Today we will start chapter 9 and it is split in two, covering 2 more of the trumpet judgements, the 5th and the 6th. I will be breaking the chapter in two, covering one trumpet today and one tomorrow. This morning we will come to the most vivid, colorful, (and if not well-prepared for) the most difficult to understand sections in Revelation we’ve yet to encounter. Many get lost here. They encounter wild beasts with crazy descriptions that they cannot fathom, and they either quit the study or their unbelief taints the entire book. As we encounter the 5th trumpet, just recall our previous rules for our Revelation study. Don’t engage in sensationalism, God wrote Revelation to be a literal book, if it says something looks like something it simply does. Also, you don’t need to understand everything in order for it to be true. And we only read the black parts. We only read the words that we’re given, we don’t add to them or make up our own interpretations. As we study through the 5th trumpet we will merely do our best (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to interpret what lies before us...the true, accurate and descriptive Word of God.
The last three trumpets are labeled the “woe trumpets” due to the eagle that proclaimed them thus. (Rev 8:13) These last three will be so painful, so intense and so full of personal torment that God saw it necessary to give the wicked people of the Earth a chance to repent and turn to Him before they started. If they refuse yet again, they will suffer the personal torment of the three woes of the last three trumpets. Folks, these will be the blackest days in human history.
It’s important to note here just who will have to endure the tremendous suffering of the last three trumpets. It will not be you, me, or anyone else who has accepted Christ before the great tribulation starts. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, when you die you will go to Heaven to live with God for eternity, you will never enter the great tribulation. And it is not for the church. That is, the body of believers that is here on Earth to give out the Word of God to the world. They will be raptured or "snatched up" to meet Jesus in the air before the great tribulation starts. So who is left? All people on the planet Earth that have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and refused it. I heard a preacher one time say, “regardless of what you do with Christ today, you have now officially heard the gospel and that changes everything.” You see, once you hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have no excuse. You can him-haw around it, deny it, put it off, or flat out say it’s poppycock, but that will never matter. Once you have heard the gospel the impetus is on you and you are held accountable to make a decision, whether it be yes or no.
The great tribulation will be full of people that have heard of the saving power of Jesus Christ but just never had time for it. It didn’t fit their lifestyle, they were doing ok without God, they just didn't need God. So here they are in the great tribulation. But God will never give up on someone that calls upon Him. He will have the most effective preaching force in history on the ground during the great tribulation in the 144,000. (Rev 7) So what if during the tribulation, you simply get the pants scared off you by these events and you decide to believe that there is a God, that you need Him, and that His Son Jesus can save you? Well, you are saved at that moment, just like today. But unfortunately, your still stuck in the middle of the tribulation. But what if a new believer dies during the tribulation? Well, just like here, you will go to heaven. There will be more Christians killed during the great tribulation than any other period in history. In fact, the 5th seal and half of Revelations chapter 7 is about just that. The martyrs crying out to God to avenge their deaths as they stood for Him before an evil generation. My heart continues to break for those that will have to endure what we will study this morning, but they all have a choice. Repent and believe in Jesus and be saved. But for those that simply will not do this, lets look at what’s in store for them.
“And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
9:1 - “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.”
The fifth angel blows his trumpet and John immediately sees a star falling from heaven to Earth. We have seen 2 stars fall in the judgments so far. One into the sea to kill 1/3 of sea life and destroy 1/3 of all boats and another called Wormwood that will destroy 1/3 of the Earth’s fresh water. But this is not a physical star from space, this is a person as it later calls the star ‘he’ in this verse. This is satan. He is given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. Who gave it Him? Who has that key? Jesus does. And he clearly tells us He does in Rev 1:18 “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” So, Jesus has the key to the pit and He gives it to satan. Notice always that Jesus is thoroughly in control. It is time for Jesus to allow satan to free his army of demons that today is held at bay by God. When was the last time you praised God for Him withholding this true evil from us today?
9:2 – “He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.”
This is like a mad jail break. It doesn’t take satan very long, he hustles right down to the pit where God has kept his demon army locked up and he immediately unlocks them all. He immediately unleashes this army upon the earth. As he does, it releases smoke like never before. Like the smoke coming out of the world’s biggest smokestack. So much smoke that it blacks out the sun and the sky. Smoke is symbolic of judgement and this judgement upon the world is coming straight from satan and his demonic army through the allowance of Jesus Christ.
