9:1, 2. To the judgment of the fifth trumpet, which is called the first Woe (v. 12), John devotes more space than to all the preceding judgments combined. It is probable that, apart from the exact identification of Babylon in chapters 17 and 18, the meaning of the two judgments in this chapter presents the most difficult major problem in the Revelation. Probably the star falling from heaven, to whom was given the key of the pit of the abyss, is, as Weidner says, “an evil angel, the instrument