December
12, 2017
Revelation
9
I
do not want to misrepresent any explanation or interpretation of these verses, so
I am once again using the explanation of Revelation 9 from my life application
study bible. I am also including a link
to a long explanation of chapter 9 at the end of my post that is well worth
your time to read.
“The fifth angel sounded
his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of
the Abyss.” (v.1) It is not known whether
this “star” that fell from heaven is Satan, a fallen angel, Christ, or a good
angel. Most likely it is a good angel,
because the key to the shaft of the Abyss (bottomless pit) is normally held by
Christ (1:17, 18), and it was temporary given to this other being from heaven
(see also 20:1). This being, whoever he
may be, is still under God’s control and authority. The Abyss represents the place of demons and
of Satan, the king of demons (9:11). See
also Luke 8:31 for another reference to the Abyss.
“And out of the smoke locusts came down on
the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.” (v. 3)
The prophet Joel described a locust plague as a foreshadowing of the “day
of the LORD”, meaning God’s coming judgment (Joel 2:1-10). In the Old
Testament, locusts were symbols of destruction because they destroyed vegetation. Here, however, they symbolize an invasion of
demons called to torture people who do not believe God. The limitations placed on the demons (they
could only torture people for five months) show that they are under God’s
authority.
Most
likely these locusts are evil spirits ruled by Satan who tempt people to
sin. They were not created by Satan,
because God is the Creator of all; rather, they are fallen angels who joined
Satan in his rebellion. God limits what
they can do; they can do nothing without His permission. Their main purpose on earth is to prevent,
distort, or destroy people’s relationship with God. Because they are corrupt and degenerate,
their appearance reflects the distortion of their spirits. While it is important to recognize their evil
activity so we can stay away from them, we must avoid any curiosity about or
involvement with demonic forces or with the occult.
“They had as king over
them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in the Greek
is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer)”. (v. 11) The locust-demons have a leader whose name in
Hebrew and in Greek mean Destroyer. It
may be a play on words by John to show that those who worshipped the great god
Apollo worshipped only a demon.
“The sixth angel sounded
his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden alter
that is before God.” (v. 13) The alter in the temple had four projections,
one at each corner, and these were called the horns of the alter (see Exodus
27:2)
“It said to the sixth angel
who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river
Euphrates.” (v. 14) The word “angels” here means fallen angels or
demons. These four unidentified demons
will be exceedingly evil and destructive.
But note that they do not have the power to release themselves and do
their evil work on earth. Instead, they
are held back by God and will be released at a specific time, doing only what
He allows them to do.
“And the four angels who
had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released
to kill a third of mankind.” (v. 15) Here one-third of all people are killed. In 6:7-8, one-fourth of mankind was
killed. Thus, over one-half of the
people of the world will have been killed by God’s great judgments. Even more would have been killed if God had
not set limits on the destruction.
“The number of the mounted
troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.” (v. 16) In
John’s day, this number of mounted troops in an army was inconceivable, but
today there are countries and alliances that could easily amass this many
soldiers. This huge army, led by the
four demons, will be sent out to destroy one-third of the earth’s
population. But the judgement is still
not complete.
“The
rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of
the work of their hands; they did not stop worshipping demons, and idols of
gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or
walk. Nor did they repent of their
murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality of their thefts. (vs.
20-21) These people were so hardhearted
that even plagues did not drive them to God.
People don’t usually fall into immorality and evil suddenly – they slip
into it a little bit at a time until, hardly realizing what has happened, they
are irrevocably mired in their wicked ways.
Any person who allows sin to take root in his or her life can find
himself or herself in this predicament.
Temptation entertained today becomes sin tomorrow, then a habit the next
day, then death and separation from God forever (see James 1:15). To think you could never become this evil is
the first step toward a hard heart. Acknowledge
your need to confess your sin before God.
Here
is the link I mentioned earlier: