And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
	Revelation 9:7-10
Even this description of bizarre and horrific demons would remind John’s congregation of God's promise. You see, in Joel 2, we find a parallel passage to Revelation 9 ... Historically, the prophecy of Joel 2 was fulfilled in Joel’s day when Israel was besieged with locusts. Symbolically, the prophecy was fulfilled in 722 B.C. when the Assyrians marched south and carried the ten northern tribes into captivity. Prophetically, the locusts speak of the demons which will be released from the abussos (bottomless pit) in Revelation 9. But nestled among the dire warnings of this terrible invasion is a wonderful promise ... And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. Joel 2:25-26 Gang, whenever we obey Scripture — when we listen to the trumpet, repent, and seek the Lord with sincerity — the Lord not only forgives us, but makes up to us what was lost. Amazing! I would have thought it would be enough for God to forgive us. But He says, ‘No, I’m going to do more than that. I will restore to you what the locusts ate.’ You might be fifty years old — or sixty, seventy or eighty — and you might be saying, ‘There’s a big chunk of my life eaten away by grasshoppers.’ Good news for you: Whenever you choose to humble yourself and call out to the Lord, He’ll make up for lost time.