REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 9.2
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The Apocalypse)
Chapter
Nine
Judgment Resumed:
The Seven Trumpets
Trumpet Number 5: Woe Number 1
Introduction
As stated in the preface Revelation Simplified, I was deeply
involved in the occult and its practices before becoming a Christian. I cannot
stress enough the real and present danger that exists in the spiritual realm.
The Apostle Paul stated it well when he discusses the preparation needed to
fight daily spiritual battles with demonic forces. As each day begins, we need
to gear up with the whole armor of God,
especially when studying the subsequent chapters in Revelation. Paul writes:
Ephesians
6: 10-12 - My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His
might. Put on the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
(trickeries, schemes, tactics, strategies) of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.
While
we may never experience, as believers, the horrors of Revelation 9, our
awareness of this subject matter is paramount in witnessing to unbelievers the
need for their repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, as we
await the Trump of Jesus' call, let
us study and be fully prepared for the daily warfare in the unseen world (the
supernatural realm) so we can distinguish between what is spiritual and what is
reality.
Though
many publications and doctrinal treatises contain detailed information on this
subject matter and extensive misinformation, for easy reading may I recommend: (Ingram,
Chip. The Invisible War: What Every
Believer Needs to Know about Satan, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2006).
It also may be a wise practice to avoid
any curiosity about occultism and its involvement, no matter how enticing and
innocent it may appear. Thus, biblical awareness of demonology and its
activities is extremely essential.
The archenemy of Jesus Christ is
Satan. His sole desire is to thwart God's redemptive plan of salvation, deceive
anyone from the truth about Jesus Christ, and rob you of your rightful
inheritance to everlasting life. His attacks on Christians, certainly in the
last days, will intensify as a believer strives to obey and serve Christ by
spreading the Gospel message and revealing Satan's demise. In Peter's warning,
he writes about resistance:
1
Peter 5:8 - Be sober
(discreet and watchful), be vigilant (keep awake);
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour (literally, swallow up).
Hence, we need to be amply equipped for
the spiritual battle that lies ahead. One such means is to engage in one of the
many invaluable Bible studies available on the
Armor of God as found in Ephesians 6.
(Verse 2)
And he opened the Bottomless Pit; and there arose a smoke out of
the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened
by reason of the smoke of the pit.
In the prior study, the One who holds
the keys to death and Hades (cf. Revelation 1:18) temporarily gives the keys of
the Bottomless Pit to the fallen star (Satan) to unleash spiritual wrath and judgment
upon mankind. The main key to understanding the horrible and terrifying drama
taking place is that John, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is describing
an unseen world to which we are unfamiliar. Everything is happening in another
dimension, if you will, in the supernatural, a spiritual world or realm.
As Satan unlocks the Bottomless Pit,
like a volcanic eruption, there arises not literal, but unnatural smoke from
this prison abode of horrible fallen angels. The vision is almost as if the
earth opens its mouth and unleashes a gigantic volcanic cloud of smoke upon the
entire world.
There arose a smoke
Smoke in Scripture is generally a symbol of
deception and is always associated with judgment. It is highly purported a
satanic envoy will strongly delude the nations. Coinciding with his letter to
the church at Thessalonica, Paul writes:
2
Thessalonians 2:11-12 - And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
As the smoke of a great furnace
This is symbolic language. Smoke belches
out of the Bottomless Pit like the smoke of a great furnace. Subsequently, the
furnace is not a new analogy. Three comparative events are as follows:
1. When Jesus referred to it in describing
Hell:
Matthew
13:42, 50 - And shall cast them into
a furnace of fire: there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
2. When
God gave Moses the Law, something extraordinary happened at Mount Sinai:
Exodus 19:18 - And Mount Sinai
was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace,
and the whole mount quaked greatly.
3. When
mentioned after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
Genesis 19:28 - And he
(Abraham) looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and
toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the
country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of
the pit.
Darkness
How frightful. When the prison house of
fallen angels is unlocked, the literal soot of Hell billows out from the unseen
pit, bleeds into our dimension, pollutes the atmosphere to such an intense
degree, and causes the sun and air to become densely darkened like an eclipse.
