STUDY IN REVELATION 17
The Fifth Trumpet Sounds
The Pit Is Opened Rev. 9: 1-11
The Sixth Trumpet Sounds
More Hell Breaks Loose Rev. 9: 12-21
Remember the eagle that flew through Heaven, shouting “Woe, Woe, Woe.” Well the woes have begun, as the fifth trumpet sounds. Also remember that we said that from here things will get much worse.
I believe that God is going to unleash just a small portion of hell on the earth. I think that He is going to give those who refuse to turn to Him just a small glimpse of what eternity holds for them. He does this in order to turn them from hell and to Himself.
Let’s get started!!
v.1 John saw something fall out of heaven:
When the 5th trumpet sounded John said that a star fell from heaven. If we look closely at the verse we see that this was,
Actually a star It was just a symbol of something/someone Because of the use of the pronoun “him” we can understand that the star is a person.
So who is this (s)tar? Notice the lower case (s). Could this star be Jesus? Could the star be satan?
The star came from heaven. The star got to earth by Space shuttle Long black train falling.
Who do we know fell from heaven?______________. Scripture: Lk. 10: 18 * IS. 14: 12-15
The fall here is in the past tense, meaning that this star has already fallen.
Another reason we can know that this is not Jesus is that the fallen star is given the keys to the bottomless pit.
Right now Jesus holds those keys in His hand, so no one has to give Him keys that He already has.
v.2 The bottomless pit:
What is the bottomless pit? It is the place where evil spirits and demons are being kept until the end of the world.
It is my belief that these are the ones that God locked away, long ago. These are the most horrific demons in satan’s army.
Their final destination is the lake of fire or Gehenna. This is the place where all those who reject God’s offer, through Jesus, of eternal life, will end up.
What happens when the fallen angel opens the pit? Smoke rises up from the pit.
This smoke is so thick that it literally blocks the sun. It is a heavy smoke like that which rises from a furnace.
Some say that it is actually volcanic ash, while other say it is the smoke from hell. Where ever it comes from, I can’t imagine trying to breath air filled with that kind of smoke. But we must understand that the smoke is not the real issue here, but what comes out of the smoke.
vs.3-6 Look at what come out of the smoke!!
We see a very unusual creature rise out from the smoke of the abyss. They are simply called locust in verse 3 but they are not just any locust. We know that locust are a symbol of God’s anger against the ungodly of this world but there are five things that show us these aren’t your average locust. I believe these are the baddest of the bad, hell has to offer. These demons have been locked away for a looooooooong time. Imagine if we were to release the worst of the worst from our prisons today. Set them free to do what ever they wanted. This still can not compare to what is about to happen.
1. These demonic locust have tails like:
A possum, so they can hang in the trees cheetahs for supreme balance in the turns Scorpions
A scorpion has a stinger in its tail that carries poison. Most stings from a scorpion are not fatal to humans but are very painful.
Some believe that these scorpion like creature are the result of scientific experiments of man gone bad. I believe that these are demonic creatures and not some mutated experiment. This judgment is from God and not something man has brought on himself. We may suffer the consequences from our playing God but this judgment is directly from God.
2. The demonic locust will not harm nature. This is another good point that these are not normal locust.
What do locust eat? Left over’s Chicken legs vegetation.
These demonic locust are told not to harm the grass of the earth nor any green thing.
3. These demonic locust are told to afflict ALL of the people of the earth.True False
They are only to afflict those
Who are too short or too tall The very old or very young
those who do not have the seal of God on their forehead.
Once again we see that God will protect those who belong to Him.
Even during the worst of times God WILL be there.
4.These demonic locust will Kill the people they sting only torment those stung.
How long will this torment go on?5 Days 5 Weeks 5 Months 5 Years
The idea is that it is continual. Many try to explain the meaning behind the 5 months. I believe it is a literal 5 month period of time. Can you imagine being stung constantly by anything for 5 months? You would go insane from the pain and the fact that you can’t get away.
5. The result of the torment will so bad that people will beg to die. But they will not be able to.
Some believe that those who are stung are not brave enough to commit suicide.
I wonder if this is not God giving just a small sample of what is in store for those who reject His Son. This is just a small sample of the torment that one will face in the lake of fire. There will be no death there and the torment will be even more intense.
