As the title suggests, this posting is in regards to the first, second and third Woes, which are the fifth, sixth and seventh trumpet judgments respectively, as described in Revevelation chapters 9 and 12. Personally, I believe that the reason that the woes are designated as such is because all three are demonic in nature.
First Woe/Fifth Trumpet – Revelation 9:1-11
The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was give 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 upon 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 given power 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 a man. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. The locust 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 chariots rushing into battle. They had tails and stings 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, Apollyon.
First, we must identify who the star is that is falling from the sky to the earth. It is said in the verse that “The star was give the key to the shaft of the Abyss”, which immediately tells us that this is no literal star, as he is being given a key. Also, the star is referred to has a “He” and he is opening the Abyss. Therefore, we can deduce that this star is symbolic for some type of living entity. As always, the word of God will reveal the symbolisms found in the book of Revelation. For the answer to this, let’s jump up ahead and take a look at Revelation 12:3-4
“Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on the heads. His tail swept a third of the [stars] out of the sky and flung them to the earth.”
Notice that the dragon’s tail swept a third of the [stars] out of the sky. The answer to the identity of these stars is given in Rev. 12:7-9
“And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his [angels] fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his [angels] with him.”
So we can see from the verses above that it mentions the dragon who sweeps a third of the [stars] out of the sky and flings them to the earth and then in verse 9 the dragon is identified as Satan and he, along with his angels, are being hurled to the earth and therefore, the stars and Satan’s angels are synonymous as they are used interchangeably to refer to the same group, that being angels.
Now getting back to the [He] that opens the Abyss, we can pretty much conclude that this [Star] is an angel. In regards to which camp this angel belongs to, i.e. holy or fallen, I personally lean toward him being a fallen angel. The reason being is because of the wording that is used to describe his descent.
“I saw a star that had [fallen] from the sky to the earth.”
When we compare the wording for the descent from heaven of the angel who unlocks the Abyss and compare it with the angel who locks it back up again at the end of the age, there is a difference between the two:
Rev. 20:1 – “And I saw an angel [coming down] out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.”
Here, the angel is [coming down] out of heaven, opposed to the previous one who is [falling] from the sky. Also, in the earlier example where the [stars] are representing fallen angels, it may be that since this angel here is also symbolically referred to as a [star], this may be a clue indicating that he is a fallen angel as well.
The word Abyss comes from the word ‘Abussos’ whose meaning according to Strong’s concordence is ‘bottomless’, referring to the lower regions of the earth, as the abode of demons. Now in regards to the Abyss, this is the same word used when Jesus encountered those demons after he crossed the sea of Galilee over to the area of the Gadarenes found in Luke 8:30-31, who were collectively called ‘Legion’ who begged Jesus not to order them to go into the Abyss. It is also the same place that Satan is cast into by the mighty angel when Christ returns to earth to set up His millennial kindom at the end of the age found in (Rev. 20:1-3).
When he opens the Abyss, smoke rises up darkening the sky and out from the smoke comes locusts that come down upon the earth and as was stated, they are given power like scorpions of the earth, which is the ablilty to sting. There are many who have written books on the subject of Revelation, some interpreting these locust creatures as Apache heliocopters, planes or some other type of military vehicle. But as we go through the characteristics of these locusts, it is my intention to prove otherwise.
Whenever studying the word of God, especially the book of Revelation, it is important to pay close attention to every detail. First of all, these locusts have to be let out of the Abyss by an angel, which requires a key to open it. Whether it is a spiritual or physical key, it is not mentioned. They also come out of the Abyss, which as mentioned earlier is the same place that ‘Legion’ begged Jesus not to send them into and is also the same place where Satan is eventually cast into at the return of Christ and therefore, I doubt very much that this is referring to some secret underground helicopter base, as they would have one heck of a big bug problem! It is said that these locusts are given power to torment mankind for five months, those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads. Something to take notice of is that it is said that they are [given] power to torment by stinging for five months, which means that someone of authority has got to be granting them that ability. As well as being given power to torment, they are also told not to harm the grass, plants or trees, which is normally what a locust would do, except that they are commanded not to. So by these statements, it appears that these locust creatures are inteligent beings as they are obeying instructions.
