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This chapter consists of two more trumpets that are to sound. There are three to go but this chapter only tells of two of these trumpets. These last three trumpets will be the three "woes" that the angel warned about in Chapter 8 verse 13: And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Remember the trumpets are not complete without the vials of wrath of the same number. In other words the fifth trumpet must be put together with the fifth vial of wrath in order to understand the mysteries that are hidden in it. The fifth trumpet is a plague of locusts that will last for five months and will torment and terrify the people of the Antichrist nations. They will not harm any of God’s children because they are sealed by the blood of Jesus through faith. The fifth vial of wrath is the same event and pinpoints who this wrath is to fall on. A plague of darkness comes to cover the entire land of the Antichrist nations making it very difficult for them. The stings of the locust will cause them to want to seek death and not find it.

The sixth trumpet is a combination of several things and is the second woe. It is easy to see why it is the second woe because it will erupt into world war three beginning with battles at the river Euphrates. According to the sixth vial of wrath the river Euphrates will be dried up so that the kings of the East can come. According to the sixth trumpet there will be a 200,000 men involved in these battles. The kings of the Earth are often interpreted as being China. I believe that it could include other eastern nations such as North Korea, Vietnam and Eastern Islands that hate Christianity. This will end with these armies being gathered together close to Jerusalem at the time of the rapture of the Church. They will have captured a third of the city as the struggle for this city intensifies the rapture will occur and will be followed quickly by the third woe which is the return of Christ and his armies from heaven to defeat the Antichrist and his nations.

1: And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
The fifth angel is the fifth angel of the seven that stood before the throne of God holding the trumpets from chapter eight. John then saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth. This star was an angel just as the star in the fourth seal was an angel. This angel has been given the key to the bottomless pit. Christ is the possessor of this key, he holds the keys to death, hell and the grave and it would be ridiculous to believe that he doesn’t possess this key as well. He has given this key to this angel and he is in charge of the bottomless pit just as Joseph was keeper of the prison gate in Egypt.

We see this angel again when he chains Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit (Rev. 20: 1). He is called the destroyer because he is the destroyer of evil as a servant of God.

2:And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
The angel then unlocks the door to the bottomless pit and out of it comes this great smoke. It is described as being like the smoke from a great furnace. This smoke causes a great darkness to come.

Remember that we must place this together with the fifth vial of wrath found in Revelation 16:
10: And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11: And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

This smoke is unleashed on the Antichrist and his seat of authority. This darkness comes just like the curse that filled the land of Egypt during God’s plagues on them to deliver the children of Israel. Just as all of Egypt was in darkness except for Goshen where the Israelites lived this will happen to the nations of the Antichrist. This will only affect the ten nations that he is ruler of. Remember he does not rule the whole world, only 1/4^th of it.

3: And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
These locusts will come out of the smoke. Many have tried to describe these locusts as being helicopters or soldiers but I believe they really are locusts but they are demonic. They come out of the pit upon or into the ten nations of the Antichrist. The power they are given is to sting men with their tails. I believe that these locusts are terrible demonic creatures that God has been preserving in the bottomless pit just for this purpose. The purpose being that they are to torment the Antichrist and his people because they are killing his elect. These locusts will be different from any locusts that have ever been, mainly because of being created just for this purpose. Them being locusts is also comparable to one of the plagues in Egypt.

4: And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
The grass, the green things and trees are the normal source of food for locusts. Their natural instinct is supernaturally restrained to mark that this judgment comes from God. They will not be allowed to hurt any of God’s people, not just the 144,000. All of God’s people are sealed from his wrath by the blood of Jesus. This is one of the identifying factors in this trumpet. This actually tells us that this event is God’s wrath, not the Devils.

The angel who has unleashed this belongs to God not the Devil. The fact that the wrath is not allowed to touch those who are sealed is similar to the plagues that fell in Egypt at the time of Moses. All of these plagues fell on Egypt, yet not a single one of them touched any of the children of Israel. God’s children are persecuted by the Devil but are protected from the wrath of God.

5: And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
They, the Locusts are told not to kill the people of the Antichrist but are given the authority to torment him and his people for five months. Five months is the ordinary time in the year during which locusts continue their ravages. If stung by one of the stingers on these locusts it will hurt as bad as being stung by a scorpion. This can be very painful especially if bitten very often.

