Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith

12 The first woe (calamity) has passed; behold, two others are yet to follow. 13 Then the sixth angel blew [his] trumpet, and from the four horns of the golden altar which stands before God I heard a solitary voice, 14 Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Liberate the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. 15 So the four angels who had been in readiness for that hour in the appointed day, month, and year were liberated to destroy a third of mankind. 16 The number of their troops of cavalry was twice ten thousand times ten thousand (200,000,000); I heard what their number was. 17 And in [my] vision the horses and their riders appeared to me like this: the riders wore breastplates the color of fiery red and sapphire blue and sulphur (brimstone) yellow. The heads of the horses looked like lions' heads, and from their mouths there poured fire and smoke and sulphur (brimstone). 18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues--by the fire and the smoke and the sulphur (brimstone) that poured from the mouths of the horses. 19 For the power of the horses to do harm is in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails are like serpents, for they have heads, and it is by means of them that they wound people. 20 And the rest of humanity who were not killed by these plagues even then did not repent of [the worship of] the works of their [own] hands, so as to cease paying homage to the demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor move. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their practice of magic (sorceries) or their sexual vice or their thefts. Revelation 9:12-21 Amplified Bible

The sounding of the sixth trumpet is more significant than what most people realize, during this time there are three main events that take place:

1. The War Called Abaddon (or Apollyon) is now raging in the region of the world along the Euphrates River and has escalated to the point where it involves 200 million troops and 1/3 of mankind is killed as a result. (Revelation 9:13-21)
2. The Ministry of the Two Witnesses comes to the forefront and they are authorized with the power of their prophecy for 3 1/2 years. (Revelation 11:1-14)
3. The Angel with the Rainbow Halo makes his declaration. (Revelation 10:1-19)

These three events take place at the sounding of the sixth trumpet and before the seventh trumpet sounds, it is only after the death and ascension of the Lord's two witnesses that is the que for the sounding of the last trumpet (the seventh trumpet).

3 And I will grant the power of prophecy to My two witnesses for 1,260 (42 months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth. 4 These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone attempts to injure them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their enemies; if anyone should attempt to harm them, thus he is doomed to be slain. 6 These [two witnesses] have power to shut up the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying (their [a]prediction of events relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph); and they also have power to turn the waters into blood and to smite and scourge the earth with all manner of plagues as often as they choose. 7 But when they have finished their testimony and their evidence is all in, the beast (monster) that comes up out of the Abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war on them, and conquer them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies [will lie exposed] in the open street (a public square) of the great city which is in a spiritual sense called [by the mystical and allegorical names of] Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days men from the races and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and will not allow them to be put in a tomb. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will gloat and exult over them and rejoice exceedingly, taking their ease and sending presents [in congratulation] to one another, because these two prophets had been such a vexation and trouble and torment to all the dwellers on the earth. 11 But after three and a half days, by God's gift the breath of life again entered into them, and they rose up on their feet, and great dread and terror fell on those who watched them. 12 Then [the two witnesses] heard a strong voice from heaven calling to them, Come up here! And before the very eyes of their enemies they ascended into heaven in a cloud. 13 And at that [very] hour there was a tremendous earthquake and one tenth of the city was destroyed (fell); seven thousand people perished in the earthquake, and those who remained were filled with dread and terror and were awe-struck, and they glorified the God of heaven. 14 The second woe (calamity) has passed; now the third woe is speedily to come. 15 The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)!

Therefore, the length of time between the sounding of the sixth trumpet and the sounding of the seventh trumpet is 3 1/2 years and is marked by the time frame of the 3 1/2 years that the Lord's two witnesses are authorized with the power of their prophecy.

3 And I will grant the power of prophecy to My two witnesses for 1,260 (42 months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth.

Their ministry marks the first half of the seven year tribulation period (Daniel's 70th week) and the second half of the seven years does not begin until after the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when the one known to be the antichrist is authorized to exercise his will for 42 months or 3 1/2 years.

4 They fell down and paid homage to the dragon, because he had bestowed on the beast all his dominion and authority; they also praised and worshiped the beast, exclaiming, Who is a match for the beast, and, Who can make war against him? 5 And the beast was given the power of speech, uttering boastful and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom to exert his authority and to exercise his will during forty-two months (three and a half years). 6 And he opened his mouth to speak slanders against God, blaspheming His name and His abode, [even vilifying] those who live in heaven. 7 He was further permitted to wage war on God's holy people (the saints) and to overcome them. And power was given him to extend his authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation,

Now that we have established the significance of the sixth trumpet, and the proper time frame of events, let's pick up from where we left off at the sounding of the fifth trumpet. At the sounding of the fifth trumpet, the earth's crust was broken open (the Abyss) by an angel assisted explosion of some sort and this event was the beginning of a military air campaign that would last for five months in the region of the world around the Euphrates River.

