Revelation: Chapter 9
Setting
As seen in the chronology of Revelation, John is viewing these events of this chapter from heaven, shown as a red box on the heavenly plane. He is observing the effects on Earth of each trumpet judgment, shown by the downward arrow to the Earth plane.
| Verses | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1-6 | Sounding of the fifth trumpet |
| 7-11 | The character of the locusts |
| 12 | The first woe |
| 13-16 | The sounding of the sixth trumpet |
| 17-19 | The character of the four demonic angels |
| 20-21 | The response of the rest of mankind |
In Revelation 9:1, John hears the fifth trumpet blast and then sees a star falling to earth. Stars are often linked to angels, and this star (angel) was given the key to the shaft of the abyss. There are some differences in how this angel is identified. Isaiah connects Satan with the morning star in Isaiah 14:12-15. Therefore, some believe that the star in Revelation represents Satan. However, it might be more accurate to associate this star with an angel who belongs to the Lord. The same angel is seen again later in Revelation, where he chains and casts Satan into the same pit, sealing him inside, because the angel still holds the keys to the pit, as shown in Revelation 20:1-3.
The star (angel) is seen falling, or racing, from heaven to earth and is given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. It is not necessarily true that this is a physical door or object that this key unlocks. Rather, the key is evidence of ownership and authority over a thing. This authority enables specific beings to transition from their current location in the abyss to Earth’s surface. There are other examples of keys or ownership in scripture.
- Jesus had given the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter, Matthew 16:17-20
- The key to knowledge that the law experts had taken away from the people. They did not enter into that knowledge and hindered others from the knowledge of the Lord, Luke 11:52
- At the beginning of the book of Revelation, John saw the Lord and heard Him say that He held the keys of death and Hades, Revelation 1:17-18
- To the church of Philadelphia, the Lord revealed Himself as the one who holds the key of David, Revelation 3:7
What the angel unlocks is the entrance to the shaft of the Abyss. This is what, in Hebrew, is called Sheol, or, in the modern vernacular, hell (Hades). There appears to be three different compartments in hell:
- One compartment was divided into two parts. Jesus described these two parts in his story of Lazarus and the rich man, found in Luke 16:19-31. He said there were two compartments: one was paradise, where the Old Testament saints were, represented by Abraham Genesis 15:6, Luke 16:22, and the other was a place of torment Luke 16:24. There was also an enormous, impassable gulf that separated the two compartments Luke 16:26.
- The one part held the righteous Old Testament saints, who were waiting for the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus, Luke 9:31, Romans 4:21-25, 1Corinthians 15:1-4
- This part was called paradise, Luke 23:40-43, where the Old Testament saints went
- This part was emptied after the Lord’s resurrection, and the Old Testament saints were all taken from there to be in the presence of God with the New Testament saints, Ephesians 4:8, represented by Abraham, Genesis 15:6, Luke 16:22
- The second part held the unrighteous, as Luke 16:22-24 illustrates
- These souls are waiting for their appearance before Christ Jesus at the great white throne judgment, Revelation 20:10-15
- After their judgment, they are thrown into the lake of fire for eternity, Revelation 20:15
- A second compartment is called Tartarus; a word used only once in scripture. This is where rebellious angels are kept until the day of judgment, 2Peter 2:4, 1Peter 3:18, Jude 1:6, Luke 8:30-31
- Another compartment is Gehenna, the lake of fire, which is now empty
- The first two occupants will be the Antichrist and the false prophet, who will be thrown into the lake of fire at the battle of Armageddon, Revelation 19:20
- They are put there by Christ Jesus upon His return with all His saints at the end of the seven-year tribulation, Revelation 19:11-16.
