The 5th & 6th Trumpet Woes

THE 5^TH & 6^TH  TRUMPET WOES

 

THE FIFTH TRUMPET: The First Woe

(Revelation 9:1-11 KJV)

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

This star is generally agreed to be an angelic entity.  Several sources state that the structure of the Greek maintains that the angel had already fallen and John only sees him on the earth.  The NET version states it correctly.

Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss.  (Rev 9:1 NET)

Most pagan religions view stars as divine beings, and many Isaelites held them to be angels.  This star certainly is an angelic entity, but whether it is a fallen angel or one of the heavenly-type is debatable and is debated in several commentaries. 

He was given the key to the bottomless pit or abyss.  When the abyss is opened, the sky is filled with black smoke as from a huge furnace.  The air contains so much smoke that it darkens the sun.  The term, “bottomless pit” found in the KJV is a transliteration of abussos or abyss which is a place for confinement of supernatural beings.  The demons who called themselves Legion in Luke 8 begged Jesus not to send them into the “deep” whose root word is abyss.

And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep (abyss).   (Luke 8:31 KJV)

Out of the pit, along with the smoke, departs a vast horde of locust-like creatures.  These locusts are given a power or authority comparable to scorpions on earth.  Note that they did not exit the pit with the power of scorpions but that it was given to them.

Nature is exempt from their tormenting because they were commanded not to hurt grass, trees, or anything green.  However they were commanded, by some authority, to hurt or injure all people of the earth except the 144,000 with the seal of God on their forehead.  They were not permitted to kill anyone, which seems to imply that they could kill but were not allowed to do so.  They were told to torture people for 5 months with stings that were comparable to those of an actual scorpion.  The pain will be so great that those suffering the stings will desire and seek to kill themselves, but death will be unavailable to them.  The lifespan of a locust, depending on weather and ecological conditions, is usually about three to five months (coincidence?).

The identity of the locusts runs the gamut of human imagination and many times without any deference to the integrity of scripture:  regular locusts; mutated locusts; an invasion of Arabs; and Apache helicopters (think Hal Lindsey and others).

It should be indicated that the scriptural portrayal of the locusts is a series of similes and metaphors.  In other words, their appearance only resembles certain objects, but they are not the actual object referred to.

1.  Their shape is (like) a horse clad in armor and regalia for a battle
2. Their heads appeared (as it were) to have gold crowns
3. Their faces looked like (were as) a human man’s face
4. Their hair appeared like (as) a woman’s hair
5. Their teeth looked like (were as) that of a lion
6. Their breastplates looked like (as it were) iron breastplates
7. The sound of their wings was like (as) a battle chariot with many horses
8. Their tails and stingers appeared as (like unto) those of a scorpion

The locusts will have a frightful appearance, but they can only injure people with the scorpion-like stinger in their tails.  If these entities are demonic spirit beings, they may or may not be visible to men.

And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

The locusts from hell have a king (sometimes translated as messenger) to give them order and purpose.  Scripture states that locusts have no king.

The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; (Prov 30:27 KJV)

The grammatical construction indicates that this king is over (in contro)l of the bottomless pit, but not necessarily inhabits the abyss.  The word “abaddon” is used for the place of the dead, sheol, death, and the grave in several Old Testament scriptures:  Pro 15:11; Job 15:11, 26:6, 28:22; Psalms 88:11.  The Septuagint translates Abaddon to the Greek word apoleia which means “destruction”.  It could be that the angel who fell from heaven and the angel over the abyss are the same although there is no scriptural indication for yes but no contextual reason is say no.  Also, there is no scriptural reason to assign this king’s identification to Satan.  The word “destroyer” is used in several places in the Bible (Exo 12:23; Jdg 16:24; Job 15:21; Psa 17:4; Pro 28:24; Jer 4:7; 1Cor 10:10) but Abaddon is only used here in Revelation.

