Thinking Thursday

[Rev 9:1-6 ESV] 1 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. 

This is the first woe.  John sees an angel who falls from heaven down to the earth.  This angel has been given a key to an opening.

2 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. 

The angel opens the shaft to the bottomless pit, and smoke rises.  Not just any smoke but smoke that darkens the sun and air.  Makes my lungs hurt just thinking about it.

3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.

Along with the smoke come locusts and they are going to be nasty creatures that have the capabilities of scorpions.  Here are some images to help you better picture them.

4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

These locusts aren't going to do what normal locusts do in stripping the earth of green plant life.  No they will only harm those who are unsealed.  Who is unsealed at this point?  Only nonbelievers.  Christians are sealed and the 12,000 from each tribe that were sealed in Revelation 7.

5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 

These locusts are permitted to torment unbelievers for 5 month or approximately 150 days.  I've never been stung by a scorpion but here is what the Mayo clinic says about it:

Most scorpion stings cause only localized signs and symptoms, such as pain and warmth at the site of the sting. Sometimes these symptoms may be quite intense, even if you don't see redness or swelling.

Signs and symptoms at the site of the sting may include:

• Pain, which can be intense
• Numbness and tingling in the area around the sting
• Slight swelling in the area around the sting

Signs and symptoms related to widespread (systemic) venom effects usually occur in children who are stung and may include:

• Difficulty breathing
• Muscle twitching or thrashing
• Unusual head, neck and eye movements
• Drooling
• Sweating
• Nausea and vomiting
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Accelerated heart rate (tachycardia) or irregular heart beat (arrhythmia)
• Restlessness or excitability or inconsolable crying (in children)

As with other stinging insects, such as bees and wasps, it is possible for people who have previously been stung by scorpions to also have allergic reactions with subsequent stings. These subsequent stings are sometimes severe enough to cause a life-threatening condition called anaphylaxis. Signs and symptoms in these cases are similar to those of anaphylaxis caused by bee stings and can include hives, trouble breathing, and nausea and vomiting.

This sounds pretty bad to me.  I get cranky with muscle aches and the sniffles.

6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

It will be bad.  People will want to die rather than endure but God will not allow them to take their lives, they will go through the suffering ordained for them.  Probably why it ranks as a "woe" which is an exclamation of grief.