Revelation 9:5-12
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Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, [ which is] the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue [ is] Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath [ his] name Apollyon.
Rev 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
Introduction
We have established that these locusts are the fruit of the smoke of the bottomless pit, because we are told that they come out of the smoke. This smoke and the locusts it produces are what is “by nature” within us.
Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
One of the “locusts,” that is one of the lies which come out of this smoke of the bottomless pit which we saw in our study of Rev 9:1-2 is within us, is the doctrine that denies what Christ had to say about what is “by nature… within… the heart of men.” This doctrine teaches that God created man in communion with Him, and concludes that communion equals perfection. That is the false doctrine of a totally unbiblical “fall of man.” That is a phrase which neither Christ nor any of His apostles nor any New Testament writer ever uses. “Falling from grace”, which is a Biblical phrase, has nothing at all to do with the false doctrine of “the fall of man.”
God created man of dust and not of spirit; nothing else is truth.
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
He created mankind ignorant of his own shameful nakedness. He created mankind unclothed and without the righteousness of the saints.
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
That is just another way of saying that they were completely unaware that they were created “marred in the hand of the Potter.”
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
This particular ‘locust” uses the name of Christ and quotes many scriptures about Christ being within. But this locust does not mention that Christ has to remove what is naturally within us before He will take up His abode within this earthen vessel.
We have seen that this smoke out of the darkness that is within us darkens our heavens and our air. In other words, this smoke that produces these locusts and darkens our heavens and our air is ignorance of the Truth of God’s Word of which ignorance is the source of the many false doctrines we have entertained so long, which have blotted out the light of the Truth and has defiled God’s dwelling place, keeping our hand out of God’s hand for many years via the “darkened air”, the blinded spirit of darkness and deception which has taken up residence in God’s own home, which we are destined to become. This is how that is done.
Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
The spiritually blind always think they see, and the spiritually dumb bring many false doctrines and are totally incapable of speaking one word of Truth.
Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
If we accept and acknowledge our own blindness and we acknowledge that it is only Christ’s Words which “are spirit and Truth”, then, and only then, will we be given eyes to see that it is only in those words of Christ that we can hope to learn what is the meaning of the symbols of these verses which describe these locusts which come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit, which is within each of us.
The description of these lying locusts
Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power [ was] to hurt men five months.
Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
The symbols which describe these locusts are very revealing for those who know what the scriptures reveal concerning the meaning of these symbols. There are six symbols which the holy spirit has used to describe these locusts which come out of the smoke that ascends up out of the bottomless pit.
1) They are shaped like horses prepared to battle.
2) They appear to have crown of gold on their heads.
3) Their faces are “as the faces of men”.
4) They had hair as the hair of women.
5) They had breastplates, as breastplates of iron.
6) The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. The last symbol of this fifth trumpet is:
7) the king that is over these locusts. His name is Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek.
We covered the symbols of verse 10 when we were on verses 3-5, so we need not repeat that study here. Here are those verses, side by side.
Rev 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [ was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
These three verses concern the power that God himself uses to break us to pieces, and bring us to our wits end, and to humble us and bring us to repentance, and to Himself. These three verses are summarized by verse ten.
Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
Then in verse 11, we have our final 7th symbol in these verses. It is the symbol of the king of these locusts which come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit. His name is given in both the Hebrew and in the Greek, and he is called “the angel of the bottomless pit.”
So let’s look at how the scriptures interpret these symbols which describe the locusts which come out of the smoke which proceeds from the bottomless pit within us. The first symbol is…
1) They are shaped like horses prepared to battle.
Those who are not given to discern the things of the spirit will, once again attempt to discredit scripture and say ‘You cannot look like both a grasshopper and a horse.’ But God’s Word is not limited by our lack of understanding. As we have already pointed out, this is a book of symbols which were never intended to be understood by what they say, but they are to be understood by what the scriptures reveal they mean. So each word symbolizes a point that is being made. The locusts symbolize the complete and systematic destruction of Egypt and all that Egypt has produced within us. So we do not care that a grasshopper does not look like a horse. All we want to know now is what do horses symbolize in scripture? Here are some verses which answer that question:
Job 39:19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
Job 39:20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
Job 39:21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
Job 39:22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
Job 39:23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
Job 39:24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
Job 39:25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
The horse is the symbol of fierceness and strength, and does not fear or even hear the sound of the trumpet as he goes to do battle with armed men. Christ comes on the strength of a white horse, but these are not said to be white horses. We are told that they come out of the smoke that darkens our sun and our air. These horses are doing battle against anything that would allow the light of the gospel to come to us. Here is what God thinks of these “horses.”
