Revelation Chapter Nine

Introduction to Chapter Nine

To understand these next two trumpet judgements in this chapter, we need to do a little research, so that we will properly interpret them correctly. This should avoid any confusion as we continue in this study as the same events are described in later chapters, only from different perspectives. We will find many references to the binding and loosing of Satan,and we need to properly understand what this actually means.

After the fall in the garden eden, and before the cross, Satan had access to the throne of God in heaven to bring accusation of God's people. We see this in Job chapters 1 and 2. Satan and his angels had great power in the world to rule over the souls of men. Satan is referred to as the god of this world who blinds the minds of those that believe not in the Gospel
(2 Corinthians 4:4). He is also referred to as the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). During the ministry of Jesus, we witness much demonic activity as we read through the Gospels. Jesus had come to defeat the powers of death and darkness to redeem His elect. In order to do this, Jesus had to bind Satan in order to spoil his house
(Matthew 12:24-30).

When Jesus was here on earth, there was a great spiritual war
(Revelation 12:7). Satan and his angels were at full force to get Jesus to sin. When we read in (Hebrews 4:15), that Jesus was tempted like as we are, we can bet that we have no idea just how bad Jesus was attacked, considering what was at stake. If Jesus was successful, it would forever seal Satan and his angels to eternal damnation, as well as free all those Jesus came to save. As we know, Jesus was victorious as evidenced by His resurrection from the dead. At the cross, Jesus bound Satan in the sense that all Jesus came to save were now paid for. Satan no longer has access to the throne to accuse the brethren, and his judgement, along with his angels, was made certain, and they were cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-10) (John 12:31). In Jesus, believers are no longer guilty, nor do they face condemnation (Romans 8:1). Jesus invaded Satan's kingdom in order to redeem the believers by setting up the invisible kingdom upon earth. As we are born into God's kingdom, we actually become foreigners in this world, as we bring the Gospel, conquering the powers of darkness, bringing many to the Gospel light of Salvation in Jesus. However, this is Jesus. However, this is still Satan's territory, and he continues to persecute believers here on earth
(1 Peter 5:8) (Revelation 12:13-17). Remember, that no matter what persecution believers go through. Satan has no power to prevent their salvation (Romans 8:35-39). Now we can properly understand such verses as (2 Peter 2:4) (Jude 1:6) (Matthew 8:29). At the cross, Satan and his angles were placed under the wrath of God, and their destruction made certain. However, before the final destruction, they will be loosed for a little season (Revelation 20:3). They will be allowed to deceive the nations and invade the churches (Revelation 20:7-8)
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-12), which we have learned is the great tribulation period.

In summary, Jesus bound Satan and his angels at the cross, placing them under the wrath of God (Hell), so that Jesus could redeem His elect. This binding continues throughout the church age. At the end of the church age, God allows Satan to be loosed during the tribulation period, to prepare the world for its final judgement. Remember though, God will still do a great evangelical work during the latter part of the tribulation, saving multitudes outside the corrupt churches, that no man can number (Revelation 7:9) (Revelation 9:14), up until He returns. Then will Satan and his angels, hell and death, and whosoever was not written in the book of life, be placed in the Lake of Fire, which will be their eternal abode (Revelation 20:10-15).

We must keep in mind that God is always in complete control of all events. No matter the placement of time, whether Satan is bound or loosed, nothing ever happens without His divine permission, or sovereign will (Daniel 2:20-22) (Psalm 2:1-12).

Lastly, we must look at the term bottomless pit, and understand its meaning, as it will be used in Revelation chapters 11,17, and 20.

bottomless Strongs (#12) Abussos- describes an immeasurable depth, the underworld, the lower regions, the abyss of sheol, the lower reign, the abode of demons. Abussos is translated as "deep" two times (Luke 8:31) (Romans 10:7). From (Romans 10:7) the word deep, (abussos), is equated with Christ's death. We know that Christ's death means He suffered the penalty of eternal damnation (Hell) on behalf of those He came to save. In (Ephesians 4:8-10), we have a parallel account. Here the deep is referred to as "the lower parts of the earth". Also in (Matthew 12:40) Jesus said that He would be three days and three nights in the "heart of the earth". With this information we can conclude that these references all refer to being under the wrath of God (Hell).

