Worship The One True God: Muhammad in Bible Prophecy: Part 7 - The Fifth and Sixth Trumpets and the Rise of Islam

The Fifth and Sixth Trumpets and the Rise of Islam

The Fallen Star and the Key to the Bottomless Pit

Revelation 9: 1

Καὶ ὁ πέμπτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισε· καὶ εἶδον ἀστέρα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεπτωκότα εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἡ κλεὶς τοῦ φρέατος τῆς ἀβύσσου.

“And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. “ESV

Revelation 9:1 KJV

“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. “

The word for “fall” in the Kings James translation is actually in the past tense in the original Greek. That is why the modern translations translate it as “fallen”, which means it took place before the events in Revelation.

Ask any Muslim and he will tell you that the Arab tribes fell away from the worship of the God of Abraham, their ancestor. They were mostly pagan when Muhammad was born. In other words, Muhammad came from a fallen background. Now let’s look at some other passages to get the meaning of the star, key and bottomless pit.

Revelation 1:20,

τὸ μυστήριον τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀστέρων ὧν εἶδες ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς μου, καὶ τὰς ἑπτὰ λυχνίας τὰς χρυσᾶς. οἱ ἑπτὰ ἀστέρες ἄγγελοι τῶν ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησιῶν εἰσι, καὶ αἱ λυχνίαι αἱ ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαι εἰσίν.

"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."

Here we can see that stars represent angels. It is worth noting that the words translated as “angel”, in both the Tanakh (Old Testament) and New Testament, literally mean “messenger.”

Do we find other occurrences of an angel/messenger descending from heaven to the earth, a key, and the bottomless pit?

Revelation 19: 21

καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπεκτάνθησαν ἐν τῇ ῥομφαίᾳ τοῦ καθημένου ἐπὶ τοῦ ἵππου, τῇ ἐξελθούσῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ· καὶ πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα ἐχορτάσθησαν ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτῶν.

“And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”

Revelation 20: 1-3

Καὶ εἶδον ἄγγελον καταβαίνοντα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἔχοντα τὴν κλεῖν τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ ἅλυσιν μεγάλην ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ.

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

καὶ ἐκράτησε τὸν δράκοντα, τὸν ὄφιν τὸν ἀρχαῖον, ὅς ἐστι Διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς, καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν χίλια ἔτη,

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον, καὶ ἔκλεισε καὶ ἐσφράγισεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ πλανήσῃ ἔτι τὰ ἔθνη, ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη· μετὰ ταῦτα δεῖ αὐτὸν λυθῆναι μικρὸν χρόνον.

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

There are differences, so these are obviously not talking about the same event. But the parallels are unmistakable. What can we learn from this passage? This angel is obviously working for God, as he chains up Satan and casts him into the bottomless pit. So, this would seem to indicate that the angel/messenger of chapter 9 is also working for God.

He has a key in his hand as he descends from heaven, so he must have received it in heaven. This would indicate that he received it from God. What does the Bible mean by the symbol of a key?

Matthew 16:19,

καὶ δώσω σοι τὰς κλεῖς τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν δήσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται δεδεμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν λύσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.

"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Revelation 1:18,

καὶ ὁ ζῶν, καὶ ἐγενόμην νεκρὸς, καὶ ἰδοὺ ζῶν εἰμι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, καὶ ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου.

"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."

Isaiah 22:22,

ונתתי מפתח בית־דוד על־שׁכמו ופתח ואין סגר וסגר ואין פתח

"And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open."

Revelation 3:7,

Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Φιλαδελφείᾳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· τάδε λέγει ὁ ἅγιος, ὁ ἀληθινός, ὁ ἔχων τὴν κλεῖν Δαυΐδ, ὁ ἀνοίγων καὶ οὐδεὶς κλείσει, καὶ κλείων καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀνοίξει·

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;"

Keys, in prophecy, represent power or authority. Specifically, power and authority that ultimately comes from God. The angel in Revelation 20 is obviously working for God since he descends from heaven and binds Satan. Also, his key obviously comes from God since he has it with him as he descends from heaven.

Now there is a difference in the keys of the two angels/stars/messengers. The angel in Revelation 20 is given the key in heaven. The star/angel/messenger in Revelation 9 is given they key while he is already on the earth. Some people believe the key in chapter 9 is given by Satan. However, the circumstances make the opposite much more likely. First, the key in chapter 20 is obviously given by God since the angel already possesses it before he descends from heaven. There is no indication that the key in chapter 9 is given by a different source. Also, they key in both chapters is the key of the bottomless pit. Now, I will argue that the literal application of the bottomless pit is different in both chapters, but it breaks the internal logic of the visions to suggest that Satan possesses the key to his own prison in this chapter.

What does the bottomless pit represent? The word translated as “bottomless pit” in both Revelation 9 and 20 is αβυσσου (abyssou), which is where we get the word “abyss.”

Some people point out that the satanic beast powers are shown as ascending out of the bottomless pit.

Revelation 11:7,

καὶ ὅταν τελέσωσι τὴν μαρτυρίαν αὐτῶν, τὸ θηρίον τὸ ἀναβαῖνον ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου ποιήσει μετ᾿ αὐτῶν πόλεμον καὶ νικήσει αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀποκτενεῖ αὐτούς.

"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."

Revelation 17:8,

Τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδες ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστι, καὶ μέλλει ἀναβαίνειν ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγειν· καὶ θαυμασθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, βλεπόντων τὸ θηρίον ὅτι ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστι καὶ παρέσται.

"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 could be taken to mean that powers that come out of the bottomless pit are evil.

However, this interpretation fails to take into consideration the fact that, while the phrase “bottomless pit” only appears in a few places in the English translations, the actual Greek word appears in numerous places. One very interesting place is

Romans 10:7,

ἤ τίς καταβήσεται εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον; τοῦτ᾿ ἔστι Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναγαγεῖν.

"Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)"

The word translated “deep” is αβυσσου (abyssou). This means that, when Jesus rose from the dead, he came up out of the abyss/deep/bottomless pit. Certainly, we can’t say that all powers that rise up from the bottomless pit are evil if Christ also rose up from the bottomless pit.

In the text above, the bottomless pit/abyss/deep undeniably refers to the state of death. How else is this word used? A couple of centuries before Jesus, Jewish scholars translated the Tanakh (Old Testament) into Greek. This Greek text is known as the Septuagint or LXX (in reference to the 70 scholars believed to have done the initial work). It is significant in the study of Revelation because it was heavily used by the early Christian church, so it is helpful in understanding what the authors of the New Testament meant by certain words and phrases.

Let’s look at Genesis 1:2 in Septuagint,

ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος, καὶ σκότος ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου, καὶ πνεῦμα θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος.

"But the earth was unseen and unready, and darkness was upon the abyss, and spirit of God bore upon the water."

Here you can see that the word, abyss, is used to describe the first state of the earth when it was unformed and empty.

