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.
This temporary break in the sequence of the trumpets calls special attention to the last three, which are specially designated as “woes.”
An angel. Textual evidence favors (cf. p. 10) the reading “an eagle.” The eagle may be thought of as an omen of doom (see Matt. 24:28; cf. Deut. 28:49; Hosea 8:1; Hab. 1:8).
Midst of heaven. That is, at the zenith, so that all may hear his message.
Woe, woe, woe. The woe is repeated three times because of the three judgments yet to come at the blowing of the three remaining trumpets. Each of these is designated a “woe” (see chs. 9:12; 11:14).
Inhabiters of the earth. That is, the unrighteous (see on ch. 3:10).
This angel is not one of the series of the seven trumpet angels, but simply another heavenly messenger, who announces that the three remaining trumpets are woe trumpets, because of the more terrible events to take place under their sounding. Thus the next, or fifth trumpet, is the first woe; the sixth trumpet, the second woe; and the seventh, the last one in this series of seven trumpets, is the third woe.
5th Trumpet : (Revelation 9)
The First Woe
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Verse 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.
Verse 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 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.
1. Fifth angel. The fifth trumpet is discussed in vs. 1–12. This trumpet is the first “woe” (see on ch. 8:13; cf. ch. 9:12, 13).
A star fall. Or, “a star fallen.” The star depicted here is not seen falling, as under the third trumpet (ch. 8:10), but is shown already fallen upon the earth.
It is interesting to note in passing that the figure of a fallen star occurs also in Jewish apocalyptic literature to describe Satan as a star fallen from heaven (Enoch 88:1; R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 2, p. 251).
To him was given. This implies that the power represented by the key was not intrinsically his, but was allowed to him by a higher power.
The key. Possession of the key implies the power to open and close (see Rev. 3:7; cf. Matt. 16:19).
A number of commentators have identified the fifth and sixth trumpets with the ravages of the Saracens and the Turks. They point to the wars between the Persians under Khosrau II (a.d. 590–628) and the Romans under Heraclius I (610–641) as weakening the two empires, thus preparing the way for the Moslem conquest. The key, they suggest, is the fall of Khosrau, whose overthrow and murder in a.d. 628 marked the end of the Persian Empire as an effective power and opened the way for the advance of the Arabian forces.
Darkened. Compare on ch. 6:12. Darkness is also a characteristic of the fifth plague (ch. 16:10). With respect to the Moslems, the darkening of the sun may be thought of as the obscuration of the sun of Christianity. Such was the effect of the spread of the religion of Islam.
3. Locusts. This visitation is reminiscent of the plague of locusts that infested Egypt (Ex. 10:13–15). As early as the 8th century a.d., Beatus, a Spanish monk, is said to have identified the symbol of the locusts with the Moslem Arabs, who in his day had just overrun North Africa, the Near East, and Spain. Since his time many expositors are on record as having made a similar identification.
As the scorpions. Normally locusts do not attack human beings, but these locusts are portrayed as having the venom of scorpions. Scorpions are described as hostile toward man (see Eze. 2:6; Luke 10:19; 11:12).
4. They should not hurt. Locusts destroy vegetation, not men. But these locusts are commanded not to harm any growing plant. Their attacks are to be directed only against unrighteous men.
Those who identify the locust symbol with the Saracens have suggested that this prohibition reflects the policy of the Arab conquerors not to destroy property wantonly or to kill Christians and Jews so long as they submitted to the payment of tribute. Concerning a certain class, Abu-bakr, Mohammed’s successor, is recorded to have said to his soldiers: “‘You will find another sort of people that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter, till they either turn Mahometans or pay tribute’” (quoted in Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, J. B. Bury, ed., vol. 5, p. 416). This class has not been definitely identified.
When applied to the Moslem Arabs this restriction may be thought of as representing their policy of permitting the conquered to live. This course was adopted so that the conquered might support the warriors out on conquest.
Have not the seal. Some have suggested that inasmuch as the keeping of the Sabbath is ultimately to be the outward sign of the inner work of sealing by the Holy Spirit (see on Eze. 9:4), the ones attacked by the “locusts” here are those who do not observe the true Sabbath.
