Revelation 9:5 - 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.
It says, and to them it was given. So, it's still limitations and direction from God. And it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: It is interesting that 5 months is the lifespan of a locust, from May through September.
They should not kill them, but they should torment them for five months. And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he strikes a man. So, this is a locust striking a man like a scorpion. Some might say this is kind of harsh. Why not just have the locusts kill them? Why torment them? It's almost like God is playing games and wants to really cause pain for people.
But look at Verse 6:
Revelation 9:6 - And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
They can't die. They can't kill themselves. So, for five months they are tormented. It sounds pretty intense!
Revelation 9:7 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.
This verse gives us the description of these locusts. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. So, we don't have regular locusts here. And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8 - And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had hair as the hair of women. Joel also saw these very creatures ( Joel 1:2-12). And their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Revelation 9:2 - 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.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke from out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
And I alerted you already to these little words "as," and "like." Remember, John is giving us what is familiar with the human, in symbolic language what he's looking at in the spirit realm. Notice it says the smoke came out "as" of a great furnace. He didn't see a furnace. But this smoke coming up from out of the abyss reminded him of the smoke coming out of a furnace.
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. The people in L.A. rejoiced several years ago when they said that for the first time in many years, the smog situation in L.A. is better air than it's been in years. Well, I got news for them. Smoke is coming!
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke from out of the pit. So, you can no longer see the entrance anymore. All you can see is smoke billowing out of this pit.
Revelation 9:4 - 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.
And it was commanded them (these locusts), that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; And that is their natural food. So, these are not normal locusts. Don't eat the grass, or the vegetation, or the trees, but hurt only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
So, it's interesting that these are demonic forces, and even they are limited. They can't touch the 144,000 who are sealed here upon the earth, but only the people that do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
So here is this star who had fallen from his position from heaven. And it is interesting that in Luke Chapter 10, when the Lord sent out His disciples and gave them authority over demons, and the ability to heal, and for people to be saved and freed from Satan, that when the disciples came back, they rejoiced over the fact that the demons were subject to them.
And it's just like what people do today, "Boy, the power of the Holy Spirit really got Satan down today!" But Jesus said don't rejoice over that, but rejoice over the fact that your names are written in heaven, salvation!
But he says I saw Satan falling like lightning out of heaven. So, what he saw in the spirit realm was the spiritual victory that these disciples had over Satan in freeing these people from Satan. So, this is a star which had fallen already unto the earth, already here! And at this time, he's given the key to the abyss. Abyss just means bottomless pit. It is a long shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth with no bottom, at least from the viewpoint of the earth.
Now when we get to Revelation Chapter 12, we will see that Satan still has access to the throne of God. But he is not omnipresent. He is before the throne of God, and Revelation Chapter 12 is going to tell us that he accuses the brethren day and night before the throne of God.
And you can see what actually takes place between him and God before the throne in Job Chapters 1 and 2. Satan came and accused Job to God and said let me at him. Satan was trying to show that Job really didn't love God, except for the fact that God blessed him with material things. So, God gave him permission to touch his possessions. In fact, his family, his animals, his land, and then after Job passed that test, Satan asked permission to touch his health. And he lost his health in all of that. But God said you can't touch his soul.
So, it is interesting that Satan can get permission to touch anything about a person's life, except for their soul. It could be the physical body. It could be health. It could be circumstances. It could be possessions, or family members.
And so, Satan lost his position in Isaiah Chapter 14. His final downcast to the earth won't happen until Revelation Chapter 12, when he will be cut off and given no more access to the throne of God to accuse the brethren.
Revelation 9:1 - 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.
Now when the fifth angel sounded, a star fell. Number 1, in Revelation Chapter 1, we know that the stars represent angels. A star fell from heaven! Secondly, the word fall is in the Perfect Tense. So, he sees a star which has already fallen. He didn't see it as it was falling. He saw a fallen star, a star that had already fallen from out of heaven unto the earth.
And to this angel (this fallen star), was given the key to the bottomless pit. Notice that it was given to him. He did not possess it. He did not have authority over it. We know in Revelation Chapter 1 that Jesus has the keys of Hades and of death. The Lord holds all the keys to all of these places.
Now the bottomless pit is the word abyss, ABUSSO in Greek. And it is interesting because it is believed that around where Babylon used to be, and in fact, it was the place where Saddam Hussein was caught, but they believed that there is a shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth. And this shaft is closed up on the top.
And this would be the place that Peter told us about in 2 Peter 2:4, that there are angels who are reserved in chains of darkness, ready to be revealed. And so, this star who had fallen was given the key to the bottomless pit. And we will see that this star is none other than Satan himself, and that the creatures that will be released from this pit are going to be two-hundred million demons unleashed upon the earth.
But concerning this star who had been fallen, back in Isaiah 14:12-15, we have recorded for us the rebellion of Satan. It is called the "five I wills," where Satan said I will be like the most high, where he expressed his rebellion towards God. And it is at that time that he lost his first domain. He lost his first position with God.
He didn't want out, because there's only one other place to go. We have to understand that the people who reject Christ, and we are going to see about the lake of fire soon and how it was created for Satan and his angels, not for people, but people are going there because of they've given their allegiance to Satan and have rejected Christ.
But can you imagine this rich man, he just wants to be comforted from the flame. It's just like people now that reject Christ, they want to be comforted in their misery here, so they use drugs and alcohol, and all kinds of things in order to try to get away from the pain and the emptiness and the misery of life.
But the last thing that the rich man wanted to do was to be in the presence of Christ throughout eternity, and away from the torment. Everybody that goes to heaven will be in the presence of Christ, in the worship of Him, seeing Him in all of His fullness and all the glory of God, the glory that Moses could not look upon, nor can any human being look upon now. But one day we're going to look upon His glory.
And there are people that would rather be in hell. It's not that they want to be tormented. But they do not want to be in the presence of Christ. And that's what heaven's all about. And so, as these stages go through of judgments, you can't help but wonder why doesn't God just do one big sweep and destroy everybody that has rejected Him?
These judgments are judgments, but He's allowing people to experience the judgments so they can see the consequences for their sin and still give them time to repent. And so, He'll increase the judgments. And people will still refuse to repent.
If you remember in Luke Chapter 16, the rich man and Lazarus who was the poor man, and he begged at the rich man's door just to get some crumbs off of his table. Well, Lazarus died, and he was taken to the bosom of Abraham. But when the rich man died, he woke up in Hades, which is called the place of the unseen spirits.
Hades is not hell. There's only one place that's called hell, and we'll see that later on in Revelation. It's called the lake of fire. There are different names for these places of punishment. They're like holding cells if you will. But Hades is the place of unseen spirits.
And in Jesus' day, there was a great gulf fixed between them. One part was in torment, those who had rejected and rebelled against God. And the other part was in the bosom of Abraham, being comforted until the Messiah was to come.
Well, the rich man, he wakes up and he's in torment in the flame. And he sees Lazarus over in Abraham's Bosom. Now put yourself in the rich man's place. Put yourself as being in Hades, in torment, and you see Lazarus and all of his buddies over there with Abraham. And they're just kind of biding their time. They're not in torment. They're being comforted.
Now if you were given one request, what would it be? What would be the first thing that you would want to do? For me, it would be like "Get me out of here." But no, he says call Lazarus, have him dip his finger in some water, and have him come over and touch my tongue because I'm tormented in this flame.
Revelation 9:21 - Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
In Revelation 9:20-21, we see the condition of men upon the earth. You'd think by now there would be people complaining. I mean, just kill me! But death is taken away for five months. They can't die. And they're just being stung all the time, tormented for five months. It's like somebody's trying to play a cruel game or something.
In Verse 21, it says neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (PHARMAKEION), and that's drug use, nor of their fornication, meaning sexual immorality, nor of their robberies (or thefts). After all of this, they still continued in their lifestyle of serving demons, with no repentance.
What this does is it emphasizes the lengths that God goes through to get people to repent! Even after the Tribulation Period, when the whole thing is over, and Christ comes and rules on the earth for 1,000 years, Satan will be locked up in the pit. And even non-believers will get to enjoy what it's like to live under the rule of Christ for 1,000 years.
But the bible says that after a thousand years, Satan will be released. The Lord will remove His people from the earth for a short time to give those people still left on the earth time to repent. A thousand years with the Lord, Satan will be turned loose again, and they go right back to serving Satan. That is how hard-hearted people are.
Some religious systems teach that even after you die, you still have a chance to make a decision for Christ and to be saved. But that is not true. The bible says that it is appointed for man to die once, and then the judgment.
Revelation 9:10 - And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
The descriptions alone tell us that these are not normal locusts. Satan is over them. These are demonic like creatures.
Revelation 9:11 - 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.
They had a king over them. If you ever done a study on locusts, you know that locusts do not have a king. They go in groups. Proverbs 30:27 tells us that the locusts do not have a king. But these had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is ABADDON, the destroyer. But in the Greek tongue, his name is APOLLYON, same definition, destroyer.
He is the destroyer, just as Jesus described him in John Chapter 8. He is a murderer. He is a liar. He is the destroyer. These are demonic creatures. 2 Peter 2:4 tells us that there are demons in chains reserved for judgment that are kept down into the heart of the earth. The one usage at that time in 2 Peter 2:4 was TARTARUS. And that's the special pit for demonic forces.
Revelation 9:13 - And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Remember horns, I had mentioned that from the book of Daniel, horns are a symbol of authority. The four horns is complete authority over the four corners of the earth. It is on the altar of God which is in heaven.
Revelation 9:16 - And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:
That's a bad English way of using the largest number in the Greek language, and it adds up to two-hundred million.
Revelation 9:5 - 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.
It says, and to them it was given. So, it's still limitations and direction from God. And it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: It is interesting that 5 months is the lifespan of a locust, from May through September.
They should not kill them, but they should torment them for five months. And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he strikes a man. So, this is a locust striking a man like a scorpion. Some might say this is kind of harsh. Why not just have the locusts kill them? Why torment them? It's almost like God is playing games and wants to really cause pain for people.
But look at Verse 6:
Revelation 9:6 - And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
They can't die. They can't kill themselves. So, for five months they are tormented. It sounds pretty intense!
Revelation 9:7 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.
This verse gives us the description of these locusts. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. So, we don't have regular locusts here. And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8 - And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had hair as the hair of women. Joel also saw these very creatures ( Joel 1:2-12). And their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Revelation 9:2 - 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.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke from out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
And I alerted you already to these little words "as," and "like." Remember, John is giving us what is familiar with the human, in symbolic language what he's looking at in the spirit realm. Notice it says the smoke came out "as" of a great furnace. He didn't see a furnace. But this smoke coming up from out of the abyss reminded him of the smoke coming out of a furnace.
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. The people in L.A. rejoiced several years ago when they said that for the first time in many years, the smog situation in L.A. is better air than it's been in years. Well, I got news for them. Smoke is coming!
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke from out of the pit. So, you can no longer see the entrance anymore. All you can see is smoke billowing out of this pit.
Revelation 9:4 - 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.
And it was commanded them (these locusts), that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; And that is their natural food. So, these are not normal locusts. Don't eat the grass, or the vegetation, or the trees, but hurt only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
So, it's interesting that these are demonic forces, and even they are limited. They can't touch the 144,000 who are sealed here upon the earth, but only the people that do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
So here is this star who had fallen from his position from heaven. And it is interesting that in Luke Chapter 10, when the Lord sent out His disciples and gave them authority over demons, and the ability to heal, and for people to be saved and freed from Satan, that when the disciples came back, they rejoiced over the fact that the demons were subject to them.
And it's just like what people do today, "Boy, the power of the Holy Spirit really got Satan down today!" But Jesus said don't rejoice over that but rejoice over the fact that your names are written in heaven, salvation!
But he says I saw Satan falling like lightning out of heaven. So, what he saw in the spirit realm was the spiritual victory that these disciples had over Satan in freeing these people from Satan. So, this is a star which had fallen already unto the earth, already here! And at this time, he's given the key to the abyss. Abyss just means bottomless pit. It is a long shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth with no bottom, at least from the viewpoint of the earth.
Now when we get to Revelation Chapter 12, we will see that Satan still has access to the throne of God. But he is not omnipresent. He is before the throne of God, and Revelation Chapter 12 is going to tell us that he accuses the brethren day and night before the throne of God.
And you can see what actually takes place between him and God before the throne in Job Chapters 1 and 2. Satan came and accused Job to God and said let me at him. Satan was trying to show that Job really didn't love God, except for the fact that God blessed him with material things. So, God gave him permission to touch his possessions. In fact, his family, his animals, his land, and then after Job passed that test, Satan asked permission to touch his health. And he lost his health in all of that. But God said you can't touch his soul.
So, it is interesting that Satan can get permission to touch anything about a person's life, except for their soul. It could be the physical body. It could be health. It could be circumstances. It could be possessions, or family members.
And so, Satan lost his position in Isaiah Chapter 14. His final downcast to the earth won't happen until Revelation Chapter 12, when he will be cut off and given no more access to the throne of God to accuse
Revelation 9:1 - 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.
Now when the fifth angel sounded, a star fell. Number 1, in Revelation Chapter 1, we know that the stars represent angels. A star fell from heaven! Secondly, the word fall is in the Perfect Tense. So, he sees a star which has already fallen. He didn't see it as it was falling. He saw a fallen star, a star that had already fallen from out of heaven unto the earth.
And to this angel (this fallen star), was given the key to the bottomless pit. Notice that it was given to him. He did not possess it. He did not have authority over it. We know in Revelation Chapter 1 that Jesus has the keys of Hades and of death. The Lord holds all the keys to all of these places.
Now the bottomless pit is the word abyss, ABUSSO in Greek. And it is interesting because it is believed that around where Babylon used to be, and in fact, it was the place where Saddam Hussein was caught, but they believed that there is a shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth. And this shaft is closed up on the top.
And this would be the place that Peter told us about in 2 Peter 2:4, that there are angels who are reserved in chains of darkness, ready to be revealed. And so, this star who had fallen was given the key to the bottomless pit. And we will see that this star is none other than Satan himself, and that the creatures that will be released from this pit are going to be two-hundred million demons unleashed upon the earth.
