The Identification of the first Beast (Revelation 13)

The Identification of the first Beast (Revelation 13)

There are two beasts mentioned in Revelation,  The first is introduced in Chapter 13:1 with the second one coming on the scene in verse 11.  We are going to focus primarily on the first beast with this study.  If there is to be any degree of accuracy in the identification of this beast we must consider two things.  One is to whom this letter was written, and secondly, we must take into account the symbolism in effect in the day and time in which the book was written. 

Many people today think the beast is a malignant force yet to come.  I have read of people in a panic over the veri-chip technology which advocates the implanting of a microchip under the skin in order to identify and track people.  They are convinced that this technology can grow into the mark of the beast.  There is also technology in the development stages where certain world wide retail chains are looking into a chip that can automatically scan items as one walks from the store and automatically deduct the cost of these items from one’s account.  The problem with this is that this does not take into consideration, those to whom the letter was specifically addressed.  What value would such a letter have for people who were undergoing severe persecution at the time if it were a revelation of events roughly 2000 years in the future?

The text we will be looking at is Revelation 13:1-10
1 and he stood upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns, and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as (the feet) of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the  the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority.
3 And (I saw) one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death-stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast;
4 and they worshipped the dragon, because he gave his authority unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? And who is able to war with him?
5 and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, (even) them that dwell in the heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
8 And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, (every one) whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain.
9 If any man hath an ear, let him hear.
10 If any man (is) for captivity, into captivity he goeth: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
ASV

First, we can determine easily that the beast is not Satan.  Satan is represented in chapter 12 as the dragon who made war with the remnant of the radiant woman’s seed.  In verse 2 we see the dragon, Satan, giving the beast his power, his position or throne, and his great authority.  In verse 4 we read that the heads of the beast worshipped the dragon, Satan.  So the beast cannot be Satan since it derives it’s abilities from and is in a submissive allegiance with him.  It is obvious that the dragon, Satan, is using the beast for the achievement of his own purpose.  So with Satan as the enabler of the beast we can confidently eliminate him from being in consideration as the beast. 

Verse 1 of Revelation 13 starts with the continuance of the sentence in Revelation 12:17.  John saw the dragon, (Satan), standing on the sands beside the sea where the beast emerges from the water.  Interestingly, the symbolism used for “beast” was used by Daniel to represent a ruler or his government, (Daniel 7:2-8).  Daniel used the same animal imagery to represent the the four world empires which were Babylon, Medo-Persian, Grecian and then the Roman Empire.  The fact that the leopard, bear and lion are used here probably demonstrates that the Roman empire was a composite of the other three.  This usage of apocalyptic language would have been familiar to those of the time who were versed in old covenant figures of speech.  This goes back to the thought that Revelation was written in language the Jews would be able to understand without incrimination before the Romans, thereby giving them more incentive to destroy those who were holding fast to their faith.  We can easily see today how successful this manner of writing was in that the book of Revelation continues to be a source of misdirected doctrine.  Anybody with a poor familiarity of old testament speech would be utterly baffled by the figurative language of this book. 

Looking closely at John’s description of the Beast we see Satan standing upon the sand of the sea.  This would likely be the Tyrrhenian sea, which bordered the territory and land of Italy, where the Roman empire had its capital with the imperial palaces built alongside the Tiber river.  This imagery places the dragon within close proximity of the Beast, overlooking and personally directing the coming struggle against the faithful remnant of the radiant woman’s seed.  This thought squares perfectly with new testament teaching that Satan had been given the power to do as he will with the nations of the Earth, (Matthew 4:8-9).  In addition to the close proximity of the Dragon to the beast, the Hebrews not being a seafaring people, recognized the sea as being capable of bringing storms of immensely destructive proportions.  David wrote in imagery of a storm coming inland from the sea, breaking the cedars from Lebanon and shaking the wilderness of Kadesh, which represented Jehovah revealing His strength and power, (Psalm 29).  Daniel used the imagery of the sea when describing the 4 great beasts arising in Daniel 7:3.  Notice particularly the language used in Daniel 7:7, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”  While not all scholars agree, it is my belief that Daniel’s prophecy is about the rise of the Roman empire.  Certainly, the Jewish Christians, well versed in old testament teaching would instantly see a parallel and draw the conclusion that the beast of Revelation 13 and the beast of Daniel 7:23 were one and the same. 

The beast is said to have ten horns with a diadem, or crown, on each, and seven heads with the name of blasphemy on each. An interesting point in History may shed some light on what the 10 horns could represent. The Roman Empire was made up of several geographic territories called provinces. Each province fell under the control of a provincial governor.

As a rule set by Augustus there were always 10 senatorial provinces in the Imperial government system. These provinces were under the direct control of a Proconsular Senator, with little need for intervention by the Emperor, though he had the power to appoint or dispose of these governors if he wished. The governors, served for one to three years depending on which province he was over.

Notwithstanding, there were other lesser provinces under the rule of the Roman empire as it expanded. There were about 28 in all by the middle of the second century. The number “ten” carries with it the meaning of completeness in the minds of the Hebrews, thus simply meaning the complete number of vassal kings within the Roman empire which I personally believe to be the more likely interpretation. One must be very careful when literalizing a number surrounded by so much symbolic language. Consistency almost demands it be taken in the same way as the rest of the surrounding imagery.

The seven heads probably referred to the seven hills of ancient Rome. Every October there was a commemoration to the fact that Rome was founded on seven hills. The seven hills of Rome; Cermalus, Cispius, Fagutal, Oppius, Palatium, Sucusa and Velia, figured prominently in Roman mythology, religion, and politics.

The seven heads could also have represented the seven Roman emperors from Augustus Caesar to Flavius Domitianus, better known as Domitian. These emperors reigned with such power and distinction that Roman temples were erected to each one of them. These emperors were worshipped in these temples as Gods and Lords. This practice started with Augustus Caesar and by the time of Domitian, evolved into mandated emperor worship. Under Domitian, those who refused to worship him as a God were subjected to various punishments from exile to death. Revelation 17:10 lends great support to this interpretation.

So we now have a mental image of just how powerful a foe has arisen against Christianity.  The Parthians were no help, The Romans, who worshipped many Gods, hated them.  There were not enough Christians to make any kind of impact on the socio-economic scene.  When drought, famine, or natural disaster struck, the Christians with their one deity worship were blamed.  The Jews were no help, they were excused from Emperor worship and were of no help whatsoever to the Christians.

Revelation 13:3, “And (I saw) one of his heads as though it had been smitten unto death; and his death-stroke was healed:”  There are plenty of theories as to what this death blow was.  One of the most popular I read was that this was the crushing of Satan’s head prophesied in Genesis 3:15.  However, upon careful consideration of the text, we see that the beast is something other than the dragon, (Satan), which therefore does not make sense.  John mentioned this death blow to one of the seven heads, (emperors), as a means for the identification of the beast to the Christians.  It therefore stands to reason that this blow must be something that is widely known and easily attributed to its rightful understanding by the intended audience.  This said, in 64 AD, during the night of July 18, fire broke out in the merchant area of the city of Rome. Fanned by summer winds, the flames quickly spread through the dry, wooden structures of the Imperial City. Soon the fire took on a life of its own consuming all in its path for six days and seven nights. When the conflagration finally ran its course it left seventy percent of the city devastated.  Of Rome’s fourteen districts only four remained intact. Three were leveled to the ground. The other seven were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins.   This event happened during the reign of Nero and would be something that definitely would be in the minds of the people of that day.  The association in their minds between the burning of Rome and the wounded head of the Roman Empire would be easily recognized.  There was plenty of time for this death blow to one of the heads to be healed.  History tells us that Rome was built back bigger and better than ever. 

When considering the facts, the Roman emperor Domitian, who reigned from 81 AD through 96 AD best fits the description of the beast, especially considering the internal Biblical evidence that states things which will “shortly come to pass” in Revelation 1:1.  We learn from history that Domitian pushed the concept of him being a God so far that he would reject any communication written to him if it was not addressed to “Supreme Lord and God”.  From a Christian viewpoint, this is nothing short of blasphemy of the name of God to ascribe the title of God and Lord to anybody or anything other than Jehovah Himself.  The imperial Roman empire at the time was said to include all the inhabited earth, depending on whether you heard it from a Roman or a Parthian.  The body of water we know as the Mediterranean Sea got it’s name because it literally means “the middle of the earth”.  All people, with the exception of the Christians worshipped Domitian as a God.  The Jews were excused from this but they did compromise by praying to Jehovah on behalf of Domitian to avoid persecution. 

In the Hebrew mind, the number 6 was symbolic of that which was not perfect, thereby evil.  Seven represents perfection.  Six being one less than perfect is falling short of the mark.  The definition of “sin” is literally, “to miss the mark”.  So to obtain the ultimate of that which was evil or lacking, the apocalyptic writers of John’s day were using a series of three sixes to represent the worst evil that could befall.  Furthermore this number was reserved for those in government who caused evil to be administered. 

No other emperor in the history of the Imperial Roman Empire fits the description of the beast better than Domitian.  We therefore conclude that the first beast of Revelation 13 can be none other than the evil Imperial Roman Empire, which was personified in the person of Flavius Domitianus, (the number of a man).

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The Conflict (Revelation 12)

The Conflict  (Revelation 12)

The last chapter concluded with the downfall and utter destruction of the oppressors of the Christians.  From the conflict we learned that God is longsuffering and willing to allow His children to undergo horrific persecution in order to give all mankind the opportunity to come to repentance.  We have also seen that God will not infringe upon man’s free will choice to choose his own destiny.  Horrible things happened to the Roman Empire as a result of their evil lifestyles, but when it is all said and done and they stand in judgment, none of them will be able to claim they never had the chance to repent.  They killed the Christians and the Christians did what they could to save them from their fate.  What an incredible irony it is to contemplate this.  The enemies of the Christians were bent upon their destruction, using all manner of earthly means to inflict pain and suffering upon them.  Whatever atrocities their minds could conceive of was implemented against the Christians in full measure.  And what did the Christians have to fight back with?  Their weapons were taken from the word of God, their only armor was the sword of the Spirit, love, compassion and concern for the wellbeing of all mankind.  The world was determined to kill them and their mission was to save their enemies from the eternal consequences of their actions.  Imagine if you will, a war today with an army of soldiers armed with only the weapons of righteousness against an army of seasoned worldly soldiers with all manner of engines of warfare.  The worldly soldiers could mow the other army down by the multitudes with the soldiers being slaughtered trying to save the souls of those who were killing them.  The entire concept boggles the mind, however, not only did the Christians prevail in a real world example of this, they triumphed over their enemies in the end. 

Chapter 12 of Revelation starts back with the coming of righteousness which we earlier saw in the beginning of chapter six with the introduction of the white horse.  The entire vision which illustrated the coming of Jesus, then the coming of Satan and his allies all the way up through the persecution and ending with the total destruction of the enemies of righteousness and the ultimate victory of the saints over them is about to be replayed in its entirety.  The difference in this episode is that we are going to be given a lot more information that was left out of the earlier account.  the beast that was only mentioned in passing in Revelation 11:7 will be described in detail.  We will meet his ally and they both will be positively identified in the replay of the vision.  The enemies of the Christians will also be positively identified and we will learn a great deal more about them than was previously mentioned.  The horrors of the persecutions as well as the attributes of the enemies of righteousness are more graphic in their descriptions. 

