In v. 5 the locusts of the Abyss are given power to torture mankind for five months. This is the time period in which God had historically destroyed heaven and earth, first during the flood in Genesis 7:24 and later during the Babylonian siege of Israel according to the Septuagint version of Ezekiel 4. Once again God destroys the land in five months, this time using the Roman army.
The initial purpose of the fifth trumpet of A.D. 68-70 was to prepare the Roman legions for war. In v. 5 these soldiers are given power to torture the people of Jerusalem for five months, a power they will soon exercise at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. After the sounding of this trumpet, Titus’ vast army, described here, tortured the inhabitants of Jerusalem. For five months, from the middle of Nisan to the middle of Elul, Titus’ army induced famine and plague in the closed quarters of the city before finally breaking through the last fortifications and putting thousands of people out of their misery. This five month interval from the middle of Nisan to the middle of Elul in which Titus and his army besieged Jerusalem is also the same five month time frame in which locusts typically appear in Israel. This fact is one more piece of evidence pointing to the Roman army as the locusts of Revelation 9.
The initial purpose of the fifth trumpet of A.D. 68-70 was to prepare the Roman legions for war. In v. 5 these soldiers are given power to torture the people of Jerusalem for five months, a power they will soon exercise at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. After the sounding of this trumpet, Titus’ vast army, described here, tortured the inhabitants of Jerusalem. For five months, from the middle of Nisan to the middle of Elul, Titus’ army induced famine and plague in the closed quarters of the city before finally breaking through the last fortifications and putting thousands of people out of their misery. This five month interval from the middle of Nisan to the middle of Elul in which Titus and his army besieged Jerusalem is also the same five month time frame in which locusts typically appear in Israel. This fact is one more piece of evidence pointing to the Roman army as the locusts of Revelation 9.