But concerning this star who had been fallen, back in Isaiah 14:12-15, we have recorded for us the rebellion of Satan. It is called the "five I wills," where Satan said I will be like the most high, where he expressed his rebellion towards God. And it is at that time that he lost his first domain. He lost his first position with God.
Thanks for your reply, I know many have the understanding the sons of God in Genesis 6 are the line of Seth and the daughters of men are of Cain and those not following God. I will just give a little of my understanding not in debate.
Scripture tells us there were Nephilim/giants in the world before and after the flood Genesis 6:42 Samuel 21:16Joshua 12:4Numbers 13:33Deuteronomy 2:19-21Amos 2:9 Also in Joshua 13, 15, 17, 18, 2 Samuel 21 and 1 Chronicles 20 Also, in the Old Testament, there is the Rephaim or Rephaites, and the context describes them as giants. so, where did they come from?
2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1: 6 tell us of a group of angels who left their first estate and are locked in darkness. Many other fallen angels we battle including Satan are on this earth 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. But these angels are locked in darkness until judgment, and we see in Revelation 9:11 they have a king. These angels had to do something far greater than rebelling against God, my understanding is they adulterated God's creation, we see how corrupt it got.
We know from Jude and 2 Peter angels sinned, kept not their first estate, and left their habitation. Estate means condition, status, and dominion, and habitation means residence or dwelling place. I understand how many takes Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 but Jesus is not referring to sex He is saying when we are resurrected, we will be like the angels in heaven who are immortal. We are mortal, we have to marry and reproduce when we are resurrected, we will be raised immortal same as the angels no more need to marry and reproduce, and we will be on the earth not heaven.
We see angels come down on earth that have bodies, they can eat and drink, Genesis 18:1-8 and other places like Hebrews 13:2. To me the angels who left their estate is where these giants came from, and we see when Israel went into the promised land God wiped out the giants or had them kill them all even the children.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
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.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
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.
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.
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.
The main point I brought up when starting these postings on Revelation was that most of the death and destruction appears to be from God's judgments. These verses seem to pretty clearly indicate that these creatures themselves kill 1/3 of mankind; and the 4 angels under the Euphrates who were in charge of these 200,000,000 creatures on what appeared to be horses do this destruction which comes from their mouths. We should note that it is not literately horses but horselike creatures that inflict the damage rather than those riding them. It appears these come also from the underworld; whether the same bottomless pit or another infernal region for nonhuman subjects. It would appear these creatures are able to survive in hell literally if they can spew fire onto people so it is possible there are creatures created to be adapted to that environment whether originally that way or having adapted to it.
And now we get to that great first woe. Let us examine the verses one at a time. 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. ( Rev. 9:1)
There has been some contention as to the identity of this angel being Satan himself; because this would give him authority over the bottomless pit even AFTER these five months and it would render Revelation 20:3 illogical which states
"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
This would seem to identify this angel as the same who seals Satan himself in later. Ultimately; Jesus Himself has the keys of death and hell (actually Hades) as stated in Revelation 1:18.
It is easy to glibly identify these creatures as demonic hordes. They certainly appear to be different than the mutated genetic offspring of men and angels mentioned in Genesis 6. Nonetheless they are confined in the underworld where other demons will also be imprisoned in due season; which would appear to be the same time Satan is under the earth. ( Isaiah 24:21).
Apollyon is known as the destroyer who is king over these creatures and gives "marching orders". They are NOT allowed to kill however and perhaps there is some sort of immortality in suffering during the prescribed 5 month period.
Revelation 9:4 states 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.
This passage indicates the "sealing" of the 144,000 and the fact that they are still on the earth at that time. This will be the ultimate protection and obvious to the rest of the world who suffers the punishment of these tormentors. It is no wonder that they are ready for the Mark after
"The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." ( Revelation 8:7).
This and the next 3 trumpets seems to be what the 144,000 were sealed to protect them against. Revelation 7:3 says: Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Trumpets 2 and 3 discuss the destruction of 1/3 of the sea in regard to life and commerce; as well as a third of the waters of the earth made bitter. The fourth trumpet gets into one third of the day AND night having no light. This certainly will trump any so called eclipse sign of God as it will be truly frightening. Clearly something will be blocking light from above the earth's atmosphere maybe related to what crashes into the sea in the earlier trumpet.
The 1/3 mentioned here and later on in the sixth trumpet judgment is almost certainly related to the judgment to come on the 1/3 of the angels that fell with Lucifer that are to be cast down on the earth. Isaiah 24:21 says And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
In the fifth trumpet; we see the first judgment of demons that are directly affecting mankind. In this case torment only was allowed; and death withheld somehow. Immediately following this we have the event of the two prophets being killed; put on display and resurrected as proven by this verse: One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. ( Revelation 9:12). I STRONGLY suspect that these individuals will be convinced once the Antichrist beast is "resurrected" that he both causes their suffering to cease and also that their inability to die will be proof that they are IMMORTAL because of the power OVER Apollyon ( Rev. 9:11) WITH THE MARK.
Look at earlier postings about ideas related to genetic DNA manipulation to render someone not human and therefore unredeemable. This would explain the wholesale destruction of all men except for Noah and his immediate family who was said to be "perfect" in his generations. ( Gen. 6:9). This would almost certainly have a primary reference to his genetic line not being contaminated with the sons of the giants or "men of renown" mentioned in Genesis 6:4. Christ came to redeem men not hybrid creatures and naturally angels that fell would also be unredeemable. Whether this business would be sold as an "evolutionary leap" or promise immortality or both is uncertain; but the "strong delusion" ultimately is sent by God; therefore men will worship the Beast and of course Satan who empowers him. The idea of rebellion comes to mind with what Cain did; and the original concept of the tower of Babel will come to its fruition "bringing the whole world together" in unity; so to speak.
The Tribulation likely begins with one man controlling all of the earth's wealth. That is seen in prophecies in Daniel 11:38 and prophecies such as him "dividing the land for gain" ( Daniel 11:39). See also Habukkuk 2:9 and the whole chapter there to see the consolidation of wealth. Despite his control of the 10 nation beast empire; we see in Revelation that the nations from the east and north amass to go after him. (sixth trumpet starting Revelation 9:13.) Therefore, he may have control over everyone economically but nations will still fight him. By Armageddon in Meddigo at least it appears all are damned after they are enticed to gather by the 3 demons from the frog like spirits coming from the "unholy" trinity. After fighting each other they turn and fight Christ which of course is futile. THose in the Ezekiel 38 campaign however have one sixth remain; I am guessing some don't have the mark and make it into the Millennium. I may discuss that later.
And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. ( John 8:35).
When we consider the state of the human soul as well as the angelic realm we realize that access to the heavenly abode is only for those who kept their first estate; as opposed to those mentioned in Jude 6 who fell away after Lucifer's deception. Such is the case as well for men; unregenerate men are truly slaves to sin ( Romans 6:20). We find that our freedom indeed puts us into bondage while being a servant of Christ brings victory.