One cannot help but wonder why God would choose to reveal the events represented in the Revelation in two parts.  There are a number of possible explanations for this.  First, God always revealed His will with figurative language during times of distress upon His children.  When the Israelites were in captivity, the prophets wrote using symbolic language.  The reason for this is clear in that the message was intended only for whom it was given and was written in a language style only they would be able to understand.   The style of writing in Revelation is no different than what was used by God in the past during oppressive times for His children.  It should come as no surprise to anybody and it makes perfect sense.   God had no intention of educating the enemies of His people as to His purpose and their fate if they refused to seek His righteousness.   God says He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him.  This implies that diligent seeking is required in order to receive the rewards.  It can be reasonably be stated that nobody on earth who knows nothing of the one true and living God is going to pick up a copy of Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel or the Revelation and read through it casually and understand it.  Long before any worldly enemy of the Christians ever made it to the second half of the book, they would be utterly lost in a quagmire of figurative language for which they would be utterly helpless to figure out.  The work would be dismissed as senseless letter belonging to a group of superstitious zealots.  There would be no perception of danger to the enemies of the Christians who would inevitably come into possession of it at some time.  The entire Revelation is revealed in stages that build on each other. The evil earthly characters in the Revelation are not positively identified until later on for a good reason.  The enemies of God’s people are going to have to read a significant way through the letter in order to get these important clues that identify them as the ones who are going to be the ultimate losers in the conflict. 

Another possible reason is so that the Christians who first read the Revelation will see early on that they are going to be victorious if they overcome and remain faithful.  It is good to see quickly that one is going to win the conflict so that the following details are a little easier to absorb.  God plants the seed of hope early in the minds of the first readers before they get to see all the forthcoming details.  Revelation is a message of hope and perseverance to the people of God, but it also contains evidence of the suffering they will undergo as the events unfold before them. 

A third possible explanation is to demonstrate to the readership that the events described in the book are not played out in chronological order in a step by step progression over the Roman Empire.   We learned in the first half of the book that God used natural disasters in order to administer His divine retribution on the the enemies of righteousness.  Specifically, earthquakes and burning mountains were mentioned and history records such things either before the Revelation was written or at least contemporary with the writing.  For example, Mount Vesuvius erupted completely obliterating the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79.  Likewise in 17 AD a massive earthquake destroyed Sardis and ten other cities several years before the crucifixion of Christ.  The events described in Revelation were already being carried out to some degree so we know the events therein cannot be consecutive, rather they occurred concurrently and diversely having been spread out across the empire over a period of many years.   The eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of the cities in Asia Minor were only two of many major natural calamities which struck the Empire and on a scale of magnitude only a fraction as devastating in terms of loss of life as those yet to come. 

And the fourth reason for the two stage revealing of the Revelation is that the first series of visions serves as an introduction to the second.  When the reader realizes the second series of visions are a re-enactment of the first, it serves to help keep the focus on what it really is and avoid going off in wild tangents thinking it is some kind of description of events associated with the end of the world.  Scripture is plain in other writings that the end of the world is going to come like a thief in the night during a time when people think there is peace and safety for all (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 2 Peter 3:10, Matthew 24:44).  Those who contrive the Millennialists doctrine from the pages of the Revelation believe in periods of tribulation either before or after the return of Jesus.  And they have Jesus reigning on earth from Jerusalem for a thousand years which can not happen according to the Bible.  God swore that no seed of Jeconiah would rule from David’s throne in Judah ever again (Jeremiah 22:30).  Jesus Christ was a direct descendant of Jeconiah from both Mary’s side and Joseph’s.  God didn’t leave any doubt there at all.  So the entire rapture and millennial reign of Christ on earth is a contrived doctrine most of which comes from the last half of Revelation and does not find support in the rest of what the Bible has to say about the end of the earth.  With the first series of visions used as an introduction and compliment to the second series, it becomes quite clear what the second series is all about.  It was written to the same group of people and carries the same message of hope and perseverance, it has the same list of characters both good and evil, the conflict described therein is the same and the outcome is the same.  “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).  The contents of the little book which John was told to take and eat is being developed now and is the subject of the following series of visions. 

Revelation 12:1
“And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars”
The two sides in conflict in Revelation are good and evil.  The characters are God and His children in the corner of righteousness and Satan and his followers in the corner of evil.  The rules are simple.  The evil characters will use whatever earthly means are at their disposal to destroy God’s children and God’s children will use only the spiritual weapons described in the word of God.  Those on the side of evil are going to perish forever and while they are trying to destroy those on the side of good, the children of God are trying to save them from their eternal fate. 

“A woman arrayed with the sun“.
The sun is our primary source of light and God is our spiritual source of light.  The woman illustrates the relationship between God and His faithful children.  In this case, the remnant of the faithful from the nation of Israel is in view, described as a woman is representative as the bride of God in much the same fashion as the church today is the bride of Christ (Romans 7:4). 

“and the moon under her feet”
The moon is representative of lesser figures of authority so it being under the feet of the woman places the leaders of the world in subjection to the faithful Israelites. 

“and upon her head a crown of twelve stars”
Stars are representative of individuals so the crown of twelve stars will represent the twelve sons of Jacob who then became the patriarchs of the Israelite nation.  The overall picture here of the radiant woman is the remnant of the faithful children of Israel, with God as her head and with the world at her feet.   

Revelation 12:2
“and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.”
The child about to be delivered is none other than Jesus Christ, the promised messiah.  The children of Israel who remained faithful to God were certainly in misery and were crying out for the coming of Christ.  The stage is now set.  The time period for the starting point of this vision is before the birth of Christ on earth.  We have now been introduced to the righteous characters in this conflict.  We have God represented as the sun, the faithful children of Israel and the Son of God about to be delivered on the scene.  Now it is time to meet the evil force. 

Revelation 12:3
“And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.”
And now we meet Satan who is represented by a dragon.  The figure of the dragon always represents Satan in the Revelation and is positively identified in the ninth verse of this chapter.  The characteristics used here to describe him are “great” which is representative of his power and  “red” which represents his murderous, bloody character.  He is pictured with seven heads which is a figure for perfect.  In this instance it means the perfect embodiment of an evil mastermind dedicated to deceit and treachery.  He is pictured with ten horns which means he has complete power within his realm of operation.  Obviously Satan does not have complete unrestricted power or our lives would be unbearable on earth.  Consider what happened to Job when God allowed Satan a little more freedom to afflict than was normally issued.  Imagine if you can what our lives would be like if the same entity were granted unrestricted access to us on earth.  Upon Satan’s head were pictured seven diadems.   This is not the same as the crowns worn by the righteous which is the “stephanos” crown of the victor.  Satan never wins any permanent victories and he is going to be utterly defeated in the end so he only wears a diadem and is never pictured wearing the victory crown. 

Revelation 12:4
“And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.”
The dragon’s tail drawing a third part of the stars of heaven points to Satan’s rebellion against God when he led many angels with him and they were cast down and bound in the hadean realm in chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment, (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6).  It is possible that the rebellious angels explains the presence of the evil spirits on earth during the time of Christ on earth.  We know from scripture that the time of evil spirits on earth was temporary because in Zechariah 13:1-2 it was prophesied that the evil spirits would be caused to pass from the land during the period of time when Christ walked the earth.  Statements made by the evil spirits to Jesus during their confrontations seem to support the idea of their presence on earth being a temporary arrangement (Matthew 8:29). 

The third part of the stars of heaven is a similar figure to the first four trumpet announcements when a third part of each realm was affected.  The figure represents more a significant percentage rather than a literal part of the whole.  Certainly it can not be concluded that an exact third of God’s angels sinned and were cast out of heaven, but, the fraction given certainly suggests a vast number.  We don’t know how many angels God created but Revelation 5:11 gives a hint.  The angels numbered with the rest of the righteous around the throne of God were numbered as “ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands“.  The Hebrew writer simply called them an “innumerable company of angels” (Hebrews 12:22).  Obviously the number of defecting angels was significant.  One cannot help but wonder why they would do such a thing after being in Heaven and seeing the power of God firsthand.  This certainly speaks volumes to the persuasive and deceitful nature of Satan to be able to deceive and lead astray such a vast host of heaven’s messengers. 

“and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child”
Satan is pictured standing in front of the radiant women who is about to bring forth Jesus Christ on earth.  Obviously Satan knows what is forthcoming and intends to waste no name in trying to destroy Jesus Christ as soon as He is born.  Satan working through Herod sought the child’s life right after He was born to the extent that His parents had to flee with him to Egypt in order to protect Him (Matthew 2:13).   It should also be noted that this is not the only time Satan, acting through earthly agents tried to destroy God’s plan of bringing the Messiah forth from the seed of Israel.  The Egyptians, Haman in Esther 3:13 and Antiochus Epiphanes were all agents of Satan who tried to destroy Israel.  Satan standing before the radiant woman of Israel was not a one time event that suddenly happened as Jesus was about to be born, rather this conflict had been going on for centuries.  Satan has always stood in opposition to the plan of God. 

Revelation 12:5
“And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne.”
This is a picture of the entire life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.  No need to elaborate here, the Christians who would be reading this were fully aware of all the details surrounding the life of Jesus Christ.  Jesus has ascended to the Father and is ruling all the nations of the earth from His throne in Heaven (Acts 2:33-35, Hebrews 10:12-13).

Revelation 12:6
“And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”
After Jesus ascension back to Heaven to reign from the Father’s side, the faithful became the spiritual kingdom that Jesus ruled over.  This spiritual kingdom, also known as the church, began in Jerusalem on Pentecost following Jesus’ crucifixion as revealed in Acts chapter 2.   The church in Jerusalem grew in leaps and bounds in the first years after its establishment.  In Acts 8 we see the beginning of a great persecution.  This persecution was primarily from the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah.  In Acts 8:1 we see that because of the persecution of the Jews, the Christians “were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria” and in verse 4, “they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”  To understand what the wilderness is in this context, one must look at it through the eyes of the people that were living it.  These Christians were displaced from their homes and driven out into the unknown to seek new places to live.  In their perspective, they were driven out into the wilderness.  And we see that they found places prepared for them by God.  God in His providential care made sure the Christians had a place to go and “They” were nourishing the church.  This is God, His Spirit and Jesus providing the nourishment from heaven and the food in view here is in the form of both spiritual and providential.  And under the care of the Godhood the church prospered and grew. 

Revelation 12:7
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels (going forth) to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels”
One thing we need to keep in mind when interpreting figurative statements is they never suggest a meaning opposite the figurative statement.  Therefore it can be concluded that “war” cannot mean “no war”.  The elements in the statement may be figurative but the activities cannot be.  For instance when we were faced with the locusts, it was the activities and the results that helped to define what the locusts represented.   In this statement, the activity is a conflict.  Inspiration calls it a war.  There is a conflict mentioned here so it cannot be denied that a conflict existed.  Many able scholars hold to the belief that this and the next two verses describe an invasion attempt by Satan against the throne of God after they were expelled from heaven in verse 4.

Scripture is clear that there were angels who sinned and were cast out of heaven, “For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).  But notice two things in this context.  First the immediate text says they were cast down to hell which in the original language is tartaroo or tartarus which is the tormented side of the hadean realm and there awaiting the day of the Lord and the final judgment.  See 2 Peter 2:9 for additional explanation.  Notice that  Peter did not mention a stopping place of earth along the way.  What we do learn here is that there was a time when angels sinned and were cast out of heaven.  Jude 6 reveals what these angels did that was sinful,  “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” (Jude 6).   So the angels that sinned and were cast out of heaven down to the place of punishment because they disobeyed God and left their own habitation. 

