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.
In other words, the fallen star is Satan, who is now given authority to open the abyss and unleash the terrible beings INCARCERATED there. The imagination cannot picture what the earth will be like when the church is removed from the scene, when society, having completely corrupted itself, is handed over to the malignant attention of the most horrible fiends of hell. These wicked spirits, long mercifully chained by God, are now let loose upon the earth.
From now on, their prison house becomes increasingly prominent in the Apocalypse. It is an ancient penitentiary for evil spirits, or at least for those of them who are so vile that God keeps them “reserved in chains” (2 Peter 2:4). The demons mentioned in Luke 8:31—“And they besought him that he would not command them to go out deep” (to go into the Abyss; NIV)—knew of this extremely unpleasant house and besought the Lord not to send them there. “The deep” is where Satan himself will be chained throughout the millennium age. It is from this same terrible pit that the soul of the beast will be summoned when, after his assassination, he re-emerges as this world’s final Gentile ruler.
Picture what the world would be like if we were to open the doors of all the penitentiaries on earth and set free the worlds most vicious and violent criminals, giving them full rein to practice their wickedness upon mankind. But something worse than this, lies in store for the world. Satan, cast out of heaven, is now permitted to summon to his aid the most diabolical fiends in the abyss to act as his agents in bringing mankind to the footstool of the beast.
The location of the abyss is said to be in “the lower parts of the earth” (Ephesians 4:9), the place into which Christ went at death when He paid the full price of redemption from the penalty of sin. It is a place that is sealed tight, from which there is no release except by divine permission. There is, then, a day coming upon the earth when the prison house of demons will be opened, and evil spirits who prefer to inhabit human bodies, but who have been imprisoned, will be released to inflict torment upon unrepentant man. In that day men will experience a sample of hell on earth. Ordinarily the abyss is “the place of no return,” but for a brief season Satan will be permitted, by divine authority of course, to lead to the surface of the earth some who have been held captive in the pit (hell). This world of “outer darkness,” upon which man has never looked, a place where “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30), a place originally “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41), will release many strange and wicked things upon the earth.
Here at the beginning of the passage, we encounter controversy, because everyone seems to agree that this was not a star that fell from heaven. The Holy Spirit makes that very clear when He speaks of the star as “he.” This is not strange at all. In Job 38:7, angels were called stars. Bible scholars do not agree on who this is; but I believe as do most Bible scholars that it is none other than Satan. However, I know there are some very competent commentators who hold the opinion that it was the Lord Jesus Christ. To be fair, I am going to site one of the reasons they believe the way they do. “One of the arguments for Jesus being this fallen star goes like this. The star John saw fall from Heaven had the key to the bottomless pit, and according to Revelation 1:18, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; AND HAVE THE KEYS OF HELL AND OF DEATH.” It stands to reason that Almighty God would not trust Satan with the key to hell, so Jesus must be the One described as a fallen star.” I disagree. I do not think it is Christ and neither do I believe that this star was a fallen angel, or a good angel. These are the four opinions of which I am aware.
The “bottomless pit” is hell . . . not the lake of fire, for that is the final “prison” for Satan and all who follow him; all the wicked spirits who have died since Adam. Demons are there, the wicked spirits are there; but Satan is walking up and down on the earth—sometimes as a roaring lion, other times as an angel of light (Job 1:6-12; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
There is no doubt in my mind, after comparing spiritual things with spiritual that hell is beneath the ground on which we walk. When the angel unlocks the bottomless pit, smoke will issue from it—and this will not be symbolic smoke. It will be real, just like the smoke that comes from your chimney. The Bible refers to it as the smoke issuing from a great furnace. It will completely black out the sun, and there will be darkness over all the land. Jesus compared hell to a furnace of fire (Matthew 13:42, 50), and in this age that ought to make people stop and think before they make fun of it. When Jesus hung on the cross, the sun refused to shine and all the earth was in darkness for 3 hours. In this scripture, the sun is shining but the smoke of God’s judgment blacks it out.
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.
