REVELATION -CHAPTER 9 - Fifth and Sixth Trumpet Angels - Two Woes - Abaddon
REVELATION – Chapter 9
Fifth and Sixth Trumpet Angels—Two Woes--Abaddon
Tuesday, July 31, The Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
God’s four trumpet warnings of the last chapter were directed against creation and creatures. Mankind was not under direct attack, yet men died. The flying eagle/angel-celestial messenger announced to the people on the earth that the next three trumpets would bring three dreadful woes upon mankind.
There continues to be Christians on the earth throughout the events of Chapter 9.
Unbelievers will suffer agonizing torment and a third of the population will be killed. If unsaved men thought the tribulation described in the opening of the seven seals was rough, wait until they face the catastrophes of the 5th and 6th trumpets and the first two woes.
(1) The release of demons bound in the abyss.
(2) An army of 200 million demonic horsemen ordered to kill one third of the world’s remaining population.
We will discover the third woe in chapter 11. It is the worst of all. It is a testimony of God’s grace that these attacks increase in severity, giving men a chance to repent each step of the way.
9:1-2: “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. 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.”
This first verse is controversial as to whether the star is a fallen angel or an angel descending from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit, or abyss. Since this celestial being is executing the will of God, there is no reason to assume the words “fallen from heaven,” identify him as Satan or one of the devil’s servants.
If this is a demon, then the Lord is using him to carry out God’s will within the seals of the “Little Book”. Remember the blowing of the seven trumpets is happening within the opening of the seventh seal.
This angel’s job is not at all different from the angel blowing the trumpet; or the angel of chapter 20 who comes down from heaven with a great chain and the key to the abyss.
9:3-6: “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. 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 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 strikes a man. In those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
When the celestial being unlocks the abyss, the first thing we see is dense clouds of smoke gushing upwards and darkening the sky. Out of the smoke, locusts swarm across the earth, but they are not after plant life. They’ve been ordered to leave the vegetation alone. That locusts normally feed on plant life makes these locusts most unusual. Since they are commanded to go after men, they can only be demonic locusts. These demon-locusts are well equipped to inflict severe pain, having the power of scorpions. A literal scorpion has a stinger at the end of its tail and when it strikes, it injects a painful poison into its victims.
But these demons are given power to torment men. This indicates mental and emotional pain. The venom of torment as we know it is usually “fear”. It is torment the people suffer, not torture, which would indicate physical pain. They are instructed only to torment, not to kill.
That tells us they are under the sovereign control of the Lord. Internal suffering, especially apprehension, despair, hopelessness and fear, can be worse than physical pain. Especially when there is no limit to the intensity of the torments. These can drive people to suicide and the word says that men shall seek death but death will flee from them.
The fact that they are limited to five months is further evidence that God is managing this plague.
We could ask where these demons come from. How did they get into the abyss in the first place? Believers have been praying for over 2000 years per the instructions of Jesus to send the demons to the abyss. These are believers who know how to use the authority given them by the Lord Jesus. We can resist Satan and he will flee from us, but the demons can be ordered into the abyss and told to stay there.
Christians will not be affected by this judgment. The assault is against those without the seal of God on their foreheads. The third sealing is the Mind of Christ. Since the demons are released to torment the mind and emotions of mankind, those of us who have the seal of God will not be tormented or affected by these demons. If our mind is stayed on the things of God, what can the devil do to us? Fear has no power over our mind, will and emotions because we live, move and have our being in the Spirit.
9: 7-11:”The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. They had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. They had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. They had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails; and their power was to hurt men five months. They had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue has his name Apollyon.
In the late 1980’s, the Lord gave me several visions and words concerning, The Destroyer, Abaddon, or Apollyon. Listed below is that teaching in depth as was given to me. At that time I was writing a paper, The Mustard Seed. I sent it out to my data base. I didn’t actually preach this message the first time until January 1991.
(Chapter 9 Teaching continues below this insert.)
THE DESTROYER
“ABBADON”
Preached by: Carolyn Sissom
January 1991, January 1993 and November 9, 2008
This is a story and a journey of a study as I was directed by the Lord. It began in the late 1980’s. I pulled this from my files this past week because I believe we are face to face with the spirit of destruction (Nov. 2008). To those of you who are Bible Scholars, I do not expect this to be Revelation to you. Although at the time I was directed to complete this study, it was revelation to me. If you disagree with my conclusions, I bless you. This is the way it was shown to me and the light given to me. I bless you in your revelation.
