Are there Zombies in Scripture? – Rev 9

We’ve already pointed to some evidence from the prophet Zechariah and from Matthew’s Gospel that indicate that there may be zombies in the Bible.

The following passage is from the book of Revelation. Granted, Revelation is very difficult to understand. Why? Because it is written as a special type of prophetic genre called apocalyptic literature, meaning that it describes events that happen at the end of time.

All apocalyptic literature contains symbols that should not be read literally. This makes it difficult to interpret.

For example, consider this passage from Revelation 9:

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. (Revelation 9:1-6)

First, the “trumpet” indicates the beginning of some type of calamity that will happen before the end of time. This disaster begins with a “star” falling to earth. The falling start causes a huge amount of smoke. Then, locusts come out of the smoke and begin harming only people, not the earth itself.

In Scripture, “locusts” are often used to symbolize some type of plague. If the locusts are not to be understood literally, but as a plague, then this passage is similar to the one in Zechariah.

One indication that these “locusts” are not literal locusts is that they do not eat the grass (nor any other vegetation apparently) which is what locusts typically eat. Thus, the “locusts” stand for some other kind of plague. The result of this plague is that many who do not belong to God will not be able to die. They will want to die, but they will not die.

While the description of the plague and the results of the plague are not exactly like the description in Zechariah, the descriptions are close enough that they two passages could offer parallel perspectives on the same type of plague.

Is this describing zombies? It’s hard to tell, but it’s possible.