Lesson 12
8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a
golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with
the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before
the throne; 4 and the smoke of the incense rose with the
prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before
God. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with
fire from the altar and threw it on the earth; and there
were peals of thunder, voices, flashes of lightning, and an
earthquake. 6 Now the seven angels who had the seven
trumpets made ready to blow them.
As we saw with an earlier altar, the altar in these
verses again is likely intended to depict a combination of
altars from the Old Testament.
The altar in verse 3 looks like the golden altar of
incense that stood before the curtain leading to the holy
of holies in the temple. In a sense that altar also stood
before the throne of God since God was often pictured as
sitting enthroned upon the cherubim that were on the ark in
the holy of holies. (See Exodus 25:17–22.)
The altar in verse 5 looks like the brazen altar of
burnt offering from which the coals were taken for the
incense offering. The judges of Israel marched from this
altar in Ezekiel 9:1–2.
Incense is often used to represent prayers, and we have
already seen that same image earlier in this book. (See
5:8.) We are again reminded of Psalm 141:2 ― “Let my prayer
be counted as incense before thee.” But here we see incense
that is mingled with prayers. What does that mean? One
commentary suggests the incense in this context denotes the
intercession of Christ on our behalf as we pray to God in
his name. Recall Romans 8:34 ― “Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.” Also, here we see the prayers of all
the saints, as opposed to the prayers of the martyrs that
we saw earlier.
These verses reveal the heavenly response to the prayers
of these suffering Christians coming up from the earth to
God. We are reminded of the concluding comments to Jesus’
parable about prayer in Luke 18:7-8 ― “And shall not God
avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him,
though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will
avenge them speedily.” Everywhere we turn we are reminded
of our timeframe!
Why does the angel throw the contents of the censer on
the earth? It is the heavenly response to the prayers of
all the saints. Their prayers will be answered, and
judgment is coming for the enemies of God who dwell on the
earth. We see a similar image in Ezekiel 10:2, where it
precedes an approaching judgment by God against Jerusalem
―
And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among
the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim; fill your
hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and
scatter them over the city.”
Here we have the same picture: God’s people are safe in
heaven. God’s enemies are on the earth. The judgment on
earth is about to begin. And, as before, thunder,
lightning, and earthquakes are used to depict the impending
judgment of God.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed
hail and fire, mixed with blood, which fell on the earth;
and a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the
trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Trumpets are used in the Bible to depict an intervention
by God into the affairs of men. The events on Mount Sinai
were accompanied by a very loud trumpet blast. (Exodus
19:16, 19) Trumpets also sound in Isaiah 27:13, Joel 2:1,
Zephaniah 1:16, and Zechariah 9:14. The intervention by God
against Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was described in Matthew 24:31
as being accompanied by the great sound of a trumpet.
The final great intervention by God into the affairs of
men at the end of all time will also involve a trumpet.
Recall 1 Corinthians 15:52 ―
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
And see, also, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 ―
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Likewise, the trumpet in verse 7 also heralds the coming
of God onto the stage of mankind, but here the target is
Rome.
Trumpets serve three primary purposes: Trumpets sound a
warning alarm; Trumpets play a fanfare to announce the
arrival of royalty; Trumpets summon people to battle. Each
of those purposes is likely involved with the use of
trumpets here, but the main purpose appears to be for
sounding a warning alarm.
The hail and fire remind us of the plagues against
Egypt, which are the origin of many of the symbols used in
these verses. In Exodus 9:24 we read: “So there was hail,
and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as
there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it
became a nation.”
Why are only a third affected? As we discussed before,
these trumpets are intended to warn. This trumpet is not a
bowl. Bowls, as we will see, pour out God’s final judgments
against Rome. As with the earlier seals, these trumpets
depict partial judgments that warn of the impending doom to
come.
Why a third and not a half or a fourth? There may be no
particular reason why a third was chosen over some other
fraction. It may simply be that a third represents a large
portion but a portion that is still less than half. We may
also be seeing thirds because we have three waves of sevens
— seals, trumpets, and bowls — each of which takes away a
third until nothing is left.
It is also possible that the use of a third here comes
from its use in Zechariah 13:8–9 ―
In the whole land, says the LORD, two thirds shall be
cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And
I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one
refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will
call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They
are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my
God.’”
Also compare Ezekiel 5:12 ―
A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and
with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee:
and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee;
and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I
will draw out a sword after them.