So it stands to reason that at some point in time the angels left heaven and came to earth and then were denied access back to heaven.  This is a possible explanation for the existence of the evil spirits on earth during the time of Christ.  The evil spirits existed and were on earth and they had to come from somewhere.   However this presents a difficulty in that the timeframe for the war in heaven is now at the time of Christ on earth.  Most of the scholars agree that the fall of Satan occurred at the time either before or shortly after the creation of earth.   We must also acknowledge that inspiration places Satan in a conversation with God on two occasions in the book of Job.  One would think a two way conversation would require that both be in each other’s company, so it is not unreasonable to conclude that Satan was in the presence of God and the context suggests a host of the “Sons of God” presenting themselves to the Lord.  So the question arises, did this meeting happen in heaven?  Nowhere else in scripture were angels referred to as “sons of God“.  The true meaning of “Sons of God” is found in Romans 8:14.  They are followers and worshippers of God; and so were those mentioned in Job.  So Satan having access to heaven is not supported in Job.  There is plenty of information in scripture that supports a pre-incarnate form of Jesus Christ on earth and this is a possible explanation for how the Sons of God presented themselves before the Lord without being in heaven.  Also it should be noted that in the account of Job, Satan had to acquire permission before he could afflict Job on both occasions and he was forbidden to kill him and Satan obeyed those divine directives.  Satan was bound at this time and this fact will come into play later on in this study. 

We must also give some consideration to the vision in Zechariah 3 where Satan was seen at the side of Joshua as an adversary.  Many commentators use this account to demonstrate that Satan had access to the presence of God.  If this were true, then so did Joshua.  Furthermore the text in Zechariah states that the event was in the company of the “angel of Jehovah“.  So we can easily dismiss this verse as supporting the claim that Satan had access to the throne of heaven which is used by some to support that the war in heaven happened all at once during the time of Christ on earth. 

During Christ’s ministry on earth, He sent seventy disciples out to preach the gospel in neighboring towns.  Before He sent them out, He gave them the power to cast out evil spirits.  upon their return they declared to Jesus that even the evil spirits were subject to them though His name.  Jesus reply to them was, “I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).  Those who support the war in heaven during the time of Christ point to this verse of scripture every time and if the heaven Jesus mentions here is actually heaven, then Satan has to have been there in order to fall from it.  However in the absence of any supporting scripture that places Satan in heaven itself, it is difficult to place him physically there in the presence of God.  It appears that Jesus is in fact saying He can see the the power and influence of Satan falling from a very lofty vantage point.  It was not Satan that the disciples cast out, it was the evil spirits, and none of them were said to have been cast out of Heaven, rather, they were cast out of living people on earth.  The evil spirits being cast out of the people did not cause Satan to be cast out of heaven.  It is also significant to note that when Jesus said He beheld Satan falling, the evil spirits were already on earth and had been for some time. If there was a war going in heaven at that time, then why were the evil spirits still on the earth?  It seems more consistent to think of this as the influence of Satan on earth weakening dramatically as a result of the power given to the disciples through Jesus.   

There is no support for a literal war in heaven during the time of Christ in the rest of scripture that cannot be reasonably explained away.  Did a conflict happen where Satan and those angels who sinned were expelled from heaven?  Absolutely yes.  Satan and his angels, as they are referred to in Revelation 12:9 have been cast out of heaven, they are forbidden to return and they are all bound in chains of darkness reserved for the judgment (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6), and 2 Peter 2:9 makes it clear that this period of imprisonment is not pleasant.  It is clear from the text that when Satan and his angels left heaven, it was not under peaceful conditions.  But there is no conclusive evidence to support the belief of some that Satan led an army of angels in an attempted invasion and overthrow of heaven.   In fact, it is quite evident from an observance of the way in which the evil spirits on earth acted towards Jesus upon their encounters that they obviously knew who He was, and they always obeyed His directives without rebellion. 

It is very logical to conclude that if the forces of evil were going to lead a revolt against heaven while Jesus Christ was on earth, they would have started it off by slaying Jesus Christ or at least attempting to.   It does not make any sense to think that Satan and his angels who were already forced to operate under constraints on earth would even have the barest chance for a victory in heaven.  Why would they have any better chance to overcome God in heaven than they did to overcome Jesus as a man on earth?  They couldn’t touch Him and they well knew it and the inspired accounts which tell of their encounters reveal only that when Jesus Christ gave them an order, they obeyed it.  While on earth, Jesus Christ was a man.  He had to have food in order to live, when He was cut, he bled just like any man would, He could and did suffer .  Jesus Christ was as human in his existence on earth as any of us and as such would be an easy target for any angel to outright destroy in an unrestrained confrontation.  Satan had to have divine permission to even touch Job and the divine permissions were obeyed.  Clearly something is in place which forces the evil entities to obey the divine directives.  It would be foolish and naive to think that the evil spirits obeyed Jesus out of any desire on their part to do so.   Clearly their were restrictions on the activities of Satan and the evil spirits or Jesus would have perished the instant He was born. 

So the question becomes not “was there a war in heaven?” rather, “when was the war in heaven?”.  That there was a rebellion in heaven which resulted in the defeat and expulsion of Satan and “his angels” is beyond question.  We do not know anything about this ill conceived and foolish confrontation other than the fact that Satan and His allies did not prevail and the outcome was unpleasant for them in the extreme.  The most logical explanation of this and the following three verses is that an ongoing spiritual warfare, which had been going on from the beginning of the creation, reached its climax at the final triumph of Jesus over death.  

Revelation 12:8
“And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
Satan and an obviously large host of angels couldn’t overcome God’s throne, the Roman Empire didn’t stand a chance.  God’s throne and purpose stand inviolate and unconquerable against any and all opposition.  Nothing can stand in the way of God’s will.  Satan and his foolish followers, at some point in history, found themselves booted out of heaven forever. 

Revelation 12:9
“And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.”
And this is the climax of a conflict that had been ongoing since before Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.  Looking at this through the eyes of the first readers, it is easy to see this as the final ultimate defeat of Satan once and for all which was evidenced in Jesus’ triumph over death.  Satan and his angels may have thought they had won when Jesus died on that cross.  They were not alone in that either.  Jesus’ disciples were in a state of confusion and indecision.  Their champion had died on that cross and they thought Satan had won.  It was no secret that Jesus was suppose to arise because the Jewish leaders had guards placed at His tomb, but the shock of His death was more than the disciples could handle.  Jesus’ shocked and demoralized disciples scattered and left.  If they had been absolutely confident of Jesus’ resurrection, one would think they would have set up a vigil outside His tomb in anticipation of His resurrection.   Notwithstanding, Jesus did arise and when He did the power of Satan over mankind was crushed forever.

Revelation 12:10
“And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.”
We see in this part of the vision, the eternal purpose of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.  God’s righteous nature demands the punishment of death for sin.  Satan and the sinful angels well knew this and it is obvious here that God was reminded of this by Satan continually.  Satan is demanding man suffer the same punishment for sin that he received.  Mankind sinned and Satan is right there accusing mankind of this and wanting to know why God hasn’t given them the same treatment He got.   When Jesus Christ died at the hand of man for the sins of man, the penalty of death which God’s righteous nature demanded was paid in full by Jesus Christ who was one of the three persons of the Godhood.  In effect, God paid the penalty of death for man’s sin in man’s place.  Satan did not know what God’s plan was until it unfolded and when it did, and the debt was paid for the sins of mankind, Satan had no more complaint against man with God.  Until Jesus paid the death penalty for man’s sin, Satan had a valid argument.  God’s righteous nature demanded death for disobedience and Satan never let God forget it. 

Satan hates God and He is powerless to harm God.  The only way Satan can hurt God is to drag mankind whom God loves through the muck and mire of sin and then cast it in God’s teeth.  Of course Satan’s hatred is especially focused on God’s faithful and it is the faithful he wants most to bring down.  He knows that when he brings down one of God’s own, God suffers for it.  Old Testament scripture reveals that it was God’s faithful who were the targets of Satan’s accusations.  Satan tried to say that Job was only faithful because of the goodness God showed him.  When that failed to be true, Satan said Job would curse God to His face if God would allow him to afflict Job directly and Job prevailed and prospered.  In Zechariah 3:1 we see a picture of Satan resisting Joshua who was standing sinful in the sight of God and God clothed Joshua in clean garments.  There is no evidence in scripture anywhere of Satan opposing unbelievers so from this we can conclude that Satan’s primary attention was directed towards God’s faithful children.

Now that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has paid the penalty for the sins of mankind, all faithful children of God can stand before Him justified of their sins.  Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, faithful children of God can no longer be accused by Satan.  Satan cannot accuse God’s faithful children of sin anymore because God provided them a way of appearing sinless before Him by suffering the death He demanded for man’s sin, Himself.  In today’s language we can illustrate this thusly:  “Satan, you demanded the same penalty for your sin be inflicted on sinful man, so I went down there and died for them in their place.  I suffered the death you demanded of them myself, now stop accusing them and get out of my sight.”

With the death of Jesus and the coming of the Christian age, there was a justification of sin, never before known.  The Hebrew writer taught that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin (Hebrews 10:4) and that the transgressions under the first covenant were forgiven (Hebrews 9:15).  All who lived before the cross and who will live after can have the complete and total forgiveness of sin.  It was at this time that salvation for man had come, and the power of God had been revealed and the spiritual kingdom of God was established.  This part of the vision is the coming of the church of Christ. 

Revelation 12:11
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.”
And this is a vision of those who overcame and triumphed over Satan.  There are three conditions here for the overcomers.  There was the blood of Jesus which served as the perfect sacrifice, the will of God revealed in the New Testament and faithfulness to the terms of the covenant even to the point of death.  Without any one of these, there is no salvation.

Revelation 12:12
“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.”
Through the sacrifice of Christ, we have a “better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).  We have every reason to rejoice because now we can stand justified in the sight of God, something never before known to the children of God.  Satan can no longer accuse the faithful in God’s sight for past sins.  All that is left for him now is to deceive the nations and try and lead as many astray as he can.  Satan knows now that there will be people who live in God’s presence forever.  He knows what his fate is and knows there will be no escape for him so his mission now is to take as many with him as possible.  This is the only avenue left open for him to oppose God and cause Him suffering.  Satan knows the only way he can hurt God now is to hurt those he loved so much and he can do this by deceiving them and leading them astray away from the shelter of His church.  Satan’s time is short and he knows it, so his efforts towards this end are reinforced. 

Revelation 12:13
“And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man (child).”
When Satan realized he could no longer accuse the righteous, he set out to try and destroy the faithful children of God.  This is the beginning of the great persecution. 

Revelation 12:14
“And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”
Looking at this through the eyes of first century Christians, this is likely one or both of two events being in view here.  In Acts 8:1, we read of the first great persecution of the Christians by the Jews:  “Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”  These Christians left their homes and fled Jerusalem out into the unknown and scattered all over the Roman Empire preaching the gospel (Acts 8:4).  From the perspective of the Christians who fled, they were going out into the wilderness away from their homes.  The apostles stayed behind in Jerusalem when the first Christians fled.  The next great event happened in 70 AD when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple.  The Christians living in Jerusalem then had been warned by Jesus as recorded in Matthew 24 to leave Jerusalem before this happened.  History has no records of any Christians dying in the destruction of Jerusalem so the general belief is that they all escaped.  They too would have been scattered across the empire wherever they could find a place to live.  To them, when leaving their homes, fleeing for their lives, it doubtless looked to them like they were heading out into the wilderness much like the children of Israel did when they left Egypt.