Psa 33:17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
Psa 147:10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
Psa 147:11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Do not ever underestimate the strength of the flesh or of the Adversary. He has been granted “great strength” so that no man “can make war with the beast.”
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him t o make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
But as King David tells us in Psalms, if Christ is living in us, “a horse is a vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength”, and the Truth of this matter is:
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
So Christ’s strength is much greater than the strength of these horse like locusts, or the strength of the beast or the strength of the Adversary.
2) They appear to have crowns of gold on their heads.
Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And this is where these locusts as horses get these crowns like gold.
Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
Babylon is full of “gold, silver and precious stones”, and only those who know how to try the spirits can tell the gold of Babylon from the gold that is upon the breasts of God’s elect. It is God’s own gold with which these horse like locusts are crowned. But they are crowns of pride that will be stripped in due time.
Isa 28:1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
The lies of these lying locusts as horses are one and all perversions of God’s Truths which have been perverted into the “images” or doctrines “of men”, and you and I have worshiped those “idols of our hearts.”
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
3) Their faces are “as the faces of men,”
What do the scriptures mean by the word “men”? These verses should tell us why these destructive, strong locusts, wearing golden crowns of God’s own gold covering the idols of our hearts, are said to have “faces of men.”
Mat 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
These are “men” who are in councils or the Sanhedrin and who are in synagogues. These are religious “men” of whom we must “beware”.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [ there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Tit 1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
These are “carnal… men who will “scourge you in their synagogues.” That is the significance of “their faces [ were] as the faces of men.”
Rev 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, y e received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
It is “the word of men” that we need not have “any man to teach us.” It certainly is not the word of God which “God has set… teachers… in the church,” for that very purpose of teaching His body of His Words.
Act 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
Act 8:30 And Philip ran thither to [ him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Act 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. .
1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
4) They had hair as the hair of women,
What is the spiritual significance of “the hair of women”? What is the Biblical difference between the hair of women and the hair of men? Is it color? Is it texture? No, there is no Biblical comment which distinguishes the color of a man’s hair or the texture of a man’s hair from “the hair of women”. The only Biblical difference between the hair of men and the hair of women is given to us in 1Co 11.
1Co 11:13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
1Co 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
1Co 11:15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
It is not the purpose of this study to cover the subject of the spiritual significance of the length of a woman’s hair, but these verses should establish the fact that these horses like locusts had long hair that is like “the hair of women.” What we are concerned with is why the holy spirit wants us to connect these locusts with women. What do women portray in scripture? Here is the answer to that question. It is right here is this same 11th chapter of 1Co.
1Co 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Paul informs us that our wives typify our own relationship to Christ. “The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man.” He comes right out and tells us this is so in Eph 5.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
The Greek for ‘women’ and ‘wife’ or ‘wives’ is the same one word. It is gune. Here is how Strong’s defines this word.
G1135
γυνη
gune
goo- nay’
Probably from the base of G1096; a woman; specifically a wife: – wife, woman.
The relationship between a man and woman, according to Eph 5, is a type of the relationship between Christ and His church, and the reason these locusts have “the hair of women” is to tell us that these locusts appear as a wife that is subject to her husband, Christ, and to his word, while in reality they are the words and doctrines of a harlot who is not subject to her husband’s words, even though they have “the hair of women.”
Eze 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
Eze 16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so
Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
5) They had breastplates, as breastplates of iron
We know what iron signifies in scripture:
Dan 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
Iron is harder and stronger than any other Biblical metal. “Iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things.” So why do these locusts have “breastplates of iron”? The answer is that a breastplate covers the heart, and there is no way to get to the heart of these locusts because of the deep darkness and the pride and deception that is in our hearts at this stage of our walk.
Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Daniel’s image, which typifies our experience, begins with a head of gold, followed by arms of silver, followed by a belly and thigh of brass, followed by legs of iron, and finally it is standing on feet which are made of part iron and part clay. It is concerning the legs of iron that we read in Dan 2:40, that “iron breaks and subdues all things”. The reason these breastplates are of iron is to let us know that it will take the supernatural intervention of God and His Son coming into our lives to destroy these breastplates of iron and to destroy our hardened and darkened hearts, which are protected by these “breastplates of iron.
6) the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Our final symbol that describes these horse- like locusts as “the sound of their wings was a the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.” All locusts have wings, and the wings of these locusts sound like chariots of many horses going to battle.”
