This entire chapter is devoted to explaining the next two plagues or woes or trumpet judgments.  They are so devastating that they are referred to as woes by John.  As with the seals, the last three trumpet judgments take place in the spiritual realm.  There is much greater detail given at this point as evident by the amount of text describing each of these last woes.  We are now introduced to the demonic realm of spiritual activity.  The symbolism is getting more horrifying and strange.  It is the description of these woes that has caused so many to speculate and use quite a creative imagination to relate them to the modern age.  We must keep in mind here that the people will suffer the consequences of their choices in life.  Those who reject the love and grace of God will pay dearly for their decisions.  Yet, there is still a chance offered to them to repent given by God’s grace.  God will not be mocked.  You cannot reject His will and expect to live in His grace.

 

Read Joel 1:4-7 – notice the similarities with our text.   The locusts, the devastations of the locusts, the comparison to lion’s teeth, and the number of them, all seem to be used by John in his explanation of this fifth trumpet plague.  In all of what we are about to study together, remember that God is in control of all these events.  His aim is bring rebellious humanity to repentance.  We are seeing humanity revealed like an onion, in layers.  As the next layer of hardness of heart is exposed, the judgment is more severe hoping that they will see the mistake of their choices and repent before a Holy God.  This will be their only hope.  The result of their continued rebellion will not compare to the effects of this wake-up call from God in the form of a severe judgment against them.

 

v.1 – When the fifth angel sounded his trumpet … John saw a star fall from the sky to the earth (see  Is. 14:12).  Unlike the star we read about in 8:10, this star is given a pronoun, “he.”  Angels are sometimes called stars, so this star may be an angel.  We don’t know exactly who this is or who this represents, but he is given the attribute of a being rather than an object by the designation, he.  He is given the key to the abyss.  This star-angel is “given” the authority he has.  It is not his to use unless given to him by God – who is sovereign.  He may even be the same angel as in 20:1, who comes with the key to the abyss. The abyss is some great underworld chasm with a narrow opening at the top, called the shaft, which is locked.  In Luke 8:31, the demons that possessed the man at Gadarene plead with Jesus that He not send them to the abyss.  It appears to be a place of incarceration of Satan (20:1-3) and his demon spirits.  It is inhabited by beings that are hostile toward God and unrepentant.  Yet, they cannot do anything except what God allows. 

 

v. 2 – When the star-angel opens the abyss shaft, smoke rises LIKE the smoke of a furnace.  The use of simile is pervasive in this text.  The smoke was so extensive that it darkened the very sky and blocked the light of the sun and sky for a period of time.  It is believed that the air is the abode of demons in some texts – see Eph. 2:2.  In contrast, Ex. 19:18 mentions the smoke that billowed up “like the smoke of a furnace.”  Joel 2:10 mentions the plague of locusts that darkened the sun and the moon.  As we look at these bizarre visions, we must remember that the meaning of the visions is usually in the visions. 

v. 3 – Out of the smoke – came locusts.  The cloud is not the locusts, but the locusts came out of the cloud.  The plague of locusts is first displayed as the eighth plague against Egypt - Ex. 10:12-20 – as in Joel. 

 

To them was given – they have no authority on their own – power – is delegated to them LIKE the scorpions of the earth. 

Locusts are a symbol of destruction and have been in O.T. references.  Locusts devour vegetation leaving devastation in their path.  They have been used as a symbol of God’s judgment on the earth and on the people of God.  The locusts here have the POWER, but not the appearance of scorpions, and they have tails with stings LIKE scorpions.

 

v.4 – The locusts are commanded or given a command not to harm vegetation, but rather to harm only those human beings who are not sealed as God’s possession.  As evil as these creatures are, and they are considered to be demonic, they are still under the authority of a higher power (God) to only harm to the degree He allows.  While the use of locusts is very effective in this portent, we see that they do not destroy what locusts normally destroy – the vegetation.  There were also given power to harm but not to kill.  While they would bring about quite a painful experience, the people would not die from this.  This plague, even though demonic, is still under the sovereign control of Almighty God.  We also see that they are not permitted to harm God’s people – those who are sealed.  The locusts are to attack only the wicked people – those who have rejected the plan and will of God through Jesus the Christ.  We begin here to relate more to the plagues against Egypt.  As Israel was spared the effects of the plagues against evil Egypt, so the Christians will be spared the effects of these plagues against the ungodly.  Since this plague is given at the command of God for His purposes and under His control, He will not bring it against those who have been sealed by Him and belong to Him. 

 

v. 5 – “Given” -  once again shows the limitation of their evil power – they can only act in the amount of authority given them.  God is in control of everything including demonic authority.  The locusts are limited to hurt but not kill humans.  The time of the infliction is five months.  This shows that the torture will not last forever (five-twelfths of a year), and will be limited in duration.  It is interesting that locust live only about five months when they swarm.  The time is limited so the people being tortured will have time to repent and turn from their wickedness.  God’s grace is in operation even in these horrible times drawing evil humankind to turn to God and follow His plan.

 

v. 6 – The pain of their suffering from the locusts is very real.  John repeats twice that people will seek death to escape the pain of their torture, but death will elude them.  For the Christian, death is not an escape from torment, but it is a reward and goal of a relationship with God.  I think of Job and the torment he experienced while being tested by God under the attack of Satan himself.  I’m sure he would have wanted to die rather than continue in the pain and torture of his state, and he was righteous.  How much more would these wicked people rather die than face the torment put on them?  John mentions nothing else in this verse than to repeat that the people wanted to die but couldn’t.

 

v. 7 – John now reveals a description of these locust demons in more detail.  As in Joel 2:4, the locusts are likened to horses – war horses.  This may be due to the shape of the locust’s head and also the formation of the lines of a cavalry coming.  They are not the size of horses, but appear in the likeness of a horse.  They have something like crowns of gold on their heads.  John is not recording natural creatures here.  He is telling the readers about demonic beings and the form they are taking on to attack fallen humanity.  To give more surety of the locusts being demonic, John mentions that the faces of the locusts are LIKE human faces.  As John looks and see these locusts, he doesn’t see the insect world, but rather he sees the planning and cunning of the diabolical demon world at work. 

 

v. 8 – The description of the locusts continues…  They have hair like a woman.  We don’t know what this means exactly, but the antennae of a locusts are likened to hair elsewhere.  They have teeth like teeth of a lion.  This shows the power of their devastation.  They are ferocious and very destructive. 

 

v. 9 – The locusts are well protected and cannot be attacked back.  They have what is LIKE a breastplate of iron.  The number of them is indicated by the sound of their wings. 

 

v. 10 – Here again John mentions that the locusts have tails with which to inflict pain upon people like a scorpion tail.   We must remember that the reason for their existence is to bring people to repentance. 

 

v. 11 – The locusts are not leaderless.  They are not running on their own initiative.  In fact their leader is first called the angel of the abyss.  Later in the verse, he is given a name in two languages, Hebrew and Greek.  In Hebrew his name is Abaddon or ‘destruction’.  In Greek he is called Apollyon or ‘destroyer’.  John uses both the O.T. Hebrew name and the N.T. Greek name to identify this king of the demonic locusts. 

 

v. 12 – The first “woe” is past.  Notice that there is no reference to trumpets at this point.  The plague is so devastating that the reference is to the promised woe.  Humanity has narrowly escaped this judgment, but there’s more to come.  The next two woes are still to come and will be more devastating that this one. John captures our attention with this line.