1 THEN THE fifth angel blew [his] trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth; and to the angel was given the key [a]of the shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit). 2 He opened the long shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit), and smoke like the smoke of a huge furnace puffed out of the long shaft, so that the sun and the atmosphere were darkened by the smoke from the long shaft. 3Then out of the smoke locusts came forth on the earth, and such power was granted them as the power the earth's scorpions have. 4 They were told not to injure the herbage of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, but only [to attack] such human beings as do not have the seal (mark) of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill them, but to torment (distress, vex) them for five months; and the pain caused them was like the torture of a scorpion when it stings a person. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; and they will yearn to die, but death evades and flees from them. 7 The locusts resembled horses equipped for battle. On their heads was something like golden crowns. Their faces resembled the faces of people. 8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 Their breastplates (scales) resembled breastplates made of iron, and the [whirring] noise made by their wings was like the roar of a vast number of horse-drawn chariots going at full speed into battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and they have stings, and in their tails lies their ability to hurt men for [the] five months. 11 Over them as king they have the angel of the Abyss (of the bottomless pit). In Hebrew his name is Abaddon [destruction], but in Greek he is called Apollyon [destroyer]. 12 The first woe (calamity) has passed; behold, two others are yet to follow.

The War Called Abaddon or Apollyon

Over them as king (or the authority) is the angel of the Abyss and in Hebrew his name is Abaddon which means, "Destruction", and in the Greek he is called Apollyon, "the Destroyer". From there this military campaign responsible for the opening of the Abyss takes a period of five months to escalate into the war that the Scriptures describe as Abaddon (in Hebrew) and Apollyon (in Greek) and involves 200 million troops and a third of mankind is destroyed.

200 Million Troops Will Gather in the Region of the Euphrates River and a Third of Mankind is to Perish

13 Then the sixth angel blew [his] trumpet, and from the four horns of the golden altar which stands before God I heard a solitary voice, 14 Saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Liberate the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. 15 So the four angels who had been in readiness for that hour in the appointed day, month, and year were liberated to destroy a third of mankind. 16 The number of their troops of cavalry was twice ten thousand times ten thousand (200,000,000); I heard what their number was. 17 And in [my] vision the horses and their riders appeared to me like this: the riders wore breastplates the color of fiery red and sapphire blue and sulphur (brimstone) yellow. The heads of the horses looked like lions' heads, and from their mouths there poured fire and smoke and sulphur (brimstone). 18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues--by the fire and the smoke and the sulphur (brimstone) that poured from the mouths of the horses. 19 For the power of the horses to do harm is in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails are like serpents, for they have heads, and it is by means of them that they wound people. 20 And the rest of humanity who were not killed by these plagues even then did not repent of [the worship of] the works of their [own] hands, so as to cease paying homage to the demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor move. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their practice of magic (sorceries) or their sexual vice or their thefts.

The Lord's Two Witnesses

Also during this time the Lord's Two Witnesses come forth on the world stage endowed with the power of their prophecy, and if anyone tries to injure them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their enemies; and if anyone even attempts to harm them, they are doomed to be slain.

Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith

3 And I will grant the power of prophecy to My two witnesses for 1,260 (42 months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth. 4 These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone attempts to injure them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their enemies; if anyone should attempt to harm them, thus he is doomed to be slain.

In addition these two winesses have the power to shut up the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying (their prediction of the events relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph); and they also have the power to turn the waters into blood and to smite the earth with all manner of plagues as often as they choose.

6 These [two witnesses] have power to shut up the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying (their [a]prediction of events relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph); and they also have power to turn the waters into blood and to smite and scourge the earth with all manner of plagues as often as they choose.

A Beast With Seven Heads And Ten Horns Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith Comes To The ForeFront As a Result Of The Abyss Those countries that make up the beast are: 1) Jordan  2) Israel  3) Gaza  4) Libya  5) Egypt 6) Lebanon  7) Syria  8) Ethiopia  9) Iraq  10) Iran

But when the Lord's Two Witnesses have finished their testimony and all their evidence is in (before both heaven and earth on account of their testimony), the beast or the monster that has come to the forefront as a result of the military campaign responsible for the opening of the Abyss, those ten countries will wage war on them, and conquer them and kill them.

7 But when they have finished their testimony and their evidence is all in, the beast (monster) that comes up out of the Abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war on them, and conquer them and kill them.

And the bodies of these two men will lie exposed in the open street of the great city which is in a spiritual sense called by the names of Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And for three and a half days men from all over the world will gaze at their dead bodies and will not permit them to be buried, but rather they will gloat over them and rejoice, even to the extent of sending one another gifts in congratulations, because these two prophets had been such a vexation and trouble and torment to all those who dwell on the earth.

8 And their dead bodies [will lie exposed] in the open street (a public square) of the great city which is in a spiritual sense called [by the mystical and allegorical names of] Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days men from the races and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and will not allow them to be put in a tomb. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will gloat and exult over them and rejoice exceedingly, taking their ease and sending presents [in congratulation] to one another, because these two prophets had been such a vexation and trouble and torment to all the dwellers on the earth.

Their bodies will lie there in the street for three and a half days, then by the gift of God the breath of life will enter them again and they will stand up on their feet, and great terror will fall upon all those who watched them.

11 But after three and a half days, by God's gift the breath of life again entered into them, and they rose up on their feet, and great dread and terror fell on those who watched them.

Artwork Used By Permission © Pat Marvenko Smith

And a strong voice will call to them from out of heaven, saying, "Come up here!" And before the very eyes of all their enemies they will ascend into heaven in a cloud.

12 Then [the two witnesses] heard a strong voice from heaven calling to them, Come up here! And before the very eyes of their enemies they ascended into heaven in a cloud.

At the very hour that they ascend into heaven there will be a tremendous earthquake and one-tenth of the city will be destroyed and seven thousand people will perish in that earthquake, and those who remain will be filled with dread and terror and will be awe-struck by their God, and they will glorify God in heaven.

13 And at that [very] hour there was a tremendous earthquake and one tenth of the city was destroyed (fell); seven thousand people perished in the earthquake, and those who remained were filled with dread and terror and were awe-struck, and they glorified the God of heaven.

Their death and their glorious ascension marks the end of the first 3 1/2 years of the seven year tribulation period, it ends the second woe, and their entrance into heaven in a cloud is the que for the seventh angel to sound his trumpet, which is the last of the trumpets to sound.

14 The second woe (calamity) has passed; now the third woe is speedily to come. 15 The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)!

Now have you ever wondered what the Lord's Two Witnesses are witnesses of, when we are all called as Believer's to be witnesses of Jesus Christ? To understand their ministry we need to understand that a wedding is taking place between the Bride and the Groom, in a traditional first century Jewish wedding everything is witnessed and signed by two witnesses in order to be legal, after the ceremony, the entrance and exit of the Bride and the Groom to and from the bridal chamber (the cheder yichud, the Room of Privacy or Room of Seclusion) to consummate the marriage must be witnessed by the two shomars or the two witnesses. That's exactly what these two men are, their ministry is to call out to the Bride inorder to help her prepare herself and assemble herself, to use picture words, "they are escorting her to the chuppah (the wedding canopy)". As she becomes fully assembled and is in that dwelling place called the chuppah (spiritually speaking), the two witnesses must depart the earth, in order to stand at the doors of heaven for the purpose of witnessing before all of heaven and eternity the entrance and exit of the Bride and Groom to the cheder yichud (the Room of Privacy or Room of Seclusion, in the Greek this is called the eremos) in order for the consummation of the marriage to be legal. This we will see in the declaration of the angel with the rainbow halo, when he declares, "That no more time should intervene and there shall be no more waiting of delay, but when the days come when the trumpet call of the seventh angel is about to be sounded, then God's mystery (His secret design, His hidden purpose), as He announced the glad tidings to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled (accomplished, completed)."

5 Then the [mighty] angel whom I had seen stationed on sea and land raised his right hand to heaven (the sky), 6 And swore in the name of (by) Him Who lives forever and ever, Who created the heavens (sky) and all they contain, and the earth and all that it contains, and the sea and all that it contains. [He swore] that no more time should intervene and there should be no more waiting or delay, 7 But that when the days come when the trumpet call of the seventh angel is about to be sounded, then God's mystery (His secret design, His hidden purpose), as He had announced the glad tidings to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled (accomplished, completed).