When we look at the bottomless pit in Revelation 20, we see that this happens immediately after all the wicked are killed, resulting in an empty earth. Since we have an empty earth here and the word translated as “bottomless pit” in the King James is also used in the Septuagint in reference to the empty earth, we can conclude that that is the proper meaning of abyss/bottomless pit/deep in this verse.

The strong parallel between Revelation 20 and Revelation 9 provides strong support for interpreting abyss/bottomless pit in a similar fashion, as an empty wasteland. And this is an appropriate symbol since Islam came out of Arabia and the desert in Arabia is historically known as the “Empty Quarter.” The rest of the Mediterranean world generally did not pay much attention to Arabia. Until oil was discovered there, it has historically been seen as an inhospitable desert of little value. And, as the Muslims burst out of Arabia, they certainly seemed to come from nowhere.

Now, we come to the fallen star. If a star falls from heaven, it must begin in heaven. Some people have argued that this indicates Muhammad may have started in the truth, but later turned his back on God. Most of the argument for this comes from the fact that Muhammad organized the Muslims into armies and conducted war. This certainly seems to contradict the peaceful mission of Jesus. However, Jesus was the exception rather than the rule, when you actually read the entire Bible. Muhammad wasn’t just a religious leader. He became a political leader because the Muslims had to form a separate political group in order to survive persecution.

While I’m not arguing that Muhammad was perfect, I believe it would only be fair to judge him according to more similar people in the Bible. For example, Saul tried to kill David, so David fled the city. People loyal to David joined him and they formed their own group, separate from the tribes of Israel. During part of this period, David and his men sought political asylum with the Philistines. This is what the Bible says David did during that period.

1 Samuel 27:1-12

ויאמר דוד אל־לבו עתה אספה יום־אחד ביד־שׁאול אין־לי טוב כי המלט אמלט אל־ארץ פלשׁתים ונואשׁ ממני שׁאול לבקשׁני עוד בכל־גבול ישׂראל ונמלטתי מידו

1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand.

ויקם דוד ויעבר הוא ושׁשׁ־מאות אישׁ אשׁר עמו אל־אכישׁ בן־מעוך מלך גת

2 And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

וישׁב דוד עם־אכישׁ בגת הוא ואנשׁיו אישׁ וביתו דוד ושׁתי נשׁיו אחינעם היזרעאלית ואביגיל אשׁת־נבל הכרמלית

3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife.

ויגד לשׁאול כי־ברח דוד גת ולא־יוסף עוד לבקשׁו

4 And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.

ויאמר דוד אל־אכישׁ אם־נא מצאתי חן בעיניך יתנו־לי מקום באחת ערי השׂדה ואשׁבה שׁם ולמה ישׁב עבדך בעיר הממלכה עמך

5 And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee?

ויתן־לו אכישׁ ביום ההוא את־צקלג לכן היתה צקלג למלכי יהודה עד היום הזה

6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

ויהי מספר הימים אשׁר־ישׁב דוד בשׂדה פלשׁתים ימים וארבעה חדשׁים

7 And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.

ויעל דוד ואנשׁיו ויפשׁטו אל־הגשׁורי והגרזי והעמלקי כי הנה ישׁבות הארץ אשׁר מעולם בואך שׁורה ועד־ארץ מצרים

8 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.

והכה דוד את־הארץ ולא יחיה אישׁ ואשׁה ולקח צאן ובקר וחמרים וגמלים ובגדים וישׁב ויבא אל־אכישׁ

9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.

ויאמר אכישׁ אל־פשׁטתם היום ויאמר דוד על־נגב יהודה ועל־נגב הירחמאלי ואל־נגב הקיני

10 And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.

ואישׁ ואשׁה לא־יחיה דוד להביא גת לאמר פן־יגדו עלינו לאמר כה־עשׂה דוד וכה משׁפטו כל־הימים אשׁר ישׁב בשׂדה פלשׁתים

11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.

ויאמן אכישׁ בדוד לאמר הבאשׁ הבאישׁ בעמו בישׂראל והיה לי לעבד עולם

12 And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

Therefore, David formed a band of warriors and sought political asylum with the Philistines for his followers and his multiple wives. While there, he raided various towns, killing every man, woman and child, and enriching himself with their belongings. Then he would return and lie to the Philistines about what he had done. This is more violent than many of the things people use to say Muhammad was a false prophet. There are many other incidents like this in David’s life.

Now, you may argue that David was mistaken in doing this and he should have acted differently. And you may be correct, but the Bible never shows God openly criticizing David for his actions, except in one instance. This is what it says.

1 Kings 15:5,

אשׁר עשׂה דוד את־הישׁר בעיני יהוה ולא־סר מכל אשׁר־צוהו כל ימי חייו רק בדבר אוריה החתי

“Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”

Acts 13:21-22,

κἀκεῖθεν ᾐτήσαντο βασιλέα, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Σαοὺλ υἱὸν Κίς, ἄνδρα ἐκ φυλῆς Βενιαμίν, ἔτη τεσσεράκοντα·

καὶ μεταστήσας αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν αὐτοῖς τὸν Δαυῒδ εἰς βασιλέα, ᾧ καὶ εἶπε μαρτυρήσας· εὗρον Δαυῒδ τὸν τοῦ ᾿Ιεσσαί, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου, ὃς ποιήσει πάντα τὰ θελήματά μου.

"And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will."

Acts 2:29-30,

Ανδρες ἀδελφοί, ἐξὸν εἰπεῖν μετὰ παρρησίας πρὸς ὑμᾶς περὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου Δαυῒδ ὅτι καὶ ἐτελεύτησε καὶ ἐτάφη καὶ τὸ μνῆμα αὐτοῦ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν ἄχρι τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης.

προφήτης οὖν ὑπάρχων, καὶ εἰδὼς ὅτι ὅρκῳ ὤμοσεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ καρποῦ τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτοῦ τὸ κατὰ σάρκα ἀναστήσειν τὸν Χριστὸν καθίσαι ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ,

"Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;"

When one criticizes the violent verses in the Quran, he should judge them by the standard of the violent verses in the Bible. For example,

Psalm 137:8-9,

בת־בבל השׁדודה אשׁרי שׁישׁלם־לך את־גמולך שׁגמלת לנו

אשׁרי שׁיאחז ונפץ את־עלליך אל־הסלע

"O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

Alternatively,

Hosea 13:16,

תאשׁם שׁמרון כי מרתה באלהיה בחרב יפלו עלליהם ירטשׁו והריותיו יבקעו

"Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up."

Obviously, context is critical when examining any controversial verse. But, my experience has been that, most of the time people make general accusations without citing specific instances. When they do cite specific instances and I am able to find strong evidence that they really happened (there are many stories with little or no evidence), and I examine the context of the events and culture he was dealing with, and I compare them to the examples in the Bible (not the sanitized versions people talk about in church), I have difficulty in proving to my own satisfaction that Muhammad ever completely turned his back on God.

