Commentators on the Second Woe

John A. Pinkston. Woe! Woe! Woe! and Then Armageddon: A Prophecy of the End Time. [iUniverse, 2011] pp. 61-62.

Sixth Trump or Second Woe

Revelation 9:13 reveals the Sixth Trump or Second Woe that will be unleashed upon the earth. As each woe unfolds, subsequent woes add to the misery of the people on the earth. The sixth Trump will be a continuation of war started under the First Woe, which will destroy one-third of mankind. The size of the armies is described in Revelation 9:16. "And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them."

Remember when we were talking about the Four Horsemen; the Red one brought war, the white one brought famine and pestilence, the Black one and the Pale Horse brought death. These verses signal a continuation of the First Four Horsemen or the First Four Seals in Revelation 6.

In spite of experiencing all these catastrophic events of the Foure Horsemen, those who are left without God's seal will refuse to repent.

During the Second Woe, the Sixth Trump will sound, as the previous five sounded; the trumpet sounds may not be audible to the human ear, but they will sound in any case. The Second Woe intensifies the disastrous world vents that Christ has called the Great Tribulation.

The Second Woe will have as part of it, Four Angels which will be loosed to prepare the way for the final climax known as the Third Woe (Seventh Trump). During this period of the Second Woe, warfare will increase and a third part of mankind will die as a result of war, famine and pestilence. (Revelation 9:15) "And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men." As we have said before, one-third of mankind will equate to one third of the land mass and population of the world. In other words, the three kings that were conquered by the beast will make up the North American Union, Britain and the Jewish state of Israel.

Verse 16 reveals the massive number of military men who will participate in this final onslaught of World War III. Verse 17 is a further description by the Apostle John of the military power and weaponry that will be involved in this onslaught; he describes a storehouse of weaponry similar to America's jet fighters, bombers, rockets, tanks, ships and submarines. Verse 18 continues to describe the details which will surround the last Three of the Four Horsemen. (Revelation 9:18) "By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths." Verse 19 repeats Verse 17 by identifying the military equipment that will be used by this world government seated in Central Europe. Verse 20 expands on the Second, Third and Fourth Seals of Revelation 6.