In Revelation 8 the cycle of the Seven Trumpets (chapters 8b-11) began and the imagery was from the plagues in Exodus.  The trumpets sound the alarm – blasting out a warning for all the inhabitants of earth. Awake, awake, and repent! The judgment of God is falling on the earth.

Now, in Revelation 9, our horror movie script grows darker. With the final three trumpets John’s vision moves from the physical into the spiritual realm, and the trumpets tell of the abyss and the demonic. These visions are described in quite a bit more detail than the first trumpets, and the symbolism of the locusts is horrible and strange.

With the fifth trumpet (9:1-11) demonic locusts are unleashed from the bottomless pit (the abyss). They are sent out to torment (not kill), for a period of time, only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads (9:4).

A couple of interesting notes about the demonic locusts: They come from the abyss, which is not a place of punishment but more like a holding ground (a corral) inhabited by spiritual beings that are hostile to God. Remember the legion of demons cast out from the man in Luke 8:31? They begged Jesus to not send them to the abyss. The locusts have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit (9:11). Normal locusts do not have a leader, so this indicates they are a spiritual horde under demonic leadership. They are ferocious, powerful, and terrifying.

However, please note that the one who opened the abyss was given a key (9:1-2). God controls the corralling and the unleashing of the powers; He remains sovereign over all their activities. Note also that those who were sealed by God were not to be tormented, the demonic powers have no right to touch them. The power of the demonic hordes was also limited in scope (no killing) and duration (five months, or a little while).

The sixth trumpet is even more extreme (9:12-19). The command is given to release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates (9:14) and a demonic calvary rides out with permission to kill one third of humankind. Note again that the release command indicates that the demonic are not free to do whatever they choose, they remain under the instructions of God Almighty. More fun facts – the Euphrates was the boundary of the promised land given to God’s people, and also the boundary of the Roman empire. Beyond the river (in the first century) were the Parthians, the world’s most dreaded calvary.

Those who were not killed might have been expected to take warning, repent, and turn to follow God. But John shares horrible news: “They did not repent… nor give up worshipping demons… nor did they repent of murders, sorceries, sexual immorality, or theft.” (9:20-21). Judgment is falling on the earth, yet people are not repenting.

I wonder what we would see if the veil was pulled back and we glimpsed the reality of the spirit realm? Have you given much thought to evil powers – their presence, their mission, their tactics, and their limitations? Are you horrified that people suffer greatly because of evil but also never seem to repent? Are you comforted that God is more powerful than evil, and protects His people?