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Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
published at http://www.theseason.org/

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

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In the eighth chapter we opened the final seal, and four trumpets were blown. Though the seals are not in order as they are numbered, the trumpets are. The trumpets are sounded to alert the people on the earth that a certain event, or happening is about to start. God is in control of all actions in these final days, and God is even using Satan to carry out part of His plan. If we are in Christ, regardless what Satan does in his roll as the false-christ, those sealed in their minds are given victory over the false-christ, if they but take it.

When the third trumpet sounded, we observed the "star" called "wormwood"; and saw how he would turn many waters, or people of all the world to his bitterness [wormwood], or a one world system.

That one world system has formed, and is now tightening it's grip daily on every nation on the face of this earth.

Events of the third trumpet is broadcast, as current affairs, on the news daily.

Then the fourth trumpet sounded and the clouds darkened, and a third of the signs and symbols that will be present at Jesus Christ return, started to occur.

When we observe the world today, and the signs even within our nation, community, and homes; it becomes very plain that these events of the signs and symbols are here, right now.

The four hidden dynasties have taken control of the our lives, and that of our nation.
Those hidden dynasties are education, economics [commercial, industrial, and banking], politics, and religion.
Satan's kids, the Kenites, through these "Four Hidden Dynasties" are using these signs of the end times which announce our Lord's return, to deceive the world, and prepare the way for the false Christ, "Antichrist".
During this period we are in is a test by God, to see how many of His children have read his letter [the Bible] to them.

Revelation 9:1 "And 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 [pit of the abyss]."

The star is "Lucifer", who will be the Antichrist [the instead-of-christ] once he arrives on earth.

Satan is given the key, [the authority] to the bottomless pit, for this is where Satan's fallen angels are held.

Satan is to be God's executioner of God's divine wrath that is to be poured out upon the earth.

Revelation 9:2 "And 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 is the pit that holds every evil spirit that is on the earth and in God's confinement. This smoke comes from the pit, and it darkens, not eliminates the sun and air. When Jesus Christ returns the sun, moon and stars are eliminated. This darkening is talked about in Revelation 8:12, where one third of visibility is gone, at the sounding of the fourth trumpet.

Revelation 9:3 "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."

Luke 10:18 "And He said unto them, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven."

This now is a new subject that Jesus is teaching us. This is Jesus speaking to His followers and it is prophetic, and refers back to the time of the garden of Eden, and Satan's fall from the first earth age. It also applies to Revelation 12: 7-9, when Michael will cast Satan out onto the earth, and his fallen angels will come with him. So in the word "fall" indicates that Satan will be here in person because he was kicked out of heaven, and not on his own accord. The plan is set in motion, and it will take place exactly as it is written. Satan came in the first place as a deceiver, to destroy the seed line that the Christ would come through. The second time he will come as the false Messiah, to deceive all the people of the earth. It will happen exactly as it was prophesied.

Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

In the Greek text, it is "Behold I have given you the power..." The enemy is Satan, the one that will "fall as lightning from heaven onto the earth". The serpents are the Kenites, the children of Satan, through his son Cain from the garden of Eden. These Locusts are the fallen angels, that will be booted out of heaven on to the earth right along with Satan. Revelation 12:9 "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." This next time takes place at the sixth trump, and we will see these fallen angels of Satan here on earth in our generation.

Remember in the prior verses Jesus had stated that "I send you out as sheep among the wolves." Yet God will give those lambs that He sends out, power over all the wolves that come against them, but they must know how to attain that power and authority. It isn't valuable to them until the know how to use that power. Jesus gave His lambs "power over all thier enemies." then Jesus said; "And nothing shall by any means hurt you." If you say you're a Christian; and Jesus gave you a promise like that, how can you have any fear of any enemy that is on this earth. We will see in Luke 21 that "not one hair on your head can be hurt", and just because you will be delivered up to death, which is the devil, to give account of yourself, doesn't mean that you will die, but you will be facing Satan whose name is death, because he has already been sentenced to die by God at the end of the first earth age. But you will be given the opportunity to witness to the world, and have the Holy Spirit of God be placing the words in your mouth and the thoughts in your mind.

There hasn't been one soul or spirit that has died yet, for the death of your soul will only come at the end of judgment day if you don't have Christ's forgiveness. Satan is not after your physical body, but your soul and spirit, and he will try to deceive you, or buy your soul, at his price. What is your soul worth? Is there a price that you would sell out to Satan? It is time to wake up spiritually, and open our eyes and ears to the truth. Stop and think on this: Satan's power and that of his angels are limited. In Revelation 9:4 we see that it goes; "...only to those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads." If you have studied the Word and know the truths that we will face from Satan, there is no fear or deception that can sway you.

Revelation 9:5 "And it 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 striketh a man."