I will give one example. One of the most famous violent verses is Quran 9:5, “slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.” This sounds very violent, of course, which is why nearly everyone quotes it.

Let us look at the context.

Quran 9: 1-4 (Yusuf Ali)

‏بَرَآءَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

1. A (declaration) of immunity from Allah and His Messenger, to those of the Pagans with whom ye have contracted mutual alliances:-

‏فَسِيحُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ أَرْبَعَةَ أَشْهُرٍۢ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُمْ غَيْرُ مُعْجِزِى ٱللَّهِ ۙ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ مُخْزِى ٱلْكَفِرِينَ

2. Go ye, then, for four months, backwards and forwards, (as ye will), throughout the land, but know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah (by your falsehood) but that Allah will cover with shame those who reject Him.

‏وَأَذَنٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلنَّاسِ يَوْمَ ٱلْحَجِّ ٱلْأَكْبَرِ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ بَرِىٓءٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ۙ وَرَسُولُهُۥ ۚ فَإِن تُبْتُمْ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَإِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُمْ غَيْرُ مُعْجِزِى ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ

3. And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people (assembled) on the day of the Great Pilgrimage,- that Allah and His Messenger dissolve (treaty) obligations with the Pagans. If then, ye repent, it were best for you; but if ye turn away, know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah. And proclaim a grievous penalty to those who reject Faith.

‏إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ عَهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَنقُصُوكُمْ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَمْ يُظَهِرُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ أَحَدًۭا فَأَتِمُّوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ عَهْدَهُمْ إِلَىٰ مُدَّتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَّقِينَ

4. (But the treaties are) not dissolved with those Pagans with whom ye have entered into alliance and who have not subsequently failed you in aught, nor aided any one against you. So fulfil your engagements with them to the end of their term: for Allah loveth the righteous.

It begins with a declaration that God is dissolving the treaties between the Muslims and the idolaters. The idolaters will then have four months before the Muslims will fight them. But, it adds an exception. Any treaties with idolaters who did not break their treaties will still be upheld. This puts this entire context of this passage in a defensive war only against those people who broke their peace treaties with the Muslims.

Let’s read a little more.

Quran 9: 5-6, (Yusuf Ali)

‏فَإِذَا ٱنسَلَخَ ٱلْأَشْهُرُ ٱلْحُرُمُ فَٱقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدتُّمُوهُمْ وَخُذُوهُمْ وَٱحْصُرُوهُمْ وَٱقْعُدُوا۟ لَهُمْ كُلَّ مَرْصَدٍۢ ۚ فَإِن تَابُوا۟ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ فَخَلُّوا۟ سَبِيلَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

5. But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

‏وَإِنْ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ٱسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّىٰ يَسْمَعَ كَلَمَ ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُۥ ۚ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌۭ لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

6. If one amongst the Pagans ask thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah. and then escort him to where he can be secure. That is because they are men without knowledge.

Therefore, immediately after the command to slay the idolaters it says to spare them if they repent and turn to God or even simply ask for protection.

That said, the interpretation of the falling star representing the fall of Muhammad seems to come from the King James Version, which translates it as “and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth”. However, the Greek is in the past tense, which means the star had already fallen. And the vision shows the star receive the key after this. This seems to indicate the star came from a fallen background, rather than fell during the vision.

Remember Moses. He came from a people who had fallen away from the worship of God. Many of them worshiped the pagan gods of the Egyptians. Moses himself was a fugitive from justice for murdering an Egyptian. It was in this fallen state that God called him to be a prophet.

Similarly, Muhammad came from a tribe that had fallen away from worshipping God. Hundreds of idols filled the Kaaba (a cubic shaped building that, according to the Quran, was originally built by Abraham for the worship of God). It was in this fallen state that God called Muhammad to bring his people back to the worship of the one true God.

This interpretation seems to fit the structure of the vision the best.

The God of the Smoke

Many theologians over the past few centuries have interpreted Revelation 9 as representing Islam. However, they have consistently interpreted it negatively, declaring Islam a false religion and Muhammad a false prophet. One of the key symbols they latch onto for this interpretation is the smoke. They pretty much universally interpret the smoke as the satanic deceptions of a false religion, or something similar. Here, we will examine the role of smoke in the Bible and let the Bible interpret itself.

Many people interpret prophecy differently from each other. Part of this is due to the fact that they pick and choose verses that support their position, while ignoring verses that contradict their interpretation.

The position I hold, regarding the smoke of Revelation 9, directly contradicts the standard interpretations. I believe they arrived at their interpretations by assuming that Islam was evil and interpreting the smoke in that light. I believe the smoke is actually one of the strongest evidences that Muhammad was led by God. I believe that this is the only interpretation the Bible supports when you examine the role of smoke in Scripture.

Now we will look at what a smoking furnace and darkness mean, according to the Bible

Genesis 15: 12-18

ויהי השׁמשׁ לבוא ותרדמה נפלה על־אברם והנה אימה חשׁכה גדלה נפלת עליו

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

ויאמר לאברם ידע תדע כי־גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם ועבדום וענו אתם ארבע מאות שׁנה

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

וגם את־הגוי אשׁר יעבדו דן אנכי ואחרי־כן יצאו ברכשׁ גדול

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

ואתה תבוא אל־אבתיך בשׁלום תקבר בשׂיבה טובה

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

ודור רביעי ישׁובו הנה כי לא־שׁלם עון האמרי עד־הנה

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

ויהי השׁמשׁ באה ועלטה היה והנה תנור עשׁן ולפיד אשׁ אשׁר עבר בין הגזרים האלה

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

ביום ההוא כרת יהוה את־אברם ברית לאמר לזרעך נתתי את־הארץ הזאת מנהר מצרים עד־הנהר הגדל נהר־פרת

18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Here we see that Abraham saw a smoking furnace and darkness when God spoke to him. Also note that the darkness appears before the sun finishes going down. Therefore, the sun was darkened in this encounter with God.

Exodus 19: 18

והר סיני עשׁן כלו מפני אשׁר ירד עליו יהוה באשׁ ויעל עשׁנו כעשׁן הכבשׁן ויחרד כל־ההר מאד

18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

Exodus 20:18- 21

וכל־העם ראים את־הקולת ואת־הלפידם ואת קול השׁפר ואת־ההר עשׁן וירא העם וינעו ויעמדו מרחק

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

ויאמרו אל־משׁה דבר־אתה עמנו ונשׁמעה ואל־ידבר עמנו אלהים פן־נמות

19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

ויאמר משׁה אל־העם אל־תיראו כי לבעבור נסות אתכם בא האלהים ובעבור תהיה יראתו על־פניכם לבלתי תחטאו

20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

ויעמד העם מרחק ומשׁה נגשׁ אל־הערפל אשׁר־שׁם האלהים

21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Again, the smoke of a furnace covers Mount Sinai in darkness and it is in this darkness that we find God communicating with the prophet Moses.

Let’s look at the Biblical examples of just smoke and darkness, without a furnace.

