Revelation 4
Throne Room Worship
The fifth trumpet is the arrival of a demonic horde from the abyss that comes to torment humankind for five months. Their sting, like a scorpion’s sting, anticipates the torments of hell. Their purpose is to show humankind (1) that Christ is sovereign even over the demonic hordes; (2) that in turning from God to worship Satan and his hosts, humanity has chosen to be their king those who hate them; and (3) that God’s mercy extends to him even in judgment as God preserves suicidal people from death.
9:1–2 The fifth trumpet sounds, and a luminary falls from the sky to the earth. Most likely, this luminary is an angelic agent God sends to unlock the abyss, preparing the way for the arrival of the locust army from the pit. The smoke from the pit that darkens the sun and air on earth foreshadows the effect on humankind of the locusts who also ascend from the pit.
9:3 From the smoke, a locust plague descends on earth. John describes the horde as locusts because they swarm as locusts do (the creatures that ascend from the pit are most likely not actual locusts, because of the other descriptors John gives them—including that they have the powers of scorpions).
9:4 These creatures, who possess the sting of a scorpion, are instructed to direct their assault solely on earth dwellers who do not possess the seal of God in their foreheads. They are prohibited from going after locusts’ natural targets, green plants.
9:5 The locusts are given yet more limitations than the ones they were given in the previous verse: they may torment humankind but are not permitted to kill anyone.
9:6 In God’s wrath, the torment of the people under the onslaught of the scorpion-like “locusts” is such that people long to die to escape, but in God overrules them and preserves their lives.
9:7–10 John describes for the reader the appearance of the locusts. Their appearance is otherworldly; nothing in the present world resembles them. John gives particular attention once again to their scorpion sting and their ability to torment humankind for five months.
9:11 The king who reigns over these locusts is the angel of the abyss. Both the Hebrew and Greek names he bears mean “destroyer.” By rejecting God in favor of Satan as their king, humankind has chosen the Destroyer to reign over them.
9:12 John proclaims that the first of three “woes” is now complete (though it is possible that what he refers to is not what has just transpired but what is about to). See the other two woes in 9:12 and 11:14.
Sixth Trumpet: A Demonic Calvary (9:13–21)
The sixth trumpet unleashes a demonic cavalry under the leadership of four angels prepared specifically for this event. The cavalry have authority to kill humankind by means of plagues, fire, smoke, and brimstone from their mouths. God limits the effect of their rampage so that they kill only one-third of earth dwellers. This highlights the mercy of God, who by this event foreshadows the fires of hell but gives the majority of humanity another chance to repent. Despite the horror of this event, humankind remains recalcitrant.
9:13–14 The sounding of the sixth trumpet unleashes a voice from God’s altar which instructs the angel to release four other angels who are “bound” at the Euphrates river.
9:15 It seems that the four angels released from their binding at the Euphrates lead the demonic cavalry that appears in the next verse. This verse, however, describes them as killing a full third of all people left on the earth.
9:16 The cavalry of two hundred million horsemen are probably demonic spirits released from the abyss. Perhaps they are the same demonic spirits from the fifth trumpet who now bring death where previously they could only torture humankind
9:17 John describes the appearance of these horsemen. The central force of his description shows these creatures are prepared to kill humankind by fire. Their mouths are the source of the fire, brimstone, and smoke with which they kill.
9:18 The cavalry kills one-third of humanity by means of the fire, brimstone, and smoke that proceeds from their mouths.
9:19 Those not killed by the “smoke and sulfur” from the horses in the cavalry are harmed by their tails, which are like serpents with heads that inflict damage on humankind.
9:20–21 Just as at the conclusion of the sixth seal, Revelation once again directs the readers’ attention to the response of humanity to the outpouring of God’s judgments. God has pressured people to repent through the limited outpouring of judgment on earth, but humanity refuses. By highlighting the recalcitrance of humankind, Revelation vindicates God and the Lamb, showing that the wrath they pour out is just.
