The Fifth Trumpet Judgment - Revelation 9:1-12
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began looking at the seven trumpet judgments that came out of the seventh seal of the scroll deed of creation. Last Sunday we witnessed the first four trumpets as they were sounded and how these first four judgments will affect the physical universe in some way, and each of the judgments happened in thirds, a third of the earth and a third of the trees were burned up, a third of the sea became blood and a third of the sea life died, and a third of the ships were destroyed, a third of the fresh water became bitter and poisonous, and a third of the sun and moon went dark and a third of the stars went dark, and the sun did not shine for a third of the day and the moon did not shine for a third of the night. Following the fourth trumpet John saw an eagle flying in midheaven giving a warning of woe to those who dwell on the earth that the next three trumpet judgments will be worse than the first four, as we will see with the sounding of the fifth trumpet this morning our focus shifts from the physical realm to the spiritual realm.
Let’s pray and then get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
Turn in your Bibles to Revelation 9:1-12, our passage of Scripture for this morning. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of the Word of God.
Revelation 9:1-12,
“Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them. The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.” (Revelation 9:1–12, NASB95)[1]
THE STAR AND THE ABYSS (Revelation 9:1-2)
John informs us at the beginning of this chapter that the fifth angel holding the fifth trumpet of judgment sounds a blast on his trumpet and John says that he sees a star that has fallen from heaven to the earth. This is not the first object that John has seen fallen from heaven to the earth, but unlike the other objects that he has seen, this star was not an inanimate piece of cosmic matter, but instead John is referring to an angelic being. How do we know this? Because this star is called a “he” and he is given a key with which he will open the abyss. That he was fallen to the earth suggests that this is a reference to Satan, the leader of all the fallen angels. Isaiah 14:12-15 tells of Satan’s pride and his desire to make himself like the Most High and he was cast out of heaven. But the fall of Satan described here in Revelation 9:1 is not his original rebellion, though he and the angels who rebelled with him were banished from heaven, we know from Job 1:6 that Satan retains access into the presence of God, where he constantly accuses believers. We will learn when we get to chapter 12 that during the tribulation Satan and his demons will unsuccessfully battle the Archangel Michael and the holy angels. The result of their defeat is that they will be permanently cast down to the earth. At that time Satan will marshal all his demonic hosts, those on the earth, those cast down with him, and those incarcerated in the bottomless pit or the abyss. This term translated “bottomless pit” in the NASB appears seven times in Revelation and always in reference of the place where incarcerated demons are held. Satan will be imprisoned in this abyss during the millennium, chained and locked up with the other demonic prisoners. This fallen star that John sees on the earth is Satan after he is cast out of heaven permanently.
He is given the key to the abyss; this key must be given to him from the Lord Jesus Christ because He is the One who holds the keys as we have seen in this book. With this key Satan unlocked the abyss to release its inmates. When the pit is opened John says smoke rose up out of the pit, John says it was like the smoke of a great furnace. This smoke is a warning of judgment, John says it so pollutes the sky that it blocks the already diminished light of the sun and even the air is darkened by it. This smoke symbolizes the corruption of hell belched forth from the abyss to pollute the world.
THE LOCUSTS FROM THE ABYSS (Revelation 9:3-6)
As John looks on at this smoke billowing forth from the abyss, which I am sure is beginning to cause panic among the inhabitants of the earth, John sees something coming out of the abyss through the smoke, a new terror is emerging. John describes them as locusts, in reality they are vile demons who have been imprisoned in the abyss and they are taking on a visible form resembling locusts, they are swarming out of the abyss. The smoke of the abyss is a fitting warning and depiction of a locust plague, since millions of these grasshopper-like creatures can swarm so thickly that they darken the sky and can blot out the sun, it is like turning day into night. Remember when God plagued Egypt with locusts, listen to Moses’ words in Exodus 10:14-15, “The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled in all the territory of Egypt; they were very numerous. There had never been so many locusts, nor would there be so many again. For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 10:14–15, NASB95)[2] This not only describes the size of a locusts’ plague, but the unbelievable destruction to crops and vegetation.
What John describes for us here are no ordinary locusts, but demons, and they too will bring unbelievable destruction. The fact that John describes them in form as locusts symbolizes their innumerable numbers and their massive destructive capabilities. Next John says that power or authority was given to them, remember that this is God’s judgment on the unrepentant people of the earth, because God is sovereign even the demons must do what He says, and it says they were granted the authority as the scorpions of earth have authority or power. What is the authority or power of a scorpion? To sting you with its tail, now actual locusts do not have stinging tails, but these demonic locusts do, and they will be able to inflict pain, probably far worse pain than that of an actual scorpion. This judgment of God brings demons into contact with those who dwell on the earth, those men and women who refuse to repent of their sin. The very fact that these creatures come from the abyss and that their leader is the “angel of the abyss” makes it clear to us that these are demons. The sad part of this is, even with this horrifying experience of this demon infestation, it will not cause many to repent, if any. This judgment will make the movie “Gremlins” seem like nothing.
Strict limitations are placed upon this demonic swarm. This judgment, unlike the first four judgments does not involve the physical world. This demonic horde is commanded to not hurt the grass of the earth, the trees or any green thing. This again shows that these are not actual locusts, since genuine locusts would devour everything green in their path. The reference to green grass and trees suggests that some time has passed since the first trumpet judgment and green grass is growing again and the locusts are to leave it untouched, so it can continue to recover.