The “time and times and half a time” is three and a half years, representing an indefinite period of time, which is the same time period as seen in verse 6.  The nourishment for the faithful Christians during this time could be the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit providing them with the word of God which was their spiritual food.  The providential care of God can be said to be included in this as well.  It is obvious from the content of the letter of Revelation itself that God was extremely concerned for the well being of His children and He made sure they knew He was with them and in control of the situation.

Revelation 12:15
“And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream.”
Water as a river is a familiar old testament picture of a flood of oppression against God’s people.  “And Jehovah spake unto me yet again, saying, forasmuch as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, (even) the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks; and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel” (Isaiah 8:5-8).  Similar examples of water being pictured as oppression against God’s people are found in Isaiah 43:2, Psalm 144:7 and Psalm 32:6. 

The serpent sending a flood from his mouth is a figure for the amount of oppression he will send forth upon the children of God.  Pagan worship with all the lusts associated with that, lies, deceit, false philosophies, false teachings and false accusations against the church were just a part of the river of persecution that Satan spewed forth against the saints.  Christianity became illegal in the Roman Empire before it was all over and the persecution came in all forms up to and including death.   

Revelation 12:16
“And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.”
This is a picture of God’s providential care for His people.  Looking back to an earlier vision, God made it plain that His retribution upon the people of the earth was held back in favor of God’s children.  Earthquakes, floods, famines, diseases and other natural disasters hampered and weakened the instruments of Satan’s wrath and he was unable to completely destroy God’s people from the face of the earth. 

Revelation 12:17
“And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus”
Satan is angry because he cannot destroy Christians from the face of the earth so he is going to entrench himself and continue his war with God’s people for the rest of the time available to him.  This part of the vision is prophetic past the final destruction of the Roman Empire.  Satan is still at war with Christians and those who “keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus” are still fighting the battle between good and evil.  It is a worldwide battle and the stakes are the souls of mankind, both saved and unsaved.  The world is filled with false gods and false worship.  Those who claim Christ as their savior are divided into thousands of different denominations. 

Satan is still waging his war against righteousness and will continue to do so until the end.  The persecution is still life and death in some areas of the world and in others it is religious deception.  Billions of people on earth claim Christ as their savior in thousands of different denominations in the face of scripture that commands unity.  The advent of salvation by faith only is destroying more souls than the Roman Empire ever thought of and billions of people are going to their judgments only to be saddened because they believed Satan’s deceptions. 

Summary
This was the introduction to the bittersweet contents of the little book John was told to take and eat.  Revelation chapter 12 is a overview of the whole coming of Jesus Christ from the Israelite nation.  The vision portrays the birth and ascension of Jesus to the throne of God in Heaven.   In this vision we see the fall of Satan and his angels and his rage over his defeat by Jesus Christ.  Satan finds himself cast out of heaven and powerless against the heavenly host so he turns his malicious hatred upon those who God loves still on the earth.  Bent upon their destruction, he goes about trying every method of temptation and deceit he can think of to bring about the destruction of God’s faithful children from the earth. 

The introductions to the characters in the little book have been made, the setting for the vision has been set and now following will be the details of the battle between good and evil specific to the minds and experiences of those Christians living in the first century and following up until the downfall of the Roman Empire.  And in the end of this series of visions, we see death itself and all those who chose that as their destiny, forever cast into the lake of fire. 

Revelation 12 Paraphrase

Then in my next vision, I witnessed an event of great significance.  I saw the faithful remnant of the Israelites like a bride irradiated with the brightness of God, with the nations of the world beneath her feet and the likeness of the twelve sons of Israel on her head.  She was about to being forth the promised Messiah and she was in great distress and torment from the world while awaiting His birth. 

Then I saw another event that happened in heaven.  I saw Satan who was like a great red dragon with total hatred for mankind and great power and wearing headpieces like the wicked kings of the earth wore.  He had deceived a great number of angels and they had all been cast from heaven onto the earth.  And Satan who had opposed God stood on the earth in front of the faithful children of God awaiting the arrival of the Messiah so that he could destroy Him as soon as he was born. 

And then Jesus Christ, the promised messiah who would rule all the nations triumphed over death and ascended up unto God and to His throne.  And God’s children fled into the wilderness to escape the wrath of Satan and where they were nourished by God and His word for a space of time.  And the war between good and evil waxed hot and Satan and His angels were finally defeated and thrown down and there was found no more place for them in the heavens.  Satan, the deceiver of the whole earth and his followers were at last cast out.  

And then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now salvation has come, and strength, and the spiritual kingdom of our God under the authority of His Son.  And the adversary Satan has at last been defeated and his constant accusations before God are now ended.”

And the saints overcame Satan by the blood of Jesus, and by faithfulness to Jesus Christ’s word, and by patience and perseverance even unto death.  Therefore rejoice all ye who remained faithful unto death and dwell in paradise.  But Woe to those who yet live upon the earth for Satan has come to persecute you and he is angry because he knows he has lost and has only a short time left to hurt mankind. 

And Satan persecuted the children of God and to them were given the wings of eagles so they could escape into all the earth where God cared for them and fed them and protected them from the face of the evil one.  And Satan brought upon God’s children a flood of persecutions from worldly enemies in an effort to destroy them but the earth rose up against them and helped the faithful children of God.  And Satan was angry with the Christians and went to make war with the remnant of the faithful who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

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Revelation 11 (The Seventh Trumpet)

 Revelation 11 (The Seventh Trumpet)

This chapter starts with a continuation of the interlude between the 6th and 7th trumpet announcement.  John had been told to take the message of the little book into his very bowels which contained the blessed hope of the righteous and the bitter prophecies of the impending judgment to be spoken of against the world of the unrighteous.  The seventh trumpet will sound in this chapter heralding the final judgment of the Roman Empire.  This event will conclude the opening of the seventh seal of the book only Jesus could unlock and reveal. 

In looking at all the different characters illustrated in chapter 11, it is helpful to remember who the real characters are in the grand picture.  Just like with the locusts in chapter 9 we need to focus on the characteristics more than the characters, the activities more than the actors and keep in mind that this whole thing is written about who is going to overcome and who is going to fall.  On one side we have the bad guys ruled over by Satan and on the other side we have the good guys ruled over by God.  The good and the bad are at war with each other and there’s really no one else represented in these visions.  

The righteous are God, Jesus and various angels. The good institution is the church and the good individuals are the faithful Christians.  The bad guys, the unrighteous, are Satan and his followers. The evil institution is the Roman Empire and the evil individuals are its citizens which are unbelievers.  The activities are always good vs evil and they are in always in conflict.  The weapons used by each side are consistent with their natures.  The evil use whatever earthly weapon there is to wield while the good use only spiritual weapons such as the word of God, goodness, kindness, compassion and love.  The evil hate the good and they are trying to destroy them with whatever means they can contrive.  The good love the evil and they are trying to save them armed with the spiritual weapons of righteousness.  From the outside looking in, it looks like a one sided battle in favor of the evil.  But on the inside looking out it is a one sided battle in favor of the righteous because on their side, they have the creator, the God of the universe (Romans 8:31).  When looking at these visions, one can identify which characters, whether good or evil, are in view and insert them into the proper place, and go a long way toward understanding these visions. 

Revelation 11:1
“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Earlier when asked who would be able to stand against the judgment of God, we learned that God’s divine retribution would be held back until all His faithful servants had been sealed in their foreheads (Revelation 7).  The time is approaching for the sounding of the seventh trumpet and John is told to measure the temple of God.  The temple of God here is representative of the church which is the collection of the redeemed, illustrated here by “them that worship therein“.  The alter is the one beneath which the souls of the slain cried out for justice in Revelation 6:9-10.  The entire sum of the saved is in view here and John has been told to measure them.  He is not measuring objects, rather he is taking the measure of the people represented by the objects in the vision.  With the final judgment in sight, John has been instructed to see for himself how many of the souls had been sealed. 

Revelation 11:2
“And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
The temple in verse one was representative of the church, therefore those who are not within the temple are not in the church and they are not to be included with the number of the redeemed in any way.  The church is referred to in the NT epistles as the “temple of God” (1 Corinthians 3:16).  There is a contrast drawn here between those who are saved in the temple and those who are not saved being outside the temple. 

The area outside the temple is populated by the nations of the earth and they persecuted the church and treaded it under foot for forty two months.  This period of time is 3 1/2 years as is also the ‘thousand two hundred and threescore days” in the following verse.  The number 3 1/2 is half of 7 which symbolizes the perfection of God on earth.  The number 3 1/2 symbolizes that which is incomplete therefore the nations of the earth were not allowed to trample the church underfoot until it was destroyed. 

Revelation 11:3
“And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Keeping in mind who the good characters are and what they are doing we can know that these two witnesses represent the church which is prophesying for the period of time allowed for the nations of the earth to trample them underfoot.   These two witnesses compared with the ones sent out by Jesus in pairs (Luke 10:1) are the living saints on earth of the group of those represented as the “temple of God“.  While the saints on earth are being persecuted, they are teaching, preaching and trying to reach the lost.  They were trying to save the very ones that were trying to kill them. 

Revelation 11:4
“These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth.”
This is an explanation of who the two witnesses were.  The number two represented strength and confirmation in the minds of the 1st century Christians.  The two witnesses in verse 11 are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks.  Their characteristics were the bearers of food and of the light of righteousness standing before the Lord of the earth.  These are the living saints of God on earth carrying out the duties of carrying the gospel message to the lost. 

The Lord of the earth they are standing before is interesting.  Is this the evil influences of Satan they are pictured as, standing in opposition to face to face?  Or is this God they are standing before, pictured as standing together in opposition to the influences of evil?  There is sufficient evidence to build a case in support of either view.  Of importance is that the people represented in this vision are standing for good and standing in opposition to evil.  If that there is no doubt. 

Revelation 11:5
“And if any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed.”
The saints on earth are in view in this vision.  Obviously literal fire does not come from the mouth of Christians.  This figure draws its meaning from the words spoken by God to Jeremiah in 5:14, “Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.”  The image here is of power which is for the protection of the saints and the conquest of their enemies.  The fire coming out of the mouths of the witnesses is the condemnation of sin and the judgment of God on the unrighteous.  we also see here the fate of those who would oppress the saints. 

Revelation 11:6
“These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire.”
Again we see the imagery of the power of the saints being drawn from old testament figures.  Elijah prayed for a drought that lasted “three years and six months” (Luke 4:25, James 5:17), and Moses turned the water in Egypt to blood (Exodus 7:20).  It is interesting that the drought of Elijah lasted the exact same period of time that the holy city would be trodden underfoot and period of time that the two witnesses would prophecy.  All of these figures of divine retribution were seen in the old testament and refer to God’s judgment on the Roman Empire.  The Jewish Christians familiar with the ancient prophets would associate these things with the plagues they inflicted on their oppressors by the power of God.  God was answering their prayers and they knew the difficulties that were befalling the Roman Empire were a direct result of God’s intervention on their behalf. 

Revelation 11:7
“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.”
And here starts some of the grimmest prophecy of John’s vision so far.  The Christians, represented as the two witnesses, who were trying to bring those who were their bitterest mortal enemies to Christ were going to suffer heavy casualties.  We will see more of this beast that cometh up out of the abyss later on, but for now it is obvious this is the enemy of the Christians who is making war against them.  And sadly, the suffering Christians are being told that they will be overcome and suffer greatly. 

