Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Revelation chapter 9 as we continue our study through the Word of God. Our study finds us in the midst of the seven trumpet judgments. We have seen that in the seven seal judgments that ¼ of the earth’s population was destroyed, over 1 billion people!
Now, with these trumpet judgments the intensity of these judgments upon a Christ rejecting world is increasing. We saw in the first four trumpet judgments that 1/3 of the vegetation will be destroyed; 1/3 of the oceans will be destroyed; 1/3 of the fresh water supply will be destroyed; and 1/3 of the sun, moon and stars will be struck, causing a 33% reduction in sunlight. That was just in the first four trumpet judgments. Folks, there are three more trumpet judgments to go! In fact, as we concluded last time we were told by John, “And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’” Revelation 8:13.
Tonight we will look at two of the three last trumpet judgments and as we do, keep in mind what rebellious man cried out as they refused to come to Christ, “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:17. As you will see, outside of Christ there is death and destruction and no one can stand. With that said, let’s begin reading in Revelation chapter 9, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSE 1
As the fifth trumpet judgment sounds, John sees a star that has already fallen from heaven. Now, who or what is this star? Is it some kind of space debris or meteor? Or is it just symbolic in nature as Torrance tells us, “St. John’s vision likens the Word of God to a star that falls out of heaven and opens the bottomless pit of human nature. . . . Preach the Gospel and keep on preaching it, and either men are ashamed and converted or the bottomless pit is opened. Surely this is what has happened in the Western world, in civilized Europe, as well as in the land of the Mau Mau, for example. The cross of Jesus Christ has provoked such a reaction against it that all the latent evil in men has been pushed to the surface in unbelievable wickedness and bloodshed. The very bottomless pit has been opened in our midst, so that heaven and earth have been darkened with the fumes and the whole atmosphere of the world has been poisoned.”
Now, that may be very true but it does not fit what John is saying here, the context is not right. Just look at what is being said and I think you can see it doesn’t fit what Torrance had to say. Then what do I think is being said? I’m glad you asked! First of all we see the personal pronoun “he” being used. Secondly, John speaks of this persons fall in the past tense and thus, it is something that has happened already.
Who is this person? Folks, I believe this fallen star is Lucifer or Satan. In Isaiah 14:12-14 we are told, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’” He rebelled against God because he wanted the attention, he wanted the worship and thus, he was cast out from his position in heaven even though he still has access to God, accusing us before Him. But one day, during the Tribulation Period, he will be cast out of heaven, he will no longer have access to God and accuse us before Him! In fact, Jesus, in speaking of this event when Satan fell, said “ . . . ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’” Luke 10:18.
This fallen star is given the key to the bottomless pit. Now, if you take this literally, the only place this could be is the center of the earth. You see, there is no bottom in the center of the earth, everything goes upward no matter which direction you go! The Greek word for this is ABUSSOS, (ab’-us-sos) from which we get our English word Abyss. What is down there? Let’s read on and see!
VERSES 2-3
Folks, first of all Satan is allowed to do this by God, he cannot do this on his own no matter how much he wants to. Secondly, this is a judgment of God upon a Christ rejecting world. And as this pit is opened we see this smoke come pouring out. This pit that has been closed for several thousand years is now opened and we see these demonic locust-like creatures come forth who will have a sting upon the earth’s inhabitants like a scorpion!
In Revelation chapter 12 we are told that when Lucifer or Satan rebelled against God, he took 1/3 of the angels with him. Folks, I believe these fallen angels are nothing more than demons. But not all demons are locked in this pit, which is very obvious as you look at the work they are doing in this world right now! But then, who are these angels that are locked up until this time of judgment? In Jude 6, 7 we are told, “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; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
I believe Jude is saying that these fallen angels violated the laws of God by not carefully guarding and maintaining their original position they were created for. Yes they did rebel against God and were punished for that, but there is something more going on here than just that. Specifically, these fallen angels invaded territory that was foreign to them and forbidden to them, namely the human race! In fact, Jude likens their sins to that of Sodom and Gomorrah, who went after “strange flesh.”
The word “strange” in the Greek is HETEROS or different flesh. You see, the men in these cities were involved in homosexual relationships, which went against that which was natural! Thus, these angels invaded the realm of another nature, they co-habituated with women to pollute the human race and prevent the Messiah from being born of the seed of a woman! Thus, God destroyed the world in a flood except for Noah and his family who were not affected by this! It is as Peter tells us of these angels, “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.” II Peter 2:4. All the angels who rebelled against God sinned, but here something else is going on like I said, and these angels who co-habituated with women are chained for this day spoken of here, a day of judgment!
