CHAPTER 9
And the 5th angel sounded, and I saw a (a)star fall from heaven unto the (b)earth; and to (c)him was given the key of the (d)pit of the abyss.
(a) "Star;" The 4th angel Chp. 8:12, gave dire warning. This "star," seems not to be in the same rank as the trumpet sounding angels, some commentators think this is Satan; (But he is hardly likely to imprison himself! Also, all these events are heavenly events, and servants,) however the "star," in the translation is Str. 792, with roots in 4766, 4731, 2476, with the meaning of "positioning," "strong," "steadfast," "sure," "solid," "to stand," "appoint," "bring," "establish," "covenant," "hold up," "set up." These qualities do not, to the mind of the writer describe the great Enemy of Almighty God, and clearly relate to a reliable, faithful and loving servant! However, it/he, is deported to:
(b) Earth for a specific purpose, and awaited the blast of trumpet of the 5th angel within the 7th seal, therefore all he is about to do is pre-determined.
(c) "Him;" male gender!
(d) "Pit of the abyss;" the "key," given to this male personage/servant, unlocks for the first time, a place of hitherto untold terrors. One has to remind oneself frequently that these are under the control of Jehovah Zebaoth, and have been released by the "Lamb." For them to be released on mankind generally indicates the utter depraved level that humankind has reached in all aspects, and particularly in the rejection of Jehovah, Christ and Israel.
V.2
And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there arose a (a)smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of the great furnace; and the (b)sun and air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
V.3
And there came out of the smoke (c)locusts upon the earth; and unto them was given power, as the (d)scorpions of the earth have power.
(a) "Smoke;" ominous omen.
(b) "Sun - darkened;" as usual this terrifies the population, and as in the Lord's words in Matt. 24 and elsewhere, are the definite signs of the events prophesied.
(c) "Locusts;" always associated in Scripture with plague, terror, invasion, often of Israel due to their lack of fidelity to Jehovah. In this case these things are being released on Gentiles world wide.
(d) "Scorpions;" known world wide for its obnoxious appearance and its venomous sting, in some cases fatal. In this expression, they are as numerous as a scourge of locusts, which when flying can blot out the light of the sun! And when feeding, leave no food behind!
And it was said to them that they should not (a)hurt the (b)grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any (b)tree; but those (c)men which have not the seal of God upon their foreheads.
V.5
And to them it was given that they should (d)not kill them, but that they should be tormented (e)five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man.
(a) "Hurt;" clearly, their purpose is to hurt and terrorise.
(b) "Grass;" "tree:" Locusts leave nothing green or edible behind. We know from earlier passages that only ⅔ of trees remain. The grass by now clearly had regenerated, whereas trees take many years. This may give a clue to the time intervals between the trumpet sounds.
(c) "Men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads." This clearly shows that the object of the assault are all mankind other than the 144,000 Jews of the 12 tribes of Israel Chp. 7, and those that resist the mark! (It seems that few people remain alive that refuse Satan's mark, and who proclaim Christ.)
(d) "Not kill;" "torment:" The fact of the order to torment only and not to kill, clearly shows an attempt to coerce and punish the recipients.
(e) "Five months;" the number 5 in Scripture represents grace! Some would find that ironic, however, the coercive attempt is towards accepting all the message of Jehovah to man in the Bible.
V.6
And in these days shall men seek death and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and (a)death shall flee from them.
(a) "Death shall flee from them;" one of the supreme arrogances of man is his delusion that he controls his destiny and the things in life that affect. In this verse suicide is not possible, as Jehovah Zebaoth has the only right and power to give life, and to remove it, (Job 1:21.) Normally now men and women do not welcome death, but such will be their discomfort, that they will seek it. The current arrogance is that people should control their own decease, and that there is nothing after. The events of Revelation will clear away that myth, and re-establish the knowledge of God Almighty, and His order on earth.
V.7
And the (a)likeness of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and on their heads (b)crowns like gold, and their faces as the faces of (c)men.
V.8
And they had hair as (d)woman, and (e)teeth of lions.
(a) "The likeness;" much commentary on Revelation attributes allegory to these and similar verses. The actual full meaning will not be known until the events. However, much may be gleaned now, otherwise it would not be written, as is the case of the 3rd woe (Chp. 10.) They are "like horses prepared for war,"
i.e. they have warlike purpose, as they are "out of the abyss," the assumption is they are servants of Satan, (see v11) (demons,) their role is to torment for "5 months only."
(b) They have "crowns" i.e. authority to act (from Satan,) but ultimately from higher auspices.
(c) They have "faces of men," so they may be recognisable as humans! (Possibly male and female.)
(d) "Hair as woman;" either perversely attractive, or against the natural order of man/woman, but with the;
(e) "Teeth of lions," (Satan described by Peter as "a roaring lion.")