What we need to learn in this symbol is just a little more about the sovereignty of God over both the good and the evil. In scripture evil men are called the Lord’s sword.
Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, [ which is] thy sword:
We need to acknowledge that the words ‘which is’ are not in the Hebrew and could just as easily have read ‘with’ instead of ‘which is.’ Nevertheless we are still told this in Pro 16.
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
So the Lord is definitely the Lord of both the good and the evil that is within us, and it is He who creates us as wicked first, for our day of evil, within. He also who sends the angel that opens the bottomless pit and darkens our Sun and air by these locusts which hurt us for five months and crush us and bring us to want to die with Him on His cross. Here is Rev 9 in Joe 1. It is the same event, and this is the “day of the Lord” which Peter said he had experienced just before the day of Pentecost.
Joe 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Joe 1:2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Joe 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
Joe 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
Joe 1:5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
Joe 1:6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth [ are] the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
Joe 1:7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast [ it] away; the branches thereof are made white.
Joe 1:8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
Joe 1:9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’S ministers, mourn.
Joe 1:10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
Joe 1:11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
Joe 1:12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Joe 1:13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
Joe 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders [ and] all the inhabitants of the land [ into] the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD [ is] at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joe 1:16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, [ yea], joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Joe 1:17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.
Joe 1:18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Joe 1:19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
Joe 1:20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Is this not what the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven plagues are when we “keep the things written therein?” (Rev 1:3) Is this not the very same “Lord’s day” which includes the events of the revelation of Jesus Christ? Is this not all the destruction of our old life, which we must all experience to bring us our new life? Speaking of this very battle, Joel continues:
Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Joe 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
Joe 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Christ mentions this very same battle in which these locusts as horses are involved:
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
None are able to stand against his wrath in this battle. The lies of all these locusts, their strength as horses, and their iron breastplates will all fall victim to Christ, and the armies that are with him. He has created this army of locusts for our destruction. When they have accomplished their evil deeds and have destroyed within us all that the lies of Egypt and Babylon have produced within us, then He will destroy the destroyer.
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Our last symbol is:
9) The angel of the bottomless pit
Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
The Hebrew word ‘ababbon,’ becomes the name of the angel of the bottomless pit. This word appears 5 times in the Old Testament.
Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction [ abaddon] hath no covering.
Job 28:20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where [ is] the place of understanding?
Job 28:21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.
Job 28:22 Destruction [ abaddon] and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
Job 31:12 For it [ is] a fire [ that] consumeth to destruction [ abaddon], and would root out all mine increase.
Psa 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? [ or] thy faithfulness in destruction [ abaddon]?
Pro 15:11 Hell and destruction [ abaddon] are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
Will God’s loving kindness be declared in the grave? The answer is, yes, it will. Will His faithfulness be declared in destruction? Again the answer is, yes, it will.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose [ Greek, apollumi] it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
It is only through the destruction of our old man that our new man can be born.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy [ Greek, apollumi] both soul and body in hell.
Mat 12:14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy [ Greek, apollumi] him.
It is a grave mistake to think that the king of the bottomless pit is Adam himself. If that were so, then where is ‘Adam’ in these verses?
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Joh 13:27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
There is no one here who is denying that “that old serpent the devil and Satan” dwells within us, just as Christ dwells within us. What we are denying is that Eve was speaking to Adam when she was seduced by the serpent. Adam was already in King Saul before “the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.” Christ was not being tempted of Adam when He was in the wilderness 40 days. Adam did not enter into Judas “after the sop.” Adam was there all along. And finally, Adam will be on earth being ruled with a rod of iron all through the millennium, while Satan is bound in the bottomless pit within us all.
So Abaddon, also known as Apollyon, is the king of the lies which are symbolized by the locusts which come out of the smoke of the bottomless pit, simply because God created him to be his lying Adversary, “from the beginning.”
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Summary
We have covered seven symbols in this study. There are six symbols which the holy spirit has used to describe these locusts which come out of the smoke that ascends up out of the bottomless pit.
1) They are shaped like horses prepared to battle, tells us that we are fighting an enemy with great strength.
2) They appear to have crown of gold on their heads, tells us that they will at first be mistaken for overcomers, and those who are the servants of, and the angels of God.
3) Their faces are “as the faces of men,” tells us that these lies are nothing more or less than idols of our own hearts, which we have carved out of the truths that are the Word of God.
4) They had hair as the hair of women, tells us that these doctrines are one and all the doctrines of that great harlot woman, and they certainly do darken our sun and air.
