The fifth trumpet judgment

From a pastoral perspective, I think the easiest portions of Scripture for me to preach through are the New Testament epistles.  Those passages include a lot of direct language that's highly practical in nature.  They basically say, "Here's what to believe and what to do.  Now, live it out."

Revelation isn't that kind of book, and for that reason, many pastors choose not to preach on it during Sunday morning services.  I suspect that if they choose to teach through its content, they probably elect to reserve it for mid-week Bible studies and other similar contexts.

Admittedly, the portion of Revelation that we're looking at today (Revelation 9:1-11), is a challenging passage to wrap our minds around.  It includes futuristic and apocalyptic language, some of which might leave us scratching our heads a little.

But even as we examine this passage that speaks of future things, please also allow it to remind us that God is patient, purposeful, and just. It also reminds us that rebellion against Him has real consequences, and that this season of divine patience that we're currently living in the midst of will not last forever.  A reckoning is coming.

A Fallen Star and a Given Key

"And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit."  (Revelation 9:1)

The “star” reference in this passage isn't a meteor or something similar. The language being used here actually points to a personal being that's being described as a star. This is best understood as a fallen angel, possible Satan or a high-ranking demonic figure under his authority. Isaiah gives us a similar sounding backdrop when he speaks of Satan’s fall, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn” (Isaiah 14:12). Jesus Himself said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).

It's interesting to note that this fallen being doesn’t possess the key by right. The key is something he's given. That means spiritual authority remains firmly in God’s hands, and even in judgment, God isn't reacting, He's reigning.

From a personal standpoint, please remember that when life starts to feel chaotic, (and certainly seasons of life absolutely will), nothing is happening outside God’s permission or control. Even forces that oppose Him operate on a leash, and a passage like this makes that clear.

The Abyss Is Opened

"He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft."  (Revelation 9:2)

When the pit is opened, smoke pours out “like the smoke of a great furnace." This imagery reminds us of Exodus 19:18, when smoke covered Mount Sinai as the Lord descended in fire. But here, the smoke doesn’t signal God drawing near. It signals judgment being released.

The abyss doesn't appear to be hell itself but a temporary holding place for especially dangerous demonic beings. Luke 8:31 tells us that demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss. They feared it. That alone tells us something about what is being unleashed here.

When God opens what He has long restrained, the results are terrifying.

There’s a sobering reminder here. God’s restraint is an act of mercy. When that restraint is removed, the true nature of evil is revealed.

Locusts Unlike Any Other

"Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth."  (Revelation 9:3)

Out of the smoke come locusts, but these aren’t ordinary insects. John describes them as having power like scorpions. The Old Testament often uses locusts as symbols of divine judgment. Joel 1 and 2 describe devastating locust plagues as instruments of God’s discipline. Yet these locusts are different. They don’t eat vegetation. They torment people.

We’re also told that God places limits on them. They’re told not to harm the grass, plants, or trees, but only those who don’t have the seal of God on their foreheads.

"They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads."  (Revelation 9:4)

This sealing connects back to Revelation 7, where God seals His servants before the judgments intensify. Once again, we see a distinction. God knows those who are His.  He knows who belongs to Him.

If you belong to Christ, you aren’t forgotten, overlooked, or unprotected. You’re sealed. Not because you’re strong, but because He is faithful.

Pain Without Death

"They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them."  (Revelation 9:5-6)

This passage tells us that the torment people will experience if they’re stung will last five months, which, by the way, happens to actually be the normal lifespan of a locust swarm. The pain is described as so intense that people will seek death but will not find it.  I honestly don’t know why that’s the case, but I’m certain those who read this passage during that season of history will fully understand why that’s so.

That means this isn’t annihilation. It’s anguish without escape.

This season of judgment is future and literal, taking place during the Tribulation after the church has been raptured. Yet the principle behind it speaks to every generation. Sin promises freedom but delivers slavery. Rebellion against God doesn’t lead to life. It leads to despair.

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Revelation 9 shows us a world experiencing that truth in real time.

A Terrifying Description

"In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle."  (Revelation 9:7-9)

John struggles to describe what he sees. The locusts look like horses prepared for battle. They wear something like crowns. They have human faces, women’s hair, lions’ teeth, iron breastplates, and wings that thunder like chariots.