Revelation 9:1

Fifth Trumpet:

1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

star fell from heaven this appears to identify with Satan (Isaiah 14:12)

keyJesus has the key, and only by His permissive will is anything opened or shut (Revelation 1:18)

bottomless pit Hell

Revelation 9:2

2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

opened this is the loosing of Satan and all his angels

smoke out of the pit the smoke veils and darkens the truth of the Gospel light.

Revelation 9:3

3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

locusts the eighth plaque God sent upon Egypt were locusts. The locusts ate all the "trees and green things" and caused darkness (Exodus 10:4-6) (Exodus 10:12-15). See the first trump for the spiritual implication (Revelation 8:7).

scorpions God sent judgement in the form of deadly scorpions upon Israel in the wilderness for speaking against Him and Moses (Numbers 21:5-6). The scorpions string (verse 10) seems harmless at first, but the poison is felt later causing death. Eternal death is the effect of the false gospel message of the false prophets. Our Lord refers to devils as serpents and scorpions in (Luke 10:17-20). These are devils
"Satan and his fallen angels" working in men as false ministers
(2 Corinthians 11:13-15). We see a serpent reference in verse 19. Those who are in Jesus have no fear of the venom of deadly scorpions and serpents. This also helps us to understand the message of our Lord in (Mark 16:15-18). We accomplish all the following when we bring the Gospel, and those who believe are spiritually protected from all the spiritual attacks of the enemy.

Many have formed followings form misinterpreting the spiritual implications of these verses. Those who actually try to do such foolish things are only tempting the Lord (Matthew 4:7).

Revelation 9:4

4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

should not hurt God's divine spiritual protection over the elect

grass,green things, any tree tree believers see notes (Revelation 8:7)

only those men this gives confirmation that the grass, green thing, any tree, refer to men, specifically believers

seal of God believers are sealed at salvation and cannot lose it
(Ephesians 1:13) (2 Corinthians 1:22) nor will they be deceived by the false christ (Matthew 24:24). See also notes for Revelation chapter 7.

foreheads refers to the mind (1 Corinthians 2:16) (Ephesians 4:23) (Philippians 2:5) (Philippians 4:2) (2 Timothy 1:7) (Hebrews 8:10) compare with the unsaved (Romans 1:28) (Romans 8:7) (Ephesians 2:3) (Philippians 3:19). This also illustrates that the infamous Mark of the Beast is of a spiritual nature. The forehead is the mind, and the right hand performs, or carries out the mind's will (Revelation 13:16-17).

Revelation 9:5

5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

five months this is the amount of time that the waters prevailed upon the earth during the flood (Genesis 7:24) (Genesis 7:24) (Genesis 8:3), and it was a universal, worldwide judgement (Genesis 7:19-21). This seems to imply the universality of the judgment rather than the time. The whole world will be effected by this judgement, there will be no safe place for the deceived.

torment of a scorpion seems to refer to spiritual poisoning. See study notes (verse 3).

Revelation 9:6

6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

seek death, and shall not find it see (Jeremiah 8:1-3) seems to imply that those who seek the false gospels are unknowingly seeking death. Ultimately, they will desire to die, but will find no rest in the grave.

Revelation 9:7

7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were
crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

horse prepared unto battle the picture here is a great army of demons prepared to flood the minds of the false prophets and invade the corporate churches.

crowns like gold appear to be true ministers/elders (Revelation 4:4)

faces of men demons working in men (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Revelation 9:8

8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

hair of women shows submission to Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:13-14), but they have...

teeth of lions to devour their prey

Revelation 9:9

9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

breastplates of iron breast plates identify with righteousness
(Ephesians 6:14), but these are of iron which represents, affliction (Deuteronomy 4:20), slavery (Jeremiah 28:13-14),
and Insensibility (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

sand of chariots of many horses parallel language to (Joel 2:4-5)
Note: Joel specifically prophecies of he invasion of this army of demons working in men. see Joel chapter 1 and 2
Note the similarities with the trumpet judgements: locusts (Joel 1:4),
teeth of a lion (Joel 1:6), all the trees (Joel 1:12),
burned all the trees (Joel 1:19), trumpet (Joel 2:1), mountains (Joel 2:2),
appearance of horses (Joel 2:4), noise of chariots (Joel 2:5),
sun,moon,stars (Joel 2:10).
See also: the "crowned as the locusts" (Nahum 3:15-17)

This is just a few of the Old Testament keys to unlock our understanding of this judgement. Bottom line, we now can clearly see that this judgement will completely devour and destroy the visible churches in the form of false prophets. The churches will be filled with devils in numbers as the sands of the sea (Revelation 20:8) (Revelation 18:2) and they will appear to be true members of the Christian faith (Matthew 24:24)
(2 Corinthians 12:13-15). This should caution all believers to whether they trust completely in Jesus alone to have done all the work to make
their salvation possible (Matthew 7:21-23).

