Revelation Chapter 9

5. Blowing of the Fifth Trumpet (Verses 1 – 12)

Verse 1

A star fallen from heaven to the earth – This is the same star we saw in the third trumpet (Rev. 8:10), representing Satan.

To him was given the key – Satan is here being given permission to release his forces of darkness.

The bottomless pit – Literally “abyss.” This word was first used in Genesis 1:2 to describe the condition of the earth before creation. It represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness. This earth is a prison for the angels who have fallen (Jude 6, Luke 8:31) and it will be the place of Satan’s imprisonment during the 1000 years (Rev. 20:1-3), after which they will receive their punishment. It is the headquarters of the demonic forces of darkness. (SOP 1)

Verse 2

Smoke arose out of the bottomless pit like the smoke of a great furnace – This is a sign of God's judgment (Genesis 19:28).

The sun and the air were darkened - This reminds us of the ninth plague upon Egypt, darkness over the land (Exodus 10:21-23). In the fourth trumpet we saw partial darkness, representing the obscuring of the gospel. Here we see the spiritual darkness intensify after Satan is permitted to unleash his demonic forces.

The sun is completely darkened, and even the air (earthly atmosphere) is darkened (Ephesians 2:2). (SOP 2)

Verse 3

Locusts came upon the earth – This reminds us of the description of the eighth plague upon Egypt (Exodus 10:13-15). Locusts bring devastation upon the land, the inevitable result of forsaking God (Deuteronomy 28:15,38, 2 Chronicles 7:13,14, Joel 1:1-4).

The locusts that arise out of the darkness represent an army used by God to punish His rebellious people (Judges 6:1,5, 7:12, Joel 2:25, 2:1-3).

To them was given power – It is God who gives these evil forces permission to do their work.

Scorpions – Scorpions inflict a painful sting but do not kill. They are used in the Bible to represent punishment upon God’s rebellious people (1 Kings 12:11, margin), or persecution of the righteous by the rebellious (Ezekiel 2:3,4,6).

Verse 4

Grass of the earth…any green thing…any tree – These are symbols representing God’s true followers (Isaiah 40:6-8, 44:3,4, Hosea 14:8, Psalm 1:3). In contrast to the wicked, they have God’s seal (Rev. 7:3) and are known and recognized by Him (2 Timothy 2:19).

This verse tells us that God’s faithful people are protected from the evil forces described in the fifth trumpet (Luke 10:19), but the wicked are not.

Verses 5, 6

Satan’s evil forces have been released to do their work, but these verses reveal that God has put a boundary upon their activities. They are allowed to torment, but not to kill.

Five months – This is the time allotted by God for them to do their work. This same time period is mentioned again in Verse 10.

Verses 7-10

These verses provide a detailed description of the locusts first introduced in Verse 3. This description is symbolic, providing insight into who they are and what they are like.

Like horses prepared for battle – In the Bible, horses are used for warfare (Joel 2:4,

Jeremiah 6:22,23, Rev. 19:11,14). These symbolic locusts are being depicted as warriors.

Crowns of something like gold – The word used here for crown is “stephanos,” meaning a wreath or prize in public games, a symbol of honor. It is not a royal crown but the victor's crown, given to overcomers (Rev. 4:4, 14:14). Notice that the crown here is described as “something like” gold,” but not the real thing. In the Bible, gold represents faith that works by love and purifies the soul (1 Peter 1:7,22). This may indicate that the false religion represented by this army lacks these attributes.

Their faces were like the faces of men – In Bible symbolism, the face often reveals character (Rev. 4:7, 10:1). These locusts have faces like men (Gr. anthropos, or human beings) indicating this army is human.

They had hair like women’s hair – Their long hair is a symbol of their great strength (Judges 16:17).

Their teeth were like lion’s teeth – Their teeth represent their ferocity and great cruelty toward their enemies (Psalm 22:13,21, Joel 1:6, Daniel 7:5,7, Rev. 13:2).

Breastplates like breastplates of iron – Iron symbolizes strength. A breastplate of iron suggests impregnability.

The sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle – This is taken from Joel’s description of God’s army (Joel 2:4,5). See also 2 Kings 7:6,7, Ezekiel 1:24.

Tails like scorpions…there were stings in their tails – The tail is a symbol of deception by means of persuasion, which Satan used to mislead one-third of the angels (Isaiah 9:15, Rev. 12:4, Ezekiel 28:16 {the word “trading” used in Ezekiel means “slander” or “talebearer”}).

Their power was to hurt men five months – This is prophetic time, representing a period of 150 years. (The Jewish month was 30 days x 5 months = 150 days. A prophetic day represents a literal year in symbolic prophecy (Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34)).