So how is "the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man?" The first thing to understand is that because a scorpion has no stomach, its digestive process is outside its own body. It grabs hold of the subject, paralysis it, and vomits its digestive juices on the subject. While the subject lies helpless, the juices dissolve the subject's body and then the scorpion sucks that food back into itself. The person "man" that has been struck lies helpless through the entire process, unable to think or defend himself.

So notice first that those with the seal of the truth in their mind from verse four are not affected by Satan and his realm, and the sealing must be prior to the coming of Satan. The truth in a person's mind of the Word is the the protective barrier from the poison of that scorpion, Satan's deceptions. Once Satan has arrived, then God turns, or gives the men, women and children over to Satan, and this torment comes upon them (by torment we mean he takes control of their hearts).Their ignorance of the truth from the Word prior to Christ's return becomes their protective barrier, for this act of following Satan in ignorance, not knowing who Satan is, will allow them the right to be taught the diference between what is holy and what is profane, by Christ and His elect, once and for all during the Millennium age of Christ's kingdom here on earth, so that they may still salvage their souls by their works during the Mellennium. So why can't they get the word at that late time when Satan is on earth? Amos 8:11 tells us that; "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread , nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." The Spirit of our heavenly Father Himself will close their minds to the truth, and turn them over to Satan.

Revelation 9:6 "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them."

This is that locust army of Satan that will deliver up the sons and daughters to prophecy against the Antichrist, as spoken of in Joel 2, and also by Peter in Acts 2. What these sons and daughters say will only be those words that the Holy Spirit speaks through them.

Joel said Satan's locust army would march forward, and not miss a stride. Remember, it's not real "locusts" but men, (Satan's fallen angels) and the battle with this army is a spiritual battle, where the victory is in their deception. Their battle cry is with words like love, joy, peace, brotherhood, equality, and a mixture of words promising peace and prosperity. In the Antichrist rule [the five months] everyone will be satisfied, as long as they continue to yield to this false-christ, Satan.

The time of the "locust" has four stages, as stated in Joel 1. The part of the locust that exists in the swarming stage is five months. That five months staging period is always between May and September; so God is even giving us the season, or time frame when Antichrist will appear. And by that season, we have an hint of when the seventh trumpet will sound, and Jesus Christ will appear. However that instant is known only to the Father.

Jesus warned that "we pray that ye not be taken out of season", in Mathew 24:20, and Mark 13:18. This is to alert us that being taken out of season means we have been deceived and fallen for the wrong Christ [Antichrist]. The Antichrist will rule between Passover, and the feast of the tabernacles [trumpets].

Why then the torment as that of a scorpion? This locust army will use the same methods a scorpion uses to attack it's prey and render it's prey harmless, during this five months period. Satan and his locust army will not be in any special form, but will appear exactly as a man, as we do. Satan was in the form of a man in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Eve, and his fallen angels appeared as men in Genesis 6:1-8, when they married the daughters of men and had "children" [Nephelim] by them.

The scorpion has a tail with a stinger in the tail. When they strike their prey, he sneaks up to it's prey and injects it's poison into the victim. Near it's mouth, it has a set of pinchers where it latches on to it's victim and pulls it to it's mouth. This is important, because the scorpion has no stomach, so it cannot digest it's own food within itself. Therefore the scorpion stings with the poison of it's tail to paralyze the victim, and then it vomits it's digestive juices [acids] into the body of the victim, then the victim's skin and body actually become the scorpion's stomach.

The acids turn everything it touches into mush. Then the scorpion inhales the mush from the victim's body and is gone. The victim is left defenseless from the beginning of the scorpion's strike, because the poison from the tail rendered the circulatory system and nervous system totally paralyzed, while the digestive acids turned the body to mush. Once stung by a scorpion, instantly you have no defense. You can't fight, run, or even think. You lay helpless to the devouring process of the scorpion.

Now that we see how the scorpion attacks, and the methods used by them; let's apply their methods, to Satan and that of this locust army. Satan and his army of fallen angels will take the lies [traditions] within your religion, and the false teaching that you believe to be true; and use it against you. All religions, Christian and otherwise, will be approached on the level and beliefs of their own understanding. They will use the doctrines of their choosing, and through that, the spiritual darts of lies and deception will come.

Like the scorpion uses your body for it's battle, and attack, so the angels of the locust army [those that are not human, i.e. fallen angels] will use your mind as their battleground. That is why you must be sealed in your mind [see verse 4] and with the proper armor on, which again is in Ephesians 6:10-20. Your battle is a spiritual one with the king of all demons, Satan, and he is ready for you.

The great apostasy is now taking place, and well underway. It is being put in place by Satan's kids, the "Kenites", doing the interpretation of God's Word for you, if you allow them to do that. They have a club, and it is easy to join; you just accept their dogma. Part of it is given through the "World Council of Churches", and the other parts are in any church that allows it's doctrine to vary even the slightest into false teaching.

