The Seven Last Plagues on the Earth. The Book of Revelation.

 

(I believe the 7 last plagues come from our own hands, not God’s. He is going to allow the world to kill itself through war, disease and global warming. He has protected us for thousands of years, but can no longer do that.)

 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angles, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”  Rev. 16

First Bowl of Wrath:  Sores

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image.  Rev. 16:2

Second Bowl of Wrath:  Sea Becomes Blood

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.  Rev. 16:3

 The second trumpet heralded one third of the sea becoming blood and one third of the life in the seas dying, but here were see the completion of that disaster with all of the seas becoming blood and all of the life in the seas dying.

Third Bowl of Wrath:  Fresh Water Becomes Blood

Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood.  Rev. 16:4

 The third trumpet heralded one third of fresh water becoming bitter, but here we see all of it becoming blood.  The death of all fish in fresh water would certainly cause it to turn to blood.

Fourth Bowl of Wrath:  Sun Scorches

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.  Men were scorched with fierce heat…  Rev. 16:8, 9

Here we see that the sun shines with such intensity that it scorches. With the heat and fires of today, this is certainly coming. 

Fifth Bowl of Wrath:  Sky Darkened

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores…  Rev. 16:10, 11

 The fourth trumpet heralded the loss of one third of the light during both day and night.  Here the fifth bowl completes the darkening of the sky.

Sixth Bowl of Wrath:  Euphrates Dries Up

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.  Rev. 16:12

 Up to this point the bowl judgments have been literal and there is no reason to think that the sixth bowl is suddenly figurative and takes on prophetic language.  Therefore we have to look at the sixth bowl as referring to the real Euphrates River in Iraq.  There are many reasons the Euphrates could dry up.  The first trumpet heralds one third of the earth burned and the fourth bowl brings the scorching of the sun, so waters may easily dry up from what are seen as natural disasters.  The Euphrates could be dried up due to man-made interference such as the erection of a dam.  Or it could be caused by a direct act of God:  It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’  And I will make your rivers dry.  (Is. 44: 27)

The king of the North, the US, will be in the Beautiful Land (the Middle East) when …rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.  (Dan. 11:44)  The war in the Middle East will escalate to involve several countries and set the stage for Armageddon.

The Seventh Trumpet Sounds. Book of Revelation.

 

Continued from previous post:

After the sixth trumpet probation is closed.  Those who have chosen to be on God’s side are sealed and those who have chosen to side with the beast are also sealed. 

Revelation 18:4 says that God’s people will not participate in the plagues about to fall, so why will we still be on this planet?  The Hebrews were in Egypt throughout all the plagues that fell, and the faithful followers of God were in Jerusalem when the Babylonians destroyed the city.  So too, those belonging to God will be on the earth during the plagues that will fall.  And again, just as the Hebrews were protected from the final plague to fall on the Egyptians by placing marks on the doorposts of their homes and staying safely inside, and the faithful in Jerusalem were marked by a messenger of God so they would be protected from the Babylonian slaughter, so those who receive the seal of God will be safe from the final plagues because they are hidden in Jesus.  (See Ex. 12 and Ez. 9) 

But there is a drawback to being on the earth after probation closes.  The persecutions against those of us who refuse to worship the image of the beast and to receive the mark of the beast will be awful.  Some will be in jail, some will be in hiding, and some will be killed. 

 But do not fear because Jesus said, …I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  (Matt. 28:16)  Jesus also said,  Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  (Matt. 10:28)  And, Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great…  (Matt. 5:11, 12)  It may not seem like it at the time we are going through the persecutions, but Jesus will be with us and in the end it will be well worth it.

Seventh Trumpet, Third Woe:  The Seven Last Plagues, The End of the World 

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”  And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened…and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.  Rev. 11:15, 19

 The seventh trumpet has sounded and Jesus is preparing to claim the world as his kingdom.

 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.  …the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple….  Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.  Rev. 15:1, 5, 6-8

We saw in the last chapter of this book that the Holy Spirit has left this world and Jesus no longer ministers in the temple in heaven because probation is closed.  Here we see why Jesus cannot minister for us -- the temple is inaccessible.  The seven last plagues, or the seven bowl judgments, are about to fall on the earth as a whole but we who bear the seal of God will be protected.  The plagues are going to fall in rapid succession, taking about one year to occur.  …in one day her plagues will come…  (Rev. 18:8)  (See Appendix 2)

The Three Angels of Revelation.

