John sees locusts appearing from the smoke on the earth. Locusts are grasshoppers that, in certain (relatively rare) environmental conditions, band together to forage on anything that is green. In the face of locusts, people are powerless, having no means to defend their crop. Locusts had destroyed Egypt’s food supply in the eighth plague (Exodus 10:1–20); Joel too had reported a locust invasion devastating Jerusalem (Joel 2:1–5).
3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.