REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 9.1

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

(The Apocalypse)

                                                                           

Chapter Nine

Judgment Resumed:

The Seven Trumpets

Trumpet Number 5: Woe Number 1

 

 

Introduction

As the story of the Apocalypse continues, Revelation Chapter 9 contains perhaps the most horrific, eerie, and frightening verses in Scripture because it is the most revealing section on demonology and Hell. Keep in mind, however, everything is orchestrated by God. Under His authority, He has full control. His grace continues to be present until every last person willingly repents. And, at the same time, His plan and purpose is being fulfilled, i.e., Satan is finally defeated, and Christ will return to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

Thus far, the first four trumpets have been blown, and the judgments were physical ones affecting the material world. When the final three trumpets blow (also known as the Three Woes), a transition transpires from physical to spiritual. Judgments now become supernatural. The prison of the underworld opens and belches out demonic spirits and they are permitted to inflict torture upon unrepentant mankind.

 

Review

1.  Trumpet Number 1 – Smites 1/3 the land, trees, and green grass

2.  Trumpet Number 2 – Destroys 1/3 the saltwater and ships

3. Trumpet Number 3 – Destroys 1/3 the freshwater; including rivers, fountains, and wells

4.  Trumpet Number 4 – Darkens the skies and all sources of light

5. Trumpet Number 5 (Woe Number 1) – Hellish demons are unleashed to torment the rest of mankind for five months

 

 

(Verse 1)

 

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.

 

A star

Question: Who is this star?

Immediately after the sound of the fifth trumpet blast, John the Apostle sees another star fall from heaven. Unlike the star seen in Chapter 8 and verses 10 – 11, this star has the characteristics of a male personage. He is an intelligent, animate, authoritative creature that performs certain responsible actions. They include:

1.  Being entrusted with the key to the Bottomless Pit

2.  Being able to release some of the tenants of the abyss under God's supervision

3.  Being able to control the actions of demonic locusts

The power he possesses is delegated to him and limited by the power of God allowing him to afflict the earth.

 

I (John) saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth

The word fall in Greek is rendered, not in the act of falling, but has already fallen, i.e., a fallen condition that has already taken place – An act accomplished.

 

Although the identity of this fallen spiritual star is not conclusive, some distinguish this star by four possibilities:

1.  Jesus Christ in angelic form

2.  Another mighty angel

3.  Antichrist

4.  Satan

 

However, fallen to Earth is certainly a reference to Satan. Scripture confirms:

1.  Ezekiel 28:17 - Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

 

2.  Isaiah 14: 12 - How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

 

3.  Luke 10:18 - And He (Jesus) said unto them (His disciples), I beheld (saw) Satan as lightning fall from Heaven.

 

From the above verses, Satan has come to be known as the fallen star or the fallen one. Therefore, Scripture recognizes this fallen star as none other than Satan himself.

 

And to him was given the key of the Bottomless Pit

A key in the Bible is always representative of authority. Jesus Christ, who holds the keys to death and Hades (cf. Revelation 1:18) temporarily, gives him (masculine personal pronoun), this fallen star (Satan), the key to the Bottomless Pit to administer the wrath of the first woe or fifth trumpet.

 

At this point, a brief simplified discussion on death and Hell needs to be considered as a prologue to the remainder of Chapter 9.

 

Death

Death is the cessation of life. Little is revealed regarding the nature of life after death. However, there are two forms of death: (1) The first death – Physical death, and (2) the second death – Spiritual death (when the soul and spirit are eternally separated from God). 

 

As mentioned in a previous study, man is a tripartite being, i.e., body, soul, and spirit. At the point of death, the body part of a man dies is buried and goes to the grave. The conscious soul and spiritual part of a man enter into one of two places:

1.  The believer ascends to Heaven or Paradise

2.  The unbeliever descends into Hell or Hades and remains there until the final judgment

 

Hell

Existing in the spiritual realm, there are seven major descriptions or concepts commonly associated with or used in the Bible for the word Hell. This one word is employed loosely in the English language, however, their meanings are determined by their Hebrew, Greek, and biblical conceptual counterparts. There are three groupings. But, to obtain a better understanding, we must delve into this topic prayerfully and petition the Holy Spirit to guide us carefully into God's truth.

 

The seven words describing Hell are as follows:

1.  Sheol

2.  Hades

3.  Hell

4.  Bottomless Pit

5.  Tartaros

6.  Gehenna

7.  Lake of Fire

 

Consider their distinctive meanings and usage individually:

Old Testament

1.  Sheol (sh^e'ôl): The only Hebrew word for Hell in the Old Testament and is used mostly to describe the grave. It also is inclusive of words such as the unseen world, the realm of the departed dead, retreat, or the afterlife. Sheol is employed for the first time when Jacob saw the coat of many colors and heard the report of what happened to his son Joseph. Jacob then became broken-hearted, and, in his anguish, he exclaimed:

 

Genesis 37:35b – For I will go down into the grave (Sheol) unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

In his grief, Jacob's thinking was that he would be reunited with his son after his death.

 

New Testament

It is not until the New Testament that Hell assimilates different meanings for the afterlife in the underworld.

2.  Hades is a word taken from Greek mythology. Hades is the New Testament counterpart to Sheol, more specifically, it also assimilates a realm, state, or place of the departed souls. Primarily it was composed of two spiritual concepts:

a.  For the Believer - An intermediate conscious state after death for souls awaiting their resurrected or glorified bodies (not intended to mean the theory of soul sleep or Purgatory - Both misinterpretations). Many, but not all, of Old Testament saints, were contained in this state. When Christ gave up the Spirit, and after Jesus arose three days later, He appeared unto several [Christ first (1 Cor. 15:20)] along with those in their newly resurrected and glorified bodies.