Verse 11

The king over the locusts is Satan (see Vs. 1). The name Abaddon means “destruction” and Apollyon means “one who destroys.”

Verse 12

John ends the fifth trumpet with a warning of the two terrible woes still to come.

The symbolism used in the Fifth Trumpet is very detailed and complex. What does it represent? Historically, Adventists have understood the fifth trumpet to represent the Moslems. Out of the darkness that resulted from the rise of the Papacy to power, the Moslem religion arose and gradually took over the area of the world first evangelized by the early Christians. Even today one would be hard pressed to find a Christian church there, but Moslem mosques are prevalent everywhere.

The Moslem religion is evangelistic in nature, and the Koran teaches that all non-Moslems must accept either Allah or the sword. Because of this teaching, the Moslem armies became the scourge of the eastern Roman Empire and the apostate church of Rome during much of the Dark Ages. (Remember that it was the Roman Empire that originally gave Papal Rome her power, and continued to give her military support during her rule.) This was the time of the crusades, when Rome responded to these Moslem attacks by so-called “holy wars.”

The prophetic period of 150 years began on July 27, 1299 and ended on July 27, 1449, a time when the Moslem armies “tormented” the Roman (Byzantine) Empire by repeatedly trying to conquer it, but were unable.

6. Blowing of the Sixth Trumpet (Verses 13 – 21)

Verse 13

John hears a voice coming from the four horns on the altar of incense. Who or what is speaking? Every time a sin offering was made, the four horns of the Golden Altar were touched with the blood of the sacrifice (Leviticus 4:7,18,25,30,34). This act was a reminder of the power of Jesus’ blood that makes His intercession for the sinner powerful and effective. The voice coming from the horns of the altar represents that Jesus is responding to the cries of His persecuted people (see Rev. 6:9,10).

Verse 14

Release the four angels who are bound – This reminds us of the four angels who are holding back the four winds to prevent strife and destruction until God’s people are sealed (Rev. 7:1-3). But these angels appear to be counterparts of the four angels in Revelation 7. They have been restrained from their work of destruction to this point, but now God is releasing them.

The great river Euphrates – The Euphrates River ran under the city of Babylon. In Revelation, the Euphrates is used to represent the peoples and nations who support modern Babylon (see Rev. 17:1,5,15), the Church of Rome.

From these symbols, we can see that God is further releasing the demonic forces to punish those who are supporting spiritual Babylon.

Verse 15

Hour and day and month and year – In prophetic time (a day equals a year), this prophetic time period would equal 391 years, 15 days.

To kill a third of mankind – Under the fifth trumpet, the demonic forces were only allowed to torment men. Now they are being given permission to kill a third of mankind. This indicates that God is further removing His protective power and allowing the demonic forces to do their work of destruction.

Verse 16

Army of the horsemen – This is apparently the same army we saw in the fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:7,9). The four angels were released to kill in verse 15, but it appears that their work of destruction is accomplished through this army.

Two hundred million; I heard the number of them – Compare with Rev. 7:4,9; 20:8. This gigantic army of Satan appears to be the counterpart of God’s sealed people, the 144,000.

Verse 17

Verses 17-19 describe the horses of this army. As in the fifth trumpet, this description is symbolic.

The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions – This symbol suggests that the army has the same ferocity as Satan (1 Peter 5:8).

Breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow - These colors correspond to the fire, smoke and brimstone coming out of their mouths.

Verse 18

Fire, smoke and brimstone are here identified as plagues. We see these same elements when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Genesis 19:24,28), and when the wicked are destroyed in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 14:10,11). These plagues came out of their mouths, indicating that what they speak results in eternal destruction.

Verse 19

Their power is in their mouth and in their tails – The mouth symbolizes their words and the tail is a symbol of deception by means of persuasion (Rev. 12:4). This indicates a spiritual battle, with false and deceptive words that result in destruction (compare with Rev. 13:5, 16:13).

Their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm – Their deceptive reasoning is compared with that of Satan, when he deceived the angels in heaven and Adam and Eve on earth.

Verses 20,21

The sixth trumpet has brought death to many, but the survivors refuse to repent. They are being controlled and tormented by demons, yet they continue to serve them.

The sins mentioned in these verses are the product of idolatry (Daniel 5:23, Romans 1:18-23, Rev. 21:8, 22:15).

