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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
This was written in the 80's before I understood that the KJV is the only reliable English Translation.
REVELATION CHAPTER NINE
Verse 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.”
The star that falls from heaven here is described by the Lord Jesus: “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). The prophet Isaiah describes this falling star: “How art thou fallen from heaven 0 Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, who didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars (angels) of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of clouds, I will be like the most High. Yet thou shall be brought down to sheol, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15). This fallen star is Lucifer the devil.
We learned in chapter one that Jesus has “the keys of hades and of death” (1:18) but now “the key of the bottomless pit” is given to Satan. We saw in chapter six that many of Satans angels had already fallen from heaven (6:13), and now the Prince of demons himself is cast out (12:7 & 8). He is cast out of heaven, but he has been given great power on the earth for a short period of time.
Verse 2: “And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose smoke out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”
The bottomless pit or abyss is a compartment of sheol (Hebrew) or hades (Greek). Prior to Jesus depopulating the saved compartment of hades even Old Testament saints were there (Luke 16:19-31; Ephesians 4:8-10). There are at least three compartments to sheol: (1) the saved part, now empty, (2) the part where the lost are in torment, and (3) an area where demons, not all demons, but some very, very bad demons are kept (Luke 8:31: II Peter 2:4). These demons will make those portrayed in movies look like sissies. The bottomless pit is the compartment of demons. I pitty those lost men and women on earth when Satan releases his army of demons!
Verses 3 - 5: “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. 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 who have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man.”
In Genesis God informs us that “the sons of God (angels) saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose…There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:2 & 4). The “sons of God” are special creations of God. In the Old Testament the phrase refers strictly to angels. In the New Testament sons of God are born again Children of God. Here we are concerned with the Old Testament meaning (Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7). These sons of God refered to in Genesis are fallen angels that followed Satan. They rebeled against God and chose to follow the Devil who said in Isaiah: “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.” They are “the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation” (Jude 6). They knew it was against God’s will for them to cohabit with women (Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25), but they rebelled. I do not believe angels have a natural ability to produce offspring, but they are extreemly inteligent beings able to manipulate nature to produce “giants” or “Nephilim” (NAS) as in Genises or weird locusts as in Revelation. These giants of Genises and the locusts of Revelation are now in the “bottomless pit” along with their fathers, the fallen angels that sinned in this way. “For…God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (‘tartaros,’ the bottomless pit), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judhement” (II Peter 2:4). These fallen angels are in hell “under darkness unto the judgement of the great day” (Jude 6), the Great Tribulation when they will be let loose on lost and damned mankind.
The locusts in these verses are “commanded…that they should not hurt the grass…neither any green thing neither any tree.” These would be the things normal locusts would eat. But these locusts are not normal! These locusts are “commanded…that they should…hurt…those men who have not the seal of God in their forehead.” These locusts are not kill lost men, but to torment them for five mounths. They will sting people and they will swell and be in great pain, and these lost people will want to die. But God has given the locusts only power enough to greatly torment men (cf. Job 1:12, 2:6). Satan and his hords have only the power that God allows them. God is in total control!
Verse 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.”
Men will try to kill themselves, but will be unable to. They will slash their own throats, and shoot themselves in the head, but will be unable to die. The pain will be extreme from the locusts and they will add pain to pain. They will drink poison and try to drown themselves. They will beg God to kill them. This they will do because they do not yet know the pain that awaits them in hell. Hell will be even more painful than what these lost people will have to endure during the Tribulation.
Do not go willfully into hell or the Tribulation, and that is what you are doing if you keep on rejecting Christ’s offering for sin in your behalf. I tell you if you continue to follow Satan and the lust of the flesh you will experience pain that will make anything else you have seen seem small!
Verses 7 - 10: “And the shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. And they had brestplates, as it were brestplates of iron; and athe sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails; and their power was to hurt men five months.”
In these verses we have the description of these creatures from Hell. As indicated earlier, I believe, these demon creatures are the same as or similar to the “mighty men who were of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4) who were born of “the daughters of men” as the result of genetic manipulation by demons. These things are “giants” (Genesis 6:4), they are big as horses. They are invincible. They have strong armor plating of some kind. They have faces “like the faces of men.” They have long hair “like the hair of women.” They are powerful and cruel like lions and scorpions. Perhaps they have DNA from humans, lions, horses, locusts, and scorpions.
These demon monstrosities from the “bottomless pit” will cause much terror. “They shall run like mighty men…they shall not break their ranks…when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded” (Joel 2:7 & 8, cf. 2:2-9). “Before their face the peoples shall be much pained…” (Joel 2:6, cf. 1:6, 2:2 & 25).
Verse 11: “And they had a king over them, who is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”
The king of the demon locust men from the bottomless pit will be the prince of demons, Satan himself. Satan is the destroyer (Abaddon and Apollyon both mean destroyer) who has “the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14). But God does not allow the Devil to kill anyone for five month. I believe the reason for this is to give these people one more chance to repent and turn to Christ. God says: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn from your evil ways…” (Ezekiel 33:11, cf. 18:32; II Peter 3:9; Isaiah 55:6 & 7). Perhaps a few will repent and receive Christ during this five month period. God will allow Satan, who will be leading his army of demons, to only torment these people without God’s seal just as He allowed him to afflict Job (Job 2:1-6). (Of course there is a great difference between Job and these in the Tribulation: they are lost, Job is blood washed). “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, how much more the hearts of men” (Proverbs 15:11, NAS: cf. Job 26:6, 28:22, 31:12; Psalm 88:11).
Verse 12: “One woe is past and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.”
Verse 13 - 14: “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden alter which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Loose the four angels who are bound in the great river, Euphrates.”
