The Fifth & Sixth Trumpets
Verse 1:
And the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star fall from heaven to the earth: and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
A Quick Recap
There were seven seals, followed – thematically if not chronologically – by seven trumpets. In their arranged order, they are similar. The first four seals and trumpets presented judgments directed against the earth. The first four seals were the “four horsemen,” bringing tyranny, war, famine, and death to the earth. The first four trumpets brought ecological destruction to the vegetation, seas, fresh waters, and sky. The last three seals focused on heaven: the martyrs’ cry, cosmic disturbances, and the heavenly prelude to the seven trumpets. The last three trumpets will speak of hell in terms of the demonic.
The Fallen Star
Because the text states, “to him was given”, we know this is a person, not a literal star. The use of the verb tense (fallen) lets us know he had already fallen. Who is the star?
This is one of those questions that can’t be given a definitive answer. Suggestions to ponder as to the identity of the fallen one have included Nero, a fallen angel, an evil spirit, or Satan himself. Some have suggested the Word of God, a good angel, or Jesus Himself.
Within the context, it’s best seen as an angel. Whether he is good or bad depends on his relation to the angel of the bottomless pit in Rev. 9:11. If they are the same, then he’s evil, maybe Satan himself. If it is a different angel, perhaps he’s good and has been sent by God to open the pit for judgment. Because he is fallen is another reason to associate him with Satan or another evil angelic being. Good or bad, the key is given to this being at a specific time for a specific purpose that furthers God’s plan.
The Bottomless Pit
Have you ever wondered where it is? Like the Garden of Eden, we know it’s out there, being protected and hidden from us (Gen.3:24). Some think it’s in the center of the earth, where all is “top” and nothing is “bottom.” Some believe the bottomless nature of the pit is symbolic.
Luke 8:31; 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6 all speak of a certain prison for demons. This is probably the same place as the bottomless pit. More generally, this place is considered the dead realm, the same as Hades (Rom. 10:7).
Verses 2-6:
And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like a the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Locusts
The locusts we associate with eat plants and leave people alone. These are not natural locusts. They avoid plants and attack people, like scorpions attack. Walvoord said they are “A visual representation of the hordes of demons loosed upon the earth.” The idea is simply that as part of the judgment of the great tribulation, God will allow demonic hordes, previously imprisoned, to descend upon the earth like a swarm of destructive locusts.
The Seal Of God
Those who have the seal of God on their foreheads (the 144,000, maybe more) are protected but not those who God has not sealed. There will be no escaping it for those unfortunate ones, they will want to die, but death will not come. However, God expressly governed this torment in duration (5 months) and purpose (to bring repentance).
Verses 7-10:
The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.
Why would they be called locusts if they were not literal locusts but demonic spirits? Locusts are a consistent Old Testament agent of God’s judgment. Ex. 10:4-14; Deut. 28:38; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chron. 7:13; Joel 1:4; Amos 4:9 are a few examples.
Like…
The repetition of the word “like” indicates something other than a literal description is intended. The total impact of this descriptive picture is one of unnatural and awesome cruelty.
Verse 11:
And they had as a king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
This verse is more evidence that these creatures are not literal locusts. Prov. 30:27 tells us that actual locusts have no king. These “locusts” have a king with a name; in Hebrew, it’s Abaddon; in Greek, it’s Apollyon.
The Hebrew term “Abaddon” and its Greek equivalent “Apollyon” appear in the Bible as both a place of destruction and an archangel of the abyss. Abaddon appears six times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew Bible, Abaddon is used concerning a bottomless pit, meaning the realm of the dead (Job 26:6).
Obviously, this is Satan himself or another high-ranking leader of the demons.
Verse 12-15:
One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. Then 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 who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.
The Sixth Trumpet
The Worst Is Yet To Come
The locusts brought torment and torture but for those who do not use the calamity for its intended purpose, redemption, the next trumpet may bring about their death and subsequent eternal damnation.
A Voice From The Altar
In the tabernacle and temple of Israel, the golden altar was the altar of incense, representing the prayers of God’s people. Four horns stood at each corner of the altar. Atoning blood was applied to the horns. From these horns, John heard a voice. In this, John recalled a repeated theme: the prayers of God’s people play a significant role in the end-times drama.
The Angels And Their Mission
These four angels have no necessary connection with the four angels of Rev. 7:1. They may be the same four or they may not be. Whoever they are, they are prepared for this very moment of the unleashing of this judgment.
Most of Satan’s angels are yet free – being the principalities against which we wrestle, but some terrible offenders of high rank have been bound.”
Newell
Unlike the locusts released earlier, these four angels have the authority to kill on a massive scale, a third of humankind. Newell assumes these four angels are evil. They may or may not be, but no matter, they are servants of the divine purpose. They have a specific sphere of activity (a third) and are only allowed to move in God’s timing.
These angels were connected with the Euphrates River because the Euphrates was a landmark of ancient Babylon. It was the frontier of Israel’s land as fully promised by God (Gen. 15:17-21). It was also the boundary of the old Roman Empire, which will be revived under the Antichrist.
Some more interesting connections with the Euphrates are its association with the first sin (Gen. 2:10-14), the first murder (Gen. 4:16), the first organized revolt against God (Gen 11:1-9), the first war confederation (Gen. 14:1), and the first dictatorship (Gen. 10:8-10).
Verses 16-19
Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues, a third of mankind was killed – by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.
Some take the number of horsemen symbolically, but I think since John makes a point to say he “heard” the number, it should be taken literally. Whether it’s an actual count or not, they paint a powerful picture of horror, destruction, and demonic association.
Does this speak of a natural or a supernatural army? Will it be an army of demons or men? If it is a natural army of men, the description may speak of modern, mechanized warfare. This could be the only way John could describe modern machinery.
A human army this size has never been seen. At the height of WW11, the total of both sides was only 70 million. China claimed to have an army of 200 million in 1965, but this was doubted by many and never proven. Even if such an army was assembled and marched towards the west, it’s hard (not impossible) to see such an army killing a billion (a third) or more people.
Perhaps the best interpretation is to see this as a literal 200 million-strong army of demons invading the earth. It would continue with the idea of the demonic army, like locusts.
Verses 20-21
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
After everything these remaining people see, they will not repent. That is mind-boggling to me. Despite some vast signs and wonders, they will continue to worship idols and carry on with all other sinfulness in a very back-to-business as usual sort of way.
Think about how quickly things return to what is conceived as usual after some calamity, like an earthquake, fire, war, or pandemic. We are quick to forget God’s lessons, even the lessons that come in judgment. The world will never have seen calamity, like what is described in this chapter, yet they will not repent.