The sixth trumpet is a continuation and worsening of the conditions under the fifth trumpet. Historically, Adventists have understood the sixth trumpet to represent the Moslems after they organized into the Ottoman Empire. They finally succeeded in conquering the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in 1453, and continued to be a scourge upon the Church of Rome. At one point they saved the Protestant Reformation in Germany by attacking the German armies and distracting them. (SOP 3)

The hour, day, month and year (see under vs. 15) is the time of the rule of the Ottoman Empire, from July 27, 1449 to August 11, 1840. (SOP 4)

Although the descriptions found in the fifth and sixth trumpets apparently refer specifically to the Moslems, we must not overlook a much broader picture given in these trumpets. The fifth trumpet begins by depicting Satan spreading darkness over the entire world. This darkness included much more than the Moslem religion. During this time, Satan also worked through many other means to deepen the spiritual and moral darkness, bringing misery and death. Here are just a few examples:

During the Dark Ages, science and education were suppressed. Many were illiterate. There was great ignorance of the basic laws of health, and plagues such as the Black Death killed millions.

Suppression of the Bible resulted in the weakening of Christianity and the rise of many false religions, including Islam. The dark ages also saw the rise of philosophies such as rationalism, skepticism and humanism, with the final product of secularism.

All of these things and more finally culminated in the French Revolution, which ended the rule of the Church of Rome. (We will study more about the French Revolution in Revelation 11.) From the French Revolution there arose atheism, evolution and spiritualism, which today has spread over the entire world.

So the fifth and sixth trumpets cover all of these things Satan has used to devastate our world, spiritually, morally and physically.

Spirit of Prophecy Quotations

1 “That the expression ‘bottomless pit’ represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness, is evident from other scriptures.” – The Great Controversy, page 658.

2 “The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. . . . The gospel was lost sight of, but the forms of religion were multiplied, and the people were burdened with rigorous exactions. . . . The darkness seemed to grow more dense. Image worship became more general. Candles were burned before images, and prayers were offered to them. The most absurd and superstitious customs prevailed. The minds of men were so completely controlled by superstition that reason itself seemed to have lost its sway. . . . But “the noon of the papacy was the midnight of the world.” (Quoted from J. A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, b. I, ch. 4.) The Holy Scriptures were almost unknown, not only to the people, but to the priests. Like the Pharisees of old, the papal leaders hated the light which would reveal their sins. God’s law, the standard of righteousness, having been removed, they exercised power without limit, and practiced vice without restraint. Fraud, avarice, and profligacy prevailed. Men shrank from no crime by which they could gain wealth or position. The palaces of popes and prelates were scenes of the vilest debauchery. Some of the reigning pontiffs were guilty of crimes so revolting that secular rulers endeavored to depose these dignitaries of the church as monsters too vile to be tolerated. For centuries Europe had made no progress in learning, arts, or civilization. A moral and intellectual paralysis had fallen upon Christendom.” – The Great Controversy, pages 55, 57, 60.

3 “A dark and threatening day had come for the Reformation. Notwithstanding the Edict of Worms, declaring Luther to be an outlaw and forbidding the teaching or belief of his doctrines, religious toleration had thus far prevailed in the empire. God’s providence had held in check the forces that opposed the truth. Charles V was bent on crushing the Reformation, but often as he raised his hand to strike he had been forced to turn aside the blow. Again and again the immediate destruction of all who dared to oppose themselves to Rome appeared inevitable; but at the critical moment the armies of the Turk [the Moslems] appeared on the eastern frontier, or the king of France, or even the pope himself, jealous of the increasing greatness of the emperor, made war upon him; and thus, amid the strife and tumult of nations, the Reformation had been left to strengthen and extend.” – The Great Controversy, page 197.

4 “In the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the second advent, published an exposition of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire. According to his calculations, this power was to be overthrown “in A. D. 1840, sometime in the month of August;” and only a few days previous to its accomplishment he wrote: “Allowing the first period, 150 years, to have been exactly fulfilled before Deacozes ascended the throne by permission of the Turks, and that the 391 years, fifteen days, commenced at the close of the first period, it will end on the 11th of August, 1840, when the Ottoman power in Constantinople may be expected to be broken. And this, I believe, will be found to be the case.” (Quoted from Josiah Litch, in Signs of the Times, and Expositor of Prophecy, Aug. 1, 1840.)

“At the very time specified, Turkey, through her ambassadors, accepted the protection of the allied powers of Europe, and thus placed herself under the control of Christian nations. The event exactly fulfilled the prediction. When it became known, multitudes were convinced of the correctness of the principles of prophetic interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates, and a wonderful impetus was given to the advent movement. Men of learning and position united with Miller, both in preaching and in publishing his views, and from 1840 to 1844 the work rapidly extended.” – The Great Controversy, pages 334, 335.