15/04/18 Revelation 9:1-11 “The 5th Trumpet (=
the 1st Woe)”
Revelation 9:1 – And the fifth angel sounded, and I
saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the
bottomless pit.
bottomless – bottomless; unbounded; immeasurable depth; place of the dead and of demons. Translated “deep” in Luke 8:31.
Luke 8:30-31 – 30
And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils
were entered into him. 31 And they besought him that he would
not command them to go out into the deep.
Translated
“bottomless pit” in Revelation 9:11.
Also in Revelation 11:7 – And
when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war
against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 20:1-3 – 1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key
of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And
he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,
and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the
nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he
must be loosed a little season.
pit – well; the pit of the abyss
This “star” clearly depicts a creature to whom the key to the bottomless pit is given.
The star falls from heaven to earth. It could be a picture of a fallen angel, but is more likely to be an angel to whom God has entrusted this task, including, it seems, the giving of the certain commands to the creatures of the pit (Vs 4 below).
The pit is without measure or depth (“bottomless”), able to be enlarged if necessary.
Isaiah 5:14 – Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
Literally hell is opened up so that those kept bound within may now be free to go.
Revelation 9:2 – And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Hal Lindsay suggests that these creatures are war helicopters; however, the context and wording strongly suggests that these are actually creatures of demonic origin. It is not logical to have to explain everything in terms of natural or man-made events. Thus this is a literal bottomless pit or abyss, the smoke is from the fires that never are quenched.
Mark 9:43 – And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
If such a pit is opened, it is logical to expect smoke as if from a great furnace! And such smoke would consequently darken the sky and the sun; Ash Wednesday clearly demonstrated this fact! But this fiery pit will make the fires of Ash Wednesday seem like a candle in comparison. It is clear that this verse refers to that lake of fire and brimstone into which the devil and his angels are thrown, plus all the unsaved as well, where the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:42-48) and the smoke of their torment rises up for ever and ever (Revelation 14:11).
Also Revelation 21:8 – But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 9:3 – And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Whether they actually looked like locusts or whether they were in plague proportions like a locust plague, we do not know. It is apparent that they were in plague numbers, but descriptions further down strongly suggest that they may not have looked much like the locusts that John would have recognised. Possibly John sees these creatures in his “vision” and attempts to describe them as well as he can, but in terms that he would have understood at that time. If they were indeed locusts, then they would have been unlike any locusts that John had ever seen previously.
power – exousia (power; right; authority; jurisdiction; the liberty to do as one chooses; power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege) Used 103 times in the New Testament.
Translated as “right’ in Revelation 22:14, and as “power” twice in Revelation 11:6.
These locusts have authority (the right) to behave like scorpions. (Vs10 says that they, like scorpions, had stings in their tails.) Not only do these demonic beings have the power to do such things; they also have the authority (or command) of God to do so. They also have limits placed upon them, limits which cannot be broken: they cannot hurt any who are sealed by God (Vs 4); they cannot harm the vegetation of earth (Vs 4); they are not permitted to kill anyone (Vs 5).
The literal interpretation seems best here, that these were actual demonic beings from the depth of the abyss of hell, and that they will literally appear as described; especially note Vss 7-10 further down.
Joel 2:3-10 may be talking about a similar event.
Revelation 9:4 – And it was commanded them that they
should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any
tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
hurt – act unjustly, wickedly; sin; violate laws in some way; do wrong; sin against someone. These creatures were to violate (break) the law (or sin; act unjustly) against those people who weren’t of the 144,000 sealed of God. But, what of those who became God’s people as a result of these 144,000? It is clear from other passages that these people were hunted down and executed if found. Some may have survived through the assistance of others (note the sheep as opposed to the goats of Matthew 25), but were these of God’s people to be considered unsealed by God (and therefore hurt)? The context certainly suggests that these creatures only had authority to hurt those who were opposed to God. I think it likely that God’s genuine people may have been exempt like the Hebrews in Egypt were exempt from the effects of some plagues. However, this is not clearly indicated.
Note that all Christians are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30 – And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
All grass was burnt off in the first trumpet (Revelation 8:7), so it is reasonable to assume that such grass has by now grown back somewhat, because they are to leave the grass (and other vegetation such as trees and plants). Thus these creatures from hell apparently only have authority to hurt those people who are opposed to God. It is man who has sinned, not the plants!
Note that in these days it will be impossible to not take a stand one way or the other; no-one will be sitting on the fence in the tribulation; they will be either for, or against, God. And, those who are not for God will be deemed to be against Him.
Matthew 12:30 – He that is not with me (Jesus) is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
It is also apparent that at this time ignorance will not be an excuse!
Did Jesus have these events in mind when He said the following?
Luke 10:18-19 – 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Revelation 9:5 – And to them it was given that they
should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their
torment [was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh
a man.
tormented – to test (metals) by the touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal; torture; vex with grievous pains (of body or mind); harassed; of those at sea struggling with a head wind.
They were commanded or commissioned (by an authority over them, namely God) to not kill them (that is, those who didn’t have the seal of God in the foreheads), and they were limited to 5 months of torment (which could also include mental torment, or what we might today call mental disease!).
They were to torment these people to the extreme. While the redback spider is said to have the most painful bite ever to be inflicted upon a person (thus you do not apply pressure bandages!) the scorpion bite was seen then (and still today) as the utmost measure of pain, and as a measure of the severity of punishment.
1 Kings 12:11 – And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Vs 10 also says 5 months – see further down.
Revelation 9:6 – And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Matthew 7:7 says “…. seek, and ye shall find;” The same two words for “seek” and “find” are used in Revelation 9:6, yet here they will seek and not find!
We are to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) and all our needs will be given to us, yet here these people have sought the opposite: the kingdom of mammon and its unrighteousness. Consequently, God has not given them the things which they need. These people have sought self-pleasure and now they will not find it (that is, pleasure) at all! The vanity of sin is gone; the reality is now upon them. They have walked as the Gentiles walk, in the vanity (the illusion of pleasure in sin) of their minds (Ephesians 4:17), but that illusion of pleasure no longer exists.
They will now seek death as a way of escape but even this provision will be withheld from them. It is said that many people commit suicide to escape the pain (mental, physical or both) of living. But these people will not be permitted to commit suicide!
desire – to long for; desire; lust after or covet, especially for forbidden things. That is, even the death they lust for is forbidden these people.
There will be no escape at all from this torment. There is no back door into heaven and there will be no back door out of this torment (which is but a taste of the hell that waits for them!). And this taste of hell is being delivered (in yet limited amounts) by those with whom they will inhabit hell forever. And they will spend eternity in hell desiring to die and end the terrible torment, but will never be able to escape, ever! To the Christian, death is the victory, yet to these people the death they desire so much will never be theirs forever. Some cults such as JWs and SDAs teach that hell doesn’t exist for man, that the lost go into an eternal sleep or non-existence; soul-sleep; sinful man always dreams of ending it all, but hell is for eternity.
Revelation 9:7 – And the shapes of the locusts [were] like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads [were] as it were crowns (“stephanos”, not “diadema”) like gold, and their faces [were] as the faces of men.
While some consider these to be literally “the locusts from hell”, these are most likely demonic beings that are so evil that they have taken on a twisted personality and a body shape to match. The beauty of obedience has been replaced by the ugliness of sin. John is trying to describe what he sees in terms of what he understands at that time. The horse represented power and might, victory in battle. Crowns of gold would represent victory over or control of a group of beings such as in a princedom or kingdom. They are rulers among their fellow creatures. They rule because they are always going to be the winners. But, they have faces like men, which means John probably saw them as actual thinking, reasoning beings, not as real locusts which have little reasoning or thinking ability. These are ugly demonic creatures with the power and authority to overcome and torment men, yet with an ability to reason and communicate. Demons, as with all angels, even fallen angels, have immense intellectual and physical ability far above any man. The verse is describing demons.
