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Revelation Study
By Rev. Richard Puckett
Text and Reference from Parson's QuickVerse and there helps, Pictures from through out the Internet not for resale!!!!
Chapter 9
(Rev 9:1 KJV) 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.
Verses 1-12. Upon sounding the fifth trumpet, a star fell from heaven to the earth. Having ceased to be a minister of Christ, he who is represented by this star becomes the minister of the devil; and lets loose the powers of hell against the churches of Christ. On the opening of the bottomless pit, there arose a great smoke. The devil carries on his designs by blinding the eyes of men, by putting out light and knowledge, and promoting ignorance and error. Out of this smoke there came a swarm of locusts, emblems of the devil's agents, who promote superstition, idolatry, error, and cruelty. The trees and the grass, the true believers, whether young or more advanced, should be untouched. But a secret poison and infection in the soul, should rob many others of purity, and afterwards of peace. The locusts had no power to hurt those who had the seal of God. God's all-powerful, distinguishing grace will keep his people from total and final apostasy. The power is limited to a short season; but it would be very sharp. In such events the faithful share the common calamity, but from the pestilence of error they might and would be safe. We collect from Scripture, that such errors were to try and prove the Christians, 1 Corinthians 11:19. And early writers plainly refer this to the first great host of corrupters who over spread the Christian church.
"Fallen" is in the perfect tense, which in Greek emphasizes a past action with results continuing into the future. The tense aids in establishing the identity of this "star" which had long ago been ejected from the heavenlies. The star is Satan, whose precosmic fall continues to afflict the human family (cf. Isa. 14; Ezek. 28). He is given a key (the power of release) to the bottomless pit. This "abyss" (Lit. shaft of the abyss) is apparently a place of confinement for fallen spirits (fallen angels).
(Rev 9:2 KJV) 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.
- As I first look at this scripture I see here an angel opening the bottomless pit, which appears to be the same as Hell. But what does the parable or the vision mean to us. I believe when the church has prayed and God hears he sends his vengeance to the earth. I believe he does this by allowing evil sprits and the Devil to work in the church. Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Now note for this is importation as bad as the world gets Jesus will come and there will still be Christians on the earth. So when we are at our end know that there are others. Yet as the falling away occurs and people fail to repent he allows the foul spirits to work in the church even appearing to be righteous. I believe this is not something yet to come, but is happening all around us. There is more confusion and false teaching to day then ever before. We don't even agree on what bible is the word of God. And this has brought about a real destruction in the church. When preachers get up to preach it is hard to tell if they are preaching the word, our children have little respect, the churches are dead not luke warm. And we are more worried about the building, the social clubs of the church, who can sing and how well, look at the following passages about the pit and hell. It should cause us to stand in fear.
- Num 16:28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
- Num 16:29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
- Num 16:30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
- Num 16:31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
- Num 16:32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
- Num 16:33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
- Num 16:34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
- Psa 9:15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
- Psa 9:16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
- Psa 55:23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Prov 28:10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
- Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
- Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
- Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
- Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
- Isa 14:17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
- Isa 14:18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
- Isa 14:19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
- Isa 14:20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
- Isa 24:17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
- Isa 24:18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
- Isa 24:19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
- Isa 24:20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
- Isa 24:21 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.
- Isa 24:22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
- This may well be referring to the time after the death or Christ but before his resurrection. [ see 1 Peter 3:19 at the end of this group ]
- Isa 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
- Sounds a lot like the coming of Christ to me.
- Isa 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
- Isa 38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
- Isa 38:19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
- Isa 38:20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.
- The Lord want to save us, the choice is ours, the end doesn't have to be now it could be years from now but our failure to obey is bring about swifter destruction.
- Ezek 26:19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
- Ezek 26:20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
- Ezek 26:21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD.
- Ezek 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
- Ezek 31:17 They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
- I believe as it says in the days of old we need to make a choice as to whom we are going to serve. If we chose the world, or Satan we will end just as Ezek, says. Josh 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
- Ezek 31:18 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
- Zec 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
- Zec 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
- Zec 9:12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
- Zec 9:13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
- There is hope for those that will turn to Christ, while there is still time. Remember hell was not made for us nor the pit but for the Devil. Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
- Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
- You can not afford not to trust God.
- Deu 32:21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
- Deu 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
- Deu 32:23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
- Deu 32:24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
- Deu 32:25 The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
- Deu 32:26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
- This sounds just like what is being described in Rev. that is why some teachers believe that all this is the past and has nothing to do with now are the future. The problem with that is then you would have to assume that John and all the readers of this book would have known all the scripture recorded here. That would not have been likely, this is using a historic event ( the school master ) to show us the future not just the past. History will indeed relive itself if we do not turn to God.
- Job 11:7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
- Job 11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
- Job 11:9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
- Job 11:10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?
- Job 11:11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?
- Job 11:12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.
- Job 11:13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
- Job 11:14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
- Psa 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
- Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
- Prov 15:11 Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
- Isa 5:13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
- Isa 5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
- Isa 5:15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
- Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
- Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
- Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
- Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
- Mat 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
- Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
- Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
- Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
- Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
- Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
- Acts 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
- Acts 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
- Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
- Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
- 2 Pet 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
- 1 Pet 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
- 1 Pet 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
- 1 Pet 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
- 1 Pet 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
(Rev 9:3 KJV) 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.
