REVELATION - CHAPTER 9
A Bible Study - Commentary by Jim
Melough
Copyright
2000 James Melough
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.”
In chapter 8:8 we have seen,
under the symbol of a great mountain cast into the sea, what seems to be the
expulsion of Satan from heaven at the midpoint of the Tribulation, and since a
mountain is the Biblical symbol of a king or kingdom, the emphasis is upon his
character as the god of this world. Chapter
8:10 portrays the same event under the figure of a star fallen from heaven, but since
a star is the Biblical symbol of individual witness connected with leading men to
Christ (or, in the case of false teachers, leading them astray), the point being
emphasized is that Satan is also the great deceiver whose objective is to lead men to
destruction.
In Re 8:8 the scene of the
activity was the sea (symbol of the Gentile nations).
Satan’s expulsion from heaven, the event which will begin the Great
Tribulation (the last three and a half years of the total seven year Tribulation
period) will affect the whole world. Chapter
nine, however, reminds us that the focal point of Satan’s activity during that time
will be the nation of Israel, for here in verse 1 we see again a star fallen from
heaven, but here it falls upon the earth (symbol of Israel).
The fallen star is still Satan, but in his role as “prince of the power of
the air” (Eph 2:2), the king of the evil spirit hosts whose realm is the air.
His being given the key
of the bottomless pit or abyss, reminds us that, powerful as he is, Satan can do only
what God permits. He Who makes the wrath
of man to praise Him, Ps 76:10, makes also the malignity of demons to serve Him.
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.”
The reference to a furnace
confirms that Israel will be the special object of Satan’s hatred in the Great
Tribulation, for the furnace is associated with Israel’s affliction in the OT, see
e.g., Ge 15:17; Dt 4:20; Dan 3:6.
There can be little doubt that
the smoke represents the myriads of evil spirits, now imprisoned in the abyss, but to
be released in the Great Tribulation. There
is vivid contrast between this smoke ascending out of the abyss, and that which is
mentioned in Re 8:4. There it is
symbolic of the worship of the redeemed, here it is associated with the malignant
activity of the damned. Since the sun is a symbol of Christ, and the air is the realm of
spirits, good or evil, the darkening of sun and air declares that demon activity in
the Tribulation will result in the partial obscuring of the knowledge of Christ, and
in unprecedented opposition to the activity of the Holy Spirit and the holy angels.
That this will be permitted by God is assured in 2 Th 2:11, “... God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be
damned who believed not the truth ....” Those
who will be deluded beyond hope of enlightenment will be they who had refused the
Gospel during this present age of grace. There
will, however, be multitudes in the Tribulation who will then hear the Gospel for the
first time. (Contrary to popular belief,
the whole world will not hear the Gospel before the Rapture.
If it were otherwise, no one could be saved in the Tribulation). This whole section of Revelation should be studied in the light of
2 Th 2. Since God’s judgments are
designed to lead to repentance - destruction falling only when repentance is refused
- there is reason to believe that He will permit this demon activity in order to lead
some men at least, to repent and turn to Him in their misery.
9:3.
“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.”
These locusts are very
obviously not literal. As the locust, by
destroying man’s food, brings misery and death, so will these evil spirits, by
destroying or corrupting the Word (man’s spiritual food) also bring misery and
death, for we are reminded that, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4).
This is not to imply that the Word will be literally destroyed, but it is
“destroyed” for all practical purposes for the man whose mind is blinded to its
truth. Such blinding will be part of the
work of these demonic hosts.
Since the power of the literal
scorpion is to inflict terrible physical pain, so will these evil spirits possess the
power to inflict terrible mental anguish. As
the Word brings peace to the believer, so will the Word corrupted, bring the mental
and spiritual equivalent of the scorpion’s venom to the unbelievers of the
Tribulation age. Some idea of the nature
of their suffering may be gathered from what is recorded in the Gospels concerning
the misery of the demon-possessed.
