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In the following article, the biblical text is in CAPS, while commentary is in lower case.

Studies in Revelation

by Dr. John H. Roller

Chapter 9

Introduction

Revelation 9 continues John’s report of the vision of the seven trumpets, begun in Revelation 8:2. As I stated in the Conclusion to last month’s study, I believe that what is prophesied in Revelation 9 is God’s judgment against the wicked people of the Arab world (those people who occupied the Middle East after the Roman Empire was destroyed). During what we call the “Dark Ages” in Europe’s history, the lands of the Bible – the countries that are now Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and so on – were conquered by the armies of the false prophet Mohammed, who claimed to receive the “revelations” from “Allah” that are recorded in the Qur’an. He gathered a band of followers who not only supported his religion, but also his efforts to take control of that part of the world, and went out to conquer all of that territory. He and his successors built an empire that reached its peak right at the time when Europe was at its lowest point.

Revelation 9:1

THE FIFTH ANGEL SOUNDED (his trumpet), AND I SAW A STAR FROM THE SKY WHICH HAD FALLEN TO THE EARTH. THE KEY TO THE PIT OF THE ABYSS (the place in “the depths of the earth” where demons are imprisoned until their final punishment) WAS GIVEN TO HIM.

Revelation 9:2

HE (the “star”) OPENED THE PIT OF THE ABYSS, AND SMOKE WENT UP OUT OF THE PIT, LIKE THE SMOKE FROM A BURNING FURNACE. THE SUN AND THE AIR WERE DARKENED BECAUSE OF THE SMOKE FROM THE PIT. A “smoke screen” is an expression for the way that you can prevent people from understanding the truth by “covering it over” with so much confusing falsehood that they can’t “see” the truth that is buried in it. Having read several different English translations of the Qur’an, I have to tell you that my impression of that book is that it is a giant smoke screen, filled with so many confusing and conflicting assertions that if there is any truth in it, it’s awfully hard to see it. Many times, after reading several surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an, I had the feeling that I was in a room that was thick with smoke and couldn’t feel my way around.

Revelation 9:3

THEN OUT OF THE SMOKE CAME FORTH LOCUSTS ON THE EARTH (the original armies of Mohammed were so large – because they involved all of the adult men from the communities that Mohammed ruled – that as they went around the countryside conquering, those who were conquered by them often compared them to the “invading armies” of locusts that covered that part of the world every so many years and ate up every form of vegetation that there was), AND POWER WAS GIVEN TO THEM, AS THE SCORPIONS OF THE EARTH HAVE POWER. Scorpions have the power to inflict pain, and even to kill, by their sting – and Mohammed’s armies had the power to inflict pain on, and even to kill, those who refused to submit to their claim of authority.

Revelation 9:4

THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY SHOULD NOT HURT THE GRASS OF THE EARTH, NEITHER ANY GREEN THING, NEITHER ANY TREE (as literal locusts would do), BUT ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE GOD’S SEAL ON THEIR FOREHEADS (non-Christians in the Middle East quickly fell prey to Mohammed’s new religion, and became Muslims; only those who knew Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior were able to stand up against this onslaught – by maintaining their faith in Jesus – and many of them were martyred).

Revelation 9:5

THEY WERE GIVEN POWER NOT TO KILL THEM (destroy their communities altogether), BUT TO TORMENT THEM (reduce their population, wealth and influence) FOR FIVE MONTHS. 5 times 30 days is 150 days. Each day represents a year; so we’re talking about a period of 150 years. The initial Muslim conquest of the Middle East took place in the 150-year period beginning in AD 636 and ending in AD 786. THEIR TORMENT WAS LIKE THE TORMENT OF A SCORPION, WHEN IT STRIKES A PERSON.

Revelation 9:6

IN THOSE DAYS PEOPLE WILL SEEK DEATH, AND WILL IN NO WAY FIND IT. THEY WILL DESIRE TO DIE, AND DEATH WILL FLEE FROM THEM. People groups who lived in the Middle East had a tendency to give up, in despair, when confronted by the conquering armies of Islam. They accepted the new religion and the domination of their communities by Mohammed’s armies rather than be killed; then they found that life under Muslim domination was so bad that they wished that they had chosen death instead, but the Muslims wouldn’t kill them as long as they submitted to the Muslim claim of authority.

Revelation 9:7

THE SHAPES OF THE LOCUSTS WERE LIKE HORSES PREPARED FOR WAR. That statement, if nothing else, should be a “clue” that John isn’t reporting a vision of a literal locust plague. ON THEIR HEADS WERE SOMETHING LIKE GOLDEN CROWNS, AND THEIR FACES WERE LIKE PEOPLE’S FACES. The “locusts” in the vision were symbols of actual people – men riding into battle on horses.

