BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY

BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY A Study of Revelation LESSON 24 Revelation 8:10-9:21 THE WOE TRUMPETS, Part 1 of 2 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (Revelation 22:7) REV 8:13 9:10 Lesson 24 The Spiritual Plague The WoeTrumpets Three Woes REV 8:13 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! An angel now proclaims three "woes" on earth's inhabitants. This signifies that the next three trumpets are to be worse than the previous four. 1 The phrase inhabiters of the earth or earth dwellers is used throughout Scripture to indicate unbelievers, who are against God, particularly the followers of the Antichrist. 2 REV 9:1 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 wording, to him, of this verse makes it obvious that the star is not a literal star. Stars in Scripture are often symbolic for angels. Notice this meaning as explained in Revelation 1:20. 3 REV 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Many believe that Revelation 9:1 refers to Satan falling from heaven. This interpretation would require Jesus to turn over the keys of the pit to Satan. 4 However, his verse does not specifically refer to a fallen angel, only that an angel appeared to fall, come down, or descended. 5 This angel was "given" the key to the bottomless pit, which he uses to unlock it. This is likely the same angel we will encounter in Revelation chapter 20 who uses the same key to lock the pit after first casting Satan 1 Phillips, EXPLORING THE FUTURE, p. 83. 2 3 4 Morris, THE REVELATION RECORD, p. 156. Larkin, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, pp. 73, 74. 5 Larkin, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, pp. 73, 74. Walvoord, THE PROPHECY KNOWLEDGE HANDBOOK, p. 566. 1

into it. 6 This is an angel sent by God to release demons from the pit to punish the earth dwellers, i.e. unbelievers. 7 REV 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. key. Jesus Christ, who we saw had the keys in Revelation chapter 1, has most likely given this angel the REV 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. The Evil Abyss REV 9:2 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 "bottomless pit," or the "abyss," is a place of confinement of "fallen angels," or "demons." The "bottomless pit" is the place where Satan will be bound for a thousand years as we saw earlier in Revelation 20:2 and 3. These angels may be the angels ("sons of God") that left their "first estate" in the pre-flood period that produced offspring with the "daughters of men." GEN 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. day." These "fallen angels" were destroyed in the Flood, and were chained "unto the judgment of the great JUD 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. The Bible refers to two types of evil spirit, free and imprisoned. 8 We have seen that some were imprisoned as described in Jude 6. Now look at 2 Peter where "God spared not the angels that sinned." 2PE 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; But, there are free evil spirits that torment and possess men today. LUK 8:26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. 27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. 29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound 6 Larkin, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, pp. 73, 74. LaHaye, REVELATION ILLUSTRATED AND MADE PLAIN, p. 134. 7 8 LaHaye, REVELATION ILLUSTRATED AND MADE PLAIN, pp. 135, 136. 2

with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) 30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. See also Matthew 12:43-45. This pit most likely was a foul place with fire, smoke and brimstone. The smoke belching forth from the open pit would be thick, darkening the sky. Throughout Revelation, smoke is associated with judgment doom, and torment. 9 Locusts REV 9:3 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. Besides the smoke, swarms of locusts are often so large that they block the sunlight. A swarm near the Red Sea was estimated to cover an area of about two thousand square miles. 10 These are no ordinary locusts. The plague of locusts in Egypt was of no ordinary locusts either. EXO 10:14 And the locust went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. The locusts from the abyss were even more extraordinary. There seems to be no doubt that these locusts are fallen angels, or demonic spirits, since the description a few verses later indicates that they are as or like locusts, rather than actual locusts. 11 "Andreas of Cesarea, A.D. 500, held that the locusts mean evil spirits, permitted to come on the earth and afflict men with various plagues." 12 REV 9:4 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 locusts of Egypt devoured all that grew on the land. EXO 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. These locusts were on a mission. They were not to touch the fruit of the earth. They were to torment men "which have not the seal of God in their foreheads." All believers, whether of the 144,000 or not, may possibly be protected, since believers are elsewhere said to have the seal of God. 13 2 CO 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God. 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. See also 2 Timothy 2:19 and Ephesians 1:13, 14. This does not mean that tribulation saints will be exempt from persecution and death at the hand of Antichrist. The Torment of the Locusts REV 9:5 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. 9 Levy, REVELATION: Hearing the Last Word, p. 113. 10 Duck, Richards, REVELATION: GOD'S WORD FOR THE BIBLICALLY-INEPT, p. 129. 11 Walvoord, THE PROPHECY KNOWLEDGE HANDBOOK, p. 566. Levy, REVELATION: Hearing the Last Word, p. 113. 12 Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, A COMMENTARY: CRITICAL, EXPERIMENTAL, AND PRACTICAL ON THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, Vol. III, Part III, p. 685. Emphasis in the original; Spelling in context. 13 Levy, REVELATION: Hearing the Last Word, p. 113. Walvoord, THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, p. 161. 3

The torment was to last for five months. Five months is the season, or time limit, of ordinary locusts, May to September. 14 Their sting is like the sting of a scorpion, which causes excruciating pain. REV 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. The sting of the scorpion often causes such pain that the person afflicted would prefer death. 15 Scorpion venom is usually not fatal, but it affects the veins and nervous system of the victim. Parts of their bodies will swell and hurt. Some will suffer from seizures and convulsions. 16 Remember that the first trumpet caused the burning of a third of the trees and green grass. Compare the progression now in Joel as we move from the destruction by fire to the torment of men. JOE 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? The locusts cannot be killed. Those they torment cannot find death. Notice that Joel said that this will take place in the "day of the Lord." It will begin with the sound of a trumpet. REV 9:7 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. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 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. According to J. Vernon McGee: The likeness of a locust to a horse, especially to a horse equiped with armor, is so striking that the insect is named in German heupferd (hay-horse), and in Italian cavaletta (little horse). 17 Locusts make a sound by rubbing their ridged hind legs on their front wings, causing the wings to vibrate, and thus producing the noise. 18 These locusts are like a demonic imitation of God's cherubim. Remember that the cherubim were described as like a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle. 14 Larkin, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, p. 76. Phillips, EXPLORING THE FUTURE, p. 84. Walvoord, THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, p. 161. 15 Larkin, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, p. 76. Walvoord, THE PROPHECY KNOWLEDGE HANDBOOK, pp. 565, 566. 16 Duck, Richards, REVELATION: GOD'S WORD FOR THE BIBLICALLY-INEPT, p. 130. 17 Duck, Richards, REVELATION: GOD'S WORD FOR THE BIBLICALLY-INEPT, p. 131. 18 Duck, Richards, REVELATION: GOD'S WORD FOR THE BIBLICALLY-INEPT, p. 129. 4

REV 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. These locusts were a combination of horse, man, woman, lion, and scorpion. 19 These are demon possessed, and appear part animal and part human. 20 REV 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. Locusts are symbolic of utter desolation and destruction. When faced with the type of desolation depicted by these locusts it should not be surprising that men would seek, or prefer, death. Locusts devour everything in their path. They are impervious to plants that are normally poisonous or irritating to animals or man. They consume everything -- "vegetable matter, linens, woolens, silk, leather, and etc." Pliny indicates that even the doors of houses are not safe from them. They even have been known to consume the varnish of furniture. Locusts symbolize an "all devouring army," or "a great multitude of people committing ravages, and sweeping off everything in their march. 21 General Sherman in his Civil war "march to the sea" torched everything in his path. Psychological Warfare While I believe that what John is describing will be seen by those who remain on earth, it is possible that what John saw, and described, will not actually be seen by men. In this case, the effect will instead be spiritual, possibly demon possession, inflicting an awful intense persecution in the psychological realm, causing great pain and anguish. 22 Remember that the demon possessed man of the Gadarenes could not see the demons possessing him, but felt the torment nevertheless (Luke 8:26-30). Imagine the anarchy of a demon possessed mob on a world scale. Remember the L.A. riots of a few years back where mindless individuals took to the streets perpetrating destruction and mayhem on law-abiding citizens. Remember the scene of a Korean man on a rooftop protecting his store and possessions with a gun. Remember the senseless beating of an innocent truck driver who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Consider the senseless rioting taking place on our streets today protesting Trump s election and conservative speech at college campuses. Consider the ISIS generated terror killing of innocent civilians in our cities.now magnify this on a world scale in every street in every city and you may have some idea of the intensity of the scene, never ending for five, seemingly eternal months of shear terror. 19 Larkin, THE BOOK OF REVELATION, p. 76. 20 Duck, Richards, REVELATION: GOD'S WORD FOR THE BIBLICALLY-INEPT, p. 128. 21 Barnes, NOTES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT: REVELATION, pp. 212, 213. 22 Walvoord, THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, p. 162. LaHaye, REVELATION ILLUSTRATED AND MADE PLAIN, p. 137. 5