The Fifth
Trumpet Judgment
(http://spiritualbiblestudies.com)
Chapter Eight
- Verse Eight
“And they had hair as
the hair of women, and
their teeth were as the
teeth of lions.”
(Revelation 9:8)
As we move through chapter
nine we envision these locusts as they might appear, given these added
spiritual traits. First, we see that the
locusts are ascending from the bottomless pit as we saw in verse three. Next we discovered that their power was given
to them “…as the scorpions of the earth have power,” (Revelation 9:3). Their purpose was not in killing men, but
rather to torment men five months. The
torment appears to be an eternal torment as opposed to being a temporary
torment of five months. The Greek word
for torment, as it is used here, is the same word that Christ used in
the Gospels.
Revelation 14:11 - And the smoke of their torment [same Greek word as
used for torment in Revelation 9:5] ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who
worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Matthew 8:29 - And, behold, they cried out, saying,
What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment [same Greek word as
used for torment in Revelation 9:5] us before the time?
Matthew 24:51 - And shall cut him asunder, and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
God uses the
likeness of a scorpion by declaring that their torment was as the torment of a
scorpion when he strikes a man. In verse
seven God begins to describe in detail the appearance of these locusts. Their shapes were like horses prepared unto battle. Now we visualize locusts ascending from the
bottomless pit and somehow resembling horses in battle array or horses prepared
for battle. Not only do they appear like
unto horses, but each of them wore upon his head a crown of gold. These locusts must prove to be a very
perplexing mystery to all who insist upon embracing a literal method of
interpretation. If one would look
closely beneath the crown upon these locusts we would discover that they all
have faces like the faces of men.
As we begin to examine verse eight, we find that the locusts are said to
have long hair: “…as the hair of women.”
The second half of verse eight tells us that their teeth were as the
teeth of lions. In verse nine of our
study we’ll see that they wear breastplates of iron and the sound of their
wings was as the sound of many chariots and horses running to battle. They are even said to have tails like
scorpions, containing stingers. What a bewildering swarm of locusts that we
have in view here. What country could
produce locusts such as these? Imagine
spotting a swarm of locusts with these features. Impossible you say? Of course it is! If defies all the basic laws of God and His
Creation. Again, imagine seeing a swarm
of locusts that resembles scorpions and yet they appeared like horses in battle
array; wearing crowns of gold and breastplates of iron; having wings that
produce the sound of many chariots, and
long teeth like lions teeth.
Their hair was long, resembling the hair of women. Sadly we conclude that much of today’s church
holds these descriptions as literal in nature.
They don’t seem to be too concerned over it, declaring that these events
will not occur until the Great Tribulation begins. By that time, as they teach, the Christians
of the world will have already been taken off the earth and whisked into heaven
at the “rapture” of the believers, seven years prior to the second coming of
Christ. After that time Satan will be
able to change the laws of God and do as he desires, for the most part. In other words, anything can happen during
this time, or so they teach their congregations. God is still sovereign in all matters and
will not drift out of the boundaries He has established in His Word. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever
the Bible tells us. Scripture is
emphatically clear as to the timing of when those true believers, living at the
time of Christ’s return, will be taken “in the twinkling of an eye” (I
Thessalonians 4:16-17) to be with the Lord.
It is all to occur at the very last day as John chapter six affirms
several times.
We see then the
erroneous conclusions that can be made with ease when we go aside from
Scripture for man’s interpretation.
There were those during the latter sixties who thought that they had
stumbled upon the real and literal identity of these locusts of Revelation
chapter nine. For them, it was all too
obvious that these verses found their fulfillment in the English rock group -
The Beatles. Who knows how many other
worldly and outrageous interpretations have been wildly slapped upon these divinely
inspired verses.
HAIR AS
THE HAIR OF WOMEN
As we continue we
should realize the importance of comparing Scripture with Scripture only
and not looking to the world for spiritual help. The Bible is the only place where we will
find our answers. In being consistent
with our study, we know that these locusts are false teachers, ministers, etc,
working within the
“Does not even
nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto
him?” (I Corinthians 11:14)
“But if a woman
have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a
covering.” (I Corinthians 11:15)
It is no great
mystery that these locusts are in rebellion to God. The above verses should prove the fact that
men should not wear their hair as though it can appear as the hair of a
woman. Now, is this all we can
presume from Revelation 9:8? Is
there something more to be grasped in this verse?
What About Samson?
When the Old
Testament mentions a man with long hair, we might immediately think of the man
Samson. This was a man blessed of God,
as Judges 13:24-25 explains:
24
- ¶And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child
grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25
- And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan
between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Samson, whose name
in the Hebrew language means strong, proved to be a man with
supernatural physical strength. He
killed a lion with his bare hands in Judges Chapter fourteen. At the end of his life he single-handedly
brought down the house of his enemies, the Philistines, which is recorded in Judges
16:29-30. Samson’s mysterious power
was said to be in his long hair,
which he had trimmed only once each year.
As Delilah continually pressed Samson to reveal to her the mystery of
his strength, finally he gives in and tells her the secret, which is recorded
in Judges 16:17 -
17
- That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a
razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's
womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become
weak, and be like any other man.
