The second woe
(see Revelation 9:12) is worse than the first woe. The first woe (fifth trumpet) resulted in a release of demonic spirits from the abyss, with the freedom to torment unbelieving people for a season, but not to kill anyone. The sixth trumpet results in the invasion of pagan thinking into the lands inhabited by the offspring of Abraham, the father of all believers. This paganism results in the deaths of a third of mankind. The survivors have, then, seen the horrors of death from very close by, including the evils that lead to death. This sixth woe is indeed a horrible woe.
The child of God living in a context of rising and/or overwhelming paganism is not at all without hope. The voice releasing pagan thinking over the land comes from the four horns of the golden altar of incense. Christ Jesus has sacrificed his blood on Calvary to atone for the sins of the saints and then ascended to heaven so that the redeemed may have free access to God (Romans 5:1–2; Hebrews 10:19–22). If the Lord God has given his Son to give us this much, he will surely give us all we need in the face of pagan hostility to the gospel (Romans 8:32). The Lord answers our prayers in perfect wisdom and in ways far beyond our understanding. We may entrust ourselves to his care.
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God,