One of my favorite lines in a Veggie Tales video is a scene after Tom the Tomato is upside down in the snow from crashing their sled, that him and Larry the Cucumber were in. He said : “I wanted to play mouse trap, you roll the dice, you move your mice and nobody gets hurt.”
Most people do not intend to hurt other people and yet it is a popular activity to be entertained by evil characters, especially during this time of the year.
Revelation chapter 9 is about the reality of Satan and the unleashing of his demons. They are very hurtful and destructive to the people of the earth.
Revelation chapter 8 begins with the first four trumpet plagues which affected the world of nature, destroying portions of the trees and the grass, turning one third of the sea and the fresh water to blood, killing marine life, and darkening the sun, moon, and stars. Yet, humanity has been affected only indirectly, as only some people have suffered and even died from the effects of the plagues on the natural world. The chapter ended with the cry of the angel warning with three woes. God’s judgment is going to become worse for the people of the earth. The next two trumpets effect humankind.
In Revelation chapter 9 the apostle John describes these evil events that could lead people to repent of sin or they will embrace eternal death.
This is not like a horror movie which has the purpose to entertain. The book of Revelation is factual, it is not imaginative, surrealistic literature. Revelation was not written for entertainment purposes. It was written to convey an important message about the future.
When we started our study in this Book, I made it a point to inform you of the over-all message of Revelation. This book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Its purpose is to disclose Jesus Christ for who He really is! However the book of Revelation is unlike the birth of Christ or the Gospels. Jesus Christ is disclosing Himself as the judge of all the earth.
When we get this far into the book of Revelation, people tend to forget about Jesus Christ and His Revelation.
Jesus Christ becomes far-removed from the narrative because Jesus is not mentioned and the overwhelming pictures of destruction and demon activity capture our attention.
One example, is the famous preacher, Martin Luther, who ironically disliked the book, claiming that “Christ is not taught or known in it.” But as Revelation 1:3 says “He that has an ear let him listen to what the Spirit says in this Revelation!”
Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. (ESV)
Notice, this star is already “fallen” from heaven. The tense of the verb indicates it had happened in the past with continuing results. In other words, this “star” fell at some time in the past with the result that it remains in a fallen state.
As students of the Bible, we need to recognize that this star as none other than Satan himself. In the book of Isaiah chapter 14 Satan is called “day star” or “Lucifer” in Isaiah 14:12 and describes his fall from heaven.
Satan used to be the highest archangel in heaven; but then he wanted to take God’s place himself. He fell from God’s eternal plan for Him. His first act was to convince Adam and Eve that they could be a god just like he wanted to be. “You will be like God”.
Satan, during the tribulation, when the 5th angel sounds his trumpet, will be given the key to the bottomless pit. Now, this pit is nothing less than a maximum-security prison for demons.
Notice again in verse 1, the reading of this verse “he was given the key…to the bottomless pit.”
Two questions arise out of this text! Who gave the key out? Why was it given?
The answer to the first question: The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Man Himself is the person who gave this key out. You might say how do I know this?
Turn to Revelation chapter 1:5-8…18
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Now skip ahead to verse 18!
18 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. This is a very detailed description of Jesus Christ!
The second question, why was the key given is answered by looking at Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Alsoin Revelation chapter 3:7 “…write, ‘ These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens:”
Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
The key that was given in Revelation chapter 9 verse 1 was held by Jesus Christ Who is God Almighty (Yahweh, Jehovah ) of all creation!
Why was it given? To open the abyss filled with demons to inflict judgment on all those who reject Jesus’ salvation.
Revelation 9:2-3 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. (ESV
Verses 2 and 3 explain that the role of these demonic forces is to dispense judgment. What happens when Satan and the demons are unleashed? They will hurt men and women.
Revelation 9:4-6 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. (ESV)
They will be tortured for five months. In fact, they will hurt so bad, they will want to die. That’s the nature of demonic activity.