In their foreheads. See Eze. 9:4; Rev. 7:3.
5. Should not kill. The punishment inflicted by the locusts is pain, not death.
Five months. For a discussion of this period see Additional Note at end of chapter.
Scorpion. See on v. 3. The sting of a scorpion may be exceedingly painful, but it is seldom fatal to man.
6. Seek death. Compare the attitude of men here with that portrayed in ch. 6:16. See Job 3:21; cf. Jer. 8:3.
8. Hair of women. Some have applied this feature of the vision to the allegedly long hair worn by the Arabian troops.
Teeth of lions. This figure suggests strength and rapacity.
9. Breastplates of iron. The scales of the locusts may have suggested this description. The figure indicates the impregnability of the agents of this judgment.
Sound of chariots. Compare Joel 2:5.
10. Like unto scorpions. That is, like the tails of scorpions, which contain poisonous stings.
Hurt men. See on v. 5.
Five months. See Additional Note at end of chapter.
11. King over them. The wise man Agur declared that “the locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands” (Prov. 30:27). The locusts in the present passage, however, are more highly organized in their destructive work, for they have a ruler whose commands they follow. Some who apply the fifth and sixth trumpets to the Moslem Arabs and Turks see in this king a reference to Osman (Othman) I (1299–1326), the traditional founder of the Ottoman Empire. His first attack upon the Greek Empire, which, according to Gibbon, took place on July 27, 1299, they take as marking the beginning of the five-month period of torment (Rev. 9:7, 10).
Angel. Or, “messenger,” the one in charge of the forces issuing from the bottomless pit.
Bottomless pit. See on v. 1.
Our Lesson’s View
With the fifth trumpet, the partial darkness of the fourth becomes
total and worldwide (Rev. 9:1, 2). This represents the triumph of religious apostasy and secularism in the modern age. With God and truth totally eclipsed, sinful humankind is left to the demonic torment of destructive desires (Rev. 9:3–11, Luke 10:17–20). The only safety is in a genuine relationship with God (Rev. 9:4; Eph. 1:13, 14).
Verse 12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
6th Trumpet
The Second Woe
Revelation 9
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15And 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. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 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. 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. 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.
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: 21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
13. Sixth angel. That is, the second woe (see on chs. 8:13; 11:14; cf. ch. 9:12).
Four horns. Textual evidence is divided (cf. p. 10) between this and the reading “horns.” For the horns on the altar of incense in the ancient wilderness tabernacle see Ex. 37:26.
The golden altar. Doubtless the same altar as the one where the angel had ministered the prayers of the saints (ch. 8:3–5).
14. Four angels. Previously the prophet had seen four angels that had power to restrain the winds from blowing (ch. 7:1). They had worldwide power; the present four appear to be localized.
Most commentators who interpret the fifth trumpet as applying to the Saracens have seen the Turks in the sixth. Some of these identify the four angels as four sultanies of the Turkish (Ottoman) Empire, which they identify as Aleppo, Iconium, Damascus, and Baghdad. Others see in these angels the destructive forces that moved against the Western world.
Are bound. Literally, “have been bound.” These angels have been restrained from their work of judgment until the sixth angel sounds his trumpet.
Euphrates. Commentators who apply the sixth trumpet to the Turks generally give a literal interpretation to the Euphrates, in the sense that it was from the region of the Euphrates that the Turks entered the Byzantine Empire. But inasmuch as the names Sodom, Egypt (ch. 11:8), and Babylon (chs. 14:8; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21) are used symbolically in the Revelation, other commentators hold that the Euphrates should also be understood symbolically (see on ch. 16:12). Some of these note that, to the Israelites, the Euphrates constituted the northern boundary of the land which ideally they were to occupy (Deut. 1:7, 8) and which, at the height of their power, they dominated, at least to some extent (see on 1 Kings 4:21). Beyond the Euphrates were the heathen nations of the north who repeatedly swept down and engulfed Israel (cf. on Jer. 1:14). According to this point of view the Euphrates here indicates a boundary beyond which God holds the forces that accomplish His judgment under the sixth trumpet.
