TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Lesson 18: A review of the fifth trumpet nuclear winter hardships
that will occur after AWWI.
I The Fifth Trumpet angel began his message with a visual
presentation of an intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM)
weapons system and its workings, including the procedure
used to detonate the nuclear warhead carried inside its
chambers.
1 And the fifth angel trumpeted; and I saw a star out of
heaven having fallen onto the earth, and was given to it the
key of the shaft of the abyss.
2 And he opened the shaft of the abyss; and (there) went up
a smoke out of the shaft as smoke of a great furnace, and
the sun and the air was darkened by the smoke of the shaft
(Rev. 9:1-2, IGENT).
A "Having fallen" indicates the star in this vision was
not in the act of falling, but had already fallen.
B What purpose does this past tense reference to John's
initial starlike nuclear bomb imagery serve?
1 It positions the events about to be described as
taking place following the First Trumpet Atomic War.
2 It establishes the fact that this starlike atomic
bomb does not represent yet another atomic war.
C "It" refers to the starlike nuclear warhead which upon
being given a top-secret coded electronic "key,"
exploded with such a brilliant flash of light that it
reminded John of "a great star falling from heaven,
burning as it were a lamp" (Rev. 8:10).
1 Electronic keys, called PAL-Permissive Action Link, must
be given to a nuclear warhead before it can be exploded.
2 (A tiny microchip-filled box inside the weapon prevents
it from firing unless the authorized coded keys are
punched in on control equipment from outside.)
D John described the ICBM carrying the warhead through the
heavens to its target as "the shaft of the abyss."
1 By definition a shaft is the long, slender rod forming
the body of a spear, or of an arrow.
2 By definition abyss is a word that means unmeasurable
chaos, involving utter confusion and disorder.
E John, therefore, described the missile and exploding
atomic weapons he saw in his vision in terms of an
arrow, which is a weapon that has similarities in
appearance to a modern nuclear missile.
1 Once the warhead carried by the missile ("the shaft of
the abyss") was given the correct detonation "key,"
the bomb went off.
2 The subsequent nuclear explosion, which came out of
the missile's shaft, brought unprecedented chaos and
disorder on the Earth.
F "And he (the angel) opened the shaft of the abyss" (the
arrow of chaos) to personally demonstrate how the warhead
being carried inside the missile could only be set off
when someone from the outside gave "it" the top-secret
detonation "key."
G How does the Fifth Trumpet angel's visual presentation
of a missile weapons system eliminate the possibility of
using a meteor to explain the destruction caused by the
"great star falling from heaven" (Rev. 8:10)?
1 A meteor does not need the sleek shaft of a missile to
carry it through the heavens to the Earth.
2 A meteor or asteroid also does not need someone from
the outside to give it a top-secret coded key to
prompt it to do its damage.
H John continued to describe the physical aspects of the
atomic blast by pointing out that smoke went up out of
the shaft "as smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and
the air was darkened by the smoke of the shaft."
1 Scientists estimate that the initial smoke from a
twenty-megaton nuclear bomb detonated over a large
city would generate a mushroom smoke cloud seventy
miles in diameter, covering an area of 3,850 square
miles.
2 A city engulfed in a massive atomic firestorm is a
"great" smoking "furnace" indeed!
I John's account of smoke from atomic explosions filling
the heavens and darkening the sun, completes the full
explanation of the sixth seal's prophetic introduction
to AWWI:
1 "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a
great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth
made of goat hair, . . ." (Rev. 6:12, NIV).
2 Thus, atomic smoke-blocked sunlight will be an
indirect side effect of the "great earthquake"
that will unleash the world's First Atomic War.
II John followed his description of the atomic smoke-filled
heavens with a report on what will be happening amidst the
smoking ruins on the ground.
3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts to the earth, and
authority was given to them as the scorpions of the earth
have authority (Rev. 9:3, IGENT).
4 And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of
the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the
men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads
(Rev. 9:4, NASB).
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 (Rev. 9:5).
A Bible prophets often referred to destructive armies as
locusts (see Judges 6:3-5).
B "Out of the smoke . . . to the earth" reveals that this
military force will "come forth" out of the post-AWWI
smoke-filled skies as the aircraft carrying them come in
for a landing "to the earth."