 

 The Three Angel’s Messages

First Angel

And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of water.”  Rev. 14:6, 7

 This first angel’s message states that the gospel has been preached to the whole world; in chapter one of this book we saw that we are already very close to seeing the gospel spread to the entire world.

This first angel also warns the world to worship God, the creator.  Notice once again that God is referred to as the Creator.  This is significant in that it points out one of the things the earth needs to be reminded of one last time:  Times and laws were changed by man, not by God, and the law having to do with time and that also contains God’s title as our creator is the law regarding the Sabbath (see chapter five of this book).  Therefore, one way in which we worship God is by honoring his authorship of everything when we keep his Sabbath day -- Saturday.

Second Angel

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”  Rev. 14:8

 We saw in chapter four of this book that Babylon the great, the mother of harlots… (Rev. 17:5) was Jezebel, the false church.  

What does it mean that she is the mother of harlots?  Well, if harlots are impure women, and women in prophecy refer to churches, the harlot daughters of Babylon the great would be false churches joined with the mother of all false churches.  Protestantism united with Catholicism.

            The second Angel’s message is repeated in more detail in Revelation 18.

 …“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!  She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”  Rev. 18:2, 3

 The Holy Spirit is not working in Babylon; demons and unclean spirits are.  Politicians and business people were working with her and becoming powerful and rich by doing so.  But the religious war is going badly (one third of mankind is dead) and Babylon is being destroyed.  Revelation 18:9-19 describes the despair and mourning coming from those who followed Babylon and have seen their world collapse.

Third Angel

Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger…” Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.  And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”  Rev. 14:9, 10, 13

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Rev. 18:4, 5

 Time is up for Babylon, for the beast and its image, for the dragon Satan.  God has withdrawn from them and is calling those who still have the chance for salvation to come out and join Jesus’ true followers and receive the seal of God: to obey only God’s commandments and to trust only in Jesus for salvation.

Probation is almost closed and the choice must be made by every person left alive on the earth: will they join God or will they join Satan, will they be saved or will they participate in the judgment plagues God is about to send on the earth?

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them (the two witnesses, the two olive trees, the Holy Spirit and Jesus), and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.  And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.”  Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.  And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.  The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.  Rev. 11:11-14

The three and one half years have passed.  Those who received the mark of the beast, whether his name or his number, are locked in with their choice and tremble with great fear.  The Holy Spirit and Jesus stop working and leave the earth on its own.

  In Chapter 12 of the book of John a voice came out of heaven and spoke to Jesus.  In verse 29 it says, So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”   Just as some who were standing around Jesus knew they had heard a voice while others thought it was simply thunder, so too when probation closes at the end of time on this earth.  Some will know that the Holy Spirit has left this earth and that Jesus has stopped interceding for us, while others will not have a clue.

Will you know when probation closes?  Will you be sealed by God or will you have received the mark of the beast?  Probation is going to close and we must make a choice as to what side we will be on.

  Addendum

The Antichrist

The prefix “anti” is used to describe a person or organization that is against, or opposes, or counterfeits something.  So an “anti” Christ would be a person or organization that is against, opposes, or counterfeits Christ.  In the Bible, the term antichrist is not found in the book of Revelation.  Here are some verses where you will find this term.

…just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared…  (1 John 2:18)  John, the same John who wrote Revelation, says there were antichrists in his time so this term is not limited to one person at the end of time, as many seem to believe.

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?  This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.  (1 John 2:22)  Here we see that an antichrist is one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and therefore an antichrist is one who denies God the Father and Son.

…every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.  (1 John 4:3)  Even in John’s day there were people who said Jesus was just a man, or just a good man, or just a prophet.  They denied then, and millions deny today, that Jesus is from God.

As you can see, there have been antichrists for 2000 years.  There is no reason to use the term in any special way or as referring to any special person in our study of end time events.

The Sixth Trumpet and Second Woe of the book of Revelation.

 

Continued from previous post:

Sixth Trumpet:  Religious War, 1/3 of Man Killed

Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice…”Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”  And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.  The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.  And this is how I saw in the vision…the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.  A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.  The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols…and they did not repent of their murders nor of the sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.  Rev. 9:13-18, 20, 21

 Here we see that angels are holding back a war that will originate from the Middle East, where the Euphrates River is. 