Satan would love to kill off all the unsaved to keep them from repenting, but God in His mercy will not allow this to happen. God restricts these demons as to who they may inflict with the pain of their sting. They cannot harm any of those sealed with the seal of God on their forehead. Many believe that this does not only include the 144,000 Israelites that we saw sealed in chapter 7, but also that this protection from the demonic locusts may also extend to those who have already repented and put their faith in Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His…’” (2 Timothy 2:19a, NASB95)[3] John Walvoord says, “It would seem improbable that any true believer in that day would be subject to the torment of the locusts; the torment is rather a judgment on Christ-rejecting men.”[4]
John continues with their restrictions, God did not permit them to kill anyone, but only to torment them for five months. God, in His mercy, will allow this judgment to only last five months, this is the normal lifespan of locusts, usually from May to September, during this time man will not be allowed to die, but will have opportunity to repent and receive the truth of the gospel. The five-month period will be a period of intense spiritual and physical suffering that God will allow these demons to inflict on unrepentant man. The torment is to be like the sting of a scorpion. During these five months the 144,000 Israelites, and other believers will be proclaiming the gospel, for many this will be their last opportunity to repent. So intense will this suffering be that many people it says will seek death, but they will not find it, they will long for it and it will flee from them. The agony and suffering of this time will cause people to desire death over life. The earth that they so loved will have been devastated by all the natural disasters brought upon from the seal judgments and the first four trumpet judgments. Any hope for the peace and safety that the Antichrist promised has died, and even in wanting death it will elude them and there is no escape from the agony inflicted by the demons in this fifth trumpet judgment of God.
THE DEMONS FROM THE ABYSS (Revelation 9:7-10)
John goes on in verses 7-10 to try and describe what these demonic locusts look like. These demons are described as locusts because they bring massive, devastating, and rapid judgment from God. As John describes them for us he can only give an approximation of what this spiritual army looked like, as the repeated use of the term “like” which is used eight times in these four verses and the phrase “appeared to be” indicates. John uses natural and familiar analogies to describe this supernatural and unfamiliar demonic horde.
John says that their general appearance of these demon locusts was “like horses prepared for battle.” They were warlike, powerful, defiant, they were like war horses straining at the bit, pawing the earth in their eagerness to inflict pain and torment mankind. On their heads John says, “appeared to be crowns like gold.” This word translated crown is not the crown of a king, but the wreath or crown of the victor, and it indicates that this demon host will be invincible, there will be no weapon that can harm them or stop them and there will be no cure for the terrible pain that they will inflict with their sting. John then describes them as having faces like men showing that they are intelligent, rational beings, not just an insect. John says they have hair like women and teeth like a lion, their hair may cause them to seem attractive, but in reality, they are like a ravenous beast. John says that they have breastplates like iron, the breastplate is designed to protect the vital organs of a soldier, this again shows this demonic horde’s invulnerability. John describes the noise of their wings as the sound of a moving army of chariots and many horses rushing into battle. There will be no escape from this massive horde that John again reminds us have tails like scorpions with power to hurt men with their stings for five months. This is their mission from God and their sole purpose is to hurt people which they will do with great efficiency.
THE KING OF THE ABYSS (Revelation 9:11-12)
Proverbs 30:27 says, “The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks;” (Proverbs 30:27, NASB95)[5] Unlike real locusts, the demons described here have a king over them. John calls him, “the angel of the abyss.” Some say that this is Satan, but Satan is not associated with the abyss until later and up until the point that he was thrown down to the earth he was call the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). This angel that John is describing I believe is a high-ranking demon in Satan’s hierarchy of power. John gives us the name of this king of the abyss in both Hebrew and Greek. In Hebrew he is called “Abaddon” which means destruction or place of destruction; in Greek he is called “Apollyon” which means destroyer. John uses both of these names to emphasize his impact on both ungodly Jews and Gentiles. The fact that his names mean destruction and destroyer are fitting names for the head of this devastating army of demons that arise from the abyss.
Having described the first woe of the eagle’s warning in chapter 8:13, that is the fifth trumpet judgment, John reminds his readers that God’s wrath has not run its course. Two more woes are to follow in the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments which includes the seven bowl judgments, John warns that there is just a brief sign of relief at the end of the five months of torment before still more fearful judgments follow.
CONCLUSION:
As I prepared this message I prayed asking God how to apply this message to you and to me. In these 12 verses we see the horrific judgment of God upon unrepentant mankind. The first and foremost of my thoughts was my gratitude and thankfulness to God that He had called me to be His child, that by His Holy Spirit I recognized my own sinfulness and rebellion against God, and I repented of my sin and in His mercy He turned His wrath which I deserved from me and in His grace He applied the blood of Jesus Christ to me and forgave my sin and covered me in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I thank God that I only have to read about this judgment, but I do not have to endure it because of His great love He made a way to escape His wrath which is coming upon unrepentant, Christ-rejecting mankind. I hope this morning that you are in this same place, that you have agreed with God that you are a sinner and that you cannot do anything to change that and because of your sin you deserve God’s wrath and judgment, but in faith you believe that Jesus Christ died in your place, taking your punishment on the cross, that He was buried and three days later rose triumphant from the dead. When you believe this God in His mercy turns His wrath from you and your sin is forgiven through Christ and you have escaped the wrath of God righteous judgment that is about to come.
As I continued to think about this judgment of the fifth trumpet it caused me to think about those who have not escaped God’s wrath through repentance and salvation and I am concerned for them and desire that they come to that place of safety in salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the only way we can escape God’s judgment is to be safely with Him in heaven when His judgment begins. There is only one way that we can get into heaven, and it is not by going to church, it is not by showing kindness to others, it is not anything we can do, it is only through what Christ has done for us. Please make sure this morning that you understand what it means to put your faith in Jesus Christ, before you leave this building make sure that your sins are forgiven and you are going to heaven. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them for you, please see me after the service.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, 1966
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995