Revelation 9:1-6
The Fifth Trumpet
The first four trumpets were judgments that came through nature. Mankind might explain them away as natural occurrences caused by climate change or mother nature. The fifth trumpet will remove any doubt that the woe upon them is supernatural.
Who is this fallen star? The star is referred to as a 'him'? The word translated to 'star' is used 24 times and it often refers to the physical stars. However, back in Revelation 1, John saw the picture of Jesus the high priest with the 7 stars in his hand. John was told those stars are angels or messengers of God. These stars might be angels or men. In that day, many saw the stars as spiritual entities, angels or gods. The stars were worshiped by many pagan religions.
The 'fallen' describes the angel. This may identify the him as the fallen angel who was given a key to the pit. He may have fallen in the past, and will be given the key in the future. This may be Satan himself or another fallen angel.
12"How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13For you have said in your heart:
'I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.'
15Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isaiah 14:12)
To this fallen angel was given the key to the bottomless pit. The key is authority, power and access. When the evil one is given power, pride makes them drunk with power and they rush to show their authority, regardless of consequence. All reasoning and logic ceases, and those exercising the wickedness of evil make incredibly dumb decisions. This fallen one, in similar fashion, exercised the authority given and opens the bottomless pit.
This bottomless pit is the Abouso, the abyss, the abode of the dead, the dwelling place of demons and Satan. The Abyss is something the demons dreaded. Remember the story of the demon possessed men living around the tombs. The demons knew Jesus was going to deal with them. They wanted to be free or go to the swine; they didn't want Jesus to send them to the abyss. Romans 10:7 asked the rhetorical question, "Who will descend into the abyss?" This was a reference to the abode of the dead. The other 7 uses (interesting number!) are all in Revelation.
This is access to every demon Jesus has locked away. Don't forget it is God alone who gives this authority. (Jude 6-7)
Upon opening the pit, smoke arose, letting us see it is a pit of fire and judgment. It was like a great blast furnace and everything in the pit wanted out! Out of the pit came what John describes as locusts. This word describes the same insect John the Baptist included in his diet. Have you ever seen the pictures of the swarms of locusts? They darken the sky; they are so thick they blot out the sun. That's what these demons from the abyss look like to John. Throughout the bible we see examples of God using locust as an instrument of his judgment. They would descend on the land and consume the crops in nothing flat. It was instant poverty and famine.
The Locust remind us of the plague in the Exodus, bringing famine and financial ruin on Egypt. In the Old Testament, invading armies, those God called as a tool for judgment, are pictured as locust. These came from the pit of hell though, these seem to be a demon army. These demons come from the pit and they are so vast the sun and air (lower atmosphere; the sky) were darkened. These look like the locusts of God's judgment.
These demon locusts were given power. This power is the ability to torment liked a scorpion. This evil swarm isn't interested in harming the grass or trees as normal locust. They will exercise their power to bring torment to men. But they could only bring their harm to those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. We know of at least 144,000 Jewish evangelist that have this seal and many more (Remember the preview of those around the throne, dressed in white who came out of the tribulation?) Everyone else was tormented. NOT ONE unbeliever was left untouched.
Joel 2:1-11: Nahum 3:15
The sting of a scorpion is extremely painful but rarely brings death. The pain of a sting is excruciating and being stung repeatedly would be torment. These demon locusts will deliver that kind of pain to men. The torment they will bring will go on for five months, this is the normal life of a locust. During that 5 months of torment people will seek death. This torment will drive people to attempt suicide to escape the pain but they will be supernaturally kept from dying. They will desire death but it will flee.
What Satan intends for evil, God can use for good. There is an evangelistic aspect to this. While men are nearly out of their mind in pain, they will see those sealed by the Lord not suffering. They will see God's provision and protection. I can imagine this would draw one of two primary reactions. First, it will anger those in rebellion and they will further curse God. However, I have to believe some will cry out to God and be saved.
The fact that they cannot die is an act of mercy by God. How is keeping men in torment and keeping them from dying an act of mercy? Because death won't be an escape from torment, these people just don't know that. This seemingly unending torture is but a small picture of what hell will be like. For these people to think they will escape torment by seeking death is a deception of Satan. Upon death, the torment of an unbeliever will go on for all eternity and part of that torment is knowing that there is no end, ever.
Remember the murderers at Columbine High School. The murderers made home movies before their killing spree. These 2 kids, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, left behind a videotaped that spoke of their motivation. At the end of tape, shot the morning of the murders, Harris and Klebold were dressed and said they were ready for "our little Judgement Day." Then Klebold said goodbye to his parents. He concluded, "I didn't like life too much, just know I am going to a better place than here."
In their dark hearts, these young men were deceived by Satan. Many have bought the lie that we all go to a better place when we die. When, in fact, those who die without Christ die to suffer eternal torment.
Revelation 9:7-10
Joel pictures God's judgment as that of a swarm of locusts. One minute it seems to speak of the insects wreaking havoc on crops, the next it sounds like an invading army flattening a city and the countryside.