5) They had breastplates, as breastplates of iron, tells us that it is impossible for any man to reach our hearts and destroy these lies and deceits, and that it will take Christ, Himself to do so.
6) “The sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle,” tells us that these deceits are many and strong and they are ready and willing to do battle with our Lord and His Word.
The last symbol of this fifth trumpet is:
7) The king that is over these locusts is named Abaddon, in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. This tells us that this is a life and death battle in all seven of these seven trumpets, and God had created the waster to destroy, and he is good at what he was created to do. That is to destroy all that we think we are, so that we can be “made again as seems good to the Potter to make us.” (Jer 18:4)
Next week, Lord willing, we will begin our study of the sixth trumpet, which is also called “the second woe.”
Rev 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
Rev 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
Other related posts
- The Souls Under The Altar 2013 (July 11, 2005)
- The Revelation Of Jesus Christ Part 1 Introduction (January 14, 2007)
- Revelation 9:5-12 (March 20, 2010)
- Revelation 9:3-4 (March 20, 2010)
- Revelation 9:17-21 (March 27, 2010)
- Revelation 9:13-16 (March 19, 2010)
- Revelation 9:1-2 (February 12, 2010)
- Revelation 8:8-9 (January 15, 2010)
- Revelation 8:7 (January 8, 2010)
- Revelation 8:3-4 (December 29, 2009)
- Revelation 8:12-13 (February 12, 2010)
- Revelation 8:10-11 (January 22, 2010)
- Revelation 8:1-6 - Part 2 (December 26, 2009)
- Revelation 8:1-6 - Part 1 (February 11, 2010)
- Revelation 7:9-17 - I Beheld, and, lo, a Great Multitude (December 13, 2009)
- Revelation 7:4-8 - Who Are The 144,000 - Part 1 (February 11, 2010)
- Revelation 7:4-8 - Part 3 - Who Are The 144,000 (November 23, 2009)
- Revelation 7:4-8 - Part 2 - Who Are The 144,000 (December 25, 2009)
- Revelation 7:1-3 - Part 5 - What Is The Seal of Our God? (November 25, 2009)
- Revelation 7:1-3 - Part 3 and 4 - What Hurts The Earth, Sea, And Trees? (November 18, 2009)
- Revelation 7:1-3 - Part 2 (November 18, 2009)
- Revelation 7:1-3 - Part 1 (November 18, 2009)
- Revelation 6:9-11 - The Souls Under the Altar (November 18, 2009)
- Revelation 6:5-6 The Black Horse (November 18, 2009)
- Revelation 6:12-17 - Part 2 (November 18, 2009)
- Revelation 6:12-17 - Part 1 (November 18, 2009)
- Revelation 6:1-4 (August 22, 2009)
- Revelation 5:7-10 (July 31, 2009)
- Revelation 5:4-6 (August 4, 2009)
- Revelation 5:11-14 (August 8, 2009)
- Revelation 5:1-3 - Who Can Open the Book? Part 1 (July 4, 2009)
- Revelation 4:8-9 Wings of the Seraphim (June 25, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6-7 - Four Beasts - Part 6 (June 14, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6-7 - Four Beasts - Part 5 (June 14, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6-7 - Four Beasts - Part 4 (May 23, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6-7 - Four Beasts - Part 3 (May 16, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6-7 - Four Beasts - Part 2A (May 9, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6-7 - Four Beasts - Part 1 (May 7, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6 - Sea of Glass - Part 2 (May 2, 2009)
- Revelation 4:6 - Sea of Glass - Part 1 (April 30, 2009)
- Revelation 4:4-5 Four and Twenty Elders (April 11, 2009)
- Revelation 4:10-11 (June 28, 2009)
- Revelation 4:1-3 His Throne in Heaven - Part 1 (April 7, 2009)
- Revelation 3:7-9 (February 13, 2009)
- Revelation 3:4-6 - Sardis, Part 3 (February 7, 2009)
- Revelation 3:3 - Sardis, Part 2 (January 30, 2009)
- Revelation 3:19-22 Laodicea, Part 3 (March 21, 2009)
- Revelation 3:18 (March 14, 2009)
- Revelation 3:14-18 (March 21, 2009)
- Revelation 3:10-13 - Philadelphia, Part 2 (February 19, 2009)
