Sounding the Fifth Trumpet
The First Woe – Army of Demonic Locust - Revelation 9:1-12
He said to them, "I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you. (Luke 10:18-19)*
The Origin of the Suffering
[1] The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. [2] He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the shaft, like the smoke from a great furnace. The sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit. (Revelation 9:1-2)*1
A fallen star is given the key to the abyss, so we can be certain that this calamity is caused by the devil and his fallen angels. When the angel opens the shaft to the bottomless pit, the description sounds like a picture of the industrial revolution. Smoke rising from a great furnace that darkens the sky, blocks the sun and pollutes the air.
The word “abyss” could be a reference to the place where fallen angels are kept in prison awaiting judgment. The book of Enoch records that the fallen angels have taught mankind many “secret” things, like how to build weapons, shields, armor, use of roots and many other things. Those who practice divination and sorcery are trying to tap into this secret knowledge by communicating with these fallen angels by means of demonic spirits through rituals and incantations. The key to the abyss may be a means of communication between humans and these demonic entities.
[3] Then out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. [4] They were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those people who do not have God's seal on their foreheads. (Revelation 9:3-4)*
[16] You have increased your merchants more than the stars of the skies. The grasshopper strips, and flees away. [17] Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like the swarms of locusts, which settle on the walls on a cold day, but when the sun appears, they flee away, and their place is not known where they are. (Nahum 3:16-17)*
Locusts are famous for destroying crops by stripping all of the green leaves and flying away. What kind of locust does not hurt the grass, trees or any green thing? It could be metaphor for merchants (i.e. global industrialists and multinational corporations) that rob poor nations of their natural resources, strip away their wealth, and leave behind poverty, corruption and debt slavery. The love of money is a bottomless pit and greed is a key factor that drives the industrial revolution.
Out of this industrial setting (the smoke from the bottomless pit) came demon inspired locusts (i.e. thieves and merchants) who have the power to harm people like scorpions do. Scorpions harm by injecting poison into a person from stingers on their tails. So this could be describing a biological weapon, produced by the industrial sector, that injects poison into a person just like a scorpion sting.
Their Appearance and Actions
[7] The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people's faces. [8] They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. [9] They had breastplates, like breastplates of iron. The sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, or of many horses rushing to war. [10] They have tails like those of scorpions, and stings. In their tails is their power to harm men for five months. (Revelation 9:7-10)*
Horses prepared for war suggests that this is a very organized attack with military precision that is well funded. Golden crowns means that government leaders are involved and people with high authority are actively participating. They appear to have faces like people’s faces, women’s hair and teeth like lions, making it clear that these are not insects. These poisonous stings are administered by things that appear to be people, with women’s hair and teeth like lions. The breastplates of iron suggest that they are well protected from any attack.
Finally, they make a lot of noise with their wings. I take this to mean a marketing and distribution system that is highly organized and coordinated, like an army of horses and chariots, carrying the message to every information outlet with the persistence of a cricket chirping in the night.
Nahum 3:17 compares the guards and officials to swarms of locust sitting on the city walls on a cold day. When the sun appears they flee away and cannot be found. This means that the guards and officials (and media), who were supposed to sound the alarm and protect the people, were silent about the impending danger and possibly even chirping along with the grasshoppers. They did this until the sunlight appeared and began to expose their betrayal. When the truth started to become visible, they tried to flee and hide from the light, nowhere to be seen.
Spiritual Warfare
They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is "Abaddon," and in Greek, he has the name "Apollyon." (Revelation 9:11)*
This is a spiritual battle. It is clear that this plot to harm people with these scorpion-like stings is demonic. It is led by a high ranking angel of the abyss and likely carried out by the beast of Babylon. In this plague, the invisible demonic powers are being exposed for those who have eyes to see.
It is interesting that the 144,000 servants, who have the seal of God on their foreheads, are not harmed by this plague. This is the first of the plagues to make that distinction. God is protecting His servants so that they don’t get stung, or that the sting will have no effect if they do.
God is using what some people meant for evil and turning it for good. These plagues will awaken the people and the expose the enemy who has come up against the land. Some people don’t respond to famine, or poverty, or religious persecution, or political persecution. However, when faced with physical suffering, or the health of their loved ones are at risk, it becomes easier to get their attention. This is the first woe. Two more to woes are coming.
Biblical References
*All Scripture quotations are from the New Heart English Bible unless specifically designated otherwise. The New Heart English Bible [NHEB] is in the public domain. https://nheb.net/