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.