- The lake of fire, or Gehenna, was represented in our physical world by a valley outside of Jerusalem that was always burning and where trash and unclaimed bodies were thrown for their ultimate disposal
- This is also the place where all the unrighteous who appeared before the great white throne for judgment, and whose names were not found in the book of life, are thrown into for eternity, Revelation 20:11-13, 15
- Hades and death will be the last things to be thrown into the lake of fire, Revelation 20:14. This is not a place of annihilation, but eternal suffering
- The abyss is another compartment of hell, which is called tartaroo
- However, it is not the same place where the dead who are not in Christ go, Luke 16:22-24
- In the abyss, God had sent angels who lost their first estate, Jude 1:6, 2Peter 2:4
- Peter is the only one to use the Greek word tartaroo in scripture
- This was a term used by the ancient Greeks to describe the lowest parts of Hell, (Information can be found in the Blue Letter Bible website, to learn more about this word using the "Dictionary and Word Search for tartaroo (Strong's 5020)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2008
- Jude refers to the same place, but rather than calling it a name, he refers to its characteristic of darkness, which in Greek is zophos, (Information can be found on the Blue Letter Bible website to learn more about this word using the "Dictionary and Word Search for zophos (Strong's 2217). Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2008
- Daniel also spoke of these evil angels and their activities today, Daniel 10:20 (fighting angels who have left their area of responsibility). This is the place where other evil spirits, who are demons, will go, Luke 8:28-32
- Satan will occupy this place during the millennial reign of Christ, Revelation 20:1-3
- All of the evil angels who occupy the abyss now or at a later time, will eventually be thrown into the lake of fire, Revelation 21:7-10 (A great presentation of this on YouTube is presented by the Allen Parr Jr, founder of the Beat. )
- Demons fear a third compartment, the bottomless pit, Luke 8:31
In Revelation 9:2, John saw smoke rising from the abyss when it was opened. It's important to note that a change in the spiritual realm brought a corresponding response in the physical world. John witnessed a physical impact from this event; the sun and sky darkened, along with one-third of the day and night, which were already darkened by the blowing of the 4th trumpet, as described in Revelation 8:7, 12. All of these judgments are cumulative. A geological impact in western Europe was the 2010 Icelandic volcanic eruption, which caused air travel to halt for an extended period and severely affected the airline industry.
In Revelation 9:3-4, John sees unusual locusts come out of the smoke from the abyss and descend on Earth. Interestingly, they are not seen emerging directly from the abyss but from the smoke above it. These locusts are granted the power of scorpions. The limits of what these locusts can do are set by God.
- Do not harm the grass, (this may imply that much of the grass destroyed during the 1st trumpet has grown back, though not necessarily)
- They are not to harm the plants or trees
- They were only to torment those not sealed by God on their foreheads
A key point to emphasize is that those who were sealed, the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel, Revelation 7:4-8, are not directly subject to God's judgment. Like Job, the Lord will surround His own with a hedge, preventing these instruments of His judgment from harming them, Job 1:8-10. A similar event occurred in Scripture when Israel was protected from some of the plagues against Egypt, but not all, as recorded in Exodus 8:21-23. Only the 144,000 are sealed at the beginning of the tribulation, and many churches are protected by God during this time. However, nothing is mentioned about the other saints of God still alive when this world judgment takes place.
In Revelation 9:5-6, the locusts were restricted in what they could and could not do. They were not given the power to kill anyone, but they were to torture those without God’s seal on them, and only for five months. Those stung by these creatures will suffer a terrible pain. As a result, they will seek death, but death will be taken away, Revelation 9:6; it is Christ who holds the key of death, Revelation 1:17-18. Although not explicitly stated, it may be that if a person were to believe in the Lord and turn their life over to Him, they would be relieved of the pain and suffering associated with this judgment, Jeremiah 18:5-10, Ezekiel 18:30-32.
Just as in the days before the Lord began his earthly ministry, John the Baptist announced the kingdom's arrival. This will be the same message preached during the tribulation, as seen in Matthew 3:1-3. Repentance with godly sorrow leads to salvation, 2Corinthians 7:8-10. So why five months for this judgment upon unrepentant men and women? This number is usually associated with repentance, in this case through judgment rather than grace. The church is in the age of grace, as stated in Isaiah 26:9-10.
This is a good time to reemphasize a point made earlier in Revelation 1 about what John wrote for today. Twice, John recorded that he was commanded to write down in a book everything he had seen, including what is now and what will happen later, and to send it to the seven churches, Revelation 1:11, 19. John explained that the origin of this book was God the Father, who gave it to Jesus, then Jesus gave it to an angel to show to John, and finally, it was sent to the churches. Although John recorded everything he saw for us today, it is God the Father who created the visuals for John to see, and John then shared what he saw. These visions were designed so that John could describe what he saw in a way that was familiar to his world and time; God ensured that John’s descriptions would make sense to those living in the end times. This makes the message of this book most relevant to them. It’s also interesting to note how often John uses words like “as,” “as if,” “like,” and similar expressions to illustrate what is visible to him. This chapter is one of the few in this book where John frequently uses these terms, but they do not diminish the reality of what will be experienced by those in the end times.
In Revelation 9:7-9, the features of these demonic locusts are real; they relate to the physical abilities they have to prepare for battle with mankind, being well-protected from physical harm, and equipped to cause significant mental and physical damage to those not sealed by God, Revelation 9:7-10. Like a scorpion, the power they hold over everyone in the world who God does not seal is in their tails. They have stingers in their tails to harm mankind for five months. They also possess the intelligence to organize effectively. This is not a mindless army, but it has purpose and is directed by a king among them. John records the king's name in Revelation 9:11. In Hebrew, the name is Abaddon; in Greek, it is Apollyon. This evil angel’s name indicates that the attacks by the locusts will target both Jews and Gentiles whom God does not seal. These descriptions are not allegorical, as some would argue.
