Revelation 9

9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit; 2he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth; 4they were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads; 5they were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion, when it stings a man. 6And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will fly from them.

It would seem that the star fallen from heaven to earth is possibly Satan, who is able to unleash his demons upon the earth. Notably, even Satan's destructive, evil power is marked and checked by God's command. Satan cannot go one step beyond what God Himself permits.

Notably, these locust-like creatures are not permitted to harm or attack those who are marked with the sign of the Cross, and even those whom they can attack, they are not permitted to kill them. No matter what destruction and devastation in these judgements, God is always in control.

7In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; 9they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and their power of hurting men for five months lies in their tails. 11They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
12The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

The army of demon-locusts are described symbolically, with allusions to the prophet Joel's description of the plague of locusts that smote Israel in chapters 1 and 2 of his book.

Horses arrayed for battle: They are organised and fearsome.
What looked like crowns of gold: They pretend to authority, but it only appears true.
Their faces were like human faces: They are intelligent.
Hair like women's hair: They are seductive in their ways.
Teeth like lions' teeth: Behind the intelligence and seductive beauty is death and destruction. Falling for their allure leads to pain.

Their leader is Apollyon or Abaddon, which means "Destroyer." And yet again, because of God's sovereignty and mercy, he cannot destroy, but only torture for five months.

13Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to kill a third of mankind. 16The number of the troops of cavalry was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulphur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulphur issued from their mouths. 18By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulphur issuing from their mouths. 19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, with heads, and by means of them they wound. 20The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot either see or hear or walk; 21nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their immorality or their thefts.

The 6th judgement is of an army of avenging angels who kill a third of the people of the earth. These angels have been set for the exact moment of their release--it has all been planned beforehand. God does not miss a detail. This time, it does not mention whether this third of the human race includes those who are marked with the Cross or not. It is possible to assume God's ongoing protection of His people, but at the same time, we recognise that if not, those who die in this plague will reign forever afterward, and their death only hastens their victory.

The army is described as being powerful and resplendent.

The people who survive, in verses 20-21, refuse even after all this, to repent of their wickedness, which is primarily that of idolatry, but also, with it, murder, thievery, witchcraft, and sexual immorality. That John mentions this fact shows us a) that their judgement is just, and b) that even now, God is merciful and they could repent if they chose. But just like Pharaoh in Exodus, they harden their hearts against the evident power of God.

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