In the previous two blogs we examined Revelation 9:1-12. We saw the star open the shaft of the abyss and from the smoke rising from the abyss came stinging locusts which were allowed to sting and torment the unbelieving for 5 months. We also observed that those who were tormented by the stings of the locusts were not allowed to die, even though they wished too. However, there is more to make clear in this passage that perhaps has not been seen. So, in today’s blog I want to give four clarifications on the text regarding the fifth trumpet judgment.
Clarification #1: This passage shows God’s sovereignty over evil.
Let me say it this way: Revelation 9:1-12 shows us how God sovereignly uses evil and demonic forces as tools in His hands to accomplish His purposes. Here’s what I mean: It is God who gave the angel the key to the abyss and permission to open the shaft to the abyss. It is God who gave the locusts the power to sting like the scorpion, and although Apollyon is king of the locusts, it is God who is King over Apollyon. Thus, it is God who instructed the locusts not to harm the vegetation of the earth. It is God who instructed the locusts not to torment those with the seal. It is God who granted permission for the locusts to torment those without the seal for five months. It is God who did not grant the locusts to kill those without the seal. And it is God who did not grant death to those who were tormented by the stings of the locusts for five months.
Clarification #2: This judgment is the LORD’s way of showing He alone is God.
Through creation God has shown Himself plainly. According to Romans 1:20 God has revealed His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature through creation. In other words, the grass reveals God; the trees reveal God; the flowers reveal God; the clouds reveal God; the sun and the moon and the stars reveal God; all of creation, including mankind, reveals the existence and glory of God. However, man continues to reject God and deny God. So God, just like He did with Pharoah, except the tribulation will be much worse, will show Himself plainly through wrath. And hopefully some will see by the swarm of stinging locusts there truly is a God who is in heaven, repent of their sins, and put their faith in God’s Son – Jesus Christ – for salvation.
Clarification #3: As much as this judgment is an act of wrath, it is also an act of love.
You may wonder how five months of stinging locusts is an act of God’s love? My answer is this: through wrath God will lovingly attempt to draw people to Himself for their salvation. Today, God is patiently dealing with sinners, lovingly giving them every opportunity to repent, but many still reject Him. They reject His love and they reject His patience. And since man rejects the patience of God, He will lovingly afflict them with wrath, in the hope they will return to Him. So, consider God’s wrath not only an act of judgment, but also God’s effort to save.
We see examples of this in the Old Testament. For example, in Amos 4:6-13, God sent Israel famine, epidemic diseases, war, and other forms of disaster to get their attention and so Israel would return to God and be saved. And I believe God still acts this way today; perhaps this is why God has allowed covid to affect the globe – to open the eyes of sinners and draw them to Himself. If you think covid is rough, it is nothing compared to the tribulation.
Clarification #4: As bad as the torment will be from the stinging locusts and as much as some will unsuccessfully pursue death to escape, death is the worst of the two.
This is why I also consider God not allowing them to die an act of mercy, even though it will be absolute torment. If those remaining during the tribulation die without Christ they will be much worse off, because they will spend an eternity separated from God and everlasting torture in the lake of fire, which we refer to as hell. Considering that, five months of stinging locusts, as bad as that will be, is nothing compared to dying and spending eternity in hell.
I believe God is sparing them from death in part, because He is mercifully giving them another opportunity to realize He exists, repent of their sins, and put their faith in Jesus. This shows us that God does not find any joy or pleasure or happiness when wicked men die (Ez. 18:23 & 32). What pleases God is when a wicked, sinful person repents of their sin, believes in Jesus, and is saved.
I believe God is so earnest to save us wicked people, He will allow us to be tortured to just to have our eyes open to our need for Him. The reason I believe that is because the psalmist wrote, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Ps. 119:67). The psalmist also said, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statues” (Ps. 119:71). And in Psalm 119:75, “in faithfulness you (God) have afflicted me.” And I think that is what is going on here in Revelation 9:1-12; God is faithfully, lovingly, and mercifully, afflicting these unbelieving in the hope they return to Him and be spared from everlasting torment. So God, while executing His judgment on the unbelieving, is also mercifully and lovingly, not granting them the death they seek in hope they will repent of their sins, believe in Christ, and be saved.