Study of Revelation and End Times wk 21

The Fifth Trumpet and the demons - wk 21

Last week we looked at the seventh seal, and that brought the trumpets, where we looked at the first four.

Tonight we will pick up in chapter 9, looking at the fifth trumpet.

As we began to look at the trumpets, we seen that the trumpets bring an increase of judgment and torment to the tribulation period.

The first four trumpets brought judgment to the land and things that grow, the second trumpet brought judgment to the oceans and things that live in the sea, the third trumpet brought judgment to the rivers and men who walk on the earth, and the fourth trumpet brought judgment to the skies and the light that shines from it.

That brings us to the fifth trumpet which is found in Chapter 9.

5. The Fifth Trumpet:

Tonight we look at the fifth trumpet being sounded, and there is an invasion from the bottomless pit.

Revelation 9:1–2 NASB95

1 Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.

Demons will be released upon the earth from a bottomless pit.

The Greek word from bottomless pit is abussou, from which we get our English word abyss.

Who are these demons?

They will be especially vile, malicious, and powerful.

In fact, they are so diabolical that God is His mercy prepared a special pit in which to lock them away until the appointed time.

These demons are not like the demons who have roamed the earth since they fell from heaven.

They dreaded to go to the pit!

When Jesus cast the demons (called Legion) out of a man - Luke 8:31

Luke 8:31 NASB95

31 They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

This is also the place Peter referred to when he said in 2 Peter 2:4

2 Peter 2:4 NASB95

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

I defined the fallen star as Satan last week.

Here Almighty God has given him permission to open the door to the bottomless pit to set the demons free.

I. The Demons: The Dominion of the Antichrist:

We need to learn eleven things about the demons from the abyss.

1. They are degenerate spirits. They are the vilest of the vile.

2. They are darkening spirits.

In Revelation 9:2, we learn that a demonic darkness will come upon the earth that will choke out the light.

3. They are devouring spirits.

Revelation 9:3–4 NASB95

3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

In the Middle East locusts have swarmed like great clouds and blotted out the light of the sun and the moon.

They devour every bit of plant like in their path like an army - every blade of grass, every flower in the field, every seed and stalk of grain, sometimes even stripping the bark from the trees.

But these particular locusts will not feed on green things.

They will feed on the heart and souls of men.

And as they do, they will inflict torment like a scorpion.

But these are not literal locusts, or even scorpions, but they are demons from the abyss that will inflict torment on those that are unbelievers, those that have come to Christ during the tribulation period, that have received the seal of God during this time, these demons are not allowed to harm or bother them.

4. They are debilitating spirits.

Revelation 9:5–6 NASB95

5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.

A scorpion sting is like none other, it is just crazy and there are many different kinds of scorpions.

But the worst I have had is this huge wasp, that stung me in the arm and within a few minutes my whole arm was swollen, from my shoulder to my finger tips and it got to the point that I could not bend my fingers and felt like my skin was going to bust open because my arm was that swollen.

I ended up after refusing for a couple of hours, going to the hospital and getting a couple of shots.

But our text says the people will be tormented for five months, see my pain went away, it took some time after I got the shots, but it went away.

Those in the tribulation will be tormented consistently with no relief, for five months, to the point that they will want to die, but will not be able too.

Five months is the normal life span of the locusts in the Middle East and even though these were not literally locusts, they represented locusts, these demons would torture the people for five months, long enough that the people would seek to die to get away from the torment but would not be able to die.

5. They are dauntless spirits.

Revelation 9:7 NASB95

7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.

The first part of the verse says the locusts are like horses prepared for battle.

Picture a team of mighty horses pawing the ground, snorting in fury, and covered in armor.

Think of their ability to gallop quickly into battle.

They are eagerly dauntless for their mission of doom.

Now picture yourself standing in front of them and trying to stop them.

No amount of money will be able to do it.

The military cannot help.

And even medicine will not work.

They are dauntless.

6. They are domineering spirits.

Next part of verse seven there says, they had something like a golden crown was on their heads.

Satan has always wanted to wear a crown.

Now hell has a holiday, and the world has said to Jesus Christ, we will not have You rule over us.