For a nation has come up against My land,
Strong, and without number;
His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And he has the fangs of a fierce lion. (Joel 1:6)
3 A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like the Garden of Eden before them,
And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like swift steeds, so they run.
5 With a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain;
All faces are drained of color. (Joel 2:3-6)
Whatever John is seeing, he's doing his best to describe to us. He's making comparisons to things he understands; like horses, crowns like god, hair like a woman, teeth like a lion, breastplates like iron, wings that sounded like a chariot and their tails were like a scorpion. The word 'like' was used 8 times in this passage. These demons were like a lot of things, yet, they weren't really any of those things. You can read a lot of commentaries that have dozens of speculations on what John is describing. John is obviously having trouble describing what he sees. This is something the world had never seen before. However, I don't think we should assume it is something we would understand and recognize and be able to explain. These things are supernatural and I believe God allows these things so men can't explain them away.
I'll always remember reading Hal Lindsey's book, The Late Great Planet Earth, where Hal explained the description of the locust are first century description of 21st century attack helicopters. It's a fascinating thought, if not a little too speculative.
What we can know for sure is these are a tool of God; an instrument of His wrath and judgment. And they will bring torment to men for 5 months and still men won't cry out to God. In general, the hearts of men remain hardened and rebellious.
(See also Joel 1 & 2)
Revelation 9:11
These locusts have a king. This is interesting because Proverbs 30:27 says;
The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
These demon locusts have a king. His name is Abaddon which is a word meaning the lowest depths of the earth, the realm of the dead. We see this in some Old Testament passages (Job 31:12; Ps 88:11; Prov 27:20). Some writings among the Dead Sea Scrolls reflect their belief in a 'spirit of Abaddon' that was the 'angel of the pit'. Among the Greek culture, this idea of Abaddon became known as Apollyon, the destroyer. This is just more evidence that shows these locusts in Revelation aren't locust like the world has ever seen.
Note: There is an interesting cultural note. The Roman Emperor Domitian was likely in power when John wrote this. He thought of himself as a god, likening himself to Apollo. The locust was a symbol used by the cult of Apollo. The locust was considered sacred to them.
See also: Ezekiel 38; Amos 7:1 A swarm of locusts is coming, one of them is Gog the king. Gog is the leader of Russian when they invade Israel.
Exodus shows us how God used locusts as a plague. John borrows this mental picture and then amplifies it to show us a coming day. Imagine our fields with full stands of grain, pastures lush and green feeding the cattle; fruit trees weighted down with all kinds of fruit. All this and more, taken for granted, God's blessing, grace and provision His people. When the locusts come:
What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten. (Joel 1:4)
In no time, there is nothing. The green of spring is now brown and gray, no pasture remains, no field has a stand. The fruit trees stand taller, the weight of fruit removed, stripped naked, appearing dead and lifeless. The most poisonous of plants are readily eaten by locusts, nothing slows them down. They'll eat the front door off your house, the varnish off your furniture, they'll consume everything. Famine lies before the people. Life had gone from normal to this in a very short time, measured in weeks or months, definitely not years.
If the locusts of plagues removed vegetation, these locusts strip mankind of its life and vitality. Those who dwell on earth will be trying to recover their peace and safety in the midst of judgment. They will be consumed with pain and incapable of reasonable thought. They will be willing to yield their life to a world leader, giving everything and anything to once again return to 'normal', to have their life back, a life of peace and safety.
Revelation 9:12-14
John reminds his readers that this was just one of the woe judgments and there are still two more to go.
The Sixth Trumpet
The altar spoken of is golden and before the Lord. In the tabernacle, this is the golden altar of incense which was patterned after the real thing in heaven. John speaks of the heavenly golden altar of incense. This altar of incense is linked to the prayers of God's people. The voice heard coming from the horns of this altar implies it is the prayers of God's people crying for vengeance. The voice spoke to the angel with the 6th trumpet. Apparently, it was clear the sixth trumpet would release the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates. The voice calls for the trumpet to blow and the 4 angels to be released. There were many Jewish traditions involving the evil angels imprisoned in dungeons or rivers. They were awaiting the day of their release to wreak havoc, as though they were created for such a day. Ancient writings spoke of these habitations with angels assigned over such places and given keys. The Dead Sea Scrolls spoke of wicked men as 'sons of the pit' as those whose destiny was the grave and eternal death.
The horns of the altar speak to God's authority, sovereignty and just nature. Justice calls for judgment, the voice from the altar calls for justice in agreement with the will and plan of God.
There is no reason to link these angels with any we've encountered so far. We don't know much about these angels. However, since they are bound, I think it's safe to assume they are fallen angels. While most of the demons have been free to roam the earth these 4 have remained bound. Why are they bound at the great river Euphrates? The Euphrates has a long history. We equate the Euphrates with the cradle of civilization and the Garden of Eden. It shows up in Genesis 2 as one of the 4 rivers that branch off the river flowing through Eden. Throughout the ages it was a natural boundary of kingdoms. It was the northern boundary of Egyptian influence, the eastern boundary of Hittite empire. The Euphrates ran through Babylon and in John's day, it was the eastern boundary of the Roman empire. It was a natural protection from Rome's enemy, the Parthians. It was also the border of the Promised Land; on one side of the Euphrates is the Promise of a God. The other side represents that which is outside of the promise.