Revelation 11:8
“And their dead bodies (lie) in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”
Scholars are divided on whether this is a reference to Jerusalem or not.  Certainly Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem.  History records that no Christians were killed in Jerusalem when it was destroyed by the Roman Empire.  The internal evidence of Revelation places the dating of its writing during the reign of Vespasian who was the emperor at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.  The destruction of Jerusalem was a response from the Roman Empire against a Jewish revolt, not against the Christians.   Of significance here is the fact that regardless of when Jerusalem was destroyed in relation to the writing of Revelation, the things which must shortly come to pass certainly did have to occur after Jerusalem was destroyed.  This vision cannot be about Jerusalem because by the time it happened, Jerusalem did not even exist.  It was so totally destroyed that no Christians would have even been living in what was left of it.  This conflict is not between the Romans and the Jews.  It is between the Romans and the Christians, therefore this cannot be a reference to old Jerusalem because it did not exist at the time.  Therefore in the minds of the first readers, this “great city” would have to be Rome.  When unraveling the figurative language, something that could not have been cannot be what is represented in John’s visions. 

The words “great city” occur in Revelation 10 times in the King James translation.  In all other instances it is in reference to the Roman Empire which was ruled from the “great city” of Rome, often times referred to as Babylon in Revelation.  Never was old Jerusalem referred to as a “great city”.  In fact, old Jerusalem is never directly mentioned in Revelation.  The only mention of Jerusalem in Revelation is in reference to the new Jerusalem.  This is a significant clue to take into consideration on whether Revelation was written before or after the destruction of Jerusalem.  If Revelation were written before AD 70, then why was old Jerusalem never mentioned?  Why would Jesus Christ address 7 existing churches in Asia and neglect even a passing word to the church in Jerusalem if it existed? 

Revelation 11:9
“And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do (men) look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.”
People from all over the Roman Empire and beyond saw the dead bodies of the slain Christians.  This was not a local event in a single city.  This was something much larger for all the peoples and tribes and tongues of the world to be witness too.  This image of worldwide persecution is another reason why the “great city” in verse 8 cannot be old Jerusalem.  It must be in reference to the Roman Empire where Jesus Christ was indeed crucified.  The Roman Empire is represented by the capitol city of Rome and is therefore why it was referred to the city where Jesus Christ was crucified. 

The slain Christians did not even get so much as a decent burial.  They were left to serve as public displays for all who would see and know of their fate and why.  It’s almost like a demonstration of what awaits those who refuse to bow down and worship the emperor.  This went on for the same amount of time that the church represented as the “two witnesses” testified of Jesus to the lost. 

Revelation 11:10
“And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and make merry; and they shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.”
The oppressors of the Christians who tried to utterly destroy them from the face of the earth were quite happy with themselves.  They celebrated among themselves over their apparent victory over the Christians who tormented them with the warnings of God’s judgment upon their evil activities.  They got tired of hearing about it.  Those Christians were doing their jobs.  They were warning the lost, they were letting them know what was in store for them despite the obvious danger to themselves for doing it. 

It is heart wrenching to consider that these valiant Christians were so persecuted that their enemies actually thought they had finally overcome them once and for all.  It must have been horrendous for the saints of God in those days.  They were being persecuted to the death and their persecutors were celebrating it.

Revelation 11:11
“And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that beheld them.”
The two witnesses which represent the saints on earth which collectively make up the church appeared for a time to have been destroyed.  Where the church may have been stamped out in one area of the empire, it rose up in another, or back in the same place it was before.  The church, which is simply a collection of God’s people, could not be destroyed completely and those who thought so were greatly distressed when they saw it rise up again.  The individual saints were not resurrected.  The dead martyrs remained dead.  God’s collective people are in view in this vision.  The Christians who received John’s letter would know that many of them would die but they were reassured that the church would live on.  This is important information for the oppressed Christians indeed.  Think about how concerned they must have been for their children.  To die the death of a martyr is horrible in and of itself, but the greatest agony of all to a parent who is martyred is to leave their children unprotected and unsupported.  Yes there are many of them who are going to die, but take comfort because Satan is not going to win, the church will go on and your children will not be left without hope.  The greatest hope the Christian can ever have is in Christ and as long as this hope exists, there can be no ultimate defeat. 

Revelation 11:12
“And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”
Here is the reward of the faithful Christians who die in the persecution.  They will not remain dead, rather they will ascend into heaven in the end, glorified in the sight of their enemies.  What a comfort this must have been to the oppressed saints.  Keeping in mind that Revelation is written to them specifically and not to their enemies, this is a picture of their final destiny.  They are being reassured that they will ascend into heaven to be with God the Father forever.

Revelation 11:13
“And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand persons: and the rest were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
Earthquakes and other natural calamities have been set up to represent God’s judgment on the enemies of righteousness earlier in the Revelation.  This earthquake which destroyed part of the city is a partial judgment.  The enemies of righteousness were not utterly obliterated.  The seven thousand persons killed would be the total destruction of God’s enemies in the part of the city that fell.  The city is likely more than just the city of Rome, representing the entire Roman Empire ruled from the world-city of Rome. 

The survivors who were not in the parts of the empire that fell started to recognize the power of God and of truth.  Paganism was unable to defeat the Christians and was starting to lose its grip as people were scared and starting to see the power of the God of the Christians.  This does not mean a wholesale repentance and conversion to God, rather a weakening of paganism as people realized their manmade gods were useless and incapable of helping them.   The Christians had been persecuted to the point that they all but disappeared from sight, yet the plagues went on, the earthquakes continued, the problems which was tearing the empire down bit by bit continued. 

This is evidence that at the core, the enemies of Christianity really knew they were at fault.  They see the Christians loving their enemies, doing good to all, proclaiming righteousness everywhere they went and going to their deaths for what they believed in.  How can that many people die for their beliefs and not leave an impression on their enemies?  Killing them did not defeat them, they came back, oppressing them did not work, they simply tried to love everyone to the truth.  The enemies of the Christians do not have to know God in order to recognize that He exists and is behind them.  Most people know when they are doing evil regardless of what the masses of humanity around them might be doing.  People take comfort and security in numbers and those who persecuted the Christians were no different.  But way down deep inside, they knew they were wrong and this is why they hated the Christians so much. 

Revelation 11:14
“The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe cometh quickly.”
Before the fifth angel sounded his trumpet we have the pronouncement of three woes upon the inhabitants of the earth, each one associated with the sounding of a trumpet (Revelation 8:13).  The first of the three woes which was heralded by the fifth trumpet was the plagues of disease which accompany the kind of decadent lifestyles the Romans were living which struck them from within the empire (Revelation 9:1-11).  Then following in verse 12 of chapter nine we read, “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter“.  The second woe which was heralded by the sixth trumpet was the nation enemies of the Roman Empire which struck them from without Revelation 9:13-21.  And then from Revelation 10:1 to now is a buildup to what is about to happen, “but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings which he declared to his servants the prophets” (Revelation 10:7).  We see God’s swift retribution during this period, the bittersweet message that John took into his bowels and the instruction that he still had more to prophecy before all the people of the earth.  And then in chapter 11 we see the power of the saints over their enemies, the death of many of the saints and the appearance of the victory of evil over the Christians for a short period of time in various places.  we need to keep in mind that this is not a linear step by step progression, rather it is indicative of what was going on across the entire empire over a period of time.  Then in the days when the seventh trumpet begins to sound the mystery of God is now apparent to the saints as given to the prophets.  The good tidings is the gospel, the good news, the way of redemption from sin and the ultimate victory of the righteous over the unrighteous. 

It is significant to the understanding of the following elements of John’s vision to take note of the text.  The third woe comes quickly on the heels of the second woe.  There is no long period of time in view in this vision.  The final woe which occurs concurrently with the sounding of the seventh trumpet is upon them.

Revelation 11:15
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become (the kingdom) of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
At long last, the seventh angel sounds.  The immediate focus of the book of Revelation is directed at the first century Christians following up to the downfall of the Roman Empire in the following years.  The kingdom of the world being the Roman Empire in the minds of the first readers has been overtaken by God and His Son and He shall rule it forever.  For many hundreds of years God has punished and afflicted the empire, breaking it down, piece by piece and now in the end when all who have been saved have come to Christ and there remains no further prospects, the empire is thrown down and becomes the property of the victor.  That is what normally happens when an empire is overthrown, especially in those times.  To the victor go the spoils of war, and so to God went the kingdom of the world.  This was a way of illustrating to the first readers, the final and ultimate defeat of their enemies and the everlasting reign of the champion of the righteous. 

The application we can make for today is that we today are still faced with a parallel of the events leading up to the end of the kingdom of the world we see today.  For the Christians living under the rule of the Roman Empire, the final trumpet has sounded.  For us, Christ is reigning from His throne in heaven just like He was in the first, second and third century and our seventh trump is yet to sound.  For us, the perception of the world is that it is in charge of its own destiny, but we know better than that.  The same eternal God that overthrew the evil Roman Empire is still at work today.  In the end at the sound of the final trump, all the kingdoms of the world will have been overthrown and Christ who is reigning from Heaven will deliver His eternal kingdom back to the Father and all those who have overcome throughout all the ages will receive their eternal home in glory with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

Revelation 11:16
“And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell upon their faces and worshipped God,”
These are the same 24 elders that we saw in the beginning of this vision.  They fall on their faces and worship God when they see His great plan come to its final stage and the kingdom of the earth who oppressed their brothers and sisters in Christ have finally been overthrown.

Revelation 11:17
“saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign.”
The thanks they give is gratitude expressed for all that God had done for them.  The plan of redemption upon which their hopes rested, the deliverance of them to eternal life despite the efforts of their enemies and the final triumph of God over the evil forces of Satan.  So many saints had died in the great persecution, but they were victorious anyway.  So much blood had been spilled but the rewards for those who overcome are eternal.  And the 24 elders thanked God for coming through and doing what He promised.

Revelation 11:18
“And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and (the time) to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth.”
The nations of the world were angry with the Christians and tried to destroy them all, but then God’s wrath came and the dead were all rewarded according to their deeds.  Notice this is being described in the past tense.  This signifies that the sounding of the seventh trumpet is so sure, so certain that it is depicted by inspiration as having already occurred. 

It is significant here to note that God placed the blame for the destruction of the earth upon the unrighteous.  As we learned earlier God’s retribution on the empire was handed out in the form of destructive natural disasters upon the earth.  The blame for this is placed squarely on the heads of the enemies of God.  All of the earthquakes, storms, famines, floods and other plagues which afflicted the Roman Empire were their own fault and those who brought this destruction upon the earth are going to be destroyed. 

Natural disasters have not stopped.  We still have them today.  Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, droughts, heat, famine, floods, disease are running rampant over the earth.  The same God who wrought all this destruction on the Roman Empire is still reigning in heaven today.  All of these horrible events which result in enormous losses of life and property are the results of sin and those who are responsible for this today are going to be destroyed just like the ones in the Roman Empire were.  We see the parallels of what went on at that time all around us today on a worldwide scale.  It would take a blind and foolish individual indeed not to recognize this and draw the obvious conclusions. 

When we hear of a horrendous natural disaster where hundreds of thousands of people die and we hear people cry out in mental anguish over the devastation and death, and we see the suffering of those who survived and we hear people question the existence and mercy of an all powerful God, we can take what we learn from Revelation and give people those answers.  And the remedy today is the same as it was in the first, second and third centuries.  Repent and turn to God and His righteousness.  

