July 18: FIVE MONTHS, FIVE MONTHS
And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. Revelation 9:5
This period of torment symbolized by five months is mentioned again in verse 10. There is only one other account in Scripture that has a double-mention of this length of time, and it is the flood story (see the one hundred and fifty days of Genesis 7:24 and 8:3). While the waters prevailed on the earth, Noah and his family were safe in the ark. The damage done to the earth by these prevailing waters had included the deaths of the unrepentant.
In the fifth trumpet scene, the unrepentant do not die, but suffer torment. As the Islamic faith was gaining traction, the primary strategy was to forcefully coerce people to convert. Their territory was expanded by inflicting intense pain and suffering. Such anguish could be physical, mental, spiritual, or any combination of these. This method of expansion is likened to the excruciating sting of a scorpion.
As waters can symbolize multitudes of people (Revelation 17:15), the fact that Islam is present and growing in the world means that the fifth trumpet plague is still in effect. However, there is a historical angle in these identifying symbols. The two legs of the colossal statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (see Daniel 2) represent the eastern and western halves of the divided Roman Empire. In a desire to squash the eastern (Byzantine) half, the western (Catholic) division encouraged Arab attacks upon the Byzantines (also known as Eastern Orthodoxy). The day/year principle for prophetic time seems to apply here (Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6). The Islamic Ottoman Turks first attacked the Byzantine Empire July 27, 1299. Exactly 150 years later on July 27, 1449, the Turkish ruler attended, by invitation, the coronation of the last Byzantine emperor. This invitation, an act of political submission, definitely had religious overtones. Within five years the Byzantines fell completely to the Ottoman Empire.
It is also interesting to note that one life-cycle of more than 50 species of locusts in Bible lands is five months.
The Islamic holy book teaches that Jesus was a mere prophet and that He did not die to pay the penalty of our sins; neither was He resurrected. These teachings place barriers before every person born into the Islamic faith. But God is more than able to call His people out of this false religious system, and He is doing it every day. They can joyfully state before God: For by Thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. (Psalm 18:29 KJV)
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he encourages all believers to rightly divide the word of truth and mentions the names of some who strayed from Biblical truth and were used to overthrow the faith of others. This phenomenon is widespread in today’s world. Let us prayerfully follow Paul’s example of encouraging a firm stance on the foundational truths given us in the word of God.
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19