Are the locusts from the abyss demons of some type?  This concept is possible but highly doubtful.  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils (Revelation 9:20 KJV).  Note that after this woe, no one repented of anything including the worship of devils or demons.  It is improbably that one would worship demons after 5 months of excruciating pain delivered by so-called demons.

Joel 2 uses very similar language and refers to the coming of the day of the Lord.  It may have a long range prophetic significance.

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.  (Joel 2:4-6 KJV)

 

THE SIXTH TRUMPET: The Second Woe

(Revelation 9:13-21 KJV)

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Horns are a symbol of power in the Old Testament.  Both the altar of incense and the altar of sacrifice had horns. 

Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates

Starting with Babel, under Nimrod, this region has bred many of the world’s pagan religions.  Ancient Jewish texts speak of fallen angels being bound  at the bottom of various seas, waiting to be released at the command of God.  The Euphrates was an important river of ancient Babylon.  It was also the border of Israel’s kingdom as promised by God in Genesis 15:17-21.  As with the star that fell from heaven in the 5^th trumpet, we have an issue with the character of the four bound angels:  are they evil or righteous?  The book of Daniel displays certain angels who hold control over certain kingdoms and governments.

Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.   (Daniel 10:20 KJV)

When God changed the languages after the building of the tower of Babel the common language was replaced with 70 different languages.  He placed an angelic entity over each of the 70 groups and separated them around the planet.  Below is the Septuagint version, but the NET version is essentially in agreement.  It could be that the Masoretic text changed the wording.

When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.

(Deuteronomy 32:8 LXX)

which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men

Just as God sent His Son at “the fullness of the time” (Gal. 4:4) and Jesus died “in due timet” (Rom. 5:6), the four angels are “prepared for the hour, day, month, and year, to kill a third of the remaining population.

And the number of the army of the horsemen were (200,000,000)

It has been said, the total size of all armies, on both sides of the conflict, at the height of the Second World War was only 70 million.  In 1965 China claimed it could field an army of 200 million although many were doubtful of the boast. Some see this as a reference to forces allied with the kings of the east (Rev 16:12) and identify them with a human army coming from Asia, mainly China.

Many commentators consider this a demonic army.  Their outlandish uniform has breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone.  Greek dictionaries define fire, jacinth, and brimstone as:  fiery looking breastplates; and deep blue (regular dictionary says yellow-orange); with the appearance of sulfur.  If these horsemen and horses are demonic in nature, they are ultimately commandeered by the Lord God.  If they are unwittingly implementing God’s sovereign plan as agents of His divine judgment, they will enjoy destroying His creatures and marring His creation.

The Henry Swete commentary says, “The riders were armed in cuirasses [armor] whose color suggested fire, smoke, and brimstone.” Leon Morris says, “The fire, the smoke and the sulfur are regarded as three separate plagues.

and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

Even the horses have the power for harm and misery, with the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent (snake) with an intact head.  The mouth of their lion head issues fire, smoke, and brimstone (sulfur).  Their head and tail is the source of their power to kill 1/3 of the remaining humanity.

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

After five months of torment from locust-scorpion stings in the 5^th trumpet, then death by lion bite, snake bite, and noxious odors of sulfur in the 6^th trumpet, one would think that repentance would be in order, but that is not the case.  After all the suffering and death, no one repented, but continued their Satanism, demon worship, love of money (mammon), murders, sorceries, fornication (sexual promiscuity), and thievery (as a way of life).

The English term “pharmacy” is from the Greek word for sorceries (pharmakeia).  This includes medical drugs as well as street drugs.

From:  Carr, Kelly (1998-01-01). Revelation:  Book of Mystery and Majesty

It is important to remember that these last two judgments are Satanic judgments. This is what Satan would like to do now if he could. Only the gracious hand of a loving God is restraining and limiting these forces of evil.

THE LITTLE BOOK:  Coming soon

THE TWO WITNESSES:  Coming soon

THE SEVENTH TRUMPET:  THE SEVEN BOWLS:  Coming soon

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

(Revelation 10:7 KJV)

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.  (Revelation 11:15 KJV)