Speaking of the locusts, verse 11 says, “They have a king over them, the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.” The angel of the abyss is the beast, the Antichrist, who will come out of the pit of the abyss (11:7; 17:8). In Hebrew the angel of the abyss is called Abaddon, which means destruction, as in Job 26:6; 28:22; and Proverbs 15:11. In Greek he will have the name Apollyon, which means destroyer. The Antichrist will do much destroying (Dan. 8:23-25).
Antichrist is a special person, being the composite of two persons: the spirit of Caesar Nero and the body of another Caesar of the Roman Empire. Nero began the persecution of the Christians in the first century, and his is the spirit that is kept in the abyss until the day it will be released to enter into the body of another Caesar. The Caesar into which this spirit will enter will be killed and will be resurrected with the spirit of Caesar Nero. This will be Antichrist. Satan will then release the locusts which will be organized as an army under the rule of the beast, Antichrist, who will be their king. The locusts will proceed to torment for five months those who do not have the mark of God on their foreheads.
According to the Bible, the universe is composed of three sections: the heavens, the earth, and the region under the earth (Phil. 2:10). At the beginning of the great tribulation, that is, after the first half of the last seven years, Satan will be cast down from heaven to earth and, simultaneously, Antichrist, the king of the devilish, demon-possessed locusts, will be released from the abyss and ascend to meet with Satan. Thus, a devilish spirit will meet a devilish man. Although they will come from two directions, Satan from above and Antichrist from beneath, they will have one goal—to torment the mankind created by God. These two figures will come together and will collaborate in tormenting mankind as much as possible. We shall consider Antichrist in more detail when we come to chapters thirteen and seventeen.
As we have seen, the great tribulation will last three and one-half years. Before that time, there will be the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets. But according to Matthew 24:22, the great tribulation will be limited to a short time which will begin only after Antichrist erects the abomination of desolation in the Holy Place.
Where will you be when the great tribulation is taking place? Do not say, “As long as I am among the heavenly people, I will be all right.” As God’s heavenly people, we do not have the mark that is on the chosen remnant of the Israelites. The heavenly people should not be there, for God has no intention of leaving us on earth with the remnant of Israel. God’s intention is to rapture us to the heavens. However, if we would be raptured to the heavens, there is a condition to fulfill—we must be mature. God’s way of dealing with the Israelites differs from His way of dealing with the believers. If I were an Israelite, I might cry to God, and He might have mercy on me and put a mark upon my forehead. Then I would be preserved during the tribulation. But God does not seal the believers; instead, He raptures them away to the heavens. But for this, they must be mature.
My burden in this message is to point out when the great tribulation will begin and what will bring it about. As we have seen, Satan will be cast from heaven to earth and will have the key to open the abyss and release the demon-possessed locusts. At the same time, the beast, Antichrist, the king of the locusts, will be released from the abyss. The army of locusts will then torment people for five months. The torment will be so severe that people will want to die, but death will flee from them. Today, people seek to avoid death, yet death pursues them. At that time, they will desire death, but it will elude them. What suffering that will be! What great tribulation! However, this is only the first woe, the beginning of the great tribulation. The two other woes are yet to come.
The three woes of the last three trumpets constitute the great tribulation. The first woe will be the fifth trumpet, the second woe will be the sixth trumpet, and the last woe will be the seven bowls of the seventh trumpet. The three woes are introduced very solemnly. As we have seen, 8:13 says, “Woe, woe, woe, to those who dwell on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to trumpet.” Revelation 9:12 says, “The first woe is past; behold, two woes are yet to come after these things.” Finally, introducing the last woe, 11:14 says, “The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is coming swiftly.” The sixth seal and the first four trumpets are merely a preliminary to the suffering of the great tribulation.
This great tribulation probably along with the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets is the “trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (3:10). The Lord promised the church in Philadelphia that He would keep them out of this hour. If you would be kept from the hour of trial, you must be ready to be raptured from this earth. We should not talk lightly concerning the Lord’s coming or the rapture of the saints. According to the pure Word, if we want to be raptured before the tribulation, we must be mature and ready for Him to take us from this earth. If we are mature and ready, then whatever happens on earth will not affect us. Praise the Lord that we have a way of escape.