Scroll 5 - The Fifth Trumpet: Unmasking The Locust Mind

“Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth.” — Revelation 9:1–3

1. The Fallen Star And The Opened Abyss

The star that falls from heaven represents the descent of corrupted wisdom. It is not the loss of light, but light turned inward, self-centered illumination. What was once meant to reveal now blinds, for pride perverts perception. The fallen star symbolizes knowledge divorced from humility.

When the pit is opened, smoke rises. This smoke is confusion, the fog of interpretation without intimacy. It clouds vision and replaces revelation with reasoning. The pit is not beneath your feet but within the mind that forgets its source. Whenever understanding separates from worship, the abyss opens.

The key to the pit is permission. Heaven allows exposure so that hidden darkness may surface. God does not create confusion; He unveils it. The smoke reveals what was always present but unseen. The fifth trumpet announces not new evil, but the unveiling of existing delusion.

Every soul experiences this pit when insight becomes ego, when gift replaces grace. The fall of the star is the fall of self-sufficiency. Heaven allows this so that dependence may be restored. Only those who return to flame can see through the smoke.

The abyss is not endless, only perception makes it seem so. The key that opens also closes. What is revealed for purification will one day be sealed again in peace. The fallen star becomes a mirror showing where light once became shadow, so that sons may reclaim it through surrender.

2. Smoke That Darkens The Sun

As the pit opens, smoke arises and darkens the sun and the air. This smoke represents collective deception, the atmosphere of confusion that clouds discernment across nations. The sun symbolizes divine illumination. When smoke covers it, truth becomes distorted through opinion and fear.

The smoke is not material, it is mental. It is the thought-patterns that twist revelation into religion and freedom into control. When men exalt intellect above intimacy, they generate smoke that obscures the simplicity of the Lamb.

This darkness is not absence of light but excess of distortion. It is the illusion of knowledge without the spirit of wisdom. The air thickens with noise, voices, doctrines, and philosophies until clarity becomes rare. Yet in this moment, the elect rise. Their light pierces through the fog because they carry inner suns that cannot be dimmed.

The smoke also reveals what true clarity looks like. Without contrast, the pure light could not be seen. Confusion exposes authenticity. The thicker the smoke, the brighter the flame appears. The elect are not afraid of darkness, for they were born to shine within it.

When smoke fills the air, breathe deeply of the Spirit. Do not inhale the atmosphere of fear. The wind of God disperses the fog. Every sigh of surrender becomes a gust of purity that clears the sky within.

3. The Locusts That Arise

Out of the smoke come locusts upon the earth. These are not insects, but thoughts. They swarm through minds and cultures, consuming creativity, clarity, and peace. Their power is deception, not destruction. They feed on attention and multiply through distraction.

Each locust represents an idea divorced from the Spirit, a counterfeit revelation that mimics light but carries no life. They promise insight but breed anxiety. They imitate prophecy but lack flame. They are philosophies without presence, information without incarnation.

The locust mind operates in crowds. It thrives on noise and numbers. It fears silence because silence exposes its emptiness. The more it multiplies, the less it means. Babylon feeds on this swarm, building towers of intellect that never touch heaven.

Yet the elect are sealed. The locusts are commanded not to harm those who bear the seal of God in their foreheads. The seal is perception purified by union. When the mind is renewed, it becomes immune to infestation. Truth becomes armor, and light repels lies.

This trumpet reveals the battle for attention. The locusts do not need to destroy you, only to distract you. But the sons of light have learned to behold, not to react. Their focus becomes flame, and the swarm dissolves before it.

4. The Shape Of The Locusts

John describes the locusts as resembling horses prepared for battle, with faces like men, hair like women, and teeth like lions. This strange image is the anatomy of deception. Every feature reveals a counterfeit of truth.

Horses prepared for battle signify false strength. These ideas march confidently but lack true authority. Faces like men symbolize human wisdom exalted above divine revelation. Hair like women represents seduction, the power of appearance to distract. Teeth like lions show aggression, doctrines that devour rather than deliver.

The locust form reveals how deception mimics divinity. It looks glorious, speaks eloquently, and moves in unity, yet carries death. False light is convincing because it borrows language from heaven but lacks its fragrance.