Revelation 9:8 – And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as [the teeth] of lions.
If we continue the interpretation that these are literal demons, then these particular demons have long hair like a woman and strong teeth like lions, ready to devour.
Note 1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Satan is but a powerful fallen angel, probably more powerful than any of the other fallen angels (which we call demons), but all demons have abilities far above the weaknesses of man. While the hair like a woman probably defines a particular class of demon, the strong teeth probably indicates the threat they pose for ordinary man.
Our warfare is not against the flesh and blood of something weak like mankind, but against creatures with real power and strength, creatures that could do some serious damage to mankind if all restraints were to be removed.
Ephesians 6:12 – For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
It is only by God’s overruling authority that man is not destroyed by demons.
Revelation 9:9 – 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.
Again Joel 2:1-10 could be discussing a similar event.
A locust plague can be noisy due to their hard scaly bodies bumping and scraping; especially in flight they can be very noisy. But these “locusts” sound like an army of many chariots surging into battle. A chariot attack could be very intimidating to those facing it, much like the knights galloping into battle were. Such tactics were employed to dishearten the opposition before the real foot-soldier battle began.
But these are savage demons coming into battle such that mere men who stand before them are to be cowered into submission by these terrible creatures. They are armour-plated (as if man could even defeat them without that armour), and the noise of their wings intimidates mortal man who now might wish to die but for 5 months he cannot die; he is literally immortal!
Revelation 9:10 – And they had tails like unto
scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power [was] to
hurt men five months.
stings – also used to describe the goads (pricks) as per Acts 9:5.
hurt – act unjustly or wickedly; sin against someone; be a criminal; violate laws;
The demons were to “hurt” mankind, which has the idea of sinning against them, suggesting that these wicked people are merely reaping the crop that they have already sown.
Galatians 6:7 – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
It’s difficult to see how calvinism can teach that their sovereign God has fore-ordained all things, that is, he has foreordained their sin so that others might reap that harvest of sin against them! In fact, the whole idea of reaping what you sow becomes an irrelevancy in calvinist teachings, for in their doctrines it is God who sows what man reaps, so how can man be punished by reaping that which he did not sow? God may reap what He hasn’t sown, though; He is sovereign.
Matthew 25:24 – Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Revelation 9:11 – And they had a king over them, [which
is] the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [is]
Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [his] name Apollyon.
Abaddon – ruin; destruction; of the place of the ruined dead; the Destroyer (from the Hebrew (ןודבא ‘abaddown) destruction; place of destruction; ruin)
Job 26:6 – Hell [is] naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
Proverbs 27:20 – Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Apollyon – Apolluon (“Destroyer”; the angel of the bottomless pit, the Destroyer)
These terms are fairly convincing evidence that these locusts are literally creatures from the pit of hell.
Some say that Abaddon is the star who fell from heaven; others say that this king is satan who fell from heaven with his other fallen angels as per Revelation 12:9 – And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
However, the context suggests that Abaddon (Apollyon) is the leader or commander (as the term may be translated) of these “locust” demons, having been locked away with them until this time. Now his time has come and he leads his demon creatures forth to do that which no doubt he has until this time been prevented from doing. These demons are particularly vicious and sadistic; it is apparent that they derive pleasure from hurting and tormenting others. They are like bullies who pick on the weak and defenceless, and will, no doubt, be dealt with in judgment for their sins against mankind.
Note the following as part of God’s judgment upon Babylon.
Isaiah 14:12-23 – 12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I
will be like the most High. 15 Yet
thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They
that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, [and] consider thee, [saying,
Is] this the man that made the earth to tremble,
that did shake kingdoms; 17 [That] made the world as a
wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; [that] opened not the
house of his prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, [even]
all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own
house. 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an
abominable branch, [and as] the raiment of those that are slain, thrust
through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase
trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in
burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, [and] slain thy people:
the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. 21 Prepare
slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not
rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. 22
For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off
from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. 23
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water:
and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.
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