What happens when you put something in a fire? It burns up…
How do we explain the lake of fire and the fact that those who enter will not be completely destroyed?
Believers are not the only ones who will receive a new body. Unbelievers will not receive a gloried body but will receive an eternal body, that will not burn up.
Some believe that the soul is all that will go to hell but can the soul feel pain?
vs. 7-10 The appearance and power of these creatures:
There are eight descriptions given of these creatures.
1.The demonic locust are like horses prepared for battle. Notice that the verse says their appearance is like that of a horse. This simply could mean that these locust are huge creatures, much larger than the average locust.
2. The demonic locust have something that looks like a crown on their heads. This symbolizes that the locust have been given authority to inflict pain on the human population. It gives the idea of conquerors and they will be successful.
3. The demonic locust have faces like men. So far we have horses with crowns and face of men…
This symbolizes the intelligence of these creatures. Think about the normal locust. They aren’t very smart, they just go from one place to another and devouring everything in their path… These demonic locust are able to think, to plan and to carry out a particular plan of attack.
4. The demonic locust have hair like that of women. There are a couple of ways we can look at this.
a. this symbolizes beauty and the ability to seduce and trap people. Think about how easily men have been trapped by the beauty of a woman, all through history.
One that should quickly come to mind is Samson & Delilah.
b. this could symbolize their long flowing antennae.
5. The demonic locust will have teeth like a lion. Ferocious is a good word to use here. Creatures with the ability to devour. They certainly are not the little vegetarians we know today.
6. The demonic locust have breastplates of iron. This gives the picture of a creature that is indestructible, one that is protected. As bad as people may be, during this time, even Rambo won’t be able to kill them. McIver won’t be able to out think them. None of the weapons known to man, at this time, will be of any use against these creatures.
7. The demonic locust will have wings that sound like many chariots rushing into battle. I think about the times I have seen and heard those military helicopters flying overhead, in formation. Their propellers beating against the air around them. When they fly low enough the sound is deafening. I don’t believe that any sound we have heard today can compare to the sound John is hearing.
8. The demonic locust have stinging tails.
Some have said that what John is seeing is a military force like no other. The locust are helicopters, maybe even Apache helicopters. The stings are rear guns, they are huge, there is a man piloting the copter.
I choose to take a literal stand and believe scripture to be describing a demonic creature, set loose from the depths of hell to inflict pain and suffering on those who laugh in the face of God.
We have witnessed some horrific things in our lifetime, but nothing we have or will see can compare to the demonic forces yet to come.
v. 11 The locust have a king.
Four things we see about this king of the locust.
1. He is an angel.
2. He is the angel of the bottomless pit. The angel is a fallen angel according to verse 1. This means that he once was in heaven but now has no place there.
3. He has authority over the bottomless pit.
4. He is given a Hebrew name and a Greek name.
His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, which means destruction.
His Greek name is Apollyon, which means destroyer.
Who is this “king of the locust”? Some believe he is satan and others say he is one of the devils high ranking demons.
PART 2
According to verse 12 one woe has passed. How many are on the way? 2 more.
There is going to be terrible devastation and destruction, during the tribulation. Things are going to be so bad that the only way to describe what will happen is woe.
vs. 13-15 four fallen angels are set loose.
Three things we need to look at here.
1. The command to set them free comes from the White house Devil Golden altar
The altar of incense is where the prayers of God’s people are kept.
This tells us that The saints get tired of waiting and give the command The golden altar has a voice
God starts this judgment to vindicate those who will be slain during the terrible reign of the antichrist.
2. These angels were bound at Effingham Hilton(our local jail) The “pit” of Rev. 9:1-11 The river Euphrates.
Scripture doesn’t really say why but we have a couple of possible reasons.
a. The spring or beginning of the Euphrates flowed from the garden of Eden. We remember that this is where satan first tempted man. This is where the first sin was committed, that caused the fall of man. This is also where the first murder took place. It was in this area that the first rebellion against God happen. (Lehman Strauss points this out well in his book, The Book of the Revelation, p.149)
b. The Euphrates was the western boundary of the land promise to Abraham by God. Beyond that point would be the land of the enemy.
3. The angels were loosed for a particular reason.
It was time for the annual barbeque They had served their time To execute judgment on the earth.