Remember, only the "seal of God", in your mind will allow your escape from all of the Antichrist's deceptions.

Revelation 9:6 "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them."

Many people who have sat in church all their lives looking for this "Rapture" to take place, in an instant will fall to Satan. When they finally wake up to the fact that they were deceived by Satan, the shame will be great on them. These are those deceived Christians taken out of season who will pray for the mountains to fall on them. They will seek death, but it will not come. For the death they'll seek is physical death and non of us will be in our physical bodies anymore. What they'll face is 1000 years in Christ's boot camp learning to tell the difference between what is Holy [Jesus] and what is profane [Satan].

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:50-52 how at Christ's return, at the last trump; we will all be changed, in the twinkling [wink] of an eye to a incorruptible spiritual body. No my fellow Christian, you can not die, but must face the Savior in shame. Ignorance is no excuse, even though your pastor taught you to climb on the first wagon [rapture] out of here. You had God's Word in your home and hand, and it is your responsibility to have studied it.

Revelation 9:7 "And 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."

We know by this that the locust are not real locust. Their crowns were "like" gold, [fools gold], fakes. They were all something different then what they will called themselves; false priests, and fake what ever they pretend to be. Nothing will be real, for they will make themselves into what ever you want them to be. If you want to fly away, I'm sure they will accommodate you.

If you're a Sodomite, They will agree with you, for they know all about Sodomy, that's their life style. They are Satan's rotten bunch. They have faces of men, because they are men.

Revelation 9:8 "And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions."

"They", these fallen angels will have "long hair as a woman", meaning they will appear to be gentle as a woman. Yet, they will take their prey ruthlessly. They will rip at your mind until they can destroy your soul. That is what will happen to you when you fall for their deceptions and chase after the Antichrist.

Revelation 9:9 "And 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."

The breastplates were that of priests, of religious orders, however they were in the form of iron. Joel discusses how rapid and with swift order they will cover the earth. When this happens, the media will be by their side because the kenites have already set up the media under they're control. There will be order and speed to their ministry, and the world will be taken in instantly by them.

Revelation 9:10 "And they had [have] tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months."

Why? Back in verse five, God allowed them to work as a scorpion, to paralyze instantly, making them defenseless. Again we see the five month season of the locust. They are given permission by God to sting all the people "who had not the truth of God in their foreheads [minds]".

Revelation 9:11 "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the He'-brew tongue is A-bad'-don, but in the Greek tongue hath his [the] name A-pol'-ly-on."

There can be no doubt who the Antichrist is. Jesus is telling us here, through the pen of John. Satan is that King; and "Abaddon" in the Hebrew language means "destroyer" and that is Satan's name. This is verified in the Greek the name, "Apollyon" [Strongs # 623, "the destroyer "Satan"].

Revelation 9:12 "One [The first] woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."

Revelation 9:13 "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,"

All the events occurring around Satan's coming to earth are executed by God, to test His children. The "horns on the altar", stand for power. That power is through knowledge from God's Word, and understanding those words written. It is through these words that you will get your ammunition to use on the spiritual battlefield that we are in, and your power is how you will use them.

God sent His prophets to warn us, and through them He tells us in detail what to expect so we will not be deceived.

Now our power comes to life in putting that knowledge in
our minds, and watching as God's word comes to life.

Revelation 9:14 "Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in [at] the great river Eu-phra'-tes."

We know from Daniel 9:24-26 that Satan's time as Antichrist is to be three and an half years. However, Jesus told us in Mark 13:20, that "for the elect's sake He has shortened that time". In Revelation 9:5 and 10, we were just told this time is shortened to five months.

Now the sixth angel sounds the trumpet, and releases the four angels bound at the river Euphrates. The river Euphrates has always established the boundaries between Israel and Babylon. To understand how and where these bound angels come and are bound, let's go to the book of Jude.

Jude 4 "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

These were the angels of Genesis 6:1-8, who came to earth, married the daughters of men, and were destroyed [bound] at the time of Noah's flood.

Jude 5 "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not."

These who were put to remembrance were the Israelites who were brought out of Egypt, only to fall to the sin of idolatry while Moses was on Mount Sinai getting the commandments of God. Those who repented were not destroyed.

Jude 6 "And these angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the Great day."

Following the flood of Noah; those angels were bound by God, and held on earth to be released at a latter time. That Time is just before the "day of the Lord". Four in biblical numerics is the number representing earth; and it was on the earth these angels of Genesis 6, and Jude 6 are held. They are bound in chains, until they are released to do their final acts on earth. Their acts on earth were that committed in Sodom and Gomorrah, and giving themselves into homosexual acts. They will lead God's people into accepting those acts as a common way of life; and into believing God will accept this perversion. They will tell you it's okay because God is a loving God. However they over-look God as a just God, and condemning all sin. We see today that the world is going crazy over justifying this filthy sinful practice.

