Revelation 9:5

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.

·         The hurt they were to do them was not a bodily, but a spiritual hurt (MH)

·         Their purpose and period is expressly governed by God, and the purpose of all this to bring repentance (Revelation 9:20-21). (DG)