The Fifth Trumpet – Striking by Locusts
– The Diabolical Pit

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The
star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it
like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the
Abyss. – Revelation 9:1-2
In this case the falling star is actually an angelic being. Satan fits this description best
since he was created as the Anointed Cherub, a position of prominence among the angels.
Ezekiel 28:14 Isaiah 14:4-17 and Ezekiel 28:12-19 are addressed to earthly rulers, but obviously
refer to Satan’s own history and work since he controlled the human rulers. Isaiah 14:12 says
“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut
down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations!”
The Dragon of Revelation 12 is the devil, another name for Satan (v.9). He is seen there
sweeping away a third of the stars (angels) of heaven, and waging war against God, then being
cast out of heaven (vv. 7-9, 12-13).
Satan is given the key, presumably from Jesus Christ, who, according to Revelation 1:18
holds the keys of death and Hades. This key to the Abyss might well be one of these keys.
-The Demonic Plague
– Their Actions
And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of
scorpions of the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but
only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were not given
power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like
that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6During those days men will seek death, but
will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. – Revelation 9:3-6
Once the Abyss or Bottomless Pit is opened, its demonic inhabitants are set loose for the
purpose of torturing people. Like locusts, they are numerous and destructive. Like scorpions,
they inflict pain. But they are not allowed to kill. Here, as in the whole book of Revelation, God’s
sovereignty is seen. He sets the limits of what is permitted (Job 2:6; 1 Corinthians 10:13).
Those who have the seal of God on their foreheads can not be harmed by these demonic
mutations. Some take this to mean all believers, since we are sealed by the Holy Spirit (2
Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). However, it probably refers to the 144,000 servants of
God from Revelation 7:3 who are marked or sealed on their foreheads before any further plagues
were permitted.
The pain inflicted by this judgment is so severe that people who suffer it would rather die
than endure the continuous torment (five months), but they are not allowed to take the easy
course of death. This length of time may be allowed by God to give men the opportunity to
repent, though it appears from the last verses of this chapter that none of them do (Revelation
9:19-20). Those who have hardened their heart against God would probably not even repent in
hell itself.
– Their Appearance
The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like
crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8Their hair was like women’s hair, and
their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of
their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10They had
tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.
– Revelation 9:7-10
Further information is given about these malignant creatures. Each description is
symbolic of some aspect of their power and activity.
They are like horses prepared for battle: descriptive of strength. They seem to have
crowns of gold, standing for power and authority, yet they are limited by God that they may not
kill their victims. Human faces imply intelligence. Hair like a woman’s hair would be totally
unnatural for insect-like monsters and would add to the confusion about their nature. The lion’s
teeth picture ferocity, breastplates of iron show that they are invincible. Like normal locusts, they
have wings. Wings symbolize mobility and speed. Because of their extraordinary powers, their
sound in flight is loud and terrifying, like horses and chariots in battle.
– The Destructive Potentate
They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in
Greek, Apollyon. The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. Revelation 9:11-12
Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this fifth trumpet judgment is that these
monstrosities are actually the demons that have been imprisoned in the Abyss (Luke 8:31; Jude
6).They have a leader of their fallen ranks, named Abaddon, or “Destroyer.” This is a Hebrew
word that is used in connection with hell, and normally refers to it as the place of destruction
(Job 26:6; Proverbs 15:11; 27:20). It occurs only here as the name of a person. Apollyon is the
exact Greek equivalent of the same name. This name is also found only here.
The Sixth Trumpet – Slaying of One-third of the Population
The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horn of the golden altar
that is before God. – Revelation 9:13
The Sixth Trumpet is also called the Second Woe. It is a judgment of terrible magnitude.
It begins with the release of four evil angels (demons) from the area of the Euphrates River, the
approximate location of the early evil empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Assyria. They are
allowed to kill a third of the people on the Earth. They accomplish this is by mobilizing a force
of 200 million soldiers. It is only in recent times that it would be conceivable to raise an army of
that size. Today China has that many people who could serve as soldiers.
Each of these 200 million troops has equipment resembling modern weaponry, with fire,
smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. They employ horses, symbolic of modern tanks,
with “tails” able to inflict injury.
Even after all the agony and death inflicted by these judgments, the survivors are not
willing to repent or to stop worshiping demons and idols. There is a process of hardening one’s
heart. It is illustrated in the case of Pharaoh during the days of Moses. He hardened his heart
repeatedly. As a result, God actually hardened it more (Exodus 8:19, 32; 9:12, 34; 10:1).
This hardening is explained in Romans 1:21-32. It starts with a conscious decision not to
honor God, but to honor themselves instead. This results in idolatry. Idolatry in our age can take
many forms. The word means “to worship what can be seen.” Some practice idolatry in the
ancient way of venerating a man-made image of something that represents their false god. In
New Age religious practice there is worship of the creation itself, such as “Mother Earth,” or use
of sacred objects, such as crystals. Other people, who do not consider themselves religious at all,
often venerate material possessions: in essence, worshiping materialism and wealth.
Idols are not devoid of power to influence men; the Apostle Paul tells us that demonic,
destructive powers come into play when we give ourselves to any master except Jesus.
Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, but
the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be
participants with demons.. – 1 Corinthians 10:19-20
God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), but when man’s rebellion has
reached a certain point, he “gives them over” to their lusts and degrading passions.
Since the Trumpet judgments appear to take place during the Great Tribulation, the
second half of the seven years of the Tribulation, these people will have received the Mark of
The Beast, which is the unforgivable act of worshipping the imposter (Revelation 14:9-11; 20:4).
This also helps to explain why none of them are willing to repent.
The Seventh Trumpet – Sovereignty of God
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign for ever and ever.” 16And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their
thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints and those who reverence your name,
both small and great—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his
covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a
great hailstorm.
– Revelation 11:15-19
The Seventh Trumpet, like the Seventh Seal, does not introduce an activity on earth, but
looks to Heaven in anticipation of the next series of events. In this case, the next step is God
taking his great power and beginning to reign on earth. This last trumpet introduces the events
leading up to the Battle of Armageddon.
The great earthquake mentioned in this passage is probably the same earthquake that
marks the Sixth Seal (Revelation 6:12-17), the last of the Seven Trumpets (Rev. 11:19), and the
last of the Seven Bowls of wrath (Revelation. 16:18-21) –which all run in parallel. (See also
Ezekiel 38:19-20 and Zechariah 14:4-5.) Many Bible scholars hold that all these scriptures are
homing in on one or possibly a connected series of great cataclysmic earthquakes that punctuate
the end of the age, the open return of Messiah and the dawning of the millennial age. Not only
does the city of Jerusalem suffer great damage from this earthquake, but “the cities of the nations
fall,” “And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.” according to Revelation
16:19, 20.
The next few chapters of the book of Revelation explain important aspects of the total
story, but they cannot be taken strictly in chronological order. They focus on particular topics,
some of which we have already considered: Israel (chapter 12); The Beast, the False Prophet and
the Mark of the Beast (chapter 13); the 144,000 sealed ones (chapter 14); preparations for
judgment (chapters 14-15); and then the Seven Vials (chapter 16), which are poured out in rapid
succession; culminating in Judgment of Babylon (chapters 17 and 18); the Battle of
Armageddon, and the glorious return of Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (chapter 19).
As the time approaches for Christ to return, it is also nearing the time for judging the dead and
rewarding the faithful (chapters 20 to 22).
As we continue our study of future things, the next topic is one of special interest to most
people: The Battle of Armageddon.