The Fifth Trumpet and the Fifth Plague
(Warning of spiritual torment under false authority)
Revelation 9:1?6
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to
die, and death shall flee from them.
, the first woe, shifts the focus from environmental distress to intensified spiritual torment.
A fallen star opens the abyss, releasing darkness and deception that afflict humanity. Those tormented are
not physically killed, but they suffer anguish of mind and spirit. Notably, the torment does not fall upon those
who have the seal of God.
This trumpet does not describe literal demons tormenting humanity, but a condition in which false authority,
deception, and spiritual bondage dominate the world. It reveals what happens when people persistently reject
divine truth: God allows them to experience the consequences of deception unchecked. Yet even here, restraint
remains. The torment is limited in time, and death is withheld. Mercy still pleads.
This warning finds its fulfillment in the fifth plague:
Revelation 16:10?11
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they
gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and
repented not of their deeds.
When probation closes, the symbolic darkness of the trumpet becomes literal judgment. The plague falls upon the seat
of the beast, plunging its kingdom into darkness. Pain intensifies, yet repentance does not follow. The plague confirms
the trumpet?s warning: allegiance to false authority leads to torment, confusion, and despair when divine restraint is removed.
Trumpet: torment without death (warning)
Plague: darkness and pain without repentance (execution)The Sixth Trumpet and the Sixth Plague
(Warning of final restraint being removed)
Revelation 9:13?21
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay
the third part of men.
And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and
brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should
not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
, the second woe, reveals humanity?s hardened condition. Despite escalating warnings, people do not
repent of idolatry, violence, or immorality. The trumpet introduces a decisive command from the heavenly altar:
?Loose the four angels.?This language directly parallels Revelation 7, where four angels hold back destructive winds until the sealing of God?s people is complete.
The sixth trumpet therefore announces that the world is nearing the moment when restraint will end. If the angels release their hold,
the winds of evil?the forces associated with the seven last plagues (Jer. 25:32)?will be unleashed.
Yet in the trumpet, the winds are still held. This is a warning announcement, not execution. It reveals that humanity is approaching
the final boundary of mercy.
This warning is executed in the sixth plague:Revelation 16:12?16
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings
of the east might be prepared.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and
out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them
to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
The Euphrates dries up, preparing the way for the kings of the earth. Demonic spirits gather the world for the final conflict. What was
restrained under the trumpet now unfolds fully. The world is united in rebellion against God, setting the stage for Armageddon.
Trumpet: announcement of restraint about to end
Plague: restraint removed and final conflict prepared