- Revelation 3:1-2 Sardis, Part 1 (January 30, 2009)
- Revelation 2:8-11 - Smyrna (December 24, 2008)
- Revelation 2:26-29 (January 17, 2009)
- Revelation 2:21-25 (January 10, 2009)
- Revelation 2:18-20 (January 6, 2009)
- Revelation 2:12-17 - Part 2 (December 26, 2008)
- Revelation 2:12-17 - Part 1 (December 24, 2008)
- Revelation 2:1-7 (December 24, 2008)
- Revelation 22:6-10 (June 4, 2011)
- Revelation 22:16-21 (June 25, 2011)
- Revelation 22:11-15 (June 11, 2011)
- Revelation 22:1-5 (May 26, 2011)
- Revelation 21:9-12 (May 26, 2011)
- Revelation 21:4-8 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 21:23-27 (May 15, 2011)
- Revelation 21:18-22 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 21:13-17 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 21:1-3 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 20:7-10 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 20:11-15 (October 26, 2011)
- Revelation 20:1-6 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 1:9 - Part 2 (August 8, 2008)
- Revelation 1:9 - Part 1 (August 8, 2008)
- Revelation 1:8 (July 25, 2008)
- Revelation 1:7 - Behold, He Cometh with Clouds... (July 19, 2008)
- Revelation 1:6 (July 10, 2008)
- Revelation 1:5 - Part 2 - First Begotten of the Dead (July 10, 2008)
- Revelation 1:5 - Part 1 (June 20, 2008)
- Revelation 1:4 Part 2 (January 22, 2009)
- Revelation 1:4 Part 1 (June 6, 2008)
- Revelation 1:18-20 (December 6, 2008)
- Revelation 1:17 (November 24, 2008)
- Revelation 1:16 - Part 2 (November 15, 2008)
- Revelation 1:16 - Part 1 (January 22, 2009)
- Revelation 1:15 (November 1, 2008)
- Revelation 1:14 (October 25, 2008)
- Revelation 1:13, Part 2 - One Like unto the Son of Man (October 3, 2008)
- Revelation 1:13 - Part 4 (November 17, 2008)
- Revelation 1:13 - Part 1 (September 19, 2008)
- Revelation 1:11-12 (September 13, 2008)
- Revelation 1:10 - Part 3 (October 23, 2008)
- Revelation 1:10 - Part 2 (August 23, 2008)
- Revelation 1:10 - Part 1 (August 15, 2008)
- Revelation 1:1-2 - Read, Hear and Keep These Words (July 24, 2008)
- Revelation 19:6-10 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 19:20 (November 13, 2011)
- Revelation 19:17-21 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 19:11-16 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 19:1-5 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 18:9-14 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 18:5-8 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 18:24 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 18:20-23 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 18:15-19 (May 13, 2011)
- Revelation 18:1-4 (December 29, 2010)
- Revelation 17:7-11 (December 10, 2010)
- Revelation 17:12-18 (December 29, 2010)
- Revelation 17:1-6 (December 10, 2010)
- Revelation 16:4-9 (October 22, 2010)
- Revelation 16:17-21 (November 13, 2010)
- Revelation 16:10-16 (November 7, 2010)
- Revelation 16:1-3 (October 15, 2010)
- Revelation 15:5-8 to Revelation 16:1-3 (October 15, 2010)
- Revelation 15:1-4 (October 9, 2010)
- Revelation 14:6-12 (September 16, 2010)
- Revelation 14:13-20 (September 23, 2010)
- Revelation 14:1-5 (September 11, 2010)
- Revelation 13:6-9 (August 6, 2010)
- Revelation 13:3-5 (July 29, 2010)
- Revelation 13:14-18 (September 3, 2010)
- Revelation 13:10-13 (August 19, 2010)
- Revelation 13:1-2 (July 22, 2010)
- Revelation 12:7-9 (July 2, 2010)
- Revelation 12:14-17 (July 16, 2010)
- Revelation 12:10-13 (July 9, 2010)
- Revelation 12:1-6 (June 25, 2010)
- Revelation 11:7-14 (May 8, 2010)
- Revelation 11:5-6 (April 30, 2010)
- Revelation 11:4 (April 22, 2010)
- Revelation 11:15-17 (June 12, 2010)
- Revelation 11:1-3 (April 18, 2010)
- Revelation 10:5-11 (April 9, 2010)
- Revelation 10:1-4 (April 12, 2010)
- Rev 1:3 How do we Keep the Sayings of this Book? (January 22, 2009)
- Rev 1:13, Part3 - Christ Revealed in the Law of the Offerings (October 11, 2008)