We’ve arrived now at the fifth trumpet judgment, the first of three woes in the book of Revelation. The three woes are the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpet judgments.

I’m warning you now. There is a ton to say.

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. Rev 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. Rev 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. Rev 9:4 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. 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. 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. 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. Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. Rev 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. 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. Rev 9:11 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. Rev 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

Exegesis

Let’s tackle this verse by verse. We read in 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.

When the fifth angel blew his trumpet, John says he saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth. We talked about this a little last week. I’d suggest that this star is not a star but a Heavenly being because at the conjunction, we read and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. That star is a HE, a HIM. We’ve pointed out before that the Bible interprets itself. Angels are also described as stars in Revelation. You remember how in Rev 12:4 that the dragon’s tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, meaning that Lucifer persuaded a third of the heavenly host to follow him in rebellion against God, and they were all cast down to the Earth. So the logical conclusion would be that this falling star is referring to an angel, which are always male, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Now let’s talk about the bottomless pit before we talk about the key. Where is this bottomless pit? Where in this whole universe can a bottomless pit even exist?

The only place in the Bible in which you will read about a bottomless pit is in the book of Revelation. There are 7 references in 7 verses. We know from these passages in Rev. 9 that contained within this bottomless pit is a massive amount of smoke, like a great furnace, which is enough smoke to spread over the entire globe and darken the sun for everybody and effect all the air on the planet. The entire Earth will be smoky, which means that this pit must be absolutely massive in size.

Also in this pit is what must be billions of these freaky locusts with stingers.

Plus, we know from the first three verses in Rev. 20 that at the Lord’s Second Coming, Satan will be chained up and cast into this same bottomless pit for all 1,000 years of the reign of Christ on Earth, and then he will be loosed for a season to deceive the nations, which will lead to the final showdown at Gog and Magog.

Rev. 17 is the chapter about the antichrist kingdom, the new Babylon, called BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Consider Rev 17:7, “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”

Clearly, this reference to the beast has to be the antichrist because of the reference to the seven heads and ten horns, which mirrors what we were told about him in Rev. 13:1.

Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

This passage is still talking about the antichrist, and a lot of teachers would say that this verse calling him the beast that was, and is not, and yet is means that the antichrist dies when he takes on the Two Witnesses at the midway point.

That thought is worthy of consideration.

But I struggle with that view for a number of reasons. One: Rev. 13:12 tells us that the antichrist heals his own deadly wound, which would mean that he was only given a critical wound, and he healed it, which meant he didn’t die.

So what is this verse saying?

Look at what this verse first says. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not… I don’t think this means that the antichrist died, and his dead carcass had been supernaturally resuscitated by the devil. I think this means that the nature and the personality of the antichrist had radically changed. He acted one way during the first half of the Tribulation, and now in this chapter with his kingdom implemented, he is a completely different person, primarily because he is now possessed by Satan himself.

The person who was, no longer is the same now. He is not the man he once was. He has radically changed. He’s like a politician who presents himself one way during the election but when he gets into office, he’s proven himself to be a complete and total monster. He’s radically changed in our eyes. He’s one way in the first half of the Tribulation and another way in the second half. That view makes more sense to me in light of the fact that he’s possessed by Satan at the midway point, and you know he wouldn’t be the same after that.

Look again at what this verse says. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit… He shall ascend. Here we are at the midway point of the Tribulation. With His Babylon empire now in operation, the angel tells John that his ascension out of the bottomless pit is a future event. He didn’t speak of his ascension in the past. He didn’t die and ascend from the bottomless pit when he fought the Two Witnesses. His ascension out of the bottomless pit is in the future.