Revelation 9:8

THEY HAD HAIR LIKE WOMEN’S HAIR (as far as I know, the only armies in the history of the world that have allowed their male soldiers to wear long hair have been the armies of the Arab peoples), AND THEIR TEETH WERE LIKE THOSE OF LIONS. Once caught in such “teeth,” the victim has very little chance of ever escaping, especially not unharmed.

Revelation 9:9

THEY HAD BREASTPLATES, LIKE BREASTPLATES OF IRON. THE SOUND OF THEIR WINGS WAS LIKE THE SOUND OF CHARIOTS, OR OF MANY HORSES RUSHING TO WAR. In a sense, John is “interpreting” his own vision for us – he tells us that the “locusts” aren’t literal locusts. They represent the “cavalry” of the Muslim armies.

Revelation 9:10

THEY HAVE TAILS LIKE THOSE OF SCORPIONS, AND STINGS. IN THEIR TAILS THEY HAVE POWER TO HARM MEN FOR FIVE MONTHS (AD 636-786, see verse 5, above).

Revelation 9:11

THEY HAVE OVER THEM AS KING (literally, the first “king” of the Muslims was the false prophet Mohammed, who, for part of his life, was actually the King of Mecca; later, the caliphs were the “kings” of the Muslims) THE ANGEL OF THE ABYSS (“behind” Mohammed and the caliphs, John, in this vision, sees a demonic spirit “pulling the strings” on this whole operation). HIS NAME IN HEBREW IS “ABADDON,” BUT IN GREEK, HE HAS THE NAME “APOLLYON” (both of these names, translated into English, mean “the destroyer” – one of the things that Mohammed and his armies succeeded in doing was destroying the culture that had existed in the Middle East before his conquests; of course, after this destruction, the Muslims then built their own culture, including such impressive creations as the Mosque of Omar, which sits on the site formerly occupied by the Temple, in Jerusalem).

Revelation 9:12

THE FIRST WOE (corresponding to the fifth trumpet) IS PAST. BEHOLD (“Look!”), THERE ARE STILL TWO WOES (corresponding to the sixth and seventh trumpets) COMING AFTER THIS (both in the text, and in the order of chronological fulfillment).

Revelation 9:13

THE SIXTH ANGEL SOUNDED (his trumpet). I HEARD A VOICE (coming) FROM THE HORNS OF THE GOLDEN ALTAR (one of the items of “furniture” that John had seen in the earlier vision recorded in Revelation 4) WHICH IS BEFORE GOD,

Revelation 9:14

SAYING TO THE SIXTH ANGEL WHO HAD ONE TRUMPET, “FREE THE FOUR ANGELS WHO ARE BOUND AT THE GREAT RIVER EUPHRATES!”

Revelation 9:15

THE FOUR ANGELS WERE FREED WHO HAD BEEN PREPARED FOR AN HOUR AND A DAY AND A MONTH AND A YEAR (on our “scale” of a day for a year, that would come to a little over 396 years – just about exactly the time between January 18, 1057, and May 29, 1453 – see my comments on verse 16, below), SO THAT THEY MIGHT KILL ONE THIRD OF MANKIND (that is, 1/3 of the people living in the region being discussed, not 1/3 of all the people living on the entire planet).

Revelation 9:16

THE NUMBER OF THE ARMIES OF THE HORSEMEN WAS TWO HUNDRED MILLION. This number astonishes anyone who tries to put the interpretation of this prophecy into the present time or any time in the near future. What country could field an army with 200,000,000 mounted troops? According to the 2009 World Almanac, on June 30, 2008, the United States had a total of 1,385,122 troops on active duty. At no time in history was that number ever higher than the 8,266,373 that it reached in 1945, near the end of World War II. The People’s Republic of China – a country with over four times the population of the United States – had only slightly more troops, in 2008, at 2,105,000. Only three other countries – Russia, North Korea and India – had over 1,000,000. The total number of soldiers in the whole world, today, isn’t anywhere near 200,000,000. So whose huge army is this? The answer, I believe, is that it is the composite number of all of the soldiers that served in the Turkish Muslim armies, which conquered most of the Middle East, and almost half of Europe, between January 18, 1057, when they first began their assault on the region, and May 29, 1453, when they were defeated at the very gates of Vienna, Austria, whereupon their empire began to dwindle down. Today the whole “empire” only amounts to the country of Turkey. I HEARD THE NUMBER OF THEM (and saw them, in the vision, as if they were all gathered together on the battlefield at one time, although, in reality, the fulfillment of the vision took place over a period of nearly four centuries and involved many separate generations of soldiers).