(vv. 3-12) The nature of these "locusts" is not that of a physical insect. They are expressly forbidden to inflict the kind of destruction which is characteristic of the insect (vv. 3, 4). Their human like faces and hair indicate that they are intelligent spiritual life (vv. 7-9). They do not kill, but the torment unleashed on the human family is so devastating that men seek death, only to find that, strangely, death flees away (vv. 5, 6). The best interpretation of this locust plague of the fifth trumpet is that these hideous, repugnant, and evil creatures are demonic in nature (v. 11). One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in the present dispensation is the restraining of evil (2 Thess. 2:6, 7). This charitable ministry of restraining the onslaught of evil will be concluded just before the beginning of the Tribulation, and the end result will be a devastating invasion of the demonic in the lives of men. So stringent and devastating is this plague that John designates it the first of three woes (Rev. 9:12).
(Rev 9:4 KJV) 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.
- The devil has no power over Gods people if we are really Gods people. When you serve God and love him with all your heart there is a difference in you that the world does not have it is a seal that can be read by all who know you in the way you talk and live. For you think different then the world so thus you will act and live different.
(Rev 9:5 KJV) 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.
- Don't we see sin and sickness such as never has been know. Is there not a sting to the hearts of familles as they lose loved one after another. Could this be because of sin in our camps, in our homes, in our churches?
(Rev 9:6 KJV) And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
- The suicide rate is higher now than ever before!
Rev 9:6: 9:6 HUMANITY, Death-- God's judgment on the world will be so severe people will desire death over life. Death is not the worst experience humans face. At times life can be worse. God's people know He has sealed us from His final judgment. The experiences of life can become so unbearable that people will long for death. Death, however, does not come just because people want it. Obviously, suicide can be seen as a way out, but this passage does not refer to that.
(Rev 9:7 KJV) 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.
- The destroyers of the Devil look like our neighbors and our friends, they come in the forms of leaders, bosses, pastors, youth leaders.
(Rev 9:8 KJV) And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
- 1 Cor 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
- 1 Cor 11:15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
(Rev 9:9 KJV) And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
(Rev 9:10 KJV) And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
- This could well describe our army's and equipment of today, and the leadership of our troops.
(Rev 9:11 KJV) 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.
- This could be our president or a another nations leader, yet I think it is the Devil and what he is saying is that the devil is in charge of the world and will bring about the destruction, After all he is not a friend to his followers he is the destroyer and knows he can win against God so who is left to destroy ? Us.
The "king" or angel who rules over these dissident spirits is also assigned a name which is characteristic of his work. The Hebrew word abaddon and the Greek term apollyon both signify "destruction." However, this should not be understood as annihilation. The word apollyon arises from luo (Gk.), meaning "to loose," and apo, a preposition indicating movement away. The idea is that the destruction caused by Satan and sin is, in effect, the loss of all meaningful existence and is due to being loosed forever from God.
(Rev 9:12 KJV) One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
- Ever notice when things are going bad they just keep happening, When it rains it pours.
(Rev 9:13 KJV) And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Verses 13-21. The sixth angel sounded, and here the power of the Turks seems the subject. Their time is limited. They not only slew in war, but brought a poisonous and ruinous religion. The antichristian generation repented not under these dreadful judgments. From this sixth trumpet learn that God can make one enemy of the church a scourge and a plague to another. The idolatry in the remains of the eastern church and elsewhere, and the sins of professed Christians, render this prophecy and its fulfillment more wonderful. And the attentive reader of Scripture and history, may find his faith and hope strengthened by events, which in other respects fill his heart with anguish and his eyes with tears, while he sees that men who escape these plagues, repent not of their evil works, but go on with idolatries, wickedness, and cruelty, till wrath comes upon them to the utmost.
(vv. 13-19) The sixth trumpet, the second woe, reveals an unprecedented armed assault from across the Euphrates River (vv. 13, 14). Interpreters differ extensively as to the significance of this plague. However, as one seeks to understand the text, it seems appropriate to see the reference to the Euphrates as the literal river. Since spiritual beings are not bound by any river, the more likely understanding is that an actual armed invasion of eastern powers numbering 200,000,000 will plunge the earth into a deadly conflict, resulting in the death of one-third of the earth's population. The description of the horses is such that modern military machines could be intended.
(Rev 9:14 KJV) Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
(Rev 9:15 KJV) 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.
(Rev 9:16 KJV) And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
(Rev 9:17 KJV) 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.
(Rev 9:18 KJV) 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.
(Rev 9:19 KJV) 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.
(Rev 9:20 KJV) And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
- How do we go through all the things we have and yet men have not turned to God? How many wars have we lived through, how many time have the enemy attacked us and in the Last wars that we have had even fewer than ever before called up on God.
- Num 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
- Num 21:15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab.
- Num 21:16 And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
- 1 Ki 5:3 Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.
- 1 Ki 5:4 But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
- 2 Chr 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
- Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Nothing more astonishing could be concluded about the two woes thus far revealed than John's observation that the remainder of the earth's inhabitants are not drawn to repentance by these cataclysmic trumpet judgments. There are two specific categories of unrepentance mentioned: heretical worship (v. 20) and the immorality of men (v. 21). This failure of men to respond appropriately to the judgments of the Tribulation introduces the reader to a crucial aspect of theology. The purpose of the Great Tribulation is to demonstrate, over a seven-year period, the consequences of living under the judgment of God. The goal of such an appeal is to encourage men to repent in light of the certainty of God's eternal retribution, foreshadowed by the seven tragic years of terrestrial wrath. The result of this last appeal in terms of judgment demonstrates the essential depravity of man. With full cognizance of the judgment of God, men still do not repent.
Rev 9:20: 9:20 GOD, One God-- The one true God stands in sharp contrast to the demons and idols being worshipped by the sinners of this world. Worshipping false gods leads to doing sinful acts in the name of worship.
(Rev 9:21 KJV) Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Rev 9:21: 9:21 CHRISTIAN ETHICS, Murder-- The end time calls us to repent. Gross murder and immorality are two signs of the last days.