In yesterday’s blog we examined Revelation 9:1 which states, “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.” Today we will examine Revelation 9:2-12 to discover what happens when the abyss or bottomless pit is opened.
First, we see smoke rising from the abyss.
In verse 2 John writes, “He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft.” Smoke implies that there is a fire burning in some place in this abyss, and I imagine it’s no small fire, because of what happens on earth when this pit is opened. John tells us this smoke rose up and caused the light from the sun to be darkened on the earth. It also affected the air on earth. I take John to mean that as the smoke rose up from the abyss, not only did the smoke darken the appearance of the sun, but the smell of sulfur could be smelled across the globe.
Secondly, we see locusts coming out of the abyss.
In verse 3 John records, “Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth…” You may want to ask, are these literal locusts? Yes; and this is meant to resemble the same plague of Exodus 10. If they were not literal locusts, I assume John would say something like, “From the smoke came something like locusts on the earth”. But John does not say that. He says, “From the smoke came locusts.” Therefore, I believe these are literal locusts John is witnessing.
Our next observation tells us these are not your normal locusts.
John tells us in verse 3, “they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.” In verse 4, John tells us that they were not allowed to consume their normal diet. He writes, “They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree…” So, they were not permitted to touch vegetation, which is pretty serious. Did you know locusts can eat their weight in plants each day? A normal swarm of locusts can eat 423 million pounds of plants every day, according to national geographic. But that is not the purpose of these locusts.
He also tells us in verses 7-10 what they looked like saying, “In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions…” The description that John gives tells these locusts are actually demonic forces of evil.
Lastly, John tells us these locusts have a king, which is unnatural. John writes in verse 11, “They have as king over them the angle of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.” The name Abaddon means destruction and the name Apollyon means destroyer, which should indicate the purpose of this swarm of locusts coming out of the smoke from the bottomless pit.
You may wonder why these locusts are dressed for battle? Why are they being led by a demon king? Why are they not allowed to eat any vegetation? What is their purpose? The answers are found in verses 4-6.
My observation, based on verse 4, is that their purpose is to do harm to those who did not have the seal of God. To say it another way: The locusts were released from the abyss to torture those who remain after the rapture and continue to refuse to believe in Jesus Christ.
John writes, “They told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” If you recall, those who were sealed were the 144,000 Jews in Revelation 7. The demon locusts will be unable to touch them. Does this mean that non-Jewish believers will be harmed? It could. But I don’t believe so and many scholars do not believe so. I believe that those who have come to put their faith in Jesus Christ during the tribulation both Jew and non-Jew will be protected from such wrath. The reason I believe that is because unbelievers are the target here, not believers.
I also want you to observe how long these locusts are given permission to torment unbelievers.
John writes in verse 5, “They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.” This verse tells us that these locusts certainly had the ability to kill with their stings, but they were not allowed too. They were only allowed to afflict great, agonizing, and excruciating bodily pain for five months on those who continued to reject Jesus. Imagine a swarm of creatures that are 2-3 inches long, dressed for battle, armed with the stinger of a scorpion coming out of the abyss, and invading the globe for one purpose: to torment the unbelieving.
Now notice the response of the unbelieving being stung.
In verse 6 John records, “And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” This reminds me of Job after he was severely afflicted by Satan. In Job 3:21 Job said that he longed for death that did not come and searched for death like it was a hidden treasure. In Job 7:15, Job indicated he preferred to be strangled and die over living. That was the extent of his torment.
That’s how it will be for those who are not raptured and live to this point in the tribulation. Those who are without Christ will be so tormented by the stings of these locusts they will want to die. They will be in such agony and anguish and pain they will prefer death and even search for death as though death is a treasure. Some will even attempt forms of suicide to rid themselves of such torment, but they will be unsuccessful. They will be so tormented, they will see death as a relief, but death will not be allowed for them. It will be five months of endless torment with no way of escape.
And after 5 months of torment the first woe will conclude only to continue with two more. John says in verse 12, “The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.” We do not know how much longer after the five months will the 6th trumpet be blown, but we do know it will happen and mankind will be the target.
Now be sure to read tomorrow’s blog. Even though we have concluded our examination of this text, there are some clarifications that need to be made from Revelation 9:1-12.