“As the sixth angel sounds, John hears a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is in the presence of God…Many of God’s judgments are directly linked with His program for atonement…Many have rejected the message of the altar which speaks of the shed blood of Jesus. Paul warned the human race of the danger of refusing this teaching: “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thougth worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done dispite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:28 & 29). The rejection of God’s Word always brings serious consequences…Never treat the message of the shed blood of Christ lightly. Those who do will be sorry:” (J.V.I. pg. 96)
“On the Day of Atonement, the blood of sacrificial animals was put on the four horns of the altar…The brazen altar, where the blood was shed points to the cross and the shed blood of Jesus Christ (cf. Leviticus 4:7-18, 16:18 & 19, 23:26-32).” (O.B.G. pg. 260)
Once the sixth angel sounded, the voice from the horns of the altar told the sixth angel to “Loose the four angels who are bound in the great river, Euphrates.” These four angels are fallen ones. We understand this because it says they are “bound in the great river.”
Verse 15: “And the four angels were loosed, who were prepared for an hour, and a day and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men.”
These four fallen angels are at this moment bound somewhere in the Euphrates River awaiting a special year, and month, and day, and hour appointed by God when they will be loosed to kill one third of the people living on earth at that time.
“The population of the earth is presently (about) 4,000,000,000 souls. In our study, we have seen one forth of this number (minus those who were Raptured) die under the rider of the…pale horse (6:8). Thus…(the) earth’s population is three billion (give or take a few million). Now (in this verse) an additional one third or (about 1,000,000,000) perish as the four angels are released.” (J.V.I. pg. 97)
Verse 16: “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand; and I heard the number of them.”
The four demons lead an army of men numbering 200,000,000. In John’s day there were not two hundred million people on the earth.
This 200,000,000 man army lead by these four fallen angels will come against the Antichrist’s army somewhere in Asia. Later they will come against the Antichrist in Israel at the batle of Armageddon (16:14 & 16). China has boasted of the ability to field an army of 200,000,000 men. Once the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. have been removed as world powers it will leave the Asian nations Chian, Japan, India, Vietnam, Thailand and others that will not follow the Antichrist. The Revived Roman Empire of the Antichrist and the “kings of the east” (16:12) will be at odds with one another. Perhaps they will be lead by these demons to fight over the Middle East oil that they will both need (Daniel 11:41-45).
Someone may ask: “Why do these four angels and Satan not get along, why aren’t they allies?” The answer: “I don’t know.” Perhaps they are allies. Satan does not care how many people die. That is his goal, to fill up hell so he will have plenty of company. Perhaps the angels are angry with Satan for fooling them into following him and causing them to be “bound in the great river” for so long and later to be “cast into the lake of fire” (20:15). But remember, you can have evil against evil; but you can’t have good against good. We have seen China against Russia; Vietnam against Cambodia; China against Vietnam and so forth. All these nations are totally evil but they fight each other. At any rate the demons of the “bottomless pit” have “a king over them…whose name…is Abaddon,” but these four angels seem to be leaders themselves, and have no king. Perhaps they are the “kings of the east,” the kings of “the army of…two hundred thousand thousand.”
Verses 17 - 19: “And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breatplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 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. For their power is in their mouths, and in their tails; for their tails were like serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.”
This description of the horses reminds me of Chinese dragons whose heads are like “the heads of lions, and out of their mouths…(issue) fire and smoke.” If you have ever seen one of these dragons you know they have long “tails…like serpents.” This is more reason to believe these are the armies of the “kings of the east.”
In these verses we have described in John’s words the weapons of modern warfare. If you were John and had never seen these things “how would you describe…tanks…cannons…flame throwers…poison gas…bombs and rockets? The names of such things were not even in existence when this was written. Yet we have pictured the…wrath of God and man’s wicked rebellion…” (J.R.R. pg. 173)
Note that the “fire and smoke and brimstone” all issued from the mouth of the horses “which no doubt are symbols of weapons.” (J.R.R. pr. 173)
Verse 20 - 21: “And the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, and silver, and bronze, and stone, and wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
Fifty percent of the earths population that entered the Tribulation are now dead. One quarter war wiped out by the forth seal judgement by the “sword, and with hunger, ;and with (pestilence), and with the beasts of the earth” (6:8). Now the sixth trumpet judgement has wiped out a third of what was left (9:15 & 18). (100% minus 25% leaves 75% then 75% minus 33 1/3% leaves 50%)
There were perhaps some people saved as a result of the fifth trumpet judgement where the demon locusts men from the bottomless pit had “power…to hurt men five months,” but “that they should not kill them” (9:5 & 10). But from this point on I don not believe any one else will be saved during the Tribulation. “The rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues (who had not already repented) yet repented not.”
Again we have a picture of the Asian countries where Hinduism, Buddahism and other satanic religions are dominant. It is the lands of “the kings of the east” where they still “worship demons, and idols…which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.” That’s not to say that other nations do not worship demons! They do. But the main picture is “the kings of the east” who worship demons (Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Leveticus 19:31, 20:6; Exodus 20:4 & 5; Psalm 115:4-8).
“Neither repented they of their…sorceries.” The word “sorceries” here is translated from the Greek word “pharmakeia” from which we get our English word “pharmacy” which has to do with drugs. (Again this could be a picture of Asia where the Golden Triangle is located, one of the most productive opium and marijuana areas of the world) “The literal meaning of the Greek…is ‘enchantment with drugs,’ or ‘get high on drugs.’ The literal rendering…is that men repented not of their enchantment with drugs…is that men repented not of their enchantment with drugs…” (J.V.I. pg. 102) There will be many lost dopers during the Tribulation just as there are now.
“Neither repented they of their murders…nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
E-mail KJV@LandmarkBibleBaptist.net
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