Instead they crown Satan and his demons to rule.

Demons will have dominion in the Great Tribulation.

No human ingenuity will be able to stop them.

It will be a reign of terror.

The golden crown - as crowns do - it signifies authority and in this case, authority from the abyss, from Hell.

7. They are deceptive spirits.

Notice the last part of verse seven: there faces were like human faces.

What does that mean?

Like human or men’s faces is a symbol of intelligence.

The Antichrist will be crafty and subtle.

Matthew 24:24 NASB95

24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.

Satan has a cunning plan.

When he sends the Antichrist into this world, he will be able to make people think white is black, and black is white, up it down and down is up.

This may sound hard to believe, but I think the Antichrist will be so conniving that he will make you murder your mother and think you are doing God a service.

The Antichrist will be so deceiving that people will follow after him and not even realize the evil that they are doing to the evil that he is doing.

8. They are defiling spirits.

Revelation 9:8 NASB95

8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.

God has given women their hair for their glory, and it is beautiful, but these demons will use that as a trap.

In many ways these deceptive demons will seem alluring.

The Bible speaks of seducing spirits.

1 Timothy 4:1 NASB95

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

We see that now to some extent but it will continue to get worse, as we get closer to the end of times.

But they will have teeth like lions.

This is the picture of Satan we see in 1 Peter 5:8

1 Peter 5:8 NASB95

8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

These evil spirits will be hideously beautiful and brilliantly deceptive.

Which makes me think of when Jesus warned us about the wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Matthew 7:15 NASB95

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

The Antichrist and all his false prophets will be so attractive not just in appearance but also in their leadership, in their message, in the way they conduct themselves, that people will flock to them, but they will just be wolves in sheep clothing, they will be demons.

9. They are defiant spirits.

Revelation 9:9 NASB95

9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

These demons will be wearing impenetrable armor so that groans, cries, and shrieks of their victims will be meaningless to them.

They will not be moved from their course of action.

And wave after wave will come.

You can hear the chariots rumble.

They cannot be stopped.

They cannot be outrun.

There is not a place to hide.

Nothing will affect these demons, they will not have emotions, therefore, they will not be affected by hurting people, by leading people in the wrong directions.

There will not be anyone that will attack them because everyone will be deceived by them and believe they are the true leaders, the ones that are right.

10. They are durable spirits.

Revelation 9:10 NASB95

10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.

Five months is the normal lifespan of a locusts.

Five is also the number of completeness.

What does this mean?

Until their deed is done, they cannot be stopped.

Nothing but the hand of Almighty God can stop these durable spirits.

They cannot be destroyed.

There is no weapon against them.

The demons will have a tail like a scorpion that is the demons will use their tails to harm people, they will not kill the people, but harm them for five long and drawn out time, as we seen earlier that these five months will be so tormenting that the people will want to die but will not be able too.

11. They are diabolical spirits.

Revelation 9:11–12 NASB95

11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. 12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

Apollyon is Satan himself.

Can you imagine what would happen if all the prison doors in America were flung open?

If every rapist, murderer, pervert, arsonist, abuser, and thief were free to roam the earth, and no police force could protect us?

That is the idea here, just thousands of times worse.

Now imagine just one more thing: what if, by some means, all of these criminals were organized under one ruler.

There is a ruler - his name is Apollyon.

We can think of it in those terms but when the demons from the abyss are released and Satan is leading them, they will be far worse than anything we could ever imagine.

But the story doesn’t end there.

The Bible has wonderful news!

1 Thessalonians gives us two bright notes to close out this week.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 NASB95

10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

Isn’t that wonderful?

Here is the second great news:

1 Thessalonians 5:9–11 NASB95

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

God will not pour out His wrath upon the church.

God will chastise us, but He will never pour out His wrath upon His bride.

What husband would pour out his wrath upon his bride just before the marriage supper?

The church is the bride of Christ.

One of these days another trumpet will sound, and this is the trumpet that will call us to meet the Lord Christ in the air.

This world is headed for hell and judgment, and if you do not intend to go there, may I suggest you avoid that path by giving your heart to Jesus Christ.