It is tempting to include some verses from secular songs which at least admit to the dazzling display that Satan appearing as an angel of light uses to delude the masses. ( 2 Cor. 11:14). Since he can no longer magnify God's name; Satan and his minions can only appeal to the nature of man; as he did when influencing Peter to speak as he did about Christ ( Matthew 16:23). Men's thoughts are on self preservation; not sacrificial love. We want to keep close those who are closest to us; which isn't necessarily wrong in itself but is if God is subservient; thus we hate our lives and keep it ( John 12:25). Hence is the paradox of living in Christ and it will come to it's fullest realization during the fires of the Tribulation. It is hard to comprehend just how powerful the delusion will be mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:11. GOD sends the strong delusion! As stated previously; the trumpet judgments still won't deter the world of it's sins; and in Revelation 9:14-21 after the 200,000,000 demon horde kill one third of all of the earth people STILL won't stop their abominable acts. Keep in mind this is well after the sixth SEAL where people at that time are still hiding in caves and fully aware of God and Christ on their thrones beginning judgment ( Rev. 6:16-17).
This of course will lead to the delusion mentioned in Psalm 2 and Revelation 19 where men come together at Armageddon and eventually try to fight God.
Isaiah 19:8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brook shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
Most all of Isaiah is prophecy of the Kingdom of God.
Egypt is symbolic as is Babylon in Revelation, what they have in common is the spirit of deception, which God is going to destroy.
Put the FISHERS as a prophecy of his 12 disciples and all those that are ruled by the same Spirit IN THEM as is IN YOU.
Matthew 4:19 .... I will MAKE YOU fishers of men ....
Ezekiel 32:3 ... I WILL therefore spread out MY NET over thee, with a GREAT COMPANY of many people, and THEY shall bring thee up in MY NET.
Ezekiel 47:10 And it shall COME TO PASS, that the FISHERS shall stand upon it ... they shall be a place to spread forth nets, their fish shall be according to their kind, as the fish of a great sea (of humanity), exceeding many.
This has been happening now for 2000 years.
Most of this is done after you are harvested and have been translated into the next age, and have become a chariot of fire or a locust as described in Revelation.
Revelation 9:2 And HE (Christ has the keys to death and the grave) opened the BOTTOMLESS (a grave that can never be filled with all the dead) PIT, and there AROSE a smoke (Christ and his saints) out of the pit (grave), as the smoke of a great furnace (of fire, our God is a consuming FIRE) ...
Revelation 9:3 And there came out of the SMOKE (the saints and Christ as ONE FLESH) locust on the earth; and unto them was given POWER, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Revelation 9:4 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 who HAVE NOT the seal of God in their foreheads.
Revelation 9:5 And TO THEM IT WAS GIVEN that they should not kill them, but they should BE TORMENTED for five months (symbolic), and there TORMENT was as the TORMENT when a scorpion striketh a man.
Reading you comment above ref. Joel 2:31, and Rev.6:12-17, and Matt.24:29-31concerning "The sun turns dark and the moon to blood ((before)) the day of the LORD comes",
first of all I remember that "there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve Stars". Once "the sun tuns dark" the woman will be in darkness(terrible), by the way, at "midnight there was(there will be)a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him. Then all those virgins arose(will arise), and trimmed(and will trim) their lamps.
And the foolish said(will say) unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out"; Matt.25:6-8. The lamps is gone out at midnight? In full midnight darkness, in a so perilous hour?
In the above comparison described, I am trying to highlight the issue of the sun becoming dark as prophesied. I don't see or interpret as being a physical phenomenon.
Based in Revelation 9:1-3&10&6 & 11-12
1 I saw a STAR fall from heaven unto the earth( Isaiah 14:12-14 combined with 2 Thess.2:3-4): and to HIM was given the key of the bottomless pit.
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
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
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months
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.
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
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter
Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon man a great HAIL out of heaven, each stone about the weight of a talent (a talent weighs about 57 pounds): and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the HAIL; for the plague thereof was very great.
Since Revelation is symbolic, what is this a symbol of:
We have to go to the prophets:
Isaiah 28:2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one ....who is this MIGHTY and STRONG ONE? ..... it is JESUS, the WORD OF GOD ......which as a tempest of HAIL and a DESTROYING STORM ......the HAIL in Revelation is symbolic of the WORD OF GOD, and his words are going to DESTROY ALL DECEPTION FROM THE CARNAL MIND of his people.
Revelation 9:17 And I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat upon them, having breastplates of FIRE, and of JACINTH, and BRIMSTONE, and the heads of the horses were as heads of lions; and out of their mouths ISSUED FIRE and smoke and BRIMSTONE.
Revelation 9:18 And by these three were a THRID PART OF MAN KILLED, by the FIRE, and by the SMOKE, and by the BRIMSTONE, which issued out of their mouth.
This is symbolic, you can contain PHYSICAL fire and brimstone in ones mouth.
Isaiah 30:33 ...for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is FIRE and much wood; the BREATH OF THE LORD, like a stream of BRIMSTONE, doth kindle it.
Ezekiel 5:2 ...though shall burn a THIRD PART .....
Ezekiel 5:3 Thou shall take thereof a FEW ......
Ezekiel 5:4 .....and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire: for thereof (those destroyed in the fire) SHALL A FIRE COME FORTH ino all the house of Israel.
Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the THIRD PART through the FIRE ......
Revelation 8:7 And the third part of the trees were burnt up .....
Isaiah 9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this (battle) shall be with BURNING and fuel of fire.
Isaiah 9:19 .... people shall be the fuel of the fire
Repent of your sins before the lord Jesus Christ and confess your sins before Jesus Christ and believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins at the cross.
how many Christians will be saved during the rapture ? Read Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
how do u turn ur life to Jesus? By acknowledging and confessing to the Lord that we are sinners in need of his salvation. Inviting him into our lives asking him to take over Nothing fancy nothing complicated
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:9 if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved
BUT KNOW THIS once you make that confession of repentance there's a great celebration in heaven
Jesus said, "I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" ( Luke 15:10)
Praise the Lord I pray the Lord your strength and guidance that he bless you and bring people around you that are after his own heart. God bless
The mark of the Beast cannot come until Antichrist comes; is worshipped by all the unregenerate; a mark is given for allegiance to him; and a death penalty is worldwide for those who will not recieve it. The allegiance will be to the man who appears to have a deadly wound then is healed from it. This prophecy can be found in Zechariah 11:17 as well as in Revelation 13. This will appear to be immortality as a type of false Resurrection as it were. The son of perdition in John 17:2 as well as 2 Thessalonians are describing the fate of Judas Iscariot; and the second verse Antichrist. These two individuals are both directly controlled by Satan; although technically the possession of the Beast is due to Apollyon king of the bottomless pit the way I see it in Revelation 9:11 which means; among other things the destroyer.
There are certainly foreshadowings today technologically speaking; and the genetic AI concept likely will also involve some sort of DNA alteration assuring eternal life for those taking it. I take chronologically most of Revelation; bolstered by "after these things" used so frequently. There will clearly be a false one world religion that will ride the beast at first; and this will be overturned at the Midpoint of the Trib. ( Rev. 17:16); as Satan only wants worship for himself. There will be a process where it appears all men will praise God after the Rapture in Revelation 5:13. I haven't heard it preached but we must remember there is the Resurrection of all the church saints; so even if the Rapture isn't seen by some the partially empty graveyards can't be denied. At any rate; men's hearts will harden to the point where they fear God and are aware of judgment coming at the sixth seal; and later on dthey will blaspheme God and attempt eventually to fight God (see also Psalm 2; Rev. 19). BTW God's people are also "sealed" ( Eph. 1:13); as well as the 144,000 ( Rev. 7:1-8) invisibly.
Hi Bruce. Your question sounds like a combination of a couple of Scriptures: Revelation 9:15,16 and Revelation 16:12. I'm unconvinced that these two scenarios are tied in together, with the Book of Revelation itself filled with various imagery & timelines making a definitive interpretation impossible.
Revelation 9:5 - 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.
It says, and to them it was given. So, it's still limitations and direction from God. And it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: It is interesting that 5 months is the lifespan of a locust, from May through September.
They should not kill them, but they should torment them for five months. And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he strikes a man. So, this is a locust striking a man like a scorpion. Some might say this is kind of harsh. Why not just have the locusts kill them? Why torment them? It's almost like God is playing games and wants to really cause pain for people.
But look at Verse 6:
Revelation 9:6 - And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
They can't die. They can't kill themselves. So, for five months they are tormented. It sounds pretty intense!
Revelation 9:7 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.
This verse gives us the description of these locusts. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. So, we don't have regular locusts here. And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8 - And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had hair as the hair of women. Joel also saw these very creatures ( Joel 1:2-12). And their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Revelation 9:2 - 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.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke from out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
And I alerted you already to these little words "as," and "like." Remember, John is giving us what is familiar with the human, in symbolic language what he's looking at in the spirit realm. Notice it says the smoke came out "as" of a great furnace. He didn't see a furnace. But this smoke coming up from out of the abyss reminded him of the smoke coming out of a furnace.
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. The people in L.A. rejoiced several years ago when they said that for the first time in many years, the smog situation in L.A. is better air than it's been in years. Well, I got news for them. Smoke is coming!
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke from out of the pit. So, you can no longer see the entrance anymore. All you can see is smoke billowing out of this pit.
Revelation 9:4 - 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.
And it was commanded them (these locusts), that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; And that is their natural food. So, these are not normal locusts. Don't eat the grass, or the vegetation, or the trees, but hurt only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
So, it's interesting that these are demonic forces, and even they are limited. They can't touch the 144,000 who are sealed here upon the earth, but only the people that do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Revelation 9:1 Continued
So here is this star who had fallen from his position from heaven. And it is interesting that in Luke Chapter 10, when the Lord sent out His disciples and gave them authority over demons, and the ability to heal, and for people to be saved and freed from Satan, that when the disciples came back, they rejoiced over the fact that the demons were subject to them.
And it's just like what people do today, "Boy, the power of the Holy Spirit really got Satan down today!" But Jesus said don't rejoice over that, but rejoice over the fact that your names are written in heaven, salvation!
But he says I saw Satan falling like lightning out of heaven. So, what he saw in the spirit realm was the spiritual victory that these disciples had over Satan in freeing these people from Satan. So, this is a star which had fallen already unto the earth, already here! And at this time, he's given the key to the abyss. Abyss just means bottomless pit. It is a long shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth with no bottom, at least from the viewpoint of the earth.
Revelation 9:1 Continued
Now when we get to Revelation Chapter 12, we will see that Satan still has access to the throne of God. But he is not omnipresent. He is before the throne of God, and Revelation Chapter 12 is going to tell us that he accuses the brethren day and night before the throne of God.
And you can see what actually takes place between him and God before the throne in Job Chapters 1 and 2. Satan came and accused Job to God and said let me at him. Satan was trying to show that Job really didn't love God, except for the fact that God blessed him with material things. So, God gave him permission to touch his possessions. In fact, his family, his animals, his land, and then after Job passed that test, Satan asked permission to touch his health. And he lost his health in all of that. But God said you can't touch his soul.
So, it is interesting that Satan can get permission to touch anything about a person's life, except for their soul. It could be the physical body. It could be health. It could be circumstances. It could be possessions, or family members.
And so, Satan lost his position in Isaiah Chapter 14. His final downcast to the earth won't happen until Revelation Chapter 12, when he will be cut off and given no more access to the throne of God to accuse the brethren.
Revelation 9:1 - 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.
Now when the fifth angel sounded, a star fell. Number 1, in Revelation Chapter 1, we know that the stars represent angels. A star fell from heaven! Secondly, the word fall is in the Perfect Tense. So, he sees a star which has already fallen. He didn't see it as it was falling. He saw a fallen star, a star that had already fallen from out of heaven unto the earth.
And to this angel (this fallen star), was given the key to the bottomless pit. Notice that it was given to him. He did not possess it. He did not have authority over it. We know in Revelation Chapter 1 that Jesus has the keys of Hades and of death. The Lord holds all the keys to all of these places.
Now the bottomless pit is the word abyss, ABUSSO in Greek. And it is interesting because it is believed that around where Babylon used to be, and in fact, it was the place where Saddam Hussein was caught, but they believed that there is a shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth. And this shaft is closed up on the top.
And this would be the place that Peter told us about in 2 Peter 2:4, that there are angels who are reserved in chains of darkness, ready to be revealed. And so, this star who had fallen was given the key to the bottomless pit. And we will see that this star is none other than Satan himself, and that the creatures that will be released from this pit are going to be two-hundred million demons unleashed upon the earth.
But concerning this star who had been fallen, back in Isaiah 14:12-15, we have recorded for us the rebellion of Satan. It is called the "five I wills," where Satan said I will be like the most high, where he expressed his rebellion towards God. And it is at that time that he lost his first domain. He lost his first position with God.
Revelation 9:21 Continued
He didn't want out, because there's only one other place to go. We have to understand that the people who reject Christ, and we are going to see about the lake of fire soon and how it was created for Satan and his angels, not for people, but people are going there because of they've given their allegiance to Satan and have rejected Christ.
But can you imagine this rich man, he just wants to be comforted from the flame. It's just like people now that reject Christ, they want to be comforted in their misery here, so they use drugs and alcohol, and all kinds of things in order to try to get away from the pain and the emptiness and the misery of life.
But the last thing that the rich man wanted to do was to be in the presence of Christ throughout eternity, and away from the torment. Everybody that goes to heaven will be in the presence of Christ, in the worship of Him, seeing Him in all of His fullness and all the glory of God, the glory that Moses could not look upon, nor can any human being look upon now. But one day we're going to look upon His glory.
And there are people that would rather be in hell. It's not that they want to be tormented. But they do not want to be in the presence of Christ. And that's what heaven's all about. And so, as these stages go through of judgments, you can't help but wonder why doesn't God just do one big sweep and destroy everybody that has rejected Him?
These judgments are judgments, but He's allowing people to experience the judgments so they can see the consequences for their sin and still give them time to repent. And so, He'll increase the judgments. And people will still refuse to repent.
Revelation 9:21 Continued
If you remember in Luke Chapter 16, the rich man and Lazarus who was the poor man, and he begged at the rich man's door just to get some crumbs off of his table. Well, Lazarus died, and he was taken to the bosom of Abraham. But when the rich man died, he woke up in Hades, which is called the place of the unseen spirits.
Hades is not hell. There's only one place that's called hell, and we'll see that later on in Revelation. It's called the lake of fire. There are different names for these places of punishment. They're like holding cells if you will. But Hades is the place of unseen spirits.
