The Revelation of St. John (1558) - Page 15

⚠Tightly bound volume; text near the gutter is slightly angled but remains fully legible.

An angel sounds the trumpet; a star falls from

heaven and opens the pit, from which smoke

and locusts emerge to torment humanity. Revelation 9.

original Latin: "Angelus tuba canit, stella cadit de coelo, aperit puteum, unde fumus & locustæ, homines cruciantes, exeunt. Apocal. 9."

An angel sounds the trumpet; a star from heaven

opens the well of the abyss, out of which

smoke arose and locusts tormented the people. Revelation 9.

original German: "Ein Engel posaunet/ stern vom himel eröffnet den brunnen des abgrunds/ dar auß ein rawch gieng/ vnnd hewschrecken queleten die menschen. Apo. 9."

Angel, trumpet original: "tuba" and "posaunet", star, pit original: "puteus" and "brunnen", abyss original: "abgrund", smoke original: "fumus" and "rawch", locusts original: "locustæ" and "hewschrecken", Apocalypse The Book of Revelation

This illustration and its accompanying text depict the sounding of the Fifth Trumpet, as described in the ninth chapter of the Book of Revelation. This event marks the beginning of the "Three Woes" that were promised at the end of the previous chapter.

In this scene, a "star" that has fallen from heaven is personified or given agency—traditionally interpreted as a fallen angel or a divine messenger—as it is given the key to the bottomless pit (the "abyss"). Upon opening the pit, a thick, dark smoke rises as if from a great furnace, darkening the sun and the air. From this smoke emerge the "locusts of the abyss."

The woodcut captures the terror of these creatures, which the Bible describes not as simple insects, but as monstrous beings with the power of scorpions to sting and torment humanity for five months. Unlike previous judgments that struck the environment, this plague is specifically directed at people who do not bear the seal of God on their foreheads. The artist emphasizes the chaotic ascent of these creatures from the mouth of the pit, reinforcing the sense of an unleashed, hellish power.