Now where in the Bible do we see this take place or do we see it in the Bible? I do believe we see this take place in Genesis chapter 6, where we are told, “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. . . . There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:1-2, 4.
Now some like to say that this not speaking of angels here but that the godly line of Seth, being “the sons of God” married the ungodly line of Cain, being the “daughters of men.” But the union of a believer and unbeliever does not produce some kind of mutation or strange manifestation – giants or Nephilim! The classical use in the Old Testament of the phrase “sons of God” or BAR ELOHEM is that of angels. You can find that used that very way in Job 1:6 and Job 38:7. And so these fallen angels or demons that are locked in chains in the center of the earth, in Tartarus, are those wickedest of angels who co-habituated with women, and there may be others that the Lord has placed there, but they are not all chained in this pit.
I think John Phillips makes some interesting comments on these fallen angels as he wrote, “Picture what the world would be like if we were to open the doors of all the penitentiaries of earth and set free the world’s most vicious and violent criminals, giving them full reign to practice their infamies upon mankind. Something worse than that lies in store for the world. Satan, cast out of heaven, is now permitted to summon to his aid the most diabolical fiends in the abyss to act as his agents in bringing mankind to the footstool of the Beast.”
One last point before we move on. In Revelation 20:1-3 we are told, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.” This bottomless pit is the place where Satan will be bound for 1,000 years during the Millennial reign of Christ, and then, for a short time he will be released and then we are told, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10. It is then that God will create a new heavens and a new earth for us to dwell with Him forever!
VERSE 4
Once again, these are not normal locusts that would devastate the vegetation but these are demons! And they will harm the earth-dwellers except for those that have been sealed by God or the 144,000 Jewish witnesses for Christ, which we read about in Revelation chapter 7.
VERSES 5-6
As these demons are unleashed they sting people like a scorpion, inflicting so much pain that they want to die. They say a scorpion sting is very painful. In fact, some can even kill you. But here we will see people wanting to die and death takes a holiday for 5 months! Interestingly enough, that is the life span of locusts, but again, these are demons. And so, as much as people will want to die from the pain they have, they will not be able to, they will only suffer! Why would God allow this? Because, if you reject God then Satan and his demonic forces is the only other choice and thus, God is giving them what they want! God gives abundant life, Satan abundant destruction and that is what we see here!
VERSES 7-10
Here is a description of these demonic locust-like creatures, these demons. Now do we take this literally, that they are horses and-so-on? Please notice that John uses the word “like” 8 times here. These demonic creatures are like this, it is a comparison, and yes, they are very scary!
Locust invade like an army whose numbers don’t seem to end. They just keep coming and coming, getting into everything. In fact, skies have been darkened as they swarm overhead, moving to their next feeding ground. And they would devour everything in sight, even down to the roots of the plant and then move on. The worlds worst locust plague in modern times struck the Middle East in 1951 to 1952 when in Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia every green and growing thing was devoured across hundreds of thousands of square miles. Locusts eat grain, leaf, and stalk, right down to the bare ground. When a swarm arises and flies on its way, the green field is left a desert; barrenness and desolation stretches as far as eye can see.
Their teeth were like lions teeth with a saw-tooth pattern, again, enabling them to eat right down to the roots. In fact, stories have been told that at night, during these infestations, you can hear them chewing on the vegetation. Also, their bodies are solid, covered with armor for protection. And as they fly, the noise they make can be deafening. So these demonic creatures are going to be very scary and they will bring about great destruction upon mankind, inflicting much pain and suffering! But again, they will not harm the vegetation!
VERSE 11
Now if you are still struggling if these are some kind of mutant locust, I believe this verse will help clear that up. This invading army has a king over them, a leader whom they will serve. Folks, locusts do not have a king or leader over them. How do I know that? Because the Bible tells me that they have no king over them. In Proverbs 30:27 we are told, “The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks.” This little golden nugget found here in Proverbs tells us that these locusts here in Revelation chapter 9 could not be real locusts, but are demons that arise out of the bottomless pit to inflict pain upon mankind for 5 months!
