The Opening of the Bottomless Pit⤒🔗

In Revelation 9:1 we read, “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” Who or what is this star? Stars in the Bible often refer to angels both good and evil. In Job 38:7 we are told that when the Lord God of heaven finished His creation, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Here, no doubt, the reference is to good angels who rejoiced in God’s creation. In the Epistle of Jude, however, we read of angels who “kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation.” Peter also tells us of “angels that sinned, whom God did not spare but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness” (2 Peter 2:4).

One of these angelic beings who fell is Satan. Paul refers to him as “the prince of the power of the air.” Our Saviour says that He saw “Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). In all probability, therefore, the fallen star John sees here is none other than Satan himself. To this fallen angel, we are told in verse 2, was given the key of the bottomless pit. Who gave him that key? No doubt it was Christ Himself, for He alone has the key of hell and death (Rev. 1:18).

The expression “bottomless pit” refers to a kind of abyss or deep pit with a narrow opening at the top, but broadening out further down. The narrow opening or the shaft is locked, but its key is now given to Satan who proceeds to open it. The result is terrible. As we read in verses 2 and 3:

And there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the pit locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

Scripture often speaks of locusts and always in the context of judgment. A more terrible plague than of locusts is hard to imagine. After a swarm of them had swept over the land there was not a green thing left. But the locusts John sees here are not the usual kind of insects. They do look somewhat like locusts but they also resemble other creatures. We have a description of them in verses 7 to 11. They 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 women’s hair, and their teeth were like lion’s teeth. They were protected with what looked 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. Finally, we are told that this vast army of locusts was led by a king whose name was Abaddon or Apollyon.

The Mission of the Locusts←⤒🔗

These locusts were sent on a special mission. We read in verse 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.” It is clear that these strange creatures coming out of the abyss symbolize divine judgments. They represent an infernal army of demons let loose by Satan, though with God’s permission, for the purpose of tormenting the unbelieving and Christ-rejecting world.

Upon Satan’s unsuccessful rebellion against God he was cast out of heaven together with the wicked angels who supported him. Where did these evil spirits go and where are they now? It is generally assumed that they are in hell. But this is not exactly what Scripture teaches. According to the Bible, these evil angels are awaiting their final judgment and punishment, which will take place on the Last Day when Christ will cast Satan and his demons into the lake of fire.

But if they are not in hell yet where are they? It seems that Scripture makes a distinction here. Some demons apparently are allowed to roam about freely with their leader Satan. But there is also another division of Satan’s troops that is not free to move about at will. They are in the abyss. They are locked up in prison. But on special occasions they are released. For instance, when Jesus was on earth He met a legion of them who had taken possession of that wretched man living among the tombs. When Jesus cast them out of the man, they begged Christ not to send them back into the abyss, but to allow them to enter into a herd of swine instead.

Revelation 9 refers to those demons who have been locked up in the pit for a certain period. But now they are released from the abyss. And for what purpose? To help Satan carry out a special mission. That mission is described in verse 4 as one of hurting “those men who have not the seal of God on their foreheads.”

Satan’s Power over Fallen Man←⤒🔗

Ever since the fall of man, Satan has wielded great power over human beings. The whole human race descended from Adam lies under God’s curse and part of that curse is that the prince of darkness has dominion over the minds and hearts of sinners. The saddest thing is that man seems to be a very willing slave of the Evil One.

We clearly see this in our time. It looks as if people are increasingly throwing off the restraints of Christianity and selling themselves to the devil. And the more they surrender to Satan, the more power does God give to the Enemy to control them. More and more demons are being released from the pit to help Satan gain complete control over men’s minds.

The Fast Acceleration of Evil←⤒🔗

This sad process was already in full swing in John’s time. In Revelation 22 we read these frightening words of the exalted Christ: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still” (v.11). Sin never stands still. It is a process. It grows and ripens. As the sinner abandons himself to ever new depths of depravity, his conscience grows dull and he becomes more and more hardened and enslaved to Satan. 

