The Fifth Angel
The fifth angel, who sounds the fifth trumpet, is the subject of
Revelation 9:1-12.
Revelation 9:1:
And the fifth angel
sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him
was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Evidently this star is an angel. The angels of the 7 churches were
called stars. Revelation 1:20:
The mystery of the
seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden
candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and
the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Revelation 9:2:
And he opened the
bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of
a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the
smoke of the pit.
The bottomless pit indicates
there is no limit to the evil that emerges from this source. The sun
being darkened means the truth of the gospel is obscured, as the sun is
the clothing of the heavenly woman in Revelation 12, who pictures the
Church,
and so is identified with the promise of the gospel, that in Christ all
families of the earth will be blessed. The fifth angel portends an
ominous false teaching from the "bottomless pit" that is pictured here,
one that obscures the gospel.
Note: It is not describing worldwide pollution due to the industrial
revolution, because it generates locusts that do no harm at all to the
grass, or any green plant; these locusts represent something else. The
prophecy of Joel 2 also speaks of locusts. These locusts promote
destructive teachings. As when there is a locust plague, huge
numbers of locusts involved, it is similar in this case, there are vast
numbers of people who believe the false doctrine.
Revelation 9:3:
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.
Joel 2 describes an army of
destroying locusts. It evidently spreads false teachings, changing a
garden of Eden to a wasteland, (Joel 2:3) and is a strong people
in battle array, Joel 2:5. The army in Joel 2 also causes the sun and
moon to become dark, and the stars to withdraw their shining (Joel
2:10). This is one of the saddest of all the effects caused by the
devastating army.
Daniel 12:3:
And they that be
wise shall shine as the brightness of the sky; and they that turn many
to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
When stars withdraw their shining, it means that the people of God, the
saints, are
not turning many to righteousness as stated by Daniel.
Revelation 9:4:
And it was
commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth,
neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which
have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
The seal of God is the Spirit of God. Those who are sealed with the
Holy Spirit are immune, which shows that this plague of destructive
locusts indeed has something to do with false teaching, but it is a
teaching that only affects unbelievers!
Revelation 9:5:
And to them it was
given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented
five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when
he striketh a man.
What is the 5 months? The time period is equal to the 150 days of the
flood, Genesis 7:21-24:
And all flesh died
that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast,
and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
All in whose
nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
And every
living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground,
both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the
heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained
alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
And the waters
prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
Five months is the time that the flood waters were on the earth, and it
is the time in which all people and animals died, who were not saved by
being aboard the ark. The "torment" is a teaching about the fate of the
unsaved. It pictures the hopelessness of those who do not believe the
gospel, and who lack the assurance of salvation that is pictured by the
ark of Noah. But since the victims are not killed, it pictures the
false doctrine about their torment after death!
Revelation 9:6:
And in those days
shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die,
and death shall flee from them.
Could this refer to the idea of immortality of the soul, the common
belief in never-ending punishment and suffering after death? Perhaps
this prophecy pictures men wishing that this life were all there is,
and that there is no judgement, no "hell", no torment, and nothing to
worry about after death, but not understanding the truth of the
gospel, they fear
that such is their fate. Joel says Joel 2:6:
Before their face
the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
The pain and blackness they cause in other people suggests fear. The
prophet Nahum wrote of the city of Nineveh, in Nahum 2:10:
She is empty, and
void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together,
and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather
blackness
Revelation 9:7:
And the shapes of
the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their
heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the
faces of men.
In Joel 2 the army of locusts is compared to an army
of horses and
horsemen, and it is curious that at one stage in their development,
locusts appear remarkably similar to horses prepared for battle. This
is also mentioned in Joel 2:4:
The appearance of
them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
An interpretation of this metaphor of horsemen riding horses has been
suggested by David
Matthieu P.P., who says: "These horses are anointed men, and the
horsemen are the fallen
angels riding on them." They have "faces of men" which indicates these
are actually men, but
their teachings have a devastating effect, comparable to the effect of
a locust plague.
The crowns picture some kind of government, or authority, for which Matthieu
offers the following explanation: John in Revelation 1:5 says Jesus has
"made us kings and priests unto God"; also in Revelation 5:10 the 24
elders say the Lamb "hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and
we shall reign on the earth." Paul writes sarcastically to the Gentile
believers at Corinth, in 1 Corinthians 4:8-9:
Now ye are full,
now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to
God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
For I think
that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to
death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and
to men.
