THE FIFTH TRUMPET continued

VERSE 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.”

THEN OUT OF THE SMOKE LOCUSTS CAME UPON THE EARTH:

Here again we can learn through a comparison with the Egyptian plagues.

 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” So, Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exod 10:12-15)

We see what locusts DO. They eat leaves (professions). But, remember, THESE locusts are RESTRICTED in Rev 9:4. They CANNOT eat ALL leaves — they can devour ONLY those on the people WITHOUT the seal.

These locusts are said to have come OUT OF THE SMOKE. The wonderful confusion, which Wycliffe was allowed to create, OPENED THE DOOR for an army of his followers to go out preaching the newly discovered truths. The locusts, then, seem to symbolize the followers of Wycliffe — the Lollards, etc.

OUT OF THE SMOKE he created comes an irresistible crowd of preachers which will be able to STING (scorpion-like) those without the seal. They are said to come forth “into the earth” (NAS Margin). That is, they come invading the world of established religion.

AND TO THEM WAS GIVEN POWER, AS THE SCORPIONS OF THE EARTH HAVE POWER:

The scorpions of the earth (see Luke 10:19) are the power of the Adversary.

What kind of power does the Adversary have?

He has power to HURT, but not to DESTROY (Job 2:6). THIS is precisely the power given to the followers of Wycliffe. They could sting relentlessly, but they could not cause a reformation — a breaking away of the leaders and masses from Papacy. This would have to wait until the sounding of the sixth trumpet. (Compare Rev 9:18)

THEN doctrines WOULD kill. This limitation is clearly stated in Verse 5.

VERSE 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.”

The saints (who were, in fact, the locusts!) are restricted from aiming their stings at any save the apostates.

THEY WERE COMMANDED NOT TO HARM THE GRASS OF THE EARTH: (the common man whose faith was likely real but limited; thus, many of England’s people were supporters of Wycliffe.)

OR ANY GREEN THING: — this phrase is spurious though its idea is correct: the green, the alive or justified, were exempt.

OR ANY TREE: the stalwarts of faith, people with spiritual vitality. This is an interesting phrase. The trees were of necessity among those who accepted the truths.

 The warning, therefore, seems akin to the warning not to aim the truth at each other.

BUT ONLY THOSE MEN WHO DO NOT HAVE THE SEAL OF GOD ON THEIR FOREHEADS: i.e., aim it at the apostates. These “men” (Christians) are professing to be Christians (thus the adage “professed Christians”), but they are of the synagogue of Satan.

To these the sun (Verse 2) and the air (Verse 2) — things of the gospel or of spiritual discernment — were obscured (clouded by smoke). These men are impostors — (“tares”), “MEN OF SIN.”

VERSE 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.”

AND THEY WERE NOT GIVEN AUTHORITY TO KILL THEM, BUT TO TORMENT THEM FOR FIVE MONTHS:

Here the length of the Sardis Church is stated to be 150 years in length (30 x 5). During this time, no KILLING (no conversion to a Protestant organization) was to be permitted. Rev 9:18 reserves this for the sixth Trumpet. But tormenting WAS permitted — actually encouraged.

THEIR TORMENT WAS LIKE THE TORMENT OF A SCORPION WHEN IT STRIKES A MAN:

Satan (Luke 10:19) is here getting some of his own medicine. 1 Kings 12:14 suggests that the sting of the scorpion is much in excess of the sting of the whip. This insect occasions much suffering. One source suggests that a scorpion emits its poison through TWO openings (as does a snake).

Might this suggest that the real STING of these truths was because the Old and the New Testaments backed up the points under discussion?

In short, their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man in that once someone is stung, he is careful to avoid the same insect and the region in which it dwells. These European leaders and people with influence knew that Papacy was becoming an albatross around their necks. Their Renaissance was blossoming; people were reasoning; they would LOVE to be free.

We continue with Verse 6 in our next post.