Chapter 63. The First Woe: Scorpion Creatures
The scorpion-like monsters are commanded not to hurt the vegetation of earth, unlike the locust army that follows and destroys a third of the earth’s vegetation. The scorpion-like angelic monsters will sting like scorpions and torment those who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads for five months.
“Scorpion” is translated in the New Testament from skorpee’os: asa lobster-like (or crablike) creature with a venomous sting in its tail. Skorpee’os’ source word skopos’ means a watch, sentry, and scout, as in Watcher angel. Scorpio in Greek and Roman mythology was a god of war and god of Hades/Tartarus in the underworld/Sheol. Ialdabaoth was “cast down into Tartarus by Sophia,” just as Azazel, leader of the rebellious host in First Enoch, is the leader of abyss Watchers, whom Scripture entitled Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. Those stung by the scorpion-like tails will seek death for five months but will not find it.
The locust army of scorpion Watchers will appear like horses prepared for war. They will wear crowns of gold reflecting their ancient authority, have faces of humans with women’s hair, possess teeth like a lion, have wings that thunder like chariots rushing into battle, and will have tails with stingers like scorpions. These beasts are led by Abaddon/Apollyon as their king. In my way of reckoning this mercurial prophecy, the scorpion-like beasts with human faces will be either degraded Watcher angels or some form of angelic destroyers within the rebellious hierarchy, akin to the earthly philistine spoilers.
In the Sumerian zodiac, Scorpio derives from Akrabu, meaning scorpion-man. In the Old Testament, scorpion is translated into English from `aqrab and akrawb’ and is additionally translated in its plural format Akrabbim/Aqqrabiym, the Scorpion Ones. Moreover, scorpion-men or creatures were recorded as Aqrabuamelu in Babylonian, Assyrian, and Akkadian mythology, and alternatively known as Girtiblili/Girtablulu. The Girtablulu are thought by some researchers to be a compounded word: gir-tab meaning scorpion, and lu-ulu, which means untamed man.
