Bob Allen

Revelation 9

Questions to ask in Revelation Nine:

The Fifth Trumpet—the Bottomless Pit

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.

The Sixth Trumpet—Army from the East

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. 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.


 

  1. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about Jesus? – He is in charge of the key of the abyss, and he is orchestrating traffic during this difficult time.  No less so now.
  2. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about the church? He restricts the infliction of pain on His anointed?  And God could easily wipe out all humanity but he continues to give opportunity to repent and turn from evil. To those who do believe in Christ alone, thank Him. Thank Him that this will never be your experience in life – and never in your life to come.
  3. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about the world? Things will not be fun. But despite the trouble, people will refuse to return to Him.
  4. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about the Evil One? God uses even demons for His purposes, but He never gives them unlimited jurisdiction.   It is also a reminder that demons do exist and it is not a world to dip our toes into.
  5. Can you see Christ’s Mercy towards humanity in the passage? He won’t let humanity take their own life during the suffering because perhaps there are lessons to be learned?
  6. Can you see Christ’s judgment of disobedience? He will let it run its full course. You would think it would be impossible to not turn to God, but the proof is in verses 20-21

Thoughts:

Remember the warning at the end of Chapter 8 – “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound.”

As you might remember, my brother who recently came to the NW, was concerned about his grandkids.  One of them mentioned that they were in contact with the devil, who provided more truth than he got from his Bible.  From my youth, I still remember a comedy sketch with Flip Wilson, who told everyone that the “Devil made him do it”.  What are demons?  Are they under God’s control?  The truth is that the Bible introduces us to a demonic world that is both terrifying to mankind and controlled by God in their every movement. We never want to underestimate the cunning and destructive power of Satan, but we do not want to overestimate his abilities – and the abilities of his demon forces – either.  If you believe in angels, you also know that demons are fallen angels and they are real.

 

  1. The Fifth Trumpet – The Abyss will be Unlocked.
    1. What is the abyss? This phrase is from the Greek word refers to the inability of man to fathom its depth. Note this is not hell, but the abyss. Where demons are being held for a time of judgment.  (Luke 8:31)
    2. The Abyss is temporary – demons are bound temporarily in the Abyss in Revelation 9, chapter 11:7, and chapter 20:1.
    3. Who is the fallen star?
      1. It’s a him
      2. He is given the key to the pit and opens it. (Which was previously kept by Jesus.)
  • Makes sense that it is Satan (Isaiah 14:12, Luke 10:18, Job 38:7)
  1. What is set free – locusts – with the ability to hurt but not kill, torment with stings for five months – five months waiting for relief – ever sat in the ER for five hours?
  2. These Locusts are pretty ugly – and John uses like – maybe this is where the youth of today get this? There is no reason to believe this will be like anything we presently know.
  3. Don’t miss this – the power of these things is limited by God. In fact, never forget that all this is happening because the One who is worthy has broken the seals to the title deed of all creation. Demons only operate under divine permission and for divine purposes.
    Rev 9:1,3,4,and 5.
  1. The Sixth Trumpet – The Four Angels bound at the Euphrates.
    1. These Four Angels were bound and there are no instances of good angels being bound.
    2. 200 million man army – unstoppable.
    3. This in not Armageddon.
    4. This army has the (v. 19) 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. This is their purpose.  To do harm. (The church has never been and will never be purified by demons.)  This is the phrase I messed up so badly a few weeks ago.
    5. If we add up the numbers that died in the first seals (25%) and this (33%) that together equals 50% of the population of the world.
  2. The Rest of Mankind – the 50% who are left – did not repent. Of what?
    1. Idolatry – they worship the antichrist
    2. Murders – imagine how cheap life will be when 50% of life has been taken
    3. Sorceries – this is often the word for drugs but can also be used for spells séances (can’t believe people won’t try to contact the demons, and the demons will be active)
    4. Immorality – relations outside of marriage
    5. Thefts – when everyone needs to survive, and half the world is gone – will the world of Mad Max will become a reality?