Read Revelation 9 at Bible Gateway.
revelation 9, the fifth trumpet: the army of locusts
revelation 9, the duration of the fifth trumpet
revelation 9, the fifth trumpet of torment but not death
revelation 9, the conclusion of the fifth trumpet
revelation 9, the four angels of the sixth trumpet
revelation 9, the sixth trumpet: crossing the euphrates
revelation 9, the duration of the sixth trumpet
revelation 9, the sixth trumpet army
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Rev 9:20-21
Let’s recap for a brief moment here and look at what the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments have in common. Our clue is in Dan 2, and 7. Daniel sees two different dreams or visions, but both are depicting the same thing. The first is of the great statue, which turns out to be the kingdoms of this world, which are four: the head of gold, Babel or Babylon; the chest and arms of silver, Media and Persia; the belly of bronze, Greece; and the loins and legs of iron, which is Rome. This statue is toppled by the little stone striking it in its feet. The stone is the chief cornerstone, and the mountain the stone grows into, is the kingdom of heaven.
The second vision is of four beasts, which likewise depict the four kingdoms of Babylon, Media and Persia, Greece, and Rome. The fourth beast continues until the Ancient of Days is seated (Dan 7:9) the fourth beast slain (Dan 7:11) and dominion given to One like the Son of Man, coming on the clouds (Dan 7:13-14). Daniel is seeing the same thing in two different ways: the kingdoms of this world, becoming the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Messiah.
So the seal judgments occur from 96 ad to 324 ad. They bring about the fall of the Roman empire of the Caesars. The first through fourth trumpets depict the barbarian invasions bringing about the fall the first third of the Roman empire, the empire of the West, in 476 ad. The fifth trumpet depicts the rise of Islam and the fall of a second third of the old Roman empire, from 612 to 762. The sixth trumpet depicts the rise of the Turks and the fall of the third third of the old Roman empire, the Byzantine empire, from 1056 to 1453. Both seal and trumpet judgments are directed against the old Roman empire: the legs of iron and the fourth beast, of the kingdoms of this world.
We have already seen that when Revelation speaks of the whole earth, the whole of mankind, it is talking about the whole of the Roman earth, and the whole of mankind which was of Rome. Now we read that the rest of mankind (the rest of mankind dwelling in the old Roman empire), after they endured the plagues of the fifth and sixth trumpets — the rise of Islam and the rise of the Turks — did not repent of six things, with which they were charged:
the works of their hands
worshiping demons and idols
murders
sorceries
[s-x]ual immorality
theft
My reading of Revelation, therefore, leads me to believe that these last two trumpets, the fifth and sixth, were designed to judge a Roman empire which practiced the six sins mentioned above. The span of years which these two trumpets encompass was 612 to 1453, as we have already seen. It just so happens that pope Gregory the Great died in 604 ad. From his papacy the Christian church was known as the Roman Catholic church.
It is also well known that the Roman clergy, and the Roman papacy, increased in these six sins during those years. The Roman scholars do not hide it. But we know that they did not repent of those sins after 1453, because in 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of Wittenburg church.
Return to revelation index of studies
My book The Revelation of Jesus Christ Revealed, based on these studies but greatly expanded, is now available at Revelation Revealed Online. You may also be interested in reading the Book Extras and joining in on the Discussion.
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