What comes out of the bottomless pit? When the fifth trumpet sounds in Revelation 9, smoke rises from the abyss, and out of it swarm locusts unlike anything the world has ever seen – shaped like horses prepared for battle, with crowns like gold, faces like men, hair like women, teeth like lions, breastplates of iron, and tails that sting like scorpions.
In this message from our series Revelation: Jesus Revealed – The View Behind The Veil, we walk through Revelation 9:1-12 and see that these locusts are demonically driven under their king Abaddon (Apollyon), literally limited to five months and forbidden to harm anyone with the seal of God, supernaturally shaped, and as painful as a stinging scorpion. From the locust plague in Egypt to modern swarms in Africa, Scripture shows us this judgment will be far worse than anything the world has known.
But for those who belong to Christ, the sting has already been removed. “The Lord knows those who are His,” and because of Jesus we can say, “O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory?”
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Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven
to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
Revelation 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the
pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened
because of the smoke of the pit.
Revelation 9:3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them
was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Revelation 9:4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any
green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on
their foreheads.
Revelation 9:5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them
for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes
a man.
Revelation 9:6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will
desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Revelation 9:7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle.
On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like
the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8 They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’
teeth.
Revelation 9:9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the
sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running
into battle.
Revelation 9:10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails.
Their power was to hurt men five months.
Revelation 9:11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Revelation 9:12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after
these things.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, …
I. THESE LOCUSTS ARE DEMONICALLY DRIVEN.
Revelation 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the
pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened
because of the smoke of the pit.
Revelation 9:3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them
was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Hal Lindsey, Apocalypse Code:
“John’s ‘locusts’ are helicopters, horses prepared for battle’ are heavily armed
attack helicopters, crowns of gold’ are the helmets worn by pilots, and the
‘sound of their wings’ are the ‘thunderous sound of many attack helicopters
flying overhead. [Possibly … the means of torment will be a kind of nerve gas
sprayed from its tail.”
Exodus 10:14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on
all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no
such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.
Exodus 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was
darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which
the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants
of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 28:38 “You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in,
for the locust shall consume it.
Deuteronomy 28:42 Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of
your land.
In 2004, we had one of the worst locust swarms our world has ever seen in West
Africa. They estimated 65 billion locust were in the swarm.
Scientists say, “There is only one thing known to man that can stop a swarm
of locusts and it is a drought.
“On this planet, there is only one thing that is worse than getting invaded by
an army of locust and that is to get invaded by an army of people.”
Revelation 9:11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit,
whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Proverbs 30:27 The locusts have no king, yet they all advance in ranks;
II. THESE LOCUSTS ARE LITERALLY LIMITED.
Revelation 9:4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any
green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on
their foreheads.
Revelation 9:5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them
for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes
a man.
Revelation 9:6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will
desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Revelation 9:10 “….’Their power was to hurt men five months.
III. THESE LOCUSTS ARE SUPERNATURALLY SHAPED.
Revelation 9:7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle.
On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like
the faces of men.
Revelation 9:8 They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’
teeth.
Revelation 9:9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the
sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running
into battle.
People seated on the floor watching flat people move back and forth in brilliant
light on a flat surface — suddenly appearing and just as suddenly disappearing
into everlasting darkness.”
IV. THESE LOCUSTS ARE LIKE STINGING SCORPIONS
Revelation 9:3 “… And to them was given power as the scorpions of the earth
have power
Revelation 9:5 “… Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it
strikes a man
Revelation 9:10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails.
One guy who was stung by a death stalker scorpion described it this way.
“Imagine lying your thumb on two by four and someone holding a nail and
driving a nail through your thumb.”
Revelation 9:4 (CEB) “…They could only hurt the people who didn’t have the
seal of God on their foreheads.
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal:
“The Lord knows those who are His,”
1 Corinthians 15:54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this
mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
1 Corinthians 15:55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory?”
1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the bottomless pit, and who holds its key? When the fifth angel sounds in Revelation 9, John sees a star fallen from heaven to the earth, and to him is given the key to the bottomless pit. When the abyss is opened, smoke rises like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air are darkened.
