We now come to Revelation 9, and the 5th and 6th trumpets. As I pointed out in the last post, the first four trumpets are similar to the first four seals, in that they should be seen together as a group. Thusly, the 5th and 6th trumpets, like the 5th and 6th seals, follow in the same way. In fact, when you compare both the seals and the trumpets, you see a distinct pattern emerge: (A) the first four seals/trumpets; (B) the 5th and 6th seals/trumpets follow in succession; (C) a pause in the action; then (D) the final seal/trumpet. With that being said, let’s dive into Revelation 9.
The Fifth Trumpet (9:1-12)
When the fifth trumpet is blown, we see a fallen star from heaven come down to earth with a key to open the shaft to the Abyss. What comes out the Abyss are locusts—the majority of this section deals with their description. Finally, we learn that their king is the Angel of the Abyss, whose name (Abaddon in Hebrew; Apollyon in Greek) is translated into English as the Destroyer. So what does this all mean?
Traditionally, the Abyss is identified with the waters of chaos from ancient Near Eastern mythology in general, and the beginning of Genesis in particular: they are the waters that God caused to recede in order to bring forth the land on which mankind can dwell. In Genesis, God is seen as the God who brings order out of chaos, and all throughout the Old Testament this imagery can be seen. Here in Revelation, we see the power of that chaotic Abyss being unleashed into the world—basically, evil is “flooding over” the world, if you will.
But who is the fallen star? One possibility is that it is a reference to the fall of Satan, or to a fallen angel in general, and he is the one allowed to open the Abyss of chaos. In any case, what we see is that God allows him to open the Abyss—God is still ultimately in control, and God can even allow evil, in order to bring about His divine purpose of salvation.
And what about the locusts? One thing is for sure—they are not 21st century war helicopters, as some so-called “end-times experts” have claimed. John is not getting a peak into the 21st century and then trying to describe future war machines to first century Christians.
To understand the locusts, one must look again to the Old Testament. First of all, they bring to mind the plague of locusts from, you guessed it, the Exodus (Exodus 10:1-19). In short, they are instruments of God’s judgment on the enemies of His chosen people. Secondly, they also bring to mind the prophecy of the plague of locusts from Joel 1:4-13, in which Joel warns Judah of YHWH’s coming judgment, and the coming Assyrian invasion. The locusts there represent the invading army coming to punish unfaithful Judah. And so, the image of the locusts here in Revelation should be interpreted along the same lines. It gives us a picture of God’s coming judgment on the oppressors of the servants of God (the ones who have been martyred and are under the Altar of Souls—see Seal 5).
Finally, who is the Destroyer, the king of the Abyss? To a certain extent, it is ultimately can be seen as Satan, but the early Christians in the Roman Empire would have seen more to it than that. The Hebrew word Abaddon means “destruction,” but the Greek word Apollyon (which also means “destroyer) adds a little twist—it is obviously related to the Greek god Apollo. And the cult of Apollo used the locust as its symbol. Furthermore, a number of Roman emperors like Caligula and Nero identified themselves with Apollo. The Emperor Domitian (the emperor during the time John wrote Revelation in 95 AD) even claimed to be the incarnation of the god Apollo himself.
Therefore, what John is saying here in the fifth trumpet is truly revolutionary: the king of the Abyss, the one responsible for the destruction and torture in their world, the embodiment of the destructive power of Satan himself…was none other than the Roman Emperor. Is it any wonder why Christians were considered to be unpatriotic and treasonous?
The Sixth Trumpet (9:13-19)
The sixth trumpet give another picture of an invading army. The four angels here at the Euphrates River refers back to the same angels in 7:1—in chapter 7, they are told to wait until the servants of God are seals; now here they are released to kill 1/3 of mankind. But why the Euphrates River? And why 200 million troops?
First off—the Euphrates River. In the Old Testament, the Euphrates River acted as the boundary between Israel and the world empires. Any empire, be it Babylon or Assyria, would have to cross the Euphrates River if it were to make its way to Israel. The threats, therefore, to Israel always come from beyond the Euphrates River.
Interestingly enough, in the first century AD, the Roman Empire’s chief rival was the Parthian Empire which was also from beyond the Euphrates River. In fact, there was a belief throughout the Roman Empire in the latter part of the first century AD that the evil emperor Nero never really died, but instead escaped to Parthia. Some thought that one day he would come back and attack Rome with the armies of Parthia, from beyond the Euphrates River. So, in short, in the Bible, mention the Euphrates River, and oftentimes it implies God’s coming judgment.
Secondly—the 200 million troops. Is this a literal number? Some “end-times experts” certainly think so. They say that it is a prophecy about China’s army invading Israel. In Greek, though, the actually rendering is “two myriads of myriads” (or “twice 10,000 times 10,000”). The number relates back to Psalm 68:17 (which gives the number of chariots at Sinai), and to Daniel 7:10 (which gives the number of angels attending God on His throne). This “army from beyond the Euphrates River” then is seen as God’s instrument of judgment. Like the locusts of the fifth trumpet, it is a destroying army that is used by God to execute His wrath.
Conclusion (9:20-21)
With the fifth and sixth trumpets, John’s message, though cryptic and symbolic, is nevertheless clear, once you understand the symbolism: the way in which God is going to answer the prayers of the saints and bring His wrath upon the Roman Empire is, ironically, through the destructive actions of the Roman Emperor himself, and the destructive actions of foreign powers.
At the end of the sixth trumpet, though, we are told that the rest of mankind (those who weren’t killed by the destructive powers within and without) still did not repent and did not stop worshipping idols. That sets the stage for what happens next: the plagues of the first six trumpets did not bring about repentance at all. So, what will God do?
That’s in Revelation 10…