Two: THESE DEMONS WERE INFERNAL. (Some synonyms for infernal are demonic, devilish, hellish, malevolent, wicked.). John says, “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power.” Anticipating for a moment the full description of these dreadful things which follows, they appear to be a form of satanic cherubim. The horse, the man, the locust, the lion, and the scorpion all combine in their appearance. They are not ordinary locusts (grasshoppers), for they are supernatural and are incapable of being killed.
As soon as the bottomless pit is opened, a cloud of obnoxious smoke is emitted. Like the cloud of a great atomic blast, or a mighty volcanic eruption, a strange and awesome blackness fills the air and blots out the sun from view. These terrors are more than human; they are demonic. Out of the darkness from the pit of the abyss come demons to do their fearful work of taking charge of the souls and bodies of those who have willingly rejected the Son of God. The plague of darkness that God sent to Egypt, “even darkness which may be felt” (Exodus 10:21-22), and which lasted only three days, was mild compared with the darkness of hell let loose on the earth during the time of the Great Tribulation. Because men are sinners by nature they hate the light and prefer the darkness of superstition, error, and ignorance (John 3:19). Not until they feel the darkness of hell itself will they have any desire to flee from it, but by that time it will be too late.
The Locust
Locusts breed in desert places and invade the cultivated lands for food. They may be about 2 inches in length, with a wingspan of 4-5 inches. They belong to the same family as the household cricket and the grasshopper. They will travel in a column 100 feet deep and as much as four miles long. When such a cloud of locust appears, it is as if there had been an eclipse of the sun and even great buildings less than 100 feet away cannot be seen.
The destruction that they cause is beyond belief. When they have left an area, not a blade of grass is to be seen; the trees are stripped of their bark. Land where the locusts have settled looks as if it had been scorched with a brush fire; not one single living thing is left. When God wanted to judge His people, He would sometimes send locusts to devour the harvests (Deuteronomy 28:38, 42; Joel 2).
It has always been noticed that the head of the locust is like a miniature head of a horse. When they move, they move inexorably on like an army with leaders. People have dug trenches, lit fires, and even fired cannon in an attempt to stop them but without success; they come on in a steady column which climbs hills, enters houses and leaves scorched earth behind.
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.
Three: THEY ARE INSATIABLE. The ordinary locusts descend upon the earth in dense clouds and devour every green thing in sight. The worst locust plague in modern times struck the Middle East in 1951-52 devouring every green and growing thing across hundreds of thousands of square miles in Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Locusts eat grain, leaf, and stalk, right down to the bare ground. When a swarm arises and flies on its way, the green field is left a desert; barrenness and desolation stretches as far as eye can see.
These demons are so locust-like in their voracious appetites that they have to be divinely restrained and are forbidden to touch those whom God has sealed. Their hunger is for men, and unregenerate, godless, Christ-rejecting men are given to them as their prey. The 144,000 men from the tribes of Israel would therefore escape this painful judgment (Revelation 7:1-8). In fact, it is likely that all who have trusted the Lord will be sealed in some special way and protected from torment.
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.
Four: THEY ARE INTOLERABLE. We are told, “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. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.” Five months, from May to September, is the natural life of a locust. Think of it! Five months of agony, five months of scorpions. Do I believe this is a literal five months? I answer with these questions: Do I believe John 3:16? Do I believe Acts 16:31? Do I believe the 23rd Psalm? Do I believe John 14:2—“In my Father’s house are many mansions”? I certainly do! Then why should I not believe this? Men will be stung and bitten by locusts for five months they will swell and hurt, beg and scream; but they cannot die.
These demon locusts inflict a sting which produces the most intolerable suffering. The sting of a natural scorpion is not generally fatal, but it produces the most intense pain that any creature can inflict on the human body. The word used to describe the effect of their sting is “torment,” a word generally associated with demons. The sting of these demon locusts also produces torment of mind and spirit almost beyond endurance. The agony they produce is so great that men who normally flee from death will scream for death to come and end their miseries. Imagine a world in which men court death, attempt suicide, expose themselves to the reaper’s scythe, chase after him with all their might, only to find that, for once, he cannot be found! These tormented men cannot die—poison may be swallowed only to find it has been neutralized to impotency—yet they are in anguish beyond words to describe it. It is hell on earth. Do you understand these words? Guns will not kill, razors will not sever arms, poison will not poison, necks will not break, and hearts will not stop! Men will go on their faces and beg God to kill them . . . to let them die. They will mutilate their bodies, but they cannot bleed to death. Death has always been the enemy of men (1 Corinthians 15:26).