Revelation 9:15 "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."

This slaying is a spiritual death, and these angels seek out their victim and involve them, exactly as the men of Sodom were involved. They will work in concert, planning their wicked deeds, then infiltration all parts of our society, the schools, government, the work place, and even the homes [through TV].

I feel personally that they have started their movement, as our nation from the very top, and down, are set in their minds to defy God through turning America, as well as the entire world into Sodom. We are told by Jesus, through John, in this verse that one third of mankind will fall to these angels. Only God knows the actual instant of the release of these fallen angels though.

Revelation 9:16 "And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them."

This number represents all of Satan's forces. No, it's not the Chinese Army, but men of Satan's angelic forces.

Revelation 9:17 "And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth [hyacinth], 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."

"Out of their mouths came fire and smoke and brimstone." The "fire" is representing a false truth, or a false religion. "Smoke" is used here to cover over and hide the truth of God's Word. The "Brimstone" is the final result to them that are taken in by those hoards of Sodomites. This locust army of Satan's angels will lead them to the ashes of their souls, in the lake of fire. "It is God that is the consuming fire." [Hebrews 12:29]

Revelation 9:18 "By these three [three plagues] was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths."

These three; fire, smoke and brimstone are the verbal deceptions. To put the three in vehicles; they would be religion, political power, and the economy. They will be combined together, to buy souls cheap. This deception of perversion comes from their mouths.

It is not a physical death here, but a spiritual death; because God told them in verse four they could not kill mankind. However, when we see the results of their activity, through AIDS, it is obvious that large numbers of human life has already been taken. This is part of the last war, and it is a spiritual warfare. This we must not loose sight of.

Revelation 9:19 "For their power [power of the horses] is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt."

What comes out of their mouths? Their lies and deception come out of their mouth, and that is their only power. Their activity, again, is like the scorpion, as we saw in verse five. Paul told us in II Corinthians 11:14, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed [fashioned himself ] into an angel of light". Satan will come as an "Angel of light", just as our Lord will apear.

II Corinthians 11:15 "Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed [fashioned themselves] as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

When Satan's [Antichrist's] angels assume their roles of righteous men, quote scripture, and speak in their pious voices; it should not be a surprise to any Christian who knows God's Word. Even Satan will try to appear as Jesus Christ.

Revelation 9:20 "And 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."

The important thing to remember here, is that all prophecy given in months pertain to Satan, and Christians being deceived. While all prophecy given in days and years are directed to God's people. These plagues are the lies and deceptions. Those men did not repent for worshipping Satan and his angels, as Christ. They did not also repent for the work they did on Satan's behalf, even in ignorance.

Revelation 9:21 "Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication nor of their thefts."

They became murderers when they had their own kin delivered up, and they followed the sorcerers by their own dealing and in accepting the lies of Satan and his "transformed [disguised] righteous ministers." They "fornicated" when they did not remain "virgins to Christ".

Why did they not repent? Because they did not know that they did anything wrong. They still thought they were walking with Jesus. We will see in the 13th chapter, and the eleventh verse, they think Satan is the Lamb slain, he looks like Jesus, he talks like they expect Jesus to talk, but Satan is a fake.

American Wisdom Series Editor's Note: We are going to stop here in this "Revelation of Jesus Christ" study to review some commentary from chapter 9 in an earlier study we published on the "Revelation of Jesus Christ." I don't believe you will find much difference in the general opinion of these 2 authors, but to read another person's perspective of events that did and will take place may prove helpful in our understanding of Jesus' revelation. Also, our introduction #9300 was taken from this earlier study so keep your eyes open for study tips and rules to help simplify your grasp of Jesus' end time revelation.

Next we will read of the 5th Trump and learn of a great locust army to come against our people. Those without the gospel armour on (Eph. 6) are going to get devoured, those with it on and in place will squish locusts like little pesky bugs.

Four Trumps have now sounded as we move down the line towards the end, to the angel of the 5th Trump, which is the first of the 3 Woe Trumpets. Remember that the "woe" is to the inhabiters of the earth. The spiritual conditions down here have so deteriorated to the point that the enemies of God and of His children will now be likened to a great army of swarming locusts. This is the "Picture" that our Father would have us see in our "minds eye" representing the terrible devastation wrought upon the minds and souls of men and women by the "children of disobedience".

Rev. 9:1
And 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.

The word "fall" used here should be "fallen" (See note on verse 1 in the Companion Bible). In other words, John now sees a star "which had fallen" from heaven, previously in the world that then was, be given the key to the bottomless pit.

