The following day Jill brings Professor Heathrow back to her studio to interview. This time it is about the disasters turning from natural disasters to demonic ones. Jill wants to get an expert opinion on this issue, and the Professor has been spot-on in his previous explanations on her show.
Jill: "Professor Heathrow, we are almost five years into this period of Tribulation, and we have seen numerous horrific disasters of all types. What can you tell us about the changes which are about to occur regarding the type of disasters the Bible indicates will be seen over the next couple years?"
Professor Heathrow: "During the initial several years after the Rapture there was a significant increase in man-made and natural disasters. Then after the Midpoint the first four Trumpet Judgments involved disruption of natural processes such as food production, drinking water supplies, weather, volcanoes, sunlight and many other such issues. Now the Trumpets will change course and become demon attacks allowed by God on the unbelievers of the earth. As if the first four Trumpet Judgments had not been severe enough, God will now allow criminal demons which have been imprisoned for thousands of years to be released to create havoc on the earth, as they torture unbelieving mankind. Starting with the 5th Trumpet, the next three Trumpet Judgments are called “Woes” due to the extremity of direct suffering associated with them. And the emphasis is on the word "direct." Barely surviving the famines and disease caused by the first four Trumpet Judgments is one thing, especially since that suffering was indirectly caused. But now severe pain from demon torture is about to be added, and it will be direct attacks on individuals. Then with the 6th Trumpet it will turn to direct attacks by demons on individuals resulting in death. It will be brutal."
Jill: "Professor, there have been sightings, mostly in the Middle East, of what people have called "the Swarm." Is this related to these next Trumpets?"
Professor Heathrow: "Definitely. "The Swarm" as some have called it is demon activity. It came up from the giant plume of black smoke just after the Midpoint, and the Bible says they came out of the Abyss where they had been imprisoned. So far there have been demonstrations of power by those demons, as seen by them swarming to intimidate certain populations and groups, such as when the Jews were fleeing Israel for safety in the mountains. But now the earth is about to see what "the Swarm" was sent to accomplish. God allowed these criminal demons to be released after having been in middle-earth prisons for thousands of years. The initial part of the Swarm was released when Satan was cast down to the earth at the Midpoint, but they have not been allowed to attack humans yet. And another group of hard-core criminal demons have not yet been released. They will be released later. As Revelation 9:1 says:
“The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes.”
"The “star” is Satan (Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:16) who was banished to earth at the Midpoint along with many of his demons, who were the initial Swarm. Satan knows the end is very near for him. He has read the Bible. All he has left in his bag of tricks are chaos and destruction. He must try to find a way to try to wiggle out of his certain fate. So now he will release another large group of criminal demons, many millions, who will first torture and then kill people. But only unbelievers, and those believers who took the Mark of the Beast."
Jill: "You call these "criminal demons." Why?"
"Before Satan was confined to earth at the Midpoint, he was given the keys to unlock the Abyss, a middle-earth jail where millions of criminal demons have been imprisoned for thousands of years, put there long before man was created. These criminal demons were involved in Satan's rebellion against God, and were punished by a long jail sentence. The final three Trumpet Judgments or “Woes” will involve these demon criminals who are about to be released onto the earth where they will create chaos and torture and eventually kill unbelieving mankind. Even Satan will not be able to control them, as he was not able to control them in the ancient past. It should be noted that demons have personalities and areas of extreme action just like humans. The demons released during the Tribulation are pure criminals, and they will enjoy the torture they inflict on humans."
"To be clear, before the Tribulation God had very strict rules for Satan and demons to operate under, so they had to generally behave and leave people alone, although they sometimes possessed the bodies of unbelievers who enabled it. But during the Tribulation the rules change to allow more extreme demon activities. Two of the significant changes are that demons can physically attack people, and the other is that some of these particular demons (but not all) will be visible to humans."
Jill: "How will this happen? What will it look like to humans?"
Professor Heathrow: "Satan has unlocked the Abyss and release his demon criminal armies who have been imprisoned for thousands of years in chains of smoke and darkness. This fifth Trumpet Judgment releases additional multitudes of torturing demons which Revelation describes as looking like locusts and having stingers like a scorpion. Being criminals they know how to torture people, and they will do it very well and with great enthusiasm. They have the ability to strike quickly and unexpectedly from the sky just as locusts can maneuver from place to place. People will not know when to expect them, so will live in constant fear. This stinging demon torture will last for five months, one of the few references to timing of these Trumpet judgments. Again, this is rather late in the second half of the Tribulation, during the time of the Great Tribulation. In fact, the “Woes” judgments almost define the term “Great Tribulation.”
Jill: "And what does the Bible say the reason for this is?"
Professor Heathrow: "It is because of the holocaust against the Jewish believers during the Tribulation. The unbelievers have killed many of the 144,000 witnesses and countless other Jewish believers. Now they will pay for this holocaust."