We should note also the
recurring reference to the earth as the scene of their activity.
The whole world will be affected, but since the earth is used symbolically to
portray the believing remnant of Israel, and believers in general, the truth being
taught here is that believers, and especially Jewish believers, will be the special
target of Satan’s malignant fury. His
activity towards the unconverted will be to blind them to the truth, and to inflict
mental anguish.
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.”
Grass and trees are both
symbols of humanity: grass representing man in his frailty and transitoriness, while
trees represent the different social classes into which men are divided.
Keeping in mind, however, that Scripture is first to be interpreted literally;
and symbolically, only when the context justifies it, we should note that here a
symbolic interpretation does not appear to be justified, for since trees represent
men in general, then it would be saying that these evil spirits were not to hurt men,
which doesn’t make sense, since clearly that is exactly what they are to do.
The literality, then, of the grass, green thing, and trees, normally devoured
by the actual locust, but here exempted from the activity of these spiritual
“locusts,” may be to emphasize that the locusts themselves are not literal, but
symbolic. The necessity to guard against viewing them as literal locusts
becomes apparent when it is realized that God’s frequent use of the literal locust
to chastise the disobedience of Israel, could very easily lead to the conclusion that
these locusts are also literal.
Again, we should note the
reference to the earth in this fourth verse. Since
the earth is one of the Biblical symbols of Israel, what is written here has primary
application to her.
The victims of these evil
spirits are to be, “... only those men which have not the seal of God in their
foreheads.” Since those who do have
this seal appear to be the 144,000 Israelites of chapter 7, and since this section
seems to have primary reference to Israel, it may be that those exposed to the
depredation of these spiritual “locusts” are also primarily Jews, though this
does not by any means limit their evil activity to Jews only.
While Israel will be the vortex of the Tribulation judgments, the rest of the
world will not escape the castigation of the God they have so long defied.
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 is significant that this
judgment comes at the sounding of the fifth trumpet; and the torment is to last for
just five months. Inasmuch as five is
the Biblical number of responsibility, the message appears to be that the
divinely-permitted activity of the demon hordes is designed by God to awaken men to
their responsibility to repent and cast themselves upon His mercy.
That repentance of course will be impossible for those who had heard and
rejected the Gospel in this present age of grace, see 2 Th 2:1-12.
These demons unwittingly will be accomplishing God’s purposes.
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.”
The terrible nature of the
misery resulting from the activity of these evil swarms is declared in the complete
reversal of what is normal. The
strongest human instinct is that of self-preservation, but the activity of the demons
will produce in their victims a desire to die, as strong as the normal desire is to
live. That release, however, will be
denied them, “Death shall flee from them.”
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.”
It is clear that each of the
descriptive terms is symbolic rather than literal.
In Ps 147:10 it is written, “He (God) delighteth not in the strength of the
horse....” This, in conjunction with many other OT references to horses,
makes it evident that the allusion here is to the great strength of these evil
creatures. Puny man is powerless against
them. “Prepared unto battle,” tells
us, in addition, that their strength is to be used for purposes of destruction.
“... and on their heads were,
as it were, crowns like gold.” The
crown upon the king’s head is the symbol of his power.
It marks him as the one in whom is vested all the might of his kingdom.
And so here, these symbolic crowns declare, not only that these fearsome
creatures have strength, but that they have in addition the authority to use that
power for human ill. The state of the
man whom God delivers over to the power of Satan, is terrible beyond description.
“And their faces were as the
faces of men.” “As in water face
answereth to face, so the heart of man to man” (Pr 27:19).
Their faces being “as it were” human, is the symbolic declaration of the
fact that they are fully aware of man’s make-up.
His weaknesses are fully known to these demons, and being known, facilitate
their evil work. There is no reciprocal knowledge however.
Man lacks any defence against them. He
knows nothing of the nature of his adversary.
The tragedy of this judgment is
that it will come upon some who will have refused Christ during this present age, and
who will therefore have no hope of deliverance.
