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Verse by Verse Study of Revelation Chapter 9
This is a VERSE-by-VERSE study of chapter 9 in the Book of Revelation.
This verse-by-verse study on the Book of Revelation is from or with a Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
In other words, verses like Revelation 1:8 are interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God and NOT in the TRADITIONAL church interpretation.
To say this another way, it is NOT Jesus who is the one speaking in Revelation 1:8.
But rather, it is Almighty God the Father speaking in Revelation 1:8.
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Revelation Chapter 9.
The STAR Fallen from Heaven is Satan!
Revelation 9:1. “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.”
First of all, it is impossible for a literal star to fall to the earth, so either John saw something that looked as if a star was falling from heaven, or this is symbolic language.
The word “star” is often used in the Bible to refer to an angel.
And in this instance I believe it is referring to the fallen angel, Lucifer, better known as Satan, the devil, sometimes called the dragon and serpent.
It can be seen in the Bible that Satan is the ruler, lord, king, head or leader of all the other fallen angels and demons of the underworld and principalities in heaven.
So then, Satan being given the KEY to the bottomless pit could mean that God is ALLOWING Satan to show his true nature of evil.
In other words, God RESTRICTED Satan from Adam all the way to the time of the great tribulation. And now God is allowing the time of Satan's wrath, which God foretold would happen.
Later on, in the book of Revelation, we will see more about this war in heaven where Satan is cast down onto the earth.
Remember the way that this book of Revelation is written.
First, we get a little glimpse and then it is magnified and we see a little more detail and then it is enlarged even more so we can see more detail.
To say this another way, the book of Revelation repeats itself saying the same thing in a different way and sometimes adding a few more details.
In other words, the seven trumpets are repeating what we are told in the seventh seal but adding more detail.
And the seven vials are repeating what we are told in the seven trumpets but adding even more detail.
Revelation 9:2. “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit of a great furnace; and the sun and air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”
This tells me that whatever it is that Satan lets out of the pit is a very large number, so much so that at first, they just appeared to be a cloud of smoke, so thick and dark that they darkened the sun and the air.
It could be that John saw this pit from a distance and the locust looked like smoke. Then getting closer the smoke began to take on the shape of locusts.
Or smoke could have come out first, then the locust came out of the smoke.
John may have been seeing the mouth of a volcano, or the underworld may have opened up, and John saw the literal pit where the fallen angels are bound.
Or it may be that all of this language is figurative or symbolic to describe something that was not around in the days of John so he had to describe things unknown to him by what it looked like to him.
Revelation 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.”
Again, John sees that out of this smoke, or smoke like a cloud coming out, something that looks like a locust, and he tells us that these locusts are given power, much like the scorpions have power to sting with their tail.
So we can assume that these locusts carry some kind of venom or poison in them, so that they have the effect on people as being stung by a scorpion.
Or if the language is symbolic, John may be describing modern war machines, like fighter jets and helicopters using chemical warfare.
When we interpret these verses in the book of Revelation, we must keep in mind what Jesus said about his coming being as the days of Noah and the days of Sodom, when Lot was delivered the same day the city was destroyed.
Jesus describes these days as men going about their daily lives as usual, right up to the time judgment fell and they were UNAWARE.
So whatever these verses mean, it would seem that men are somewhat used to them.
I mean, if these locusts were literal demons that could be seen attacking them, then one would think that they would repent of their sins.
But we know they will NOT repent of their sins because in verse 20 we see even after all these plagues they repented not.
Now again, the Islamic radical Muslims, who are killing the Christians and the Jews, do NOT see themselves as sinning.
But rather, they sincerely believe that they are doing the will of God.
However, in truth, they are being deceived by their god Allah who we, as Christians can see from the Bible, is actually Satan himself.
Even Muhammad wondered if it was Satan appearing to him. Please see the study J-27. Could ISLAM be the MARK of the BEAST?
Revelation 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 who have NOT the seal of God in their foreheads.”
The characteristics of these locusts are different from regular locusts in that they do not harm the grass or any green plant, not even the trees.