But when the sixth trumpet sounds, the angels will back off and a world war will erupt.  We can see right now in world events that the Middle East has and is a place of trouble.  Israel and its neighbors have fought for decades, and now the West and radical Muslims are fighting and it is going to get worse.  The three plagues of fire, smoke and brimstone that kill one third of mankind can easily be seen as nuclear devastation.

 World War III is right around the corner.  The king of the North (the US) and the king of the South (radical Islam) are already in conflict; it is just a matter of time before it escalates and the sixth trumpet is fulfilled.

Second Woe:  Persecution, Probation

 And it was given to him (the US religious power, the false prophet) to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.  Rev. 13:15 

Here we have reached what we had been warned about: a repetition of the persecutions experienced by the Thyatira and Sardis churches.  Remember in chapter five of this book that these churches were represented by two lampstands along with the two olive trees of the Holy Spirit and Jesus?  They witnessed and were persecuted for 1260 years from 538 CE to 1798 CE.  Well, if we go back to Revelation 11, we see in verse seven that the beast who had his wound healed and came out of the abyss (see the previous section of this chapter entitled “Resurrection of the Beast”) makes war, overcomes, and kills these witnesses.  But how can that be?  Thyatira and Sardis are church eras that existed long ago.  Yes, that is true, but the Holy Spirit and Jesus (the two olive trees) are still in this world working with and for true believers, witnessing to the truth, and calling for all who will to accept salvation. 

 And their (the two witnesses, the two olive trees, the Holy Spirit and Jesus) dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city…Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.  And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.  Revelation 11:8-10

The persecutions will be widespread and will last for three and one half years (3 ½ days, see Appendix 2).  The start time for this period could be when the beast regains power, when the laws are passed requiring everyone to obey the image of the beast, or it could be another event.  We cannot know.  But during this time the beast, its image, and the false prophet will appear to have complete control over the Christian world.  The work of the Holy Spirit and Jesus will have been nullified and replaced with man-made rules and religions. The torment of a guilty conscience, the pleadings of the Holy Spirit, submission to the will of Jesus seem to have been eliminated and this will lead to great rejoicing by those bearing the mark of the beast. 

 The passing of a death sentence against those followers of God, who refuse to receive the mark of the beast, ushers in the closing hours of probation.  Those of us who refuse to follow the false prophet and become part of the image of the beast (the combination of religious dominations and political powers) will be persecuted and some will be killed.  Why?  Because the religious war with the radical Muslims has killed one third of the world’s population, and the other five trumpet judgments are making life on earth a living hell.  It will be thought that God has turned his back on the Western Christian world and the only way to regain his favor is to act perfectly, according to how those in power define perfection.  The best and easiest way they can see to do this is to pass laws enforcing compliance with whatever they consider of great importance. 

Once again, we see works and deeds being substituted for simple faith in Jesus’ righteousness.  Our duty is to God first and foremost, so when these laws are passed we must compare them to what God has said in his Bible.  To the law and to the testimony!  If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. (Is. 8:20)  Trust in Jesus and obey him; do not trust in man-made laws or in any good deed you can perform.

 

666 the Number and Mark of the Beast in Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

Resurrection of the Beast

Of the United States, Revelation 13:12 says, He exercises all the authority of the first beast (Rome, Catholicism) in his presence.  And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal would was healed.  Just as the Pope and the Catholic Church used to exercise political and religious authority over the Western world before its deadly wound in 1798, so the United States will exercise its political and religious authority over the Western world, uniting with Catholicism and giving back to the Pope the power his position once wielded. 

The Image of the Beast

 When you look in a mirror you see a reflection of yourself.  It is not you, but it looks just like you and it mirrors any movement you make. 

Well, the beast was a political and religious power that ruled the Western world for centuries, and an image to this beast will have the same traits without being the exact same entity.  Instead of being solely the Catholic Church with the Pope wielding religious and political power, this image will be political powers, dominated by the US, backing up the Ecumenical unification of religious powers (Revelation 17:12, 13 says that the kings of the earth will give their power and authority to the beast, so it will not be just the US political power).  Combined, these political and religious powers resemble, or mirror, the works and the powers of the Catholic Church during her 1260-year reign from 538 CE to 1798 CE.  So what we will see is an unholy trinity, a joining of politics, Protestantism and Catholicism. 