 

Matthew 27:52-53 - And the graves (tombs or sepulchers) were opened; and many [dead] bodies of the saints which slept (were dead or deceased) arose, And came out of the graves after His Resurrection, and went into the Holy City (Jerusalem), and appeared unto many.

 

The best illustration of Hades is given by Jesus in the Gospel account:

Luke 16:22-26 - And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom (synonymous with Paradise or Heaven): the rich man also died, and was buried; And in Hell (Hades) he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great Gulf (chasm, divide, canyon, separation, gorge, and abyss) fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

b.  For the Unbeliever is a conscious state of torment for the soul and spirit after death while awaiting final judgment.

 

3. Hell: A general term - The grave or pit, a place or state of departed souls. Hell is normally associated with Hades. Understand: In the beginning, God created heaven[s] and earth (cf. Genesis 1:1). There is no mention of Hell. God did not create Hell for man. He specifically created Hell for Satan and held it in reserve until the end of the world.

 

Although the Abyss and Hades are sometimes synonymously used, they are not the same. Hell's meaning comports more to the Sheol of the Old Testament.

At this point, the observation is Sheol, Hades, and Hell are congruent with one another.

 

4. Bottomless Pit: The Bottomless Pit (Greek, abussos: Abyss, figuratively a prison) is the abode of demons, and never translated Sheol. The phrase means a deep pit, hole in the ground, or the shaft of the Abyss (under the earth, i.e., the entrance from the surface of the earth into the heart of the planet).

 

Luke 8:29-31ff - And Jesus asked him (a demon-possessed man), "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion [Literally, a Roman infantry regiment (variable between 3,000 to 5,000 men)]," because many demons were entered into him. And they besought Him that He would not command them to go out into the deep (Abyss)…

 

This expression, used in the New Testament, has taken on the meaning of tartaroō as being part of Hell [the deepest Abyss of Hades (Hell)]. It is here Satan will be incarcerated during the Millennium (cf. Revelation 20:3).

 

 

5.  Tartarus (tartaroō), Used only one time in the Bible, Tartarus means the Abyss, a prison house where fallen angels are kept. Tartarus is a term also obtained from Greek mythology descriptive of the deepest Abyss of Hades (Hell), the pit or shaft of the Abyss. Presently, it is a place where God keeps demons or fallen angels incarcerated and subjugated to the severest torment. They remain in isolation while awaiting their final punishment.

 

2 Peter 2:4 - For if God spared not the (mutinous or fallen) angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell (tartaroō), and delivered (committed) them into [binding] chains of darkness (caves or deepest pits of gloom), to be reserved unto [the day of] judgment.

 

So, there exists a deeper holding cell or pit where the wickedest of fallen angels [Angels (cf. Genesis 6:1-7)] committed reprehensible abominations against God) and are being contained or imprisoned - A subterranean place of severe torment.

 

Note: Tartarus has become synonymous with the Bottomless Pit or the Abyss. [For further study, see Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Edited by Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998.]

 

There is a third grouping that has not yet been established. After the Great White Throne Judgment, Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, fallen angels, and the unredeemed of all ages will be sentenced to this place of outer darkness and everlasting punishment.

 

6.  Ge[h]enna: Located outside the city of Jerusalem is the Valley of Hinnom wherein lies the city's dump. Rubbish continuously burns, and sometimes dead bodies of the poor are tossed for cremation. In Jewish vernacular it became known as a place of everlasting punishment, always referencing the eternal Lake of Fire that perpetually burns in outer darkness.

Gehenna and the Lake of Fire have established the same meaning and are both used as a description of everlasting torture.

 

7.  Lake of Fire – Unoccupied at present, the Lake of Fire is reserved for Satan and his fallen angels. It is a place that lies in outer darkness (cf. Matthew 8:12) where the furnace of fire (cf. Matthew 13:42) burns with fire and brimstone (cf. Revelation 19:20; 20:10; 21:8), weeping and gnashing of teeth (cf. Matthew 22:13), and everlasting punishment (cf. Matthew 25:46) for eternity. Again, although reserved for Satan and his fallen angels, the Beast and False Prophet (cf. Revelation 19:20) along with all unrepentant sinners, will reside here forever in torment after the Great White Throne Judgment (cf. Revelation 20:11).

 

Isaiah briefly articulates such a place:                             

Isaiah 66:24 - And they (mankind) shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm (a voracious crimson maggot) shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

 

Commentary

In conclusion, even though the above theological doctrine of Hell is abridged, it is important to be reminded that Heaven and Hell are neither mythological nor contrived fantasy. God never intended man to be condemned to Hell. God is a perfect God. He requires perfection. His desire is for man to be reunited and enjoy communion with Him. Since the Fall, by His grace, God has always provided a means of escape, a way of salvation and a way to be reconciled back to Him.

 

Consider: Why would anyone yearn to abide in a place retained for Satan?

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 - O death, where is thy sting? O grave (Hades), where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory [over death] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Hebrews 9:26-28 - For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

 

John 5:24 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto [everlasting, eternal] life.

 

The following study will reveal the torrid effects of the First Woe.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.   What happens when the fifth trumpet sounds?

2.   Who or what is the fallen star?

3.   How many groupings are there for Hell?

4.   What does Hades represent?

5.   What is the meaning of the Bottomless Pit?

6.   What is the meaning of the Lake of Fire?

7.   Why does man not need to enter Hell?

 

 

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