Clearly for 5 months very dangerous, powerful beings, designed for torment of ordinary human beings, possibly under the control of Satan. Whether they link to the later satanic tyranny of the "mark of the beast," time will tell. They may be spirits, entering men and women, as shown by the gospel accounts, or, they may be actual beings. Whichever, they drive men and women to desire death!
V.9
And they had (a)breast plates, as it were of iron; and the sound of their wings, was as the sound of (b)chariots of many horses running to battle.
(a) "Breast plates of iron;" indestructible protection.
(b) "Chariots," "sound;" the frightening sound of this multitude will be part of the total terror.
V.10
And they had tails like (a)scorpions, and their sting was in their tails; and their power is to hurt men 5 months.
(a) Scorpions are ranked in Scripture alongside serpents (Heb. NACHASH) (Deut. 8:15.) They are to be feared and avoided, as the "fiery serpents." Used as a form of torture (1 Kings 12:11-14,) (2 Chron.10:11-14.) A multi-tailed and knotted and leaded whip also called "the scorpion," used on our Lord! (Matt. 27:26.) In this torture, the victim is tied naked to a short post in the ground by both hands and both feet. They were then lashed with the scorpion, which often laid bare the rib- cage, many never recovering. In our Lord's case, the stripes are borne for the many (Isa. 53:5,) (1Peter 2:24.) They are objects of fear, (Ezk. 2:6.) Scorpions related to the power of the Enemy and to spirits, (Luke 10:19.)
V.11
And they have a king over them, the (a)angel of the abyss, whose name in (b)Hebrew is ABADDON, in the (c)Greek APOLLYON.
(a) "Angel of the abyss;" is their king, the fact that he has a Hebrew name indicates his antiquity, and the fact of his activity against the Jews in earlier history. His Hebrew name
(b) "ABADDON;" means destroyer, or destroying angel.
(c) His Greek name "APOLLYON;" means destroyer or SATAN.
V.12
One woe is past; behold, there come two woes yet more.
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard one voice from the four (a)horns of the (b)golden alter which is before God.
(a) The alter has 4 horns, the number 4 denotes reference to material creation (App. 10,) pertaining to earth, "to things under the sun," and things terrestrial. Its combination (3 + 1) and (2 + 2,) 3 denoting "completeness, and also "resurrection!" One denotes "unity and commencement," which was illustrated in Genesis, and will be again in the future ages. (2 + 2,) 2 denotes difference if in disagreement. However, if in agreement "testimony is conclusive," (App. 10.) As it is obvious that the Father (Jehovah) and the Son (Christ) are in agreement, the one voice corresponds interestingly to the oneness of Zech. 14:9. Coming from the incense alter, (see next comment) adds huge force to the coming events. So the earth number 4 (horns) on the incense alter, embodied for the Jews in the past the atonement, and in the future resurrection and new beginning. The fact that this alter was positioned in the Tabernacle and later the Temple "in the holy place," with the veil between it and the "most holy place," and also that incense was offered twice daily (frankincense and myrrh,) (symbolic of the future death of Christ;) and also that the "prayer of the saints," was intermingled with the incense (Rev. 8:4,) illustrates graphically the sanctity to the Father of this whole symbol. It is a fact that the future Millennial Temple will not have an incense alter (Ezk.) It is also a fact that Christ and the Father (Jehovah) are together in the future Temple, "and their name shall be one," (Zech. 14.) Since Christ's death, the veil between the holy, and most holy place has been removed, which is still the condition of this age in which we live, and in heaven, the golden alter is "before God!" We see from V.13, that the voice from the horns is one, which the writer thinks is the voice of the Father and Son in unity. We see that from the following verses that instead of atonement, refuge and help, the horns (which also denote power!) are about to order an event!
(b) This "golden alter;" (see notes Ch. 8 V.5) is the heavenly original of the Tabernacle copy. The horns on the copy received the once a year sin atonement by the high priest (Ex. 30:10.) The one voice of the horns is almost certainly the ultimate sin offering of the "Lamb of God." They originally represented help, refuge and atonement (Ex. 25:2, & Ex. 27:2-3,) but as shown below and above something has changed.
V.14
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, (a)"Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river (b)Euphrates."
And the (c)four angels were loosed, which had been prepared for the hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, in order to (d)slay the third part of men.
(a) The four angels bound; these angels may not be of heaven, according to some commentators, but of the fallen ones of earlier ages, described in Scripture. We know from various references that these and many others are bound for later judgement by Jehovah / Christ, (2 Pet. 2:4.) These four however are bound "on the Euphrates," for a special purpose. All of the fallen angels (those that followed Satan have the purpose of destroying humankind from Adam,) and in this case in point, their great malevolence maybe held in store by God for His purpose. However, they may be angels of service to Jehovah, who have been holding back great forces of evil.
