The Fifth
Trumpet Judgment
Chapter Three
- Verse Three
And there came out of the
smoke locusts upon the
earth: and unto them was given
power as the
scorpions of the earth have power
(Revelation 9:3)
Locusts emerge from
within the midst of the smoke that ascends up from the bottomless pit. Thus far in chapter nine every detail spoken
of has been depicted in a symbolic language while disclosing a spiritual
story. God has written the Bible in such
a way that it will interpret itself entirely.
In trying to understand its contents, we must not go outside of
Scripture for man’s interpretation, but we must stay within the confines of
Scripture, for it is only there wherein truth will be found. However, it is God who ultimately reveals
these truths to us. God embraces the use
of parables throughout Scripture, and this truth cannot be over
emphasized. If we dismiss Old Testament
stories as all being past history, then the conclusion man arrives at is that
these accounts hold only good moral lessons for us today, but spiritually can have
nothing much of value with regard to Christianity or the true Gospel of the New
Testament Era. Those who hold to this
thought are woefully missing out on the fullness of God’s Word, whose plan of
salvation begins at Genesis chapter one.
LOCUSTS
FROM THE PIT
We see locusts
mentioned in Scripture as far back as Exodus chapter ten. In recalling the ten plagues that God brought
upon Pharaoh, king of
14 - And the locusts went up over all the
15 - For
they covered the face of the whole earth,
so that the land was darkened;
and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there
remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the
“Swarms of Locusts
Invade
As we see in
Revelation 9:3, these locusts are coming upon the whole earth, just as the
parable in Exodus showed the literal locusts covering the face of the whole
earth. “For they covered the face of
the whole earth…” (Exodus 10:15). This
word earth is a general term and is also translated as land or country. We know from scripture that it was the
Joel Chapter Two Sees These
Same Locust -
The Great
Tribulation period is spoken of in many places throughout Scripture. The Old Testament Book of Joel is very
explicit in telling of this time, and denotes locusts as the fixed enemy
of God. In speaking of this time, Joel
chapter two begins with the blowing of a trumpet!
Joel 2:1-2 -
1 - ¶Blow ye
the trumpet in
2 - A day of darkness and of gloominess, a
day of clouds and of thick darkness,
as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there
hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the
years of many generations. (Cross
Reference: Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”)
The blowing of the
trumpet announces the imminent judgment that is to come upon
“The Lord is my
shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me
to lie down in green
pastures…” (Psalm 23:1-2)
“The Lord called
thy name, a green olive
tree, fair, and of goodly fruit…”
(Jeremiah 11:16).
“…I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.” (Hosea 14:8)
[God is as our green fir tree and our spiritual fruit is found no other
place than the Holy Bible.]
“…but I am like a green olive tree in the
house of God…, (Psalm 52:8).
These are but only
a few examples of the light of Christ being compared to green and having life
and producing much fruit. Briefly looking
back to the Book of Joel,
chapter one and verses four and five read:
4 - That which
the palmerworm hath left hath the locust
eaten; and that which the locust
hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath
left hath the caterpiller eaten.
5 - Awake, ye
drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off
from your mouth.
The Mouth -
Verse four mentions
not only the locusts, but in addition it mentions the palmerworm, cankerworm,
and the caterpillar. These are all pests
that eat up green types of vegetation. In
Joel 1:7 God tells us what
the locusts and worms are feeding on - they are literally feeding on the grape vines. “…he hath laid my vine waste.” God’s salvation plan is pictured in Scripture
as a vineyard. We can read about this in
the fifth chapter of the Book of Isaiah, among other chapters.
Spiritually
speaking, wine in Scripture
is always synonymous with the blood of Christ.