But they are given power and commanded to only hurt men and women who do NOT have the seal of God in their forehead.
To me, this means these locusts only attack Muslims who have the mark of the beast.
We as Christians are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and in Revelation chapter 7 we learned that God will seal 144,000 Jews.
This leaves only the Muslims who have the MARK of the beast and those of the nation who are NOT sealed by God.
So then, if we interpret these verses as symbolic to represent war, then the locust would be the armies attacking the radical Islamic Muslim armies.
And in time of war, there are casualties on both sides, meaning that there may be many in the world who do NOT have the MARK of the beast, but they are NOT sealed either.
My point is that if you are a true born-again Christian, then you are SEALED by God, and thus protected by God from this plague of locust no matter what they will be.
Revelation 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 strikes a man.”
We are told these scorpion-like locusts will not kill the man or woman who does NOT have the seal of God, but rather that they will be tormented for five months.
Some thoughts that I have are this: the plague of locust, whatever they may be, will last for five months and then just disappear; while others I have heard, think the sting of these locusts will produce pain, or torment in the body lasting for five months.
BOTH points of interpretation could be correct, or neither.
I have heard some Christians teach that these locusts are war machines like helicopters, because of the following verses.
Revelation 9:6. “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
Here we see that the pain and torment of these locusts are so severe that men seek to die, but death does not come.
But it is still not clear whether it is the effect of the STING that lasts five months, or if the plague of the locust itself lasts the duration of five months.
Keep in mind this plague of locust occurs during the FIFTH trumpet. So it MAY be, if these locusts represent a war against the Islamic radical Muslims, then this fifth trumpet will last for five months.
In other words, this war will lead to the final war at the end of days, which will be ended by Jesus himself coming in great clouds of glory to slay the wicked, who are killing God's people, the Christians and the Jews, to put an end to all war for 1000 years.
Revelation 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.
Revelation 9:8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Revelation 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 the battle.
Revelation 9:10. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt five months.
Revelation 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 has the name Apollyon.”
All I can say for sure is that an angel fell from heaven to the earth and had the key or knowledge or authority to open the bottomless pit, which I believe houses or holds devils and demons.
And then this angel, which appears to be Satan, releases whatever is in the bottomless pit upon the earth.
These verses teach us that they have a king over them, a leader, and his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, which means destruction, and in the Greek, his name is Apollyon, which means DESTROYER.
Which again, the name Satan also means the DESTROYER and adversary.
Satan is God’s enemy who is making war with God.
Verse 10 makes it pretty clear that THEIR power, the power of the locust to hurt men, will last for five months, as opposed to the effect of the sting lasting five months.
And if you look at some of the paintings on army warplanes and helicopters some of them have teeth and hair like a woman.
So then this may be what John saw, by seeing into the future things he could only describe by the things he knew.
But John may have also seen into the spiritual world of the underworld.
I mean we do not SEE Satan and demons oppressing people, but we know from the word of God that the devil is the one who oppresses mankind with sickness and disease.
Keep in mind that it is Satan who gives power to the beast. Satan is the INFLUENCE of the wickedness in the world. So, John MAY have seen something spiritual that is INFLUENCING the world.
John may have been actually describing the devils and demons who will be influencing mankind.
Revelation 9:12. “One WOE is past; and behold there comes two woes more hereafter.”
So, the first WOE is the blowing or sounding of the FIFTH trumpet.
Now it is past, and two more woes are to follow. The next or second woe will be the SIXTH trumpet and the third and final WOE will be the WRATH of God or the SEVENTH and final or LAST trumpet.
Remember the first six, then the space of time where the rapture occurs, then comes the seventh, the WRATH of God, which we as Christians are NOT appointed.
Revelation 9:13. “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden alter which is before God.
Revelation 9:14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great River Euphrates.
Revelation 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 a third part of men.”
I want you to notice that these angels were PREPARED ahead of time for this plague, and the duration of this plague is to be 1 year, 1 month, 1 day, and 1 hour.
And when we compare the blowing of this SIXTH trumpet with Revelation 16:12-14 where we see the pouring out of the SIXTH vial, then we see some very similar things, like the river Euphrates and armies preparing to make war.