As we have seen earlier, the great sacrifice of Jehovah in Christ has brought to naught all the workings of Satan, and the great symbol of that work is the golden incense alter, which is "before God," (V.13.) That great completed work allows for the first time the release of the wrath of God on the nations of the world (Jer. 46,) which could not have been previous in time. The Son had to become The Atonement for many, the number of the Gentiles had to be complete in the Body of Christ, (Acts 15:17,) (Rom. 11:25.) Heavenly creation had to witness the Perfect Love of the Father in Christ, (Eph.3:10.) All of this brought to culmination the perfect order from the horns of the golden alter to release the angels, and the wrath of Jehovah God to earth, on unrepentant, and evil
Many people are disturbed by the thought of a loving God releasing such horror (wrath) on the nations of the world. Many teachers try to reassure people that Israel is the intended target. In the opinion of the writer that is completely wrong, and only shows the lack of trust and knowledge of God, and His Word, (The Bible.) Also, many teachers do not believe the Bible anyway, and teach a mix of tradition and their own opinion. They would accuse the writer of the same. However, the writer trusts the Bible and the Holy Spirit alone, and will not write or say anything regarding Scripture of which he is not truly, and prayerfully convinced. In that ethos, the Word in Jer. 46:10 says explicitly, referring to the Revelation period, "this is the day of Jehovah Zebaoth, a day of vengeance." In verse 46:1 the meaning is clear, it is against the Gentiles! Some teachers sincerely confuse the Satanic oppression of Israel with the above, as the writer believes they are partly simultaneous. The point is that Jehovah Zebaoth's (God of all the world, dealing with the world) day has not yet ever taken place. All of Revelation was given to John who was "in the spirit in the Lord's Day," (Rev. 1:10,) so that detail links to Jer. 46, and many other references to "The Day of Jehovah," in other places in Scripture; and the people God is dealing with are not in this present age, although they may go through into the next, if not translated. This age has the immeasurable privilege on offer of trusting in Christ alone for Salvation (Acts 4:12,) and being preserved from the wrath to come.
(b) Euphrates; this river has much history with Israel's past, and will be its eastern border in the future (Gen. 15:18.) It is also in part the site of Israel's past exile (Babylon.) The area between the Euphrates and the river Nile in Egypt, (which will be Israel's western border in the future,) is / was the home of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaims, Amonites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites. Most if not all of these peoples were / are the descendants of Nephilim, (Gen. 6:4.) It is significant that the future Israel bordered by the Nile and Euphrates was / is the area of the world most densely populated by Nephilim, and which if they still exist, will not be eradicated until the return of Christ (Zech. 14:21.) (Chp.14 :1(b). ) (2:20, and notes.)
(c) The release of the four angels, within the 7th seal and the sixth trumpet heralds the start of great turbulence.
(d) "To slay the ⅓ part of men;" on the assumption that these events are consecutive, and using our earlier theoretical number model, we have from Ch. 6,V.8, a remainder of 9,750,000,000. Also in Ch. 8, V.11, "many men died;" here theoretically we can allow the number to round off at 9 billion. Returning to the above, the number further reduced by ⅓ leaves 6 billion. That is the approx. figure of 1999. It is stressed that the above are example only, as nobody knows the time of commencement of the events of Revelation, but, the numbers are large! A 1999 Cornell University study projects the world population by 2100 at 12,000,000,000 (12 billion) people, and much suffering as a consequence. However, the UN has also studied the situation and its lowest projection is 7.5 billion by 2040.
And the number of the (a)armies of the horsemen were (b)two hundred thousand thousand: I heard the number of them.
(a) "Armies;" these armies (plural,) could be from more than one nation. The Euphrates river has nations on both of its sides that historically and currently are hostile to Israel. The Caucuses nations, Persia (Iran,) Turkey (Asia Minor,) Syria, etc. may all be involved. However, there is speculation that nations such as India, China and others may be involved, they certainly have the populations. The religions of these countries are all descended from Babylon, except for Islam, which whilst revering "the people of the Book," deny Christ's deity. However, the Caucuses, and others from the north together with the "Assyrian," area of old maybe the boundary.
(b) "Two hundred thousand thousand;" the literal wording from the Greek is "two myriads of myriads." The Oxford English Dictionary defines myriad as 1) "an indefinitely great number." 2) "ten thousand." If we use the latter, i.e. (10,000 x 10,000) we have 100,000,000 x 2 = 200,000,000. Such a size of a multiple army is hard to imagine. The population requirement alone, to say nothing of the economics and logistics drains the imagination. At present there are only two countries in the world capable of producing such numbers, China and India. However, the Bible states these future facts, therefore they are accurate. However, if these are demonic beings, they may be literally as described, or they may be demons with the characteristics described, entering into humans worldwide. Whatever the reality, it will be recognised from the description as written in Revelation at the time.