What is the bottomless pit? A pit is a something with which everyone is familiar, a hole in ground for instance, that you can look down into. (Keep in mind, however, that there are some who can't tell the difference between their donkey and a hole in the ground. Fortunately, our Father uses many different analogies so that perhaps one will "ring a bell" up there.) However, when you look into the pit described here there is no end in sight, for it is so deep it has no bottom, hence the term "bottomless". This Picture in your mind is to graphically illustrate the depth of the state of degradation to which the one who is in the pit has fallen, i.e. Satan. He has fallen to a depth so far down and is become so infinitely low that you cannot get any lower. Got it?

Now, let's see what happens when the bottomless pit is opened.

[2] And 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.

The first thing out of the pit is so great a cloud of smoke (read deception) that you can't see any truth anywhere. Everything is dark. And what is causing this humongous smoke screen of deception?

[3] 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.

LOCUSTS? You mean insects?

No, now you're off track again! Back to paragraph one of this lesson. "This entire description is the "Picture" that our Father would have us see in our "minds eye" representing the terrible devastation wrought upon the minds and souls of men and women by the "children of disobedience". Understand, you can't "see" a lie. And you can't see it devour someone's chance to see the truth.

So we are talking about the enemies of God and "Seeing" an analogous "Picture" of them. They are like a bunch of insects, i.e. locusts, scorpions, etc. Are they to be feared?

NAW! Jesus Christ has given His own His Two-edged Sword, remember? And along with it, the POWER of it, i.e. the power to wield it! Here's what He has to say about creepy, crawly snakes and insects, i.e. low life creatures, Satan's own.

Luke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Squish! They're gone! Bye!

Actually, you can see you can just tread on these venomous insects with the gospel armour boots and save the Sword for the fire breathing dragon, to cut off his head! "I just can't wait for the opportunity", I say, as I polish my gospel armour. "Let that old dragon out the pit!"

Now, here's another key to remember to help understand "Pictures" more fully, shall we say to a deeper level. The Holy Spirit in giving us these Pictures doesn't just arbitrarily pick the symbols He uses. There is a purpose and a meaning contained in the selection. So if we learn the characteristics of the symbols we can better understand what is being described.

Let's start with the scorpion. Here's a link, one of many, where you can go to learn how the scorpion takes its prey.

http://www.desertusa.com/oct96/du_scorpion.html

You'll learn that scorpions are nocturnal, i.e. creatures of the night. They love darkness. That certainly fits! And here's a paragraph from this website describing the venom which, guess what?, affects the nervous system of its victims. Hmmmmm!

"The venom of scorpions is used for both prey capture and defense. Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of neurotoxins (toxins which affect the victim's nervous system) and other substances; each species has a unique mixture."

And what of the locusts? We don't even need to research the worldwide web for this one. We can go to the Book of Joel, which we will later, and to Exodus, where God's two witnesses, Moses and Aaron, were sent to Pharaoh. Here we see locusts used in one of the judgments poured out, where we "See" the physical type set forth.

Note: Those locusts were sent by God just as we will read in Joel that these locusts in Revelation are also sent by, controlled by, God. Why? For the same reason the plagues were brought upon Egypt... "So that they may know that the Lord God Almighty doth reign supreme in both heaven and earth".

These insects when they swarmed through the land of Egypt consumed everything in their path. Here's the narrative:

Exodus 10:14-15
And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. [15] For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

They licked the platter clean, Jack!

But wait, those were actual locusts that ate every green thing and all the grass and fruit and leaves off the trees, etc. These locusts in Revelation don't eat anything green, no trees, no grass. Of course not! They eat men's brains! Uneducated, unlearned in the Word of God, unsealed brains (which are what is supposed to be in their foreheads)! And they consume any truth found growing and leave behind their poop!

[4] And 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.

Do you have the seal of God in your forehead? Then when the devastation comes and is coming, you'll be completely untouched, unharmed, uneaten alive!

Here's a "Picture", a physical enactment, the type set forth, so that we can "see" the spiritual. The Lord God visited Ezekiel. Did you know that? It's right in chapter one of his book. And before He departed He gave these instructions to Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 9:3
And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon He was, to the threshold of the house. And He called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
[4] And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Who cries out against and sighs for all the abominations going on, even against the abominator that makes desolate? God's elect, of course!

[5] And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
[6] Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.

Those that have the seal of God, His mark, will not be harmed. Those who have the seal of the Beast, his mark, will be destroyed. You already have one or the other!

Oh, and by the way. Notice that the judgment begins at the house of the Lord, His sanctuary (1 Peter 4:17). Preachers beware!

Next we will learn the length of time these locusts will have to swarm the earth. Christ said He would shortened the time of the reign of Satan, pretending to be Christ, else no flesh would be saved alive. Given enough time, the dragon and his locusts would consume everyone.

Don't worry, they won't! Christ will see to it!