2 Samuel 22: 7-10

בצר־לי אקרא יהוה ואל־אלהי אקרא וישׁמע מהיכלו קולי ושׁועתי באזניו

7 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

ותגעשׁ ותרעשׁ הארץ מוסדות השׁמים ירגזו ויתגעשׁו כי־חרה לו

8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.

עלה עשׁן באפו ואשׁ מפיו תאכל גחלים בערו ממנו

9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

ויט שׁמים וירד וערפל תחת רגליו

10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.

Psalm 18:8, 9

צפור שׁמים ודגי הים עבר ארחות ימים

8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

יהוה אדנינו מה־אדיר שׁמך בכל־הארץ

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

Joel 2: 30-32

ונתתי מופתים בשׁמים ובארץ דם ואשׁ ותימרות עשׁן

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

השׁמשׁ יהפך לחשׁך והירח לדם לפני בוא יום יהוה הגדול והנורא

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.

והיה כל אשׁר־יקרא בשׁם יהוה ימלט כי בהר־ציון ובירושׁלם תהיה פליטה כאשׁר אמר יהוה ובשׂרידים אשׁר יהוה קרא

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”

And here’s a couple examples of just smoke.

Revelation 8: 4

καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ καπνὸς τῶν θυμιαμάτων ταῖς προσευχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ ἀγγέλου ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.

“And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.”

Revelation 15: 8

καὶ ἐγεμίσθη ὁ ναὸς καπνοῦ ἐκ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ· καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν ναὸν ἄχρι τελεσθῶσιν αἱ ἑπτὰ πληγαὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων.

“And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”

Isaiah 6:1-4

בשׁנת־מות המלך עזיהו ואראה את־אדני ישׁב על־כסא רם ונשׂא ושׁוליו מלאים את־ההיכל

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

שׂרפים עמדים ממעל לו שׁשׁ כנפים שׁשׁ כנפים לאחד בשׁתים יכסה פניו ובשׁתים יכסה רגליו ובשׁתים יעופף

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

וקרא זה אל־זה ואמר קדושׁ קדושׁ קדושׁ יהוה צבאות מלא כל־הארץ כבודו

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

וינעו אמות הספים מקול הקורא והבית ימלא עשׁן

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Here is every other verse where smoke is mentioned in the Bible, outside of Revelation 9. You will note that there is not one verse in all of Scripture that connects smoke to false doctrine or the deceptions of Satan. Theologians make this leap because they predetermine Islam to be evil rather than letting the Bible interpret itself.

Genesis 19:28

וישׁקף על־פני סדם ועמרה ועל־כל־פני ארץ הככר וירא והנה עלה קיטר הארץ כקיטר הכבשׁן

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Exodus 20:18

וכל־העם ראים את־הקולת ואת־הלפידם ואת קול השׁפר ואת־ההר עשׁן וירא העם וינעו ויעמדו מרחק

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

Deuteronomy 29:20

לא־יאבה יהוה סלח לו כי אז יעשׁן אף־יהוה וקנאתו באישׁ ההוא ורבצה בו כל־האלה הכתובה בספר הזה ומחה יהוה את־שׁמו מתחת השׁמים

20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Joshua 8:20

ויפנו אנשׁי העי אחריהם ויראו והנה עלה עשׁן העיר השׁמימה ולא־היה בהם ידים לנוס הנה והנה והעם הנס המדבר נהפך אל־הרודף

20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.

Joshua 8:21

ויהושׁע וכל־ישׂראל ראו כי־לכד הארב את־העיר וכי עלה עשׁן העיר וישׁבו ויכו את־אנשׁי העי

21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai.

Judges 20:38

והמועד היה לאישׁ ישׂראל עם־הארב הרב להעלותם משׂאת העשׁן מן־העיר

Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.

Judges 20:40

והמשׂאת החלה לעלות מן־העיר עמוד עשׁן ויפן בנימן אחריו והנה עלה כליל־העיר השׁמימה

40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.

Job 41:20

מנחיריו יצא עשׁן כדוד נפוח ואגמן

20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.

Psalms 37:20

כי רשׁעים יאבדו ואיבי יהוה כיקר כרים כלו בעשׁן כלו

20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Psalms 68:2

כהנדף עשׁן תנדף כהמס דונג מפני־אשׁ יאבדו רשׁעים מפני אלהים

2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

Psalms 74:1

משׂכיל לאסף למה אלהים זנחת לנצח יעשׁן אפך בצאן מרעיתך

1 Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

Psalms 102:3

כי־כלו בעשׁן ימי ועצמותי כמו־קד נחרו

3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.

Psalms 104:32

המביט לארץ ותרעד יגע בהרים ויעשׁנו

32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

Psalms 119:83

כי־הייתי כנאד בקיטור חקיך לא שׁכחתי

83 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.

Psalms 144:5

יהוה הט־שׁמיך ותרד גע בהרים ויעשׁנו

5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

Proverbs 10:26

כחמץ לשׁנים וכעשׁן לעינים כן העצל לשׁלחיו

26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

Song of Solomon 3:6

מי זאת עלה מן־המדבר כתימרות עשׁן מקטרת מור ולבונה מכל אבקת רוכל

6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

Isaiah 4:5

וברא יהוה על כל־מכון הר־ציון ועל־מקראה ענן יומם ועשׁן ונגה אשׁ להבה לילה כי על־כל־כבוד חפה

5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

Isaiah 7:4

ואמרת אליו השׁמר והשׁקט אל־תירא ולבבך אל־ירך משׁני זנבות האודים העשׁנים האלה בחרי־אף רצין וארם ובן־רמליהו

4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

Isaiah 9:18

כי־בערה כאשׁ רשׁעה שׁמיר ושׁית תאכל ותצת בסבכי היער ויתאבכו גאות עשׁן

18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

Isaiah 14:31

הילילי שׁער זעקי־עיר נמוג פלשׁת כלך כי מצפון עשׁן בא ואין בודד במועדיו

31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.

Isaiah 34:10

לילה ויומם לא תכבה לעולם יעלה עשׁנה מדור לדור תחרב לנצח נצחים אין עבר בה

10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

Isaiah 42:3

קנה רצוץ לא ישׁבור ופשׁתה כהה לא יכבנה לאמת יוציא משׁפט

3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

Isaiah 51:6

שׂאו לשׁמים עיניכם והביטו אל־הארץ מתחת כי־שׁמים כעשׁן נמלחו והארץ כבגד תבלה וישׁביה כמו־כן ימותון וישׁועתי לעולם תהיה וצדקתי לא תחת

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

Isaiah 65:5

האמרים קרב אליך אל־תגשׁ־בי כי קדשׁתיך אלה עשׁן באפי אשׁ יקדת כל־היום

5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Hosea 13:3

לכן יהיו כענן־בקר וכטל משׁכים הלך כמץ יסער מגרן וכעשׁן מארבה

3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

Nahum 2:13

הנני אליך נאם יהוה צבאות והבערתי בעשׁן רכבה וכפיריך תאכל חרב והכרתי מארץ טרפך ולא־ישׁמע עוד קול מלאככה

13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Matthew 12:20

κάλαμον συντετριμμένον οὐ κατεάξει καὶ λῖνον τυφόμενον οὐ σβέσει, ἕως ἂν ἐκβάλῃ εἰς νῖκος τὴν κρίσιν·

20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

Acts 2:19

καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κάτω, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ·

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

Revelation 14:11

καὶ ὁ καπνὸς τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῶν εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων ἀναβαίνει, καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνάπαυσιν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός οἱ προσκυνοῦντες τὸ θηρίον καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἴ τις λαμβάνει τὸ χάραγμα τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ.