How many will be involved in this judgment? 1/3 of the population.
This judgment will be for all of mankind True False
Billions will follow the antichrist and the worst holocaust ever known will be launched against those who trust in God during this era. God can no longer watch the evil and destruction. He launches His judgment on the evil of this world.
There is something of great importance we need to note. There is a set time for all of this to take place. God has set the day, the hour and the minute for this judgment, upon the ungodly.
Vs. 16-19 The mighty military and the demonic horses.
1.How many is two hundred thousand thousand? When you write it out numerically it looks like 200,000,000.
This then becomes 200 million. That’s a lot of soldiers, I don’t care where you’re from.
What comes to your mind when you think of 200 million demonic spirits set loose, at once, on the earth?
[allow for discussion]
This is the army that the four fallen angels will command. I believe that any nation known to us today would simply bow in surrender if they looked up and saw such a force coming at them. These demonic soldiers will have one purpose. To force peace on the earth To replant all the grass and trees that have been destroyed
To kill 1/3 of the ungodly population.
You would begin to wonder, just how many people can be left after all we’ve seen.
2. The riders have some strange looking breastplates on. Notice the description of the armor.
a. The breastplates are “of fire and jacinth which is sapphire and brimstone. The colors are fiery red, sapphire blue and sulphur yellow.
These breastplates symbolize the indestructible power and protection of the riders, as they go to war against the ungodly of the world. They will be an unstoppable force.
3. The horses are not fine Arabian stallions. Their heads look like hyena bear lion
Remember, the lion symbolizes something that is fierce, devouring and cruel. These aren’t your average carnival ponies.
They spit fire, which gives us the idea of a vengeful, angry or wrathful nature.
They will use some strange weapons to kill with. fire, smoke brimstone will be their primary weapons. Some say that the identification of weapons are not given and that the fire, smoke and brimstone are the result of an atomic explosion. I personally don’t think it will take 200,000,000 demonic horse soldiers to drop one massive atomic bomb. We must keep in mind that these are demonic forces at work and they are under God’s control.
Their power is found in their heads and tails. Here is another description that some say describes a military attack. We have had aircraft for decades that have guns in the nose and the tail, so some believe that John is seeing some military aircraft that he can’t describe. Some of the old WWII aircraft had big teeth painted on the nose and that is how he got the lion’s head. If this is true, we need to figure out what four nations the four angels are and we can keep our eye on them. There are so many scenarios out there that God gets pushed completely out of the equation.
Vs. 20-21 The purpose for this judgment.
God gives one more chance to the evil and ungodly of the world to repent.
According to these verses , theyfinally give in still refuse to repent
If 1/3 of the ungodly population is wiped out and the Bible says that the remaining 2/3 still refuse God, why does He let them live?
They deserve to survive because they are tough
God is powerless to do any more
God is merciful to the very end
Let’s look at the sins, the ungodly need to repent of. Remember, there will be a tremendous increase of sin during the end time.
a. There will be an increase in the worship of evil spirits and of idols. When we look closely at the world wide worship of evil and idols today, you may wonder can it get much worse?
Let’s list some things that idols can’t do:
They can’t see, they can’t hear, they can’t think, they can’t walk, they can’t answer your prayers, they can’t move you one inch closer to God or heaven.
Scripture tells us that anything we worship other than Jesus Christ is an idol. The Bible declares that things such as covetousness is idolatry…
God hates idolatry and demands that we stay away from it.
Scripture: 1Cor. 10: 20 * 1Jn. 5:21 * Ex. 20: 4 * Lev. 26: 1 * Dt. 7: 25 * Dt. 11: 16 * Is. 42: 8 * Lev. 17: 7 * Dt. 32: 16-17 * Ps. 106: 36-39
b. The sin of murder will greatly increase, during this time. In the days of Hitler and Stalin, only a handful of people supported these twisted men. The antichrist will have the support of most of the world.
c. The sin of sorcery will increase. The Greek word used here is pharmakon and is close to the spelling of pharmacy, which is the place we give the power to control our drugs
Sorcery includes things such as witchcraft, the use of drugs or evil spirits to gain control over another or of you own life.