We've all seen graphic Hollywood productions both on TV and in the movies depicting the atrocities and bloodshed of war. Worse yet, we've all seen, and even are seeing today, graphic media coverage of the wars of the 20th Century. Those who die in these flesh and blood conflicts lose their physical lives and terminate their tabernacle, their temporary dwelling in the flesh body. It is called the "first death" which happens to ALL human beings, whether violently or peaceably or quickly or slowly or painfully or painlessly. For flesh and blood cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50).

We have been instructed in the 6th chapter of Ephesians to put on the gospel armour to prepare to stand in battle against the fiery darts of the wicked one and his army. It is spiritual warfare and it is your worst nightmare!

Ephes. 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

And so we are about to fully engage in the major battles of a war with consequences far more serious and far more lethal than those which merely inflict the "first death". We are about to engage in the greatest "spiritual warfare", the greatest tribulation, of all of humanity, which can cause the "second death", not of the flesh, but of the very "soul".

In this 9th chapter of the Book of Revelation we are seeing the Holy Spirit's advanced coverage of the major battles of this end time war. Think about how incredible that is! In other words we are reading and seeing future news coverage of future events! And of course since we can't see with flesh eyes a "soul" or "spirit" being cut in half with a "tradition of men" or blown up with a deadly "lie bomb" or slowly suffocated with "dragon gas", God has chosen to illustrate what is actually occurring by using common analogies familiar to man.

So in this 9th chapter we have been reading of Satan's army likened to a swarm of locusts which darken the sky and devour every living thing in their path. And their infliction of lies into the minds of men and women are like the sting of a scorpion, quick and venomous, drugging the nervous system (the mind) of its victims.

Do you remember on Pentecost Day in Acts chapter two when Peter stood up and explained what the Galileans were speaking of in the tongue, meaning language, that was understood by every dialect of every nationality present? He quoted from the Book of Joel concerning the last days, these days and those just ahead, when God would pour out His spirit on His sons and daughters and they would prophesy, meaning teach from the prophets, like Joel, Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, etc.

Well, the Book of Joel gives even greater detail about this locust army and we learn there that though it is Satan and his troops who come against us, God Himself is in complete control of this army and allows it, uses it, as a means of chastisement, of correction, whereby many of His children can be brought to salvation. You must understand the Book of Joel to understand the locust army. Read it today! Live Link to- Joel

Let's pick it up with verse 5 in chapter 9 of Revelation concerning the locusts:

Rev. 9:5
And to them it 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 striketh a man.

The locust army is NOT PERMITTED to kill people. They do not have "first death" rights to kill flesh. Again, this is spiritual warfare and swarming locusts are not going to eat people.

Now LOOK! Did you notice there is something in tomorrow's newsreel that is very revealing (what a great title for this book)? Did you notice how long the locust army has to do its thing? Five Months!

Remember in Mark 13:20 and Matthew 24:22 concerning this tribulation period that Jesus said He was going to shortened the length of time, otherwise no flesh would be saved?

Mark 13:20
And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Well, by taking the time to read the future's news events in the Book of the Uncovering, we have just learned the length of time Jesus has shortened the great tribulation to! Five months!

Even more remarkable is that the season of actual locusts is always from May to September. Five months! Let's see, that would be from Passover to the Feast of Tabernacles. Hmmmm! Did you know that Jesus Christ was born on the 1st day of the Feast of Tabernacles? (If not, read appendix 179 in the Companion Bible if you are blessed to have one.) Do you think His second advent will be in like manner?

Verse 6:

Rev. 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

This verse carries forward to just before the day of wrath when Christ returns. Remember we read of this in the sixth seal?

Rev. 6:15-17
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; [16] And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: [17] For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

It is for the unbearable "shame" they will have knowing that they worshipped the wrong Jesus, who was actually the son of perdition standing in the holy place claiming to be God (2 Thes. 2). They believed him! Boom!

Rev. 9:7 And 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.

Another of the characteristics of the locusts is that they are powerful, like horses prepared unto battle. We learned in the first four seals (chapter 6) when we discussed the Four Horses that "horses" are symbolic of power. These locusts are powerful men who appear as royalty, Christ's own ministers. And they wear crowns LIKE gold, i.e. they are imitators. Let's call it "fool's gold" for only fools will believe it's real gold, because fools don't care to read the Word of God.

[8] And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

Picture in your mind a beautiful woman with long flowing hair. She looks lovely and oh so gentle and sweet. But when you go to kiss her she opens her mouth and shows a set of chompers that would scare Dracula himself! And when she takes those lion's teeth and bites your face, she'll rip and tear and shred you to pieces like lions do to their prey. Get the PICTURE of what's happening to the "inner man"?

Nice folk, these gentle looking liars of Satan's own, wouldn't you say?

This description tends to make the expression "A wolf in sheep's clothing" seem like a desirable alternative.

[9] And 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.

