Locusts II: They Came From the Pit

From the maker of the Egyptian thriller, “Locusts”, comes “Locusts II: They Came From the Pit!”

More chills, more thrills, more terrifying, and more painful to watch than ever before. Five months of unrelenting terror, coming soon to a tribulation near you.

v.1:

Unlike the other stars, this one is an angelic being (v.2). Probably Satan himself.

Currently, satan is not confined to hell. He even has access to heaven.

Job 2:1

Job 2:1 NKJV

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

This trumpet is when satan is finally kicked out of heaven.

Isaiah 14:12-14

Isaiah 14:12–14 NKJV

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

Luke 10:18

Luke 10:18 NKJV

And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

We will see more details on this in Revelation chapter 12.

The bottomless pit suggests that these are the demons who were imprisoned just prior to the flood.

2 Peter 2:4

2 Peter 2:4 NKJV

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

Jude 1:6

Jude 6 NKJV

And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;

1 Peter 3:18-20

1 Peter 3:18–20 NKJV

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

This bottomless pit is mentioned seven times in Revelation, it always refers to the prison where demons are incarcerated.

v.2:

As satan opens the pit, and the demons are released, a smoke brings darkness.

Unbridled evil has been loosed from its cage, which throws the world into darkness.

Sin is always characterized by darkness.

v.3:

It is not uncommon for God to use locusts for judgment.

We see here another similarity to the plagues of Egypt.

Exodus 10:4

Exodus 10:4 NKJV

Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory.

Exodus 10:15

Exodus 10:15 NKJV

For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.

In more modern times (1950’s), a locust swarm devoured every growing thing for several hundred thousand square miles in the Middle East.

But these are not normal locusts, they are specially prepared ones.

These locusts are demons, whose destructive powers are likened to that of a swarm of locusts, only worse.

Their power is also likened to a scorpion, whose venomous sting causes intense pain.

They will be able to inflict this scorpion like pain on their victims.

v.4:

Earthly locusts would naturally go for the vegetation, but these beings are commanded not to harm the vegetation.

They have come solely for mankind.

Another argument in favor of demons, is that they have apparent intelligence.

They have to be able to discern who does and does not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Normal locusts would be incapable of such a feat.

v.5:

Some have hypothesized that these locusts are really modern military helicopters.

That makes no sense, since those types of weapons cause mass destruction and death.

Many people would die, and there would be no way to spare the surrounding vegetation.

These locusts cannot be modern weapons of war because they won't kill anyone, and they are able to spare the vegetation.

They have no authority to kill, only to torment, and this torment will last for five months.

It is very interesting that a locust just happens to have a lifespan of 5 months.

Again, their ability to torment is likened to a scorpion.

These definitely are not your typical locusts. There should be no doubt that these are demons at work.

v.6:

This tells us quite a lot about the severity of the torment.

People will seek death, but they won’t find it.

It’s just as well, because death would only lead to worse torment in hell.

Death is no escape for the unsaved.

His judgment will fall on all who refuse to repent. All who have rejected Christ.

The end is already certain for those who reject the Jesus.

John 3:18

John 3:18 NKJV

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

v.7:

John does not say that the locusts had crowns of gold on their heads but that they wore "something like gold".

Human faces, suggests something unnatural, hence demonic.

These demons come ready for battle, in perfect formation. Joel describes this quite vividly.

Joel 2:1-3

Joel 2:1–3 NKJV

Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.

Joel has yet to describe this army of destruction, but notice that a fire devours before them.

The first four trumpets showed us great ecological devastation, three of which included elements of fire.

Joel 2:4-11

Joel 2:4–11 NKJV

Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array. Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?

Joel describes people in a state of great fear and pain, but nowhere in Joel’s description is there any mention of death.

vv.8-9:

Here we see more descriptors of the bizarre and terrifying appearance of these creatures.

Hair like women's hair, probably referring to the length.

Teeth like a lion, and breastplates of iron.

Obviously these demons were prepared for war, and would be a very unnatural and terrifying sight to behold.

Even the intense sound the make would invoke fear.

v.10:

Their scorpion-like tails would inflict great pain, but no death.

This torment of all who do not bear the seal of God, would last for five months.

Five long, grueling and miserable months.

v.11:

Real, earthly locusts have no king.

Earthly Locusts have no king.

Proverbs 30:27

Proverbs 30:27 NKJV

The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks;

However, these locusts do have a king, and his name means destroyer.

There is certainly a hierarchy among demons, just as the holy angels.

This angel of the bottomless pit is probably satan, due to the use of the word king.

v.12:

Once again, there is a very sober warning.

Though one woe may be past, two are still remaining.

This underscores the importance of our relationship to Christ.

It's common for people today to choose death, its evident by the number of unbelievers in the world.

Death is not an escape from God's wrath. People will still face judgment.

Hebrews 9:27

Hebrews 9:27 NKJV

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

Revelation 20:11-15

Revelation 20:11–15 NKJV

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Rejection of Jesus Christ is nothing less than choosing death. Why would you do that when you can freely choose life?

John 5:40

John 5:40 NKJV

But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

John 14:6

John 14:6 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Everyone has a king, and in this life, we get to choose our king.

The demons have a king, and it is satan. He is the king of all who do not choose Christ.

Everyone in this life has a king of their choosing. There are only two choices, which one will you choose?

John 8:44

John 8:44 NKJV

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

But you can choose Christ as your King, and never have to be subject to satan. For Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Revelation 19:16

Revelation 19:16 NKJV

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS