Weird. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, so let's add a crown.
Let's add the hair that was like women's hair.
We're starting to get a really strange creature. Next we add the wings.
Then we add the scorpion's tail.
Throw in the lion's teeth.
Then we add the breastplate:
Here is our Locust. One thing that stands out to me about this thing is the wings, hair, crown, and human face.
Looking at only these features reminds me of an angel. But it's an angel grafted onto some nasty kind of hybrid locust. Completely Satanic!
Here's another image, an artist's rendition, of these locusts. [Picture not available] I think it's pretty good too, but I don't see the human face or scorpion tail. Still, it helps you to understand what these creatures will be like (Of course, we won't be around to see them, if we lived in search of the Kingdom of God).
I definitely don't want to tangle with these things.
Notice that these locusts come out of the Abyss, or Hell. We know that there are no people in Hell as of yet. People will not be sent there until the Judgement, and are instead waiting in Hades.
Rev. 20:11-15: Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This passage deals with the Day of Judgement, and you can see that the dead are not yet in Hell. They are spoken of as being in Hades. The dead are not thrown into Hell until after they have been judged according to the Books of Deeds.
We can reasonably assume that there are no animals in Hell, and that there are no machines in Hell. Machines are tools of Man. What need does a spirit have of machines?
What then are these locust creatures that are coming out of Hell? They are not animals or machines. I would submit that these are demons.
Think of all the times Jesus and the disciples cast demons out. If they were cast out, then where did they go to?
Think about the demon-possessed man of the Gadarenes. Jesus cast out Legion, which was actually not one demon, but many. Where did they go? They went into the pigs, but only at their own request. What was it they demanded of Jesus?
Matthew 28:29-31: "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" 30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
They asked if Jesus had come to torture them before the appointed time. What is the appointed time? Obviously the appointed time is the Day of Judgement, when all whose names are not found in the Book of Life are thrown into Hell.
The demons pleaded that if Jesus was going to send them out of the man, that they be allowed to enter into the herd of pigs. It is implied that they asked to be sent into the pigs rather than into the Abyss before the appointed time.
It sounds as if Jesus were planning on casting them out of the man and into the Abyss, and was persuaded to allow them to continue their existence on the earth.
And of all the demons that were ever cast out; again I pose the question: Where did they go?
If Jesus, when he cast out demons, cast them out of the people's bodies only, where they hovered around the person, or town, or over the next hill, what good is that? What is to prevent them from entering the person again, as soon as Jesus leaves the region? So Jesus casts the demons out, leaves, and then the demons re-enter the body they just left. What good is that? What good was done here? Who benefited? No one.
If this is what happened with every demon ever cast out of a person, then what we have here is a huge scam perpetuated by the Son of God himself.
No. The demons had to be sent to a place where they would never harm those people again. They were sent to Hell. And why? Why Hell and not Hades?
Because the angels have no messiah. They have no savior. No one was sent to the angels to redeem them, to forgive them, to die for them, to bring them a plan of salvation. Fallen angels are lost. There is then no need for a waiting period before the time of Judgement. There is no need to "try them according to their deeds". Fallen angels are damned. Bottom line.
So when demons were cast out, they were sent to Hell, as a rule. We know there was at least one exception to this rule, because Jesus allowed Legion to remain on the earth and enter a herd of pigs.
If this exception was allowed, then it follows that there were probably other exceptions. But it seems clear to me that there were some demons that were sent to Hell before the appointed time.
If this were indeed the case, then it makes sense that the Legion demons would have known this. They would have known that being cast out by the authority of Jesus Christ meant going to Hell early. And it makes sense that they would then ask timidly of Christ, "Are you here to torture us ahead of time?", and then plead to be allowed to remain on the earth, even if the only thing they would be allowed to inhabit was a herd of pigs.
I said all that to say this: I believe that some demons have been sent to Hell ahead of schedule. These locusts came out of Hell, and the only thing that should be in Hell before the time of the Judgement are demons.
Therefore, these locusts are actually demons. And the bible says that their King is the angel of the abyss, whose name is Destroyer.
This is no holy angel. Holy angels have names like Michael, Gabriel, and other names which are beyond our comprehension. They don't have names like Destroyer, and they don't rule over other demons.
Now you might be thinking that this could be a holy angel, and is King over them, not as a compatriot or kindred spirit, but as a Master is to his slave. That he is ordering them about by the authority of God.
Can't be true. Destroyer is King over these demons. (Further proof, by the way, that these locusts are indeed demons and not just locust insects. To be King over someone means that you have Lordship over other intelligent beings. It would be pretty embarrassing to have the title "King of the Grasshoppers", be you human or angel, holy or fallen. Can you imagine the demonic joke? "Yeah, that's High-and-Mighty Destroyer Dragonfly, King of the Grasshoppers, heehee!)
So again, Destroyer is King over these angels. Holy angels are not ruling spirits. They are ministering spirits. Yes, they might be capable of causing some destruction when God orders it, but their primary function is not to rule demons, or anything else. They are to serve.
Anytime in the Old Testament that you read of a military conquest, what happens to the King of the conquered people? He is captured, paraded before the people, and then executed. He is a trophy of war. He represents the people he ruled over.
If there is a King over demons, then that King is representative of those he rules. He is a kindred spirit. He is of the same "people" as it were. Those who rule demons must also be demons.
It's common sense. Jesus has mastery over the demons and Satan, but he is not called the King of Demons, or the King of Satan. Remember that when people accused him of casting out demons by demonic power, Jesus denied the charge of being a Prince of the Demons. To be a Prince of Demons would mean that his power came from Satan, and not God.
Matthew 9:34: But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons."
Matthew 12:24-28: But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Moving on… there is an interesting point made:
Locusts do much damage to crops. I would like to include here for your edification, a short story by E.M. Arbaugh, from the website www.peace4u.org, which does an excellent job of describing a family and town in the Old Testament that is the victim of a locust attack.
The Locust
I was in the field gathering grain, when the crackling, whooshing sound reached my ears. At first I thought that the field must be on fire, but when I straightened up to look, I saw a dark cloud on the horizon. The cloud was moving rapidly toward me. As it did, it blocked the light of the sun. In moments, mid-afternoon became dark. My heart pounded and icy fear slid over me. The strange sound grew louder.....then the locusts descended, devouring the grain, crawling all over me. The noise of their wings and chewing roared in my ears. Screams welled up in my throat. Shuddering, I brushed frantically at the insects that were crawling on my body and whimpered "Please... please... go away. Please.... leave me alone."
I ran to my home trying to escape, but they were already there. A moving mass that covered everything and crunched under my feet as I entered. Across the room, freshly baked loaves of bread, placed on the table to cool, disappeared in seconds. As I watched, rage flooded my body. Shrieking, "No!!... I won't let you do this, "I grabbed the broom and began swinging wildly at the buzzing insects.
I have no idea how long they were there. Terror seems to expand time. It seemed like an eternity. Then, at last, they were gone.
I was standing in the middle of the room, staring blankly at the mess, the broom still in my hand, when my husband and son came running in. Clutching at each other, we made a tight little circle of our bodies, and stood there trembling. Fearful that the locusts would return.
It was the pitiful bleating of the sheep, that brought us out of our stupor. Still clinging to each other, we struggled to the door and looked out. What we saw stunned us. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. It didn't seem possible. The fields, that had been filled with ripe golden stalks of grain, were bare. The ground looked as if it had just been ploughed. Those horrible insects had even devoured the roots of the plants, churning up the soil as they went. Nothing was left. Not even a morsel for the evening meal. The grain, the vegetables, the fruits, and my beautiful grapes, all of it was gone. As we looked at the barren fields, tears began flowing down our cheeks. In the distance we could hear the dismayed cries of neighbors, as they too surveyed the damage.
Later, in the village, the elders talked of joining together and buying seed from another land. But somehow, we couldn't seem to get organized. Everyone was so distraught. We were overwhelmed by a tidal wave of helplessness. Gradually talk ceased, and plans were dropped.
Someone discovered that the wine skins were still full and undamaged. For a brief time we felt better, but soon the wine skins were empty, and once more, a thick cloud of depression settled over us.
Weeks went by, we didn't even notice that it had not rained. When we discovered that the streams and the wells were drying up, we were shocked. Some of us tried to pray, and others shook their fists at heaven and cursed God.
The weakest of the animals died first, followed by the feeblest of the people. All of them died with bloated bellies and parched lips. We were paralyzed with despair. Everyone thought the end of our nation was very near.
It was during this terrible time, that the prophet Joel, came to our village. He was a welcome diversion, so we all went to hear him. Joel had only been speaking for a few minutes, when the crowd began to mutter. His words angered us. Joel recommended calling a national fast. Hmmm!! Was he blind? What did he think we were doing. When someone shouted, "None of us has eaten a decent meal in weeks." Joel answered calmly, "Being hungry and fasting are not the same thing." Then he added, "You must consider what has brought this calamity upon you, and repent."
That insensitive clod actually had the nerve to say that we had invited this devastation upon ourselves. He said, "The rituals of worship must be mixed with faith. You have taken your bodies to worship Jehovah, but not your hearts." His voice was like thunder, when he said, "It's not meaningless acts, mere rituals, that Jehovah desires of you. It's love." He was pointing his finger, looking right at me, when he shouted, "Your hearts are far from God." I was furious. I felt like shaking my fist and shouting back at him, "How dare you call me a heathen. You know nothing of me or of my family. You know nothing of the sacrifices we have made for Jehovah." But I didn't. Instead, I left, and so did many others.
On the way home, I was so angry that I grumbled out loud to myself. Mister high and mighty, Joel!! Just who does he think he is: Does he fancy himself to be the king.!! He has no right to speak to me like that. While others have slept, I've worked by the dim light of oil lamps, preparing our clothing and food for the Sabbath. Does 'Mister Joel' think I did that because it was fun?" "We always pay our tithe and temple tax at the appointed time, even when it is difficult to do so. Does 'Mister Joel' think we do that because we don't honor God? That man certainly could use a few lessons on how to win friends and influence people."
That night, my pillow was as a stone. I did not sleep well.
I can not explain why, but the next day, I went back to hear him again. This time, Joel began by saying, "Learn a lesson from this disaster. Teach that lesson to your children and to your children's children." When he said that, hope began to rise, in all of us. That sounded like....he didn't think we were all going to die. That sounded like... he thought that we would be around to teach our children... and even our grandchildren. The crowd grew quiet. We paid closer attention to his words. Maybe this man Joel really was hearing from Jehovah and had been sent to help us. Gradually, as Joel spoke to us, our attitudes began to change. What he said didn't make us angry anymore. Now his words warmed our hearts and encouraged us.
When our leaders s