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of (a)fire, and of (b)jacinth, and (c)brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of (d)lions; and out of the mouths issued (d)fire and smoke and (c)brimstone.
(a) "Fire;" Holy fire is a sacred subject, as mentioned earlier, it destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it shrouded God when He met Moses in the desert. It killed Aaron's sons, who dared to disobey Jehovah. It lit the sacred fire for sacrifice in the Tabernacle and Temple. It consumed the oxen in the contest between the priests of Baal and Elijah. It is located in the presence of the Father on the holy alter, it is almost certainly the source of the future lake of fire, reserved for Satan and his angels and followers. It therefore follows that Satan will produce a counterfeit for the purposes of his terrors.
(b) "Jacinth;" a yellow / orange gem stone.
(c) "Brimstone;" 1) sulphurous smoke / fire. 2) Stone burning. It is of interest that all the above describe the "breastplate." Scripture's first mention of it is Ex. 25:7, just after Moses 40 days and nights with Jehovah on top of Mount Sinai, and it is placed over the heart (on the breast) of the priest. It was covered with 12 precious stones, one for each tribe of Israel, and folded like a pouch, to hold the Urim and Thummim, (of which was derived the will of God.) In later description, the great Apostle Paul shows the need for "the breastplate of faith and love," (1 Thess. 5:8.) It is not therefore surprising that Satan's agents should produce in their terrors an anti- thesis. The demonstration of Jehovah in the breastplate is love for Israel, (later also for His Body,) His will to Israel (Urim and Thummim,) and always it covered the heart of the anointed high priest (symbolic of the future Great High Priest – Christ.) In the case of the Acts period Christians, no priest was needed or allowed, which caused great consternation among the Jewish Priests and hierarchy. Every individual stood before Christ alone, which contrary to current teaching in many groups is still the case. Therefore the breastplate is of "faith and love." In the Satanic charge, the breastplate is of pain, torture and death, instead of the life and hope of Christ.
(d) "Heads of lions;" again we refer to 1 Peter 5:8, where Satan is likened to a rampaging lion, looking for prey. The intention here is the total contribution to the terror image.
V.18
By these three was the third part of men (a)killed, by the (b)fire, and the (b)smoke, and the (b)brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
(a) Killed; see note V.15.
(b) See notes V.17.
V.19
For their power is in their mouths, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads; and with them they do (a)hurt.
(a) See V.17 and notes.
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 (a)worship (b)demons, and (b)idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Neither (c)repented they of their (d)murders, nor of their (d)sorceries, nor of their (d)fornication, nor of their (d)thefts.
(a) "Worship;" the rebellion of man against God, opens him / her up to Satan's infiltration and control. The will of the individual is given over to Satan, the mentality clearly declines, so that the God given mental power is focused on anything other than the TRUTH. The worship which should be directed to the Almighty is then given to Satan and his agencies, demons. There is little doubt that the demons then empower people, and they are given a false sense of worth, status, entity and power in their mundane existence.
(b) "Demons," "idols;" The source of all the false religions in the world is Satan. He originated the practices, the use of images (idols,) to give the counterfeit to the "One True God," which Israel should have evangelised world wide. The demons are the helpers, servants and perpetrators of all this activity, and in many cases they not only affect, but enter into a person, and take control. At that level, as shown in the Gospel accounts, release and cleansing is a Divine prerogative, which entails the sincere will of the individual to effect release, and is not a subject to be played with, as many groups of people are doing.
(c) "Neither repented they;" terrible happenings have taken place up to this point, and yet the remaining population will not repent, or have remorse. There can be little doubt that the source of the events will be known. It will be common knowledge that the real God, "Jehovah Zebaoth," is extending His righteous wrath on the earth's inhabitants, because Bibles are everywhere, people are talking about Christ, His return, His love, and there will be many happenings, in the land of Israel, to say nothing of the strangely immune group of Jews (144,000) that appear to speak and act with impunity! However, the world's peoples will not repent. This outstanding characteristic is already very wide spread in the world. People, even children, will not admit to fault, which stops the process of self examination, which can lead ultimately to Salvation in Christ. Paul's comments on this subject to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:1-9) concludes in V.9, "but they shall proceed no further." As in the case of Jannes and Jambres (Ex. 7:1,) (2 Tim. 3:8,) so will be the case for mankind that will not bend the knee to Jehovah / Christ.
(d) "Murders," "sorceries," "fornication," "theft;" these are the usual manifestations of the great Enemy Satan. They are now universally spread in the world and these and other signs are those described by Paul the Apostle to Timothy, related to the "perilous times."
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