Say first, for Heav’n hides nothing from thy view
Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause
Mov’d our Grand Parents in that happy State,
Favour’d of Heav’n so highly, to fall off
From their Creator, and transgress his Will
For one restraint, Lords of the World besides?
Who first seduc’d them to that foul revolt?

Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile
Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv’d
The Mother of Mankind, what time his Pride
Had cast him out from Heav’n, with all his Host
Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring
To set himself in Glory above his Peers,
He trusted to have equal’d the most High…

These words come from the section of John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost,” where he rhythmically recounts Satan’s fall from heaven that eventually led to the fall of mankind. Satan’s fall is one of the most tragic stories in history because it is the ultimate source of human pain and suffering.

The story is pieced together from various parts of Scripture, but it goes something like this: Sometime before God created the earth, he created angels, spiritual beings who serve God as his messengers and song-bearers. (Job 38:7) Lucifer, which means “Morning Star” was the highest ranking archangel; he was filled with beauty and wisdom and led the angelic choir in songs of joy when God created the earth. But somewhere along the line, Lucifer became so impressed with his own beauty, intelligence, power, and position that he began to desire for himself the honor and glory that belonged to God alone. So, he led a rebellion against God, taking a third of the angels with him.

God punished Lucifer by banishing him from heaven. God cast him and his rebellious angels to the earth, and changed Lucifer’s name to Satan which means “adversary.” Satan deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, causing a sinful curse to be placed on humanity. Throughout the Old Testament period Satan prevented God’s chosen people Israel from being a light to the Gentiles by keeping them in the grip of idolatry. During this same period God incarcerated some of the demons in a spiritual prison called the abyss.

When Jesus was crucified, a great spiritual battle took place. Satan thought that he had won, but he was actually defeated when Jesus rose again on the third day. Then Jesus returned to heaven, sat down at the right hand of the father, and began his millennial reign. At this same time Satan was bound, imprisoned in the abyss, and prohibited from personally deceiving the nations. Before Satan was bound, God gave him the key to the abyss to release the imprisoned demons to carry on his destructive work in his stead. This has been happening for the past 2000 years. Sometime in the future Satan will be released for a short period of time and then ultimately judged by God and sentenced to eternity in hell. (Rev. 20)

The Screaming Eagle (8:13)

This brings us to today’s passage where we learn about the destructive plagues of demons that have oppressed the world for the past 2000 years and continue to terrorize the world today. The fifth and sixth angels blow their trumpets and John sees two demonic judgments released upon the earth. There is a brief pause between the first four trumpets and the last three, when John looks up to the sky and sees an eagle screaming out in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels.” The last three trumpet judgments are more severe than the others because they attack humans directly rather than the enviroment around them. The ominous spiritual darkness described in the fourth plague is now intensified by judgments of two demonic plagues.

The Fifth Trumpet- The Demonic Locusts (9:1-12)

As the fifth angel blows his trumpet, John saw a star that had fallen out of the sky to the earth. Throughout the book of Revelation, stars are symbols for angelic beings. This fallen star is a symbol for Satan himself, who was cast to earth by God. He was given the key to the shaft of the abyss, which is a metaphor for God giving him the authority to unlock the spiritual prison and release the demons that were held there.

In Revelation 5, John had spoken of created beings “in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.” These can also be designated as angels, people, and demons. People in the first century believed in a three-storied universe: heaven was above the earth; the Abyss or hell was a deep pit below the earth. Even today, we conceptualize this spiritual geography by thinking of God and angels “up in heaven” and the devil and demons as “down in the pit of hell.”

When Satan opened the Abyss to lead the demonic jailbreak, smoke billowed from the furnace-like pit, adding to the horrific image of the fires of hell. The dense smoke darkening the sun indicates that the judgment formerly limited to the demonic realm is being extended to the earthly realm. As a result of the death and resurrection of Christ, Satan and his demons have begun to be judged, and now the effect of their judgment is about to be unleashed on humans.

As the smoke rises from the Abyss, a horde of locusts emerge. But these are no ordinary locusts! They are a plague of demons, and instead of attacking crops and vegetation, they have God’s authority to torment those who do not bear God’s mark of protection on their foreheads. John uses the metaphor of a scorpion sting that was painful but not fatal to describe how these demons attack unbelieving humanity. The people who are tormented by these demons want to die but they can’t; God prevents these demons from killing people.

In verses 7-11 John gives us a close up view of these locust demons. Each of these images emphasizes that the demons are fierce and horrific beings that affect people in a fierce, horrific, and destructive manner. These descriptions are based on an exaggeration of the actual characteristics of a locust: their “hair” corresponds to the antennae, their “iron breastplates” correspond to their hard thoraxes, their wings sounded like chariots rushing into battle, etc.

Satan is the king of the Abyss and he rules over all of the demons. He is represented here by two other names: the Hebrew “Abaddon” and the Greek “Apollyon” which both mean destroyer. He is now using his horde of demons to destroy humanity.

The Sixth Trumpet- The Demonic Horses (9:13-21)

With the blowing of the sixth trumpet, John hears Christ’s voice calling from God’s throne commanding the angel to release “the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” These “four angels” are high ranking demons (demonic generals) who unleash a military-like assault on unbelieving humanity. Here, John capitalizes on the first century Roman and Jewish fears about the great Parthian armies on the other side of the Euphrates River. The Parthians had inexhaustible hordes of barbarian warriors. This physical threat is used as a metaphor for the spiritual assault that would be unleashed upon unbelieving humanity through an inexhaustible army of demons.

Like the close up picture of the locusts, John zooms in to give us a close up shot of these horse-like demons in verses 17-19. Again we have a list of monstrous metaphors to highlight the ferocious and dreadful nature of these demons that afflict people in a devastating manner. These images are based on exaggerations of actual Parthian warriors. Unlike the preceding plague of demons, this army of demons was given authority by God to kill a third of mankind, which is a symbol for large but limited portion of the unbelieving population.

In verses 20-21, we learn that the purpose of these plagues of demons was to bring unbelievers to repentance, but unfortunately, like the Egyptian Pharaoh in the Old Testament, the people hardened their hearts toward God and persisted in their idolatry. The world in the first century was full of idols of metal, wood, stone, and other false gods that were actually demons. The tragic irony here is that people are destroyed by the very idols and demons they worship.

Now that we have seen the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments by way of two demonic plagues, I would like to four implications for us today.

1.) Satan and Demons are Real

Unfortunately, there are many people in our world today who simply do not believe in demons. They think that demonic oppression is an overactive imagination. They think that demonic possession is some type of schizophrenic psychosis. But as we have seen in these two trumpet judgments, demons are real and they affect real people today.

C.S. Lewis, in his book The Screwtape Letters, points out, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and feel and excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight.”

2.) Believers are protected from Demons

Those who have truly put their faith in Jesus Christ, who are born again, have the Holy Spirit inside of them, and bear God’s seal on their lives are spiritually protected from these demonic attacks. If you want to be protected from these spiritual attacks, you must become a part of God’s family.

3.) Unbelievers are Vulnerable to Demons

In many parts of our world today, literal idolatry still persists. People worship everything from rocks, trees, and hills to manmade statues, images, and figurines. In more developed countries, idols have been replaced by material wealth, chemical addiction, power, popularity, and the endless pursuit of pleasure. Don’t we see murder, witchcraft, sexual immorality, and theft all around us today?

4.) Demonic Plagues are meant to bring unbelievers to Repentance

If there is anyone here who has or is experiencing the effects of demonic activity, repent from your sin and turn to Jesus Christ in faith!