- Appeared as horses ready for battle
- Wore something similar to crowns of gold on their heads
- Their faces resembled human faces
- Their hair was like women's
- Their teeth were like lions'
- They had breastplates of iron
- The sound of their wings was frightening
- They had tails as scorpions
- In their tail was the power to torment for five months
- They are organized and intelligent, having a king over them
- The king's name is Abaddon in Hebrew, which is equivalent to destruction and is found in the Hebrew Bible in Job 26:6, Job 28:22, Job 31:12, Psalm 88:11, and Proverbs 15:11, Proverbs 27:20, or Apollyon in Greek, which also means destruction
In Revelation 9:12, the great suffering inflicted upon the world’s unbelieving population has ended. However, with its conclusion, two other woes remain to be fulfilled, as announced in Revelation 8:13. The angel's announcement should have struck terror into the hearts of those who rebel against God. After witnessing the overwhelming terror inflicted by these locusts on the unbelievers, one would expect them to turn to God. Unlike the fifth trumpet, which directly calls in the first of the three woes, the other two woes will not be explicitly linked to either the sixth or seventh trumpet. The second woe begins at the start of the tribulation. It ends sometime between the sixth and seventh trumpets, when the two witnesses are resurrected after being killed by the Antichrist, as described in Revelation 11:1-14. The third woe occurs after the seventh trumpet is blown, as noted in Revelation 11:14-15, when Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven permanently, as described in Revelation 12:9-12.
- The first woe was the demonic locusts, Revelation 9:1-12
- The second woe is the two witnesses who live during the first half of the tribulation and are killed during the midway point of the tribulation, Revelation 11:7-14
- The third woe that is heralded by the 7th trumpet, when Satan is no longer able to ascend into heaven after losing his war against Michael and his angels, Revelation 12:7-12
In Revelation 9:13, the sixth angel blows his trumpet. A voice was heard from the horns of the golden altar before God. This is what Moses saw when God commanded him to build the same altar for offering prayers for the people before the Lord, Exodus 30:1-3. In the earthly temple, the altar was situated before the curtain that separated the holy place from the holy of holies; however, in heaven, it was beyond the curtain, as described in Hebrews 9:1-4.
In Revelation 9:14-16, the command was given to the sixth angel who had just sounded his horn to release the four angels bound at the Euphrates River. The voice came from the altar of incense, where the prayers of the saints were offered before God. These four angels to be released are evil, with only evil intentions. They have a divine appointment made by God, as Gog and his confederates had when they invaded northern Israel in another earlier modern war, as recorded in Ezekiel 38 and Ezekiel 39. The appointed time for these four angels is for a specific hour, day, month, and year; the battle of Armageddon. These angels will be responsible for killing 1/3 of mankind. In addition to the pale horse revealed by the opening of the fourth seal, this accounts for 1/4 of the world's population being killed during the tribulation. These four angels are the lead for the 200,000,000-man army from the east. To see the totality of the tribulation's impact on the human population at that time, follow the link to a compressed view of the tribulation.
In Revelation 9:17-19, the characteristics of these four demonic angels are given:
- Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur
- The heads of the horses resembled lions
- Out of the horse heads came fire, smoke, and sulfur
- The power of the horses was in their mouth and their tails
- Their tails were like snakes that would harm people
As John is a first-century man, one can only imagine what he saw and how he responded to such sights—something no man of his time had ever seen or imagined. Moving forward to our era, it’s easy to picture the size of this assembled army, its deadly power, and the destruction it can cause as it unleashes tactical nuclear and biological weapons against everything behind and in front of it. This represents a comprehensive implementation of a scorched-earth policy.
A comparison of the six trumpet judgments revealed so far can be seen in the following link. That chart shows the ten plagues of Egypt alongside the opening of the seven seals, the blowing of seven trumpets, and pouring of seven bowls, plagues and tribulation judgments.
Incredibly, Revelation 9:20-21 reveals the rebellious response of unrepentant mankind against God, who are still alive. John summarizes the stubbornness of the survivors towards God after the blowing of the six trumpets, who:
- Did not repent of the work of their hands
- Did not stop worshiping, demons, idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood
- Did not repent of their murders, magic arts (illicit drugs), sexual immorality, and thefts
Paul spoke of this by contrasting the Christian life with the sinful man in Galatians 5:19-24. By this point, John has evidenced God’s immense power and His judgment against the world’s nations for their evil practices and rebellion against Him. Like other mighty men of God, John is probably suffering physically and emotionally from all he has seen, which sets the stage for the events in Revelation 10.