Their leader has a name and in any language it is – DESTRUCTION! In Hebrew it is ABADDON, which means destruction. In Greek it is APOLLYON, which means destroyer. That is what Jesus said of Satan in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. . . .” The leader of these demons is Satan!
In the book of Joel we see Joel speak of a devastating locust plague of judgment that was coming upon God’s people for their sins. Listen carefully to what we are told in Joel chapter 2, starting in verse 1, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array. Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons,They are not cut down. They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?” Joel 2:1-11.
Historically speaking, this prophecy of Joel was fulfilled in Joel’s day as these locusts besieged the land of Israel so that the Southern Kingdom of Judah could awake out of their spiritual sleep and return to the Lord. Symbolically speaking it was fulfilled as the Southern Kingdom of Judah was besieged by the Babylonians and taken captive in 586 BC because of their sins, their idolatry and their refusal to return to the Lord. And prophetically I believe it is speaking of these demonic locust-like creatures that arise out of the pit spoken of here in Revelation chapter 9!
VERSE 12
If you are into scary movies, this one would be right there at the top of the list, but this is not fantasy, this is real and the Orkin man is not going to be able to help you out with this problem! And folks, this is only the first woe that the angel pronounced, there are two to go as these trumpet judgments sound forth! It is as Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.” Matthew 24:21-22. In other words, unless the Lord stepped in, no one would survive!
But again, we see God’s grace and mercy that is extended to all. He has opened the door of salvation to all, even in the Tribulation Period! In Amos chapter 5 we read,
“ . . . ‘Seek Me and live.’ . . . Seek the Lord and live . . .” Amos 5:4b, 6a. If you refuse, then you will not live with Him but be eternally separated from Him in a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for eternity!
VERSES 13-14
These angels we see here in Revelation chapter 9 are not the same ones we saw in Revelation chapter 7 holding back the winds of judgment from blowing across the land. Those were holy angels and I believe these here in Revelation chapter 9 are fallen angels. Some may disagree, but the context here, I believe, points to them being demonic in nature. You see, holy angles are not bound, but willing serve the Lord!
Now this voice may be the voice of the Lord who is before the altar of incense in the holy of holies in the tabernacle and the temple, it could be, but we can’t be dogmatic about that. But, as we have seen in Revelation 6:9-11 the martyred Tribulation saints are under this altar asking God to intervene and deal with the injustices taking place, to establish His kingdom on the earth. And in Revelation 8:5 it is the censer filled with incense from this altar or the prayers of the saints that is cast down to the earth in fiery judgment against a Christ rejecting world. And here in Revelation chapter 9 we see judgment come from the altar of incense, God is answering the prayers of the saints!
The River Euphrates begins by Mount Ararat in Turkey and flows for some 1700 miles before it empties into the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates River, besides being the natural boundary separating the east from the west is also the boundary of land given to the nation of Israel in Genesis 15:18. Also, in Genesis 2:14 the Euphrates River flowed from the Garden of Eden. Thus, we see in this area the beginning of sin, of murder, after the flood the tower of Babel was erected in this area, which later became the city of Babylon, which was the fountainhead of idolatry and occult practices!
Even today we see the spread of the militant religion of Islam that is spreading across the face of the earth. And it is out of this area that God will send forth his judgment, the second woe of the three woes that are coming to pass, the sixth trumpet judgment!
VERSE 15
Notice that these angels were prepared for a specific time period. Is that to say that this judgment will last 13 months and 25 hours? It may, but not necessarily. I believe that the point that is being made is there is a specific time coming when these angels will be unleashed to cause death and destruction upon the earth. There is a divine plan that is to be carried out. There is an exact hour of God’s judgment, and it will come to pass. Walter Scott put it this way in regards to these fallen angels who are about to be loosened, he said: “These angelic ministers of judgment act under divine control; they cannot act without express command.”
VERSES 16-19
As this sixth trumpet judgment sounds we see 1/3 of mankind destroyed in this judgment. By this period of time over ½ of the earth’s population will be destroyed, over 3 billion people! In the previous trumpet judgment we saw demonic forces at work and now here, are these similar or are these speaking of an actual army. Let me tell you the two views and then I will tell you which one I think fits into this scenario. You see, as I study this, I have changed my view and you will see why as we go through this.