And in Jesus' day, there was a great gulf fixed between them. One part was in torment, those who had rejected and rebelled against God. And the other part was in the bosom of Abraham, being comforted until the Messiah was to come.
Well, the rich man, he wakes up and he's in torment in the flame. And he sees Lazarus over in Abraham's Bosom. Now put yourself in the rich man's place. Put yourself as being in Hades, in torment, and you see Lazarus and all of his buddies over there with Abraham. And they're just kind of biding their time. They're not in torment. They're being comforted.
Now if you were given one request, what would it be? What would be the first thing that you would want to do? For me, it would be like "Get me out of here." But no, he says call Lazarus, have him dip his finger in some water, and have him come over and touch my tongue because I'm tormented in this flame.
Revelation 9:21 - Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
In Revelation 9:20-21, we see the condition of men upon the earth. You'd think by now there would be people complaining. I mean, just kill me! But death is taken away for five months. They can't die. And they're just being stung all the time, tormented for five months. It's like somebody's trying to play a cruel game or something.
In Verse 21, it says neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (PHARMAKEION), and that's drug use, nor of their fornication, meaning sexual immorality, nor of their robberies (or thefts). After all of this, they still continued in their lifestyle of serving demons, with no repentance.
What this does is it emphasizes the lengths that God goes through to get people to repent! Even after the Tribulation Period, when the whole thing is over, and Christ comes and rules on the earth for 1,000 years, Satan will be locked up in the pit. And even non-believers will get to enjoy what it's like to live under the rule of Christ for 1,000 years.
But the bible says that after a thousand years, Satan will be released. The Lord will remove His people from the earth for a short time to give those people still left on the earth time to repent. A thousand years with the Lord, Satan will be turned loose again, and they go right back to serving Satan. That is how hard-hearted people are.
Some religious systems teach that even after you die, you still have a chance to make a decision for Christ and to be saved. But that is not true. The bible says that it is appointed for man to die once, and then the judgment.
Revelation 9:10 - And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
The descriptions alone tell us that these are not normal locusts. Satan is over them. These are demonic like creatures.
Revelation 9:11 - 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.
They had a king over them. If you ever done a study on locusts, you know that locusts do not have a king. They go in groups. Proverbs 30:27 tells us that the locusts do not have a king. But these had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is ABADDON, the destroyer. But in the Greek tongue, his name is APOLLYON, same definition, destroyer.
He is the destroyer, just as Jesus described him in John Chapter 8. He is a murderer. He is a liar. He is the destroyer. These are demonic creatures. 2 Peter 2:4 tells us that there are demons in chains reserved for judgment that are kept down into the heart of the earth. The one usage at that time in 2 Peter 2:4 was TARTARUS. And that's the special pit for demonic forces.
Revelation 9:13 - And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Remember horns, I had mentioned that from the book of Daniel, horns are a symbol of authority. The four horns is complete authority over the four corners of the earth. It is on the altar of God which is in heaven.
Revelation 9:16 - And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:
That's a bad English way of using the largest number in the Greek language, and it adds up to two-hundred million.
Revelation 9:5 - 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.
It says, and to them it was given. So, it's still limitations and direction from God. And it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: It is interesting that 5 months is the lifespan of a locust, from May through September.
They should not kill them, but they should torment them for five months. And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he strikes a man. So, this is a locust striking a man like a scorpion. Some might say this is kind of harsh. Why not just have the locusts kill them? Why torment them? It's almost like God is playing games and wants to really cause pain for people.
But look at Verse 6:
Revelation 9:6 - And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
They can't die. They can't kill themselves. So, for five months they are tormented. It sounds pretty intense!
Revelation 9:7 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.
This verse gives us the description of these locusts. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. So, we don't have regular locusts here. And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8 - And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had hair as the hair of women. Joel also saw these very creatures ( Joel 1:2-12). And their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Revelation 9:2 - 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.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke from out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace;
And I alerted you already to these little words "as," and "like." Remember, John is giving us what is familiar with the human, in symbolic language what he's looking at in the spirit realm. Notice it says the smoke came out "as" of a great furnace. He didn't see a furnace. But this smoke coming up from out of the abyss reminded him of the smoke coming out of a furnace.
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. The people in L.A. rejoiced several years ago when they said that for the first time in many years, the smog situation in L.A. is better air than it's been in years. Well, I got news for them. Smoke is coming!
And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke from out of the pit. So, you can no longer see the entrance anymore. All you can see is smoke billowing out of this pit.
Revelation 9:4 - 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.
And it was commanded them (these locusts), that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; And that is their natural food. So, these are not normal locusts. Don't eat the grass, or the vegetation, or the trees, but hurt only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
So, it's interesting that these are demonic forces, and even they are limited. They can't touch the 144,000 who are sealed here upon the earth, but only the people that do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Revelation 9:1 Continued
So here is this star who had fallen from his position from heaven. And it is interesting that in Luke Chapter 10, when the Lord sent out His disciples and gave them authority over demons, and the ability to heal, and for people to be saved and freed from Satan, that when the disciples came back, they rejoiced over the fact that the demons were subject to them.
And it's just like what people do today, "Boy, the power of the Holy Spirit really got Satan down today!" But Jesus said don't rejoice over that but rejoice over the fact that your names are written in heaven, salvation!
But he says I saw Satan falling like lightning out of heaven. So, what he saw in the spirit realm was the spiritual victory that these disciples had over Satan in freeing these people from Satan. So, this is a star which had fallen already unto the earth, already here! And at this time, he's given the key to the abyss. Abyss just means bottomless pit. It is a long shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth with no bottom, at least from the viewpoint of the earth.
Revelation 9:1 Continued
Now when we get to Revelation Chapter 12, we will see that Satan still has access to the throne of God. But he is not omnipresent. He is before the throne of God, and Revelation Chapter 12 is going to tell us that he accuses the brethren day and night before the throne of God.
And you can see what actually takes place between him and God before the throne in Job Chapters 1 and 2. Satan came and accused Job to God and said let me at him. Satan was trying to show that Job really didn't love God, except for the fact that God blessed him with material things. So, God gave him permission to touch his possessions. In fact, his family, his animals, his land, and then after Job passed that test, Satan asked permission to touch his health. And he lost his health in all of that. But God said you can't touch his soul.
So, it is interesting that Satan can get permission to touch anything about a person's life, except for their soul. It could be the physical body. It could be health. It could be circumstances. It could be possessions, or family members.
And so, Satan lost his position in Isaiah Chapter 14. His final downcast to the earth won't happen until Revelation Chapter 12, when he will be cut off and given no more access to the throne of God to accuse
Revelation 9:1 - 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.
Now when the fifth angel sounded, a star fell. Number 1, in Revelation Chapter 1, we know that the stars represent angels. A star fell from heaven! Secondly, the word fall is in the Perfect Tense. So, he sees a star which has already fallen. He didn't see it as it was falling. He saw a fallen star, a star that had already fallen from out of heaven unto the earth.
And to this angel (this fallen star), was given the key to the bottomless pit. Notice that it was given to him. He did not possess it. He did not have authority over it. We know in Revelation Chapter 1 that Jesus has the keys of Hades and of death. The Lord holds all the keys to all of these places.
