When The Fifth Trumpet Sounds

By

Pastor Robert L Davis

The book of Revelation tells us of the seven trumpet judgments that release horrible
plagues upon the earth. Of the seven trumpets that sound, it is the fifth trumpet that
opens the way to the battle of Armageddon. When the angel sounds the fifth trumpet, the
Beast of the bottomless pit is released (Rev 9:1). With a horde of satanic warriors at his
command, this beast ascends out of the pit to bring destruction and suffering to the world.
The bible tells us that the name of the Beast is Apollyon, but we must look outside the
book of Revelations to get a good understanding of:

Who this angel is,

How he come to be in the bottomless pit,

When was the last time he was on the face of the earth?

Where did he rule?

Who were his generals, and

What is meant by his being wounded in the head?

When we search the scriptures, we find a fascinating account of this Beast, his human
counterparts, and what they have done in biblical and secular history. The following is
an analysis of the Beast that is released at the sounding of the fifth trumpet, along with
his generals that are released at the sounding of the sixth trumpet. At the conclusion of
this article, you should have a better scriptural foundation on the Antichrist, The Beast,
and on the importance of certain current events such as the battle in Iraq.
The story of the beast of Revelation actually begins in the book of Daniel, chapter 8. It is
here that we have the account of a battle between a Ram and a He-goat. The ram has two
horns, while the he-goat has one notable horn. Both these animals represent kingdoms in
our past, but in Daniels future. The ram represents the kingdom of Media and Persia.
The two horns represent the two kings of those kingdoms, but the horn also represents
the angelic beings that strengthen the kings of those kingdoms. The he-goat represents
the kingdom of Greece. And the horn represents the same as on the ram. In the battle
between the two, the he-goat destroys the ram and stamps it into the earth. In secular
history this account is recorded as Greece defeating the Medo-Persian Empire and
conquering the known world. In the bible, the he-goats great horn is broken after it has
won the battle. In secular history it records that the great king of Greece, Alexander the
Great, died at the height of his strength and power. He was not killed in battle and he was
not sickly that he should have died. What happened to Alexander the Great that caused
him to suddenly die in the height of power? The answer lies in the source of his strength,
his angelic counterpart, which is the angel we know as Apollyon, the angel of the
bottomless pit. This is the same angel that will be released When the Fifth Trumpet
Sounds.

What happened to Alexander the Great was that the spiritual source of his power was
taken away suddenly and without that spiritual power, his natural body could not
continue. Alexander The Great accomplished his great feats through the use of the
spiritual power of the angel known as Apollyon. The reason that he lost his power was
that the angel that strengthened him was captured and thrown into the bottomless.
Gabriel gives indication of this to Daniel when he tells him that he and Michael must face
the Prince (angel) of Grecia once they have finished with the Prince (angel) of Persia
(Daniel 10:20&21). The death of Alexander is reflected in the great horn of the he-goat
being broken. The breaking of the horn on the head of the he-goat represents the
separation of the angel Apollyon from his earthly kingdom known a Greece. In the bible,
the word death means to be separated. When a person dies, it does not mean that they
stop living, only that they are separated from their body. When the bible states that the
beast is wounded in the head and then lives again (Rev 13:3&12), what is meant is that
this angel is separated from his kingdom and then reunited again. The bible does not tell
us that the Antichrist (False Prophet) is wounded in the head. It is the beast that is
separated from Greece by being thrown into the bottomless pit. At that point the kingdom
was wounded to death (separation). When the Fifth Trumpet Sounds, the angel of the
bottomless pit will be released and will return to his old kingdom, Greece. Then the head
(kingdom) will live again. It is an important key to understand that the heads on the beast
represents kingdoms. Another way that kingdoms are represented in spiritual terms are
with mountains. The reason that this is important is that many people make the mistake
of associating the seven heads on the beast with seven natural or physical mountains. This
causes them to assume that the Beast must be Rome (sits on seven hills). Whereas Rome
stands out as being the very best possibility of being that future kingdom of the beast,
using the seven mountains to make that case is not the most sound doctrinal footing.

We know now that the heads on the beast represents kingdoms, whereas the horns
represent not only the kings but also the angels that strengthen them (Daniel 11:1). With
this knowledge we will return back to Daniel 8 and see what happens after the great horn
is broken. What we see is that four notable horns arise in its place. These horns represent
the four generals who divided Alexanders kingdom after his death. These horns also
represent the four angels that divided Apollyons spiritual kingdom after he was
captured. The work of the beast, which is to conquer the world and form a one-world
government, continued under the four angels that strengthened the four generals of
Alexander. These four angels appear throughout the bible in various places, but our final
view of them is when they are released from captivity under the river Euphrates. This is
the sixth trumpet that sounds. One very interesting place we see these four angels is at
the foot of the cross of Christ (John 19:23&24). The four soldiers represent these four
angels and once again they are dividing up the spoils among themselves.

What happens when the angels sound the fifth and sixth trumpets is that this angel
Apollyon and his general are reunited to wage war against the Lamb (Rev 17:14). Just as
the beast needed a human counterpart to carry out his plan in the past, so it is that he will
need a human in the future. In the past the last known counterpart for Apollyon was
Alexander the Great. In the future the human counterpart will be called The Antichrist
also known as The False Prophet. This man will demonstrate great power on earth,
power that he draws from the unseen angel (Rev 13:14). This man will become the ruler
of one of the four parts of the old Grecian kingdom. This Antichrist is known in the book
of Daniel as the Vile person (Daniel 11:21). He will be a king of the northern part of the
old Grecian Empire. We know that he will come from the north because the scripture
states that he will push towards the south (Egypt), the east (Iran & Iraq), and toward the
Pleasant Land (Jerusalem) which is westward of the first two (Daniel 8:9). If this
Antichrist is attacking the East, South, and West, then he can only be coming from the
North. The northern part of the old Grecian Empire is what we know today as Syria, but
what was known as Assyria in biblical times. Based upon the vision of the Ram and the
He-goat, the coming Antichrist will arise as a leader of Syria. This is why understanding
the Beast and what he has done in the past is important. It allows us to avoid popular
misunderstandings and get a clearer look at what will be happening. It also allows us to
have a greater appreciation of the dangers and the prophetical significance of current
events such as the war in Iraq.

All current events are playing a part in the future of the world. Based on scripture, the
church will have been taken away before this series of events takes place. Blessed are they
that are with Christ When The Fifth Trumpet Sounds.