11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 18:9

Καὶ κλαύσονται αὐτὴν καὶ κόψονται ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς οἱ μετ᾿ αὐτῆς πορνεύσαντες καὶ στρηνιάσαντες, ὅταν βλέπωσι τὸν καπνὸν τῆς πυρώσεως αὐτῆς,

9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

Revelation 18:18

καὶ ἔκραζον βλέποντες τὸν καπνὸν τῆς πυρώσεως αὐτῆς, λέγοντες· τίς ὁμοία τῇ πόλει τῇ μεγάλῃ;

18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

Revelation 19:3

καὶ δεύτερον εἴρηκαν· ἀλληλούϊα· καὶ ὁ καπνὸς αὐτῆς ἀναβαίνει εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.

3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

Smoke often connected with God’s presence/God’s actions/prayer

Smoke and darkness always connected with God’s presence/God’s actions. Darkness alone is used to represent spiritual darkness and theologians latch onto this to interpret Revelation 9 negatively. However, the primary symbol here is smoke and the combination of darkness and smoke always indicates God’s presence or actions.

Smoking furnace and darkness always connected with God giving messages

The only interpretation for the smoking furnace and darkness supplied by the Bible is God communicating with His people. There is simply no other explanation offered by any verse in the Bible. The only times we see the three symbols of the smoke, furnace and darkness outside of Revelation are when God communicates with Abraham and Moses.

Muhammad began his ministry with the claim that Gabriel had given him a message from God. The Bible describes the rise of Islam using a combination of the smoking furnace and darkness. This combination directly connects Muhammad receiving messages from God to Abraham and Moses receiving messages from God. Those who casually denounce Muhammad as a false prophet do so in violation of the clear Word of God.

And here we look at the first two verses of Revelation 9 using the interpretations supplied by the Bible.

“And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star (angel or messenger) fallen from heaven to earth (coming from a people who had fallen away from God), and he was given the key (authority, power) to the shaft of the bottomless pit. (Arabia)

He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. (God communicating with His people)”

Revelation 9: 1, 2 ESV

Since this is part of the vision of the seven trumpets, we should keep in mind the role of smoke in other parts of the same vision.

Revelation 8:2-4,

Καὶ εἶδον τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλους οἳ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑστήκασι, καὶ ἐδόθησαν αὐτοῖς ἑπτὰ σάλπιγγες.

καὶ ἄλλος ἄγγελος ἦλθε καὶ ἐστάθη ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἔχων λιβανωτὸν χρυσοῦν, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ θυμιάματα πολλὰ, ἵνα δώσει ταῖς προσευχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων πάντων ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ χρυσοῦν τὸ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου.

"And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."

Here, we can clearly see that the smoke seen earlier in the same vision is associated with prayer. This would be an appropriate additional meaning for the smoke. At this time, the true followers of God were suffering persecution from the Christian authorities, so they were praying constantly. And, one of the most important pillars of Islam is regular prayers throughout the day.

Now, I would like to point out a few things. The book of Revelation is the book that Jesus received from God.

Revelation 1:1,

᾿Αποκάλυψις ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἣν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός, δεῖξαι τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει, καὶ ἐσήμανεν ἀποστείλας διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ ᾿Ιωάννῃ,

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John."

This means that everything in this book are things that Jesus informed us about, that God revealed to him. If I am right about what Revelation says about Islam, then Jesus’s predictions of the future can certainly be said to describe Muhammad as one who is highly praised and one who constantly thanked God. These are the two meanings of the name Ahmed. According to the Quran, Jesus predicted that a prophet would follow him, called Ahmed.

The Locusts

Revelation 9:3-4,

καὶ ἐκ τοῦ καπνοῦ ἐξῆλθον ἀκρίδες εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐταῖς ἐξουσία ὡς ἔχουσιν ἐξουσίαν οἱ σκορπίοι τῆς γῆς·

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.

καὶ ἐρρέθη αὐταῖς ἵνα μὴ ἀδικήσωσι τὸν χόρτον τῆς γῆς οὐδὲ πᾶν χλωρὸν οὐδὲ πᾶν δένδρον, εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οἵτινες οὐκ ἔχουσι τὴν σφραγῖδα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων αὐτῶν.

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.

The armies that emerge from the smoke are referred to as locusts. Interestingly enough, their actions directly contradict the wonton destruction of locusts. Locusts are feared because they consume all the vegetation. These locusts are commanded by God to not eat the vegetation, only the men that don’t have the seal of God in their foreheads.

Remember, the Little Horn power, representing the corrupt Christian Church, came into full power in 538 A.D. This was just a few decades before Muhammad was born (about 570 A.D.). The Little Horn power attacks the saints. Dan 7:21, 25, "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.... And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."

So here, Satan has corrupted the Christian Church to the point that it attacks the saints (those that have the seal of God in their foreheads). But Islam does the opposite. It attacks those that don’t have the seal of God and follow the Little Horn power, controlled by Satan.

When the Israelites would disobey God, He would sometimes send the Midianites to punish them. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham through his wife Keturah.

Genesis 25:1-2,

ויסף אברהם ויקח אשׁה ושׁמה קטורה

1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

ותלד לו את־זמרן ואת־יקשׁן ואת־מדן ואת־מדין ואת־ישׁבק ואת־שׁוח

2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

The Midianites and the Ishmaelites seem to have maintained close relations and intermarried because their names become interchangeable.

Genesis 37:27,

לכו ונמכרנו לישׁמעאלים וידנו אל־תהי־בו כי־אחינו בשׂרנו הוא וישׁמעו אחיו

27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

Genesis 37:36,

והמדנים מכרו אתו אל־מצרים לפוטיפר סריס פרעה שׂר הטבחים

36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

The book of Judges uses the term “grasshoppers” (a cousin of the locusts) to describe their armies.

Judges 6:1-5,

ויעשׂו בני־ישׂראל הרע בעיני יהוה ויתנם יהוה ביד־מדין שׁבע שׁנים

1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

ותעז יד־מדין על־ישׂראל מפני מדין עשׂו להם בני ישׂראל את־המנהרות אשׁר בהרים ואת־המערות ואת־המצדות

2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.

