Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. v1

This Chapter we begin the start of the “3 Woes” things are going to get very bad for whoever is left on the Earth. The 5^th Trumpet has sounded, and a “Star” from Heaven  is thrown down to Earth. What is this Star? The correct question is Who is This Star?

The Star is reference to Satan himself, being cast down to Earth and given permission to open the Abyss (bottomless pit)

How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! Isaiah 14:12

And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Luke 10:18

And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. v2-3

Satan now on the Earth and has opened the Abyss (Bottomless Pit) What is the Abyss? It’s a holding cell for demons. We remember the story when Jesus cast out the demons of Legion, they begged him not to send them into the Abyss (Bottomless Pit) I believe the Abyss is also referred to as Hades

We see the demons described as Locusts coming out of the ground. Have you every accidently uncovered a bees nest or something similar? I have recently and I can understand what John is trying to describe here. There are so many demons, that they are being released in swarms. What a scary sight, the Earth is covered with Demons and Satan himself

And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. Luke 8:31

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell (Tartarus) (Bottomless Pit) and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 2 Peter 2:4

They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. v4-5

Seal of God = Holy Spirit

Anyone who is not sealed by the Holy Spirit, the Demons are permitted to torture you for 5 months. As bad as this sounds, the fact that the Holy Spirit is still on the Earth, means that people still have a chance to repent and come to salvation through Christ

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation– having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, Ephesians 1:13

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. Deuteronomy 6:8

In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. v6

Understand Jesus decides who lives and dies, Christ holds the keys to Hades and Death, many will seek death and won’t even find it!

I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelation 1:8

The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. v7-10

Here we see the Demons described:

• Horses prepared for Battle Terrifying and intimidating. I would guess they are rather large and strong
• Faces of Men Meaning highly intelligent..Demons are very intelligent…this is why the world is so easily deceived
• Hair of Women Meaning physically beautiful…remember Demons/Angels are beautiful creatures not how we portray them…they can be very deceiving
• Breastplates of Iron Meaning they are indestructible to us….those left won’t be able to kill them or fight them off
• Tails of Scorpions They have been given the authority to torment anyone who is not sealed by the Holy Spirit

The prophet foretells about this army of locusts before the Day of The Lord

Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like swift steeds. / With a sound like that of chariots they bound over the mountaintops, like the crackling of fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for battle. Joel 2:4-5

And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. v11-12

The demons even have a King over them (Apollyon) to keep them in line. And the demons are only permitted to torture and not kill

Abaddon/Apollyon means destruction or destroyer. Is this angel Satan himself or the Anti Christ? I don’t think so, remember the Bible never teaches that Satan controls Hell or anything. God is always in control, I believe this angel is under Gods authority

This completes only the 1rst Woe and the 5^th Trumpet

And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead, calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the remaining three angels! Revelation 8:13

Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” v13-14

The 6^th Trumpet has sounded and the 2^nd Woe will begin.  What is symbolic of the Euphrates River? Its been an important river through the Bible, it was a river in the Garden of Eden and also a River that divided the “Promise Land” to the nation of Israel. The Euphrates is the dividing line for Armageddon. When this river dries up it will enables the enemies of Israel to cross over and attack them..stay tuned

4 Angels + 4 Corners of the Earth = Entire World = 4 Horsemen (Revelation 6)

So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. v15-16

More Demons are released, and it’s says about 200 million of them! Think about that staggering number. And these demons didn’t come to just torment, they came to Kill this time. They kill 1/3 of mankind that is left on the Earth! Think about that we could be talking about millions maybe billions of people

For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. / If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. Matthew 24:21-22

And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. v17-19

Not only are these demons terrifying to look at, but they are also powerful and deadly. They obviously have more power and authority then the first batch of demons. They kill 1/3 of mankind with fire and brimstone!

Notice the color of the Horsemen Red, Blue, Yellow

Heads of Lions = power in their mouths/words

Tails like serpents = torment

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. v20-21

However despite all the death and destruction, there are still many people who will not repent! People may wonder why God would send all these plagues and demons, because God wants us all to be saved! He wants us all to repent and come to Jesus Christ!

Note original Greek word for Sorceries is Pharmakea which is where we get the word Pharmacy. There is a demonic deception and influence with drugs, beware as it alters the mind

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. v1

Finally, the 7^th and final seal is Broken. Notice this Seal is complete silence in Heaven, just like a Sabbath of Seals. God rested on the 7^th day of Creation, there is a break/silence on the 7^th seal of the great tribulation. This marks the beginning of the next phase of judgement, natural disasters,  the 7 trumpets

Half an hour- a short amount of time

(Remember from previous chapters, 7 is symbolic for completion)

In this Chapter we will only see the first 4 Trumpets sounded

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. v2-4

In this scene we see the 7 Angels (who represented the 7 Churches) and the 7 trumpets that are now given to them. Each trumpet will represent a different judgement/natural disaster upon the Earth, some of them are very similar to the plagues of Egypt. We will break them down in more detail as we go along.

Remember our prayers are collected by God and released like a sweet-smelling incense. Just think of all your heartfelt prayers to God are not only heard but are being collected and used to glorify God!

May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. Psalm 141:2

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. v5-6

The censer filled with all our prayers is now thrown down to Earth to begin massive judgement of the wicked and evil. Now all that is left is judgment for the wicked!

Notice the similarities between the Trumpets judgements and the plagues of Egypt

The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. v7

The 1rst Trumpet,  1/3^rd of the entire Earth is scorched! Imagine this scene, we see the wildfires going on in California, imagine 33% of the Earth is on fire! No green grass is left on the entire Earth! Its beginning to look like Hell on Earth already. Compared to the fire and brimstone God sent down on the Earth during the plagues of Egypt

And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. Exodus 9:23

Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. v8-9

The 2^nd Trumpet, 1/3^rd of the sea turns to Blood! 33% of everything living in the sea dies! Again very similar to the plagues of Egypt.

So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. Exodus 7:20-21

Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter. v10-11

The 3^rd Trumpet is sounded, and now 1/3^rd of all the fresh drinking water is contaminated. A great star named “Wormwood” is thrown into the water and poisons it, so what is Wormwood? Wormwood is a popular bitter herb , even still used today. So when you say “Wormwood” people generally associate it to “Bitterness”. However as we read, the water are not only Bitter but Poisonous. This will cause great distress among the Earth

Wormwood a “star” is probably a demon

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.) / So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Exodus 15:23

Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. v12

The 4^th Trumpet is sounded, and darkness is cast upon the Earth, as the Sun, Moon, and 1/3^rd of all stars are struck. Again this is very similar to the plague in Egypt where God cast darkness upon Egypt for 3 days.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” Exodus 10:21

And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!” v13

The ending of this Chapter is very interesting, the finally 3 Trumpets are known as the 3 Woes because of this warning upon the Earth. The word “Woe” in the Bible is often used to describe a Judgement that is beyond description. Jesus used the warning of Woe throughout his Ministry

As bad as the first 4 Trumpets were, the last 3 Trumpets (Woes) are going to be even worse! Get Ready!

Notice the reference to the Triune God, Woe, Woe, Woe, and Holy Holy Holy!

And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah 6:3