Matthieu
writes, "There are two distinct details that will allow us to discover
the identity of these Horses: have you ever seen horses with Crowns
like gold or horses with breastplates? These horses strangely remind us
of the sons of Aaron, the anointed Levites of the temple of the Lord
who also had holy golden crowns and breastplates... There are more
similarities between these unique horses and the anointed Levites,
Zechariah the prophet gave us an important clue in finding the identity
of these mysterious Horses, this will help us unravel the secrecy
surrounding these peculiar horses." He links Exodus 39:25-30 with
Zechariah 14:20 and suggests the horses Zechariah referred to were the
Levites or priests of Israel. Exodus 39:25-30 describes the elaborate
preparation of Aaron's robe:
And they made bells
of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem
of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
A bell and a
pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe
to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.
And they made
coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
And a mitre of
fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of
fine twined linen,
And a girdle
of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework;
as the LORD commanded Moses.
And they made
the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing,
like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Zechariah 14:20:
In that day shall
there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the
pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
Aaron's golden crown is also mentioned in Exodus 29:6. Matthieu
writes, "The anointed Levites were clearly called horses by the prophet
Zechariah, but these Horses of the chapter nine of Revelation are not
the Levites. Even though we can read in Revelation that these horses
have faces of men, they are anointed men like the Levites, but they are
anointed by the Devil."
Revelation 9:8:
And they had hair
as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Not losing one's hair is a figure for being safe: 2 Samuel 14:11:
Then said she, I
pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest
not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they
destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one
hair of thy son fall to the earth.
Their confidence in their own safety leads to the "hair like the hair
of
women" symbol; not that they have long hair, but that they are assured
of
their own safety in the afterlife. Having hair like the hair of women
pictures confidence one's own safety. Jesus also referred to hair in
this way, in Luke 21:16-18:
And ye shall be
betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and
some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
And ye shall
be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
But there
shall not an hair of your head perish.
These people believe that they
themselves will
not suffer after death, but teach that such is the fate of those who do
not believe!
Lion's teeth picture a carnivore, with sharp teeth, very dangerous.
Satan is compared to a lion in 1Peter 5:8
Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour:
Revelation 9:9:
And they had
breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their
wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
What are their wings? They make a noise with their wings, like horses
going to battle. The locusts in Joel 2 also make a noise like chariots.
The "noise" perhaps pictures the prevalence of the false
teaching about the fate of unbelievers; everyone has heard of it. They
have breastplates of iron,
but Paul says Christians need to have a breastplate of righteousness,
Ephesians 6:14:
Stand therefore,
having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness;
Revelation 9:10:
And they had tails
like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their
power was to hurt men five months.
The tail is indeed what one should beware of: (Isaiah 9:15)
The ancient and
honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is
the tail.
The power to hurt men five months is evidently a reference to the fear
of torment after death. This is not something that believers worry
about, just those people who are not believers. Revelation 9:11:
And they had a king
over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the
Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name
Apollyon.
The name Abaddon indicates the nature of this plague. It is a false
teaching about the state of the dead. Caird writes [Caird, p. 120]:
Abaddon occurs six times in the Old Testament as a synonym for Sheol or
Hades, the universal graveyard, the land of death, darkness, silence,
and oblivion, the destroyer of life and hope. John has personified
Abaddon, just as earlier he personified Death and Hades; and the three
are all variations on a single theme.
Apollo was the god of prophecy. Apollyon is apparently a play on the
name Apollo, along with apollymi
which means to destroy. The tails of
the locusts are false prophets, who teach suffering and torment of
unbelievers in hell. Of course this teaching is not true. Their king is
Apollo, the pagan god of prophecy, as their teachings are not of
Christ. The following is from the Anchor Bible Dictionary.
Apollyon
Apollyon is no doubt the correct reading. But the name Apollo (Gk
Apollon) was often linked in ancient Greek writings with the verb
apollymi or apollyo, "destroy." From this time of Grotius, "Apollyon"
has often been taken here to be a play on the name Apollo. The locust
was an emblem of this god, who poisoned his victims, and the name
"Apollyon" may be used allusively in Revelation to attack the pagan god
and so indirectly the Roman emperor Domitian, who liked to be regarded
as Apollo incarnate.
Certainly the passage in Revelation 9:1-12 seems to portray those who
believe
a false gospel, as Apollo was considered a god of prophecy. The
doctrine of infernal punishment after death is not the gospel of
Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:19:
God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Eventually, this plague will end. Revelation 9:12:
One woe is
past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
References
- Caird, G.B., 1984, A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the
Divine, A.C. Black, London
See Also:
Copyright © 2005 by Douglas
Cox