Revelation 11:19
“And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.”
This vision started with the throne room of God opened for view and it ends the same way.  The Roman Empire is gone but God’s throne room is still standing, still visible in the vision and still open.  The ark of the covenant in the tabernacle and in Solomon’s temple was where the tables containing God’s covenant with His people was kept.  The image of the ark in this vision assured the readers that God’s covenant was close to Him and He would honor it. 

The lightnings, thunders, voices and other things that accompanied the throne scene are the same as they were in Revelation 4:5.  This is representative of the power of God on His throne.  John was told he still had more prophecy to write down in Revelation 10:11.  The throne is still open, the voices are still coming forth, there is more yet to come.   In the vision following this, we will see the same good characters and the same evil ones, the same conflict with the same results but with more details and more information.   This is evidence that the events represented by the seven trumpets were not occurring in a linear timeline but were happening concurrent with one another across the empire.   Chapter 11 closes with the kingdom of earth being overthrown and God and His faithful emerging triumphant but the scenes are going to be revisited in the chapters to come.  This repeating imagery is an application we can draw to our circumstances today.  The events we have studied in this vision can be compared to historical events that have occurred throughout the Christian age.  Even today, we who are righteous can study these visions and read our history and see them being re-enacted over and over again.  How many nations will be overthrown before mankind as a whole finally wakes up and sees that His own evil lifestyle is what perpetuated all the misery.  Where is the kingdom of God headed today and what will be the state of things when the last trump sounds for all? 

Summary Paraphrase

Revelation 11

And I was given a measuring stick and told to go count the number of the faithful.  But I was told not to measure those outside the church because they have been given over to the world and they will oppress my holy saints for a period of time.  And during this time of persecution, my poor oppressed saints will witness to them and try to teach them the error of their ways. 

And they will warn those who harm them of God’s judgment.  They will be warned that death awaits those who kill God’s saints and that plagues will be sent upon the earth on behalf of His faithful children.  And when their testimony is finished the Roman Empire which ascended up out of the bottomless pit will wage war with them and try to destroy them all from the face of the earth and will prevail over the church for a space of time.  The dead bodies of God’s saints will be seen throughout the empire and they won’t even get decent burials.  Their enemies will rejoice and celebrate because they think they have rid themselves of those who condemned their evil ways for so long. 

But after a period of time the Christians reappeared and their enemies saw them again and there followed a great earthquake which destroyed a large portion of the empire and many people died from it.  Those who survived saw the destruction and realized that the God of the Christians was behind them and the reappearance of the church.  This second woe is past and now the third one follows quickly. 

Then seventh angel sounded and it was announced in heaven that the empire had fallen and was no longer in the possession of the enemies of the Christians.  Then the twenty four elders which sat before God on His throne fell prostrate on their faces saying, “Thank you Lord God almighty, who lives forever, because you have taken over the evil empire with your great power and have reigned as our King.  The nations were angry with us and persecuted us greatly but now your wrath has at last come and your enemies are judged and your children who are your saints and fear your name both small and great are rewarded.  And now you shall destroy those who are really responsible for the destruction that has plagued the earth.”

And the throne room of God was opened in heaven, and God had with Him the promises of His covenant with His children and He spoke with great power of more things which will be.

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The Sixth Trumpet Announcement (Revelation 9:13-21)

The Sixth Trumpet Announcement  (Revelation 9:13-21)

The first five woes announced by the trumpets have passed.  Before we go any further, it needs to be pointed out that these woes on the enemies of God’s children did not occur in a progressive step by step fashion over the Roman Empire.  They overlapped and ran concurrent with each other to a large degree.  There were earthquakes, famines, plagues and other natural disasters throughout the history of the Roman Empire and they happened at random times over diverse territories.  One of the next major contributing factors to the decline of the Roman Empire was unsuccessful wars against their enemies.  Their enemies were constantly attacking their borders and their most bitter adversaries were the Parthians to the east.  The Roman empire tried to conquer the Parthians but were never successful at it.  Part of the reason the Roman Empire could not subdue them was because of their own internal civil wars.  Their internal conflicts kept them from a concerted effort to finally overtake them and destroy them. 

In 53 BC, the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus invaded Parthia in search of desperately needed gold to fund Roman military campaigns. The Parthian armies used both their light archery and heavy armored calvaries to hand Crassus a decisive defeat at the Battle of Carrhae.  After the battle, the victorious Parthians fed Crassus molten gold as a symbolic gesture of his greed. This was the beginning of a series of wars that were to last for almost three centuries.  In 39 BC, following a successful battle against the Parthians led by Marc Antony the Euphrates River became the border between the Roman and the Parthian Empire.  As we will see in this vision, the Euphrates river plays a role in the vision of the 6th trumpet.  As we look into this vision, let’s keep in mind that this is still part of the seventh seal.  Each seal picturing in a graphic way a progression of scenes beginning with the coming of righteousness, followed by the coming of evil and then the forces of evil at war with righteousness and now with the seventh seal, revealing the divine retribution of God upon the enemies of the Christians.  Even when God has had enough and begins doing those things which will bring the empire down, his highest priority is still the salvation of the lost.  The sixth trumpet announcement is another tool at the disposal of God with which He afflicts the Empire thereby chiseling away at its ability to remain in  power. 

Revelation 9:13
“And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God”
The golden alter here is likely the same one from which the angel in Revelation 8:3 offered the prayers of the saints with much incense to God. 

Rev 9:14
“one saying to the sixth angel that had one trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
At the time of the Revelation, the Euphrates river was the eastern boundary between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire.  The Parthians were Rome’s greatest enemy at the time of the writing of the Revelation. 

The Parthian Empire is a fascinating period of Persian history closely connected to Greece and Rome. Ruling from 247 B.C. to A.D. 228 in ancient Persia (Iran), the Parthians defeated Alexander the Great’s successors, the Seleucids, conquered most of the Middle East and southwest Asia, controlled the Silk Road and built Parthia into an Eastern superpower. The Parthian empire counterbalanced Rome’s dominance in the West. Parthia at one time occupied areas now in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaidzhan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

The Euphrates River is mentioned by name in this vision.  This would certainly suggest that the actual river is in view here.  Being mentioned before the horsemen in this vision appears to mean that this river is going to be the area or the direction from which the sixth plague on the empire will come.  The Parthian cavalry was world renowned and dreaded for their war tactics from horseback.  The Roman Empire, eager to push its borders further and the Parthians likewise desiring to conquer more territory were bitter enemies.  The Euphrates River became a hotly disputed border between the two with each empire seemingly digging in their heels and refusing to retreat any further. 

We see a parallel in this vision with the sixth bowl of wrath in Revelation 16:12, where the Euphrates river was effected in such a way as to prepare the way for the kings of the east.  The kings of the east were the Parthians.  Vassal kingdoms made up much of their territory and each one had its king and to say there was no love lost between them and the Roman Empire is a profound understatement.

The plague announced here with the sixth trumpet appears to be the incessant attacks of the Parthian Kings across the Euphrates and into Roman territory.  It was a significant drain on Roman resources to defend this border from attack and served to contribute to the erosion of Rome’s power. 

Rev 9:15
“And the four angels were loosed, that had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men.”
The number 4 was symbolic of the world in which we live so these four angels may have represented the enemies of the Romans on a worldwide scale.  The Parthians, while bitter enemies of the Roman Empire were not its only adversaries.  The Romans faced a number of other great enemies besides the Parthians, such as the Germans which included the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths.  It was the Visigoths who paved the way for the final downfall of the Roman Empire defeating and sacking the city of Rome in 410 A.D.  It is significant to note that the Germanic tribes which invaded the Empire from the west were horsemen just like the Parthian Cavalry. 

Being prepared for the precise time period stated simply means that God had them prepared beforehand to do His exact bidding at the time of His choosing.  The third part of men killed does not literally mean that exactly a third of all mankind perished in this plague, rather it means that a lot of people perished in this judgment doubtless being represented by the slain on both sides of the conflict. 

It does not say in this announcement that the saints of God are excluded from this plague.  This is a picture of war and good people die as a consequence of it.  The saints of all time can take great comfort in the assurance that all the faithful who die will be counted with the victorious and will inherit the rewards and promises of those who die in Christ. 

Revelation 9:16
“And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: I heard the number of them.”
This army of horsemen numbered 2 times ten thousand times ten thousand which is 200,000,000.  If we take this number literally and give space for each man to be on a horse the area of land which this would encompass would be roughly a strip of land 1 mile wide and 200 or so miles long giving each horse and horseman an area 4 feet wide and 8 feet long. 

This number is not to be taken literally.  In fact it is so fantastic a literal number that one should almost be aware of the fact of it’s figurative representation simply from the sheer enormity of the numbers involved.  To put such a number in perspective, if each horse ate 10 pounds of grain a day that would be 2 billion pounds of feed every single day.  That would be roughly 45,000 loads of feed from a full sized modern day grain trailer pulled behind an over the road truck every single day.  If each horse drank 5 gallons of water every day we are looking at a billion gallons of water every day.  It would take a good sized river to furnish that kind of fresh water and we need to keep in mind that they are going to need to fit 200 miles of horses one mile wide along the banks of this river just to give them a chance to drink.  And if this isn’t enough, we still have not fed the horsemen.   The U.S. Census Bureau reports that there is an estimated 303,000,000 people, men, women and children in the United States in 2008.  The number of horsemen in the vision if they were literal would have been two thirds of the total population of the United States.  When dealing with numbers of this magnitude, we need to be realistic about them.  There simply were not enough resources and capability in that day and time to even consider mobilizing such a force at one time.  In the first century, this number was symbolic of a sufficient number to carry out God’s retribution on the Roman Empire. 

While the Parthians were the enemy behind the Euphrates River, in consideration of the fact that the Roman Empire had many more enemies than just them, being represented by the number which symbolized the world in which we live and considering the vastness of the number used to represent these horsemen, it is entirely likely this number represented the sum total of all the horsemen of all the enemies of Rome through all the centuries leading up to its downfall.  The first readers would probably have been aware of that fact based on the sheer size of the number, knowing instantly that there were not even that many horsemen and horses in any one cavalry in any one kingdom at any one time in history. 

Revelation 9:17
“And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates (as) of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone: and the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceedeth fire and smoke and brimstone.”
A large factor making the Parthians such a formidable foe was their vicious and effective methods of horsemanship warfare.  The Parthians had perfected horseback warfare to the degree that they were a deadly foe whether charging forward or in retreat.  They were proficient horseback archers with the skills to shoot enemies with arrows even from behind them.  They also originated the fully armored type of horseback soldier known as the Cataphract.  These horses and riders were heavily armored and made them especially difficult to defeat, especially for the Roman foot soldiers. 

The heads of lions represented great strength.  The armor they wore was dependant upon the role they played.  The archers were lightly armored for speed while the Cataphracts were armored both rider and horse.  The single most devastating weapon that could be used at a distance was fire.  The invading horsemen would burn everything in their path to the degree required to secure victory.  Incendiary devices were standard weapons of war.  Burning arrows were used to set flammable structures on fire.  Military engineers of the day dedicated themselves to finding ways of ensuring that the fires burned long enough to catch.  Liquid fire was used as early as 429 BC when the Spartans used burning charcoal saturated in pitch and sulfur to burn the walls down in the seige of Plataea.  A century later Aeneas Tacticus mentions a mixture of sulphur, pitch, charcoal packed in wooden vessels, ignited and thrown onto the wooden decks of enemy ships.  Arrows were dipped in flaming mixtures of liquid pitch and sulphur and then fired at the enemies, burning everything flammable in their path.  This was all taking place centuries before the Parthians started invading the Roman Empire across the Euphrates River.  This type of warfare had been around for a long time and the Parthians knew exactly how to wage it.  It should be noted that brimstone is the ancient name for a sulphurous substance. 