Having rejected the redemption provided by Him Whose strength was exercised to
ransom men’s souls, and Whose omnipotence provides daily for the care and
protection of His redeemed, these unbelievers will become the helpless victims of a
malignant power exercised for their utter eternal ruin.
Having refused to submit to the pardoning and cleansing power of One Whose
head was once crowned with thorns, but is now crowned with glory, they will find
themselves the prey of malevolent spirits upon whose heads are crowns which declare
that their tormenting power is given them by that same Christ Who once, as man’s
Substitute, submitted Himself to the destructive power of their king at Calvary.
In the similarity of the
demons’ faces to those of men, we perceive another peculiar irony in this judgment.
Christ, having been a man, has a perfect knowledge of man’s weakness, and by
virtue of that knowledge can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities”
(Heb 4:15), and has provided for the believer a throne of grace to which we can come,
“to find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).
There will be no such refuge in the Tribulation for those who rejected Christ
in this present age. That sympathetic
ministry that could have been theirs will then be unavailable. The demons’ knowledge of man’s infirmities will simply make
their evil power against him all the more effective.
The comparison between the
blessing that might have been, and the torment that will be, serves to direct
attention to the fact that the transcendent blessing of the redeemed has a
corresponding measure of misery for the unbeliever.
9:8.
“And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth
of lions.”
In 1 Co 11:15 we read that the
woman’s hair is given her for a covering (veil). The reference therefore to the hair of these demons seems to point
to a characteristic shared by them and evil women, for there can be no thought here
of comparison with godly women; and surely the outstanding example of evil women is
Jezebel. The murderous cunning with
which she plotted the death of Naboth, will characterize also these evil spirits.
“And their teeth were as the
teeth of lions.” Inasmuch as Satan,
their king is described as “a roaring lion” (1 Pe 5:8), the lesson of the
lion-like teeth isn’t difficult to read. As
the lion’s teeth are used to rend and devour his prey, so will these demons rend
and devour their victims spiritually; and that the rending may be literal as well as
spiritual is indicated in such passages as Lk 9:39, where an anguished father
describing the condition of his demon-possessed son, said, “And, lo, a spirit
taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and
bruising him hardly departeth from him.”
9:9.
“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.”
In Ep 6:14 believers are
exhorted to have on the breastplate of righteousness, which would indicate that the
corresponding armor on these malevolent spirits will be, not righteousness, but evil.
This declares it to be an evil against which men will be powerless, for iron
is one of the Biblical symbols of strength, and it will be exercised by these demons
for man’s destruction.
The reference to their wings
reminds us that they are evil spirits whose habitat is the air, and Satan, their
king, for in Ep 2:2 believers are described as those, who prior to conversion, had
“walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power
of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”
The further description of the
sound of their wings as being like “the sound of chariots of many horses running to
battle,” emphasizes again their terrible power; and the running declares the
fiendish eagerness with which they will engage in their destructive activity.
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.”
In Isa 9:15 it is written,
“The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he
is the tail.” This continues to
assure us that these are not literal locusts or scorpions, but demons whose activity
in the spiritual realm will correspond to the destructive, tormenting activity of the
physical creatures which typify them. And it is significant that the locust destroys man’s food,
resulting in the pain of hunger, and the diseases which accompany malnourishment.
Putting all of this together,
we find that what is being described here is a malignant spiritual activity operating
for man’s destruction through corruption of the Word of God, and the substitution
of Satan’s lies for the truth of the Gospel. The
spurious and very popular “gospel” being preached today is the foreshadowing of
what will be in fuller measure in the Tribulation.
For the significance of the
“five months” see comments on verse 5.
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.”
Whether in Hebrew or Greek, the
meaning of the name of this evil king is the same: it means the destroyer.
He is Satan, and as he is, so are his minions.
They are bent on the destruction of men.