This must mean that at the Lord’s Second Coming the antichrist will also be sent into the bottomless pit along with Satan. But he shall ascend in the future. Where does he ascend to exactly? Look at the verse again. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition…

The one time the antichrist ascends out of the bottomless pit will be to go into perdition, to go into the Lake of Fire. Look at the second half of the verse. …and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

I think that what’s going on here is that when all the unbelievers on the Earth now living under his kingdom, when those unbelievers are in perdition, the Lake of Fire, they’ll see the antichrist. They’ll recognize him. They’ll marvel at what a pathetic ruined creature he’s become, and they’ll say of him something similar to what they’ll say when they see Lucifer in the Lake of Fire. They’ll say, “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?” (Isa 14:16). So when John says the beast that was, and is not, and yet is, I think he’s talking about his transformation from what a powerful creature he was while on the Earth, to what a pathetic ruined creature he will be in the Lake of Fire. People will see him in the Lake of Fire. Ruined. A nothing. They will recognize him. And they will marvel. “This is the beast who was so powerful politically and spiritually, and yet, he’s the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” In other words, the beast is not what he was anymore. He is nothing now. And yet he still is that beast.

Rev. 11 is the chapter that’s all about the Two Witnesses. Consider Rev. 11:7, “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” Here we’re told the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit… So the argument would go that the antichrist died. He went to the bottomless pit, and he ascended in a false resurrection, as a way of imitating the resurrection of Christ. I would be inclined to accept that view except for the fact that John writes “ascendeth” with an -eth at the end, which is a continual state. He’s continually ascending the bottomless pit. If John had said that he ascended, past tense, then I’d be inclined to agree that he died and rose again as a false resurrection, but he says that the antichrist continually ascends the bottomless pit. What does that mean? I think this means he’s living on borrowed time. His future destination is the bottomless pit, but at this stage of the Tribulation, he is continually rising above the bottomless pit. He’s continually rising here on the Earth, rising above the people, rising in power, rising in authority and influence, over the bottomless pit, which is where he will wind up when this is over. Then after the 1,000-year reign, he will ascend the bottomless pit only once – to go into perdition, into the Lake of Fire.

Let’s return to the questions we asked earlier. Where is this bottomless pit? Where in this whole universe can a bottomless pit even exist?

In Luke 16, we have the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

I know there’s a debate as to whether this is a true story or a parable. Now one of the arguments that this is a true story is because the Lord said, “a certain man,” which must mean that the Lord was talking about someone specific, but that’s a poor argument because the Lord used the phrase “a certain man” in other parables. For example, we find in Luke 20:9 “Then began he to speak to the people this parable, [and said,] “A certain man planted a vineyard…”

But what the Lord never did in any of His parables was use specific names like we find here. Lazarus. Abraham. Moses. And I think that if the Lord says in a story that Abraham spoke these words, then Abraham spoke those words, and we have to conclude that it’s a true story. Otherwise, the Lord would not have given any specific names and tell us that Abraham said something he never said. So I believe this is a true story, and I don’t begrudge anyone who thinks differently.

What prompted the telling of this story was the nasty conduct of the Pharisees. After the parable of the unjust steward, we read in Luk 16:14, And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. So instead of telling another parable, He shuts them up by telling them a true story with details about Lazarus whom they all knew, and He talks about a rich man, and I have no doubt that was a rich Pharisee they all knew. And He’s basically telling them that that Pharisee they all knew is in Hell right now, and He begged Abraham to send up Lazarus to warn his brothers about the place of torment. And I’ll bet you those brothers were probably the very Pharisees who were standing in front of Him.

This story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is arguably the most brutal takedown of the Pharisees in all the Gospels. He verbally punches these guys in the gut, the heart, the mind, and I guarantee you, for the rest of their lives, they’ll never shake off the power of this story.

Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

For now, I would only highlight vs. 26. Abraham pointed out this great gulf between his side of Sheol and the rich man’s side of torment. He said, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Many have suggested, and I would agree, that if you go down that chasm, you’ll find the bottomless pit. And you will find that the bottomless pit, is probably at the center of the Earth. It’s bottomless because you’re inside a sphere. There’s no top or bottom or side. It’s a sphere. I’ve always pictured in my mind that when Satan is cast into the bottomless pit, he’s just floating in the middle of that sphere all chained up. He can’t go anywhere, do anything, because he’s literally stuck there floating because he’s at the center of gravity.