Still others connect the Euphrates with mystical Babylon. They point out that inasmuch as later in the Revelation the final apostasy is portrayed as mystic Babylon (ch. 17:5) and that particular attention is called to its sitting “upon many waters” (v. 1), and inasmuch as historical Babylon was literally situated upon the waters of the Euphrates (see Vol. IV, p. 796), the Euphrates is here symbolic of the domain of the power represented as mystic Babylon (cf. on ch. 16:12).
16. Army of the horsemen. The four angels are portrayed as wreaking their judgments by means of a great army of cavalry. In ancient times the cavalry was the swiftest, most mobile branch of an army. Therefore, here, it may be thought of as symbolizing the rapidity and scope with which this visitation comes.
Two hundred thousand thousand. That is, two hundred million. The number is doubtless symbolic of a vast, innumerable host.
I heard. The syntax of this statement in Greek may imply that John heard this number and understood its significance. Oral information confirmed his impression of a numberless throng.
17. I saw. The description of the horses and their riders seems to follow the familiar Hebrew inverted parallelism: first the horses, then the riders are mentioned; then the riders are described, and finally the horses.
Heads of lions. This comparison of the “horsemen” to the king of beasts suggests ferocity and majesty.
Fire and smoke and brimstone. The same things that appeared to clothe the cavalrymen also come forth from the mouths of their horses. The mention of “smoke” here in place of the “jacinth” of the horsemen strengthens the suggestion that the two are the same (see the foregoing on “jacinth”). Compare the description of leviathan in Job 41:19–21. Expositors who identify the sixth trumpet with the ravages of the Ottoman Turks see in the “fire and smoke and brimstone” a reference to the use of gunpowder and firearms, introduced about this time. They point out that the discharge of a musket by a mounted cavalryman could make it appear from a distance as if fire were coming out of the horse’s mouth.
18. These three. Textual evidence attests (cf. p. 10) the reading “these three plagues.” The fact that these judgments are called plagues is taken by some as suggesting that a close parallel exists between the trumpets and the seven last plagues (see on ch. 8:6).
Third part. See on ch. 8:7.
Fire … smoke … brimstone. See on v. 17.
19. Mouth. John has already depicted these horses as killing men by the fire, smoke, and brimstone that issue from their mouths (see on v. 17).
Tails. These horses wreak havoc both with their heads and with their tails. Compare the locusts of the fifth trumpet, whose stings were in their tails (v. 10). With respect to the Turks, certain expositors see in these “tails” a reference to a horse’s tail as a Turkish standard.
20. Rest of the men. The majority of men were not destroyed by this horrible visitation, but in spite of what their fellow men had suffered they did not take the lesson to heart as they should have done, and repent.
Works of their hands. Particularly the idols they had made (see Deut. 4:28; Ps. 135:15; Jer. 1:16). In modern days men who give to the structures of their own inventive genius greater importance in their lives than they do to God and His kingdom, stand equally condemned. While good in themselves, modern creature comforts—the works of men’s hands—may often fill men’s lives so fully that they become idols as much as the ancient gods of wood, stone, and metal ever were. Compare on 1 John 5:21.
Idols. As contrasted with the worship of spirits, this condemns the worship of concrete, but inanimate, objects.
Gold. Gold, silver, brass, stone, wood, are listed in the descending order of their value as materials.
Neither can see. The folly of idolatry is dramatized by the fact that these objects, worshiped as gods, have not even the common powers of an animal, much less a man (see Ps. 115:4–7; Jer. 10:5; Dan. 5:23).
Our Lesson’s View
While the first five trumpets have many allusions to ancient Egypt, the sixth trumpet particularly echoes biblical accounts regarding ancient Babylon. There are references to the river of Babylon (Rev. 9:14), the idolatry of Babylon (Rev. 9:20; Dan. 5:4, 23), and the fall of Babylon (Rev. 9:21, Isa. 47:9–12). There also are many parallels with the sixth bowl (Euphrates, battle language, demonic imagery [Rev. 16:12–16]). So the sixth trumpet describes an opposition to God similar to that of end-time Babylon (Rev. 17:4, 5).
The fifth and sixth trumpets describe the warring factions in the religious world during the late medieval and post-Reformation periods. These periods are characterized by increasing demonic activity that ulti¬mately draws the world into the battle of Armageddon.