In the late 1980’s I was praying for a young man when the Holy Spirit stopped me. He said, “The man has the spirit of destruction. If you rebuke it, the spirit will attack you. The spirit of destruction carries a battle axe in his hand and destroys everything in his path. You do not have the anointing to deal with the destroyer. But one day you will have this anointing.”
I immediately began to study the scripture regarding this spirit. I knew that it is the devil’s nature to “kill, steal and destroy”. However, I had never actually separated these into three different personalities of the devil, i.e. the unholy trinity. John 10:10: “The thief comes to steal, kill and to destroy. I am come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.”
At that time, the only revelation from Scripture I received was Jeremiah 51. This entire chapter is prophetic of Babylon being destroyed by the Medes and Persians under the leadership of Cyrus. The verses were partially fulfilled by Cyrus. However, some of them are prophetic of “Mystery Babylon” and its destruction. I believe the United States is under siege in the financial arena in the year 2008 by “Mystery Babylon”.
Beginning with 51:20, Cyrus is metaphorically described as God’s battle axe and Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, is spoken of as a destroying mountain. The destroyer is the enemy that invades the land.
Thus says the Lord:
“You are my battle axe and weapons of war; for with you will I break in pieces the nations and with you will I destroy kingdoms, with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver, with you I shatter man and woman, with you I shatter old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and maiden, with you I shatter shepherd and flock, and with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter captains and rulers.
Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for the wrong they have done in Zion.” Declares the Lord.
“I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth.” Declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs and make you a burned-out mountain.” No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be desolate forever.” Declares the Lord.
“Lift up a banner in the land; Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her…summon…send up horses…the Lord’s purposes against Babylon will stand…Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting…This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: the daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled: the time to harvest her will soon come.”
After this revelation, I happily forgot about the study. In 1989, I once again had a dream about the destroyer. This time attacking my household. You may remember families were under attack in those years. I again resumed a word study on the destroyer. My progress was slow because of so many everyday duties. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded.” (Luke 17:28) God was trying to communicate with me to tell me some things, but I had been too busy.
The second dream came in December 1990. The message was that if I did not complete this assignment, God would get someone else to do the work. I cleared my calendar in January, 1991. I completed this study in obedience to the Lord. I offer this to those who have “ears to hear and eyes to see.”
My first revelation was that the destroyer’s name is “Abaddon”.
Thus says the Lord:
“And they had a King over them which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue has his name Apollyon…and the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It is said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind…and the number of the horsemen were 200, 000,000…The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – Idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Rev. 9: 11-21)
Abaddon is first mentioned in the bible in Job 26:6 R.S. “Sheol (death) is naked before God and Abaddon (destruction) has no covering.” Abaddon is also named as destruction in Job 28:22 and Proverbs 15:11. He is further identified as the prince of Grecia in Daniel 10: 20-21.
“Then said he, know that I come with you and now will return to fight with the prince of Persia and when I am gone forth lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will show you that which is noted in the scripture of truth and there is none that contends with me in these things, but Michael, your prince.”
“In the Hebrew prince is from the word “sar” which means a chief ruler. The prince of Grecia is the spirit confined to the abyss that will come out in the last days and cause the human anti-christ to revive the old Grecian Empire so that they can oppose Jesus Christ at Armageddon. The beast out of the abyss is a satanic angel and not the human spirit of some dead man. He does not incarnate himself in the human antichrist or beast out of the sea, but merely uses him as a tool to revive the 5th or Grecian Kingdom as the 8th and last kingdom in the times of the Gentiles. This is also the 4th Beast of Daniel 7. This spirit ruled the old Grecian Empire that had fallen before John’s day. (Rev. 17:10). When his Kingdom fell he was confined to the abyss where he remained during the 6th kingdom, the Roman Empire, which was the one in existence in John’s day.” (Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible- end of quote)
It is my belief since the Lord showed me the destroyer and his method of operations, that this spirit was released on the earth in the late 1980’s. This is my personal opinion and if you disagree with me I will not impose that on anyone as doctrine. Many families came under attack in the mid to late 1980’s. The Lord raised up spiritual warfare against the assault on families. I will further address that warfare as this study continues.
The demonic manifestations on the earth since the late 1980’s are unprecedented at any time in the history of the world.
“The Prince of Grecia is the satanic ruler prince of the Grecian Empire that caused Alexander the great to be so successful in 13 years as to destroy the Medo-Persian Empire completely. In Jeremiah and Daniel, the Medes are foreseen as the conquerors of Babylon.” (Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible).
