And they [a legion of demons] were begging Him [Jesus] not to command them to go away into the abyss. - Luke 8:31
Good morning. Over the past 2 weeks we have discussed the first 4 trumpet judgments, also known in eschatology as the “⅓ Judgments”. For the next few weeks we will talk about the final 3 trumpet judgments, which are sometimes called the “3 Woes”. Today’s message will focus exclusively on the 5th trumpet, as detailed in Revelation 9:1-12.
Before we begin, let me state that one of the primary reasons why God sends judgment upon His people is so that they will turn from their sin in repentance. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel emphasized this truth repeatedly as he explained why God allowed the Babylonians to conquer Jerusalem. He wrote at least 50 times in his book that this judgment occurred so that they would “know that I am the LORD”. The same is true in Revelation. The wrath of God shown in the last days is intended, at least in part, to wake people up and cause them to turn from their sinful ways, recognize, and trust in Him.
I. THE PIT OF TARTARUS (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6)
Before we delve into the 5th Trumpet of Revelation, let’s take a moment to backtrack just a bit. Only a few generations after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, as the population of mankind was quickly multiplying upon the earth, something strange and terrible happened. Scripture says that some of the “sons of God” were attracted to “the daughters of mankind”, took them as wives, and bore children with them. These kids grew up to be mighty men of renown, and became known as the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-4).
The Bible does not give us many details surrounding this unfortunate incident. It appears that an untold number of angels sinned against God (and therefore fell from grace) by marrying and subsequently having sexual relationships with human women. Their offspring developed into a mixed race of powerful and demonic humans that existed during ancient times. Many scholars propose that the giants of the Old Testament, the most famous being Goliath, were the last remaining descendants of the Nephilim.
Because they had abandoned God’s established order through their sinful commingling with women, the LORD harshly punished these fallen angels - that is to say, these demons - by casting them into a special Hell reserved solely for them. There are 3 different Hells referred to in Scripture. “Tartarus” is the hell where these fallen angels were and are currently confined, “Hades” is the hell where unrepentant sinners who have died are currently confined, and “Gehenna” is the final and only enduring Hell into which all of God’s enemies will someday be cast - including the occupants of both Tartarus and Hades (Revelation 19:20, 20:13-15). Tartarus, the hell of these fallen angels, is described in Scripture as “a pit of darkness” and some believe it to be the lowest part of Hades.
Having laid out this background information, let’s now return our attention to John’s vision of the Revelation.
II. THE ABYSS IS OPENED (Revelation 9:1-6)
While standing in the heavenly throne, John heard the 5th trumpet sound. He saw a star that had fallen to the earth. This “star” had been given a key to the shaft of the abyss. Obviously, this star was an angel or, perhaps, a demon who had been given authority by God to open this ghastly pit. When he did so, dark smoke like that from a blazing furnace ascended out of the shaft darkening both the sky and the sun. Following the smoke, hoards of destructive locusts came pouring out of the pit and spread out like scorpions upon the earth.
Although these “locusts” were very powerful, they were subject to God’s authority and had particular limitations placed on them. They were told not to harm any of the plants on the earth. They were not allowed to kill anyone, but were permitted to torment the earth for 5 months. They could only afflict people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Therefore, everyone was fair game except for the 144,000 believing Jews who had been sealed earlier and were under God’s special protection. These locusts inflicted pain like that of a scorpion's sting. During these days, people longed to die in order to escape the extreme suffering being caused by their stings.
III. A HOARD OF DEMONS (Revelation 9:7:11)
John described these “locusts” as horses prepared for battle. They wore something like golden crowns on their heads and had human faces. Their hair was like that of women and their teeth like those of a lion. They had breastplates like those made of iron and tails like scorpions which were used to sting people. The sound of their wings was like that of many chariots and horses rushing into battle. Clearly, John was using figurative language in this passage to describe what he was seeing. These locusts were not merely insects, but rather had the characteristics and features of something else. There are many different theories about the identity of these locusts. Some have suggested that they are technologically advanced military helicopters. I and many others believe them to be the fallen angels of Tartarus.
This hoard of demons has a king over them known as “the angel of the abyss”. This angel is named Abaddon in Hebrew or Appolyon in Greek. His name means, “Destroyer”. Some scholars equate this angel with Satan himself. Others suggest that Abaddon is a high-ranking demonic official who leads the demonic forces of Tartarus, mimicking the role of Michael the archangel who leads the armies of God (Revelation 12:7). Abaddon is mentioned 6 other times in the Bible - in the Old Testament books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. In these instances it refers to the dwelling place of Abaddon, which would be Tartarus.
During the tyrannical reign of the Antichrist, I believe that the pit of Tartarus will be opened. The fallen angels that intermarried with human women centuries ago will be released. They will come forth from the abyss to terrorize the inhabitants of the earth, subject to the limits imposed upon them by God.
CONCLUSION
The Bible clearly states that these locusts will not harm those who have been sealed, which seems to suggest the 144,000 Jews. However, it does not specifically state who they will harm. Though they have the prerogative to torment everyone else, perhaps they will serve in conjunction with the Antichrist to persecute only those who will not take the “mark of the beast” (Revelation 13:16-18). Or, it could be that God will use them to afflict all of the “unsealed” people of earth, including those who’ve aligned themselves with the Antichrist. If so, this might anger and provoke the Antichrist to wage war against God directly. The precise target of their wrath is uncertain…
Whatever the case, I believe that the 5th Trumpet judgment will occur sometime around or just after the middle part of the Great Tribulation. As the day of the Lord’s return approaches, the judgments leveled against the earth and its people become increasingly severe. Yet, as horrible as this is, it is only “the first woe”. There are still 2 more yet to come...