והיה אם־זרע ישׂראל ועלה מדין ועמלק ובני־קדם ועלו עליו

3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

ויחנו עליהם וישׁחיתו את־יבול הארץ עד־בואך עזה ולא־ישׁאירו מחיה בישׂראל ושׂה ושׁור וחמור

4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

כי הם ומקניהם יעלו ואהליהם יבאו כדי־ארבה לרב ולהם ולגמליהם אין מספר ויבאו בארץ לשׁחתה

5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

Although these Midianites don’t seem to have worshiped God, some did. Moses’s father-in-law was a Midianite priest (and possibly descended from Ishmael as well, which would connect him with Muhammad’s ancestral line). He worshiped God. He offered sacrifices to God. He acted as a host to Moses, Aaron and all the elders of Israel. And he advised Moses on how to lead the people. In addition, the fact that he was a priest means that Abraham’s other descendants had an organized religion centered on the worship of the true God independent of Israel. Exodus 18:1-27 records this little known, but very informative event.

There is another thing that both provides evidence that Revelation is talking about. Look at

Revelation 9:4,

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.

Edward Gibbon, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter LI Paragraph 10, recorded that Abu Bakr (the first Caliph after Muhammad’s death) instructed the Muslims like this,

“When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way: let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries: And you will find another sort of people, that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mahometans or pay tribute.”

If you don’t know, “Mahometan” is an archaic English term for Muslim, common in Gibbon’s time. The parallels are amazing. Revelation is a symbolic book, so much of it is fulfilled figuratively. But the fact that Revelation summarized certain key points of the actual speech makes it almost impossible to refute the fact that this chapter of Revelation is talking about Islam.

The other crucial point, for it reflects heavily on whether God or Satan is behind the rise of Islam, is what Abu Bakr says. He commands the Muslims to not kill the women or children, or harm those that are trying to follow God. He only tells them to attack the followers of Satan.

The summary at the end of the chapter clarifies part of the reason behind the rise of Islam.

Revelation 9:20-21,

καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἳ οὐκ ἀπεκτάνθησαν ἐν ταῖς πληγαῖς ταύταις, οὐ μετενόησαν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν, ἵνα μὴ προσκυνήσουσι τὰ δαιμόνια καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα τὰ χρυσᾶ καὶ τὰ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ τὰ χαλκᾶ καὶ τὰ λίθινα καὶ τὰ ξύλινα, ἃ οὔτε βλέπειν δύνανται οὔτε ἀκούειν οὔτε περιπατεῖν,

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:

καὶ οὐ μετενόησαν ἐκ τῶν φόνων αὐτῶν οὔτε ἐκ τῶν φαρμάκων αὐτῶν οὔτε ἐκ τῆς πορνείας αὐτῶν οὔτε ἐκ τῶν κλεμμάτων αὐτῶν.

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Therefore, one purpose of the spread of Islam was to get men to repent of these things.

Compare this list of sins to the list of sins that will cause people to enter the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 21:8,

τοῖς δὲ δειλοῖς καὶ ἀπίστοις καὶ ἐβδελυγμένοις καὶ φονεῦσι καὶ πόρνοις καὶ φαρμακοῖς καὶ εἰδωλολάτραις καὶ πᾶσι ταῖς ψευδέσι τὸ μέρος αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τῇ καιομένῃ πυρὶ καὶ θείῳ, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερος.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The lists closely parallel each other. If Islam was a false religion controlled by Satan, why would its primary purpose of existence be to convince people to repent of sins that will cause them to be thrown into the Lake of Fire?

The First Woe

The prophet Joel sent a warning to the Israelites to turn from their way and repent, or God would send a great army to punish them. However, if the Israelites would turn from their wickedness, God would forgive them. The army Joel predicted was a pagan army from the north, whereas the Muslims were a God-fearing army from the east. However, Revelation 9 drew much of its imagery from this prophecy, which lends credence to the interpretation that God wanted to punish the Christian world for turning away from God.

Joel 2:1-13

תקעו שׁופר בציון והריעו בהר קדשׁי ירגזו כל ישׁבי הארץ כי־בא יום־יהוה כי קרוב

1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

יום חשׁך ואפלה יום ענן וערפל כשׁחר פרשׂ על־ההרים עם רב ועצום כמהו לא נהיה מן־העולם ואחריו לא יוסף עד־שׁני דור ודור

2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

לפניו אכלה אשׁ ואחריו תלהט להבה כגן־עדן הארץ לפניו ואחריו מדבר שׁממה וגם־פליטה לא־היתה לו

3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

כמראה סוסים מראהו וכפרשׁים כן ירוצון

4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

כקול מרכבות על־ראשׁי ההרים ירקדון כקול להב אשׁ אכלה קשׁ כעם עצום ערוך מלחמה

5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

מפניו יחילו עמים כל־פנים קבצו פארור

6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

כגבורים ירצון כאנשׁי מלחמה יעלו חומה ואישׁ בדרכיו ילכון ולא יעבטון ארחותם

7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

ואישׁ אחיו לא ידחקון גבר במסלתו ילכון ובעד השׁלח יפלו לא יבצעו

8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

בעיר ישׁקו בחומה ירצון בבתים יעלו בעד החלונים יבאו כגנב

9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

לפניו רגזה ארץ רעשׁו שׁמים שׁמשׁ וירח קדרו וכוכבים אספו נגהם

10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

ויהוה נתן קולו לפני חילו כי רב מאד מחנהו כי עצום עשׂה דברו כי־גדול יום־יהוה ונורא מאד ומי יכילנו

11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

וגם־עתה נאם־יהוה שׁבו עדי בכל־לבבכם ובצום ובבכי ובמספד

12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

וקרעו לבבכם ואל־בגדיכם ושׁובו אל־יהוה אלהיכם כי־חנון ורחום הוא ארך אפים ורב־חסד ונחם על־הרעה

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

It is useful to keep this imagery in mind when reading the description of the first and second woes.

The locusts’ attacks are divided into two periods, the rest of the fifth trumpet, and the sixth trumpet. Here we will look at the first period.

Revelation 9:5-12

καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ ἀποκτείνωσιν αὐτούς, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα βασανισθῶσι μῆνας πέντε· καὶ ὁ βασανισμὸς αὐτῶν ὡς βασανισμὸς σκορπίου, ὅταν παίσῃ ἄνθρωπον.

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.

καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ζητήσουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸν θάνατον καὶ οὐ μὴ εὑρήσουσιν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐπιθυμήσουσιν ἀποθανεῖν, καὶ φεύξεται ὁ θάνατος ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν.

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.

καὶ τὰ ὁμοιώματα τῶν ἀκρίδων ὅμοια ἵπποις ἡτοιμασμένοις εἰς πόλεμον, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν ὡς στέφανοι ὅμοιοι χρυσῷ, καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὡς πρόσωπα ἀνθρώπων,

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.