The mention of Hebrew and Greek
reminds us that the whole earth is his realm, for Hebrew points to Israel, as Greek
is the general term for the Gentiles, and the character of his rule is amply
demonstrated in the wretched condition of the world today.
The sinister shadow of the Prince of Darkness lies across every page of
history, the ruin found everywhere on earth testifying to the nature of this
malevolent spirit. He is indeed the destroyer!
That the Tribulation judgments
will embrace the whole world is disclosed in the reference to Hebrew and Greek, but
the mention of Hebrew first, reminds us that it will be particularly “the time of
Jacob’s trouble.”
9:12.
“One woe is past; and behold, there come two woes more hereafter.”
The malignant activity of these
demon hordes invests the judgment of the fifth trumpet with the added dread character
of “a woe,” that characteristic undoubtedly being derived from the fact that it
appears to be directed specifically and exclusively against men’s souls.
Terrible as it is, it is only
one of three. Two more woes are yet to
follow.
9:13.
“And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the
golden altar which is before God.”
9:14.
“Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels
which are bound in the great river Euphrates.”
The blast of the fifth trumpet
called forth from the abyss myriads of demons. Now
the sixth trumpet calls forth from the Euphrates four angels (spirits), who will
muster an army numbering two hundred million, which if composed of men, will be
numerically the most colossal human force ever to march across the earth.
This is generally taken to
refer to the gathering of a literal great eastern army, and that may very well be,
but we can’t dismiss the fact that the reference may also be to something else.
Note that it doesn’t say that the army is human, nor can the description of
these equestrians be easily applied to men.
The focus is on the release of the angels bound in the Euphrates, but
since the Euphrates is the river of Babylon, and Babylon is the Biblical symbol of
false religion, the river may well be the “river” or “water” of false
doctrine which has flowed through the earth for sixty centuries, and which flows
today with titanic power. The reference,
in fact, may be to the sweep of eastern mysticism into the western world, its present
appearance there being but the first wave of the incoming tide.
No thoughtful mind, however, will refuse to consider the possibility that the
reference may be to a literal Islamic army marching westward to impose the religion
of Islam on the rest of the world.
The voice commanding the
judgment comes from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.
It is significant that the voice comes from the place which is connected so
closely with the prayers of believers. There
may be here the assurance that God does answer prayer.
In His own time He will avenge the suffering endured by His own.
These four angels bound in the
Euphrates, and now released, are clearly evil spirits, for we never read of good
angels being bound. And as they will be
released by God’s permission, so will they also by that same permission go forth to
gather together this vast army for the purpose of destroying one-third of the human
race.
9:15.
“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.”
Whatever the chaos on earth,
whatever the power of the prince of the air, God is in command.
His purposes are beyond the power of men or demons to alter.
Man knows not what a day may bring forth.
Satan knows that when he is expelled from heaven he will have but a short time
left before being confined in the abyss for a thousand years.
But God! He knows the end from
the beginning. He can declare with
absolute precision the events that will occur during a particular second a trillion
years from now. The exact month, day,
and hour for the unleashing of this vast force, have been appointed by Him.
Men, who under His permissive will, have refused mercy, must, under His
directive will, suffer wrath.
9:16.
“And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand
thousand: and I heard the number of them.”
The words “and I heard the
number of them” are taken by many to indicate that the number is literal, but
whether literal or symbolic, the fact remains that we are being shown the gathering
of a vast army.
9:17.
“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.”
Against taking the language
literally is this description of both horses and riders, for clearly the description
is symbolic. As noted already, horses
are Biblical symbols of strength, so that the truth being declared is the phenomenal
power of this great army, while the breastplates of fire, jacinth and brimstone worn
by the riders, may have reference to their invulnerability.
The only other Scriptural reference to jacinth is in Rev 21:10 where it is
mentioned as the eleventh precious stone in the foundation of the wall of the
heavenly Jerusalem. It is difficult
therefore to interpret its meaning in the present context.
