Revelation 9:1-6And 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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net

In Revelation chapter 8 we saw “seven angels with seven trumpets”which were released on the earth because of the seventh seal. When Jesus released the Seventh Seal it is not the end of judgment, but that unfolds into Seven Trumpet Judgments:

• TheFirst Trumpet destroyed the third part of all green things, the vegetation of earth.
• The Second Trumpet turned the third part of the ocean into blood, killing a third of all fish life.
• The Third Trumpet turned the third part of all fresh water bitter and undrinkable – killing wildlife and fish.
• TheFourth Trumpet blotted out a third of the light from the sun, moon, and stars.

These are all horrible – but as Chapter 8 ends we are told:

Revelation 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

An angel flies out crying three woes – “Woe! Woe! Woe!”. This angel makes it clear that the first four Trumpets were nothing compared to what was coming. The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Trumpets are triple Woe! Trumpets. The first four were scary – the next three are hide under your bed scary! What can be that bad?

Woe 1 – God Releases Locusts

Revelation 9:1-3 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. 2 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. 3 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.

When the fifth angel sounds a Star falls to the earth. Though stars in the Bible are often celestial bodies, in this case, it refers to an angel (see Job 38:7). Why is this angel called “A Star”? Because all eyes are upon him. He has one job – to open the ABYSS. What is the bottomless pit or the ABYSS? Both Peter and Jude spoke of this pit.

2 Peter 2:4 … God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

and Jude said:

Jude 6 … the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

When Satan led his revolt against God there were some Angels who followed the devil that God did not allow them to go free. Though God allowed Satan to roam the earth as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), and though Satan was allowed to enter and exit the Throne Room of God even after his rebellion (see Job 1:7), these Angels were cast into a Pit, an Abyss, “Held until this time of Judgment”. These things look like Flying Scorpions.

Though I’ve never been bitten by a scorpion I’ve been told by those who have that it is terrible! These things released from the pit are given very specific instructions:

Revelation 9:4 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.

These “Demon Locust Scorpions” are commanded to hurt only the unbelieving, those who have rejected the Lord Jesus. The order to these Locust/Scorpions is very specific. They are NOT to hurt the earth or any green thing, but just the unbeliever that “has not the seal of God in their foreheads”. These creatures are intelligent. They can tell who is saved and who is not.

If these “Locusts” which are unbelieving demons can tell who unbelievers are, don’t you think the LOST can tell a fake Christian?

Those who have the seal of God in their foreheads may have to worry about the anti-Christ – but they do not have to worry about these creatures. They are tormentors of the lost world.

Revelation 9:5-6 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. 6 And in those days shall SEEK DEATH, AND SHALL NOT FIND IT; AND SHALL DESIRE TO DIE, AND DEATH SHALL FLEE FROM THEM.

These creatures will torment the unbelieving, but will not kill them. As a matter of fact, no one will be able to die even if they want to. Men and women will be driven to suicide, but will not be able to take their own lives

The Demons Described

Revelation 9:7-10 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. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 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. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power WAS TO HURT MEN FIVE MONTHS.

Men may not die. They cannot kill these creatures. They must torment the unbelieving for five months. What relief is available? The unbelieving can REPENT and TURN TO GOD. They can seek Christ as Savior, and the mark of God will then be placed in their foreheads. The anti-Christ has not started marking anyone with 666 yet, the Mark of the Beast. There is time for man to repent – but WILL NOT – even though this is the only way out!

If the unbeliever would turn to God then
he would receive the mark of God
and relief from the torment of the locusts!

As a Pastor I have tried to preach God’s Word faithfully but there are those who REFUSE TO HEAR. Just like these poor lost souls during the Tribulation, they sit in the audience, number heads, stir trouble, and try to lead others down the pathway of hell. They hear Christ’s command to love and be loved but hate and teach hate. They are poisoned with unbelief. They will not be reached, and it is THEIR fault, not ours. In the end, you make your own choice.

The fifth Trumpet sounds LOUD AND CLEAR, saying “Choose salvation. Choose Christ and the torment will end”. Like the case of Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit in Acts 5, Peter gave them every opportunity to repent and tell the truth. They wallowed in their sin and suffered for it. So shall it be with the unbelieving at this time in history.

Revelation 9:11 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.

Because they would not receive Christ as King, they suffer under King Abaddon Apollyon – which means “destruction”. They choose destruction over peace with God.

Five Months – The Number Of Grace – Then Woe #2

The Fifth Angel plays the Fifth Trump, and mankind suffers for five months. Five is the number of Grace – and God gives mankind time to repent.

After five months the terrible demons – flying scorpions – are removed, and along with them the power NOT to die. We now read of the Sixth Trumpet:

Revelation 9:13-16 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. 15 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. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

During World War II America had 12 million men serving in the combined Armed Forces. That pales in comparison to what we see in this section of Revelation, an army of 200 Million soldiers. That is a HUGE army. The population of the United States in 2014 was 318.9 million people, so this army is almost as big as our nation itself! This army will be led by Four Angels on Horses from the Euphrates. This is a supernatural Army, not composed of normal soldiers.

Under the Fourth Seal (Revelation 6:8) one-quarter of humanity died. Under this Sixth Trumpet or Second Woe, one-third of humanity will die. At the end of these two judgments over half of humanity (.58333) will be destroyed.

This is a supernatural attack force that cannot be defeated. John wrote:

Revelation 9:17 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.

The “horses” were like fire-breathing lions.

Revelation 9:18-19 By these three^{fire, smoke, and brimstone}was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 19 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.

It is the smoke, the fire, and the brimstone that kills one third of humanity. If mankind would just repent and turn to Christ their destruction could be averted. But humanity has become hardened to God and His Grace. The Bible tells us in Exodus 12:40 that Israel was in Egypt 430 years. Why so long? Because they would not cry out to God. They would not repent. It was only when the Children of Israel cried out by reason of their bondage that their cry came up to God, and God heard their groaning and remembered …” (Exodus 2:23-25). God raised up Moses and sent seven plagues on Pharaoh, securing the release of His people Israel. God will bless, but there must be repentance! What of the unbelieving during the Great Tribulation? Will they repent? No! They are attacked and tormented for FIVE MONTHS by flying Scorpion Demons. A third part of humanity dies from a supernatural army of 200 million fire breathing horses. What happens? The Bible says:

Revelation 9:20-21 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: 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

They refused to repent of their idolatry.
They refused to repent of their evil.
They refused to repent of their sexual sins.
They refused to repent of their worship of money.
It’s MY BODY and I’ll do what I want to do.

Of all the scary things in the Book of Revelation this is, indeed, the scariest! A hardened heart that refuses to turn to God in spite of clear evidence that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Oh Beloved, harden not your hearts as they did in the provocation, in the rebellion of the wilderness (Hebrews 3:8). The scariest thing of all is the hardened heart. Guard your hearts against this terror!

God has room in His heart for you if you have room in your heart for Him. Turn to Him. Love Him. Worship only Him. Cherish one another, and praise God if you are in His family by faith in Christ – for Revelation 9 will never happen to you!