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| Inscription for a pagan temple marked out with a cross |
The fifth trumpet sounds, and a star falls from heaven to earth. The star is given the key to open the bottomless pit, which is the abode of evil spiritual forces. The great smoke that ascends from the bottomless pit is spiritual deception and wickedness that darkens the light of God in this world (Hendriksen, 1967, p. 145). Locusts come from the smoke, but instead of destroying grass, trees, and all that is green as the locusts did in Egypt, they harm only people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The pain of sin and rebellion against God is said to be like the sting of a scorpion. This plague is permitted to continue only five months.
Unlike locusts of the earth, these locusts have a king over them who is the angel of the bottomless pit called Abaddon or Apollyon. The first name is in Hebrew and the second in Greek. Both names mean Destroyer.
The fifth trumpet blast is the first of three woes (Revelation 9:13). It is not merely a physical plague, but the powers of darkness are unleashed and used by God to accomplish his will. The locusts are allowed to harm only those without the seal of God on their foreheads. The saints, like the Israelites in Egypt, are protected from the plagues.
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