Rev 9:1-21
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Well its been a while, but I hope that you are ready to get back into it. We are off course working our way through the Revelation. and by way of review lets take a minute to briefly look at where we have been.
1. Revelation is unique as it offers a blessing for : simply reading it.
2. It also gives us an outline found where: 1:19.
3. What does the outline tell John to do?
4. What are the things John has seen? Chapter?
5. What are the things that are? Chapters?
6. What are the things that will happen after these things? Chapters? Greek?
7. Chapters 4 and 5 show the church where?
8. Chapters 6 -19 speak of what on earth? To whom?
9. Chapter 19 who comes back? With Whom?
10. Chapter 20 is a thousand year reign of ? called the ?
11. Chapters 21 & 22 tell of the new _____ and new _____?
12. And then we all live ?
So we find our selves in the find of the second group of judgments called the Trumpet judgments. Remember there are 3 groups of 7 judgments, the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments, and the bowl judgments. In each set the 7th judgment introduces the next set.
We remember the first 4 trumpets in chapter 8 were more natural having to do with Oceans, Fresh water, and the ski. But now we are warned about the the last 3. Saying, Woe, Woe, Woe. We now encounter the supernatural world, the Demonic.
Let’s read, the first 12 verses of chapter 9, NASB
1 Then 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.
2 He 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.
3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 They 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.
5 And 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.
6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
7 The 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.
8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.
9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.
10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.
11 They 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.
12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
If you haven’t been “freaked out” so far you should be now. We now begin to get the material/physical manifestation of the demonic realm. It’s easy to forget that behind the vail of our physical reality is a whole world of activity.
You might remember the story of Elisha in 2 Kings
15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Even here, right now, the space around you is active in the spiritual realm.
So lets look at the 5th Trumpet in detail.
V1- 11 The Fifth Trumpet
1 Then 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.
2 He 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.
· A star that had fallen from sky to the earth. Who is this star? Angel good or bad? The term star seems to be referring to an angelic being, not just a meteor. Many believe this to non-other than Satan himself or perhaps even a lessor demonic being perhaps the great star that fell from heaven mentioned in 8:10, the third trumpet.
Of Satans fall Isaiah says;
12 “How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
also The Lord Jesus in Luke;
18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
We are told He is given a key to the abyss.. What is the Abyss? Bottomless Pit. Where is it and what purpose does it serve? The subterranean abode of demonic hordes.
· The abyssos is a prison for certain demons also referred to Tartarus or the pit of darkness. One ancient author, Homer, said the abyss is “as far beneath hades as the Earth is beneath Heaven”
Interestingly, the CERN LHC operation in Switzerland is said to be built over the ancient temple to Apollo. And part of what they are working on is creating pathways into other dimensions, the demonic realm.
Apollyon,THE DESTROYER - And The bottomless pit and the Large Cern Hadron collider - The LHC complex is situated in Saint Genis Pouilly which was in Roman times called Apolliacum, the town and a temple being dedicated to Apollyon.
APOLLYON. The Greek name, meaning "Destroyer," given in Revelation 9:11 for "the angel of the bottomless pit" (in Hebrew called Abaddon), also identified as the king of the demonic "locusts" described in Revelation 9:3-10...In one manuscript, instead of Apollyon the text reads "Apollo," the Greek god of the sun, Also at CERN is a statue of the Indian Lord Shiva, the “god of Destruction”
We find several passages that speak of this place.(Luke 8:31, 2 Peter 2:4, andJude 6).
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
This understanding gives light to the story in Luke 8 where Jesus confronts the Demon possessed man.
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
27 And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.
28 Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”
29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.
30 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.
31 They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
32 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.
33 And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
According to verse 31, the demons would prefer go into pigs than to go to the abyss.
More generally, this place, the abyss, is also considered the realm of the dead, the same as Hades (Romans 10:7).
7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”
2 He 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.
3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 They 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.
5 And 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.
6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
So here we are given a description of what happens when the pit is opened. Smoke rises from the pit and Locusts come out of the smoke.
But these are not your ordinary locusts. In scripture locusts are always associated with devastation. You might remember that Locusts where the 8th of the ten plagues on Egypt. Those ate up all the vegetation in Egypt but these Locusts are not interested in Vegetation.
They only harm those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
They are given power like scorpions. scorpions are known for a very painful sting. You might remember the term scorpion was used by Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, in describing the whips he would use to chastise his people. So scorpions can be seen as euphemism for cruelty. Thus the cruel torture inflicted by these demon locust hordes on the Earth dwellers.
They are told to not harm plants – obviously not regular locusts. Their singular purpose is to harm anyone not sealed by God.