Revelation 9:18
“By these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths.”
Fire, smoke and brimstone in conjunction are always figures for divine judgment in scripture.  Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown by fire and brimstone raining down on them from heaven (Gen 19:24).  The Psalmist wrote “Upon the wicked he [God] will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup (Psalm 11:6).  In warning wayward Israel of God’s forthcoming judgment Ezekiel wrote, “And with pestilence and with blood will I enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (Ezekiel 38:22). 

Whether all this fire and brimstone was literal or not, we can look back at old testament scripture and plainly see that some of it was and given the ancient use of fire as a weapon, we can easily infer that it was used many centuries preceding the writing of Revelation.  This terrible form of warfare took a heavy toll on the Romans.  Countless millions of people obviously perished as a result.  There can be little doubt as to the literalness of the terrible consequences that came about as a result of these attacks upon the Roman Empire.  

Revelation 9:19
“For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt.”
Twice now it is mentioned that these terrible plagues are issuing from the mouths and tails of the horses.  Fire, smoke and brimstone do not come from the literal mouths and tails of horses.  But horses with riders who can shoot flaming arrows dipped in burning pitch and sulphur and who are capable of accurately firing these weapons facing either forward or backwards on their mounts are certainly going to give the impression that the fire is coming both from the mouth or tail areas of the horses. 

The image here is more of terror, panic and loss of life than it is of literal fire and brimstone.  While we have a plausible explanation for all three plagues, we need to focus on the results and the objective more than anything.  Many people were dying because they refused to repent.  God’s primary purpose here was to bring people to repentance.  Natural disasters, disease and internal corruption had not done the job.  Now it’s time for a more direct approach.  

Revelation 9:20
“And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk:”
The men who were not killed (worldly or evil men) still did not repent even though they were seeing their empire slowly disintegrating before their eyes.  The righteous are not under consideration in this vision.  God wants all men to be saved but these refused to repent.  The whole purpose of this judgment upon the Roman empire was to bring the unrighteous repentance.  God has gone to great lengths to try to get the ungodly to think about their fate, stop persecuting Christians and stop worshipping their manmade idols which were worthless, lifeless and represented nothing real.

The lifeless qualities of their manmade idols in this vision are reminiscent of language used in the old testament to describe them.  In Jeremiah 10:1-6, Isaiah 44:9-20 and 46:5-7 we read of God’s utter disdain for these things and of His warning that they are worthless and of no benefit.  In Isaiah 44:20, the prophet wrote that those who follow after such things “feedeth on ashes”. 

Revelation 9:21
“and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
This is basically a repeat of verse 20 added for emphasis.  By repeating Himself, God is making sure His readers understand what He is saying and driving it home by repeating it to them.  The unrighteous who perished from the various woes inflicted upon them had their fate sealed.  But those who survived had a wonderful opportunity to see the fate that awaited them if they failed to heed the warning.  The unrighteous had it within their power to avoid everything evil that was happening to them and refused to change their ways. 

This vision completes the three instruments God would use to bring about the fall of the Roman Empire.  These three instruments were natural calamity, internal disease and decadence and external invasion by her enemies.  These instruments of God’s judgment were already partially at work in the first century and history shows us that all three of these were significantly instrumental in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. 

The text of verse 20 and 21 indicate that God’s judgment in these visions were aimed at the enemies of righteousness and not at the Christians.  The Christians might suffer in the earthly application of these woes but they would not suffer the eternal fate of the unrighteous.  This vision was given as reassurance that good shall triumph over evil and that those who overcome and remain faithful unto death will be victorious in the end.

Some additional thoughts to consider:

What an application we can make from this to ourselves today.  There is a quote saying this, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  Let us pause and give serious reflection to what we see going on in the most powerful nation on earth today.  Homosexuality and sexual decadence were an earmark of the behavior of the Romans and what happened to them?  Disease, decay and corruption.  The Romans practiced infanticide as a means of birth control.  They slaughtered their babies.  What about abortion today in the most powerful nation on earth?  Consider the natural disasters that occurred in the Roman Empire and give pause to think about the storms and earthquakes and other natural disasters going on in the most powerful nation on earth in these current times.  What about this sixth judgment where the enemies of the Roman Empire started attacking them and picking away at them bit by bit and piece by piece.  Now what about this most recent enemy of the most powerful nation of the earth today rising up and causing death and destruction, depleting the resources at hand which are necessary to withstand them.   We today know what the fate of the Roman Empire was and why.  We can see the parallels going on right in front of our faces.  Will we as a people repent before it is too late or will history see yet another world power rise and fall because of Godlessness?  And while we are considering these things, we also need to give attention to how to get this message to the unrighteous.  If the message of hope comes not from us, then from whence will it come?   

Summary Paraphrase

Rev 9:13-21

Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and from the four horns of the golden altar which stands before God I heard a voice speak to the sixth angel instructing him to release a plague of horsemen which had been held back at the great River Euphrates.  This plague which had been prepared beforehand was ready to strike at the exact appointed time and was liberated so they would destroy about a third of all mankind in their wake.  I was told the number of the armies of the horsemen and they were two hundred million strong.

In my vision, I saw the horses and those who sat upon them and their riders were armored with breastplates red like fire and blue like sapphires and yellow like sulfur.  The horses’ heads were powerful as lions and from before them poured out fire, smoke and sulfurous fumes.   Many of mankind were killed in these attacks.  The power of the fiery plagues looked like it was coming from their mouths and their tails.  And I could see their heads like deadly serpents from their tails and they wounded people from behind them. 

But the rest of humanity who were not killed in these attacks refused to stop worshipping devils and manmade idols of gold and silver and of brass and stone, and of wood, all of which are without life, unable to see or hear or walk.  Moreover, they also refused to stop murdering and practicing sorceries and sexual immorality. 

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The Fifth Trumpet (Revelation 9:1-12)

The Fifth Trumpet  (Revelation 9:1-12)

In Chapter 8 we saw God selectively using natural calamities and their resultant consequences to inflict His judgment on the enemies of righteousness.  The fifth woe is a little different.  The consequences here are applied directly to the unrighteous with the faithful Christians being excused from the torment.  This is a lot more selective and specific than using an earthquake to devastate an entire region where Christians almost certainly lived and had to be affected in some way.

Looking at the figurative language it is easy to see that interpretations of the following chapter have been diverse and often times unsatisfactory when it involves literalizing such amazing creatures as we see depicted here.  As with the rest of the visions, we must look at the overall picture and try and pick out what the activities are and who is involved in order to properly understand it.   We must also keep in mind that the message of Revelation is “signified” as indicated in the first verse of the first chapter so we cannot expect these creatures to be real.  In fact, they are so incredibly unreal that one would almost certainly be aware of the fact that they are symbolic from the sheer degree of the abnormality in the characteristics they are described with.   We must focus on activities more than actors and on the characteristics more than the characters. In short, we have to look more at the forest and less at the trees.  Once we have discerned the forest, then we can go back and look at the individual trees and use them to compliment and complete the image of the forest.

First of all, who are the ones being punished here.  Verse 4 reads, “but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads.” Those who have the “seal of God on their foreheads” is a figurative term for “the servants of our God” identified in Revelation 7:3.  Those who are not the servants of God are then going to be the only recipients of this divine punishment.   We have just effectively eliminated a whole host of millennial beliefs about this chapter that put these fantastic creatures at war with Christians.  The millennialists have it backwards.  Whatever these creatures represent, according to God’s command, they are no threat whatsoever to the faithful servants of God.   Faithful Christians have nothing whatsoever to fear from this plague, it being directed solely on the unrighteous.  This is a key element in trying to figure out specifically what is being represented in this scene of the vision so let’s keep that in mind as we move forward.

The next key component is the realization that the plague of the fifth trumpet would not kill the enemies of righteousness.  This is not the case with the sixth but for now, we have a valuable clue to help us determine what the plague announced by the fifth trumpet represents.  This plague represented by some pretty fantastic looking locusts is not fatal to all the enemies of righteousness.  In fact, verse 6 says the afflicted will be so miserable they will desire to die but they can’t.  So what we have so far is a plague represented by locusts, which is going to afflict only those who are not faithful Christians and will severely torment them but not be fatal.

The next key component is seen in verse 10, “And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months.”  The number 5 is representative of human incompleteness or limited power.  This is not a literal period of 5 months rather is representative of an incomplete or relatively short period of time as opposed to a complete destruction or a permanent affliction.  In short, this was something the enemies of righteousness would recover from over time.  By now it is fairly apparent that the fifth woe was some sort of terrible non-fatal disease.  But what kind of disease would afflict only those who are unfaithful to God?

The next clue is that the power of the locusts to afflict the non-Christians is found in their tails.   The Roman Empire was known for its decadence and sexual immorality.  With sexual immorality come diseases of all sorts.  Diseases that a faithful Christian who lives righteously would never ever have to worry about because they would not be participating in the activities that promote the spread of such diseases.  Some of these diseases are painful in the extreme, especially in a society with no knowledge of antibiotics or other effective treatments for such maladies.  They would simply have to live with these diseases until they ran their course.  History records that sexually transmitted diseases were rampant in the Roman Empire.  With all of the pagan worship to manmade gods, many of which included wild orgiastic rituals, it is not at all surprising.  The practice of homosexuality was also extremely prevalent in this culture which further promotes the potential for disease.  With the announcement of the 5th woe we see the Roman Empire becoming the victims of the consequences of their own decadent sexually unrestrained society.    Now looking back at the locusts with the power to harm contained within their tails, we need to associate those tails with the part of the human anatomy involved in the carrying and transmission of a plague that affects only those who practice a decadent lifestyle.

Now that we have a working idea of what the overall vision represents, we can now look at the specifics.

Revelation 9:1
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto the earth: and there was given to him the key of the pit of the abyss.”
First, this star represents an individual of some sort.  Notice the keys were “given to him” and then in verse 2 it says “He opened the pit“.  Commentators are divided on who this star represents.  Many able scholars and commentators believe this star is representative of Satan while others contend that this is a divine messenger from heaven such as the angel depicted in Revelation 20:1 who bound satan and cast him into the bottomless pit.  There are difficulties associated with either view.  The former places Satan with a key or the ability to open a door out of the bottomless pit with the ability to inflict suffering on the non-Christians in this instance.  The image of Satan being pictured as a star in Revelation and in possession of a key to the bottomless pit he is ultimately going to be thrown into forever is difficult.  However Satan is pictured by Jesus as falling from heaven like lightning and in Revelation 12:7-9 Satan is said to have been cast out of heaven into the earth.  Noting the text of 9:1 which reads “fallen unto the earth“; this star whoever it may represent is a fallen individual whose destination was the earth.  It is difficult to picture Satan as a star in any form, even a fallen one in a series of visions where he is so often depicted as the devil, a serpent or the dragon.

