CHAPTER 9
And the fifth angel played his trumpet, and I saw a star from heaven, fallen to the earth, and there was given to him the key to the pit of the Abusso
2. and he opened the pit of Abusso, and smoke went up out of the pit, like smoke of a huge furnace, and the sun and air were darkened by the smoke of the pit
3. and out of the smoke locusts came to the earth, and they were given power like the power scorpions have on the earth,
4. and they were told, do not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green, nor any tree, but just the men who don’t have the seal of God on their foreheads.
5. and they were given that they should not kill them, but in order to torment them five months and torment them like the torment of a scorpion, when it bites a person.
6. and in those days, men will seek death, but they will not find it, and they will long to die, and death will flee from them.
7. and the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle, and on their heads were crown-like things, like gold, and the their faces were like the faces of people,
8. and they had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions,
9. and they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound (voice) of their wings was the sound of many chariots with horses, rusing into battle
10. and they have tails like scorpions, and stings, and in their tails they have the power to harm people for five months.
11. they have a king over them, the angle of the Abusso, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
12. the first Woe is past. Look, two more Woes are coming after these things.
v 1 The Abusso (Lk 8:31; Rom 10:7; Rev 9:2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 21:1-3)
v 3 Locusts, again, remind us of the plagues of Egypt (Exo 10:12-19; Joel 1:2-2:11; 2 Chron 7:13-14; v 7).
v 4 Ordinary locusts attack plants, but these extraordinary locusts have only the power to attack rebellious human beings. They, like scorpions, cause great pain. As in Egypt, the people of God are protected, or sealed by God from the outpouring of God’s wrath (Exo 8:22; 9:4, 26; etc.).
v 6 Men will seek death, but be unable to die. This is difficult to imagine. People who have experienced the horrors of war, or the ravages of a life-threatening disease like cancer, or experienced great loss and grief, may know what it is to wish for death to come. But this generation will wish to die, maybe even attempt to die, and yet they will be unable to. Imagine a man throwing himself from the top of a building, breaking his mangled body against the pavement, yet, screaming in pain and ruined, unable to die. The image is grim, grotesque, and horrific.
vv 7-10 These demonic beasts are ugly things. John tries to describe them, but he seems to have difficulty relating these images to any creature or machine of his time. The Italian word for locust is cavalletta, or little horse. The sting of these creatures could be translated goad (Acts 26:14; 1 Cor 15:55). Notice they are not any particular thing-they are like men, like lions, like scorpions, like horses, with things like crowns and iron breastplates. They are like many things, but unlike anything in John’s experience.
v 11 Abaddon, or destroyer is a great description of Satan (Exo 12:23; Jer 4:7; 1 Cor 10:10). The Greek name Apollyon has the same root as the name Apollo. Interestingly, Caligula, and Nero, each infamous for his destructive use of power, venerated the Greek god Apollo, and Domitian claimed to be an incarnation of the false deity.
v 12 this Woe is only the 5th of the 7 Trumpet judgments. Two more are coming. After these things is, again, meta tauta (1:19; 4:1; 7:1).
The Original Death Star
In chapters 6 and 8 we see stars and mountains falling to the earth. This star is not a meteor, however, it is a person. He has keys to the Abyss, and he releases creatures from this pit that torment those who are on the earth. That release results in such suffering that people wish they could die, but they can’t. They are sent, released for torment, for judgment. And they are released by the sounding of a trumpet.
Seals, Trumpets & Bowls as Instruments of Punishment
A seal on a scroll was a means of hiding then revealing the list of items for a beneficiary to inherit. A Trumpet is an instrument of music, worship, celebration and, sometimes, calls to military movement. A bowl is a vessel for nourishment. In the Revelation of Jesus, each of these instruments of blessing is used as a means of judgment. We’ll talk later about bowls. Today, let’s consider the seals and the trumpets.
