Revelation 9 – Demon Locusts and Demonic Princes
The trumpet judgments continue.
- At the blowing of the fifth trumpet a being falls from heaven to earth, and he is given a key to the bottomless pit. This seems to indicate that this pit is in the center of the earth. When he opens the pit, the air is filled with smoke; and demon locusts (my label) are released that are only allowed to torment humans. This torment is inflicted with a sting that is compared to that of a scorpion. Those who experience this sting will wish they were dead, but God will not allow them to die. John then attempts to describe the appearance of these locusts. He compares them to horses prepared for battle wearing crowns like gold with human faces; they have long hair like a woman and teeth comparable to those of a lion. They appear to be wearing breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings sounds like many horses running to battle. The tails with which they inflict their stings are like a scorpion’s, and their attack is allowed to extend over a period of five months. You see why I call them demon locusts. These locusts have a king that in Hebrew is called Abaddon, and in Greek is called Appolyon—either Satan or one of his chief lieutenants.
- When the sixth angel blows his trumpet, John hears a voice from the golden altar positioned before God in His temple telling the angel with the 6th trumpet to release the four angels that are bound in the great river Euphrates. No further information is given to identify these four angels, but they have obviously been confined to this particular area until this moment in time. I personally believe they are the four demonic princes in control of the nations connected with that river, i.e., probably Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. We know that there are spiritual forces associated with different nations on planet earth because of the message recorded by the prophet Daniel.
Dan. 10:11-13, 20 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia….Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
These angels have one purpose—to kill 1/3 of mankind. They have an army of 200,000,000 to assist them; I personally believe this army to be controlled by Satan. John’s description does indicate that he is struggling to explain this army in terms the reader can understand. Some teachers make comparisons to use of today’s technology, and I don’t discount that this could be a valid conclusion.
I think the wording of verse 20 is quite interesting, “the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not….” I think this is a clear indication that God’s desire is for these judgments to cause men to repent of their evil deeds and be saved, but they choose not to.
Revelation 10 – A Sweet Taste with a Sickening Aftertaste
Before being shown the 7th trumpet judgment, John is shown a mighty angel descending from heaven with a cloud; a rainbow is on His head, his face shines like the sun, and his feet are like pillars of fire. I personally believe that as you continue to follow the narrative, this angel or messenger is identified as Jesus because He refers to the two Hebrew witnesses as “my two witnesses.” This would not be the first time in scripture that Jesus is referred to as an angel (Genesis 16:10, 22:15-16, Exodus 3:2). The LORD is holding a book in His hand and is standing with His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the earth. I think this represents His authority over both. He then says something that is responded to by the voice of seven thunders (probably God the Father). For some reason John is instructed not to record what he heard.
The LORD then lifts His hand to heaven and swears by God that it is time to bring an end to the kingdom of Satan. The blowing of the 7th trumpet will represent the beginning of the end. Point is made that these events will fulfill all that was foretold by His prophets. John is then instructed (by the voice of God the Father I believe) to take the little book from the Lord Jesus. When John asks for the book, the Lord instructs him to eat it, but warns him that although it will taste good, it will make him sick to his stomach. This is obviously a very descriptive way of telling John to read and absorb the contents of the book. As he does, he will joy in the fact that the kingdom of the enemy will be destroyed, but he will be sickened by the events that will accompany that destruction.
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