Other commentators associate the fallen star with the angel pictured in Revelation 20:1 who descended from heaven and bound Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit.  The immediate difficulty with this interpretation is that we cannot discount the fact that the star had fallen to the earth.  There is not one single account anywhere in scripture that I have ever seen that visualizes one of God’s favored angels, carrying out their duties in His service as having fallen from heaven to the earth.  Satan having fallen to the earth is supported in scripture and as uncomfortable as I am with visualizing Satan with a key to the bottomless pit, I am forced to go where the preponderance of evidence leads.

With this said, let’s look to what Satan’s authority was on earth at the time and associate it with this key.  In Revelation 13 we have the vision of the great beast rising up out of the sea.  In verse 4 we read, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast“.  The dragon pictured in Revelation is always in reference to Satan so we see here that Satan was indeed given a considerable amount of power and authority and this could only come from God.  Satan is depicted elsewhere in scripture as the prince of this world in John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4 and of significance to this vision, Satan is described as a “ruler of the darkness of this world” in Ephesians 6:12.  Since Satan is described as the ruler of this world and the darkness in it, he must be in possession of the ability to darken and rule it.  And the source of this darkness can be none other than the bottomless pit from whence he rules.  So in this way, Satan does indeed have a key to the bottomless pit from which he can release the influences of darkness and following in verse 2 we see that what was released from the bottomless pit was smoke and darkness that covered the earth.  The only thing that the key opened from the abyss was the ability to send smoke or deception forth which obscured the light and darkened the earth.  The key Satan possessed had limited capability. 

Revelation 9:2
“And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up 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 fallen star released smoke out of the bottomless pit.  Smoke obscures the path and dims the light.  And this smoke was so thick it darkened the air and the sun.  This language is figurative of the the evil influence and temptation that Satan releases on the earth.   Evil is always described as darkness and righteousness is always described as light.  The smoke which caused the darkness would be those things which are at Satan’s disposal to tempt mankind with.  The darkness which overspread the sun and the sky would be then be representative of the success of Satan’s temptation as the majority of mankind was led away from the light of righteousness thus allowing the darkness of sin to prevail on the earth. 

It is significant to note here that the key in possession of the fallen star from heaven released only temptation from the bowels of the bottomless pit.  Satan is not allowed to force mankind to sin.  Mankind either chooses the light of righteousness or the darkness of sin of his own free will.   God never forces man against his will, neither does He permit Satan to force man to sin against his will or to tempt man beyond what he is able to endure (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Revelation 9:3
“And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”
Locusts were one of the well known plagues of Egypt as written in Exodus 10:4-20.  To God’s own people He later said that if they would turn away from Him and commit sin, He would bring locusts upon them to destroy their land (Deuteronomy 28:38).  Locusts were used by God as written in Joel 1-2 to bring God’s wayward people back to Himself.    The locusts in this vision are therefore certainly representative of a plague.  1 Kings 8:35-37 teaches us that God sent natural pestilences and famine on the unrighteous in order to bring them to repentance,  “When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them: then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.  If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting (or) mildew, locust (or) caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be“. 

Notice that the plague came out of the smoke and not directly from the fallen star.  Satan, the fallen star sends the smoky darkness of sin to cover the light and from this darkness is spawned all the ravages, ruin, sickness and destruction which afflicted the unrighteous.  Retribution does not come directly from Satan, rather it comes from God as a consequence of sin. 

Power was given to this plague represented by locusts similar to the power of a scorpion.  A scorpion’s power is in his tail to sting and to cause pain and suffering.  We will see more of this power in the tail of scorpion in verse 5 and again in verse 10.

Revelation 9:4
“And it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads.”
This plague represented by locusts is said to cause no harm to grass or trees or anything with vegetation.  This is all the evidence we need to determine that these are not literal locusts in view here.  Literal locusts destroy nothing but vegetation as they sweep across a land eating the leaves off of nearly every plant in their wake.  These locusts are different from literal locusts and they are told to afflict only the people who “have not the seal of God on their foreheads“.   As seen earlier those who bear the figurative seal of God on their foreheads are identified as servants of God in Revelation 7:3, so this plague is specifically targeted at the unrighteous. 

Revelation 9:5
“And it was given them 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 it striketh a man.”
This plague was not completely fatal to all that were afflicted by it.  The number 5 is half of 10 and represented human incompleteness or limited power, therefore this plague was limited in its ability to kill.  People afflicted by this plague would be able to get over it and survive. 

The torment of this plague was said to be like being stung by a scorpion when it strikes.  Again we see a picture of the scorpion’s tail.  So what we have here is a plague which is generally non-fatal and afflicts people for a limited period of time stretching into months and is associated with the stinging tail or the hinder parts of a scorpion. 

Revelation 9:6
“And in those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise find it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth from them.”
This plague is going to be so miserable that those who are afflicted with it are going to wish they were dead.  However, death is not going to be found.  The afflicted are going to be forced to bear the pain and torment as a consequence of their sin until they get over it. 

Revelation 9:7
“And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men’s faces.”
John is giving us a description of the plague.  With figurative language it is important to focus on the characteristics and not the characters.  These locusts are not literal locusts, rather they are representative of a plague.  The characters used to depict this plague are not any more literal than the locusts are.  This plague is not a horse prepared for war.  It is like a horse prepared for war.  Looking into the old testament we see the plagues of locusts as prophesied by Joel in chapters 1 and 2.  In chapter 2:4-6 we read: “The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run.  Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.  At their presence the peoples are in anguish; all faces are waxed pale.”  Christians familiar with old testament teachings are not going to associate these horses prepared for war as anything good.  This plague is going to overrun the unrighteous with such force and power that it’s going to be like an army of warhorses sweeping over them. 

The crowns of gold are the crowns of conquest.  This plague is going to conquer the unrighteous but from earlier text we know that this is not a permanent conquest and that the afflicted are going to survive. The men’s faces indicate that this plague is associated with men or mankind in general.  The face or its features is a primary means of identification for people.  When the first readers looked at the characteristics of this plague, they saw in its face the faces of men. This plague is not associated with the earth by floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters.  It is associated and identified with mankind as a consequence of their own corrupt and immoral lifestyles.

Revelation 9:8
“And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as (teeth) of lions.”
With the face of mankind and hair of women.  This plague had an alluring tempting characteristic to it.  It was appealing and beautiful but with all its beauty it carried with it the characteristic of lions teeth rending and tearing.  This plague was deceptive giving out the appearance of beauty but having the rending savage bite of lion’s teeth hidden within.  Such it is with all sin.  Satan successfully disguises sin from being the ugly dangerous thing it is, masking its true appearance in ways that are appealing to the senses.  James teaches us in chapter 1 starting in verse 14; “but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death”.  The plague in Revelation which came from the darkness was no different than any sin which looks good on the surface but underneath is the way of death.

Revelation 9:9
“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 rushing to war.”
This plague did not have literal breastplates of iron, rather this imagery illustrates the power and resistance of the plague.  It’s resilient, strong and hard to overcome.  Again we see similar imagery to what was written in Joel regarding the plagues God sent during that time.  They were like a conquering army sweeping across the land like an army of horses would sweep across the landscape.  Unstoppable, powerful, relentless and without mercy, striking down all who are unrighteous and participate in the immoral and decadent activities which were prevalent in this society.  Keeping in mind that this plague was targeted specifically toward the unrighteous.   The righteous had nothing to fear from this plague but to the unrighteous, this plague was armor plated. 

Revelation 9:10
“And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months.”
This is almost a repeat of verse 5 except that in verse 5 we learned that this plague was non-lethal.  In verse 5 the tail of the scorpion as the source of the torment is alluded to in vague terms, however here it is specifically mentioned in this capacity.  The power of this plague is found in the tail and it torments for a limited period of time.  As mentioned earlier, diseases brought about by a sexually prolific society were rampant in the Roman Empire.   Their society was noted for unrestrained homosexuality, orgiastic behavior associated with worship to sexual pagan Gods and widespread prostitution especially towards the Roman soldiers.  The Roman soldiers carrying these various diseases and visiting the houses of prostitution in each town spread them all over the empire as they traveled from city to city.  History records that sexually transmitted diseases of all kinds were of epidemic proportions and caused all kinds of misery and torment for the ones afflicted. 

A faithful Christian, abiding faithfully under the rule of Christ would never ever have to worry this plague.  These locusts with the faces of men, hair of women, teeth of lions and tails like scorpions would have no effect on a faithful Christian.  Even today we know that the best defense against these kinds of diseases is to refrain totally from these kinds of activities.  With our technology today we have things like blood transfusions which can infect the innocent, but these kinds of things were not possible in the Roman Empire.  Faithful Christians living in the Roman Empire who practiced celibacy for the unmarried and monogamy for the married had nothing to fear from sexually transmitted diseases and with extremely rare exceptions this holds true today.  In the 21st century we have a plague worse than the Roman Empire ever faced.  We have one today that kills and can be transmitted from the pregnant mother to her unborn child.  This disease is a direct consequence of homosexual activity.  The Roman Empire never faced AIDS but we do today.  And sadly, the cure for the spread of this epidemic is the same as it was for the Romans.  The Christian life, faithfully lived would eventually end the spread of this and all such diseases associated with this immoral type of lifestyle. 

In the very first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he alluded specifically to the consequences of this kind of immoral lifestyle.  It is obvious from the tone of Paul’s language that this sort of thing was widespread among the Romans and in his letter he said that, “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves: for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.  For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature:  and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due” (Romans 1:24-27).

Revelation 9:11
“They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek (tongue) he hath the name Apollyon.”
We know who the angel of the abyss is.  This is none other than Satan himself, the deceiver, the Devil, the great red dragon.  Abaddon means “destroying angel”, and Apollyon means a “destroyer”.  Jesus is recorded as seeing Satan fall from heaven like lightning, (Luke 10:18).  Satan is pictured in Revelation 12:3 as the great red dragon having seven diadems with seven crowns as ruling over those who are at war with God and His purpose.  Satan is the source of all that is evil and from that comes the manifestation of all the consequences of evil, both on earth and in eternity hereafter. 

Revelation 9:12
“The first Woe is past: behold, there come yet two Woes hereafter.”
This again tells us that this woe is temporary and it isn’t over yet.  There is more heartache in store for the evil Roman Empire.

Summary Paraphrase:

Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw one who was once a great power in heaven but had fallen from the sky to the earth; and to him was given a key to the bottomless pit.  Then he opened the abyss and darkness like the smoke of a huge furnace came out of the opening and was so great that it darkened the sun and the sky.

Then out of the darkness came forth a great plague like swarms of locusts on the earth, and power was granted to it as the power the earth’s scorpions have. They were told not to eat the vegetation of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, but only to attack the people who are not living faithfully before God. They were not permitted to kill the unrighteous, but only to torment them for a period of time.  And this torment was like the pain caused by a scorpion’s sting.  And when this plague strikes, the afflicted will crave death but it will flee from them.

This plague in the vision was like a thundering stampede of horses trampling everything in its path.  It was identified with the faces of men wearing golden crowns.  Long beautiful women’s hair make it look appealing but the outward beauty only concealed the ravaging teeth of lions behind it.   This plague is so hard to get over it seemed to be plated with armor and swiftly overtook the unrighteous like a vast number of horse drawn chariots going to war.  This plague tormented the unrighteous for months at a time and it came from within the tail of the locusts and its affliction was like the sting of scorpions.  And Satan, the angel of the abyss, also known as the destroyer of righteousness rules over the plague like a king.  

This plague when it is finished is not the end of things for there are two more woes yet to come upon the enemies of righteousness.

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