Satan’s Rule is Limited and Drawing to an End!
“They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people. 11 Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer. The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!” – Revelation 9:10-12 (NLT)
The fifth trumpet contains many images that would have been familiar to readers in the time of John. Darkness is the opposite of light. In the New Testament this would represent a philosophy that denies Jesus and the gospel (John 3:18-21, 1John1:5-7). The Abyss is a place where demons are confined (Luke 8:30-31). The tail is a symbol of lying prophets (Isa 9:15).
While many parts of this trumpet remain mysterious, the “plague” is a spiritual one that torments the followers of Satan but does not harm those who are sealed (Rev 9:4-6). It leaves the wicked in suicidal anguish (9:5-6). The sun of God’s Word is eclipsed but not destroyed (9:2-3). The symbolism fits well the Middle Ages and with the effects of secularization in our world today.
Secularization is a process by which people become less and less attached to religious organizations. Secular people are not atheists; they just don’t make time for God and/or religion.
Secularization has some positive points, it sets the stage for a deeper appreciation of human rights and religious liberty. The secular commitment to universal education also gives people the tools to search the Word of God for themselves. Bible societies, scientific progress and archaeology are hard to imagine in a world without freedom of thought and faith.
Negatively, the French and Russian revolutions e.g. opened the way for Communism, which made the practice of faith very difficult. Secularization has also paved the way for the wrong kind of ecumenicalism. There is a type of ecumenicalism that impoverishes faith and steals away certainty, implying, “Don’t be a fanatic. It doesn’t really matter what you believe!” Secularization has also led to unbridled materialism. If there is no God, then life at its fullest is mainly about shopping, eating and an obsession with things.
The beauty of the fifth trumpet is that it does not harm those who know God. As Jesus said, they can harm the body but not the soul. The ultimate Christian response to secularization is stated by a bumper sticker I saw, “God is not dead; I talked to Him last night.”
Five months is the life span of a locust. Satan’s rule is limited and drawing to an end! His false theories are like tormenting locusts with scorpion stings. Rev 9 sees the demonic counterfeits of the heavenly horses (Messengers). As people refuse to walk in the light, devils take over. As they reject the truth, they believe his lies. Satan is unshackled and given free rein. The gospel of the gift of grace freely given in Christ was supplanted by the doctrine of salvation by works during this Medieval period.
The fifth trumpet warns us not to succumb to his lies, or, for us, the flashing lights of materialism and technology. A life without God results in torment and anguish (Rev 9:5-6). There is a loss of meaning and direction. There is a frenzied emptiness that people may only notice in the still of the night. Although he hides behind the mask of fun and games, the angel of the Abyss is a hard taskmaster.
Rev 8:13 announced that three woes were to fall on those who live on the earth. The fifth trumpet followed. Now in Rev 9:12 we learn that the first woe has “gone away,” it is now past. Since a similar announcement occurs in 11:14, after the sixth trumpet, it seems clear that the three woes of Rev 8:13 are the fifth, sixth and seventh trumpets.
Each part of the Bible is useful for teaching (2 Tim 3:16), but different passages are useful for different circumstances. Passages like the fifth and sixth trumpets are not particularly helpful for comforting the bereaved or encouraging the lonely. But they are quite useful for shaking people out of their complacency. These trumpets provide a reality check. They summon us to face the devil’s lies and the illusion that relative prosperity can bring. We can all benefit from a reality check.