1The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
Dig Deeper
I just could not figure it out. We had cleaned our carpet with a rented steam-cleaner and it had looked great, but now just a month later, the carpet looked as bad as it did before we had cleaned it. We had tried to keep it clean and taken our shoes off whenever we went inside, but to no avail. I thought that maybe the machine we used was no good, but that didn’t make sense because the carpet had been quite obviously and visibly clean for at least a few days. A few months later, though, my dad, who has some professional knowledge about carpet cleaning, solved the mystery. After cleaning a carpet with the soap-solution, a residue is left on the carpets, a fact that most people who clean the carpets themselves are not aware of. In order to get it off, you have to carefully use the cleaner to rinse your carpet by going over it once or twice with only water and no cleaning solution in it. This will remove the residue which actually attracts and collects dirt and makes it worse than you started.
The previous analogy is certainly not perfect but it does help us to see some of what John is discussing here. Jesus had predicted that his work was sweeping Israel clean but if they remained empty, in other words, if they didn’t follow Him as the way, the truth, and the life, then once he was gone, the demonic influence would sweep back in and make things far worse than they were before he came. John picks up on that truth here and is informing his readers that Jesus’ words are about to become frighteningly true.
9:1-2 - The fifth angel sounds the fifth trumpet which is the the first woe. The plagues are now becoming more intense. This trumpet will unleash a curse similar to the swarms of locusts which descended on Egypt in the eighth plague (Ex. 10:12-15) but is somewhat different. The Abyss is opened up and these locusts are demons from the Abyss. The Abyss is the farthest extreme from heaven (Gen. 49:25; Deut. 33:13), and from the high mountains (Ps. 36:16). It is the place to where demons feared to be sent (Luke 8:31). Jonah spoke of the Abyss as an excommunication form God’s presence, a banishment from the Temple (Jon. 2:2-6). John’s point is all hell is about to break loose on the land. Apostate Israel is about to be cast out of God’s presence and filled with demons and the demonic influences of violence (Gen. 6) and false teaching (1 Tim. 4:1).
9:3-6 - The locusts were given power to kill them but only to torture them for five months. Why five months? There may be several answers here to which John was referring, possibly even all of them. First, the five-month period, probably refers to the fact that May through September is the time when locusts normally appeared. These locusts would be unusual in that they would last for the entire five months. Second, it may be referring to Gessius Florus, the procurator of Judea, who terrorized the Jews, seeking to incite them to rebellion. This lasted for a five-month period that began in May, 66 A.D. He was successful, and Jewish historian Josephus dates the beginning of the Jewish war from this particular occasion. Third, five is often associated in Scripture with power and military organization (Ex. 13:18; Num. 32:17; Josh. 1:14; 4:12; Jud. 7:11; 2 Kings 1:9). At God’s direction, Israel was to be attacked by a demon army from the Abyss. Jesus had prophesied that the land which had received the benefit of His work would be overrun with demons if they rejected His call to the Kingdom of God (Matt. 12:41-45). Israel had rejected Christ and the blessings they had received would turn into curses. Jerusalem had been "swept clean" by Christ’s ministry, but would now become a dwelling place of demons.
The grass, plants, and trees were not to be harmed. This curse would only affect those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Only Christians would be immune from the sting of the scorpion-like demons. John repeats what he told us in 6:16, as he says that men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. Jesus had specifically predicted this longing for death among the final generation of the Old Covenant (Lk. 23:27-30). The immediate result of this curse would not be death but would be torment, misery, and suffering.
Devotional Thought
Although the Christians would be effected in some ways by the coming tribulation, it would ultimately not destroy them. This portion of the Revelation makes it clear that the demons were not allowed to harm Christians. This is because Christians have Christ living in us. Satan, his angels, and demons can only attack us if we give them permission. The primary way we do this is by allowing Satan into our thought life. Have you kept your thought life pure lately? In what ways do you need to improve in that area?
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