I also now think the bottomless pit IS Tartaros, which Peter spoke of in 2 Pet. 2:4 when he talked about God not sparing the angels who sinned and cast them into Tartaros in chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. Those angels are commonly thought to be the angels who created the Nephilim. I had been taught growing up that Tartaros was a side room down that chasm between Abraham’s Bosom and the Place of Torment, but the word Tartaros means deepest abyss in Hades, and the word abyss means bottomless. And you can’t get any deeper in Hades than the bottomless pit itself. So I’d suggest that Tartaros IS the bottomless pit. So, right now, I think the angels who created the Nephilim are in the bottomless pit. They’re chained up. Floating. The sphere is massive. Filled with smoke. Horrific smell. Plus, there are billions of freaky locusts with stingers. So now I can’t help but wonder, “Have the locusts been stinging those angels this whole time?” I’d say it’s possible. Anything’s possible. So I’d suggest that the bottomless pit is the center of the Earth, which is down that chasm between Abraham’s Bosom and the Place of Torment. Anyone have any thoughts?

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.

So what’s the deal with the key? Who has the key and who gave this key to the angel? I think there’s only one answer. The Lord Himself said in Rev_1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

I’d just say, “How can these keys not be figurative?” How can a key to death be literal? That expression can only mean He now has power over death itself because He conquered death itself. And when the Lord says He has the key to Hell, He said Hades. The underworld. He has power over the souls in the Place of Torment and He has power over the souls in Abraham’s Bosom, which means He has the right to both judge and to redeem man, because He conquered both sin and death through His crucifixion, and now He can come to take back possession of this Earth, redeem all those OT saints, and judge every man at the appointed times. So when the Lord granted this angel the key to the bottomless pit, it’s figurative, conveying to us He gave him authority over the underworld to do His bidding in His stead, which is to release all the freaky locusts with stingers into the Earth.

Rev 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.

First, we read that he opened the bottomless pit. How did this work exactly? Where did he open the bottomless pit? We’re not told. Now, for all of this to work, there has to be a literal, physical tunnel from the surface of the Earth all the way down to the bottomless pit at the center of the Earth, because both smoke and these literal, physical, freaky locusts with stingers have to come up out of the center of the Earth ALL the way up to the surface in order to wreak havoc on all the unbelievers.

I can only presume this angel is standing somewhere on the surface of the Earth. The Earth just opens up to reveal a massive tunnel. He goes down that tunnel, which takes him all the way down to Sheol. He goes down further, down that chasm between Abraham’s Bosom and the Place of Torment. He keeps going until he reaches the center of the Earth. Then, more Earth opens up again to create an exit to the bottomless pit. And all the smoke and all the billions of freaky locusts with stingers come flying out. All of this massive smoke and billions of locusts goes flying up that chasm between Abraham’s Bosom and the Place of Torment.

Imagine. Everyone in Sheol stops what they’re doing. Abraham, David, Moses, they all stop to watch the smoke and the locusts fly up. And all these locusts keep flying up that tunnel until they reach the surface of the Earth.

Rev 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. Rev 9:4 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.

It’s interesting that these locusts were commanded that they shouldn’t eat the grass of the Earth. Wait a minute. I thought the grass of the Earth was burned up at the first trumpet in Rev. 8:7 when the hail that’s on fire mingled with blood came raining down on the Earth. It could be that it will take time for all the grass to burn up and not all grass has burned up yet.

I take this to mean that the locusts are simply being commanded to ignore all plant life and vegetation and direct all their energy to stinging only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

That phrase really sticks out at me: only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. This begs a question. Who all gets sealed by God? We know the 144,000 are given a seal on their foreheads, which is the name of the Father (Rev. 14:1). We’re not told that Moses and Elijah have been given a seal on their foreheads, but there’s no way Moses and Elijah would ever be tormented by these locusts. They are God’s olive trees, His golden candlesticks (Rev. 11:4), justified by faith, redeemed now by the blood, sent by God to testify in His name. There’s no way they’ll be tormented by the locusts, which must mean that they also have that seal on their foreheads even through we’re not told that in Revelation.