In this message from our series Revelation: Jesus Revealed – The View Behind The Veil, we open Revelation 8:13–9:2 to identify the unnamed adversary – Satan, who fell like lightning from heaven – and to see what Scripture teaches about the abyss: it is ultimately controlled by Jesus, who holds the keys of Hades and of Death; it is a prison where demons are held; it is where Christ preached to the spirits in prison; it is where Satan will be bound for a thousand years; and it is a place of smoke, fire, and darkness.
Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. The good news is that God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, and the cross of Jesus Christ is the only bridge over the abyss.
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Revelation 8:13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of
heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth,
because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are
about to sound!”
Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven
to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
Revelation 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the
pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened
because of the smoke of the pit.
I. THE UNNAMED ADVERSARY
Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven
to the earth. To him was given …”
Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
Luke 10:18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did
cast them to the earth:
Revelation 12:12 Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has
come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
II. THE UNLOCKED ABYSS.
Revelation 9:1 “… To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.”
1. THE ABYSS IS ULTIMATELY CONTROLLED BY JESUS.
Revelation 1:18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive
forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
2. THE ABYSS IS A PLACE WHERE DEMONS ARE INCARCERATED.
Luke 8:29 For He (Jesus) had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of
the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with
chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon
into the wilderness.
Luke 8:30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said,
Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
Luke 8:31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out
into the deep.
Luke 8:31 And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss
3. THE ABYSS IS WHERE JESUS PREACHED.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
1 Peter 3:19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
1 Peter 3:20 who formerly were disobedient …”
Romans 10:6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in
‘your heart, Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from
‘above)
Romans 10:7 or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ
up from the dead).
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the
great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth.
4. THE ABYSS IS WHERE SATAN WILL BE CAST FOR 1,000 YEARS.
Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the
key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Revelation 20:2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil
and Satan and bound him for a thousand years;
Revelation 20:3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and
set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand
years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
5. THE ABYSS IS LIKE A FIERY FURNACE OF SMOKE AND DARKNESS.
Revelation 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the
pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened
because of the smoke of the pit.
Matthew 13:41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather
out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
Matthew 13:42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing
and gnashing of teeth.
An old hymn to a honky-tonk declared
Dim lights, thick smoke, and loud, loud music
Is the only kind of life you’ll ever understand”
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Friedrich Nietzsche said, “When you gaze for long into the abyss, the abyss
gazes also into you.”
David R. Brower (quote)
“We are at the edge of an abyss and we’re close to being irrevocably lost.
The longer we refuse Jesus Christ, the deeper the pit of darkness becomes.
We are just moving down the steps deeper towards the abyss.”
Have you ever heard the hellish abyss version to the 4th stanza of Amazing Grace:
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, just suffering in the pit,
We’ve no less days to escape this blaze, than when we first got in it
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed,
into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
The late pastor Adrian Rogers said “Hell was created for the devil and his angels. If you go,
you are an intruder.”
1 Peter 2:9 “… of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
The cross is the only bridge over the abyss
Oh the mighty gulf that God did span, at Calvary.
Is the sky really falling? In Revelation 8, the seven angels who stand before God prepare to sound their trumpets, and when the first four blasts ring out, judgment falls on every part of creation. Hail and fire mingled with blood burn up a third of the trees and all the green grass, a great mountain burning with fire turns a third of the sea to blood, a star called Wormwood makes a third of the rivers and springs bitter, and a third of the sun, moon, and stars are darkened.
In this message from our series Revelation: Jesus Revealed – The View Behind The Veil, we walk through Revelation 8:2-13 and see that these trumpets give no uncertain sound (1 Corinthians 14:8). Each one echoes the plagues God sent on Egypt in the days of Moses – the hail and fire, the waters turned to blood, and the darkness that covered the land for three days.
These judgments are not random. They fall on a world that has exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). And as an angel flies through the midst of heaven crying, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth,” we are warned that even greater judgments are still to come – and that now is the time to be a friend of God rather than a friend of the world.
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Revelation 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them
were given seven trumpets.
Revelation 8:6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared
themselves to sound.
Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled
with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were
burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
Revelation 8:8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great
mountain ‘burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea
became blood.
Revelation 8:9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third
of the ships were destroyed.
Revelation 8:10 Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven,
heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs
of water.