7/31/12---Watching the lighting of the Olympic flame in the United Kingdom, I was reminded the flame originates every year in Greece. It is lit several months before the Olympics, carried as a relay throughout Greece, then there is a ceremony where eleven vestal virgins perform a celebration in which the torch is kindled by the light of the sun. The original Olympic flame was kindled as worship to the demonic prince, Zeus. The Prince of Grecia today would still have demonic power over the torch.
Page 620 of Dake’s A.F.B. defines five departments in the underworld of departed spirits. These are Tatarus, Paradise, Hell, the Abyss and the Lake of Fire. The abyss is what we are concerned with in this study. “The abyss or bottomless pit is the abode of demons and some angelic beings…The O.T. equivalent is Abaddon and is translated to mean destruction.” The abyss is not the place of confinement for human beings who die in their one and only mortal lifetime. It is a place for confinement of demons and certain fallen angels. (Luke 8:31; Rev. 9: 1-21; 11:7, 17:8, 10:3, 7,)Human souls that are righteous go to heaven at death. The wicked go to hell. Therefore, no human being could ever come out of the abyss as the anti-christ.” This is a demon spirit and the third part of the devil’s nature.
The sins throughout scripture that reap destruction in addition to those listed in Rev. 9: 20-21 or murder, magic arts, and sexual immorality are pride, an uncontrolled tongue, a man who robs his parents, adultery, whoredom, and murmuring. (Job. 31:3; Prov. 28:24, 6:32; 31:3; 16:28 and 1 Co. 10:10
So how does this affect us? Jeremiah has instructions for us as he tried to prepare Israel for her coming judgment, so are we prepared. Israel’s sin of idolatry and following their vain imaginations plus all of the above mentioned sins brought this judgment on their nation.
Thus says the Lord:
- Break up your fallow ground! (idle, uncultivated, unproductive)
- Sow not among the thorns!
- Circumcise yourselves to the Lord! (remove all stubbornness)
- Take away the foreskin of your heart!
- Declare, publish and blow the trumpets!
- Cry, gather together and say assemble yourselves!
- Set up a standard toward Zion!
- Retire to defensed cities, stay not outside.
- Wash your heart from wickedness!
- Make mention to the nations!
All of this language expressed alarm in view of impending war---Blow the Trumpet; Cry; Gather Together; Go into the defensed cities; Stay not outside; The destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way to make the land desolate! At that time the destroyer’s tool for destruction was Nebuchadnezzar who conquered many nations, took the Jews captive and founded the Babylonian empire of Daniel 2: 37-38; 7:4. It is my belief that the destroyer has been released from the abyss and his two hundred million demon army has been released upon mankind. Judgment began at the household of God. It is God’s way to start at the top and go down. I believe the sixth angel has sounded the sixth trumpet.
The Good News is God has made a way for us through the blood of Jesus Christ. He always makes a provision for his remnant before the need arises. Also, Revelation, Chapter 9 clearly states this plague of demons is for those who have not received Christ.
God’s provision from destruction is first repentance and obedience.
Secondly, the blood on the doorpost protected the Israelites from the destroying angel. Further God sent His Word and delivered them from destruction. (Psalm 107:20)
God promised protection from destruction for those who would commit their cause to him.” (Job 5: 21-22)
Tithing is spiritual warfare against destruction. “Malachi 3:11: “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground.”
There are many other provisions, but last and most important is chapter 10:1 in Revelation:
“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud and a rainbow was upon his head and his face was as it were the sun and his feet as pillars of fire…”
This angel is Jesus. As he prepares His Bride for His coming, we are going to experience an outpouring of His Glory, the power of His Might, a harvest of souls, an opening up of the revelation of His Word that has been sealed by all the prophets, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and John. Etc.
When Jesus comes with Michael contending with Him, they will fight against the Prince of Grecia, the destroyer. God will raise up His final battle axe and weapons of war against the destroyer. In Ezekiel 9: 1-6, we have God’s promise that the righteous have been marked by God’s seal for deliverance:
“Then I heard him call out in a loud voice. “Bring the guards of the city here, each with a weapon in his hand. And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north. One man among them was clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the Bronze altar (The Cross). Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament (cry) over all the detestable things that are done in it.’ As I listened he said to the others, ‘Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.
