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months; and the pain they caused was like the pain of a SCORPION sting. In those days
people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

Now these LOCUSTS looked like horses outfitted for battle. On their heads were what
looked like crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces. They had hair like
women's hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. Their chests were like iron breast-
plates, and the sound their wings made was like the roar of many horses and chariots
rushing into battle. They had tails like those of SCORPIONS, with stings; and in their
TAILS was the power to hurt people for five months. They had as king over them the an-
gel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is "Abaddon" and in our language, "Destroyer."

The era of the fifth trumpet (shofar) is, without a doubt, one of relatively great importance
for the purposes of the Book of Revelation. This appears from the space given to it, and from the
nature of the symbols. It is apparent that the era foretold here ("those days" -- verse 6) is one of
considerable length. It is described as a period of torment to last -- as time is measured in this
book -- for a period of "five months" (verse 5 and 10), five being a number of incompleteness.
This shows, as did the phrase "a third part" in the preceding trumpets, that the plague, though great
and prolonged, was NOT complete and final. It required, we should remember, twice five (10)
plagues to complete YEHOVAH's judgment upon the nation of Egypt.

The first action that immediately follows the sounding of the trumpet is the fall of a STAR
from heaven to earth. That this star represents a mighty spirit-being is clear from the passage in
Revelation -- and this is confirmed by the next words: "...and HE" -- evidently a person -- "was
given the key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss. He opened the shaft of the Abyss..." None but
a MIGHTY SPIRIT could do that.

This spirit-being is, however, of lesser status than the one that fell from heaven at the
sounding of the third trumpet -- for that one is described as "a great star, burning as a lamp."

Out of the shaft rose dense smoke, like the smoke of a great furnace. This recalls one of the
signs that are to come before the great and terrible day of YEHOVAH -- namely, "pillars (or col-
umns) of smoke." Notice Joel 2:30-31:

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of
smoke....Before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

This "smoke" affects "the sun" (the power of government) and "the air" (the spiritual
realm). And out of the smoke came "locusts," to which were given power like the "scorpions" of
the earth have. All of these -- and other symbols and figures -- provide us with clues to the mean-
ing of the vision. Another feature should be noted at this juncture: It is found in the last statement in
the passage that these "locusts" have a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in Hebrew and in Greek signifies "Destroyer." Therefore, it is plainly stated that this
great host of "locusts" is ruled by an invisible king -- a mighty one among the evil spirits! Also, as
we shall see later, this refers to a distinctive human personality in the history of Islam.

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