Now the bottomless pit is the word abyss, ABUSSO in Greek. And it is interesting because it is believed that around where Babylon used to be, and in fact, it was the place where Saddam Hussein was caught, but they believed that there is a shaft that goes down into the heart of the earth. And this shaft is closed up on the top.
And this would be the place that Peter told us about in 2 Peter 2:4, that there are angels who are reserved in chains of darkness, ready to be revealed. And so, this star who had fallen was given the key to the bottomless pit. And we will see that this star is none other than Satan himself, and that the creatures that will be released from this pit are going to be two-hundred million demons unleashed upon the earth.
But concerning this star who had been fallen, back in Isaiah 14:12-15, we have recorded for us the rebellion of Satan. It is called the "five I wills," where Satan said I will be like the most high, where he expressed his rebellion towards God. And it is at that time that he lost his first domain. He lost his first position with God.
Thanks for your reply, I know many have the understanding the sons of God in Genesis 6 are the line of Seth and the daughters of men are of Cain and those not following God. I will just give a little of my understanding not in debate.
Scripture tells us there were Nephilim/giants in the world before and after the flood Genesis 6:4 2 Samuel 21:16 Joshua 12:4 Numbers 13:33 Deuteronomy 2:19-21 Amos 2:9 Also in Joshua 13, 15, 17, 18, 2 Samuel 21 and 1 Chronicles 20 Also, in the Old Testament, there is the Rephaim or Rephaites, and the context describes them as giants. so, where did they come from?
2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1: 6 tell us of a group of angels who left their first estate and are locked in darkness. Many other fallen angels we battle including Satan are on this earth 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. But these angels are locked in darkness until judgment, and we see in Revelation 9:11 they have a king. These angels had to do something far greater than rebelling against God, my understanding is they adulterated God's creation, we see how corrupt it got.
We know from Jude and 2 Peter angels sinned, kept not their first estate, and left their habitation. Estate means condition, status, and dominion, and habitation means residence or dwelling place. I understand how many takes Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25 but Jesus is not referring to sex He is saying when we are resurrected, we will be like the angels in heaven who are immortal. We are mortal, we have to marry and reproduce when we are resurrected, we will be raised immortal same as the angels no more need to marry and reproduce, and we will be on the earth not heaven.
We see angels come down on earth that have bodies, they can eat and drink, Genesis 18:1-8 and other places like Hebrews 13:2. To me the angels who left their estate is where these giants came from, and we see when Israel went into the promised land God wiped out the giants or had them kill them all even the children.
God bless,
RLW
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
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.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
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.
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.
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.
The main point I brought up when starting these postings on Revelation was that most of the death and destruction appears to be from God's judgments. These verses seem to pretty clearly indicate that these creatures themselves kill 1/3 of mankind; and the 4 angels under the Euphrates who were in charge of these 200,000,000 creatures on what appeared to be horses do this destruction which comes from their mouths. We should note that it is not literately horses but horselike creatures that inflict the damage rather than those riding them. It appears these come also from the underworld; whether the same bottomless pit or another infernal region for nonhuman subjects. It would appear these creatures are able to survive in hell literally if they can spew fire onto people so it is possible there are creatures created to be adapted to that environment whether originally that way or having adapted to it.
And now we get to that great first woe. Let us examine the verses one at a time. 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. ( Rev. 9:1)
There has been some contention as to the identity of this angel being Satan himself; because this would give him authority over the bottomless pit even AFTER these five months and it would render Revelation 20:3 illogical which states
"And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
This would seem to identify this angel as the same who seals Satan himself in later. Ultimately; Jesus Himself has the keys of death and hell (actually Hades) as stated in Revelation 1:18.
It is easy to glibly identify these creatures as demonic hordes. They certainly appear to be different than the mutated genetic offspring of men and angels mentioned in Genesis 6. Nonetheless they are confined in the underworld where other demons will also be imprisoned in due season; which would appear to be the same time Satan is under the earth. ( Isaiah 24:21).
Apollyon is known as the destroyer who is king over these creatures and gives "marching orders". They are NOT allowed to kill however and perhaps there is some sort of immortality in suffering during the prescribed 5 month period.
Revelation 9:4 states 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.
This passage indicates the "sealing" of the 144,000 and the fact that they are still on the earth at that time. This will be the ultimate protection and obvious to the rest of the world who suffers the punishment of these tormentors. It is no wonder that they are ready for the Mark after
"The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." ( Revelation 8:7).
This and the next 3 trumpets seems to be what the 144,000 were sealed to protect them against. Revelation 7:3 says: Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Trumpets 2 and 3 discuss the destruction of 1/3 of the sea in regard to life and commerce; as well as a third of the waters of the earth made bitter. The fourth trumpet gets into one third of the day AND night having no light. This certainly will trump any so called eclipse sign of God as it will be truly frightening. Clearly something will be blocking light from above the earth's atmosphere maybe related to what crashes into the sea in the earlier trumpet.
The 1/3 mentioned here and later on in the sixth trumpet judgment is almost certainly related to the judgment to come on the 1/3 of the angels that fell with Lucifer that are to be cast down on the earth. Isaiah 24:21 says And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
In the fifth trumpet; we see the first judgment of demons that are directly affecting mankind. In this case torment only was allowed; and death withheld somehow. Immediately following this we have the event of the two prophets being killed; put on display and resurrected as proven by this verse: One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. ( Revelation 9:12). I STRONGLY suspect that these individuals will be convinced once the Antichrist beast is "resurrected" that he both causes their suffering to cease and also that their inability to die will be proof that they are IMMORTAL because of the power OVER Apollyon ( Rev. 9:11) WITH THE MARK.
Look at earlier postings about ideas related to genetic DNA manipulation to render someone not human and therefore unredeemable. This would explain the wholesale destruction of all men except for Noah and his immediate family who was said to be "perfect" in his generations. ( Gen. 6:9). This would almost certainly have a primary reference to his genetic line not being contaminated with the sons of the giants or "men of renown" mentioned in Genesis 6:4. Christ came to redeem men not hybrid creatures and naturally angels that fell would also be unredeemable. Whether this business would be sold as an "evolutionary leap" or promise immortality or both is uncertain; but the "strong delusion" ultimately is sent by God; therefore men will worship the Beast and of course Satan who empowers him. The idea of rebellion comes to mind with what Cain did; and the original concept of the tower of Babel will come to its fruition "bringing the whole world together" in unity; so to speak.
The Tribulation likely begins with one man controlling all of the earth's wealth. That is seen in prophecies in Daniel 11:38 and prophecies such as him "dividing the land for gain" ( Daniel 11:39). See also Habukkuk 2:9 and the whole chapter there to see the consolidation of wealth. Despite his control of the 10 nation beast empire; we see in Revelation that the nations from the east and north amass to go after him. (sixth trumpet starting Revelation 9:13.) Therefore, he may have control over everyone economically but nations will still fight him. By Armageddon in Meddigo at least it appears all are damned after they are enticed to gather by the 3 demons from the frog like spirits coming from the "unholy" trinity. After fighting each other they turn and fight Christ which of course is futile. THose in the Ezekiel 38 campaign however have one sixth remain; I am guessing some don't have the mark and make it into the Millennium. I may discuss that later.
And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. ( John 8:35).