Those of us who have passed the brazen altar (The Cross), who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be marked with the three sealing’s' of the Holy Ghost:
- Baptism of Water
- Baptism of the Holy Ghost
- The Mind of Christ
I have heard the Voice from the four Horns of the Golden Altar in 1991. The voice brought me to conviction for a “certain sin”. Unless I would repent, I would miss the Glory of God and not be able to pass the Golden Altar in to the Holy of Holies.
Men and Women of God, the Voice has sounded, repent of your sins.
(Rev. 9:13) Wise men and women weep! Cry! Blow the trumpet! Gather together! Wash your hearts from wickedness and set up a standard!
Kingdoms of this world have always been controlled by Godly or satanic angels and wars on earth are lost or won as a result of battles in the heavenlies between the good and bad angels. God plans the rise and fall of certain kingdoms and Satan seeks to keep the prophetic word from coming to pass.
But help is on the way – Isaiah 63: 1-6:
“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor striding forward in the greatness of His strength? ‘It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why are your garments red like those of one treading the winepress? ‘I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath, their blood spattered my garments and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help. I was appalled that no one gave support, so my own arm worked salvation for me and in my own wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.
“The Son of Man came not to destroy men’s lives but to save them. (Luke 9:56)
TAKE ME IN
By: Dave Browning
Take me pas the outer courts
And through the holy place
Past the golden altar
Lord, I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people
The priests who sing their praise
I hunger and thirst
For your righteousness
And it’s only found one place.
Take me in
To the Holy of Holies
Take me in
By the blood of the Lamb
Take me in
To the Holy of Holies
Take the coal, touch my lips
Here I am
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter 9 – Teaching on Book of Revelation – Continued
9:12: “The first woe has now passed, but there are still two more to come!
One might be tempted to think that with all the demons out of the pit, the worst is over, but John says there are more woes to come. With man’s unrepentant defiance building, we can expect the intensity of God’s judgments to increase as well. That means the next woe will be even more terrible.
9: 13-14: “”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.
`When the sixth angel sounds his trumpet, a voice from the golden altar orders him to release four mighty angels of destruction. The golden altar is the same from which the martyrs urged God to avenge Himself on the unrepentant inhabitants of the earth. The prayers of God’s people play a big part in end time events. The Sixth trumpet angel is obviously more powerful than the destruction angels and is commanded to turn them loose on mankind.
The Euphrates River originates in the mountains of Armenia and travels 2235 miles southwest through Turkey, Syria and Iraq ending in the Persian Gulf. It would be hard to pin point where these angels are. In April 1915, 250,000 Armenian people were slaughtered by Turkey. Those who lived to tell the story say the river ran red with blood.
9: 15-16: “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 (two hundred million); and I heard the number of them.”
The destroying angels now released, have one job to do---kill. The demons of the 5th trumpet could only torment. Their objective is to reduce the earth’s population by one third. In John’s day, the earth’s population was around 280 million and a third of that would be roughly 60 million.
John, of course, had no idea the world’s population would be over 7 billion in our day. Had he known, it would have seemed impossible to kill 2.5 billion with the weapons of that day. However with 200 million horsemen, a number greater than the population of his day killing 10 apiece would do it.
God’s hand is again seen in that the four angels were prepared for a precise moment in history, the exact year, month, day and hour.
9: 17-19: “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 were 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.”
John sees a vast horde of demon cavalry-men stretching as far as the eye can see. He is describing what we know today to be trucks, tanks, planes, missiles, bombs, submarines and guns.
It would seem that 200,000,000 demon riders would be sufficient to goad the world into a devastating war.
However, the 6th trumpet angel will leave the remaining two-thirds of the population alive to change its mind about God---if they are so inclined.
9: 20-21: “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, not of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
At least 4.5 billion people (according to the population of the world in 2012) survive the plagues of the 6th trumpet. One would think such a slaughter of souls would shake people to the place where they will consider receiving Christ as their Savior.
The worship instinct in all men compels them to worship something. Men worship idols and images.
The situation on earth is so bad that God will use supernatural means to get the gospel to every creature. When we get to Chapter 14, an angel will do it from mid-heaven appealing to the survivors to honor God and come to Him before its to late.
Taught by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V. I entered into the labors of C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Revelation to teach Revelation, Chapter 9. The prophetic vision and teaching given to me on Abaddon was done over many years. I entered into the labors of Finis J. Dake, Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible as indicated. Otherwise all comments and conclusions are my own as I am led by the Holy Spirit.