Other forms of sorcery THAT WE ARE TOLD TO STAY AWAY FROM!!!!!!!!!!!! are
Astrology palm reading séances fortune telling crystals and other forms of witchcraft.
Scripture: Mic. 5: 12 * Gal 5: 20
d. There will be an increase in the sin of immorality [porneias] a word that includes things such as
Pre marital sex, adultery as well as any kind of weird or strange sex act.
e. There will be an increase in theft. Cheating stealing both legal and illegal.
STUDY IN REVELATION 17
The Fifth Trumpet Sounds
The Pit Is Opened Rev. 9: 1-11
The Sixth Trumpet Sounds
More Hell Breaks Loose Rev. 9: 12-21
I believe that God is going to unleash just a small portion of hell on the earth. I think that He is going to give those who refuse to turn to Him just a small glimpse of what eternity holds for them. He does this in order to turn them from hell and to Himself.
Let’s get started!!
v.1 John saw something fall out of heaven:
When the 5th trumpet sounded John said that a fell from heaven. If we look closely at the verse we see that this was,
Actually a star It was just a symbol of something/someone Because of the use of the pronoun “him” we can understand that the star is a person.
So who is this (s)tar? Notice the lower case (s). Could this star be Jesus? Could the star be satan?
The star came from . The star got to earth by Space shuttle Long black train falling.
Who do we know fell from heaven?______________. Scripture: Lk. 10: 18 * IS. 14: 12-15
The fall here is in the past tense, meaning that this star has already fallen.
Another reason we can know that this is not Jesus is that the fallen star is given the to the bottomless pit.
Right now Jesus holds those keys in His hand, so no one has to give Him keys that He already has.
v.2 The bottomless pit:
What is the bottomless pit? It is the place where and are being kept until the end of the world.
It is my belief that these are the ones that God locked away, long ago. These are the most horrific demons in satan’s army.
Their final destination is the lake of fire or . This is the place where all those who reject God’s offer, through Jesus, of eternal life, will end up.
What happens when the fallen angel opens the pit? rises up from the pit.
This smoke is so thick that it literally blocks the sun. It is a heavy smoke like that which rises from a furnace.
Some say that it is actually volcanic ash, while other say it is the smoke from hell. Where ever it comes from, I can’t imagine trying to breath air filled with that kind of smoke. But we must understand that the smoke is not the real issue here, but what comes out of the smoke.
vs.3-6 Look at what come out of the smoke!!
We see a very unusual creature rise out from the smoke of the abyss. They are simply called in verse 3 but they are not just any locust. We know that locust are a symbol of God’s anger against the ungodly of this world but there are five things that show us these aren’t your average locust. I believe these are the baddest of the bad, hell has to offer. These demons have been locked away for a looooooooong time. Imagine if we were to release the worst of the worst from our prisons today. Set them free to do what ever they wanted. This still can not compare to what is about to happen.
1. These demonic locust have tails like:
A possum, so they can hang in the trees cheetahs for supreme balance in the turns Scorpions
A scorpion has a stinger in its tail that carries poison. Most stings from a scorpion are not fatal to humans but are very painful.
Some believe that these scorpion like creature are the result of scientific experiments of man gone bad. I believe that these are demonic creatures and not some mutated experiment. This judgment is from God and not something man has brought on himself. We may suffer the consequences from our playing God but this judgment is directly from God.
2. The demonic locust will not harm . This is another good point that these are not normal locust.
What do locust eat? Left over’s Chicken legs vegetation.
These demonic locust are told not to harm the grass of the earth nor any green thing.
3. These demonic locust are told to afflict ALL of the people of the earth.True False
They are only to afflict those
Who are too short or too tall The very old or very young
those who do not have the seal of God on their forehead.
Once again we see that God will protect those who belong to Him.
Even during the worst of times God WILL be there.
4.These demonic locust will Kill the people they sting only torment those stung.
How long will this torment go on?5 Days 5 Weeks 5 Months 5 Years
The idea is that it is continual. Many try to explain the meaning behind the 5 months. I believe it is a literal 5 month period of time. Can you imagine being stung constantly by anything for 5 months? You would go insane from the pain and the fact that you can’t get away.
5. The result of the torment will so bad that people will beg to . But they will not be able to.
Some believe that those who are stung are not brave enough to commit suicide.