6: And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Remember that we must place this together with the fifth vial of wrath found in Revelation 16:
10: And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11: And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

The reason that these people seek death and cannot find it is because they want to be free from the pain and sores created by the stings from these locusts. God will not allow them to kill themselves because he is saving them for his final judgment on the unrighteous.

7: And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
The description of these locusts is unlike any locusts that we have ever seen or heard of. There is a reason that God doesn’t use ordinary locusts to perform this torment. The reason being that these locusts are a sign or a trumpet to warn the nations that the end is near, if they were ordinary it would be easy for people to dismiss these locusts as just a natural phenomena.

Their description needs some thought, but they are described in these scriptures so that when this particular plague of locusts come that everyone will recognize what they are, which is an act of wrath from God.

They looked like horses prepared for battle which means that they appeared to be wearing armor. This is not unusual seeing as the common locusts in America appear to be wearing armor. The heads of the locust actually appear to look as a crown with a gold appearance. Their faces are in the likeness of that of men. It doesn’t say that they have the faces of men but that they are similar in appearance. These locusts are the creation of God’s supernatural power and they supernatural in appearance.

8: And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
This means that these locusts were very hairy on their legs, long hair such as some caterpillars have. Their teeth were the teeth of lions. Joel once described the enemies of Israel has having teeth as lions to describe their fierceness or ferocity (Joel 1: 6).

9: And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
This scripture describes the breastplates that protected the locust underbelly as being strong like iron but did not say that they were actually made of iron. The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots and many horses running to battle. This simply describes what the sound of these locusts sound like at the time they are all flying together in a swarm. A normal swarm of locusts makes a very loud noise, these being larger and being a supernatural demonic creation will make a much louder sound than that of normal locusts.

10: And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
They had tails like unto scorpions, which does not mean that they looked exactly like the tail of a scorpion but was to describe the location of their stingers. The length of their stay on this earth will only be five months and then it will end. Many theologians believe that these locusts are demonic because they come from the abyss or bottomless pit. The angel that is called king over them in the next verse has been keeping them prisoner in the bottomless pit.

11: And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
This describes the one who has the authority to release or seal up these locusts, to open or shut the door to the bottomless pit. He is called king over them, not because he leads them but because he has complete authority over them.

Abaddon means perdition or destruction and the name Apollyon means destroyer and is defined as being the angel of the bottomless pit. The one thing to bear in mind is that it is God that is responsible for this plague of darkness and tormenting locusts. This is not the work of Satan but of the angel that God had sent to bring this destruction. Jesus himself taught that Satan was not divided against Satan. This he taught so that we would realize that the Devil is smart enough not to divide his own house. This wrath is poured out on the nations that worship the Antichrist. Satan lives in side of this man and is being worshipped by these people that have suffered this plague.

The angel in this verse is the same angel in Rev. 20: 1 that chains up Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit. This angel is the destroyer of evil as a servant of God.

12: One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
All of these trumpets that are also the vials of wrath are a signal or warning of the coming end to the nations to look at or hear about so that they can repent. The woes that are coming are the sixth and seventh trumpets. The sixth seal is the second woe. There will be a number of events during this second woe. World War Three will erupt starting at the river Euphrates. According to the sixth vial of wrath there will be three deceitful spirits go out from the Antichrist to bring nations together to help him fight. They will ascend on the city of Jerusalem. This will be the gathering of Armageddon. The tenth chapter with John’s vision of the great angel standing on the sea and land interrupts the sixth seal. In the 11^th chapter the second woe will end with the rapture of the two witnesses and the great earthquake at Jerusalem that kills 7000 of the enemies of God. Then the scripture says that the third woe comes quickly.

13: And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
The golden altar is connected to the prayers of the saints (Rev 8:3). The sixth trumpet comes as a response to the prayers of the saints. For the four horns of the altar see Leviticus 8: 15.

14: Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
The four angels that are bound in the great river Euphrates are angels of war and it is from here that World War Three will erupt. The number four speaks of the four-corners of the earth, what we must realize is that they will come out of the river and go to the whole earth. They will bring very many nations into a conflict or war that is already taking place.