καὶ εἶχον τρίχας ὡς τρίχας γυναικῶν, καὶ οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτῶν ὡς λεόντων ἦσαν,

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

καὶ εἶχον θώρακας ὡς θώρακας σιδηροῦς, καὶ ἡ φωνὴ τῶν πτερύγων αὐτῶν ὡς φωνὴ ἁρμάτων ἵππων πολλῶν τρεχόντων εἰς πόλεμον.

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.

καὶ ἔχουσιν οὐρὰς ὁμοίας σκορπίοις καὶ κέντρα, καὶ ἐν ταῖς οὐραῖς αὐτῶν ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτῶν ἀδικῆσαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους μῆνας πέντε,

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

ἔχουσιν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν βασιλέα τὸν ἄγγελον τῆς ἀβύσσου· ὄνομα αὐτῷ ῾Εβραϊστὶ ᾿Αβαδδὼν, καὶ ἐν τῇ ῾Ελληνικῇ ὄνομα ἔχει ᾿Απολλύων.

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.

῾Η οὐαὶ ἡ μία ἀπῆλθεν. ἰδοὺ ἔρχονται ἔτι δύο οὐαὶ μετὰ ταῦτα.

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

During this period the Muslims attacked, but did not conquer, the Byzantine Empire. Their speed and ferocity in battle could easily be described as the stings of a scorpion.

“And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle…. and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” The Arabs have a well-earned reputation for breeding and utilizing their warhorses. The locusts in the vision are described as both looking like horses and having wings that sound like, “many horses running to battle.” The vision does use the word “chariots”, which the Arabs did not use. However, it only uses “chariots” in describing the sound of the locusts’ wings.

“And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men”. The locusts had human faces, indicating that they symbolize a human army. Moreover, the crowns like gold symbolize leadership and wealth.

“And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron.” The Arabs generally kept their hair long during this period, but this was not a sign of effeminateness or weakness. When they fought, they were fierce and strong, like a lion’s bite.

I read one interpretation that used Paul’s letter to the Corinthians to say that the long hair symbolizes shame.

1 Corinthians 11:14,

ἢ οὐδὲ αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις διδάσκει ὑμᾶς ὅτι ἀνὴρ μὲν ἐὰν κομᾷ, ἀτιμία αὐτῷ ἐστι,

14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

I disagree because the chapter starts out with symbols that reflect God’s covenant. In addition, the covenant contains a very big exception to the general rule that Paul mentions. In truth, I do not necessarily think that it is trying to say anything more than the length of the hair. However, if you want to assign a religious significance to it, I believe that the Nazirite vow is more accurately reflected here than the shame Paul describes.

The Nazirite vow was only taken by individuals, rather than an entire community. The question is can we see aspects of the vow in the lives of the early Islamic Arabs? Let us look at the key components of the Nazarite vow.

Numbers 6:2-8,

דבר אל־בני ישׂראל ואמרת אלהם אישׁ או־אשׁה כי יפלא לנדר נדר נזיר להזיר ליהוה

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord:

מיין ושׁכר יזיר חמץ יין וחמץ שׁכר לא ישׁתה וכל־משׁרת ענבים לא ישׁתה וענבים לחים ויבשׁים לא יאכל

3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

כל ימי נזרו מכל אשׁר יעשׂה מגפן היין מחרצנים ועד־זג לא יאכל

4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

כל־ימי נדר נזרו תער לא־יעבר על־ראשׁו עד־מלאת הימם אשׁר־יזיר ליהוה קדשׁ יהיה גדל פרע שׂער ראשׁו

5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

כל־ימי הזירו ליהוה על־נפשׁ מת לא יבא

6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body.

לאביו ולאמו לאחיו ולאחתו לא־יטמא להם במתם כי נזר אלהיו על־ראשׁו

7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

כל ימי נזרו קדשׁ הוא ליהוה

8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord.

Nazarites would dedicate every aspect of their lives to God.

Islam encompasses many parts of the Muslim life.

Nazarites were not allowed to eat or drink anything that came from the grape vine.

Islam forbids drinking wine or any alcoholic drink.

Nazarites were forbidden to cut their hair.

The early Islamic Arabs wore long hair.

The Nazarites were forbidden to touch a dead body for any reason.

The Muslims must perform ritual washing after they touch a dead body.

As I said before, the description in Revelation 9 probably just refers to the length of the hair of the Arabs as they burst out of Arabia. However, if it does have more significance, I believe it would be something like this.

“And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 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.”

Although the events of the fifth trumpet start with Muhammad, the militancy is focused on the five-month period mentioned in verse 5 and repeated in verse 10. There are clues as to when this period begins. Verse 11 says, “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.” The king represents a political power that has gained control of the Islamic world. Muhammad was the star/angel/messenger that opened the bottomless pit/Arabia. This king has gained the political authority over the Muslims that Muhammad once held, but it has not inherited the same spiritual authority.

The next phase (the sixth trumpet), specifies that the horsemen “slay the third part of men.” The fifth trumpet says that men will be tormented and wish for death. Since these phases are connected, they are fighting the same empire. As the Roman Empire broke up, there were three main parts. The Latin west, the Greek east and North Africa. The western regions fell to Germanic invaders who generally resisted Islamic invasion. Germanic invaders conquered North Africa. These were, in turn conquered by the Islamic invaders. But, the Greek (Byzantine) Eastern Empire held out against the invading tribes, and the initial Islamic expansion. This did not change until the Muslims were united under a single political force that would become the Ottoman Empire. It was the Ottomans who united the Muslims under one political authority.

Is there any other clue in the fifth trumpet that it is talking about the Ottomans in particular? The next part, which we will talk about in the next chapter, gives a clue about the interpretation of the tails. Revelation 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." Since the next phase of the horsemen specifically describes the power in the tails, the “stings in their tails” is related. The Turkish tugh was the symbol of authority and power. The tugh was a staff with horse-tail hair at the end.

The text says that it is this political authority, “the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” Both of these words mean “destroyer.” Most people automatically assume that this means it is an evil power (although the Ottoman sultans were known to kill off relatives to remove any potential rivals). We should look at how destroying angels were figured in the rest of the Bible.

Exodus 12:23, 29

ועבר יהוה לנגף את־מצרים וראה את־הדם על־המשׁקוף ועל שׁתי המזוזת ופסח יהוה על־הפתח ולא יתן המשׁחית לבא אל־בתיכם לנגף

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.

ויהי בחצי הלילה ויהוה הכה כל־בכור בארץ מצרים מבכר פרעה הישׁב על־כסאו עד בכור השׁבי אשׁר בבית הבור וכל בכור בהמה

29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

2 Samuel 24:15-16,

ויתן יהוה דבר בישׂראל מהבקר ועד־עת מועד וימת מן־העם מדן ועד־באר שׁבע שׁבעים אלף אישׁ

15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.

וישׁלח ידו המלאך ירושׁלם לשׁחתה וינחם יהוה אל־הרעה ויאמר למלאך המשׁחית בעם רב עתה הרף ידך ומלאך יהוה היה עם־גרן האורנה היבסי

16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.