Good morning. Over the past 2 weeks we have discussed the first 4 trumpet judgments, also known in eschatology as the “⅓ Judgments”. For the next few weeks we will talk about the final 3 trumpet judgments, which are sometimes called the “3 Woes”. Today’s message will focus exclusively on the 5th trumpet, as detailed in Revelation 9:1-12.
Before we begin, let me state that one of the primary reasons why God sends judgment upon His people is so that they will turn from their sin in repentance. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel emphasized this truth repeatedly as he explained why God allowed the Babylonians to conquer Jerusalem. He wrote at least 50 times in his book that this judgment occurred so that they would “know that I am the LORD”. The same is true in Revelation. The wrath of God shown in the last days is intended, at least in part, to wake people up and cause them to turn from their sinful ways, recognize, and trust in Him.
I. THE PIT OF TARTARUS (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6)
Before we delve into the 5th Trumpet of Revelation, let’s take a moment to backtrack just a bit. Only a few generations after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, as the population of mankind was quickly multiplying upon the earth, something strange and terrible happened. Scripture says that some of the “sons of God” were attracted to “the daughters of mankind”, took them as wives, and bore children with them. These kids grew up to be mighty men of renown, and became known as the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-4).
The Bible does not give us many details surrounding this unfortunate incident. It appears that an untold number of angels sinned against God (and therefore fell from grace) by marrying and subsequently having sexual relationships with human women. Their offspring developed into a mixed race of powerful and demonic humans that existed during ancient times. Many scholars propose that the giants of the Old Testament, the most famous being Goliath, were the last remaining descendants of the Nephilim.
Because they had abandoned God’s established order through their sinful commingling with women, the LORD harshly punished these fallen angels - that is to say, these demons - by casting them into a special Hell reserved solely for them. There are 3 different Hells referred to in Scripture. “Tartarus” is the hell where these fallen angels were and are currently confined, “Hades” is the hell where unrepentant sinners who have died are currently confined, and “Gehenna” is the final and only enduring Hell into which all of God’s enemies will someday be cast - including the occupants of both Tartarus and Hades (Revelation 19:20, 20:13-15). Tartarus, the hell of these fallen angels, is described in Scripture as “a pit of darkness” and some believe it to be the lowest part of Hades.
Having laid out this background information, let’s now return our attention to John’s vision of the Revelation.
II. THE ABYSS IS OPENED (Revelation 9:1-6)
While standing in the heavenly throne, John heard the 5th trumpet sound. He saw a star that had fallen to the earth. This “star” had been given a key to the shaft of the abyss. Obviously, this star was an angel or, perhaps, a demon who had been given authority by God to open this ghastly pit. When he did so, dark smoke like that from a blazing furnace ascended out of the shaft darkening both the sky and the sun. Following the smoke, hoards of destructive locusts came pouring out of the pit and spread out like scorpions upon the earth.
Although these “locusts” were very powerful, they were subject to God’s authority and had particular limitations placed on them. They were told not to harm any of the plants on the earth. They were not allowed to kill anyone, but were permitted to torment the earth for 5 months. They could only afflict people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Therefore, everyone was fair game except for the 144,000 believing Jews who had been sealed earlier and were under God’s special protection. These locusts inflicted pain like that of a scorpion's sting. During these days, people longed to die in order to escape the extreme suffering being caused by their stings.
III. A HOARD OF DEMONS (Revelation 9:7:11)
John described these “locusts” as horses prepared for battle. They wore something like golden crowns on their heads and had human faces. Their hair was like that of women and their teeth like those of a lion. They had breastplates like those made of iron and tails like scorpions which were used to sting people. The sound of their wings was like that of many chariots and horses rushing into battle. Clearly, John was using figurative language in this passage to describe what he was seeing. These locusts were not merely insects, but rather had the characteristics and features of something else. There are many different theories about the identity of these locusts. Some have suggested that they are technologically advanced military helicopters. I and many others believe them to be the fallen angels of Tartarus.
This hoard of demons has a king over them known as “the angel of the abyss”. This angel is named Abaddon in Hebrew or Appolyon in Greek. His name means, “Destroyer”. Some scholars equate this angel with Satan himself. Others suggest that Abaddon is a high-ranking demonic official who leads the demonic forces of Tartarus, mimicking the role of Michael the archangel who leads the armies of God (Revelation 12:7). Abaddon is mentioned 6 other times in the Bible - in the Old Testament books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. In these instances it refers to the dwelling place of Abaddon, which would be Tartarus.
During the tyrannical reign of the Antichrist, I believe that the pit of Tartarus will be opened. The fallen angels that intermarried with human women centuries ago will be released. They will come forth from the abyss to terrorize the inhabitants of the earth, subject to the limits imposed upon them by God.
CONCLUSION
The Bible clearly states that these locusts will not harm those who have been sealed, which seems to suggest the 144,000 Jews. However, it does not specifically state who they will harm. Though they have the prerogative to torment everyone else, perhaps they will serve in conjunction with the Antichrist to persecute only those who will not take the “mark of the beast” (Revelation 13:16-18). Or, it could be that God will use them to afflict all of the “unsealed” people of earth, including those who’ve aligned themselves with the Antichrist. If so, this might anger and provoke the Antichrist to wage war against God directly. The precise target of their wrath is uncertain…
Whatever the case, I believe that the 5th Trumpet judgment will occur sometime around or just after the middle part of the Great Tribulation. As the day of the Lord’s return approaches, the judgments leveled against the earth and its people become increasingly severe. Yet, as horrible as this is, it is only “the first woe”. There are still 2 more yet to come...