There is an important point to share from these verses: Jesus is most assuredly a God full of Justice, Mercy and Grace. Jesus Christ put a limit on this torture; the text says in verse 5 it lasts for five months. The significance of this time limit is for man’s benefit, which is to show two realities: One, to prove His mercy by giving people yet another opportunity to repent. Secondly, Jesus Christ proves to all mankind that some people will never repent no matter what.
The descriptions of these locusts are not like anything natural to earth. They don’t eat vegetation, they have crowns on their heads, faces of men, hair like a woman, teeth like loins, breastplates like iron, wings that make sounds like many chariots and horses, tails that look and sting like Scorpions, they hurt people, but most importantly they come out of the abyss.
The description of where they are from means they are not insects or anything man created. Nothing has ever been seen like them because they were locked up in the pit. They are demons! Some people try to make these beings like some invading human army. Hal Lindsey popularized a novel in the 1970s and interpreted these as Huey Cobra helicopter gunships. Any description like that doesn’t make the grade. These are evil demonic forces.
There’s coming a day when Satan and demons will be unleashed. And when they are, Satan will be unmasked. The demons will be freed and revealed. Look at their description in verse 7
Revelation 9:7 In appearance the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold [They are conquerors]. Their faces were like human faces [They are intelligent creatures].
Revelation 9:8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth… (ESV)
They are created beings, but they are very cruel.
Revelation 9:9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron [They are nearly invincible]. And the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle [The sound of them strikes terror in the hearts of even the bravest of men].
Revelation 9:10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. (ESV)
They will inflict an incredible amount of pain, as we have already seen. Put it all together: These demons are locust-like, horse-like, human-like, lion-like, scorpion-like creatures. It all adds up to one hideous, grotesque horde of beings. This event will be more horrific than any science fiction or horror movie ever imagined by the entertainment industry.
Satan and these Demons are revealed for what they really are. They are not nice “spirit guides.” They are not “the warm light at the end of the tunnel.” They are not “your uncle Joe come back from the dead.” They ARE hideous, horrifying creatures that will absolutely destroy life.
Revelation 9:11 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. (ESV)
Verse 11 is first time in Revelation that Satan is described. The Hebrew name (abaddon) means destruction. Specifically this word is personified in this verse as him who leads souls to destruction. The Greek equivalent is (Apolluon) Apollyon means Satan, the destroyer.
Every religion accepts that there is a supreme evil being. And most of them use the same name! Its’ not an accident that universally, people know this name!
In Revelation 12:9 “the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan.”
Satan is a destroyer, who will bring to earth destruction to every life he is able to touch.
When Barry Merritt and his family lived St. Petersburg, Florida, they would go to the beach. Even so, they found it hard to relax and have a good time, because there were too many threats: jellyfish, stingrays, sharks, and the wicked undertow.
Then one time, some of their relatives came to St. Petersburg with a boat. They decided to go out to an island a couple of miles offshore called Egmont Key. They had a great time because they didn’t have to worry about the normal threats, or so they thought. The water was blue, the sand was white, and so they swam with their children without a care in the Gulf of Mexico.
A few days later, they were telling some friends about their wonderful day. That’s when they found out they had been swimming in one of the most shark-infested areas around! Barry says, “We were in danger, but completely oblivious to it.” (Barry Merritt, Toledo, Ohio)
In the tribulation, people will be in great danger, they will be hurt and destroyed, but those who will repent will be protected.
We quickly passed it by, but did you notice a very important phrase in verse 4? Satan and these hideous demons have the power to hurt everyone except those who have “the seal of God on their foreheads.”
God will protect those who repent from Satan and these demons, and He protects those who trust Christ today.
- The Bible warns people on numerous occasions, and there is coming a day when the whole world will realize just how hideous and destructive Satan really is. In the end, Satan and his forces will be unleashed as never before, and they will be unmasked for who they really are.
- Ephesians chapter 1 records that God seals every believer. So, if the “sealed” are protected NOW, THEN during the Tribulation, they are certainly protected from Satan’s assaults.
It’s the very thing Jesus prayed for in John 17. As he prays for His followers, He says, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” -John 17:15.
It’s a prayer that God gladly answers in any age.