C What facts identify the mission of this military force?
1 The verbal command-"and they were told that they
should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green
thing, nor any tree"-reveals that the army will not
be sent forth to destroy, but rather to protect
property such as grass, green crops, trees, and other
things of value.
2 The defined policy-"that they should not kill
them"-shows that the soldiery will be an emergency
peace-keeping force, not a conquering army.
3 Thus, the army's main mission will be to establish
law and order in various fractured communities
struggling to survive the chaotic aftermath of AWWI.
D What facts in the text reveal that nations far removed
from the atomic battlegrounds will also issue general
calls for martial law after AWWI?
1 The prophecy's opening statement-"And out of the
smoke came forth locusts to the earth"-reveals that
even as the fourth trumpet angel reported that the
smoke from AWWI will shroud the entire planet, so
likewise will combat troops appear out of that same
atomic smoke to quell civil insurrections around the
globe after the war.
2 Note that the indefiniteness of the text as to where
the troops will come from-"And out of the smoke came
forth"-eliminates any attempt to precisely identify
from where the troops will be dispatched.
3 The indefiniteness of the text as to who will
dispatch them-"And they were told that they should
not hurt . . . And to them it was given that they
should not kill them . . ."-is also so general that
it eliminates any attempt to identify who will send
them.
4 Logically then, since the smoke is worldwide it follows
that the troops will be dispatched worldwide from more
than one location and by more than one authority.
E Martial law will be declared by the nations after AWWI
in an effort to maintain order and to protect remaining
food, fuel, and other commodities from roving bands
seeking a quick profit.
F How can we conclude from the army's other marching
order-"they were told that they should hurt only the
men who do not have the seal of God on their
foreheads"-that the occupation troops will not apply
physical force to Christians?
1 Note first that the sixth seal prophecy used "the
seal of God on their foreheads" imagery to identify
144,000 Jews who will become Christian evangelists
during the Great Tribulation.
a (They will make their commitment to Christ when a
powerful influence out of the east arrives on the
world scene, sometime after AWWI ends.)
b Since the Eastern influence has not yet been
introduced at the time of the fifth trumpet
prophecy, the sealed Christians spoken of here will
not be this group of 144,000 Jewish evangelists.
2 Based on the consistency of biblical imagery, it is
both logical and appropriate to conclude that the
sealed people in the fifth trumpet prophecy, will have
the same basic Christian objectives as the 144,000
Jews, who will make their appearance sometime after
the fifth trumpet event comes to a close.
3 Note further that since the soldiers will be
instructed to protect food, fuel, and other supplies,
it is reasonable to assume that national militia
will be harming people caught stealing scarce
commodities for resale on the black market.
a This premise suggests that Christians will not be
subjected to bodily harm by soldiers after AWWI
simply because they will not be in harm's way.
b It is also a possibility that Christians may not be
in harm's way because they will be a major factor
in solving the problems of the day.
c That is, if the Christians have stock-piled food,
fuel, medicine, etc., in anticipation of the
post-AWWI tribulation, they would be in a position
to complement military efforts to restore order.
G Why did John compare the authority given to the soldiers
to the authority of scorpions, which are know for their
mean disposition?
1 Martial law troops are also often thought of as
mean-tempered brutes who will likely as not attack
anyone daring to cross their path.
2 This image prompts civilians to avoid confrontations
with soldiers authorized to enforce martial law.
H John's description of the scorpion-like stinging pain
felt by a person hit by a modern bullet-"and their
torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he
striketh a man"-shows that soldiers will use small arms
fire to restore order when necessary.
1 The general order, "And to them it was given that they
should not kill them, but that they should be
tormented five months," reveals that the soldiers will
shoot to stop, not to kill smugglers and rioting
crowds of civilians after AWWI.
2 After all, with today's automatic weapons a well-armed
military force could quickly kill a group of looters
or a large unarmed mob of unruly civilians, if that
were the intent.
I According to John's statement "that they should be
tormented five months," it will take martial law troops
five months to restore order after the war.
6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find
it; and they will long to die and death flees from them
(Rev. 9:6, NASB).
A As a result of all this misery and chaos men will
welcome death as a release from their suffering.
B Certainly the survivors in nuclear war zones will have
reason to envy the dead.