 This unification is already at work in what is called the Ecumenical Movement, a movement by Christians of different denominations to overcome their differences and unite under their commonalities.  (See Appendix 1)

Mark of the Beast: Name or 666

Revelation 14:9 says, If anyone worships the beast or his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand….  We see that the mark comes from worshipping the beast or his image.

 And he (the United States) causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who had the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom.  Let him who had understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.  Rev. 13:16-18

 It says here in the part of Revelation 13 that describes the United States that the mark of the beast is either his name or the number of his name and those who refuse to worship the beast or his image will not be able to buy or sell. 

We saw in the last chapter of this book that for every true and good thing from God, Satan has a counterfeit: God has a church, Satan has a church; God has a Sabbath, Satan has a Sabbath; God marks his believers, Satan marks his believers.  And just as we saw in the last chapter that the seal of God is not a visible mark, so too the mark of the beast will not be a visible mark or stamp.  The mark of the beast on the forehead represents those who are unwaveringly committed to following the false prophet and the beast and its image.  They are “named” among the most faithful and radical followers of the beast. 

 The mark of the beast on the hand represents those who follow along simply because it is easier than fighting and dying for God’s truth.  They act a good part and are simply “numbered” among the throngs of those who follow the beast for the sake of convenience. 

We know that true and good things from God are counterfeited by Satan.  You have probably already noticed that God uses the number seven a lot when describing true and holy things (seventh day Sabbath, seven days of creation, seven churches, seven judgments, etc), so a close counterfeit, signifying those things that are untrue or unholy, would be the number six.  That is all the number 666 probably means. 

 No sane or half intelligent person would willingly use, or allow to be used, an identification as obvious as the number 666.  Satan and his followers are much smarter than that.  We will be able to recognize the false prophet by his actions and words; a number is irrelevant. 

Now that we have an understanding of who is who and what is what, we are ready to look at the sixth trumpet and the second woe.

United States in Prophecy. The Books of Revelation and Daniel.

 

In the last chapter we looked at the first five trumpets and the first of three woes.  Before we begin studying the sixth trumpet and the second woe, there are a few things that must be clarified.  In the past chapters of this book I would simply refer to the appendices, but I know many readers have not flipped to the back and read them.  This section on the sixth trumpet and the second woe is too important not to be understood completely; therefore we are going to define everything up front instead of using the appendices.   

King of the North/Lamb from Earth        King of the South

In Daniel 11:1-30 we see a repeat of the three world empires that followed Babylon:  Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.  More detail is given as to the events that occurred under each empire, but we have already covered all this in enough detail to suit our purposes.  All we need to recognize is that in Daniel Chapter 11 the king of the North usually represents the dominant power and the king of the South represents a secondary power.  In verses 31 through 33 we find the Catholic Church described.  We know it is the Catholic Church because it is described as doing away with the regular sacrifice, as setting up the abomination of desolation, and as persecuting those who do not fall into line (see chapter five of this book).  To confirm our identification of the Catholic Church here in Daniel, verse 37 says that he (the church, or the Pope) shows no regard for the desire of women.  Catholic priests are celibate and show no regard for the desire of women.

Daniel 11:40 says, At the end time the king of the South will collide with him… meaning a secondary power will wage war with the Catholic Church.  Catholicism is the largest and most visible of all Christian denominations, so if any other religion, such as radical Islam, were to want to attack Christianity, this would be a logical description for the Bible to give of the first target.  Verse 40 continues; …and the king of the North will storm against him (the king of the South) with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he (the king of the North) will enter countries, overflow them and pass through.  So what is this dominant power that will fight for Christianity against the king of the South?  The answer to that question is found in Revelation Chapter 13.

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.  (Rev. 13:11)  We know that a beast represents a nation, kingdom, or political power.  And we learned that the beast in the first half of Revelation 13 was the Catholic Church (see chapter five of this book), and that it came up out of the sea, meaning it arose out of a population of people (see Appendix 2).  This new beast, however, comes up out of the earth.  This can only mean that it is a new power, one that does not rise out of an established population.  There were two brand new nations that arose around the time of the decline in the power of the Catholic Church in 1798:  Australia and the United States of America.  The United States was the only one to become an independent nation around this time and is the only one that is a dominant world power now.  Therefore, this beast from the earth must represent the United States.