Revelation 16:
13: And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14: For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

This will include the Antichrist’s call for help from this point persuading other nations to join him to fight against Israel’s allies called the seven shepherds of Micah (Micah 5: 5-6). During the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation the Antichrist was driven out of Israel to the some point around the river Euphrates by seven nations that feel that they should help defend Israel against this invader. Micah calls these nations, shepherds. This is who the Antichrist is at war with.

15: And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
It is from the great river Euphrates that the war with the Antichrist will erupt into world war three. God has set a specific time in his calendar of events for this to begin. The idea of being prepared for a year, a month, a day and an hour is to be understood in this way. God has appointed the year, the month, the day and the hour that this horrible war will escalate into the death and destruction that it is used as a plague. A third of mankind will die during this period of fighting.The purpose of this plaque of war is to cause men to repent.

Since these battles are a plague from God it is important to realize that God’s people that are all sealed with the blood of Jesus will be protected during this war. God is able to do all things. This war is a punishment on the ungodly who refuse to repent.

16: And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
At the time the four angels are released to bring on the war the sixth vial of wrath will begin to work simultaneously with the sixth trumpet.

Revelation 16: 12: And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

The kings of the east are interpreted to mean China seeing as they are the only country in the world large enough to support such an army. Yet the scripture says kings not just a single king. This seems to suggest more than one nation coming from the east. Perhaps China, North Korea, Vietnam or even some of the Islands who are rapidly losing their Christian backgrounds being replaced by the Muslim faith.

However two hundred million could simply be the entire amount of soldiers from both sides who are fighting each other. These battles will end up costing the lives of a third part of the earth.

17: And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
The horses in this vision are symbolic of the weapons of warfare that are used in our world today. Breastplates represent the kind of defense that is used. The bulk of our weaponry today is used for defense. This is meant to be a deterrent to prevent others from attacking. The more weaponry the greater the defense. However this same weaponry is also used to attack an enemy as well.

The heads of the horses were as the heads of lions which shows the ferocity of these forms of transportation. Out of their mouths came fire, smoke and brimstone. This is symbolic of the modern firepower that is commonly used in everyone’s military. Out of their mouths could symbolize the commands that are given to cause these weapons to fire.

18: By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
These weapons will kill a third of mankind. The word "men" in this scripture according to Strongs concordance means "mankind, male or female." Which shows the effects of these two hundred million soldiers on the nations that are involved.

19: For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Their power being in their mouth reminds me of the mouth of the Antichrist speaking great things. This also reminds of the three demonic spirits that go out to deceive others to help and support the Antichrist. Their power being in their mouth could be speaking of the firepower of each one of the horses. Yet it could be speaking of both.

The fact that their tails are like snakes that have heads shows that this is a satanic army. This tail is to identify what the source of their power comes from. And the head on the tail represents the unobserved deception that is in this army, meaning something hidden. This is part of the plague.

20: And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
The rest of the men that are not killed by these plagues is speaking of unsaved or people who are unrepentant. This is not meant to include God’s people who are protected from the wrath of God.

The plagues in this verse is speaking of the battles that erupt during this trumpet. The wicked are being killed with a great slaughter during these battles, yet the remainder of the wicked do not repent. This repentance in this verse is speaking of the worship of devils and idols. This specifically is speaking of worshipping the Antichrist and his image during this time.

21: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
This describes how they refuse to repent from the murdering or use of drugs which is meant by their sorceries (witchcraft). They also refuse to repent from their fornication or of their thefts.

There is a very serious reason why many of these people cannot repent. Taking the mark of the beast is so serious a sin in God’s eyes that it is found to be in perfect alignment with blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The effect of this type of sin is to put an end to the Holy Spirit drawing the soul to repentance. No man can come to God except the Spirit of God draw him. This is what happens to those who take the mark, the Spirit of God will no longer draw them to Jesus Christ to be saved.

In Revelation during the sixth vial of wrath, which is the same time period of the sixth trumpet, God gives a final warning to prepare for the rapture of the Church.

Revelation 16:
15: Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16: And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

At the time of Armageddon, at the close of the second woe, and the beginning of the sounding of the seventh trumpet this will happen. This will be followed by the marriage supper of the Lamb and the coming of Christ to battle at this gathering at Armageddon. This will happen very quickly following the second woe. The sixth trumpet will end moments before the two witnesses are resurrected from the dead.

God Bless You
Tommie Spurgeon

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