic, possibly nuclear, and/or like the events of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah where everything is turned to ashes as Christ states and warns of in the Gospels. Does anyone have any input regarding this and Revelation 8 and 9/trumpets describing the event of King of Tyre covering cherub/i.e. Satan/ the great red dragon being tossed out of heaven to earth and the events connected to this event? Thank you so much.

Answer 1

You seem to be looking for a connection between 2 verses in Ezekiel ch. 28 that mention fire (vss. 14 & 16) and a section in Revelation ch. 9 that also mentions fire. Ezekiel speaks of "fiery stones".

In Revelation 9 the fifth angel sounds his trumpet and then (in verse 2) one of the things John sees in vision is smoke ascending, "as the smoke of a great furnace." Fire is not mentioned, just smoke that one would associate with coming from a great (fiery) furnace. Stones are not mentioned either.

Verse 3 details symbolic locusts coming out of that smoke, to torment men on the earth. Verse 7 describes the locusts having the shape of war-horses. One detail is that they have breastplates as of iron (verse 9). Fire is not mentioned until verse 17, with details about those breastplates: they are "of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone." Jacinth is a reddish-orange gem, a variety of zircon, so there could be seen in that a connection with fire and stones. Yellow brimstone is associated with burning volcanoes.

However, you ask for "any input as to the locusts of Revelation 9 in the 6th trumpet/4 angels that have breastplates of fire/pyrrinos G4447" and you believe that "It really seems kind of obvious that these fiery terrible creatures loosed on the earth at the events of 6th trumpet are describing something volcanic, possibly nuclear, and/or like the events of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah..."

This is where I would quote from a book delving into the whole of the Revelation given to John, for you may be missing the point of such descriptions, and truly grasping at straws seeing to link the word 'fire' with Ezekiel's mention of fiery stones. Please bear in mind the NT warning about "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience" and the principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness of this world; spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 2:2 & 6:12). Spiritual realities are what Christians see, especially in Revelation and Ezekiel 28.

"What has not vanished is their number, power, and the torment which [demons] cause. Only nowadays the cause is never attributed to what was released when once the fifth trumpet sounded. But the torment of men is attributable to them. And the very air is thick with them: only, they cannot be seen...

Thus the use of imagery once again comes into its own. Demons are not like the description of the locusts, nor are they visible at all. But if according to their nature and character they could materialize, and if that materialization were to be seen, nothing would suit such an imaginary manifestation better than the tenfold description of the locusts in Revelation 9:7-11.

It is not that the locusts or their features require exposition: they are drawn in the words of the vision to create a picture that is lurid, grotesque, and totally frightening, so that it staggers the imagination and terrifies the soul by its monstrous concept. That is the exposition.

One is to see that, not think about it. One is not intellectually to examine the component parts or features, or to attempt to speak of each point. The terrifying, the hideous word picture is the sole reason for the vision being written. It is not to occupy the intellect, but to stagger the heart, and to gender fear in the emotions, by the imaginary and visionary representation of the invisible evil powers active throughout the age." (The Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp230-231, John Metcalfe)

So, my answer to the idea that 'fiery stones' in Ezekiel 28 can be the same as fiery descriptions of the symbolic locusts in Revelation 9, is just, "No. That's not the link we are to seek to find, and certainly not by comparing obscure Hebrew words with obscure Greek words written centuries later." There is a connection between some of those prophecies, but we won't find it by comparing isolated words. We need to grasp the whole, massive vision, otherwise we won't be able to see the wood for the trees.

Answer 2

The only connection between Rev 9:17, 18 and the LXX translation of Eze 28:14, 16 is the single word πύρινος (purinous):

• in Rev 9:17, 18 πύρινος describes the color of the breastplates of the riders on the horses
• in Eze 28:14, 16 it describes the appearance of the stones where the guardian cherub walks

Because Thayer makes this connection, I have reproduced Thayer's entry for πύρινος in the appendix below. However, a single word common between two passages is not enough (especially such a common word as this) to make one allude to the other - the contexts are also very different.

For a range of views about what Eze 28:12-17 means see these commentaries, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ezekiel/28-12.htm

APPENDIX - Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4447: πύρινος

πύρινος, πυρινη, πυρινον (πῦρ), fiery: θώρακες πυρίνους, i. e. shining like fire, Revelation 9:17. (Ezekiel 28:14, 16; Aristotle, Polybius, Plutarch, others.)