This event is similarly likened to
three other events in Scripture:
1. The ninth plague in Egypt
Exodus
10-22 - And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
It is interesting to note that the
darkness lasted three days locally in the land of Egypt.
2. When Jesus gave up the Ghost
Luke
23:44-45 - And it was about the
sixth hour, and there was a darkness
over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the
veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
In this account, darkness only sustained
for three hours, however, over the entire earth.
3. During the sound of the fourth trumpet
Revelation
8:12 - And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten,
and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them
was darkened, and the day shone not for a third
part of it, and the night likewise.
As a result of the fourth trumpet
judgment, merely one-third of the day (eight hours) and one-third of the
heavenly luminaries are darkened. It is unclear how long the darkness lingers,
but it does precipitate a plague that extends for a term of five months (verse
5).
Since Satan is known as the Prince of the power of the air (cf.
Ephesians 2:2), he is given control of the events on earth and satanic
activities and agencies in the subsequent passages.
(Verse 3)
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon
(into or unto) the earth: and unto them was given power,
as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Locusts
Out
of this smoke from the pit appears a hellish demonic species of locusts that
envelops the earth. Interestingly, the Greek word for locusts is akris and it is the same word used for John the
Baptist's diet in the wilderness (cf. Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6). Also, during the
Old Testament era, locusts were regarded as edible clean food (cf. Leviticus
11:22). Even today they are considered healthy delicacies, especially in many
African, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries because of their protein content.
Many authors have attempted to equate these
locusts with man-made objects that exist today (e.g., helicopters, etc.),
however, in staying true to the text, what John is seeing, in reality, is
demonic possession of created beings, not man-made objects.
For example, in the Garden of Eden the snake
was originally a created being that
stood upright and had communication skills:
Genesis
3:1 - Now the serpent was more subtil
(cunning or crafty) than any
beast of the field which the LORD God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree
of the garden?
Genesis 3:14 - So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done
this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will
eat dust all the days of your
life.
So, the postulation is that these locusts are
demonically possessed as well. For an interesting project, research demonic
possession in the Bible and discover the many occurrences not only in the Old
Testament but the New as well, especially within the accounts in which Jesus
cast out demons.
Unto them was given power
The above phrase is not an allegory. While
Satan may rule these evil spirit beings, it underscores that the power given to
the locusts is stringently under the control of God and not Satan. Recall - God
is the one true and Creator God [Elohim (Genesis
1:1)].
Colossians
1:16 - For by Him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created
by Him, and for Him.
John 1:3 – All things were made by Him; and
without Him was not any thing made that was made.
Revelation 4:11 - Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.
And unto them (the locusts) was given power [by God], as (like) the
scorpions of the earth have power.
Locusts and Scorpions of the Earth
Locusts are insects closely related to grasshoppers.
While the grasshopper hops, the locust takes wing and travels great distances. Locusts
potentially become destructive forces when they are en masse under certain
conditions. The Romans termed them burners
of the land. An interesting correlation may be made to the eighth plague of
Egypt:
Exodus
10:14 - And the locusts went up over all the land of
Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous (weighty,
heavy) were
they; before them there were no such locusts
as they, neither after them shall be such.
Unlike
the text of Revelation 9, however, these locusts were not demonic; but actual
destructive locusts operating under God's authority.
Scorpions
on the other hand are spiderlike
creatures having a venomous sting at the end of their long narrow erect-tipped tail.
Although its sting is not deadly, its infliction is severely painful. Their
arms have lobster-like claws to clutch their prey. They are primarily found numerous
in hot and arid wilderness areas, especially around Judea.
The
locusts mentioned in the text are not normal locusts because they have scorpion-like
stings on their tails. Consequently, in the following verses (during the next
study), we will observe how God places limitations on the power given to them.
QUESTIONS:
1. What are some ways to avoid spiritual warfare?
2. Who is given the keys to the Bottomless Pit?
3. Why was the pit opened?
4. Describe the scene when the pit is finally opened.
5. What forces materialize under the fifth judgment?
6. What is their main purpose?
7. Who is in total control of these events?
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