Fifth Trumpet: Locusts From The Bottomless Pit, Sent To Torment Series

By: Tom Lowe Date: 5-7-16

Series: Verse By Verse Through Revelation

Title: Fifth Trumpet (First Woe): Locusts From the Bottomless Pit, Sent to Torment Men (Revelation 9:1-12)

Revelation 9:1-12 (KJV)

1 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.

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.

7 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.

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.

12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

Introduction

The trumpets continue to bring war, but war to which woe his added. The war to be described next is probably one of the most important in the Bible. Trumpets five and six move matters on earth along to the point where Satan’s man is left undisputed master of the globe—for a season.

There are three woe trumpets. The third precipitates the end and is described only after a lengthy parenthesis. At this point a description is given of just the first two. The first of these describes a satanically energized belief which afflicts humanity. The second (next lesson) describes a satanically energized battle which altars history.

The description which follows is highly symbolic. It tells of a fearful demon host which is to be unleashed by divine permission. The terrible demons loosed from the pit in this manner will seize upon men and prepare them for the strong delusion and for the appointment of the beast (Antichrist) to complete and universal power.

The world is already being prepared for what is to come. It is one of the ironies of the age in which we live that, at a time when scientific enlightenment is at its zenith and men are educated, practical, and materialistic in the extreme, millions are turning to the occult for entertainment, enlightenment, and eventual enslavement. Every year, hundreds of new books are published dealing with demonism, witchcraft, magic, spiritism, ghosts, and prophecy. Every season brings its quota of television shows featuring similar themes. Soothsayers, prophets, astrologers, fortune tellers are given enthusiastic hearing by millions. The groundwork is being laid for an enormous increase in demon activity soon to burst upon of the world. What will happen under the blowing of the fifth trumpet will be made easier because men have been preconditioned to reject Biblical truth and to accept the doctrine of demons.

The supernatural creatures released upon the blowing of the fifth trumpet are evil spirits. The description given of their appearance is, at the same time, a description of their character. We are told thirteen things about them.

Commentary

1 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.

One: THEY ARE INCARCERATED. The New American Standard Bible renders the phrase “I saw a star fall from heaven” as “I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth.” This would help identify the star here with the fallen star of the third trumpet. This star, which is sometimes referred to as “the unnamed personality,” is definitely a personage. This is made clear in the use of the masculine pronouns “him” and “he.” But who is the star? The tense of the verb “fallen” (R.V.) tells us that the star had already fallen from heaven. John was not told when and how the star had fallen, but he was able to tell that the star is an intelligent being to whom acts are ascribed which could not be said except of a living being. Jesus said to the seventy disciples, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). By this He meant, I feel certain that it was the fall of Lucifer from Heaven, through which he became Satan (Isaiah 14:12-15). If we are interpreting scripture reference with scripture reference correctly, then there seems to be little doubt that the star is Satan, the great enemy of God and man, and that the reference in Revelation 9:1 is to his original fall.