Revelation 9:17

THUS I SAW THE HORSES IN THE VISION, AND THOSE WHO SAT ON THEM, HAVING BREASTPLATES OF FIERY RED, HYACINTH BLUE, AND SULFUR YELLOW (those were, in fact, the colors of the flag that was flown by the Turkish army in those days, though the modern country of Turkey uses a simpler red flag with a white star and crescent); AND THE HEADS OF LIONS. OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS PROCEED (teachings that have the characteristics of) FIRE (which is destructive), SMOKE (which is confusing), AND SULFUR (which is offensive) – that is exactly how the nominally-Christian Europeans felt about the teachings of Islam (and, particularly, its Turkish form).

Revelation 9:18

BY THESE THREE PLAGUES WERE ONE THIRD OF MANKIND (again, that is, 1/3 of the people living in the region that is being discussed – the Middle East and Eastern Europe – not 1/3 of all the people living on the planet) KILLED: BY THE FIRE, THE SMOKE, AND THE SULFUR, WHICH PROCEEDED OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS (ultimately, the source of the devastation that occurred was not the military might of the armies, but the destructive, confusing and offensive teachings of Islam; and, ultimately, the devastation itself was not the death of so many millions of people, but the enslavement of the hundreds of millions who remained, and of the billions who have since been born under the domination of this false religion).

Revelation 9:19

FOR THE POWER OF THE HORSES IS IN THEIR MOUTHS, AND IN THEIR TAILS. FOR THEIR TAILS ARE LIKE SERPENTS, AND HAVE HEADS, AND WITH THEM THEY HARM. The Turks were the only people in history ever to develop the idea of shooting an arrow behind them. Everybody else held their bows out in front and shot their arrows in the direction in which they were facing; but the Turks learned how to hold their bows backwards and shoot their arrows at whoever was chasing them. This thoroughly confused their enemies, who would think that the Turks were running away when, in reality, they were attacking. They killed a lot of people that way. Eventually, of course, their enemies learned that the one thing to avoid seeing in battle was the rear end of a Turkish horse.

Revelation 9:20

THE REST OF MANKIND (that is, the rest of those people who lived in the region under discussion – the Middle East and Eastern Europe), WHO WERE NOT KILLED WITH THESE PLAGUES, DIDN’T REPENT OF THE WORKS OF THEIR HANDS, (so) THAT THEY WOULDN’T WORSHIP DEMONS, AND THE IDOLS OF GOLD, AND OF SILVER, AND OF BRASS, AND OF STONE, AND OF WOOD; WHICH CAN NEITHER SEE, NOR HEAR, NOR WALK (the writers of the Bible often made fun of the false gods that were worshipped by those people who didn’t worship the true God, on the basis of the fact that the false gods were impotent, whereas the true God is omnipotent).

Revelation 9:21

THEY DIDN’T REPENT OF THEIR MURDERS, NOR OF THEIR SORCERIES, NOR OF THEIR SEXUAL IMMORALITY, NOR OF THEIR THEFTS. These last two verses contain the main point of the entire chapter. The main point is not the delineation of the time frame during which Mohammed’s Muslim armies would establish their hegemony over the Middle East and parts of Europe. The main point is that God was judging the peoples of that part of the world for their idolatry and wickedness, and that He was doing it by allowing those peoples to be invaded, conquered, killed and subjugated by the Muslims. And the proof that He was acting rightly in doing so is found in the fact that their troubles didn’t lead them to turn away from sin to Him. That leads me to wonder if there might not be a contemporary application to this historical prophecy. “Western” Christendom survived the Muslim onslaught of the seventh through fifteenth centuries; but have the peoples of Europe and North America maintained a true reliance on God, or are we still worshipping idols and engaging in sinful practices? Have you repented of the works of your hands (“doing your own thing”), or are you still worshipping the “American idols” of gold and silver (money), brass, stone and wood (material things), murders (like abortion), sorceries (the word literally means “drug abuse”), sexual immorality (which is any sexual activity outside of the sacred bond of marriage) and theft (which includes “petty” crimes like cheating on your income tax and doing personal stuff on company time)?

Conclusion

So far, we’ve covered six of the seven trumpets. As in the vision of the seven seals, there is now a “pause” extending all the way from Revelation 10:1 to Revelation 11:14. Before we get to that seventh trumpet, we need to see what was predicted to happen between AD 1453 and the Second Coming of Christ.