This isn’t meant to invite speculation for its own sake. These creatures are intelligent, aggressive, relentless, and terrifying. They are instruments of judgment, not random chaos.

The scorpion sting in their tails reminds us of Genesis 3. The serpent deceived humanity, and now the offspring of rebellion brings pain. Sin always circles back.

The King of the Abyss

"They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon."  (Revelation 9:10-11)

John ends the description by naming their king. In Hebrew his name is “Abaddon,” and in Greek he is called “Apollyon”. Both names mean “destroyer.”

This doesn’t appear to be Satan himself, but another powerful demonic ruler. Proverbs 30:27 tells us that normal locusts have no king. These do. That alone tells us they aren’t natural.

And yet, even this destroyer answers to God’s timeline.

I think it’s worth noting that there are several viewpoints related to what John is seeing in this passage.

1.  Literal View:  This view holds that John is seeing actual supernatural beings released from the Abyss.  The “locusts” aren't insects but demonic entities.  The strengths of this view are that it fits the immediate context of the Abyss and the angelic king over them (Abaddon/Apollyon), it takes the supernatural tone of Revelation seriously, and it aligns well with other biblical depictions of terrifying spiritual beings.

2.  Symbolic View:  This view teaches that John is symbolically describing a powerful human military force.  The strengths of this view are that “locusts” often symbolize invading armies in the Old Testament and the use of that work helps make sense of the military metaphors in this passage.  A notable weakness of this view, however, the torment is explicitly supernatural and selective, and the king over them is described as an angelic being.

3.  Futuristic Military Technology View:  This view teaches that John is witnessing future technology and describing it with first-century vocabulary.  “Breastplates of iron” may resemble armored vehicles.  The sound like chariots could resemble engines or rotors.  Faces and hair may reflect pilots or symbolic markings.  However, the text emphasizes torment, not combat or conquest.  The beings are released from the Abyss, not deployed from nations.

4.  Hybrid View:  This view teaches that these are literal demonic beings, described using symbolic and military imagery, possibly interacting with the physical world in ways John frames with familiar metaphors.  John is seeing something real, terrifying, and unprecedented, and the Holy Spirit inspires him to describe it in language that communicates power, fear, and authority rather than precise biology.

Where Is Jesus in This?

It’s fair to ask that question. Revelation 9 doesn’t mention Jesus by name. But He is everywhere in the background.

First, Jesus is the One who holds ultimate authority over the abyss. Revelation 1:18 records Him saying, “I have the keys of Death and Hades.” No demonic force opens anything unless Christ allows it.

Second, Jesus is the One who seals His people. Ephesians 1:13 tells us believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Revelation shows that sealing protecting people in the darkest days of human history.

Third, Jesus is the reason judgment exists at all. God’s wrath isn’t arbitrary. It’s the righteous response to sin and rejection of His Son. John 3:18 says that whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

The torment of Revelation 9 is what life looks like when humanity insists on life without Christ.

A Warning Wrapped in Mercy

Even in judgment, God is calling people to repentance. Later in Revelation 9, we’re told that many still refuse to turn back. That breaks God’s heart. Ezekiel 33:11 reminds us that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn and live.

If you’re reading this today, that means mercy is still available. The door of grace is still open. Jesus hasn’t yet returned, and the abyss remains shut.

That won’t always be the case.

Personal Application for Today

This passage isn’t given so we can satisfy curiosity about the future. It’s given so we can live faithfully in the present.

First, don’t toy with sin. What God restrains now will not be restrained forever. Romans 2:4 reminds us that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.

Second, cling to Christ. He isn’t just Savior. He’s Protector, King, and Judge. The same Jesus who bore God’s wrath for us is the One who will one day pour it out on a rebellious world.

Third, live with urgency. People around us are moving toward a future they don’t understand. The gospel isn’t optional information. It’s their only rescue.

Jude 23 says we are to save others by snatching them out of the fire. Revelation 9 shows us what that fire looks like when mercy is rejected.

Hope Beyond the Darkness

Revelation 9 isn’t the end of the story. The same book that describes the abyss also describes a new heaven and new earth. The destroyer doesn’t get the final word. Jesus does.

For those who trust Christ, judgment has already fallen, and it fell on Him at the cross. There is no abyss waiting for you, no destroyer assigned to you, no wrath left to pour out.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

That promise holds today, and it will hold even when trumpets sound and the world trembles.

© John Stange, 2026