His blood shed on the cross is equated to wine or new wine. At the last supper Jesus drank wine and
said: “…this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many,” (Mark
14:24). Christ also stated in John
6:54 that “whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood [spiritual wine],
hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the Last Day.” In the first chapter of Joel we have a picture
of the Gospel of Salvation, represented by the new wine, being cut off by
the locusts and worms. In verse
seven God is saying that these locusts have laid His vine waste. Without vines there will be no grapes, and
without grapes there can be no wine! It
is God’s vines that are in view here; these vines that in turn produce the
spiritual wine which can be proven from Scripture to represent the one and only
way in which man can enter into heaven - by being covered with the shed blood
of Christ and that being the biblical wine of Scripture. Joel
1:5 says that the new wine is cut off from your mouths. This is not saying that there will be a
shortage of wine. It is teaching that
the Gospel (the true wine of Scripture) will not be spoken any longer; it will
be cut off from the mouth! Yes, of course God’s true elect will forever
praise Him and proclaim the Good News of Salvation. However, from the standpoint of the corporate
church, the true Gospel waters will be cut
off in a discreet manner, as we
clearly are witnessing today.
Because of these
locusts, Joel 1:10 speaks of
the field and the corn being wasted, the new wine being dried up (the
silencing of the Gospel), and also states that the oil languisheth. The
oil, of course, is a biblical term that signifies the Holy Spirit. So we see clearly what the spiritual
implications are in relation to locusts.
These locusts are false prophets and false teachers with their false doctrines
that creep into the congregations of the corporate church to attack, poison,
and dry up the true and pure Gospel of Christ.
This is the ultimate purpose and meaning behind the attacks of the
locusts throughout Scripture. Also
notice above that the field and corn are being wasted. Corn is yet another term in Scripture depicting
God’s truth. Some examples:
Isaiah 36:17 - Until I come and take you away to a
land like your own land, a land of corn
and wine, a land of bread and
vineyards.
Ezekiel 36:29 - I will also save you from all your
uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn,
and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
Hosea 7:14 - And they have not cried unto me with
their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.
Joel 1:10 also
speaks of the field being
wasted. In this passage the word field
seems to allude to the field where the corn is grown, which would imply it too
is symbolic for true believers, faithful congregations and the overall
worshipping and preaching of the Gospel.
This corn and its fields will wither as a result of spiritual judgment
upon the world, once the locusts are loosed from the bottomless pit at the end
of time.
LOCUSTS
GIVEN POWER
Verse three in or
study tells us that Locusts came forth from the smoke of the bottomless pit and
these locusts were given
their power. This word given is the same
word used in verse one where we saw the star that fell to earth, and unto him
was given the key to the
bottomless pit. The meaning in both
instances is the same. As God gives
Satan this key, He in actuality is allowing Satan to exalt his authority. Satan would be powerless, were it not for God
temporarily removing His restraining power.
As God releases Satan from prison, this power and authority is given not
only to Satan, but to his dominion as well.
All those who are under his deception are lead by his power. In 2
Thessalonians 2:7-8 we read of this time when Satan is once again
allowed full authority.
7 - For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until
he be taken out of the way.
8 - And then
shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Satan is described
in verse eight as that wicked. In
verse seven the word letteth means to hold down or to retain. These two verses are speaking of the Holy
Spirit as the he who retains
or letteth until he (Holy
Spirit) be taken out of the way. This is not teaching that the Holy Spirit will
be taken off the earth during this time, it is simply showing that God will
lift His restraining power, whereby releasing Satan and allowing him to wage
war against the church. II Thessalonians
chapter two is teaching the releasing of Satan near the end of time and the key
to hell being given to Satan. Incidentally,
please notice that verse eight tells us that Satan shall be destroyed with the brightness of Christ’s
coming. As we saw earlier, Christ is the
brightness or light of the world. Brightness here in Thessalonians is also
translated as appearing or manifestation, and we know that at the coming
of Christ every eye shall see him, Revelation 1:7. His return to this earth cannot possibly be
missed by anyone: “And then shall appear
the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the
earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory,” (Matthew 24:30).