As stated, the only group of people who they are not to harm are those who have the seal of God in their foreheads, which are made up only of those 144,000 mentioned as being sealed in revelation chapter 7 and mentioned again in chapter 14. They are 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, which are referred to as the servants of God, which means that these are obviously Israelites that have come to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah, also referred to as the “Firstfruits” of God.” So here again, we have more proof that these locust creatures are displaying characteristics of inteligence, in that they are able to discern between those who have the seal of God and those who do not. And just for the record, it is stated that only those with the seal of God in their foreheads are exempt from the stings of these creatures. I bring this up because, some in their writings have made the statement that the saints of God are included in this protectected from the stings of these creatures. I pray that this will be the case, but scripture simply does not support this. It only states that the 144,000 out of Israel are exempt from this and so we cannot go beyond what is written. In regards to the torment that they impose, it is said that men will seek death, but death will elude them. We see it everyday on tv, the internet, in the papers, that almost everyday someone is taking their life or the lives of others, either by shooting, by overdose or by some other means, but during the time of this plague, a person will not be able to escape it by killing themselves. Some might say, how is that posible? In answer to this question, we could also look at the two witnessess who will not be able to be harmed by anyone until the three and a half years of their prophecy has come to an end. In fact, it is written that if anyone tries to harm them fire will proceed from their mouths and devour their enemies. Something to be mindful of is that God controls the elements, atoms, molecules, etc. In any case, death will not be available at the time of this judgment.
These locusts are described as looking like horses prepared for battle. On their heads, it is said that they have something like crowns of gold, their faces resemble human faces, they have hair like women’s hair, and their teeth are like lions’ teeth. I don’t know of any garden variety locusts that fit that discription! It is also said that they have breastplates like iron and they also have wings. As if it wasn’t bad enough that they have tails like scorpions to sting with, they can also fly!
Another interesting fact about these creatures is that it is said that they have a king over them who resides in the Abyss and whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon, which in both languages means [destroyer]. This is the same entity of whom it is said comes out of the Abyss and attacks and kills God’s two witnesses found in Rev. 11:7-8. He is also mentioned in Rev. 17:8 as the beast who once was, now is not and yet will come up out of the Abyss and then go to his destruction. After studying all of the characteristics of these locust creatures and the fact that their king is referred to as the “Angel of the Abyss”, I would have to come to the conclusion that these locusts creatures that come out of the Abyss are none other than demonic beings, demons.
First Woe conclusion: what we have are possibly millions of demons that have the appearance of locusts that look like horses prepared for battle, they have hair like women’s hair, teeth like lions teeth, faces that resemble men’s faces, they can fly, they have tails like scorpions that sting and they have as their king, the fallen angel of the Abyss and who are commanded to torment everyone with their stings for five months, all except those that have the seal of God in their foreheads. One can only hope that posttribulationalism is false!
“The first woe is past, two other woes are yet to come.”
Second Woe!/Sixth Trumpet – Revelation 9:13-21
The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the 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 two hundred million. 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. The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood — idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Unlike the previous trumpet where death flees away from those who try to kill themselves and the plague is strictly to torment and not to kill, this second woe is just the opposite, as a third of mankind will be killed by these mounted troops. Here in this sixth trumpet, the second woe, is one of only two places where a percentage is given in the book of Revelaton as to how many fatalities there will be as a result, which as mentioned, is a third of the earths population. Taking into consideration that earths current population is just over six billion, a third of that would leave four billion people, which means that two billion people will be killed from this judgment alone. The other percentage listed, is found in the fourth seal (Rev. 6:7-8), which states that a fourth of the earths population will be killed. If you combine the two percentages, it totals up to fifty percent, half of the earths population being decimated by just those two judgments alone. What some writers have done is that when they get to this sixth trumpet, they make the statement that at this point half of the worlds population has been killed off, which is incorrect. Remember earlier I said that it is important to pay attention to every detail. What these writers fail to take into account are the fatalities that are not listed as a result of the first, second and third trumpet judgments, which after studying those judgments and the impact they will have, you could realistically add on another billion and a half to two billion people to the list of fatalies, which would leave around one to two billion people left on the earth by the time that the six trumpet has completed; and thats not counting the fatalities that will be caused by the bowl judgments which follow.