As with the seals, we should not try to attach a
specific chronology to the trumpets. They are part of the
overall picture. We have already discussed how Revelation
is in some ways like a painting from God. You do not look
at a painting as you would a timeline. A painting is
spatial rather than temporal. Remember that we have already
seen the saints emerge victorious from the events that are
now being described.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like
a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the
sea; 9 and a third of the sea became blood, a third of the
living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships
were destroyed.
With the second trumpet, we see a great burning mountain
thrown into the sea. Once again, this trumpet affects only
a third of what it touches. We have not yet reached the
bowls of God’s wrath.
God’s power is often described with images involving
mountains:
• Zechariah 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before
Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain.
• Amos 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and
createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his
thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth
upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of
hosts, is his name.
• Micah 1:4 And the mountains shall be molten under him,
and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and
as the waters that are poured down a steep place.
Mountains are also sometimes used to depict kingdoms.
Jeremiah 51, for example, describes Babylon as a destroying
mountain that will become a burnt mountain, and Isaiah 2
describes the Lord’s kingdom as the highest of the
mountains.
• Jeremiah 51:25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying
mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth:
and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee
down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt
mountain.
• Isaiah 2:2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be
established as the highest of the mountains.
The mountain in verse 8 also represents a kingdom, but
rather than Babylon, this mountain represents Rome. As with
the mountain in Jeremiah 51, this one also becomes a burnt
mountain, but this mountain is cast into the sea.
Where else do we find a mountain being thrown into the
sea? Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 21:21– “Verily I
say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not
only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye
shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the sea; it shall be done.”
We often speak of faith that is able to move mountains.
The early Christians had that faith! They prayed to God
that the mountain of Rome would be cast into the sea, and
it was. One of the recurring themes in this book is the
power of prayer, and perhaps nowhere is that power better
illustrated than here in verse 8.
Verse 9 tells us what happened to the sea after that
great burning mountain was cast into it. What does the sea
represent? If the mountain is Rome, then the sea likely
denotes the mass of humanity that made up Rome. Rome’s
judgment would affect not only Rome, but would affect all
who depended on Rome. It’s ultimate fall was followed by
what we now call the dark ages.
Finally, we once again have an interesting historical
comparison with Rome. (Recall our earlier comments about
the uses of such historical comparisons.) Some commentators
see a similarity between the flaming mountain cast into the
sea and the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in August
of A.D. 79, which was shortly after Revelation was
written.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star
fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a
third of the rivers and on the fountains of water. 11 The
name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became
wormwood, and many men died of the water, because it was
made bitter.
With the third trumpet, a great star falls and strikes
the drinking water. Again, we are reminded of the Egyptian
plagues and the water of the Nile becoming blood.
A star is often used in the Bible to indicate a divine
visitation. The greatest visitation in Matthew 2:2 was
accompanied by a “star in the east.” In Matthew 24:29,
God’s coming in judgment against Jerusalem was described
with the phrase “the stars will fall from heaven.” We have
also seen this image before in Revelation. The sixth seal
in 6:13 was described as stars falling to earth. A falling
star often depicts the judgment of God upon the earth.
But falling stars don’t just remind us of divine
visitations and divine judgments. They also remind us of
Satan, about whom Jesus said in Luke 10:18, “I beheld Satan
as lightning fall from heaven.” We are also reminded of
Isaiah 14:12 ― “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,
son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!”
We will soon see that although Satan plays a role in
these events, he plays a role that has been scripted by
God. Satan is a defeated enemy, and God will use Satan in
the judgments against Rome. Also, we should recall that
Satan’s fall appears to have been due to his pride, and
Rome was also guilty of great arrogance and pride.
Why is the star named Wormwood? Better yet, what is
wormwood? Wormwood is a plant whose juice is very bitter.
It was offered to the false prophets in Jeremiah 23:15
―
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the
prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and give
them poisoned water to drink; for from the prophets of
Jerusalem ungodliness has gone forth into all the
land.”
Barclay tells us that “wormwood always stood for the
bitterness of the judgment of God on the disobedient.”
Hailey: “When men prefer the bitter waters of idolatry to
the fountains of the living water, they will receive these
bitter waters with the fatal consequences that follow.”
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the
sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the
stars, so that a third of their light was darkened; a third
of the day was kept from shining, and likewise a third of
the night.
The fourth trumpet, as did the sixth seal, affects the
sun, the moon, and the stars. As we have already discussed,
such language is often used to depict impending judgments.
In Isaiah 34:4-5 it is used to describe a judgment against
Edom. In Isaiah 13:10, 13 it is used to describe the fall
of Babylon. In Joel 2:10 it is used to describe a judgment
against Judah.