It is Christ’s brightness, the Creator of all things, who will shine
forth at the last day, signifying Judgment Day.
“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be,” (Matthew 24:27).
POWER OF
LOCUSTS: AS POWER OF SCORPIONS
The Greek word that
is used for power simply means privilege, freedom, strength, authority,
etc. These locusts are given this
freedom and authority strictly because God is bringing judgment upon the
unbelievers. God is allowing this plague
to come upon the church through His instruments of judgment, the false
messengers. One example of the word power
is seen in Revelation 13:2, where
the exact Greek word for power in Revelation 9:3 is translated also as authority:
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 dragon gave him his power,
and his seat, and great authority.
This power that is
given to the locusts seems to be the same AS the power of scorpions. “…as the scorpions of the earth have power,” verse three of our study
tells us. God is contrasting the power
of these locusts to the power of the scorpions.
In both cases the locusts and the scorpions are actually one and the
same thing and they derive their power form Satan. Is there some type of unique power that common
earthly scorpions carry? In the literal
sense, no there is not, but what does the biblical word scorpion
represent?
Scorpions -
When we go to Ezekiel
chapter two we get a clear-cut definition for the biblical term scorpion. In this chapter we see that Ezekiel is called
to the prophetic ministry; God is calling him to be a prophet to
Ezekiel 2:3-6-
3- And he said
unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of
[Ezekiel’s call is
to the rebellious nation of
4 - For they
are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou
shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
[Impudent children carries the meaning of stubborn.]
5 - And they,
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall
know that there hath been a prophet among them.
6 - ¶And thou,
son of man, be not afraid of them,
neither be afraid of their words,
though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their
words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
Here in verse six
Ezekiel is told by God, not once but twice…not to be afraid of the words of
these rebellious Israelites. The
danger lies clearly in their words. Why?
Consider the following few passages:
Metthew 15:11, declaring: “Not that which goeth into the
mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.”
Jeremiah 23:26 - “How long shall this be in the heart of
the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their
own heart.”
Jeremiah 23:32 - “Behold, I am against them that prophesy
false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them and cause my people to err by
their lies, and by their
lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them; therefore they shall
not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
James 3:6 - “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that
it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is
set on fire of hell.”
II Peter 2:1 - “But there were false prophets also among
the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction.”
As we stated in the
Preface of this study, all seven trumpet judgments deal with one particular
period of time, the Great Tribulation when Satan is loosed for a little
season. The sixth trumpet judgment seems
to be designed for and aimed at the same goal as the previous five trumpet
judgments, which is to slay the third
part of mankind, Revelation 9:15. Again we discover that the weapon of this
destruction is the mouth
itself. Consider Revelation 9:17-18 which reveals a part of the sixth
trumpet judgment:
17- And thus I saw
the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of
fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the
heads of lions; and out of their mouths
issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 - By
these three was the third part of
men killed, by the fire,
and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of
their mouths.
Yes, the weapon of
destruction will be the mouths of all who teach false doctrines. Let us go back to Ezekiel 2:6 where Ezekiel is warned by God not to be afraid
of the words spoken by rebellious
Take notice:
This Old Testament rebellious
Christ Himself
defined spiritual scorpions as He commissioned His disciples to take forth the
Gospel of salvation. We read of this in Luke 10:19 -
“Behold, I give
unto you power to tread on serpents
and scorpions, and over all
the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Those of us who
have experienced the new birth have been given power to tread over the dominion
of Satan. Here Christ is speaking of the
dominion of Satan as the power of the enemy. Christ likens our enemy to serpents and to
scorpions. In studying the fifth trumpet
judgment, we should understand the spiritual symbolism embedded in these two
words locusts and scorpions.
This symbolism will become clearer as we study further details of the
fifth trumpet judgment.
Deuteronomy 8:1-20 is a section of Scripture where God is
reminding the children of
END OF CHAPTER THREE