Revelation 8:13-9:12

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”  And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.  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.  Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.  They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone.  And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.  In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle.  They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails.  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.  The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

The fifth trumpet is all about a pestilence that is described as a type of locust that stings people.  The pain from what is described in this section must be excruciating.  The previous trumpets were all aimed at different aspects of nature.  They certainly had a catastrophic impact on all of humanity.  However, this trumpet is an attack that inflicts unbelieving humanity directly.

PREPARATION FOR PESTILENCE: There is a gap between the fourth and fifth trumpet that signals that the type of judgment is going to be different.  There is an eagle the flies over the scene the cries out a series of three woes.  There are three trumpets left to blow, and each one will be increasingly painful and serious.  God is certainly demonstrating His hatred of sin and resolve to judge the earth that has rejected the Lord Jesus.

PERSECUTION FROM PESTILENCE: When the fifth trumpet blows what is described as a star falls into the bottomless pit and then smoke rises up from this pit and fills the sky.  This would certainly feel strange and eerie.  Then, out of the smoke a swarm of locust appears.  All likelihood would indicate that the smoke was actually the swarm of locust raising up and that there were so many of them that it darkened the sky like a cloud of smoke and only when they flew down closer to the earth could they be recognized as locust.  However, these locusts are unlike anything we have experienced today.  They are given stingers like those of scorpions.  Normally locusts would consume massive amounts of vegetation. These creatures only go after people who have rejected Christ and are not sealed with the mark God places on the foreheads of believers.  This is reminiscent of the plagues in Egypt where the children of Israel did not suffer from the plagues that impacted the Egyptians.  The plague lasts for five months and the pain from the stings was intolerable but not lethal.  In fact, the people wanted to die to get relief from the pain, but death would not come. 

PRESENTATION OF PESTILENCE: The locusts are described as horses who have been dressed in armor.  They had a crown on their heads with hair and looked like they had human faces but the teeth of lions.  Their wings will be extremely noisy because of the sheer number of them.  Their tails contain the scorpion stingers that are the source of so much pain and torment.  They appear to be organized and have some sort of demonic leader that is called Apollyon.  This name, appropriately, means destroyer.  After five months this plague of pestilence will be over but there are still two more woes to come.  

APPLICATION: God’s willingness and ability to judge sin is obvious and should motivate us to faithfully proclaim the Gospel so men might be able to escape this terrible plight.  God is also able to protect His own from suffering so we can trust Him to care for us.