The day when men shall choose death rather than life is predicted by God through Jeremiah the prophet (Jeremiah 8:3). “Oh, the misery of waiting for death when it cometh not!” (Job 3:21). Such will be the state of man that even death would be a relief. What great mercy of our Heavenly Father—that believers shall escape this invasion from the underworld! The prophecy of Joel seems to coincide with this prophecy of John. Joel described a locust plague as a foreshadowing of the “day of the Lord,” meaning God’s coming judgment (Joel 1:6-2:11).
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.
This army of demon-locusts out of hell is described in verses 7-10. They had bodies like horses prepared for battle. They had on their heads crowns like gold. These demon monstrosities had faces like men, with long, flowing hair like a woman. They had jagged, sharp teeth like a lion, and “as it were” breastplates of Iron . . . durable and strong, comparable to our steel. They could not be destroyed. Bullets would not penetrate these locusts. They had tails like scorpions of the earth, with stings in their tails, and they were to sting man for five months. These hideous savage demon monstrosities will fill this earth for five months. Think of it! Today, the fearsome army described here is already incarcerated, waiting for the hour of liberation.
Five: THEY ARE INTREPID. John says, “And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle.” Throughout the book of Revelation the horse is the war horse, a symbol of defiance. These terrible creatures from the abyss are like high-spirited steeds, seemingly straining at the bit and pawing the ground in their eagerness to fling themselves out of the blackness of hell and then to gallop forward on their mission of doom. Hence, these are not ordinary locusts such as plagued Egypt (Exodus 10:12-15), for they had no king over them (Proverbs 30:27), but those coming from the pit are intelligent beings who take orders from Satan (v. 11); and to top it off they are organized.
Six: THEY ARE INVINCIBLE. John saw that “on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold.” They conquer all in their path. Man has no weapon to use against them; no medicine, no psychiatry, no incantation, no discovery of science will avail. The medical associations of earth will confess that they baffled. Scientists will work around the clock seeking some wonder drug which will restore some semblance of sanity to men who are screaming in their agonies and delirious with torment. Everything will fail. These horrible demons are crowned with gold. They were not created by Satan, because God is the Creator of all. Rather, they are probably fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion. God limits what they can do; they can do nothing without His permission. Their main purpose on earth is to prevent, distort, or destroy people’s relationship with God.
Seven: THEY ARE INTELLIGENT. John says, “And their faces were as the faces of men.” A man’s face is the window of his soul. It is unique and expressive and brings to light his emotions and intelligence. No beast has a face so expressive of the hidden life within. “Faces like men!” It is a symbolic way of telling us that these fiends are highly intelligent. Their onslaught against the human race is the result not of blind instinct, but of rational thought.
Modern man professes not to believe in demons, but they exist just the same. Moreover, they are clever with a diabolical cunning. Man’s attitude toward the demon world may well be likened to man’s attitude in the Dark Ages toward bacteria.
Once the pit is opened, the world of men will be invaded by a virus far more dreadful than the bubonic plague, a virus all the more deadly because it is able to think and because it directs its attack against the soul rather than the body.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Eight: THEY ARE INSIDIOUS. John says that “they had hair as the hair of women.” A woman’s hair is her glory (1 Corinthians 11:6-7); it is beautiful and attractive to the eye of the beholder. The long hair of these demon locusts suggests that there is something horribly and seductively attractive about them. The occult world has always exerted a fascination to men—even to those who profess to be enlightened and delivered from such superstitions. It may be that when these fearful beings are released from the pit, they will at first employ arts and wiles which will make their advent attractive to men. They are INSIDIOUS, however, and they use their attractions to lure men on to their doom.
