Revelation 8:13 “And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”
In this section we want to discuss the sounding of the fifth trumpet and the corresponding judgement that will be initiated because of that trumpet’s sounding. As we can see from the above quoted passage of scripture the angel warns that the last three trumpets to sound will initiate suffering in the earth that far exceeds that which they would have experienced thus far.
Revelation 9:1-11 “Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. (2) 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 pit. (3) Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. (4) 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. (5) And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. (6) In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. (7) 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. (8) They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. (9) 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. (10) They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. (11) And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”
The above quoted passage of scripture describes locusts coming on the earth, the shape of which will be like horses prepared for battle. On their heads there will be crowns of something like gold and their faces will be like the faces of men. They will have hair like women's hair and their teeth will be like lions' teeth. They will have breastplates like breastplates of iron and the sound of their wings will be like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They will have tails like scorpions and there will be stings in their tails. And so we see that God’s fifth judgement will be to release these locust creatures into the earth to torment mankind. This judgement will be truly terrifying for mankind, for they will be exposed to spirit beings that they never knew even existed; creatures that sound like they come out of a science fiction horror movie. In this passage the star fallen from heaven refers to one of Satan’s angels who will be allowed to release these creatures into the earth. These creatures are currently locked up in the bottomless pit, and when the angel opens the pit on that day the smoke from the fires of hell will be released into the earth, which will have the effect of darkening the whole of the earth’s atmosphere. It is out of this cloud of smoke that these creatures, led by the angel Apollyon, will descend upon all of mankind to torment them. This passage describes the type of torment that these creatures will inflict upon mankind; they will use the sting in their tails, which is similar to the sting of a scorpion. It is important to note that this judgement will affect all mankind and none will be able to escape, i.e. the rich, the poor, the great and the small. Even the anti-Christ and the false prophet will be subject to their torment. Because these locusts are spiritual creatures, they are not subject to physical barriers such as walls, etc. And so people will be unable to lock themselves in buildings to escape these creatures, because the locusts will simply pass through the walls of those buildings. It is also important to note that because these are spiritual creatures, manmade tools and weaponry also have no impact on them. In other words mankind will be completely defenceless against them. This passage also informs us as to the duration of this judgement, i.e. they will torment mankind for five months. And so because during this time men will have no defence against these creatures, many will try to kill themselves but will be unable to. This passage also informs us that during this judgement, because they will have the seal of God on their foreheads, the locust creatures will avoid the one hundred and forty four thousand.
Michael E.B. Maher
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