1 Chronicles 21:15-16,

וישׁלח האלהים מלאך לירושׁלם להשׁחיתה וכהשׁחית ראה יהוה וינחם על־הרעה ויאמר למלאך המשׁחית רב עתה הרף ידך ומלאך יהוה עמד עם־גרן ארנן היבוסי

15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

וישׂא דויד את־עיניו וירא את־מלאך יהוה עמד בין הארץ ובין השׁמים וחרבו שׁלופה בידו נטויה על־ירושׁלם ויפל דויד והזקנים מכסים בשׂקים על־פניהם

16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.

2 Kings 19:32-35,

לכן כה־אמר יהוה אל־מלך אשׁור לא יבא אל־העיר הזאת ולא־יורה שׁם חץ ולא־יקדמנה מגן ולא־ישׁפך עליה סללה

32 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

בדרך אשׁר־יבא בה ישׁוב ואל־העיר הזאת לא יבא נאם־יהוה

33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.

וגנותי אל־העיר הזאת להושׁיעה למעני ולמען דוד עבדי

34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

ויהי בלילה ההוא ויצא מלאך יהוה ויך במחנה אשׁור מאה שׁמונים וחמשׁה אלף וישׁכימו בבקר והנה כלם פגרים מתים

35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

We can see here that, in the rest of the Bible, destroying angels clearly work for God, not Satan. Although the Ottomans were human and had their faults, the Bible does not describe destroying angels as Satanic powers. Remember, this is during the little horn period of Christianity. Mainstream Christianity was under the control of Satan and waged war against the saints during this time.

What about the 5 months? Taking the day for a year principle, we can see that the 5 months comes to 150 years. This began when you had the convergence of the Muslims being united under one political authority that waged war with, but did not destroy, the Eastern Roman Empire. Edward Gibbon stated that, “It was on July 27, A.D. 1299, that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster.” 150 years later takes us to 1449 when the last emperor, Constantine, had to be crowned with the permission of the Ottoman sultan. This marks the beginning of the Second Woe.

The Second Woe

Revelation 9: 13-21

Καὶ ὁ ἕκτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισε· καὶ ἤκουσα φωνὴν μίαν ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων κεράτων τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τοῦ χρυσοῦ τοῦ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ,

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

λέγοντος τῷ ἕκτῳ ἀγγέλῳ, ὁ ἔχων τὴν σάλπιγγα· λῦσον τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους τοὺς δεδεμένους ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ Εὐφράτῃ.

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

καὶ ἐλύθησαν οἱ τέσσαρες ἄγγελοι οἱ ἡτοιμασμένοι εἰς τὴν ὥραν καὶ ἡμέραν καὶ μῆνα καὶ ἐνιαυτόν, ἵνα ἀποκτείνωσι τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

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.

καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν στρατευμάτων τοῦ ἱππικοῦ δύο μυριάδες μυριάδων· ἤκουσα τὸν ἀριθμὸν αὐτῶν.

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

καὶ οὕτως εἶδον τοὺς ἵππους ἐν τῇ ὁράσει καὶ τοὺς καθημένους ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν, ἔχοντας θώρακας πυρίνους καὶ ὑακινθίνους καὶ θειώδεις· καὶ αἱ κεφαλαὶ τῶν ἵππων ὡς κεφαλαὶ λεόντων, καὶ ἐκ τῶν στομάτων αὐτῶν ἐκπορεύεται πῦρ καὶ καπνὸς καὶ θεῖον.

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.

ἀπὸ τῶν τριῶν πληγῶν τούτων ἀπεκτάνθησαν τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ τοῦ καπνοῦ καὶ τοῦ θείου τοῦ ἐκπορευομένου ἐκ τῶν στομάτων αὐτῶν.

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.

ἡ γὰρ ἐξουσία τῶν ἵππων ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἐστι καὶ ἐν ταῖς οὐραῖς αὐτῶν· αἱ γὰρ οὐραὶ αὐτῶν ὅμοιαι ὄφεσιν, ἔχουσαι κεφαλάς, καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς ἀδικοῦσι.

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.

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

In 1449, the last Roman emperor had to get permission from the Ottoman sultan to be crowned, thus transferring power to the Ottomans.

Now the horsemen in the vision go from stinging men to slaying men. “Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 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.”

Earlier, the horsemen were told to not hurt the trees or those who had the seal of God in their foreheads. How does the Bible connect the four angels and the seal of God?

Revelation 7:1-3,

Μετὰ τοῦτο εἶδον τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους ἑστῶτας ἐπὶ τὰς τέσσαρας γωνίας τῆς γῆς, κρατοῦντας τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τῆς γῆς, ἵνα μὴ πνέῃ ἄνεμος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς μήτε ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης μήτε ἐπὶ πᾶν δένδρον.

1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

καὶ εἶδον ἄλλον ἄγγελον ἀναβαίνοντα ἀπὸ ἀνατολῆς ἡλίου, ἔχοντα σφραγῖδα Θεοῦ ζῶντος, καὶ ἔκραξε φωνῇ μεγάλῃ τοῖς τέσσαρσιν ἀγγέλοις, οἷς ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἀδικῆσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν,

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

λέγων· μὴ ἀδικήσητε τὴν γῆν μήτε τὴν θάλασσαν μήτε τὰ δένδρα, ἄχρι οὗ σφραγίσωμεν τοὺς δούλους τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων αὐτῶν.

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

The circumstances are different in these two visions, so they are talking about two separate events. However, the similarity of the symbols does provide some insight into the interpretation. The horseman appear to be working with the angels of God, not against them.

“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. 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.”

The death of the Eastern Roman Empire happened at the siege of Constantinople. This was one of the first major battles in history where cannons were used. One of the major ingredients of black powder is sulfur, also known as brimstone. So, “out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone” would be an accurate description of the battle that killed the last part of the Roman Empire.

What does the “hour, and a day, and a month, and a year” cover? The five month period began on July 27, 1299 and ended on July 27, 1449. An hour is 1/24th of a day. 1/24th of a 360 day prophetic year is 15 days. 15 days after July 27 is August 11. A day, a month and a year comes to 391 prophetic days/years. 391 years after August 11, 1449 is August 11, 1840. The 5 month period ended with the transfer of power away from Constantinople. On August 11, 1840 the Ottomans signed a treaty with England, Russia, Austria and Prussia which made it their protectorate, transferring power away from Istanbul (formerly known as Constantinople).

Some people have rightfully pointed out that nothing significant happened on July 27, 1449. The Greek allows the text to also be interpreted as, “prepared for the hour, a day, a month, and a year.” Therefore, you can interpret the hour as being part of the time period, or you can interpret the hour as the event of slaying the third part of men. Either way will lead you to the major political blow to the Ottoman Empire in 1840.

A third possible interpretation is that it should be read as the hour, day, month, year all emphasize the singular event of the destruction of Constantinople and the death of Rome.

Worship The One True God

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Muhammad in Bible Prophecy: Part 7 - The Fifth and Sixth Trumpets and the Rise of Islam