Note: The Parthians were feared by Rome. Older Greek prophecies spoke of an eastern invasion of the Roman Empire. The Sibylline Oracles prophesied that Nero would return, leading Parthian hordes in vengeance on Rome. While these are pagan prophecies and the writings have no bearing the Christian life, they might offer insight into the context of Rome and its fears known to all the culture. The Parthians were noted horsemen. Rome had little in the way of cavalry while the Parthians were renown for theirs.
These 4 angels were being held back, restrained by their bonds. When the pit was emptied, it looked look like all the evil of the world was set free. However, these 4 remained in chains. But now, John saw them loosed.
Revelation 9:15
These fallen angels were prepared and kept chained for one purpose, for God's purpose; for this hour of this day of this month and year; to kill a third of the population. That's a couple billion people after ¼ of the population had already been killed a couple billion. Add this 1/3 to the 1/4 of the population that was killed in chapter 6 and you'll find over half of earth's population is now dead. The world has never seen anything like this since the days of Noah.
Revelation 9:16-19
These 4 fallen angels that are released apparently do their work through another great army. This army is 200 million strong. No army of this size has ever existed. At the height of World War 2 every soldier on the earth only totaled around 70 million. Supposedly back in the 60's China made a claim that they could field a 200-million-man army but there was never evidence of it. Their army, as of this writing, is 2.7 million or so.
The army assembled at the Euphrates that day will be the largest the world has ever seen and it will be led by 4 fallen angels. John heard the number of them and saw the horses and those who sat on them. Once again, John attempted to give us a description of something indescribable. The horsemen had red, yellow and blue breastplates. They are riding horses with heads like lions and breathing out fire, smoke and brimstone. These things are clearly something unnatural. The colorful riders on these fire breathing horses appear to be another demonic army of some kind.
This is talking about the horses, not the riders. It was out of the mouths of the horses we see the fire and smoke and brimstone. The power to bring death is in their mouth and tails. Somehow their tails have heads and these heads on the tails also do harm.
Revelation 9:20-21
The rest of a mankind will be around 4 billion people. These are people who still dwell on the earth, that have survived all the chaos of God's judgments so far, continue in their ways. They continue to worship idols and demons whether they realize it or not; while very few would willingly and knowingly do so. Yet, it happens unwittingly and it happens every day. They may call them spirit guides or guardian angels or any number of spiritual sounding things.
The idols of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood may not necessarily be statues of other gods. These materials were also used to build Wall Street, church buildings, homes, work places and all kinds of other idols that are nothing but the works of man's hand. None of these idols can hear or walk or save a person from the wrath of the Living God. They are cold, dead and lifeless gods. Those who worship them have become like them; cold, dead and lifeless.
This is incredible that after all that has happened the people living on earth won't repent. It doesn't say they don't understand or are ignorant of the situation. It just says they refuse to repent.
The world has been taught to follow and not think. Critical thinking and wise decision making is a thing of the past. People don't move, they are moved. We see these things happening before our eyes. I can imagine the vast majority waiting for the world leader to make their problems go away and return the world to 'peace and safety'.
They refuse to give up their murders. The word is 'phonos.' It means cold blooded murder. Most of the time the word is used it's in a list of other evil deeds, just like here. Mankind will hide their murderous heart in self-righteousness.
The people refused to stop sorceries. The word here is Pharmekia. It's drug use; dark and magical arts. It's the use of drugs to escape reality, to part from truth or attempt to alter what is unacceptable. The people of earth will rely on their pharmekia and refuse to repent of it.
The people also refused to give up their sexual immorality. The word here is pornea. This includes fornication of all kinds; all kinds, every kind. We live in a world where the industry of sex ranges from TV commercials to Hollywood to nearly every part of American life. This industry is billions of dollars a year on the internet. It's a scourge on our society. It quietly consumes and damages minds and ultimately lives. Seven of ten men are drawn into this world regularly. The women are close behind. Sex trafficking is on the rise. Sex offenses are out of control. The world in these end times will embrace their pornea and refuse to repent of it. It's happening all around us.
And finally, the people refused to repent of their thefts. The word is Klemma. It's the only place in the bible it is used. This doesn't mean the people will refuse to give up a life of thievery. No, the word Klemma is a noun. It refers to what was stolen. They will refuse to give up what was stolen; they will attempt to hold tight to that which they never possessed. What did they steal?
They stole a life, created in His image, intended for His service and fellowship. They hold fast to unredeemed life in the face of a kind offer of grace, redemption and salvation. They stole every breath and heartbeat that came from God and kept it for their glory. They chose their way, their truth and their life. They stole the blessings of this life; all the good things of this world without ever giving thanks to the giver. They kept their life and spent that life in their way, despising God?
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:25)
©2021 Doug Ford
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