The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die but death will elude them.
The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like a woman's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon.
The first woe is past: two other woes are yet to come (Revelation 9:1-12).
Fun stuff, eh? Before we get into the (almost rampant) speculation, there's a small detail I had never noticed before until I was typing up this passage: in John's vision, the "star" was already on earth before the trumpet sounded. Notice verse 1 of Chapter 9: "The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth." Remember that John is presenting these visions after the fact - that is, he saw them, then wrote them all down - and is, therefore, using the past tense: "The fifth angel sounded his trumpet. . . ." But he shifts tense when he references the falling of the "star," in that when the trumpet sounded, the angel was already on earth, and the trumpet signaled the opening of the Abyss.
Why does this matter? Because so many people believed that CERN was the opening of the Abyss, and they scoured all sorts of video footage of the night sky, waiting to see the star fall. The fact is, if that's what we're waiting to see, then we're putting our hope and trust (or our fear) in the wrong thing. If John's use of verb tense is any indication, we have no idea when that star is going to fall. He could have already done so. Perhaps he fell two thousand years ago. We cannot cling to one particular detail that may, in fact, be taken out of context.
And this is what happens when we take things out of their Scriptural context: it makes Christ appear to be a liar. Think about it: if people proclaiming to be followers of Jesus spend all of their time on Youtube "prophesying" that Revelation tells us we're going to see the star fall, and CERN is going to release a demonic army, then when that fails to happen (as it did last fall), non-believers - who don't know the Scriptures - are left with the impression that the Bible is, once more, wrong. Of course, it's not the Bible that's wrong, but all of those people out there who do not know the Scriptures won't know that - they're only going by what they hear.
And, according to the Scriptures, there will be a hail storm, an asteroid, a meteor, and a terrifying display in the sun, moon, and stars before the Abyss is opened. Will there be a demon horde that torments non-believers for five months? Yes, the Bible makes that clear. Will it start tomorrow? Not unless really bad things happen all at once today. Stay rooted in the Scriptures, and don't listen to the false prophets. In fact, stay rooted in the Scriptures, even if you're listening to someone you trust. Don't take anything for granted! Look, if Paul can tell people to verify what he was saying, then no one alive today can be completely and blindly trusted - go back to the Scriptures. I may be writing about a small portion, but if you're reading this blog, you need to go back and read the whole book of Revelation to ensure I'm not cherry-picking.
Having said that, let's move on to the speculative part (yes, I see the irony) - it is possible that this is when the Beast actually arises out of the Abyss. Let me be clear: the passage does not state this, but what it does state is that the Abyss is shut and locked until this moment, which would indicate that the Beast cannot leave until it is opened. Many will claim that "Beast from the Abyss" refers to Satan, but nowhere in Scripture do we see Satan being locked (or even dwelling in) the Abyss. Nor do we see any specific Scriptures stating that Satan indwells the Antichrist. We see him giving the Beast power and authority (13:2), but never Exorcist-style possession.
Now, I realize that I've stated that the Antichrist will be indwelt by Satan, which is the most popular take on Revelation 13:2, but I may have been hasty. Remember, we have to be careful not to take our assumptions as stated Biblical Truth, and claiming that Satan possesses the Beast is just that - an assumption. Reasonable, yes, but still an assumption, and still potentially wrong. But one of the biggest, boldest, flashiest neon signs we have is that the Beast is most certainly demonic, since he comes from the Abyss. Who dwells in the Abyss? Demons. Whether or not he is indwelt by Satan remains speculation, but he is certainly demonic; that much is clear. So he is at the very least a demonic entity wrapped in the flesh of someone who was previously dead.
The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number (9:13-16).
Back in the late eighties/early nineties, China began boasting of an army of 200 million. In one of the most perplexing moments in the Christian culture, believers began panicking that China was about to start the Apocalypse. I've fallen for my fair share of alarmist overreaction in the past, but this one struck me as odd. Why? Verses 17-19:
The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.
Now, I suppose it's possible that John was using symbolism here, but he's very specific that these are horses and riders, and, unless China has been working on some sort of horse/lion/snake hybrid animal, it seems fairly reasonable that this is an angelic army. So what's the takeaway here?
Read your Scriptures. I know I keep saying that, but it's vital. Think of all the anxiety and panic that a multitude of Christians could have saved themselves had they actually read the Book of Revelation. Just like CERN, Satan has used our lack of knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures to create fear, and - most importantly - to cast doubt on the goodness of God's Word. When we run around claiming the Apocalypse is about to start, because China has an army of 200 million, and then things don't pan out the way we expect, the non-believing world looks at that and says, "See? The Bible is wrong."
Indeed, we are seeing a massive hardening of hearts - particularly here in America - because people have been listening to false claims for decades. Want an example? Take a look at some of the comments regarding this remarkable gem: 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. There's lots and lots of ridicule aimed at the Church, aimed at Christians, and aimed at the Bible. Many of you reading this may remember the Harold Camping fiasco of four years ago. Youtube abounds with "date-setting." Folks, know the Scriptures, so that we don't contribute to leading people astray.
Okay, I'm going to wrap things up here. We're going to take a brief interlude from the Trumpets and look at the intervening passages (Chapters 10 and 11), as well as the Rapture. Because - and I'll throw this out there for you all to mull over - it is plausible that the Seventh Trumpet actually is the Rapture.
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