What's with the breastplates? Well, as we've discussed many times before, if you've read the rest of the books of the Bible before you get to Revelation then this verse is easy. Go back and read Exodus 28 and the description of the breastplates that were worn by the PRIESTS. These dudes of the locust army will appear as Priests of God, i.e. royalty as we learned in the prior verse. Want documentation that Satan's ministers will appear disguised as Christ's ministers? Paul, tell 'em!

2 Cor. 11:13
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
[14] And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
[15] Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The word "transformed" means "disguised".

And by the way, the breastplates that the Levitical Priests wore were made of precious materials with gold rings and chains and inlaid with the 12 precious gems of the 12 Tribes of Israel. The breastplates worn by Satan's priests are made of iron, figuratively of course. You get the contrasting Pictures?

One more thing in Rev. 9:9. If you are familiar with the Book of Ezekiel, especially chapters 1, 9 & 10, you'll will know that these "locusts" also have very high-tech transportation. The "world" calls them UFO's because they haven't studied God's Word to learn their identity. Those who have studied Ezekiel call them IFO's, Identified Flying Objects.

Rev. 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

Notice again that they can "hurt", albeit spiritually, and not "kill". They can sting for five months the minds of those who have not the seal of God in their foreheads and inject into their victims their deadly poisonous venom.

[11] 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 hath his name Apollyon.

Everybody knows that actual locusts don't have kings! It is even written in the Proverbs:

Proverbs 30:27
The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

Of course these aren't really locusts, are they? They are men and they have the fallen angel as their king, the one who has fallen even to where the bottomless pit ends, at eternal death. And they march to the command of their king, the rider of the first white horse, who leads the assault on our peoples.

Let's next look up in Strong's Concordance the names Satan is given here.

Abaddon, Greek #3; of Hebrew origin [#11 abaddown]; a destroying angel - Abaddon.
Apollyon, Greek #623; active participle of Greek #622 (appolumi); a destroyer (i.e. Satan) - Appollyon.

Hear ye! Hear ye! Satan is the "Death Angel", the "Destroyer", the "Desolator".

Here's another interesting fact for those who really want to study in depth. There is an advantage in understanding scripture if you are familiar with the original languages, Hebrew, Greek and Chaldean. That doesn't mean that you need to speak them, but to become familiar with them and how to "break back" the English with a Strong's Concordance. Here's an example why as we look at two more words from two of the most commonly quoted verses in scripture:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The word "perish" is Greek #622 appolumi, which means to "destroy fully". It is the root of Apollyon, i.e. the very base of Satan's name.

2 Thes. 2:3-4
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

The word "perdition" is Greek #684; also a derivative of #622 appolumi, and means destruction, die, perdition. Don't ever let someone tell you the son of perdition is Judas or anyone else other than Satan himself! Satan is the son who will perish! It is his name!

[12] One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

Woe, Woe, Woe! Wow, Wow, Wow! Spiritual warfare! If you have not the seal of God in your forehead it's your worst nightmare!

The 5th Trumpet has sounded and one Woe is past! There are still two to go. And remember, these three Woe Trumps are "Woes" to the inhabiters of the earth. Why? The answer is real simple: Because the final generation will confront the "supernatural" face to face. Satan, in person, who was in the garden of Eden and seduced mother Eve, along with his angels who came to earth in Genesis chapter six and seduced the daughters of Adam, are all coming to this generation to "seduce" the entire world. And what a spiritual orgy it will be! The whole world, with few exceptions, will marry the wrong Jesus! Woe to the inhabiters of the earth!

Woe also to "women with child" when the true Bridegroom returns and His bride, who should be a virgin, is found nursing her own baby. She didn't wait! She went to the wrong wedding, the first one! She was taken in the field. Oh how ashamed she will be! Woe, woe, woe!

That is also why Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:10 that women should have the veil of Christ on their heads, His power, i.e. be subject to Him. It is because of these same angels. They are coming, for sure!

1 Cor. 11:10
For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

Remember in Matthew 24 what Christ said concerning the days of Noah, when "they", those sons of God, angels, took to wife, giving and taking in marriage, the daughters of Adam? He said it's going to just like those days of Noah all over again. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth!

Matthew 24:37-39
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. [38] For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, [39] And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Note: Noe is Greek for Noah. Also, no gender is intended in these analogies except that it is necessary to illustrate seduction, i.e. what is happening spiritually. They apply to men as well.

So in the 5th Trump we were given advanced news coverage of the approaching "locust" army headed by their king, Iwannabegod. We were shown by graphic analogy the gruesome devouring of the souls of men, their inner man, brought on by the fierce onslaught of Satan's wicked followers, who appear as angels of light but devour like locusts and shred their prey as do lions.

And now the 6th Trump. (Don't forget, John is still in heaven witnessing all this for us.)

