Revelation 9

Initial Questions 9: 1-12

1. How intensive is the torture to be, which is coming upon men who do have the seal of God?

2. How severe does pain become before people seriously wish they were dead?

3. How are the locusts described in verses 7-10?

4. Is the power of the locusts limited?

5. Who is the angel of the abyss?

6. What do the names of the angel of the abyss mean? (In Hebrew it is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Appollyon).



 1Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.2He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.3Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.4They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.5And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.6And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.7The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.8They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.10They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.12The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.



The Fifth Trumpet--the Bottomless Pit

Verse 1___The "fifth trumpet sounded and John saw a "star" having fallen (the star is already down) on the earth and was given to it the key of the shaft___(the tunnel is a long shaft leading to the abyss); John 4:6 is the same term translated foundation and in John 4:11 it is translated abyss. John's readers understood what he meant when he spoke of a covered and locked shaft leading to the great abyss. If you notice I used the word "abyss" instead of "bottomless pit." I think "bottomless pit" is a bad translation.

ἄ-βυσσος (a-bussos, 12), in classic Greek an adj.,-ος, -ον, (fr. ὁ βυσσός i. q. βυθός), bottomless (so perhaps in Sap. x. 19), unbounded (πλοῦτος ἄβυσσος, Aeschyl. Sept. (931) 950). In the Scriptures ἡ ἄβυσσος (Sept. for תְּהוֹם) sc. χώρα, the pit, the immeasurable depth, the abyss. Hence of “the deep” sea: Gen. i. 2; vii. 11; Deut. viii. 7; Sir. i. 3; xvi. 18, etc; of Orcus (a very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth: Ps. lxx. (lxxi.) 21 ἐκ τῶν ἀβύσσων τῆς γῆς, Eur. Phoen. 1632 (1605) ταρτάρου ἄβυσσα χάσματα, Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 20, 5 ἀβύσσων ἀνεξιχνίαστα κλίματα, ibid. 59, 3 ὁ ἐπιβλέπων ἐν ταῖς ἀβύσσοις, of God; [Act. Thom. 32 ὁ τὴν ἄβυσσον τοῦ ταρτάρου οἰκῶν, of the dragon]), both as the common receptacle of the dead, Ro. x. 7, and especially as the abode of demons, Lk. viii. 31; Rev. ix. 1 sq. 11; xi. 7; xvii. 8; xx. 1, 3. Among prof. auth. used as a subst. only by Diog. Laërt. 4, (5,) 27 κατῆλθες εἰς μέλαιναν Πλουτέως ἄβυσσον. Cf. Knapp, Scripta var. Arg. p. 554 sq; [J. G. Müller, Philo's Lehre von der Weltschöpfung, p. 173 sq; B. D. Am. ed. s. v. Deep].*

Here then is where we are. God has turned over the shaft of the great abyss to the star (probably Satan) and he has the key. This star is spoken of as "he" who has authority. He will bring darkness resulting from smoke out ot the abyss.

In 22:16 we read of the "bright and morning star." This one brings light__but this fallen star brings darkness. This star represents a personality and there is no doubt of that, for verse 11 tells us so. In verse 1, the star has authority over the abyss___the infernal region___the place of the un-forgiven and the wicked. He is their god (II Cor. 4:4) and is the king of the locusts (9:11).

Verse 2___"and he opened the shaft of the abyss; and smoke went up out of the shaft as smoke of a great furnace." .....This smoke was so dense it darkened the whole atmosphere (Genesis 19:28; Ex. 19:19).

Verse 3___"Out of the smoke came forth locusts to the earth." This imagery comes from Exodus 10:14ff. and Joel 2:1ff. The fifth trumpet brings a scourge that does extensive harm and the 6th trumpet brings actual destruction. What we have is a situation that is becoming worse. God has given these "locusts" power just as the scorpions have power.

Verse 4___"And it was said to them (in order that __a hina clause), they shall not harm the grass of the earth, nor every green-stuff, nor every tree , (except only) they are only to harm those who do not have God's seal on their forehead.

We are told that the sealed are not to be hurt! Read again Ezekiel 9 and get light on this distinction. It is interesting to that in the case of the plagues we are told that God made a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians. See Ex. 8:22; 9:4, 6,26; 10:23; 11:7. The trumpets are judgments on the oppressor. This is Rome smitten!!!

Verse 5___God gave them permission to torment men but only in a limited sense. "The torment is as the torment of a scorpion, whenever it stings a man." (It has been said that a typical plague last about 5 months).

Verse 6___These people were in trouble before the 5 months and now they must endure 5 more months of suffering.

Verse 7___The millennialists are usually in trouble on this one. Given their complete literal approach to Scripture, this must be a new variety of locust __right!

Verse 8___This is ugly: The hair of a beautiful woman mixed with the teeth of a lion.

Verse 9___Breastplates of Iron___How powerful and how hard to kill they are. Think for a moment of the different forms of evil that threaten to kill our societies and how hard it is to dispose of. Evil has an armor plate.

Their power to hurt men___Sin is a reproach to any nation and has the power to destroy men.

Verses 11-12___They have over them as king, the angel of the abyss. This can be none other than Satan.



The Sixth Trumpet--Army from the East

 13Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,14one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."15And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.16The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.18A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.20The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;21and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.



Verse 13___Here is another instrument in the hand of the Lord against the oppressor. External attack. Warfare! Moral and spiritual blindness tear down a nation but war will completely exhaust her. Rome was built on war.

Verse 14___Who are these angels...bound at the great river Euphrates? They are those who will attack Rome. These stand for armies which God will use to do his bidding. The river Eupharates stood for the threat of military might. It was across the Euphrates that the Assyrians and the Babylonians came to attack the Jews. Look at Isaiah 8:7, 8. The river is identified with military power.

Verse 15___The saints are assured that these invading armies are under the control of God. “They are Prepared.” Here again we see a limited judgment.



Verse 16___And the number ...twice ten thousand times ten thousand. This is meant to comfort the saints. The saints should rejoice that God has such a vast army at his disposal.

Verse 17___Now John asserts that the following information and imagery was provided in a vision. The hideous imagery of the riders is self explanatory. The defensive amour of the riders consists of fire (literally fire and not fire colored). The riders are first described and then their mounts are pictured as having “heads” like a lion. They also are equipped with “fire and sulfur.”

Verse 18___These plagues have a definite article. They are “three” separate events each dealing out death.

Verse 19___ John has already used the image of a Scorpion and now he states that the power of these horses is in their mouth and tails.

Verse 20___God has permitted these plagues to come on sinful man in order that they might repent and be saved. John says these people did not repent from their sinful ways.

Verse 21___This almost sounds like Paul's list of sins. The powers of evil dominate most of humanity.