Revelation Chapter Nine -by Pastor Jack Hyles

We have seen the first four trumpets and the horrors that accompanied their blowing, and also the eagle flying through the air announcing the three WOES as the last three trumpets prepare to blow. Let us look at the trumpet number five.

Verse 1:
The fifth trumpet is sounded. Immediately John saw a star. "FALLING " is better translated "fallen. " So this star was fallen from Heaven. Notice that the star is called him, so it must be a personality. Angelic being are often called stars. Adding all of this together, we find that this star is an angelic being, fallen from Heaven.

You will note that this creature has the key to the bottomless pit, or Hell. Have you ever thought of Hell as a bottomless pit? You fall and fall and fall and fall and never reach the bottom, for there is no bottom.

Verse 2:
If anyone doubted the literal fires of a burning Hell, this verse should dispel any of those doubts. It is a furnace from which comes terrible smoke that darkens the earth.

Verse 3:
When this person opens the pit, locusts come out. Some say this could not be. It happened in Exodus and it will happen again. If these are not literal locusts, then no man could ever tell us what they might be.

In the Reader’s Digest in 1953 there appeared an article describing the critical problem caused by locusts. Many crops have been entirely eaten up by the locusts in the East.

Verse 4:
The normal food of the locust is green food. However, God does not let them eat on green food in this time, but rather they shall feed upon the flesh of men.

What men? Those who have not the seal of God. God always cares for His own. We shall be with Jesus, and the others who have been saved in the tribulation will be protected. The locusts will feed only upon the bodies of the unredeemed.

Verse 5:
These will be deadly locusts. They will not kill men, but they will only torture them for five months. Think of it!

They will sting like a scorpion. Men have foamed at the mouth and gone into convulsions many times over the sting of one scorpion. What a horrible time when the entire world does this.

Verse 6:
The torment of the locusts will be so great that men shall try to commit suicide, but cannot. God will not let them die. They may take poison, but it will not kill them. They may shoot themselves, but cannot die. They may try to die, but cannot. (No wonder the seeing of this scene silenced Heaven.)

THE SHAPE	-like that of a horse
CROWNS ON THEIR HEADS	-like gold
FACES	-like that of a man
HAIR	-like that of a woman
TEETH	-like those of a lion
SOUND	-like many horses and chariots preparing for battle

Verse 10:
Notice that this shall last five months. Imagine the terribleness of this.

Let us thank our God over and over again that we will not have to endure this awful time. We will till be enjoying the marriage of the Lamb with Jesus in Heaven.

Verse 11-12:
The sixth angel sounds the sixth trumpet. Let us see what it contains.

Verse 13-14:
The angels which are bound are no doubt four of Satan’s angels that have been prepared for this specific time of tribulation.

Notice also where they have been bound-near the River Euphrates (the word "in " also means near or around). It is interesting to note that the place where they have been bound is in the locality of the place where the Garden of Eden was located. This is where Satan first made his attack on the human race, where sin first came into the earth, and where death first came to man.

Verse 15:
This verse tells us that these angels are to be used to slay the third part of men. You will remember that in chapter four, one fourth of the people have been killed and that leaves three fourths. Now one third of that three fourths is killed leaving only half of the previous population of the world. The population of the world now is in excess of two billion. If it were exactly two billion, that means 500 million would be killed in chapter four and another 500 million would be killed here in the sixth trumpet. That would leave only one billion people left.

HOW MUCH TIME SHALL THESE ANGELS USE IN PERFORMING THEIR JOBS? This verse tells us one year, one month, one day, and one hour. Think of it!

Verse 16:
What will the four angels use to carry out their march of death? It will be the Devil’s cavalry-two hundred million horses from Hell. We have seen Hell’s locusts. Now we see Hell’s horses. The locusts tormented for five months. Now the horses kill for over thirteen months.

Verse 17-18:
Notice that the horses have heads of lions. What a horrible picture.

They have Hell in their mouth. Fire, brimstone (sulfur), and the smoke that blows out of their mouths is used to kill. Brother, the smell of burning sulphur is enough to kill, let alone the intense heat.

Verse 19:
They have tails like serpents. In other words, they have whiplike tails that could lash a person to death.

The tails also had heads of serpents. Probably many shall die from the bite of these serpent tails on the horses. (Think of the horror: People will call the police department, but they cannot be of help. Newspapers will be swamped. Highways will be blocked. People will try to hide in the mountains. There will be one horsemen for every ten people or two families. Imagine your boy, girl, mother, or father being tortured by these hideous monsters. People will die of heart failure. How horrible!) Let us thank God for the blessed truth that we are under the blood and safe in Jesus. If you are not His child, you had better come into the ark of safety while there is yet time.

Verses 20-21:
A lost person might say, "Well, after all that, if I am still alive I will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. " That is not so. This verse teaches that you will not repent then. Men do not get saved on their own terms, but on God’s. God’s terms are now.

Note that they will still be worshipping wooden gods, etc., that cannot see, hear or walk. Thank God, our Saviour is alive. We have a living God!

Notice the things that men shall do in this period: Idolatry. Sorceries (fortune-telling, narcotics, etc.). Fornication (adultery, marriage laxity, etc.). Thefts. From these things, it sounds like we must be near the time now, doesn’t it?