As a Preterist, I understand the book of Revelation as a prophecy fulfilled in the first century, centered around the judgment on apostate Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The three woes mentioned in Revelation are not about our future, but their past. They are tied directly to the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets and represent increasing intensity of judgment during that climactic period.

First Woe – Revelation 9:1-12 (Fifth Trumpet)

• Revelation 9:1-2 says, "Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth, and the key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him. He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft."
  
  

• The star fallen from heaven symbolizes fallen authority, possibly the fall of a Jewish or spiritual leader. The abyss imagery is symbolic of chaos and demonic torment, not literal smoke and locusts.
  
  

• Verse 5 says, "And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months..." This time frame aligns with the Roman siege of Jerusalem, which lasted about five months in AD 70.
  
  

• The torment from these "locusts" was not physical death but psychological and spiritual agony for those rejecting the Messiah. The people were already marked for destruction and experienced great distress.
  
  

• Symbolism of the Abyss and Locusts: Joel 1 and 2 use locusts to represent invading armies and judgment. Here, they point to demonic influence and internal collapse.
  
  

• Historical Evidence: Josephus describes bizarre, maddening behavior in Jerusalem before its fall—internal infighting, false prophets, famine, and spiritual darkness. It was a city under siege both physically and spiritually.
  
  

Second Woe – Revelation 9:13-21 and 11:1-14 (Sixth Trumpet)

• Revelation 9:14 says, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." The Euphrates is a prophetic symbol of invading forces from beyond Israel's border.
  
  

• Verse 16 says, "The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million..." The number is symbolic, not literal. It shows overwhelming force. These "four angels" from the Euphrates (verse 14) allude to judgment coming from the east—Babylon once came that way, and now Rome repeats the pattern.
  
  

• Revelation 11:8 "Where also their Lord was crucified." This clearly identifies the target of the second woe as Jerusalem.
  
  

• Revelation 11:11-13 The witnesses rise and the city quakes. This represents vindication of the saints and divine judgment. Verse 13 says a tenth of the city fell and 7,000 were killed—again symbolic numbers pointing to partial yet devastating destruction.
  
  

• Historical Evidence: The Roman armies surrounded and devastated Jerusalem. Josephus writes that over a million Jews died and the temple was utterly destroyed. The faithful remnant (the sealed) had fled to Pella beforehand.
  
  

Third Woe – Revelation 11:15 and Following (Seventh Trumpet)

• Revelation 11:15 says, "Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever."
  
  

• This is not describing a future end of time, but the transition from the Old Covenant to the New. Christ's reign was established through judgment on the old system.
  
  

• Revelation 11:18 declares, "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints... and to destroy those who destroy the earth."
  
  

• The judgment of the dead here ties to Daniel 12 and the resurrection of the righteous. This judgment is covenantal, not global, and it happened when God fulfilled all that had been written.
  
  

• Matthew 23:35-36 and 24:34 Jesus said, "So that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood... Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."
  
  

• Historical Fulfillment: In AD 70, the temple was destroyed, the priesthood ended, the Old Covenant age was closed, and Christ's kingdom stood alone, unshaken and established.
  
  

Conclusion

• The three woes are:
  
  

  • First woe – Revelation 9:1-12 (fifth trumpet)
    
    

  • Second woe – Revelation 9:13-21 and 11:1-14 (sixth trumpet)
    
    

  • Third woe – Revelation 11:15 and following (seventh trumpet)
    
    

• These woes represent God's measured but increasing judgments on Jerusalem. They were fulfilled in the events leading to AD 70.
  
  

• As Jesus said in Luke 21:22, "These are the days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled."
  
  

The woes are not for us to fear in the future. They are fulfilled history. Christ reigns. The kingdom has come.