9:3-4 – “Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”
Satan’s army comes forth from the pit and they resemble a swarm of locusts. These are not literal locusts, the bugs, but demons in satan’s army. We are told later during the 6th trumpet (Rev 9:16) that they numbered 200 million. John would have seen swarms of locusts where he lived, they were a plague and a curse upon the land. God used locusts as one of the 10 plagues upon Egypt in order to free the Israelites. Here John likens this demonic army to a massive swarm of locusts. In 1889 there was a swarm of locusts that covered over 2000 square miles around the Red Sea, they were so thick that they blocked out the sun.
But notice even in all of their fury and wrath, they had rules. God is always in control, no matter what it looks like. They cannot harm the grass of the earth, any green plant or any tree. This is another sign that these are not real locust insects, real locusts eat the green of the earth. The next statement is very spooky to read. They are to only harm people on the planet that do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Folks their reason for existing is to torment anyone that does not have this seal. And torment they will.
But if you have the seal of God they must pass you by. So what is this seal? We’re told specifically back in Rev 7:3-4 that the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel will receive the seal of God so that they can preach the gospel safely in the tribulation without harm. “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.” So if you accept Christ during the tribulation will you receive this precious seal on your forehead? Good question with a tough answer. Nowhere in Revelation do we see anyone else receiving a seal on their forehead except the 144,000. This would mean exactly what the scripture says, that the 144,000 would be spared but all others including new believers would be susceptible to the demon attack. Notice also the wording, it doesn’t say “they were told not to harm believers” it says “not to harm those that have the seal of God on their foreheads.” It is very specific and very clear.
9:5-6 – “They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.”
God will allow this army to torment mankind for exactly 5 months. It’s interesting to note that the cycle of a locust is 5 months, May to September. This will be true torment and torture because death will not be allowed. It will be like a scorpion sting that lasts for 5 months. Agony, pain, discomfort, fear, and horror. For 5 solid months. It says that this torment will be so great that people will seek death and long for it, but it will not come, it will flee from them. There will be many that will try to take their own lives, but it will not be allowed. Death will not be allowed during this 5 months.
9:7-8 – “In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails.”
Next John describes the appearance of the demon ‘locusts’ to the best of his ability. Have you ever seen something so amazing that you had a hard time describing it? You are limited to what you know and what you’ve ever seen before to describe it right? That is John here, he is drawing upon his knowledge to create a description of these amazing and horrible demon warriors.
They were like horses ready for battle. As soon as satan let them out they were like horses that were chomping at the bits to go forth and inflict pain. They had what looked like crowns of gold on their heads. This would represent a victor’s crown, that the demon army will be invincible. They had human faces, they are rational beings, not insects. Their hair was like women’s hair would apparently appeal to their seductiveness and attractiveness. Their teeth were like lions teeth would represent the fierce and terrible ability to tear apart their victims. They had breastplates of iron is indicative that they are prepared for war. The noise of their wings indicates they indeed had wings and could fly. This makes sense because if they are to cover the earth to torment as many as possible, they would need to travel quickly and be able to cross water. When they did fly it sounded like many chariots and horses rushing into battle. We have no chariot today but to hear 1,000 chariots and horses at full gallop must have been quite the loud, impactful event. They have tails that sting like scorpions. This is how they inflict their damage and pain. They had tails that would inflict a sting that would hurt like a scorpion sting for 5 months.
9:11-12 – “They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. 12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
They have a king or a general that is leading them. This is not satan but a demon that has apparent great power and authority from satan. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon and it means “destruction.” In Greek it is Apollyon and it means “destroyer.” This is the first “woe trumpet” there are two more that will follow.
Wow, what a scene we have looked at this morning. It’s hard to believe that people can live through this and still not cry out to God to save them, but yet it is true. The heart of man can be incredibly hard. God will continue to turn up the knob on the stove and the last two woes will be just as terrible, if not more. I can’t imagine something so intense in its pain and turmoil that I would seek death as the only relief. My heart breaks for those that will endure this, and I just continue to ask myself, why? We have a God that desires nothing more than to see us come to Him in love so that He can return that love in abundance. To look to His Son, Jesus Christ, and accept the fact that He died for our transgressions against a perfect God. In doing this, all is made right. We are rectified to our creator. It’s so simple and so easy, yet there are those even today that refuse. Why?
I pray today that you can call Jesus your Lord. My friends what we read today is terrible. The level of pain and torment is tough to imagine. But as bad as it will be, it’s only 5 months. If you die today without accepting Jesus, you will not have 5 months of torture in front of you, but an eternity. An eternity of crying out for a death that will not come. Don’t read this and have pity for those in the great tribulation, have pity on those all around us today that are dying without Jesus and going into an eternity of this torment. We have much work to do. The people of this planet deserve to hear about the saving love of Jesus. If you are saved today, someone loved you enough to share that message with you. Do the same for someone else today.
God Bless you in your journey to share His message.
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