When we consider the state of the human soul as well as the angelic realm we realize that access to the heavenly abode is only for those who kept their first estate; as opposed to those mentioned in Jude 6 who fell away after Lucifer's deception. Such is the case as well for men; unregenerate men are truly slaves to sin ( Romans 6:20). We find that our freedom indeed puts us into bondage while being a servant of Christ brings victory.
It is tempting to include some verses from secular songs which at least admit to the dazzling display that Satan appearing as an angel of light uses to delude the masses. ( 2 Cor. 11:14). Since he can no longer magnify God's name; Satan and his minions can only appeal to the nature of man; as he did when influencing Peter to speak as he did about Christ ( Matthew 16:23). Men's thoughts are on self preservation; not sacrificial love. We want to keep close those who are closest to us; which isn't necessarily wrong in itself but is if God is subservient; thus we hate our lives and keep it ( John 12:25). Hence is the paradox of living in Christ and it will come to it's fullest realization during the fires of the Tribulation. It is hard to comprehend just how powerful the delusion will be mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:11. GOD sends the strong delusion! As stated previously; the trumpet judgments still won't deter the world of it's sins; and in Revelation 9:14-21 after the 200,000,000 demon horde kill one third of all of the earth people STILL won't stop their abominable acts. Keep in mind this is well after the sixth SEAL where people at that time are still hiding in caves and fully aware of God and Christ on their thrones beginning judgment ( Rev. 6:16-17).
This of course will lead to the delusion mentioned in Psalm 2 and Revelation 19 where men come together at Armageddon and eventually try to fight God.
Isaiah 19:8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brook shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.
Most all of Isaiah is prophecy of the Kingdom of God.
Egypt is symbolic as is Babylon in Revelation, what they have in common is the spirit of deception, which God is going to destroy.
Put the FISHERS as a prophecy of his 12 disciples and all those that are ruled by the same Spirit IN THEM as is IN YOU.
Matthew 4:19 .... I will MAKE YOU fishers of men ....
Ezekiel 32:3 ... I WILL therefore spread out MY NET over thee, with a GREAT COMPANY of many people, and THEY shall bring thee up in MY NET.
Ezekiel 47:10 And it shall COME TO PASS, that the FISHERS shall stand upon it ... they shall be a place to spread forth nets, their fish shall be according to their kind, as the fish of a great sea (of humanity), exceeding many.
This has been happening now for 2000 years.
Most of this is done after you are harvested and have been translated into the next age, and have become a chariot of fire or a locust as described in Revelation.
Revelation 9:2 And HE (Christ has the keys to death and the grave) opened the BOTTOMLESS (a grave that can never be filled with all the dead) PIT, and there AROSE a smoke (Christ and his saints) out of the pit (grave), as the smoke of a great furnace (of fire, our God is a consuming FIRE) ...
Revelation 9:3 And there came out of the SMOKE (the saints and Christ as ONE FLESH) locust on the earth; and unto them was given POWER, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Revelation 9:4 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 who HAVE NOT the seal of God in their foreheads.
Revelation 9:5 And TO THEM IT WAS GIVEN that they should not kill them, but they should BE TORMENTED for five months (symbolic), and there TORMENT was as the TORMENT when a scorpion striketh a man.
Greetings in Christ JESUS
Reading you comment above ref. Joel 2:31, and Rev.6:12-17, and Matt.24:29-31concerning "The sun turns dark and the moon to blood ((before)) the day of the LORD comes",
first of all I remember that "there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve Stars". Once "the sun tuns dark" the woman will be in darkness(terrible), by the way, at "midnight there was(there will be)a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him. Then all those virgins arose(will arise), and trimmed(and will trim) their lamps.
And the foolish said(will say) unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out"; Matt.25:6-8. The lamps is gone out at midnight? In full midnight darkness, in a so perilous hour?
In the above comparison described, I am trying to highlight the issue of the sun becoming dark as prophesied. I don't see or interpret as being a physical phenomenon.
Based in Revelation 9:1-3&10&6 & 11-12
1 I saw a STAR fall from heaven unto the earth( Isaiah 14:12-14 combined with 2 Thess.2:3-4): and to HIM was given the key of the bottomless pit.
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
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
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months
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.
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
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter
GOD BLESS
Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon man a great HAIL out of heaven, each stone about the weight of a talent (a talent weighs about 57 pounds): and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the HAIL; for the plague thereof was very great.
Since Revelation is symbolic, what is this a symbol of:
We have to go to the prophets:
Isaiah 28:2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one ....who is this MIGHTY and STRONG ONE? ..... it is JESUS, the WORD OF GOD ......which as a tempest of HAIL and a DESTROYING STORM ......the HAIL in Revelation is symbolic of the WORD OF GOD, and his words are going to DESTROY ALL DECEPTION FROM THE CARNAL MIND of his people.
Revelation 9:17 And I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat upon them, having breastplates of FIRE, and of JACINTH, and BRIMSTONE, and the heads of the horses were as heads of lions; and out of their mouths ISSUED FIRE and smoke and BRIMSTONE.
Revelation 9:18 And by these three were a THRID PART OF MAN KILLED, by the FIRE, and by the SMOKE, and by the BRIMSTONE, which issued out of their mouth.
This is symbolic, you can contain PHYSICAL fire and brimstone in ones mouth.
Isaiah 30:33 ...for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is FIRE and much wood; the BREATH OF THE LORD, like a stream of BRIMSTONE, doth kindle it.
Ezekiel 5:2 ...though shall burn a THIRD PART .....
Ezekiel 5:3 Thou shall take thereof a FEW ......
Ezekiel 5:4 .....and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire: for thereof (those destroyed in the fire) SHALL A FIRE COME FORTH ino all the house of Israel.
Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the THIRD PART through the FIRE ......
Revelation 8:7 And the third part of the trees were burnt up .....
Isaiah 9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this (battle) shall be with BURNING and fuel of fire.
Isaiah 9:19 .... people shall be the fuel of the fire
how many Christians will be saved during the rapture ? Read Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
how do u turn ur life to Jesus? By acknowledging and confessing to the Lord that we are sinners in need of his salvation. Inviting him into our lives asking him to take over Nothing fancy nothing complicated
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:9 if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved
BUT KNOW THIS once you make that confession of repentance there's a great celebration in heaven
Jesus said, "I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" ( Luke 15:10)
Praise the Lord I pray the Lord your strength and guidance that he bless you and bring people around you that are after his own heart. God bless
There are certainly foreshadowings today technologically speaking; and the genetic AI concept likely will also involve some sort of DNA alteration assuring eternal life for those taking it. I take chronologically most of Revelation; bolstered by "after these things" used so frequently. There will clearly be a false one world religion that will ride the beast at first; and this will be overturned at the Midpoint of the Trib. ( Rev. 17:16); as Satan only wants worship for himself. There will be a process where it appears all men will praise God after the Rapture in Revelation 5:13. I haven't heard it preached but we must remember there is the Resurrection of all the church saints; so even if the Rapture isn't seen by some the partially empty graveyards can't be denied. At any rate; men's hearts will harden to the point where they fear God and are aware of judgment coming at the sixth seal; and later on dthey will blaspheme God and attempt eventually to fight God (see also Psalm 2; Rev. 19). BTW God's people are also "sealed" ( Eph. 1:13); as well as the 144,000 ( Rev. 7:1-8) invisibly.