Revelation 9:9:1,2 “The fifth angel sounded a blast on his trumpet, and I saw a star failing from heaven on the earth, and to him there was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless abyss; and he opened the shaft of the abyss; and smoke went up from the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the abyss.”
How could a star receive a key? In traditional Jewish thought, stars were divine beings who could become disobedient or even evil. C. S. Lewis in his book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader uses this concept with great effect. Evidently, this star has been found faithful and true because he is given the key of the shaft of the bottomless abyss, to open it.
What is the abyss? Here, we again turn to William Barclay: The abyss is the intermediate place of punishment of the fallen angels, the demons, the beast, the false prophet and of Satan. Their final place of punishment is the lake of burning fire and brimstone. To complete the picture of these terrors we may add that Gehenna–which is not mentioned in the Revelation–is the place of punishment for evil men.
In the beginning it (the abyss)was the place of the imprisoned waters…The second step was that the abyss became the abode of the enemies of God, although even there they were not beyond his power and control. Next the abyss came to be thought of as a great chasm in the earth. The Apocryphal Book of Enoch contains grim descriptions of it. It has no firmament above and no firm earth beneath; it has no water; it has no birds; it is a waste and horrible place, the end of heaven and earth. It is chaotic. There is a fire which blazes and a cleft into the abyss whose magnitude passes all conjecture….
Will this vision come to pass literally? My personal response is “Why not?” But the important thing is that no matter what we think, the opening of the abyss will herald the advent of demonic forces previously beyond all imagination.
Revelation 9:3-12 From the smoke locusts came forth upon the earth, and they were given power like the power of the scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only such men as had not the seal of God upon their forehead. They were not permitted to kill them, but to torture them for five months. Their torture was like the torture of a scorpion when it strikes a man; and in those days men will seek for death and not be able to find it; and they will long to die but death flees from them. In likeness the locusts were like horses prepared for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold. Their faces were like human faces and they had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had scales like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots with horses running to battle. They have tails like scorpions with stings, and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. As king over them they have the angel of the bottomless abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Appolyon. The first woe has passed. Behold, there are still two woes to follow it.
Nobody who has ever had a scorpion sting forgets it! The scorpion venom feels like fire – a burning pain that can drive someone crazy. And God is allowing these locusts to sting for five months… but notice something. The only people the locusts are allowed to attack are those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. What does this mean?The Book of Revelation has caused all kinds of arguments; however, it is obvious that even in this time when demonic powers have been released to trouble the earth and its inhabitants, there are still those who serve the one true living God and have His seal of approval.
We will speak more about these horrors tomorrow, but remember this: throughout all of these trials and torments, God is still on the throne and He still knows those who are His. The question each of us must face is this: do we belong to God? Do we have His seal on our foreheads?
PRAYER: Father God, please help everyone who reads this devotional to understand that these are NOT fairy tales and that you have meant every word! Help all who read this to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It’s in His mighty Name that we pray. Amen.
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