Notice verse 5 & 6;
5 And 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.
6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
They don’t kill, they torture for 5 months. The sting is agonizing like a scorpions sting, men will want to die but cannot. Think about that, you want to die but you can’t. All you can do is endure agonizing pain.
The Revelation of John, Volume 2 The Demonic Locusts (Revelation 9:3–12 Contd)
Their attack is to last for five months. The explanation of the five months is probably that the lifespan of a locust from birth, through the larva stage, to death is five months. It is as if we might say that one generation of locusts is being launched upon the earth.
We move on,
7 The 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.
8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.
9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.
10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.
11 They 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.
Verse 7 – 11 the Locust Horde is described. They are horrifying and loud.
Their leader is Apollyon or Destroyer. As a quick aside, Note Proverbs 30
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in ranks;
Why would the HS put this obscure reference in the Bible? Maybe its a clue that these creatures in Rev 9 are no mere locusts.
On that note the
See Septuagint translation has an interesting take on Amos 7;
7:1 “Thus the Lord showed me; and behold, a swarm of locusts coming from the East ; and behold; one caterpillar, king Gog.”
Now there is a parallel passage to Rev 9; Check this out;
Joel 2:1 – 11,
1 Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
2 A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a great and mighty people;
There has never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
3 A fire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them
But a desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
5 With a noise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the people are in anguish;
All faces turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each march in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.
8 They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they burst through the defenses,
They do not break ranks.
9 They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They enter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The Lord utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.
The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?
Remember the Jewish day begins in the dark, the evening and then the morning. Joel 2 is a parallel of Rev 9.
Joel 2 is like most of scripture, It has layers. A real plague of locusts happened during Joel’s ministry and the Assyrian army was soon to come (the ISIS of their time), but this also foretells the day of the Lord which begins in darkness but will end in great victory and light.
Now in the description in Rev 9 beginning at verse 7 we learn the appearance of these demon locusts are like “horses”.
Pictures of Locusts
The Revelation of John, Volume 2 The Locusts from the Abyss (Revelation 9:3–12)
It has always been noticed that the head of a locust is like the head of a horse. For that reason, the Italian word for locust is cavalletta and the German is Heupferd
Little horse and hay-horse.
7 The 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.
8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.
9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.
What a picture. Some have seen a type of helicopter here or some future military weapon.
Picture of Cobra helicopters
But I believe we are looking at a physical manifestation of a demonic being.
Notice verse 12
12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
V12 Two more woes await the world, the last one is the bowl Judgments.
V13 – 19 The sixth trumpet, a second demonic horde..
13 Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
15 And 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.
16 The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.
17 And 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.
18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.
19 For 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.
We have a voice calling out from the horns of the altar. The horns were where people would go for mercy. The blood of the sacrifice is sprinkled on the horns. Remember in Joel 2 the priest are called to prayer and call the people to repentance.
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And rend your heart and not your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.
14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Even a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
Jesus is the voice calling from the horns of the altar, it is His blood that was shed. He is calling the world to repent by any means possible. This is the wrath of the Lamb.
Think about it? What will it take? Stings that make you want to die, job issues, money issues? He is more concerned with our eternity.
14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
15 And 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.
In V14- 15 four angels at the Euphrates are released, not good angels or they would not need to have been bound. What is important about the Euphrates River? It is an often mentioned place in scripture. Eden, Nimrod (Babylonian religion), Border of the land given to Abraham, and the border of the Roman empire as well.
These 4 fallen angels have been held captive for this specific date and time to kill one third of the earths population. (50 % of the earth’s total pop has been killed to this point.)
The demonically inspired army has 200 Million mounted troops. Are they demons or men? China boosted some time ago it could, within 5 months, gather an army of 200 million. 5 months – interesting…
In John’s day there were not 200 mil people on the earth.
V17 – 19 describes the army and their appearance and weaponry.
17 And 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.
18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.
19 For 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.
Red (Fire) Blue (hyacinth), and Yellow (brimstone/sulfur). Chapter 16 will describe this group as the kings of the east.
20 The 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;
21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.
V20-21 After all they had seen the world will not repent. Notice the list. In v21
Murders – abortion, magic arts – drugs Greek word is pharmakeia, sexual immorality – any sex outside of marriage, homosexuality and premarital – extramarital sex Greek word is porneo, or thefts Greek root word is klepto.
Paul wrote in Romans
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
This is the world we live in and it will get worse.
in closing its important to realize that nowhere in scripture do we see punishment bringing about repentance toward God. Only the convicting power of the HS and the acceptance of the Gift of Grace will do that.
Come today while there is still hope.