What is the source of this imagery? The heavenly bodies
testify to the greatness and power of God and to the
comparative insignificance of man.
• Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and
the firmament sheweth his handywork.
• Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider thy heavens, the work of
thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast
ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and
the son of man, that thou visitest him?
• Psalm 148:3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him,
all ye stars of light.
• Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse.
Why then are they darkened? Because these symbols of joy
are ashamed at the wickedness of men, and they refuse to
shine their light on those who are rebelling against God.
Their darkening is a symbolic picture of the total darkness
that engulfs any society that turns its back on God and
casts the word of God behind its back. And history tells us
that before total darkness descends, there will always be
the sound of warning trumpets. Can you hear them today?
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a
loud voice, as it flew in midheaven, “Woe, woe, woe to
those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other
trumpets which the three angels are about to blow!”
Where the KJV has “angel,” most translations have
“eagle,” which appears to have better textual support. The
expression “mid-heaven” means the zenith of the sky, that
part where the sun is at midday. As Barclay says, “here we
have a dramatic and eerie picture of an empty sky and a
solitary eagle winging its way across its zenith,
forewarning of the doom to come.” Phillips says that “a
solitary eagle flying in midheaven, crying out in pity for
the inhabitants of the earth, is out of its context bizarre
but set as it is it is almost unbearably poignant.”
But the Greek word translated “eagle” can also mean
“vulture.” For example, the same Greek word is found in
Matthew 24:28, where in the KJV we read, “For wheresoever
the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together,” and in the ESV we read, “Wherever the corpse is,
there the vultures will gather.” Why do most translations
use “eagle” here but use “vulture” in Matthew 24 for the
same Greek word? Because it is not the same Greek word —
one is singular and the other is plural. Eagles typically
fly alone, while vultures typically do not. One rarely
hears of a lone vulture, but if that was what was intended
here then the image moves from being eerie to being
incredibly eerie!
This imagery of trumpets and eagles may be pointing back
to Hosea 8:1 ― “Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come
as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they
have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my
law.”
The seven seals we saw earlier contained warnings. The
seven trumpets likewise contain warnings. Why? So no one
can ever say to God, “I didn’t know.” And that is a message
for us as well. We also have been given many warnings about
the judgment to come. With so many people in this world
starving for the word of God, I shudder to think what is in
store for those who sit in worship assemblies of the Lord’s
church week after week and yet refuse to obey the gospel.
How many warnings have they failed to heed?
Recall our earlier discussion about “those who dwell
upon the earth.” That phrase is used in this book to depict
the ungodly. It is used in contrast to the saints who are
pictured as “dwelling in heaven.” When used in this manner,
heaven and earth depict states rather than locations. We
are reminded of Colossians 3:1-2 ―
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the
things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right
hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not
on things that are on earth.
In a sense, God’s people “dwell in heaven” even while
still on the earth! Our minds and hearts are set on things
above. Some day we will dwell there literally. For now, we
dwell there spiritually.
Chapter Nine
1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star
fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key of
the shaft of the bottomless pit; 2 he opened the shaft of
the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the
smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were
darkened with the smoke from the shaft.
With the fifth trumpet, we see the first of the three
woes proclaimed by the eagle in 8:13. The previous trumpets
included terrors from nature, but we now begin to see
terrors from beyond nature. This is also the first trumpet
that directly affects man. The first four affected man only
indirectly through his environment.
The star fallen from heaven is spoken of as “he” who has
been given a key of the shaft of the bottomless pit; that
is, he has been given authority over the pit. He opens the
shaft of the bottomless pit and causes darkness to cover
the sun. This fallen star most likely represents Satan. In
Luke 10:18, Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven.” Lenski dissents from this view, arguing
instead that the star is simply the personification of the
judgment that is coming from God. In my opinion, however,
this fallen star is Satan.
The bottomless pit or the abyss is where the demons and
the ungodly are consigned. We see a similar image in Isaiah
24:21-22 ―
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD
shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high,
and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall
be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit,
and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days
shall they be visited.
We are also reminded of Luke 8:30-31 ―
Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he
said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And
they begged Him that He would not command them to go out
into the abyss.
We know that Satan has been judged and cast out. (John
12:31, 16:11) And yet, Satan is called the ruler of this
world. (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11) He is called the prince
of the power of the air. (Ephesians 2:2) And we are told
that Satan has the power of death. (Hebrews 2:14) Where did
Satan get this power?
Just as God used Babylon to judge Judah, Assyria to
judge Israel, Babylon to judge Assyria, Cyrus to judge
Babylon, and Rome to judge Jerusalem, God is using Satan
here in his judgment of Rome. Satan is a defeated enemy!
Satan is doing what God commands! If Satan has any power,
it is power granted him by God. Satan is on a leash!
Look at verse 1. It says that Satan “was given the key
of the shaft of the bottomless pit.” Satan was permitted to
open that pit, but he could not have done so absent that
permission from God. Satan does not even have the key to
his own house unless God gives it to him!
A dark cloud of smoke is seen rising from the pit to
darken the sky. This image reminds us of 2 Corinthians
4:3-4 ―
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to
those who are perishing. In their case the god of this
world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep
them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the likeness of God.
Satan blinds people’s minds to keep them from seeing the
light of the gospel. The smoke from the pit most likely
depicts the spiritual and moral blindness that Satan
causes. Note that this is a punishment from God. Moral and
spiritual blindness is a disease that destroys the heart of
a person or a nation. The Bible often depicts such a
condition as a punishment from God:
• Romans 1:24–28 Wherefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to
dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections:
for even their women did change the natural use into that
which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving
the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one
toward another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of
their error which was meet. And even as they did not like
to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a
reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
What we see here is a vivid picture of moral and
spiritual decay. Does this fit with what happened to Rome?
According to Gibbon one of the four primary reasons behind
the eventual collapse of the Roman empire was inner
decadence.
Francis Schaeffer wrote the following in this
regard:
As the Empire ground down, the decadent Romans were
given to a thirst for violence and a gratification of the
senses... . ... Apathy was the chief mark of the late
Empire... . As the Roman economy slumped lower and lower,
burdened with an aggravated inflation and a costly
government, authoritarianism increased to counter the
apathy. Since work was no longer done voluntarily, it was
brought increasingly under the authority of the state, and
freedoms were lost. For example, laws were passed binding
small farmers to their land. So, because of the general
apathy and its results, and because of oppressive control,
few thought the old civilization worth saving. Rome did not
fall because of external forces such as the invasion by the
barbarians. Rome had no sufficient inward base; the
barbarians only completed the breakdown—and Rome gradually
became a ruin.
The lowering of moral standards contributed directly to
the decline and fall of the Roman empire. Schaeffer says
that Rome fell because it did not have a sufficient inner
base. Daniel told us the same thing 600 years earlier in
Daniel 2:41-42 when he described the inner weakness of the
yet future Roman empire ―
And as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay
and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some
of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw
iron mixed with the miry clay. And as the toes of the feet
were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be
partly strong and partly brittle.
Also, recall Proverbs 14:34 ― “Righteousness exalts a
nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” What does
this all say to us today? Is the moral base of our country
growing stronger or is it weakening? Are we being exalted
by righteousness? Or are we suffering under the reproach of
sin? As we study the judgment of Rome, we should pause to
notice the growing similarities between Rome and our own
country, from the sexual promiscuity to the glorification
of violence and greed. Rome began as an instrument for God
to use in the proclamation of the gospel, as did our own
country. We had a similar beginning in the plan of God.
Will we face a similar end? Perhaps our study of warning
trumpets is more relevant than we would care to think.
3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and
they were given power like the power of scorpions of the
earth; 4 they were told not to harm the grass of the earth
or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind
who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads; 5 they
were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to
kill them, and their torture was like the torture 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 will fly from them. 7 In appearance the
locusts were like horses arrayed for battle; on their heads
were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like
human faces, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their
teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 they had scales like iron
breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the
noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10
They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and their power
of hurting men for five months lies in their tails. 11 They
have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his
name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called
Apollyon. 12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are
still to come.
From the abyss comes a terrible invasion of locusts.
Barclay writes: “The devastation locusts can inflict and
the terror they can cause is well-nigh incredible. All
through the Old Testament the locust is the symbol of
destruction; and the most vivid and terrible description of
them and of their destructiveness is in the first two
chapters of Joel. ... [Those] two chapters of Joel should
be read in full and set beside the description in
Revelation.”
Barclay, referring to Driver’s commentary on Joel, sets
out the following facts about locusts and locust
invasions:
The locusts breed in desert places and invade the
cultivated lands for food. They may be about two inches in
length, with a wing span of four to five inches. ... They
will travel in a column a hundred feet deep and as much as
four miles long. When such a cloud of locusts appears, it
is as if there had been an eclipse of the sun and even
great buildings less than two hundred feet away cannot be
seen.