I wonder if this is not God giving just a small sample of what is in store for those who reject His Son. This is just a small sample of the torment that one will face in the lake of fire. There will be no death there and the torment will be even more intense.
What happens when you put something in a fire? It …
How do we explain the lake of fire and the fact that those who enter will not be completely destroyed?
Believers are not the only ones who will receive a new . Unbelievers will not receive a gloried body but will receive an eternal body, that will not burn up.
Some believe that the soul is all that will go to hell but can the soul feel pain?
vs. 7-10 The appearance and power of these creatures:
There are eight descriptions given of these creatures.
1.The demonic locust are like prepared for . Notice that the verse says their appearance is like that of a horse. This simply could mean that these locust are huge creatures, much larger than the average locust.
2. The demonic locust have something that looks like a on their heads. This symbolizes that the locust have been given authority to inflict pain on the human population. It gives the idea of conquerors and they will be successful.
3. The demonic locust have faces like . So far we have horses with crowns and face of men…
This symbolizes the of these creatures. Think about the normal locust. They aren’t very smart, they just go from one place to another and devouring everything in their path… These demonic locust are able to think, to plan and to carry out a particular plan of attack.
4. The demonic locust have like that of . There are a couple of ways we can look at this.
a. this symbolizes and the ability to and people. Think about how easily men have been trapped by the beauty of a woman, all through history.
One that should quickly come to mind is & .
b. this could symbolize their long flowing .
5. The demonic locust will have like a . Ferocious is a good word to use here. Creatures with the ability to devour. They certainly are not the little vegetarians we know today.
6. The demonic locust have of . This gives the picture of a creature that is indestructible, one that is protected. As bad as people may be, during this time, even Rambo won’t be able to kill them. McIver won’t be able to out think them. None of the weapons known to man, at this time, will be of any use against these creatures.
7. The demonic locust will have that sound like many rushing into battle. I think about the times I have seen and heard those military helicopters flying overhead, in formation. Their propellers beating against the air around them. When they fly low enough the sound is deafening. I don’t believe that any sound we have heard today can compare to the sound John is hearing.
8. The demonic locust have .
Some have said that what John is seeing is a military force like no other. The locust are helicopters, maybe even Apache helicopters. The stings are rear guns, they are huge, there is a man piloting the copter.
I choose to take a literal stand and believe scripture to be describing a demonic creature, set loose from the depths of hell to inflict pain and suffering on those who laugh in the face of God.
We have witnessed some horrific things in our lifetime, but nothing we have or will see can compare to the demonic forces yet to come.
v. 11 The locust have a king.
Four things we see about this king of the locust.
1. He is an .
2. He is the angel of the . The angel is a fallen angel according to verse 1. This means that he once was in heaven but now has no place there.
3. He has over the bottomless pit.
4. He is given a name and a name.
His name in Hebrew is , which means .
His Greek name is , which means .
Who is this “king of the locust”? Some believe he is satan and others say he is one of the devils high ranking demons.
PART 2
According to verse 12 woe has passed. How many are on the way? more.
There is going to be terrible devastation and destruction, during the tribulation. Things are going to be so bad that the only way to describe what will happen is .
vs. 13-15 fallen angels are set loose.
Three things we need to look at here.
1. The command to set them free comes from the White house Devil Golden altar
The altar of incense is where the prayers of God’s people are kept.
This tells us that The saints get tired of waiting and give the command The golden altar has a voice
God starts this judgment to vindicate those who will be slain during the terrible reign of the antichrist.
2. These angels were bound at Effingham Hilton(our local jail) The “pit” of Rev. 9:1-11 The river Euphrates.
Scripture doesn’t really say why but we have a couple of possible reasons.
a. The spring or beginning of the Euphrates flowed from the garden of . We remember that this is where satan first tempted man. This is where the first sin was committed, that caused the fall of man. This is also where the first murder took place. It was in this area that the first rebellion against God happen. (Lehman Strauss points this out well in his book, The Book of the Revelation, p.149)
b. The Euphrates was the western boundary of the land promise to Abraham by God. Beyond that point would be the land of the enemy.
3. The angels were loosed for a particular reason.
It was time for the annual barbeque They had served their time To execute judgment on the earth.
