Revelation 9

Fifth Trumpet, First Woe

1-6 Fifth angel sounds, and John sees a star that had fallen to earth, given the key to the bottomless pit (or abyss), which he opens. Smoke rises from the pit, darkening the atmosphere and spawning swarms of locusts, with authority like scorpions. They are told 1) to strike only those without seals on their foreheads – no foliage; 2) they can torture them for 5 months, but not kill them. Victims will wish to die but won’t be able to. Scriptures that help with the interpretation of this passage: Luke 10:18 – Satan falling from heaven; Luke 8:31 – Jesus releases demons from the abyss. God permits Satan to open the abyss and release sins that blot the light of God. Satan is responsible for evil but God allows those who prefer evil to pursue it (2 Thessalonians 2:11,12). The sting of the locusts symbolize the negative consequences of sin that cause physical, emotional, and spiritual torment but do not kill. Final judgment belongs only to God (Acts 17:31).

7-12 Description of locusts: Like war horses with crowns of gold, human faces, women’s hair, lions’ teeth, scales like iron breastplates, wings sounding like chariots going into battle, scorpion tails with stingers. Their king is the angel of the abyss, named Abaddon (Destruction) in Hebrew, Apollyon (Destroyer) in Greek. This is the first woe. A picture of terrible creatures who rob “earth dwellers” – those who follow sin – of righteousness, holiness, joy and peace – but for a limited time. Their king is Satan, who never creates, only destroys through deceit and murder (John 8:44).

Sixth Trumpet, Second Woe

13-19 Sixth angel sounds, and John hears a voice from the horns of the altar telling the sixth angel to release four angels bound at the Euphrates. The angels, who are waiting, ready to kill a third of mankind, have a cavalry of two hundred million. Description: Riders wear breastplates the color of fire, sapphire, and sulfur; horses’ heads are like lions' heads, breathing fire, smoke, and sulfur. These three plagues kill a third of mankind.  From Ray Summers’ Worthy Is the Lamb (quoted in Vision of Victory): God often uses armies of wicket men to execute His wrath – Assyria against Israel and Judah (Isaiah 10:1-11); the Chaldeans against Assyria (Habakkuk 1:6-11; the Medes and the Persians against Babylon (Isaiah 44:24-28; 45:7; Jeremiah 51:11, 28).

20-21 The other two-thirds still don’t repent of murders, sorceries, or fornication.