As an independent nation, the United States has always acted as gently as a lamb domestically by offering religious and political freedom to all its citizens, but in the world theater it speaks with the power of a dragon.  We know that a horn represents individual people, rulers of nations or a position of great power (see Appendix 2).  In the end times, under the sixth trumpet, two powers, one religious and one political, will arise in the United States.  Since the US is predominantly a protestant nation, we can surmise that the religious power will be someone who represents Protestant Christians.  The president will work with this religious leader and together they will govern America.

           Back in Daniel Chapter 11 we see what else the king of the North, the United States of America, will do at the end times.  He will enter the Beautiful Land (the Middle East), and many countries will fall…Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt (representing the king of the South) will not escape. But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.  (Dan. 11:41, 42, 44)  As this chapter is being written, the United States is involved in a prolonged conflict in Iraq…the location of the Euphrates River.  This conflict arose out of the 9/11 attacks against the US by radical Muslims: Islam versus Christianity, the West versus the East, the king of the North versus the king of the South.  

The US involvement in the Middle East is only the beginning.  Iran, North Korea, Syria and others are perceived as threats to the Western world and Daniel says that the US will expand its campaign to the East and North.

The False Prophet

In Matthew 7:15 Jesus said, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  Revelation 13 continues with its description of the United States’ religious leader’s powers, one of the two horns on the lamb that arose out of the earth.  He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.  And he deceives those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.  (Rev. 13:13, 14)  This religious leader, in the guise of a lamb or in sheep’s clothing, is going to perform signs that are meant to deceive people into believing that he is sent by God to organize an image to the beast, when in fact he speaks like a dragon and is inwardly a ravenous wolf.  The signs he performs may be powers given to him by Satan, or they may simply be sleight of hand magic tricks.  We cannot know.  What we do know is that he will be convincing enough to make people follow him unquestioningly and to make an image to the beast.

The apostle Paul was talking about the end times when he said this: …one who's coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.  For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness.  (2 Thess. 2:9-12)  People will often believe what they want to believe when it seems to benefit them the most.  God allows this as each person on earth has been given free will to love God and accept the truth or love wickedness and believe what is false.

The Occult. Book of Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

The last three trumpets are referred to as the three woes because they are extremely horrible.

Fifth Trumpet, First Woe:  Locust 

Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.  He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.  The out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.  They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.  And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.  They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.  The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.  Rev. 9:1-6, 11, 12

  You have probably heard the term, “All hell is breaking loose.”  Well, that is a good description of what happens under the fifth trumpet.  A fallen star, an angel who follows Lucifer (see Rev. 12:4), is shown releasing smoke and locust from the bottomless pit.  God had kept Satan and his demons under control and had put certain limits on their activities, but now they are loosed to wreak havoc upon the earth.  But those who belong to God and have his seal will be spared from direct attacks from Satan and his angels.

  There are two main schools of thought regarding the fifth trumpet.  We will look at both and then we will have to wait for time to tell us which is the correct interpretation.

  The first school of thought says that since the first four trumpets are literal renderings of what is going to happen, there is no reason to think the fifth trumpet is anything other than literal.  If that is true, then for the first time in our study of prophecy we see a time period that is NOT symbolic.  Five months is the literal duration of this plague. 

When Jesus was on this earth, he went to the Gadarenes one time and there he met two demon-possessed men.  As Jesus was casting the demons out of these men the demons begged to be allowed to enter and possess some pigs that were nearby.  Jesus allowed them to do so and the pigs went insane, jumping into the sea and drowning.  (See Matt. 8:28-32)  Here with the fifth trumpet we see something similar but with different results.  Demons are allowed to possess locusts but instead of going insane they torment mankind for five months, driving them insane.  They are led by the demon of the abyss named Abaddon and Apollyon.  These names translate into the word Destruction and can refer to Satan himself or perhaps one of his lieutenants.  

 There are three restrictions put upon the locusts:  they cannot attack those bearing the seal of God, they cannot eat grass, trees or any green thing, and they cannot kill.  The descriptions of these locusts wearing armor and having teeth like lions (Rev. 9:7-10), etc, simply indicates that they are indestructible.  No matter what man does, he cannot stop these locusts from tormenting.  Try to imagine living for five months where every time you walk out the door swarms of locust attack you.  They invade your home, surround your car, and crawl all over you whenever they can.  Would you not feel like you were going insane?  It would be horrible torment.