Nine: THEY ARE INEXORABLE. We are told that “their teeth were as the teeth of Lions.” Woe befits those who become their prey! They will render and tear and destroy. The teeth of a lion inflict a terrible wound, and even when its bite does not kill, its teeth are so filled with infection that the wound rarely heals completely. From time to time it breaks wide open again. Nor can anyone rob a lion of its prey once it has sunk its teeth into its victim. Likewise, these fearful demons will fasten onto their human victims, and nothing will pry them loose.
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.
Ten: THEY ARE INSENSITIVE. John says that “they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron.” They are completely insensitive to the suffering they cause and the cries and agonies of their victims leave them unmoved. They are without heart, at least without a heart that can be touched by mankind. They know no mercy. Even the most INSENSITIVE person has some tender spot, some cord that can be cut, but these alien creatures are merciless. They feast on human pain as on a tasty snack. The shriller the shriek of pain, the more satisfying is the taste.
Eleven: THEY ARE INESCAPABLE. John says, “And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” They travel like the wind, flying swiftly and surely toward their prey. The picture John paints is graphic enough. When these demon hordes are let loose out of hell, they will be INESCAPABLE. There will be no place to hide. Mankind has no refuge from them, none at all.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
Twelve: THEY ARE INJURIOUS. John says, “And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.” Reference has already been made to their scorpion-like tails. When the Holy Spirit repeats a detail and does it within a few lines, it is because that detail is important. Here the fact is emphasized that these loathsome spirits have but a single aim—to injure men. For many years men have spurned the Holy Spirit of God, so they will be given over by a righteous God to the voracious appetites, the satanic hungers of evil spirits, the foulest and fiercest in the universe.
The description of these demon-locusts (vs. 7-10) is very similar to what locusts actually look like upon close observation (see Joel 2:4), but these locusts are exaggerated and much bigger than life—supernatural locusts. That they had human faces probably indicates that these were not mere insects but were intelligent beings. They were given power (they did not have it themselves—it was “given” by God) to torture people—but only their own people.
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.
Thirteen: THEY ARE INDIVISIBLE. John tells us, “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.” Solomon, that shrewd observer of nature wrote, “the locust have no king (Proverbs 30:27). These demon locusts do. As if it was not bad enough for them to be intelligent creatures, they are capably and ably led by the satanic angel who reigns over the abyss itself. The king over these demons is Satan, who is described in both Hebrew (Abaddon) and Greek (Apollyon). Both words mean “destroyer.” The name being given in both Hebrew and Greek indicates that these judgments will come upon both Jew and Gentile, the only ones escaping being those who have the seal of God in their foreheads (v. 4). Paul stated clearly that the gospel of Christ is for both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 1:16), but that either who reject God’s Son must suffer (Romans 2:8-9). The purpose of Satan, namely to destroy, is the opposite of God’s purpose in Christ, which is to save. This unscrupulous prince of the demons is called by our Lord “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). After the Church has been caught up to be with her Lord, both apostate Jews and apostate Gentiles will suffer at Satan’s hands.
The first woe trumpets causes men to be afflicted with a satanically-inspired belief, propagated by demons from the pit. This doctrine of demons leads to anguish of soul like a scorpion’s sting, like a rattler’s bite. Man is now in the hands of demons that drive the human race from one insanity to another. Let me emphasize once more that these demon locusts are not to kill men. They are to torment them, tantalize them, and sting them, for five months.
In the Old Testament, the word woe always refers to coming judgment (it is also translated “destruction”). It gives the strongest exclamation of warning for coming judgment in the Bible (Isaiah 5; Jeremiah 4:13; 48:1, 46; Zechariah 11:17). Though carried out by demonic powers, these events are actually divine judgments. Satan is at the mercy of God’s power. At this point, the first woe has passed, but there are still two woes to come. God has His timetable for all these events, and nothing will happen too soon or too late (2 Thessalonians 2:6; note also Revelation 9:15).
My friends, I have not exaggerating the horrors of the coming judgment upon the earth, which is only a foretaste of an eternal hell to follow. Oh, trust the Lord Jesus Christ at once!
