All of the trumpets prophesy of a coming punishment of Rome. The fifth and sixth trumpets reveal what happened to Eastern Rome headquartered in Constantinople. The Byzantine Empire ruled from Constantinople for a thousand years. These two trumpets are also called the first and second woes. God often uses sin to punish sin. The "locusts" spoken of in these verses represent Islam. The first woe, the fifth trumpet revealed the attack on the headquarters of Eastern Rome, Constantinople, named after its founder, Roman Emperor Constantine. The second woe prophesied the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. It also dated the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the very day. Notice in verse 12 "there come two woes more."
Do we think the third woe will somehow be much different from the first two woes? No, the seventh trumpet will not depart from what we have seen in the first six trumpets. The last trumpet will also punish "Rome". And, there are three trumpets called "woes". The first two woes were inflicted on apostate religion by Islam. Why would God not continue to use Islam to punish Babylon? Why would anyone want to deny what is so very obvious a fulfillment of Bible prophecy?
"Christian" lands have escaped major "natural" disasters often called "acts of God". When we see hundreds of thousands killed in such events, they are never in countries that have a Christian heritage. This is all about to change. God is no longer going to keep His hand of protection over these countries that reject Him and His Word. Coupled with the attacks by Islam, we shall see Satan at work through "natural disasters" such as fires, local floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, wars, and accidents.
But, the trumpets are restricted to God's punishment of Rome and now her children.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as [the teeth] of lions.
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.
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.
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.
9:12 One woe is past; [and], behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen [were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses [were] as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails [were] like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