The other school of thought says that with the fifth trumpet we switch from literal descriptions of what will happen under the first four trumpets to a symbolic description.  Why is it symbolic rather than literal?  Because locust do only one thing when they swarm: they eat.  They eat everything in sight, but here they are told not to hurt any green thing.  They are told to harm only people, and only those who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads.  Also, these locusts have a king reigning over them, but Prov. 30:27 clearly states that locust have no king.  So the conclusion is that the locust stands for something else that will torment people.

            But what form do these attacks take?  And does the torment they inflict last five literal months or 150 years (30 x 5 = 150, see Appendix 2)?  If the events described under the fifth trumpet are primarily symbolic, then it is assumed that the five months is symbolic also and therefore means 150 years.  Now we must find out what kind of demonic activities have been, or will be, occurring for that amount of time.  Demons are not going to simply show up at your door and start tormenting you.  Satan is much more clever than that and he disguises his attacks so that they appear harmless.  But they are not harmless, and people do not realize that until they have been sucked in and start experiencing the torment Satan had planned for them all along.

One way Satan deceives people is through spiritualism.  God is so firmly against anything to do with the occult that he said anyone who practiced it was to be killed immediately.  (See Ex. 22:18; Deut. 18:10-12)  This is because dabbling with the occult opens the door between the physical and spiritual worlds.  If we defy God and open ourselves up to the spiritual world, he cannot protect us and we have placed ourselves into Satan’s hands.  What a terrifying and dreadful place to be!  To fall into Satan’s hands and be tormented by him in whatever way he can think of is the worst torment imaginable.  It would be better to suffer physically and have our souls in God’s hands than it would be to spiritually suffer in the unmerciful hands of pure evil.

 Just as we can see the beginning of the first three trumpets occurring in the world around us, if we take spiritualism as the meaning of the fifth trumpet we can see it is also occurring now.  The rise of spiritualism is often dated as occurring in the mid 1800’s.  However, real organization of spiritualism did not happened until the Theosophical Society was founded in 1875.  The preamble to the society's bylaws states: "The Title of the Theosophical Society explains the objects and desires of its founder: they 'seek to obtain knowledge of the nature and attributes of the Supreme Power, and of the higher spirits by the aid of physical processes.' In other words, they hope, that by going deeper than modern science has hitherto done, into the esoteric philosophies of ancient times, they may be enabled to obtain, for themselves and other investigators, proof of the existence of an 'Unseen Universe,' the nature of its inhabitants if such there be, and the laws which govern them and their relations with mankind…”

Then there is the witchcraft of Aleister Crowley.  “…Crowley is probably best known today as the author of the twentieth century's most influential textbooks on occultism, and as the first Englishman to found a religion—Thelema—which is today a recognized faith around the world.” (19)  “The Law of Thelema, also called Scientific Illuminism and Magick (spelled with a terminal 'k' to distinguish the authentic science of the Magi from sleight of hand), originated in the Cairo Working. At the time, Crowley interpreted the Cairo Working as an astral vision. At this time, Crowley was a Minor Adept of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn was the most distinguished occult society of recent times, which included such luminaries as the poet William Butler Yeats…” (20)

And finally we have Anton LaVey who, in 1966, formed the Church of Satan and in 1969 wrote the Satanic Bible.  His is not the only church to worship Satan, many others have sprung up since his bold move to publicly form his church, but his is the most famous. 

 Do you see how all this has progressed?  It started with spiritualism, moved on to witchcraft, and has culminated with Satanism.  Once the door to the spiritual world is opened, more and more evil floods through.  This progression can also happen to individuals on a smaller scale.  You may begin with having your palm read or getting a numerology chart made.  Then you progress to Ouija boards and séances.  Eventually you get more and more involved in the occult until Satan can claim you as one of his own.  The best defense against this is to obey God and shun anything to do with the occult.

We do not know at what time the 150 years began and thus we cannot know when it will end, but the fifth trumpet promises that the torment of man by demons will culminate some time in the future. 

We have looked at the first five of the seven trumpets and have a pretty good idea of what to expect.  The sixth and seventh trumpets are so important and contain so much information that they will each be covered in a chapter of their own.