A Devastating Army

Locusts and grasshoppers often look similar, but they are not the same. The locust exists in two states: solitary and gregarious. When there are only a few locusts, they behave as grasshoppers do—as individuals. But when locust density is high, these otherwise harmless creatures become a serious, aggressive pest that can threaten food supplies.

Such migratory locusts were common in Palestine and were dreaded for their ability to destroy all vegetation in a region. Such locusts were seen as the judgment of God against a rebellious people. As we continue to study the fifth trumpet, we now see that locusts come out of the smoke and go upon the earth.

In the Old Testament, a plague of locusts either literally destroyed the land or was used as a symbol for enemy armies that did the same. God harnessed locusts in the eighth plague to strike Egypt, sending the creatures by a wind from the east (Exodus 10:1–20). The region that lies east of Egypt is Arabia. Moreover, the book of Judges describes “the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, … lying in the valley as numerous as locusts” (7:12) and attacking the Israelites, “coming in as numerous as locusts” (6:5).

Thus, it is fitting that many Bible commentators have interpreted the locusts of the fifth trumpet as the Arab tribes, known as Saracens in the Middle Ages, that swarmed from the east to the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, beginning in the early seventh century.

The dominant religion of the Byzantine Empire was Eastern Orthodoxy, essentially a form of Catholicism born after the Roman Empire split into factions. But with the Arab invasion came the rise of a new religion: Islam, the Arab faith.

We’ll consider the power of the scorpion connected with these locusts when we look at verse 5.

Father in heaven, though Your judgments upon the earth have shaken the hearts of humanity, I pray that the devastating plagues yet to come will call Your people to deep repentance and preparation for the last days.

For Further Study: 2 Chronicles 7:13, 14; Jeremiah 51:14; Nahum 3:15–17

Key Bible Texts

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. (Revelation 9:3 KJV)