On Friday and Monday we worked our way through the first half of Revelation 9, the “first woe,” which is also the fifth trumpet judgment. Today, let us take a look at the second woe, the sixth trumpet judgment.

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

Revelation 9:13-19, NIV

Just as the description of the creatures in the first woe indicated that these were demonic hordes, not actual locusts, this second woe also involves demonic forces. The “four angels” are clearly not holy angels – they are fallen angels, which we typically refer to as demons. Holy angels are fully in submission to God and would not need to be bound, as they obey His commands completely.

Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.

Psalm 103:20-21

I have often heard people speculate about where a force of 200 million soldiers could come from. However, the descriptions of the horses and riders, in addition to the fact that this massive army is being led by demonic generals, make a good argument for this army being a supernatural one rather than a human force.

The result of their attack is stunning – one-third of mankind is wiped out.

As we continue on through Revelation it is so easy to become bogged down, discouraged, overwhelmed at the waves of severe judgments. Where is the hope in this?

Today as we consider the darkness of hundreds of millions of demonic soldiers inflicting suffering and death on humanity, lift your eyes with me to who is in control. God is the one who bound these four demonic leaders until just the right time – the text says explicitly that they “had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year.” God is the one who commanded that they be released with the purpose of inflicting judgment.

Surely these demons think that they are serving Satan. They think that they are doing his bidding. But it is still God who is supremely in control.

Yesterday was one of those days when I was a bit overwhelmed by the darkness around us. Amazon was at the center of quite the controversy yesterday for selling a kindle edition of a guide for pedophiles on their site. Due to the nature of my husband’s job, we are probably more aware and cautious of the constant dangers around our children than the average American family. We had some heavy discussion when he arrived home about the depravity of mankind – I wonder how bad things were before the flood, how ugly daily life was in Sodom… how much worse it will get before God’s judgment will come with finality.

Passages like this one in Revelation are reassuring to me, even in their heaviness. They remind me that no matter how deep and prevalent the darkness, God is still on the throne. Even as human and supernatural forces wage war against Him and His people, He alone is sovereign over the affairs of this world.

Be still and wait for Him – we serve a just and righteous God.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

Psalm 37:7-11

This post is part two of a look at the first woe, the beginning of Revelation 9. You can find part one here.

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. When 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. And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They 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. They were not allowed 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. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

Revelation 9:1-6

This description is poignant. Satan is granted authority to open the Abyss, and demons pour out in numbers that are likened to a plague of locusts.

Again, these are not literal locusts – insects known to swarm in numbers so vast that they can literally darken the sky and consume every plant in the fields. These “locusts” are not harming plants – they are harming people, specifically people who have not been marked as belonging to God. In addition, verses 7-11 make clear that these were no run-of-the-mill insects. These are demonic hordes.

The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

They are described as “torturing” and “tormenting” the inhabitants of the earth. For five months.

I’m not a big fan of horror movies… and this scene surely would make a great one. Not only is humanity hunted and stung by terrifying demons for months on end, but even when all hope is lost and suicide seems to be the best option, even death will be elusive.

During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. (9:6)

Imagine the terror and utter horror of this scene. People driven nearly mad by constant, terrifying, stinging attacks – driven to jump off of buildings, turn weapons on themselves, to seek death in myriad ways… only to find themselves still living, still suffering, still seeking relief that will not come.

Perhaps you have heard hell described as a party where all the “fun” people will go. This image could not be more wrong. When we are removed from the mercy and grace of God and stand willfully in our sin, the only thing left for us is utter torment. Incomprehensible suffering. A complete lack of relief in any form. Those in the Abyss take no mercy.

The difference between hell and this suffering under the first woe is this: these individuals still have the opportunity to repent. To be marked as one of those who have embraced Jesus Christ as their only hope would end their suffering… and yet they cling to their rebellion.

When we have set our hearts against God, no amount of suffering will drive us to our knees. How deep is the dark night of the soul. Let our hearts not be hard, Lord.

In the last Revelation post we looked at Revelation 8:6-13, ending with the troubling warning from the angel flying in mid-heaven that there would be three great woes, three remaining trumpet judgments, yet to come on the rebellious inhabitants of the earth. Today we look at the first woe – yet another development that is so horrible it is hard to comprehend.

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. When 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. And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They 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. They were not allowed 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. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

Revelation 9:1-6

After the trumpet sounds, John sees a “star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.” This is an example of where we interpret a passage in Revelation figuratively because the text itself calls for it. Clearly this “star” is not a literal celestial body – it is given a key to unlock the Abyss and then is called “he” in the next verse. So… who is the “star?”

Isaiah 14:12-15 makes clear that this fallen star is Satan himself.

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

So, we have answered the “who” question for verse one… now, what is this “Abyss?” The Abyss seems to be a place where the most vile demons are imprisoned. Several times in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6-7), a place of imprisonment for demons and holding for judgment is referred to. One of the most clear is Luke 8:31, in the story of Jesus casting the legion out of a demoniac – the text says that “they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss” and asked to be sent into a nearby herd of pigs, instead.

This description is poignant. Satan is granted authority to open the Abyss, and demons pour out in numbers that are likened to a plague of locusts.

To be continued…

Last week we looked at the first 5 verses of Revelation 8 – the remainder of the chapter is sobering, to say the least. As the appointed angels begin to sound the trumpets associated with the next judgments, conditions on the earth become incomprehensibly horrific. The following chart summarizes the content of verses 6-12.

Some commentators look at these trumpet judgments as allegorical of political and spiritual developments during the tribulation rather than literal ecological events. While it is almost impossible to wrap my mind around what this will look like on the earth, I don’t see any reason why we should assume these are not literal occurrences. God has shown Himself throughout the Scriptures to be One who can rain deadly hail down upon the earth, turn water to blood, darken the sun, and make water toxic or sweet.

Other references in Scripture to these days also support a literal understanding of the passage:

I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.

Joel 2:30

See, the day of the LORD is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.

The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.

Isaiah 13:9-10

Jesus also spoke of things which seem to parallel these trumpet judgments:

There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

Luke 21:25

As if these happenings on the earth were not foreboding and terrifying enough, the next development gives me chills.

As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

Revelation 8:13

The phrase “those who dwell on the earth” is used often in Revelation, referring to those who have hardened their hearts, refused to repent, and rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ (6:10, 11:10, 13:8, 13:12, 13:14, 17:2, 17:8). To these individuals this angel gives warning – three trumpets, three great woes, remain.

We serve a God who is most certainly patient, loving, merciful, and gracious.

But sin must be punished. If we reject Jesus Christ – the only one who could take the full measure of our punishment for sin upon Himself and pay the penalty we owe – we will find ourselves in the fearsome grip of the holy wrath of God against sin.

Woe to those who harden their hearts and refuse to receive Him. You still have time, my friends… although, I don’t know how much.

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…”

Hebrews 3:7-8a

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