The destruction they cause is beyond belief. When they
have left an area, not a blade of grass is to be seen; the
trees are stripped of their bark. Land where the locusts
have settled looks as if it had been scorched with a bush
fire; not one single living thing is left...
When they move, they move inexorably on like an army
with leaders. People have dug trenches, lit fires, and even
fired cannon in an attempt to stop them but without
success; they come on in a steady column which climbs
hills, enters houses and leaves scorched earth behind.
But these locusts are not ordinary locusts. Ordinary
locusts attack vegetation, but these locusts are
specifically told to attack men instead. In fact, in verse
4 they are instructed not to attack vegetation, but rather
to attack only those men who have not received the seal on
their foreheads.
Who is behind this terrible judgment? Verses 2–3 tell us
that the locusts come up out of the pit, and verse 11 tells
us that their king is the angel of the pit. His name in
verse 11 means destroyer in both Greek and Hebrew. That
sounds like Satan.
And yet in verse 1 we see that a trumpet from heaven
starts everything. So who is behind this? God or Satan? The
answer is that God is behind it because it is a judgment
against Rome. Satan is involved, however. God is using
Satan to punish Rome, just as he will one day use Satan to
punish everyone who is ungodly. Satan is seen here as God’s
instrument of punishment and judgment.
A common misconception today is that God and Satan are
somehow locked in a battle of good versus evil, the outcome
of which is uncertain. That is not the case at all. Satan
is a created being, and Satan is used by God when and how
God sees fit. Satan is just one more tool that God uses in
his judgment of the Roman empire.
Jesus told us in John 12:31-32 that Satan was defeated
at the cross.
Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler
of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men to myself.
Jesus’ death judged the world, not Jesus. Jesus’ death
defeated Satan, not Jesus. Jesus’ death draws, not repels,
all men. Satan was defeated by an event that he probably,
at least for a moment, thought was going to be his greatest
triumph. Jesus was not what the Jews expected. I don’t
think Jesus was what Satan expected either!
There is much confusion about Satan in the world today.
Satan is not omnipotent. Satan is not omnipresent. Satan
has limitations. In fact, verse 5 tells us that Satan and
his agents do not have unlimited power even over evil men!
That day may come, but it has not yet come — and is there
any better description of Hell than the place where God at
last turns his back on the ungodly and allows Satan free
reign to do whatsoever he wills? As bad as this situation
now is for Rome, it is not that bad yet.
This fifth trumpet brings torment but not death. The
torment it brings, however, is so extreme that those
afflicted seek death. Gallus said, “Worse than any wound is
to wish to die and yet not be able to do so.” And recall
Job 3:20-22 ―
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and
life unto the bitter in soul; Which long for death, but it
cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find
the grave?
The reference to scorpions in this context reminds us of
Luke 10:19 ― “Behold, I give you the authority to trample
on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” And so
once again, as we saw with faith to move mountains,
Revelation sheds some interesting light on a difficult
passage from the gospels.
What do the 5 months in verse 5 depict? Some
commentators say that this is the usual duration of a
locust plague or the length of the dry season when the
locusts generally came. Others tell us that 5 months is the
average lifespan of a locust so that what we have here is
one generation of locusts. Bullinger says that the number 5
depicts the grace of God in the Bible, in which case it may
symbolize those who are marked during this time and are not
the target of this judgment. (His case for the link between
grace and the number 5 is not very good, however.) Swete
thinks the number is used simply to give definiteness to
the picture.
The locusts are described in terms that are both
beautiful and terrifying. Can something from Satan’s
bottomless pit be beautiful? Decadence often hides its
destructive power with a thin veneer of beauty. Its looks
attractive to the outer man while it devours the inner man
with its “teeth of a lion” as in verse 8. Recall 1 Peter
5:8 ―
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion, seeking some one to devour.
And remember 2 Corinthians 11:14 ―
For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of
light.
Sin is most dangerous when we don’t recognize it as
such. Recall Hebrews 3:12-13 ― “Beware, brethren, lest
there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in
departing from the living God; but exhort one another
daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Verse 4 gives us more evidence that God is in control of
this judgment. It says that those sealed with the mark of
God in Chapter 7 in anticipation of the tribulation were
not harmed. Recall our earlier comments about the vast
difference between suffering with the guilty and suffering
because you are guilty. The decadence and moral decay of
Rome was not a punishment against God’s people but it did
affect God’s people. Many lost their lives because of it.
They were harmed physically, but not spiritually.
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