Revelation 9:10

10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

stings in their tails represents the prophet that teaches lies (Isaiah 9:15) see also (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Revelation 9:11

11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of
the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

king can be no other than Satan who rules over these false prophets.

angel of the bottomless pit Satan. See study (verse 1)

Abaddon/Apollyon means destroy or destruction
(1 Peter 5:8) (John 10:10) compare (Joel 2:9) (John 10:1)
Abaddon in Strongs (#11)- the place of destruction translated in
(Job 26:6)- parallel with hell
(Job 28:22)- identifies with death
(Job 31:12)- designates ruin

Revelation 9:12

12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

woe See notes on (Revelation 8:13)

In summary, the fifth trumpet sounds, and is the first woe that prepares the whole world for judgement through false prophets who keep men in their sin.

Sixth Trumpet

Revelation 9:13

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

voice appears to be the voice of Jesus

golden altar Jesus, as He ever liveth to make intercession (Hebrew 7:25) See notes (Revelation 8:3).

Revelation 9:14

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Loose as we have learned, this identifies with Satan and his
angels being loosed, at the beginning of the tribulation (Revelation 20:3) (Revelation 20:7-9). This is the same event as (Revelation 9:1) (Revelation 13:1) (Revelation 13:11) etc... given from different perspectives.

four angels seems to represent universal worldwide deception. See Numbers in the Bible

bound in the great river Euphrates the river Euphrates identifies with Babylon, which represents Satan's kingdom. God removes His
restraints so that Satan and his angels can flood the churches as Satan takes his seat of authority in the temple/congregations
(2 Thessalonians 2:4-7) (Isaiah 14:12-17).

Revelation 9:15

15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month,
and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

hour,day,month,year at the appointed time ans sealing of men in their sins.

third part of men those that remain in the churches. See study notes (Revelation 8:6)

Revelation 9:16

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

number of the army Satan's army of false prophets. I am at a loss of any spiritual implication of this number. Spiritually, 2 represents witness, and 10,100,100, etc... represents completeness. Possibly, it represents the complete amount of false witnesses, or the number of Satan's fallen angels. Whatever the proper interpretation, it is an impressive number that attacks the church.

Revelation 9:17

17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth,
and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

them that sat on them similar to (Revelation 17:3) where we see the church sitting upon Satan. See notes (Revelation chapter 17).
Possible refers to the false prophets riding upon the fallen angels, as they work their evil through men. Also compare (Isaiah 5:25-30) with this verse.

Revelation 9:18

18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

fire,smoke,brimstone severe destruction (Genesis 19:24)
(Deuteronomy 29:23) (Psalm 11:6) (Revelation 14:10)
(Revelation 19:20) (Revelation 20:10) (Revelation 21:8)

Revelation 9:19

19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

power in their mouth to deceive with

tails See note on (verse 10)

serpents identifies with Satan (Revelation 12:9) (Genesis 3:1)

Revelation 9:20

20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

repented not to...

worship devils (Deuteronomy 32:17) (1 Corinthians 10:20)

see,hear,walk (Psalm 115:4-7)

Revelation 9:21

21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

neither repented to their...

murders,sorceries (Revelation 21:8)
Note: sorceries- Strongs (#5331) Pharmakeia (pharmacy) also
translated as witchcraft. Mind altering drugs, and witchcraft
are very evident in the world today as Satan uses them to seal
men in their sins in these last days.

fornications (Revelation 18:9) not only spiritual fornication, but the physical act of all abominable sinful behaviour that is accepted as the norm in these last days, (Romans 1:18-32). Even in the church!

In summary, the sixth trumpet sounds and the second woe prepares
the whole world for judgement, through false prophets who
silence the true witness and pervert the Gospel in the churches.