Since it is generally considered to be sapphire blue in color, and since blue
is the color of the heavens, there may be a subtle reference to the truth that God is
the Author of the judgment.
Beginning with the mention in
Gen 19 of the pouring down of brimstone upon Sodom, there are frequent references to
brimstone (sulphur or bitumen) as the expression of divine anger.
Undoubtedly it has the same connotation here.
Literally, the fire, jacinth
and brimstone may have reference to modern weaponry, including that which is atomic.
There is good reason, however, as already noted, to understand the general
picture to be of the spiritual evil that will result from man’s acceptance of
Satan’s lies, that evil being represented perhaps by the religion of Islam, or some
other false system. That the imposition
of the religion of Islam will be accompanied by terrible slaughter of all who would
oppose, is testified by history. Islam
enforces its beliefs with the sword.
The description of the
horses’ heads as being like those of lions, seems to indicate kingly power, and
inasmuch as the power appears to be that of evil, the picture is clearly of Satanic
might, bloodthirsty and cruel, operating against men by God’s permission.
He who refuses God’s blessing makes himself heir of His wrath.
The fire, smoke, and brimstone
issuing from the mouths of the horses may be descriptive of modern weaponry, or of
the destructive power of Satan unleashed against men by a devil become desperate
because he knows that he has but a short time left.
Ultimately, however, the reference is to the judgments of God that will fall
upon those who accept Satan’s lies.
9:18.
“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.”
While some insist that the
language here is literal, and describes modern weapons, the words “which issued out
of their mouths” indicate rather, that it is symbolic of false doctrine.
Whether literal or symbolic, there is no question as to the result of this
destructive activity: a third of the world’s population will die.
9:19.
“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.”
It is difficult to see how this
language can be taken literally, for since the mouth is the organ of speech, and the
tail, as noted already, is the Biblical symbol of a false prophet, everything points
to the dissemination of false doctrine, that doctrine, then as always, having the
power to bring spiritual death.
The word “hurt” means here
literally “to do wrong, injustice.” This,
combined with the reference to the tails being like serpents having heads, seems to
confirm that the symbol is of Satanic doctrine.
Those who propagate his poisonous lies have the same serpent characteristics
as their master, the subtle, deadly cunning of the “old serpent” himself.
That supernatural intelligence is involved may be indicated in the fact that
the tails are said to have heads.
9:20.
“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:”
That the purpose of God’s
judgments is to bring men to repentance is plainly declared in this verse, but, like
the gods they worship, the Christ-rejecters have neither eyes to see, nor ears to
hear. These rebels of the Tribulation
era will fail to discern in the judgments devastating the earth, the last resort of a
God Who loves sinners, and Who would turn them back from eternal destruction.
That man is spirit, as well as
body, and soul, is declared in that no matter how deeply he sinks in evil, he still
clings to “religion” even though his “worship” be of devils.
The order of God’s lists is
always instructive, and here we note the deteriorating worth of the material of which
man’s false gods are made. That
deterioration from gold to wood is indicative of man’s ever greater degeneracy.
Mercy refused brings a searing of the conscience that eventually renders the
man incapable of repentance. Like his
gods, he becomes blind, and deaf, and spiritually impotent.
Rebel man who would aspire to
be god, will discover at the end that he is but a creature of flesh and blood, mere
dust, unfit to enter the kingdom of heaven apart from a new birth through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
9:21.
“Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of
their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
Apart from any symbolic meaning
that may be attached to these evils, the fact remains that all of them are rampant in
our society, and are proliferating daily. And
it is surely significant that the original word translated “sorceries” is pharmakeia,
the same as our word “pharmacy,” and is related also to the idea of magic and
witchcraft. It is scarcely necessary to
draw attention to the increasing interest in the occult, and to the devastation being
wrought in society through the use of drugs. There
is every reason to believe that the moral character of society will continue to
deteriorate, so that toward the end of the Tribulation morality will have virtually
disappeared from the earth.
[Revelation 10]