This begs another question. Who else has a seal on their foreheads, and we’re not told about it in Revelation? What about Gentiles? What about a Gentile who comes to a saving faith in Christ? Let’s say some guy in Florida sees the bloody beaches, and he says, “You know what? I’m a believer in God now. I believe in Christ as the Son of God. Thank you, God!”

In that moment he had faith, does he get a seal on his forehead?

I think it’s likely.

It’s a timeless principle across all ages that once a believer comes to a saving faith in Christ, he becomes sealed in God. He has eternal security. And sometimes those seals were visible as was the case with Abraham. After he got saved, Abraham he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised (Rom. 4:11). He was sealed and that seal was visible.

The locusts are being directed to torment only the unbelievers, which I suspect must mean that all believers are given seals on their foreheads. So it may be that if a Gentile comes to a saving faith, he gets a seal on his forehead by God, and thus, he avoids the torment of the locusts.

This would also answer the age old question: “What if a believer wants to take the mark? Will he lose his salvation?” The answer to that question is, Satan would never let him take the mark, because he’s already been marked by God. All Satan can do at that point is try to kill him. Thus, the mark of the beast is merely designed to force everyone else on the planet who’s on the fence to make a choice: God or Satan. Take your side.

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.

This verse is fairly straightforward. The fact that this torment only lasts for five months is cause to praise God. But I liked what Les Feldick had to say about this. He said, “If you have ever been stung by a scorpion, you know it has a unique sting to it. Their sting burns and lasts for quite a while. Now these locusts are going to have a psychological effect on humanity as much as anything, by their appearance and their ability to sting.” Totally agree.

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 is an absolutely jaw-dropping verse. Just think about it. They will want to die but they can’t! For the first time since the creation of the universe, people will try to end themselves and they won’t be able to die.

My question is, “How is this gonna work exactly? What if someone’s puts a gun to his temple and pulls the trigger? You mean that person won’t die?”

That’s right. That’s what this verse is saying.

I suspect God won’t make it possible for that bullet to enter the skull and do damage. That bullet will just bounce off. And it’ll hurt really bad, and you won’t die.

Again, you might think, “That is so horrible! This is just torture!” I’d argue that this is cause to praise God, to love Him even more.

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

These freaky locusts are crazy looking! I didn’t read anything in any commentary that satisfactorily explained why these locusts looked the way they did.

Notice first how there were two references to horses. They are like unto horses prepared unto battle and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. I think a lot of this is meant to foreshadow the next trumpet judgment, which we’ll cover soon. But in the sixth trumpet, four angels come out of the Euphrates river, and they gather together two hundred million angels on horses, and those horses also have breastplates of fire, as do the angels sitting on them.

The horses had the heads of lions whereas these locusts have the teeth of lions.

Attention is given to the tails of the locusts and the horses. In both creatures, the power is in the tails. The tails of the locusts are stingers like scorpions. The tails of the horses were like serpents with heads on them that also hurt people.

The great distinction between the two is that the horses have a lot of fire going on, with their breastplates of fire as well as fire and brimstone shooting out of their mouths. Whereas the locusts only hurt people, the horses will wipe out a third of the global population.

The locusts are merely the pre-show. The horses are the main event.

The locusts are only foreshadowing the next trumpet judgment. And with the locusts, God is giving the world five months to live, five months to repent, to come to a saving faith in Christ before death comes for them.

As far as the faces of men, the hair of women, and the crowns of gold, I’d only suggest that this again may be designed to convey to the people that these locusts have been given authority by God to carry out retribution for all of His murdered of saints. The breastplates may be meant to convey that they’ve now entered a hot war with God.