Notice what these locusts were instructed to do. They were not to touch the grass or any other vegetation. Their only mission was to torment people. All those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads would be their targets: all the unregenerate, the enemies of God and of His Christ.

Notice also that these infernal spirits might not kill their victims. All they must do is torment them and that for five months on end. Five months was the period during which locusts might be expected to come and do their destructive work, usually between May and September. I don’t believe, however, that we need to take this number literally. All it means is that the wicked would be tormented for a certain period of time.

The Nature of their Torment←⤒🔗

Verse 5 states that the torment of the wicked was as the torment of a scorpion when he strikes a man. Few things in life are more painful than the sting of a scorpion and therefore to be tormented like that for five months would be unimaginably horrible.

Just what is meant by this torment? The key to the answer is found in the description of these locusts. Notice that attention is drawn to the contrast between their front and backside. Their frontal appearance is attractive; they resemble warlike horses; they wear golden crowns and their hair is like that of women. The picture presented is one of conquest, power, glory, intelligence, charm and fascination. In other words, these spirits from the abyss are attractive to man. Satan knows how to make evil look appealing. Sin often seems very beautiful and desirable, so that man, left to himself, will easily fall for it.

Relevance for Today←⤒🔗

Again we see this happening everywhere. What do people live for today? Ambition, power, fame, and carnal pleasure. The masses around us think of nothing else but to get the maximum of enjoyment out of life. In this way Satan deceives millions to their eternal undoing. Sin, while tasting very sweet at first, always turns very bitter in the end. That is where these scorpions’ tails come in. They may look attractive and interesting from the front, but wait till you see their tail and feel their sting! The same evil spirits who first incite people to sin will in the end fill men’s hearts with hopeless despair. When they realize that the pursuit of pleasure and ambition does not bring them the satisfaction they had hoped for, they become very depressed and suicidal. Yes, so terrible will this torment be that people will look for ways to die, but they won’t succeed. That is to say, most will not succeed; they either lack the opportunity or the courage.

Some, of course, do manage to take their own lives and their numbers are increasing, especially among the young, the rich and famous who deny God’s existence and mock the religion and morality of the Bible. After all, as the French philosopher Le Dantec admits, suicide is the logical consequence of atheism. Yet the vast majority of people go on living despite their depressions, their sense of futility and hopelessness. They know from bitter experience that the wages of sin is death! They have tried everything: alcohol, drugs, hard or soft, sex, hetero, homo and porno, and it has left them miserable and empty. Think of AIDS and the horrible suffering that term represents.

What a dreadful picture this is of man without God! Restless, tormented day and night, unable to sleep and longing for death, yet clinging to life, hoping in vain for better days. What a warning this is to all who are not saved! Included in that category are not just the openly wicked but also decent and outwardly religious people who although they have been kept from committing the sins just mentioned, still live apart from God and His Son. Our passage speaks of those who have not the seal of God on their foreheads. That means all those who are not in Christ Jesus by a true faith.

A Fearful but not Final Judgment←⤒🔗

Fearful as the judgment of the fifth trumpet is, it is intended to warn and not destroy sinners. Although the demons torture the wicked, they are not allowed to kill them. This implies they are given time and opportunity to repent. Sinners may still flee from the wrath to come. But the time is short! Soon the day will come when “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power” (1 Thess. 1:7-9).

Comfort For Christians←⤒🔗

The message of the fifth trumpet is a very solemn one indeed. Yet there is comfort even here. These scorpions from hell cannot touch believers. Why not? Because they are sealed (Rev. 9:4). They bear the mark of God’s ownership on their foreheads. May this be true of all who read this.

If we are Christians we are safe and secure. The Day of Judgment will bring us no terror and no doom. Rather, as Paul goes on to say in that same passage of 2 Thessalonians, Christ “shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe” (1:10). Therefore, “serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Ps. 2:11-12).