Samson’s power and
authority came from his long hair, given to him from God. This is an exception to the normal in
Scripture and is of special circumstances.
The Old Testament Jew was under the Law of Moses and did maintain proper
hair length. This is carried over to the
New Testament days, as we saw in 1 Corinthians 11:14, which stipulated that if
a man has long hair, it is a shame unto him.
As these locusts of Revelation 9:8 come charging against the true Word
of God, they are seen as having the hair of women. As Samson’s power and authority was in his
long hair, these locusts likewise
come with much power and authority among the churches today. They come as messengers of Satan.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 -
13
- For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves
into the apostles of Christ.
14
- And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15
- Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as
the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
These are as the
heads, which we saw were representative of the ancient and honorable,
yet they come with tails (verse 10), that is… “The prophet which
speaketh lies, he is the tail,”
Isaiah 9:15. Yes, these locusts come with long hair, but
only in a metaphorical sense of being in rebellion against God. Yet at the same time they are coming and declaring
their spiritual strength and authority, as the long hair of Samson
represented. In reality their strength
and authority comes from Satan.
TEETH AS
THE TEETH OF LIONS
The Old Testament
Book of Joel contains only three chapters, yet these chapters are saturated
with specific details of man’s final days upon this earth with regard to its
spiritual impact upon the church during the time of Great Tribulation. We know this with much certainly since chapter
two begins with the sounding of the trumpet in
“Let both grow
together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but
gather the wheat into my barn.”
One might surely be
a “drinker of wine” and yet be unsaved.
Joel chapter one is addressing these people in verse five and declaring:
“howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for is cut off from
your mouth.” Howl meaning to wail or
yell in sorrow. Why are they in
sorrow? Because the New Testament
Covenant of Grace, the Gospel of salvation, the “New Wine” is to be no longer
heard; it is cut off from their mouths.
Verse six tells us why and how this new wine is cut off.
Joel 1:6 - For a nation is come up upon my land
[ultimately God’s spiritual land, His church], strong, and without number,
whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he
hath the cheek teeth of a
great lion.
Why do we see God
utilizing the term “lion’s teeth”
in allegorical language to depict God’s enemies, those who hate His Word? Simply because God employs many different
figurative terms in writing His Word to mankind. God’s Word is described as a “fig tree” in Joel 1:7 -
“He hath laid my
vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast
it away; the branches thereof are made white.”
In Revelation 9:8
these same enemies of the Gospel are coming in hidden rebellion to God,
signified by their spiritual trait of long hair, and are coming to lay God’s
fig tree bare. They come to strip away
the branches with their teeth,
until the bark is gone and nothing is left but the white of the tree.
Proverbs 30:14 - There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their
jaw teeth as knives, to
devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
It is without
question that the generation of the unsaved living at the time of the end is
that generation whose desire it is to discard and destroy the Christian faith
once and for all. Scripture teaches that
the desirous man who truly comes to Christ on God’s terms is defined as “poor and needy” as we see in Proverbs 30:14. We are spiritually poor and in real need of
salvation. Please refer to the section
“Poor and Needy” in “Ancient Egyptian Plagues - Conclusion” beginning at
page 10.
Psalms 57:4 - My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them
that are set on fire, even the sons of
men, whose teeth are spears
and arrows, and their tongue
a sharp sword.
If one has any
questions or doubts that God uses metaphors in describing real people, the
above verse should put that doubt to rest.
God has just told us who these enemies are with teeth as spears and
arrows and tongues as a sharp sword - they are NOT the sons of God, but rather
the sons of men! The sons of men are the unsaved of the world.
The world’s attempt
at destroying the Gospel is made through many different means. The teaching of evolution in the public
school system is just one small area of their attack. The television media is certainly another means
in which to ridicule and humiliate the Christian faith. However, by and large the main arena for
destroying the true Gospel of Christ is within the church itself. This is where Satan directs his attack
according to Scripture. God describes
Satan’s end-time attackers in many different spiritual and symbolical terms. Joel describes them at an exceedingly great
army with the teeth of lions. They come
to strip away the branches and bark of God’s one true tree of life, the
spiritual fig tree of which is God’s Word to a lost and dying world. God is still in control and will allow this
to continue only until His appointed time in which to come and judge
mankind. Until then, the true believers
are to stand firm upon the foundation of Christ and His eternal promises.
THE TEETH OF DANILE’S
FOURTH BEAST
Satan’s final and
completed kingdom upon this earth is said in Scripture to be the fourth beast
upon the earth as we read from Daniel
7:7 -
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.
Again we see God giving
descriptions of Satan’s kingdom as it will appear at the time of the end. This is Satan’s final kingdom, his final
attempt at destroying the Gospel of Christ.
Notice carefully that the above verse is stating that this beast will
brake in pieces and stamp the residue
with its feet. The residue is
another term for remnant, each carrying the same meaning and is in
strict reference to the true church or God’s elect.
Jeremiah 31:7 - For thus saith the LORD; Sing with
gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye,
praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of
There
are other references to remnant or residue that apply ultimately to Christ’s
Church. It is this residue that Satan,
as the beast, attempts to finally destroy at the end of time. His messengers or “ministers of
righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15) invade the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16)
in all manner reminiscent of Old Testament
END OF CHAPTER EIGHT