Rev. 9:13
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

That's right, there are four horns on the altar of God. You can read about them in Ezekiel 43:20. Also in Zechariah 1:18-21 you can document that "horns" are symbolic of "power" and so the horns on the golden altar of God are symbolic of the Power of God, which is all power in both heaven and earth. When word is given from that altar know that it comes from the Supreme Authority of the Universe. Is this not where the "fire", His word, was taken?

Note: If you've read the Book of Daniel then you know that one of Satan's names is "little horn". And that about says it all, doesn't it? However, I'll bet it infuriates him to called that! Little horn, little horn, na, na, na! Live Link to- Daniel's visions

Now here's the command to the sixth angel from the One who has All Power:

[14] Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

The last time we encountered four angels was in Rev. 7:1 where four angels were standing on the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds, but they were not bound, nor were they in the river Euphrates.

So who are these angels? The answer lies in the phrase "bound in the great river Euphrates", which symbolically means "bound in judgment". The river Euphrates has always been the boundary between Babylon and God's children. Did you know that the word "Hebrew" comes from "eber" which means people "from across the river", i.e. across the great river Euphrates where lies not the great city of Babylon? And we find that the Euphrates is connected with the judgments of the great day in Jeremiah 46:4-10.

So these angels are those "bound" angels "reserved unto the day of judgment" which we just discussed in the opening paragraphs of this study and which Jude speaks of.

Jude 1:6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

These are the angels of Genesis chapter 6 who left their first estate, the place where angels are supposed to be, and left their own habitation, i.e. left their homes in heaven and came to earth to take to wife the daughters of Adam. Remember, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be soon! They are coming again! Get ready! Get under the veil of Christ!

[15] 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.

OK, they are let loose. That'll certainly cause Woe Two!

The hour, day, month and year given here is not a duration of time but rather a fixed period of time, i.e. the time and date they are appointed, prepared, to be let loose, which only God knows.

And they "slay" a third part of men. Now we already know that they cannot shed blood, i.e. kill anybody, so always remember to think 2nd death, spiritual death.

[16] And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

So what's the point? The point is that Satan's army is "huge" and worse yet he and his troops deceive the whole world, about 6 thousand, thousand, thousand!

The word "thousand" is murias, Greek #3461; a ten-thousand; by extension a "myriad" or indefinite number.

[17] And thus 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.

Here comes the charge of Satan's troops, looking like angelic priests (having breastplates) of God, with the power (horses) of the lion of Judah, which is Jesus Christ, whom they claim to represent. And out of their mouths came forth fire (remember from the seals that fire is symbolic of truth from God's altar?), and smoke (remember from the seals that this "smoke screen" darkens the sun, i.e. the truth) and brimstone (which is acidic sulphur that "stinks to high heaven", as we say).

[18] By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

They "kill" with the Fire, Smoke and Brimstone, which came out of their MOUTHS, i.e. they come Breathing Fire and Blowin' Smoke with Bad Breath! This is really easy to understand if we keep in mind that it is "words" that come out of mouths. But by "Seeing" in your mind's eye fire and smoke and brimstone spewing forth from the mouths of these creeps, you can understand spiritually the effect of their lying, deceitful "words". Got the picture?

Also, these guys can't harm and are but a mere nuisance to those with the seal of God in their foreheads. We practice on them while we await the "Fire Breathing Dragon" who gets his head cut off with the Sword of the Lord! Didn't you always wonder why dragons breathed fire? Now you know what it means!

[19] 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.

The "fallen angels" are just that, angels. And their little "tails" are those who follow them, the "children of disobedience", the snakes and vipers Christ addressed, the kenites. Satan and his angels (Rev. 12) use them very effectively to "hurt".

[20] And 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:

The rest of men repented not because they are deceived by these devils in disguise, and they do their works in ignorance. And materialism, the great and booming economy of the New World Order in full bloom, helps prevent the need for God and promote a false sense of wellness and security and pitiful apathy and the willingness to put up with lies and deception of major proportions. After all, haven't we seen in this current generation the effects and workings of just that? Are you familiar with the phrase "It's the economy, stupid?"

[21] Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Though these are spiritual murders, and spiritual drunkenness and drugging of the mind, and idolatry and the thefts of the heritage and salvation of God's people, there are physical types. Look up the word "sorceries" in Strong's Concordance. It's pharmakeia, from which we get our word pharmacy. The amount psychologically related drugs, both illegal from pushers and legal from doctors and pharmacies, that are administered and taken by both the adult and child populations in this country is STAGGERING! And our people do stagger! God help us and deliver us from this bondage!

Finally, did you know that this five month period of the locust army, headed by the chief serpent, that old dragon, the devil, will soon be compared to a great flood, a flood of lies?

Rev. 12:15
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

So here is a precious fact from God's Word. How long did the waters of the great flood prevail upon the earth?

Genesis 7:24
And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

And how many months are 150 days? FIVE MONTHS! Well I'll be!