Revelation 9:3-5

^{Revelation 9:3}

Revelation 9:3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Revelation 9::4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Revelation 9: 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

I.            “out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth.”

Here John seeing the vision the locusts are coming out of the smoke. Last session we studied what are the things inside the bottom less pit. Consider to that and what are the descriptions was mentioned by John in Rev. 9: 9-10 we can assume that the locusts are a symbolic representation of demons.  When the fallen angel releasing the all the demons from the bottom less pit to torment the people.

II.           “And to them was given power”

In the same way how the fallen angel receiving the the authority to open the bottom less pit, here are also the locusts are receiving power.

III.         “as the scorpions of the earth have power.”

Here john explains the nature of the power was given to the demons. The nature of the power was mentioned here was like scorpions. If scorpions bits the pain will be intolerable at the same thing nothing will happen to the life (Note: more venom toxicity (poison) scorpions also available). 

IV.                  “Rev 9: 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, “

Why they commanded not to harm the grass or green or tree ? Because we studied in the first trumpet judgment (Rev. 8:7) already these nature was affected.

V.         “but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.”

Here what we can see is God production upon His children. We already had two example when God punishing the wicked people God Product His children.

1.      Noah time flood. When the wicked are punished by flood God save the Noah’s family.

2.       Similar to Job, the Lord will have a hedge about His own, and will not allow these instruments of His judgment to harm them “Have You not made a hedge around him” Job 1:8-10

3.       Another similar event occurred in scripture when Israel was spared from some of the plagues against Egypt, “I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, i” Exodus 8:22.

VI.        Why God is doing these sign

“I will make a difference between My people and your people. Exodus 8:23”

God wants to separate His own people from the wicked people. At the same time God wants to repent the wicked once.

Ex 10:3 “ How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? ”

VII.      The character of the locusts

In Revelation 9:7-11, the Lord provides a detailed description of these creatures because they are real and 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'

 Joel 1:4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

 Joel 1:5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you drinkers of wine, Because of the new wine, For it has been cut off from your mouth.

Joel 1:6 For a nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.

• 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 kings 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

Revelation 9: 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

The locust were further restricted in what they could and could not do. They were not given power to kill the men without the seal of God, but to torture them only for a period of five months. Those stung by these creatures will suffer a terrible pain. As a result, they will seek death will be taken away.

bible names-selected

Athaliah – Jehovah is strong; afflicted by Jehovah (2Ki. 8:26).

·  Athali – Jehovah is strong; allicted by Jehovah (Ez. 10:28).

Aziel – Jehovah strengthens (1Ch. 15:20).

·  Beon — lord of dwelling (Nu, 32:3).

Bernice — victory bringing (Ac. 25:13).

Besodeiah – in the counsel of Jehovah (Ne. 3:6).

Elhanan — God is gracious (2 Sa. 21:19).

·  Eliakim — God establishes; God raises up (2Ki. 18:18).

Elizaphan — God protects (Nu. 3:30).

Kelaiah — (Jehovah is light?) (Ezr. 10:23).

Malachi — my messenger; messenger of Jehovah (Mal. 1:1).

Melatiah — Jehovah delivers (Ne. 3:7).

·  Nedabiah — Jehovah impels; Jehovah is generous (1Ch. 3:18).

·  Nehemiah — Jehovah comforts; consolation of Jehovah (Ezr. 2:2).

Urijah — flame or light of Jehovah (2Ki. 16:10).

·  Jehezekel — God is strong; God strengthens (1Ch.24:16).

·  Jehiah — Jehovah lives (1Ch. 15:24).

·  Jehiel — God lives (1Ch. 15:18). (but not in 1Ch. 9:35 and 11:44).

·  Jehleli — God lives (1Ch. 26:21).

·  Jehizkiah — Jehovah is strong; strength of Jehovah (2Ch. 28:12).

Jehovah-nissi — Jenovah is my banner (Ex. 17:15).

Revelation 9:2

^{Revelation 9:2}

²     And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

                                      

What is bottomless pit?