Revelation 16:12-14.
“And the SIXTH angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Revelation 16:13. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Revelation 16:14. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the BATTLE of that great day of God Almighty.”
So, you can clearly see that the SIXTH TRUMPET and the SIXTH VIAL are almost identical to each other.
This is one of the things that cause me to take a closer look at how we are to interpret the book of Revelation.
Before this time I was taught by the prophecy teachers of the pre-tribulation rapture theory, that the book of Revelation should be read in a chronological order.
But upon taking a closer look I could see that many things are REPEATED in the book of Revelation and when we interpret this book in this light then all of the pieces of the puzzle fall right in place.
Revelation 9:16.“And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Revelation 9:17. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke; and brimstone.
Revelation 9:18. By these three was the third part of men killed, by fire, and by the smoke; and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
Revelation 9:19. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Revelation 9:20. And the rest of the men, which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, hear, nor walk:
Revelation 9:21. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorcery, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”
Now, I do not know what this army of 200,000,000 is, or even if the number of this army is 200 million.
But what we do know is that one-third of mankind in this army will be killed and they still will not repent of their sins.
If these descriptions are taken literally, then these verses seem to be describing a literal war.
One thing I do want you to notice is that BOTH scenes of WAR here are each found written in the SIXTH seal, the SIXTH trumpet, and the SIXTH vial.
And as you will see, BOTH the SEVENTH trumpet and the SEVENTH vial are the WRATH of God.
Now in the seven vials, it is very easy to see the SECOND coming of Jesus between the sixth vial and the seventh vial.
Let us read the sixth and seventh vial and the coming of Jesus that is in between them before we get into chapter 10.
Please read Revelation 16:12-21.
“And the SIXTH angel poured out his VIAL upon the great river Euphrates; (This is the same as the SIXTH trumpet in Revelation 9:13,14.
Revelation 9:13. “And the SIXTH angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Revelation 9:14. Saying to the SIXTH angel which had the TRUMPET, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.”
Again, both the sixth trumpet and the sixth vial speak of war in the middle east, where drying up of the Euphrates river is a sign, or key that unlocks how we are to interpret the book of Revelation) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Revelation 16:13. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Revelation 16:14. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the BATTLE of that great day of God Almighty.”
Then in the next two verses that are in between the SIXTH and the SEVENTH, we see the second coming of Jesus as a THIEF to execute the WRATH of God, just like in Matthew 24:29-31.
Revelation 16:15,16.
“Behold, I come as a THIEF. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Revelation 16:16. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon”
Then in the next verses we see the SEVENTH vial being poured out, which is the WRATH of God.
Revelation 16:17-21.
“And the SEVENTH angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Revelation 16:18. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Revelation 16:19. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his WRATH.
Revelation 16:20. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Revelation 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.”
Now getting back to chapter 9, we have already seen the first SIX trumpets being blown.
But then, just like we saw in the seven SEALS, the rapture takes place between the sixth and seventh seal. There is something that takes place BETWEEN the SIXTH and the SEVENTH trumpet.
Again, we already know that the rapture takes place between the SIXTH and SEVENTH seal.
So let us see what takes place in chapter 10 and chapter 11 BEFORE the seventh and final trumpet, or the LAST TRUMPET, shall sound which we know is the WRATH of God that we the church are NOT appointed.
In other words, the first six trumpets are sounded. Then something takes place before the seventh trumpet is sounded in Revelation chapter 11 verses 13-19.
This is like we have already seen in the seven seals, where the first six are opened one right after another.
And then, we saw the great multitude of saints who came OUT of GREAT TRIBULATION stand before the throne of God, THEN the seventh seal was opened.
This brings us to CHAPTER 10 of the book of Revelation.
To continue with CHAPTER 10 just click on the link or go to the menu list below to click on the link to a different chapter in the Book or Revelation.
Here is the Table of Contents with links to all of the chapters in the Book of Revelation.
It is best to read them in the order that they are listed. But please feel free to skip any chapter and any verse.
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
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Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
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Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
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