Seals
Seals are mentioned a number of times. Daniel is told to “seal up” his vision, because it was for the time of the end (Daniel 12). And, as mentioned above, God sealed His own, a kind of stamp of His ownership (Revelation 7 & 9). Jeremiah had the title deed to a property he purchased sealed and placed in a container (Jeremiah 32). Pilate had Jesus’ grave sealed, indicating the authority of the Roman government backed up the closing of the grave. The seals here are most like those described in Jeremiah. The outside of the scroll would have the description of the person who can inherit the contents described in the scroll.
Imagine being the inheritor of a vast estate from a wealthy relative or friend who has passed. You go for the Estate meeting and there’s a mixture of emotions as you both miss your old friend and are interested in what has been left to your name. Imagine the inheritance document, the will, is a scroll, and in order to see what you are going to get you have to break one seal at a time. As each seal is broken you see a new list of items of ever increasing value. One seal is broken, you get a car, and some cash. Another seal and you get a home in your town. The next seal you get a vacation home in Newport. The following is a multi-million dollar endowment which means you’ll never lack for anything. And there are two more seals to be broken. You can’t even imagine how wonderful the final revelations will be.
That’s what breaking the seals should be like. It should be a time of sober celebration and even rejoicing, counting how many positive ways your life is going to change. The Seven Seals of the Revelation are just the opposite. With each seal a list of greater horrors is revealed.
God wants to give Himself as our inheritance (Genesis 15; Numbers 18; Ezekiel 44). Imagine opening an Inheritance Scroll with your name on it, opening the seal, and finding inside ““I Am” is Yours”. You get God, and with Him, all things. But for those who refused to receive their inheritance of He who made them, seals pronounce separation from Him for eternity (Matthew 7 & 25; 1 John 5, etc).
Trumpets
I love to hear a good trumpet player play. (if you want a little distraction for awhile, check out Wynton Marsalis’ YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7sP47e8tA ). When God appeared to Israel to form their community through the giving of the Law a trumpet sounded continuously (not blown by human lips-unless Wynton Marsalis was there then too). When the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness, and God was their Guide, they would settle camp, and move camp on at the sound of a trumpet (Numbers 10). Joshua and the Children of Israel sounded the trumpet and shouted and the walls of Jericho tumbled down (Joshua 6). The trumpet was a call to worship (Isaiah 27). God told Israel to have annual feasts and time of rest/vacation, and the feasts were announced by trumpets (Leviticus 25; Numbers 10); the sacrifice was accompanied by trumpets (Numbers 10), and there was even a special Feast/Vacation of Trumpets (Leviticus 23). The trumpet was used, and is still used today, for military calls-charge! Retreat! Wake up! and “Taps” for Time to Sleep! (1 Corinthians 14). There will be a trumpet blast to call all of us who remain on earth at the coming of Jesus to join Him; the resurrection will be initiation by the sound of a trumpet (1 Corinthians 15). The trumpet, its music and its function in the community of the Faith, is pretty cool-a collection of blessed associations. But in the Revelation, it is the harbinger of horror.
Blessings Become Curses
I think we see here an illustration of a principle we can often see in many areas of our lives. God gives us an abundance of blessings, but when we leave Him out of our considerations, or use His blessings differently than He intends, those blessings lead to our destruction. God gave plants, like poppies, that can nourish and heal us, and beautify our world, but when used wrong some of them can lead to addictions and even death (poppy based drugs are implicated in the recent worldwide rise in overdose deaths). Whether musical instruments, or the music they produce, or legal documents, or the plants and animals and relationships God has given us on this earth, any and all of them are given for our blessing. How we receive them determines whether the blessing becomes a curse.
Prayer for Today
Holy Father,
Grant that today my heart will embrace the blessings You have prepared for me, in the Spirit in which they are given. Let Your blessings never distract me from You. May Your blessings never be a source of division between me and You, or me and Your people.
And, Dear Father, let the means You use to bless us never become a curse. Let us cling to You so tightly that we have neither strength nor interest in clinging to anything or anyone else. Let all other blessings You give serve only to press us nearer, our God, to Thee.
In the name of He who is ever nearest to You, Jesus, our LORD
Amen.