The Bible has much to say concerning the destination of men's souls at death and the dwelling place for demons.  First, the Bible teaches in 1Corinthians 15 that our existence is one partly of flesh and partly of spirit. The flesh of our bodies is destined to end at our physical death, but our spirit is eternal. Therefore, when our physical body dies, our spirit must go to a new place.

·        First of all, one has to understand that there are 3 greek words that are translated "hell" in the New Testament in the King James Bible.

·        The Hades (I n Hebrew it is called Seoul) is 10 times translated as "hell", Jesus teaches in Luke 16 that God has prepared a place of confinement (prisoned) for the souls of those who die without faith. The place is called Hades, which we call Hell. This place holds the souls of all men who have died without faith in God's promises (i.e., unbelievers), and these persons will remain in soul-form in Hades until the day of their judgment. That day is called the Great White Throne Judgment, which is described in Revelation 20:

Rev. 20:12 And I saw the dead, the  great and the small, standing before the throne, and   books were opened; and another  book was opened, which is  the book of life; and the dead  were judged from the things which were written in the  books,  according to their deeds.
Rev. 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and  death and Hades  gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them  according to their deeds.
Rev. 20:14 Then  death and Hades were thrown into  the lake of fire. This is the  second death, the lake of fire.
Rev. 20:15 And if  anyone’s name was not found written in  the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 

·        The Greek word Gehenna is 12 times translated as "hell", but it actually refers to the lake of fire that all the occupants of hell and even hell itself will be cast into at the end of the Great White Throne Judgment as scripture says. Once the Great White Throne Judgment concludes, the souls of all unbelievers will be condemned for their sin and cast into the Lake of Fire, which is their final eternal home. Jude 7 speaks of this eternal home.

Jude 1:7 just as  Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after  strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 

(A+jh 1:7) mg;gbNa NrhNjhk; nfhNkhuh gl;lzj;jhh;fSk;> mitfisr; #o;e;j gl;lzj;jhh;fSk;> mth;fisg;Nghy; tpgrhuk;gz;zp> me;epa khk;rj;ijj; njhlh;e;J> epj;jpa mf;fpdpapd; Mf;fpidia mile;J> jpU\;lhe;jkhf itf;fg;gl;bUf;fpwhh;fs;.

·        The Greek word pronounced ab-oos-oh-sos means depthless - a paradoxical definition whereby something is so deep that it has no depth. It's less of a seeming contradiction if one states it as something is so deep that it has no measureable depth. The English word "abyss" originated from that Greek word. and But actually that refers to the bottomless pit (extremely hopeless situation )or abyss which is the lowest part of Hades where there are some fallen angels imprisoned there now as stated in 2 Peter 2:4 in the New Testament, and where Satan himself will be imprisoned at the end of this age.

2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

(2NgJ 2:4) ghtQ;nra;j J}jh;fisj; Njtd; jg;gtplhky;> me;jfhur; rq;fpypfspdhNy fl;b eufj;jpNy js;sp epahaj;jPh;g;Gf;F itf;fg;gl;lth;fshf xg;Gf;nfhLj;J@

Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;

A+jh 1:6) jq;fSila MjpNkd;ikiaf; fhj;Jf;nfhs;shky;> jq;fSf;Fhpa thr];jyj;ij tpl;Ltpl;l J}jh;fisAk;> kfhehspd; epahaj;jPh;g;Gf;nfd;W epj;jpa rq;fpypfspdhNy fl;b> me;jfhuj;jpy; milj;Jitj;jpUf;fpwhh;.

Luke 8:30 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “ Legion”; for many demons had entered him.
Luke 8:31 They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into  the abyss. 

·        The bottomless pit is a place only for fallen angels and for Satan, but hades which is translated hell as stated earlier is a place for human lost souls which is above the bottomless pit

Revelation 9:1 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon (in English it is called “the destroyer”)

Revelation 11:7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,

Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

Revelation 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.

Here smoke

This is smoke is symbolic writing of John. He tells when the smoke came out from the bottomless pit the sun were darkened.

Now the arrested all evil spirits were released from their place. God gave the permission to them to torment the whole earth. So the earth came to the control of satan. During the five month time the earth was under control of satan. So the light (Jesus) left the people to satan’s hand. The satan rule is referred as darkness.