The first view is that this is a real army; over 200 million soldiers and we are to take it literally. Now that is a huge number and almost impossible to consider for any army, especially when you consider that all the Allied and the Axis forces, (“Axis = the alliance of Germany and Italy (1936), later including Japan and other nations, that opposed the Allies in World War II”), at the peak in World War II they only amounted to 70 million. (Source obtained from The World Almanac 1971, p. 355). Right now there is only one nation that can boast of having a militia of two hundred million. And, interestingly enough, Time magazine, from the May 21, 1965 issue, on page 35, states that Red China makes the claim of having an army of two hundred million. Napoleon said of this country, “China is a sleeping giant, and God pity the generation that wakes her up.”
In Revelation 16:12-16 we are told, “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. ‘Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.’ And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”
You see, the Euphrates River runs for some 1700 miles, as I have said, and is anywhere from 3 to 12 miles wide with the average depth being about 30 feet. So you can see that this river is a natural barrier between the eastern and western empires. Imagine what it would take to have 200 million soldiers cross this river by boat. It would be very foolish.
But God said that He will dry up the waters of the Euphrates River, in which there is now a great dam in Turkey which crosses the Euphrates River and has the ability to dry it up. These things are in place to stop this river at will, God's will. But for what purpose will it be stopped? We are told in verse 16 of Revelation chapter 16, “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”
If you took 200 million soldiers, marching them shoulder-to-shoulder, you would have a massive troop movement, to say the least. It would be 1 mile wide and some 87 miles long. Now in the book of Daniel we are told that the Antichrist moves to take control of the world, not through peace any longer, but through war and power. And as he is down in North Africa, he gets word of a massive troop movement against him, and he turns back northward to deal with this insurrection. Daniel 11:44 says “But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.”
As this massive army moves further westward, some of the troops will move in from the north, the other half from the east, to meet the Antichrist and his forces in the valley of Megiddo. This is the final conflict before Christ returns to set-up His kingdom on this earth.
Now, this can also speak of demons being unleashed by the Euphrates River instead of what we read in Revelation chapter 16 and the Euphrates River drying up to make way for the kings from the east to come through. I tended to think of it as this army but the more I read this, it must not be speaking of this battle of Armageddon here in Revelation chapter 9. I am leaning to these being demons, fallen angels that are released by the Euphrates River and as they go forth, no longer do we see death take a holiday, but it is unleashed in a fury of devastation as 1/3 of the earth’s population is destroyed by the plagues of these demonic angels! Their description could be literal; we don’t see the world “like” used except for their tails being “like” serpents! And that should remind us of that serpent of old, that dragon, Satan! His forces are no different. Again, I don’t want to be dogmatic about this being demons but it does seem to be different than that which is spoken of in Revelation chapter 16.
And now you would think that after these destructive judgments being unleashed by God and using the demons to fulfill His plan, that rebellious man would be ready to repent and turn back to God. But that is not the case. In fact, it has been said, “The two closing verses of this chapter reveal an astounding picture of human depravity.”
VERSES 20-21
Here we see five sins in which mankind refuses to repent of and they deal with our relationship with God, which is the first table of the Law; and our relationship with our fellow man, which is the second table of the Law.
Here in verse 20 we see that they made idols from the works of their hands and they worshiped these idols. And they refused to repent of this sin and let go of them. It is amazing what people do worship and the Psalmist puts this into perspective for us in Psalm 115:4-8 as he tells us, “Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them.” We do become like the gods we worship, whatever they may be!
Then, in verse 21 we see murders, mind-altering drugs, fornication, and stealing listed. What happened here? Think of it like this. If your relationship with God is off then your relationship with your fellow man will be off also, it will be askew! It is as Paul said in Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” It is not a pretty picture when man is in rebellion against God!
Those who have survived these judgments so far refused to repent of their evil deeds. One person said this in regards to their actions, “One of the clearest proofs of the depravity of man is his implacable [hardheartedness] hatred of the only solution to his greatest problem.” The gift is there for them to receive, it is free and yet they reject it. It is as Paul said in Romans 1:18-25, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” That is what sin does, it blinds people and keeps them in that fallen condition, in rebellion against God!
Folks, I don’t want to close on that note, it is a downer you might say. Let me leave you with this to think about. Jesus Christ is the only solution to man’s problems and if people reject Him, they will face His judgment. But that is not the heart of God for Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. That is the heart of God, may we never forget that. God does not want any to perish but you have a choice to make and He will not force you to come to Him, but He truly loves you so much that He died for you so you can enter into that relationship with Him. Won’t you come!