They’re now literally sinners in the hands of an angry God with five months to repent.

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. Rev 9:11 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. Rev 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

A lot of writers in books have tried to say that Satan is the one who opens the bottomless pit or that Satan is the angel of the bottomless pit. I just don’t buy that argument. It makes no sense to me that Satan would willfully inflict all this torment on all the people who would be part of his kingdom on Earth. No where else in Scripture do we read of Satan hanging out in the bottomless pit or having any authority over the bottomless pit.

Only the Lord has the key to Hades, as He said in Rev. 1.

I don’t believe for one minute Satan would ever want to do this, to undermine his own efforts to build his kingdom and his army in his war against God. If anything, Satan would use this judgment of God to recruit people to be on his side in his kingdom in his army in order to fight this oh-so-terrible God. I think God gave the key to the bottomless pit to a heavenly angel, which is to say, He gave that angel the authority over Hades to open it up to release the freaky locusts with stingers. I think the angel of the bottomless pit is also a heavenly angel, the king of those beasts, who was given domain over those creatures for this moment, designed to ensure that God’s judgment is carried out perfectly.

This angel of the bottomless pit is called “Destroyer” in the Hebrew and the Greek.

A “destroyer” is mentioned in Exod. 12, which is the story of the Passover. We find in Exo 12:23, “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.”

Who is the “destroyer” in that passage? Is that some angel of death who will smite the firstborn? The thing is, the Lord Himself told us earlier in that chapter exactly who it is that will be smiting the firstborn. He said in Exo 12:12, “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and [I] will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” The Lord is the one who will do the smiting. So I’d just suggest that “destroyer” in Exod. 12 is a merely a description of a side of the Lord. He’s telling the Hebrews, “Which part of me do you want? The protector or the destroyer? The choice is up to you.”

Conclusion

A real quick summary. When the fifth trumpet is blown, I think a heavenly angel is sent down to the Earth with the key to the bottomless pit, which is a figurative key meant to explain to us that he has been given authority by God to open the bottomless pit, which is in the center of the Earth. He releases all the smoke and freaky locusts with stingers out into the Earth. Another heavenly angel, whose name means “Destroyer” in the Hebrew and Greek, who is the God-appointed king of those beasts, ensures that they only torment unbelievers and it’s only for five months. And these locusts fly up onto the surface of the Earth and they will torment unbelievers for five straight months. Many will try to end their lives, but they won’t be able to die.

I think there are three important points to be made.

One. No one can overstate just how evil the world will be after we’re gone. Hearts of stone. Depraved minds. Seared consciences. Endlessly corrupt. Militant believers of lies. Plus, a raging violence against everything that’s good and against every believer that lives. And no one can ever understate the grip of sin on these people and just how addicted they are to sin and how adamantly opposed they are to giving it up. So five months of this torment by the locusts is brilliant on God’s part. This is exactly what it will take to break them psychologically, to break them emotionally, and to force them to face the reality that they are in the midst of judgments from God Himself, that time is running out, and they had better repent and get saved before they may die.

Two. The fact that God will not allow anyone to die during this judgment is not only brilliant but also cause to praise Him and love Him even more, because not allowing them to die is the best thing that can happen to them. Because if they ended their lives, they’d go straight to hell. But by forcing them to live, God breaks them psychologically and forces them to process and come to terms with what’s going on. God is real. You will die. You will be judged. This is your chance to get right with him.

Which brings us to point three. I think that is the very message that will be proclaimed throughout the globe by Moses and Elijah and the 144,000 while this judgment is happening for five months. “God is only hurting you now. The next judgment will bring death. God is giving you time to face reality. God is real. You will die. He will judge you. And you are facing an eternity in a Lake of Fire if you do not repent and come to a saving faith in Christ as the Son of God.” We cannot forget that while these judgments are taking place, there is also massive evangelism taking place on the Earth through Moses and Elijah and the 144,000.