Luke 23:44-48 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

Isaiah 8:22 ESV

And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Joel 2:2 ESV

A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.

Revelation 9:1

Revelation 9:1

Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit

Before starting the discussion I have five question in my mind

1.      What is happening when the fifth angle blew the trumpet ? (Revelation 9: 1-11)

2.      Who is that star ?

3.      What authority given to him ?

4.      What happened when he use his power ?

5.      What is behind mysteries of locusts ?

When we read the fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:1-11) incident, it resembling or recalling the Job incident

God gave authority to satan “…the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand” (Job 2:6)	Key(authority ) given to fallen star “To him was given the key” (Rev 9:1)
satan gave trouble only to his body.  “…touch his bone and his flesh” (Job 2:4)	To locuts gave permission to torment the people for five months    “…to torment them for five months.” (Rev 9:5)
Satan did not had permission to take Job’s life “…but spare his life” (job 2:6)	Locusts  not killing the people “they were not given authority to kill them” (Rev 9:5)
Job want to die, but he can’t “…death rather than my life”  (job 7:15)(KJV Cambridge Ed.)	People wants to die, but they can’t “men will seek death and will not find it” (Rev 9:6)

I.              Star

Why I am comparing the Job and Revelation means to find the answer for our second question. Who is that star?

Stars are repeating many times in the whole bible. But the meaning of the star is changed place to place.

1.     Multitude or Descendants are referred as star

Genesis 26:4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven;

2.    Jesus referred as star and morning star

Numbers 24:17 " A Star shall come out of Jacob;”

2Pet 1:19, Rev 2:28, Rev 22:16 : Morning star

3.    Righteousness is referred as star

Daniel 12 :3 righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.

4.    Idols or goddess are referred as star

Amos 5 :26  You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves.

5.    Church Leaders are referred as star

Revelation 1:20 The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches,

6.    In bible we can see some fallen stars and wondering star

Bible mentioning two type of fallen stars

1.Fallen stars

2.Fallen star

a.     Fallen stars

This may be we can take as literal meaning or spiritual meaning. Some references are          

Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Mark 13:25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 6: 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.

Daniel 8:10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.

b.     Fallen star

Isaiah 14:12(NIV) : “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star,”

Revelation 8:10 Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

c.      Wandering stars

“Jude 1:12 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

Here Jude himself clearly mentions about whom that is wandering star in Jude 1:9.

Angels were not fallen

Throughout bible no were mentioned that angles or an angle are fall from heaven. Bible mentioning about angle is

1. “angels came”  - Gen19:1, Judges 13:6, 2 king 19:35, Zec 4:1, Zec 5:5,

2. “The Angel of the LORD came” - Judges 2:1, Judges 6:11, 9, 1king 17:9, Mat 4:11 luke 24:23, Rev. 14:15, 17,18, Rev. 15:6, Rev. 20:1 

3.“An angel of the Lord descended from heaven” - Mat. 28:2

II.          “to him”

            Here, if we take a look closely to verse revelation 9:1, it is using the word “to him”. Here the “him” refers the star. So we can understand that this star referring some person. In the same verse mentioned that star was fallen down to the earth.

            Already we saw many stars and its meaning. So we can understand that the fallen star is nothing but devil.    

III.      “given the key”

Here we can see that the star receiving key from someone. From whom he got the key ? for that first we can understand who holding the keys   Rev 1:18, Is.22:22 and Mat. 16:19 stating that, the key of hell and hades holding by Lord Jesus.      

Revelation 1:18 - And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 

Isaiah 22:22 - The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder

Matthew 16:19 – And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:

All above three verse states that Christ has the key. We know that meaning of key is authority to do things. Anything Satan does, as in hurting Job, must be approved by Christ before he does it, because Christ has complete authority over all things. 

 Therefore it is not difficult to see that Christ gives the keys to the bottomless pit to this star, who opens the pit and lets loose these terrible calamities upon the earth. 

Revelation 20:1 records that an angel from God now has the keys (authority) of the bottomless pit, which he opens and chains Satan for 1,000 years. 

IV.      Bottom less pit

We will discuss the bottom less pit in next week.