Revelation 9:1-12

1            Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

2            When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke.

3            Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions.

4            They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

5            They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting.

6            In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!

7            The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces.

8            They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion.

9            They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle.

10         They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people.

11         Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon – the Destroyer.

12         The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!

We do not know who this star is that fell from the sky. This “star” could be Satan or a fallen angel, or it could have been Jesus or a good angel. Most theologians believe it’s a good angel, because the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit belongs to Christ. He received it when he defeated death, hell, and the grave before his resurrection took place. Whoever received this key would have gotten it for just this very moment. Whoever this is, he must operate under God’s control. The bottomless pit is where the demons and Satan reside, or at least that’s where it represents.

The angel released these negative spirits into this world as another sign of judgment. As this came from God as a consequence of the world falling apart. Let’s look at what these locusts are all about.

It’s believed that these locusts are demons – they are evil spirits ruled by Satan who tempt people to sin. They weren’t created by Satan, but they are fallen angels that joined Satan in his rebellion against God. God limits what they can do and can do nothing outside of what God calls them to do. Yet they are constantly at work trying to intercede on their relationship with God and other. Because the fallen angels are corrupt and degenerate, their appearance  reflects the distortion of a spirit of the good angel. It’s important to recognize their evil so that we can stay away from them. We must also avoid curiosity or involvement with these evil spirits.

The evil spirits will lead us to different sources that stray us away from God. These sources won’t kill our spiritual relationship with God nor cause us any physical pain, but they will cause our suffering. When we tap into these evil influences, we start the separation of our relationship with God. What are these sources? These are sources that will make us believe God is controlling them, but actually just people of this world trying to make sure of that they are trying to replicate it. Hopefully this made sense.

The prophet Joel described a locust plague as a foreshadowing of the “day of the Lord” referring to this day of God’s coming judgment. In the Old Testament, locusts symbolized destruction because they destroyed vegetation. Here they symbolized the demons coming to torture the unbelievers. The limitations placed on the demons show that they are under God’s authority. The locust-demons have a leader whose name in Hebrew and Greek means “Destroyer.” It could be a play on our by John to those who worshipped the Greek God Apollo, and actually worshipped a demon.

This is one of those moments where we have to step back and see where our relationship with Christ is. If we’re in a healthy and intentional one, then we’re good and may face some indirect backlash as a result. If we’re not, then we will face torture, spiritual harm, and the ability to became eternally separated from God.

Associated Scripture:

Revelation 9:1            Isaiah 14:12; Luke 8:31, 10:18

Revelation 9:3            Revelation 9:5, 10

Revelation 9:4            Ezekiel 9:4, 6; Revelation 7:3

Revelation 9:6            Job 3:21, Revelation 6:16

Revelation 9:7            Joel 2:4-5

Revelation 9:8            Joel 1:6

Revelation 9:9            Joel 2:5

Revelation 9:11          Job 26:6, 29:22

Read the next part here: The Trumpet Sounds – Part 6