Chapter 9. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit. This pit is better known as hell, and the one who has the keys to this pit is seen in Revelation 1:18. We see by this it is only by permission of the Lord this pit, or hell could be opened.
We are told in verse 2-4 when the angel opened the bottomless pit, there arose smoke out of the pit, as smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air was darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 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. And it was commanded unto them not to hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”
We see in this the plague of locusts is spiritual, because no grass, or any green thing, or any tree was to be harmed, only men.
And again this seal of God is the seal of God’s Word written in the hearts and minds by the Lord’s Holy Spirit. In Hebrews 10:16 it is written, “This is the covenant I will make with them in those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.” Also notice in verse 3 this swarm of locusts was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
In Deuteronomy 8:15 the Lord gave us a sign of things to come by the wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness. This is where they encountered fiery serpents, scorpions and drought. In Ezekiel 2:6 the Lord told Ezekiel not to be afraid of the words of the people and the false prophets of the time by saying; “And thou son of man be not afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions.”
In Luke 10:19 Jesus empowered his disciples by saying, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing by any means shall hurt you.” In Matthew 23:33 we see who the Lord is talking about when he refers to the false teachers of the time as serpents, and generation of vipers that shall not escape the damnation of hell.
In Matthew 23:15 Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees of the time they were hypocrites, “For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him two fold more the child of hell than yourselves.” This is why we see these locusts coming out of hell like a dark cloud ready to devour the minds of the weak.
In Revelation 9:7 we see these locusts had on their heads crowns of like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. In Nahum 3:17 the Lord speaks out against the vile and bloody city of Nineveh, which was full of lies and robbery. The Lord says, “Thy crowned are as locusts, and thy captains as grasshoppers.” In Revelation 9:7 the Lord said these locusts were like horses prepared for battle, this also is seen in Nahum 3:3 when the Lord described the bloody city.
Also in Nahum 3:13 the Lord said the people in the midst of them were women, just as the description in Revelation 9:8 tells us they had hair as the hair of women. The hair symbolizes the strength of the head, as was shown in the story of Samson. But this strength signifies understanding in, or lack thereof.
In Ecclesiastes the Preacher said he sought out for those who had wisdom and understanding, and in Ecclesiastes 7:28 he said “Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.” So that is what the Lord is symbolizing there with the hair like women.
So the Lord is showing these swarms of locusts that come out of the pit lack understanding in His words, and are also false prophets and teachers. Some are even world leaders in government and business that devour the minds of those who are weak and not sealed by God’s Spirit. In Revelation 9:9 we are told they had breastplates of iron, showing how hardhearted and ruthless this swarm would be.
They are like a mighty army running to battle like the sound of chariots and horses in multitude. We are told in verse 10 these locusts that are like scorpions had stings in their tails, for their power was in their tails. This mystery is shown here in Isaiah 9:15 “The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.” So by their lies (tails) they do the harm.
In Judges 15:4 the Lord gave us this sign in Samson when he caught 300 foxes and tied 2 foxes tails together at a time and lit a firebrand between them, by doing this he destroyed the crops of the Philistines. Notice the number of foxes Samson tied together, and also notice the number of months these locusts were to hurt men in Revelation 9:10. We are told these locusts were to hurt men for 5 months, which is 150 days; and if you tie 300 foxes together 2 by 2 you will have 150 pairs of foxes. This number is a great mystery, but is shown many times throughout scripture, even in the flood account in the days of Noah.
Now this fire started by the tails of these foxes shows us the power of the scorpions, which takes us to James 3:5. Here it says, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things; behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles.” We see the real destructive power of these locusts, or false teachers by the destruction their words leave behind when they are allowed to run amuck, and allowed to practice and prosper. We will later see it is the Red Dragon(Devil) who empowers the beast, and we know by Jesus’ own words the Devil is the Father of lies in John 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.”
In Revelation 9:11 we are told these locusts had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, or in the Greek Apollyon, which both mean the destroyer. This destroyer is also shown in the past in Exodus 12:23 “For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.”