Revelation 8:11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became
wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.
Revelation 8:12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck,
a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened.
A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
Revelation 8:13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of
heaven saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth,
because of ‘the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are
about to sound!”
I. THE SOUND OF TRUMPETS.
Revelation 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them
were given seven trumpets.
1 Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare
for battle?
1. THE FIRST TRUMPET: A THIRD OF THE TREES AND ALL THE GRASS
Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled
with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were
burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
Exodus 9:23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent
thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the
land of Egypt.
Exodus 9:24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that
there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
2. THE SECOND TRUMPET: A THIRD OF THE SEA CREATURES
AND A THIRD OF THE SHIPS.
Revelation 8:8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great
mountain ‘burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea
became blood.
Revelation 8:9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died,
Exodus 7:20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he
lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of
Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river
were turned to blood.
Revelation 8:9 “… and a third of the ships were destroyed.”
3. THE THIRD TRUMPET: A THIRD OF THE FIRST WATER SUPPLY POISONED
Revelation 8:10 Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven,
burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
Revelation 8:11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became
wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.
Psalm 147:4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
4. THE FOURTH TRUMPET: A THIRD OF THE SUN, MOON AND
STARS DARKENED
Revelation 8:12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck,
a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened.
A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
Exodus 10:23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place
for three days.
II. THE SINNERS’ PUNISHMENT.
Revelation 8:13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of
heaven saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth,
because of ‘the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are
about to sound!”
Romans 1:25 (CSBA) They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped
and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised for
ever. Amen.
James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with
the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God.
James 4:4 (CEB) You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the
world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend
becomes God’s enemy.
Zephaniah 1:2 “I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land,” says
the Lord;
Zephaniah 1:3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the
heavens, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man from the face of the land,” Says the Lord.
Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no
one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the
throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their
hands,
Revelation 7:10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our
God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four
living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
Revelation 7:12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and
honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 7:13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these
arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
Revelation 7:14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the
ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day
and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
Revelation 7:16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall
not strike them, nor any heat;
Revelation 7:17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them
and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from
their eyes.” , …
I. THE STATUS OF THE MULTITUDE IN HEAVEN.
Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one
could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,…”
II. THE SACRIFICE OF THE MULTITUDE IN HEAVEN.
Revelation 7:14 “… These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation,
III. THE SONG OF THE MULTITUDE IN HEAVEN.
Revelation 7:10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our
God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name:
John 1:13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God.
Salvation is the theme of their worship, just like it is of ours.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that SAVED a wretch like me
This our song of victory, Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Life now is sweet and my joy is complete, For I’m saved, saved, saved!
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Psalm 40:16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as
love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”
Psalm 96:2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His
salvation from day to day.
Psalm 118:14 The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
Psalm 118:15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation …”
Revelation 7:11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four
living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.
The question is not whether we should kneel in our worship services today.
The question is, shall we who will all kneel one day also kneel now as well?
Revelation 7:12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and
honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
IV. THE SERVICE OF THE MULTITUDE IN HEAVEN.
Revelation 7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and
night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
A complete tablet Temple Warning sign was found in a archaelogical dig in 1871
and written in Greek and Latin was the following inscription::
“No stranger is to enter within the balustrade round the temple and enclosure.
Whoever is caught will be himself responsible for his ensuing death.”
Ephesians 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has
broken down the middle wall of separation,
Ephesians 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man
from the two, thus making peace,
Ephesians 2:16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through
the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Ephesians 2:17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to
those who were near.
Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
V. THE SHEPHERDING OF THE MULTITUDE IN HEAVEN.
Revelation 7:16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall
not strike them, nor any heat;
Revelation 7:17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them
and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from
their eyes.”
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the
still waters.
Squire Parsons wrote a gospel song “Sweet Beulah Land”
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken
And time won’t matter anymore
2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
2 Corinthians 4:17 (Voice) You see, the short-lived pains of this life are creating for us
an eternal glory that does not compare to anything we know here.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (EASY) We have these little troubles that continue for a short time.
But as a result, we will receive the great things that God has prepared for us.
Those great things are much more important than our little troubles. And God’s great
things will continue for ever!
