^9:3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

And out of the SMOKE came forth LOCUSTS upon the earth;

This is the SUN-darkening and AIR-filling SMOKE from the previous verse, and it came from the PIT. It is not clear whether this is a literal vision or a figurative one. Usually, smoke (fire) would kill insects; therefore, it is probably most likely the LOCUSTS are symbolic.

The PIT is reserved for the devil and his angels, so these LOCUSTS are awful demons previously locked up. Joel 1:4-7 describes what these LOCUSTS do ... strip the remaining humans of life and spiritual conscience.

and

1) POWER was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

This is the first of three things given to the LOCUSTS. The other two things follow in the next two verses. There is nothing which happens in the universe unless the Lord permits it,

• Matthew 28:18 - All authority is given to Jesus.
• Luke 4:40-41 - Demons cast out or not permitted to speak.
• Luke 8:26-34 - Demons request a change in their fate.
• Matthew 8:14-17 - Demons cast out with a word.

Scorpions are not pleasurable. They inflict terrible sting and pain. The Israelites experienced them so they would be trustful, humble, and understand the power to make wealth, Deuteronomy 8:11-20. Ezekiel 2:1-7 shows the house of Israel being so fearful and rebellious that they are willing to "sit on scorpions" rather than to repent. This explains when Jesus was encouraging the seventy disciples after a demon-bashing-in-His-name mission in Luke 10:17-20 that He passed on His authority to "tread on serpents and scorpions".

This verse shows that a terrible, visible, stripping, and totally destructive evil will be released onto this earth. DO NOT BE THE ONE LEFT BEHIND TO EXPERIENCE THIS!