As stated there are four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates that have been kept there for millennia for the purpose of being released at a specific hour, day, week, month and year to perform a specific task, which is to kill a third of mankind. The fact that these angels are bound, tells me that they are of the fallen variety, else they would not be bound. Now one thing that I want to mention is that, many writers on this subject have played follow the leader and have interpreted the two hundered million mounted troops as being synonymous with the the kings from the east that come across the Euphrates river which is dried up at the sixth bowl judgment, which I could never figure out as to why they made that assessment. The only thing that the sixth trumpet and the sixth bowl judgments have in common is the Euphrates river. The kings of the east cross over it and these four evil angels are bound there. that’s it! That is hardly enough information to conclude that the kings of the east and the two hundred million mounted troops are one in the same. First of all, the first thing that these four angels do once they have been released, is to go and gather this army of mounted troops for the purpose of killing a third of mankind. The way in which they perform this is through these horses that are mentioned, which have fire, smoke and sulfur proceeding from their mouths. Let’s look at the discription of these horses.
John describes them first of all as horses, which is something the people of every age would have in common with John, that is to say, when John mentions things of God’s creation such as a horse, lion, serpent, mountain, the sea, etc, we are on the same playing field, that is that we can relate on the same level as to what John is conveying. That said, when John says “horse”, he means “horse” and not some futuristic military vehicle, because John knows what a horse looks like. John has already displayed the ability to convey the idea of likeness. For example in verse 17 he says that the “heads of the horses [resembled] the heads of lions”, i.e. not exactly a lions head, but something resembling it. And with an earlier example in the first woe, he said regarding the description of the locusts, that “their faces [resembled] human faces.” My point is, in describing the horses, John does not say that they resemble horses or have the likeness of horse, but for all intent and purposes these are literal horses, with the exception of the heads that resemble lions heads and the tails that resemble serpent’s. These are the only differences, as the rest of body is every bit a horses body. Another example is, when John witnesses the second trumpet judgment, he is describing a meteor or an astroid coming through the earth’s atmosphere and uses the phrase “Something like a huge mountain all ablaze, was thrown into the sea.” John doesn’t know to be able to refer to it as an asteroid or a meteor because those are future, scientific designations and so he relates it to something close to it, like a huge mountain. To further my point, if John was was seeing in his vision a tank for example, he would not call it a horse because John knows what a horse looks like. He wouldn’t even say that it even resembled a horse. If anything, he would call it a chariot or a carriage because it has wheels and so the closest thing that he could relate to a tank or any other vehicle would be something relatable to his time era, which would be a chariot or a carriage, which in fact he does mention in Revelation 18:13 to describe automobiles. The point that I am getting at here is, since these are apparently literal horses, and the fact that they have heads that resemble lions heads with fire, smoke and sulfur proceeding from their mouths, this leads me to believe that these two hundred million mounted troups are another group of demonic beings. And if you think that fire proceeding from the mouth of these creatures is too far fetched, remember that in revelation chapter eleven that in describing God’s two witnesses, it is said that anyone who tries to harm them will be killed by fire proceeding from their mouths.
Consider the fact that in the previous trumpet judgment, the Abyss was opened and according to Rev. 20:1-3, the Abyss remains open until Christ’s return at the end of the the tribulation period, which is the end of the age. What if these four evil angels, when they are released, go and gather from the Abyss these two hundred million mounted demonic troups for the purpose of killing a third of mankind? Something else to consider is another characteristic of these horses of which John said ” their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.” So in regards to the tails of these horses, unlike the heads that kill, the tails inflict injury. This would be another reason to consider these as demonic beings as opposed to some futurist military vehicles.
