Trumpet 5 - Bottomless Pit
"13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, 'Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!'" Rev 8:13
The first four trumpets have been terrible but the next three trumpets are even worse. Trumpets five, six and seven and called three woes.
Trumpet five is the first woe.
Bottomless pit
"1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit." Rev 9:1
Satan is the star that falls from heaven to earth. Six thousand years ago he lived in heaven as the chief commanding angel. But he became proud and refused to submit to God. When God had exhausted all possibilities to bring Lucifer to repentance God cast him out of heaven to the earth.
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” Isaiah 14:12
When the fifth trumpet sounds Satan is given the key to the bottomless pit. This is where Satan and his angels are kept so that there powers are limited. They are able to tempt and annoy people but they cannot freely appear on earth as literal, physical beings.
Bottomless pit opened
"2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power." Rev 9:2,3
The bottomless pit is also called the abyss or the deep, like the ocean. It is a giant jail cell for the demons. When Satan is given the key to his jail cell he opens it.
Immediately, Satan and his evil angels escape from the bottomless pit. There are so many of them that they appear like locusts and the sky and air are hidden from view and appear dark.
Satan appears from the bottomless pit - as Jesus
Satan and his angels will not appear as the evil demons they are but instead will appear as Jesus and His millions of heavenly angels. They will disguise themselves as holy angels and will appear with clouds and glory so that the people on earth believe that Jesus and His angels have come back to earth.
Satan will claim that he and his angels have come to save people from the awful judgments that have come upon the world during the first four trumpets. He will tell people that all they have to do is worship him and he will protect and save them.
Satan will be disguised as Jesus. Two of his leading demons will disguise themselves as the Bible prophets Moses and Elijah. Ten other leading demons will disguise themselves as 10 powerful Bible characters who have been in heaven. The 2 demons plus the 10 demons equals 12 demons. These 12 demons will masquerade as the 12 disciples of Jesus.
Millions of other demons will pretend to be angels from heaven or people who have died and supposedly gone to heaven. It will be a masterful and almost perfect deception.
One of the first things Satan and his demons will do when they arrive here on earth is to set up a worldwide kingdom. In the Bible this kingdom is called Babylon. They will tell people that Jesus has come to set up His earthly kingdom for 1,000 years and that everyone should join.
When the demons come out of the bottomless pit they will be given powers they have never had before. They will be able to appear on earth in glorious bodies. They will also be able to cause people pain like the pain of a scorpion sting.
Five months of torture
"4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them." Rev 9:4-6
The demons will not hurt the crops of food or forests that were hurt during the first four trumpets. They will hurt people who have not been sealed by God. They will not be allowed to hurt God’s 144,000 servants because the 144,000 were sealed before the trumpets began to sound. There will be three categories of people on earth during the fifth trumpet:
- Those who worship God and have been sealed, including the 144,000
- Those who haven't decided whether to worship God or Satan
- Those who worship Satan, believing that he is God
It is the second group of people that Satan and his angels will hurt. They will not be allowed to kill them but only to cause them intense physical and emotional suffering for five literal months. The agony will be so bad that people will wish to die, but they will not be able to die. Satan will offer to remove the pain if they will simply worship him. Most will comply.
Ready for war
"7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months." Rev 9:7-10
The locusts are a symbol for Satan and his angels. They will come prepared to fight but will have a beautiful and attractive appearance. Their armor will be strong like iron and they will be impervious to human weapons. People will not be able to hurt them but they will be able to hurt people for five months.
"11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." Rev 9:11
Satan is the king over his angels. In Greek and Hebrew his name means destroyer.
| Revelation Symbol | Who it really is | Appears on earth disguised as |
| King of locusts | Satan | Jesus |
| Locusts | Millions of Demons | Angels from heaven |
| Locusts | Millions of Demons | People who died and are thought to be in heaven |
Second Angel's Message
"8 And another angel followed, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'" Rev 14:8
The second message that the 144,000 will give to the people on earth is that Babylon is fallen. The second angel’s message will be given during the five months the fifth trumpet is sounding. It will continue to be given as long as Babylon exists.
Satan and his millions of angels will come to earth in glorious physical bodies and pretend to be Jesus and His angels. As soon as they arrive they will set up their worldwide kingdom. In the Bible this kingdom is called Babylon. It will encompass all the countries and cities in the world. All 6.4 billion people on earth will be compelled to join Babylon. Almost everyone in the world will worship Satan (pretending to be Jesus) and will join his kingdom.
Babylon is corrupt and immoral. Satan is the king of this great city. Spiritually, Babylon is like Sodom and Egypt (Rev 11:8). Babylon is fallen, is fallen. Babylon is fallen like Sodom – she is immoral and wicked. Babylon is fallen like Egypt – she is proud and defiant against God.
It is not safe to have any part of Babylon.
"12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things." Rev 9:12
The first woe is over. The other two woes, trumpets six and seven are still coming.
Read Trumpet 6 next.