And also here in1 Corinthians 10:10 “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” This destroyer is the spirit working in all those who believe and teach lies, it is the spirit of a lie, which is also the spirit of death. If we who are in Christ speak the truth according to the Spirit of Life and of Truth, then just think opposite of those false prophets who teach lies by the spirit of a lie. These are those who bring death and torment for all those who believe them. It is written in Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
We are told in verse 2-4 when the angel opened the bottomless pit, there arose smoke out of the pit, as smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air was darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 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. And it was commanded unto them not to hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”
We see in this the plague of locusts is spiritual, because no grass, or any green thing, or any tree was to be harmed, only men.
And again this seal of God is the seal of God’s Word written in the hearts and minds by the Lord’s Holy Spirit. In Hebrews 10:16 it is written, “This is the covenant I will make with them in those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.” Also notice in verse 3 this swarm of locusts was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
In Deuteronomy 8:15 the Lord gave us a sign of things to come by the wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness. This is where they encountered fiery serpents, scorpions and drought. In Ezekiel 2:6 the Lord told Ezekiel not to be afraid of the words of the people and the false prophets of the time by saying; “And thou son of man be not afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions.”
In Luke 10:19 Jesus empowered his disciples by saying, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing by any means shall hurt you.” In Matthew 23:33 we see who the Lord is talking about when he refers to the false teachers of the time as serpents, and generation of vipers that shall not escape the damnation of hell.
In Matthew 23:15 Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees of the time they were hypocrites, “For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him two fold more the child of hell than yourselves.” This is why we see these locusts coming out of hell like a dark cloud ready to devour the minds of the weak.
In Revelation 9:7 we see these locusts had on their heads crowns of like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. In Nahum 3:17 the Lord speaks out against the vile and bloody city of Nineveh, which was full of lies and robbery. The Lord says, “Thy crowned are as locusts, and thy captains as grasshoppers.” In Revelation 9:7 the Lord said these locusts were like horses prepared for battle, this also is seen in Nahum 3:3 when the Lord described the bloody city.
Also in Nahum 3:13 the Lord said the people in the midst of them were women, just as the description in Revelation 9:8 tells us they had hair as the hair of women. The hair symbolizes the strength of the head, as was shown in the story of Samson. But this strength signifies understanding in, or lack thereof.
In Ecclesiastes the Preacher said he sought out for those who had wisdom and understanding, and in Ecclesiastes 7:28 he said “Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.” So that is what the Lord is symbolizing there with the hair like women.
So the Lord is showing these swarms of locusts that come out of the pit lack understanding in His words, and are also false prophets and teachers. Some are even world leaders in government and business that devour the minds of those who are weak and not sealed by God’s Spirit. In Revelation 9:9 we are told they had breastplates of iron, showing how hardhearted and ruthless this swarm would be.
They are like a mighty army running to battle like the sound of chariots and horses in multitude. We are told in verse 10 these locusts that are like scorpions had stings in their tails, for their power was in their tails. This mystery is shown here in Isaiah 9:15 “The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.” So by their lies (tails) they do the harm.
In Judges 15:4 the Lord gave us this sign in Samson when he caught 300 foxes and tied 2 foxes tails together at a time and lit a firebrand between them, by doing this he destroyed the crops of the Philistines. Notice the number of foxes Samson tied together, and also notice the number of months these locusts were to hurt men in Revelation 9:10. We are told these locusts were to hurt men for 5 months, which is 150 days; and if you tie 300 foxes together 2 by 2 you will have 150 pairs of foxes. This number is a great mystery, but is shown many times throughout scripture, even in the flood account in the days of Noah.
Now this fire started by the tails of these foxes shows us the power of the scorpions, which takes us to James 3:5. Here it says, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things; behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles.” We see the real destructive power of these locusts, or false teachers by the destruction their words leave behind when they are allowed to run amuck, and allowed to practice and prosper. We will later see it is the Red Dragon(Devil) who empowers the beast, and we know by Jesus’ own words the Devil is the Father of lies in John 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.”
In Revelation 9:11 we are told these locusts had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, or in the Greek Apollyon, which both mean the destroyer. This destroyer is also shown in the past in Exodus 12:23 “For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.”
And also here in1 Corinthians 10:10 “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” This destroyer is the spirit working in all those who believe and teach lies, it is the spirit of a lie, which is also the spirit of death. If we who are in Christ speak the truth according to the Spirit of Life and of Truth, then just think opposite of those false prophets who teach lies by the spirit of a lie. These are those who bring death and torment for all those who believe them. It is written in Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”