How many will be involved in this judgment? of the population.
This judgment will be for all of mankind True False
Billions will follow the antichrist and the worst holocaust ever known will be launched against those who trust in God during this era. God can no longer watch the evil and destruction. He launches His judgment on the evil of this world.
There is something of great importance we need to note. There is a set time for all of this to take place. God has set the day, the hour and the minute for this judgment, upon the ungodly.
Vs. 16-19 The mighty military and the horses.
1.How many is two hundred thousand thousand? When you write it out numerically it looks like 200,000,000.
This then becomes 200 . That’s a lot of soldiers, I don’t care where you’re from.
What comes to your mind when you think of 200 million demonic spirits set loose, at once, on the earth?
This is the army that the four angels will command. I believe that any nation known to us today would simply bow in surrender if they looked up and saw such a force coming at them. These demonic soldiers will have one purpose. To force peace on the earth To replant all the grass and trees that have been destroyed
To kill 1/3 of the ungodly population.
You would begin to wonder, just how many people can be left after all we’ve seen.
2. The riders have some strange looking on. Notice the description of the armor.
a. The breastplates are “of and which is sapphire and .
The colors are fiery ,
sapphire and sulphur .
These breastplates symbolize the indestructible and of the riders, as they go to war against the ungodly of the world. They will be an force.
3. The horses are not fine Arabian stallions. Their heads look like hyena bear lion
Remember, the lion symbolizes something that is , and c . These aren’t your average carnival ponies.
They spit f , which gives us the idea of a vengeful, angry or wrathful nature.
They will use some strange weapons to kill with. , will be their primary weapons. Some say that the identification of weapons are not given and that the fire, smoke and brimstone are the result of an atomic explosion. I personally don’t think it will take 200,000,000 demonic horse soldiers to drop one massive atomic bomb. We must keep in mind that these are demonic forces at work and they are under God’s control.
Their power is found in their heads and tails. Here is another description that some say describes a military attack. We have had aircraft for decades that have guns in the nose and the tail, so some believe that John is seeing some military aircraft that he can’t describe. Some of the old WWII aircraft had big teeth painted on the nose and that is how he got the lion’s head. If this is true, we need to figure out what four nations the four angels are and we can keep our eye on them. There are so many scenarios out there that God gets pushed completely out of the equation.
Vs. 20-21 The purpose for this .
God gives one more chance to the evil and ungodly of the world to repent.
According to these verses , theyfinally give in still refuse to repent
If 1/3 of the ungodly population is wiped out and the Bible says that the remaining 2/3 still refuse God, why does He let them live?
They deserve to survive because they are tough
God is powerless to do any more
God is merciful to the very end
Let’s look at the sins, the ungodly need to repent of. Remember, there will be a tremendous increase of sin during the end time.
a. There will be an increase in the worship of and of . When we look closely at the world wide worship of evil and idols today, you may wonder can it get much worse?
Let’s list some things that idols can’t do:
They can’t they can’t , they can’t , they can’t , they can’t answer your , they can’t move you one inch closer to or .
Scripture tells us that anything we worship other than Jesus Christ is an idol. The Bible declares that things such as covetousness is idolatry…
God hates idolatry and demands that we stay away from it.
Scripture: 1Cor. 10: 20 * 1Jn. 5:21 * Ex. 20: 4 * Lev. 26: 1 * Dt. 7: 25 * Dt. 11: 16 * Is. 42: 8 * Lev. 17: 7 * Dt. 32: 16-17 * Ps. 106: 36-39
b. The sin of will greatly increase, during this time. In the days of Hitler and Stalin, only a handful of people supported these twisted men. The antichrist will have the support of of the world.
c. The sin of sorcery will increase. The Greek word used here is pharmakon and is close to the spelling of pharmacy, which is the place we give the power to control our drugs
Sorcery includes things such as , the use of or to gain control over another or of you own life.
Other forms of sorcery THAT WE ARE TOLD TO STAY AWAY FROM!!!!!!!!!!!! are
and other forms of witchcraft. Scripture: Mic. 5: 12 * Gal 5: 20
d. There will be an increase in the sin of [porneias] a word that includes things such as sex, as well as any kind of or sex act.
e. There will be an increase in theft. both legal and illegal.