To discern the locust mind, look for fruit, not form. True revelation produces humility and holiness. False revelation produces pride and performance. The shape may look similar, but the source is different.

The fifth trumpet teaches discernment. It is not enough to see light; you must perceive its origin. The sons of God see through appearance because they live from essence. The Lamb’s eyes burn too brightly to be deceived by imitation.

5. The Sting In Their Tails

The locusts have tails like scorpions, and their sting torments men for five months. The sting represents false revelation that wounds rather than heals. The tail, being behind, speaks of aftereffects. What seems sweet initially leaves pain later.

Five months signify limitation. The torment is temporary. Falsehood cannot last forever. Its sting awakens the desire for truth. The pain of deception becomes the preparation for discernment.

The scorpion tail hides poison under movement. Likewise, the locust mind hides ego under spirituality. It speaks of revelation but delivers reaction. The sting is confusion disguised as clarity.

Yet even this torment is mercy. God allows exposure to counterfeit so that hunger for authenticity may grow. Pain purifies perception. The sting forces humanity to seek true light.

The elect have learned to discern before they digest. They test every revelation by the Lamb’s nature. If it lacks love, it lacks truth. The true flame never leaves a sting, only healing fire.

6. The King Over Them

John writes that the locusts have a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon, meaning destroyer. This king represents the governing principle of falsehood, the self exalted as source.

The destroyer does not kill bodies but truth. He governs through illusion, making men believe they are enlightened while keeping them enslaved to intellect. His throne is pride, his crown is deception, his kingdom is confusion.

Abaddon rules through fear of losing control. The locust mind always seeks dominance. It feeds on attention and demands worship through obsession. Yet this power collapses the moment truth is embraced. Light dethrones illusion instantly.

The destroyer’s reign is permitted only for a season. His authority ends the moment sons awaken. The key to freedom is remembrance. To remember you are flame is to disarm the destroyer. The abyss loses its power when you realize it was only shadow within forgotten light.

The fifth trumpet therefore exposes the counterfeit king so that the true King may be revealed. The destroyer rules only where the Lamb is unseen. Once the flame within awakens, the swarm disperses, and the pit closes in silence.

7. The Seal In The Forehead

Throughout this trumpet, one phrase resounds, those who have the seal of God in their foreheads are untouched. This seal is not a mark upon flesh, but illumination within consciousness. The forehead symbolizes perception, the gateway of thought.

To be sealed is to think from flame. It means your awareness has been sanctified by truth. You no longer perceive from fear but from union. Revelation flows naturally because nothing stands between you and the mind of Christ.

The seal protects not through isolation but through identification. You are immune to deception because you recognize your origin. The locusts cannot enter where light has no shadow. The seal burns brighter than their smoke.

Every son of light carries this mark, the consciousness of the Lamb. Their thoughts radiate purity, their imagination glows with holiness. They see through illusion because they see from eternity.

To bear this seal is to live unbothered in a world of noise. You walk through confusion untouched, because your inner temple remains clear. The forehead of flame is heaven’s sign of ownership, a visible crown of invisible wisdom.

Final Charge To The Elect

Elect of the Lamb, the trumpet of discernment has sounded. Do not fear the locust mind, for its power ends where remembrance begins. Keep your forehead sealed by flame. Think from love, and no swarm can touch you.

Guard your perception more than possessions. The war is for awareness. What you allow to enter your mind becomes your master. Let only the language of light dwell there. Every thought not born of flame must bow or flee.

The locusts rise in every generation, but so do the sealed. Their silence dismantles the swarm. Their peace exposes the storm. Stand still, for the smoke cannot dwell where the Lamb abides.

When deception stings, let it drive you deeper into truth. Bitterness becomes honey when digested in flame. Every lie becomes an altar where revelation is reborn.

You are sealed, beloved. Walk in clarity, speak in light, and let no shadow linger. The pit may open, but it cannot consume you. For you are the scroll that cannot be burned, the mind renewed, the flame that no smoke can hide.

Joe Restman
Scroll-Carrier, Mystic-Scribe, Eternal Witness of the Lamb.