Notice that after a third of mankind was killed by these plagues, that it states that of those who are left, that were not killed, that they still would not repent of worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood. Nor did they repent of their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. The first thing to take notice of is, that by saying that those who were still alive after that plague was completed, that they would not repent of those sins mentioned, would infer that these plagues are performed in a relatively short period of time, opposed to many centuries. The reason that I bring this up is because, you have those who believe what is called the historical view that say, the seals, trumpets and bowls represent events that have taken place throughout history starting with the first century, which would have the whole wrath of God spread out over two thousand years and therefore, it would not make sense for John to say, that those who did not die from these plagues still would not repent. The plague denotes immediate calamity, with those who are left alive not responding favorably to God, who is looking for repentance. The historical view would also not coincide with what Jesus said about this time period and that being: “except those days were shortened, no one would survive. But for the elects sake, those days will be shortened.”
Second Woe conclusion: Four evil angels bound at the great river Eurphrates are released, who go to the previously opened Abyss gathering a demonic army of two hundered million with riders and horses that have two exceptions, those being that the horses have heads that resemble lions heads that kill a third of mankind by fire, smoke and sulfur that proceeds from their mouths and tails that are like serpents with heads that inflict injury.
Note: Chapters 10 and 11 are parenthetic pauses, with the third woe beginning in chapter 12.
Third Woe!/Seventh Trumpet – Revelation 12:7-12
For some reason, most fail to recognize or understand the third woe, but it is definitely listed there in black and white. And it is in keeping with my belief that, as stated in the beginning of this post, that the woes are designated as such because all three are demonic in nature.
Revelation 12:7-12
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, have been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love thier lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!
(Third woe coming up)
But [WOE] to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
So there you have it! The third woe is Satan and his angels being cast down to the earth at around the middle part of that seven year period. How did I arrive at the time in which he is cast out? From the following verse.
Revelation 12:14 – The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for here in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.
The “time, times and half a time” mentioned in the verse above is in reference to the middle part of that last seven year period up to the end of the seven when Christ returns. Time (1 year), Times (2 years) half a time (half a year), equals three and a half years. At about the middle part of the seven year period, war is going to break out in heaven between Michael and his holy angels against Satan and his angels; they are the one third he swept ouf of the sky in Rev. 12:4. Of course, as stated, they will not be strong enough to defeat Michael and his angels and are cast down to the earth, which was mentioned is the third woe. It is designated as such because, now that Satan and his angels are restricted to the earth, they will be able to focus all of their malice and evil against mankind, specifically against those saints present in that last three and a half years, which Jesus refers to as “The great tribulation.” He does this because he knows that his time is short. In regards to this third woe, the results for the saints are as follows:
Daniel 7:25 – He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
And
Revelation 13:7 – He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
This mention of war between Michael, Satan and their angels is still a future event. There are those who try to teach that this event has already taken place, but the fact is that we know that Satan has access to God’s presence, which is found in Job 1:6-12, where it states that one day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came with them. Here in Revelation 12:10 after Satan and his angels are thrown out of heaven, it is said:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, And the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”
So Satan is currently there before God accusing us before Him and he will continue to do so against the saints during the tribulation period up until the middle of the seven year period where at that time he and his angels get hurled to the earth. Another proof that his being cast out is still future is that, when he does get cast down the following is stated:
Revelation 12:12 – Therefore, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.
Obviously, those in heaven will rejoice when this event takes place, because they are obviously tired of listening to his continual accusations.
Notice that he is “filled with fury because his time is short.” The mention of his time being short is in reference to the fact that, from the the time that he is cast out of heaven to the earth, he only has a time, times and half a time, that is, three and a half years to do his worst against God’s saints, because at the end of the three and a half years, which is when Christ returns, Satan will be cast into the Abyss and kept there during the millennium and there is nothing that he can do to prevent it.
First Woe – Demons let out of the Abyss to torment mankind with the stings of a scorpions for five months, except for those who have the seal of God in their foreheads.
Second Woe – Four evil angels that are bound at the great river Eurphrates are released and go and gather from the Abyss two hundered million demonic troups with horses that kill a third of mankind by fire, smoke and sulfur, which proceeds from thier mouths.
Third Woe – Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven to the earth and through the beast, will make war against the saints and conquer them. According to Revelation 20:4, they are beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God.
Thank you for reading my post. My prayer for you is that God would bless you and strengthen you in your faith, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.
For those of you who have not yet believed in Christ, I pray that God will reveal the truth of His word and confirm it in your hearts by His Holy Spirit. Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, for whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
Yours in Christ – Don
Things of Faith 