![[20240501-RevelationHeader.jpg]] ![[Fifth Trumpet The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit#^4f11f2]] After the fifth angel sounded the trumpet a star falls from heaven. ***Was this star a celestial body or something else?*** This was not a star like our sun but something else, someone else. The star is referred to as a “him.” ***Who could this star be?*** To answer that, we will look at a few passages. > [!bible] **Luke 10:18 NKJV** > > And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. > [!bible] **Revelation 12:9 NKJV** > > So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. > [!bible] **Isaiah 14:12-15 NKJV** > > **12** “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! **13** For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; **14** I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ **15** Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. Note: son of the morning can also be translated as “shining star” (NLT), daystar (AMP), “star of the morning” (NASB). > [!bible] **Ezekiel 28:12-17 NKJV** > > **12** “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. **13** You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. **14** “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. **15** You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. **16** “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. **17** “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. These passages speak of Satan (also called Lucifer and the Devil) cast down from God’s presence in heaven. It is very possible that Satan is the *star fallen from heaven to the earth*. We see that the star fallen from heaven was given the key to the bottomless pit. ***What does the key represent?*** It represents access or authority. The key was *given* to Satan. In other words, he had temporary authority not intrinsic authority. ***What is the bottomless pit (or abyss)?*** In the Greek this word is abbysos. It is separate from Gehenna and Hades. There are a couple of other passages that can help us understand what this place is. > [!bible] **Romans 10:7 NKJV** > > or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). The NLT translates this as “the place of the dead.” God asks Job about the “gates of death” and the “doors of the shadow of death” ([[Job 38.17|Job 38:17]]). > [!bible] **Luke 8:31 NKJV** > > And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. The demons who were in the man begged Jesus not to send them to this place. The devil once had the power of death but lost it to Jesus ([[Hebrews 2.14|Hebrews 2:14]]). Jesus has the keys of Hades and of Death ([[Revelation 1.18|Revelation 1:18]]). Later, we will see that Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit himself ([[Revelation 20.1-3|Revelation 20:1-3]]). Out of the pit comes smoke and locusts. ***What are the locusts? Are they the insects or something else?*** Based on the description given to the locusts, they are likely something else. Following our previous line of thought, it’s possible that the locusts are demons. If the fallen star is Satan and he was given the keys to the abyss and the demons did not want Jesus to send them to the abyss, it is possible that these are demons who were there into the abyss being let out to torment people. The angel of the bottomless pit is said to be their king ([[Revelation 9.11|v11]]) and Proverbs tells us that natural locusts have no king ([[Proverbs 30.27|Proverbs 30:27]]). Additionally, they do not harm vegetation but torment people (compare that with the locusts of the plague in Egypt). They are described with military imagery with iron breastplates and tails like scorpions (also see how lion’s teeth refers to a nation’s army in [[Joel 1.6|Joel 1:6]] and [[Joel 2.25|Joel 2:25]]). ***What does the five months of torment represent?*** Again, this is a limited or partial judgment. > [!todo]- For Further Study: Abaddon/Apollyon > What do the names Abaddon and Apollyon mean? How do they characterize the nature of the king of the locusts? How does this name have cultural or historical allusions to the time of John? (Hint: look up which Roman god that the Roman emperors claim descent from, and the *symbol* of that Roman god.). > [!important] Things to Consider > This passage offers us insight into how there are layers of meanings that can be applied. > 1. Spiritual: we see a demonic army carrying out judgment > 2. Historical: persecution by Roman emperors upon the church > 3. Apocalyptic: a description of end times This was just the first woe. There are still two more to follow (see [[Revelation 8.13|Revelation 8:13]]). --- [[Studies]] | [[Revelation]] | [[Revelation Chapter 8]] | [[Revelation Chapter 10]]