THE LOCUST. And there came out of the smoke locust upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power (Revelation 9:3). As the pit was opened and the smoke bellowed out, there also came forth locust like creatures. The smoke is filled with those insects and they soon covered the whole earth. These events will serve two purposes; one as a sign to the Jews and the other as a punishment to the wicked. Once again we see the similarities between the seven trumpet judgments and the events during the contest between Moses and Pharaoh in Egypt, which took place just before the Jews made their Exodus from Egypt. The locust have been kept in the pit for a long period of time and when they are released they will certainly bring as much sorrow and pain upon mankind as they are allowed to bring. Various insects; such as fire ants and hornets try to inflict pain upon anyone who bothers their nests. The locust will be as mad as a nest of hornets and people will suffer as they swarm forth. The question is, “who, or what, are these locust?” Are they real insects, or are they demons, or fallen angels? They do have a king, according to verse eleven. Then, in verse twenty we are told that the insects were sent to teach the ungodly that they should not worship demons or idols. Could this be that the locust are demons, and the demons are the very gods that ungodly men have trusted and followed. Many diligent Bible students teach that the locust are demons and they use Mark 5:12, as a proof verse, where the demons asked to be allowed to enter into the swine. Demonology is a lengthy subject and I will pass on it in this writing. That subject would take a whole book in itself to explain. However, I am not completely convinced of that view, as I have been in the past, and have even written on it as such, but am now taking a different view. For one thing there is no reference of demons being locked up in a pit and these locust are not called demons. There are fallen angels, who are kept locked up in Τάρταρος , which is also a pit. (Read Second Peter 2:4). Furthermore, demons and fallen angels are not the same creatures. The Greek word, that is used here is (φρέαρ), pronounced “freh-ar” and it speaks of a “hole in the ground.” I can testify of other stinging insects that live inside a hole in the ground, namely yellow jackets. Of course these are not yellow jackets, but much worse. The locust are not directly called demons. Therefore, I am thinking that these locust are a verity of special insects that God has created, for this very purpose, and has kept them inside the pit, or the “hole in the ground” since creation, which I will discuss later. In Exodus 10:3-19 the eighth plague was brought upon Pharaoh, upon his people, and upon his land. In Egypt the locusts appeared in great numbers and ate that which the hail had not previously destroyed in the land of Egypt. The locust in Revelation are very different from the ordinary locust. These locust have tails (see verse 19) and stingers like a scorpion. The locust of the Exodus could not sting, but they could eat up the crops, which these locust are forbidden to eat, and being in such great numbers they would be a miserable nuisance indeed. There will be no escaping their stings. The five-month locust woe of the “Revelation” is perhaps the worse event of the whole seven years of the tribulation. They will cause excruciating bodily pain with their stingers. It is a long five months of severe suffering upon the ungodly. The locust will be able to bring sever, and continual, pain upon those people. Anyone who has been around scorpions, and have witnessed the power of their stingers, knows the terrible pain that they can bring. I remember the scorpions, which we encountered on bivouac, while in the military in Texas. Those small creatures can pack a huge punch.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 10:55:31 +0000