Ponderations, meditations and observations on the 5th trumpet

"Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit."

And who has that key now?
Are we talking about a literal key here? Can demons really be held back by a locked door?
How large of an area will the smoke cover?
Are we to understand, then, that there is-- and has been for a very long time-- a literal pit full of locusts?
Geographically, where is the pit? I think it's interesting to think about where they would hit first-- Babylon? Jerusalem? Egypt?
How far will they spread? That's some major ocean-crossing, if they're planning on tormenting all the continents...

"3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them."

Will they be really loud-- will we hear them before we see them?
Is there even anything green left for them to harm? I mean, this is the fifth trumpet. 1/3 of the green stuff is already gone, then the water went, then the sun went. Not a happy situation for the earth's vegetation.
Will all people be kept from death, or only those stung? (I'm leaning towards only the stung ones-- it's not like martyrdom will just come to a complete standstill).
If someone is stung at, say, the two-month mark, will the pain go away in three months when the locusts leave, or will it stick around for a full five months?
This judgment targets both the reprobate and the resistors....anyone without the seal of God (unless it's a different kind of seal).
Can anyone harm the locusts? Will anyone try?
How many will there be? They come "out" of the smoke. Almost like the cloud of smoke turns into a cloud of locusts. A bunch.
Assuming that these are demon locusts, will they respond like your average demon? Will they go away when believers tell them to? Even if they can't hurt us, will they carry that "demonic presence"? Will they be able to touch the cities of refuge?
Will people come up with theories to explain these things? Or will they immediately blame it on God?
Will people try to appease the locusts themselves (instead of turning to the Lord)? It seems like this would be a good opportunity for repentance-- they're all suffering and they're all barred from death. Either that, or it will make them madder, and martyrdom will go up.
Will people fake conversion to Christianity for the sake of relief? (because, remember, they want to die)

"7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon."

Why judge the earth through locusts like horses and scorpions with lions teeth and human heads? Is there even anything locusty about them?
Will they be like natural locusts with natural limitations, or will it be more like "spirit locust"? ie, can they fly at high altitudes, go underwater, see in the dark, etc?
Will people try to take their crowns for gold? Haha
How big will they be? Are we talking about your average little shrimpy grasshopper, or something much bigger?
Will Antichrist have any power over them?
Who is Abbadon, and is he the only one, besides God, that can control these guys?
How will animals react?
Do the locusts have to eat? If they do, they're obviously not herbivores.
Can/will they communicate or say anything at all?
How will they exit the scene?

Obviously most of these can't be answered...but it's interesting to think about just the same...