SEVEN TRUMPETS (5-1) | THE BOTTOMLESS PIT (REVELATION 9:1-2)
1. Revelation
a) John wrote Revelation while a prisoner on the Island of Patmos, approximately 85-95 A.D. Its purpose is to give encouragement and hope for all Christians to continue watching for the return and triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also is to warn of the Final Judgment that nonbelievers will endure on that Last Day.
b) John wrote that Revelation is special because,“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
c) A brief view of the Book of Revelation. It gives you some basic understanding of the book of Revelation.
2. The Fifth Trumpet (The Bottomless Pit)
Revelation 9:1-2
9 Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.
3. The Star Falls from Heaven
Revelation 9:1
a) Star
i) "I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to earth" (Revelation 9:1) Jesus sent seventy disciples out to preach the gospel, and when they returned he said, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven" (Luke 10:1,16-20) Since Jesus was not in sight of the seventy, he was “watching” in a vision. John's vision is similar to what Jesus saw. The preaching of the gospel together with the prayers of the saints will make Satan fall and bring him low. This is what the fallen star means.
4. The Abyss, Satan’s Prison
Revelation 9:1
a) Abyss
i) This vision introduces us to "the bottomless pit" (Revelation 9:1). This abyss will be mentioned in later visions.
b) Key
i) The "key of the bottomless pit" was given to the fallen star to open the shaft of the abyss (Revelation 9:1-2). He did not keep the key or have charge of it, for in a later vision an angel holds the key, and locks the abyss having chained Satan and cast him into it. Only Christ has a right to the keys of all spiritual realms, and nobody can open what he shuts or shut what he opens except they borrow the key from him (Revelation 3:7). Here is represented the fact that Christ allows Satan to be active within limits while the world lasts.
5. Smoke From The Abyss
Revelation 9:2
a) Smoke
i) "Smoke went up out of the pit" (Revelation 9:2) This was a big smoke, like that from a great furnace. It polluted the air and darkened the sun. This is a symbol of great evil, of antichrist and spiritual darkness. It represents the tribulations suffered by all the world, Christians and non-Christians alike.
6. Some Facts About The Abyss
a) The Abyss has an angel as its ruler. He is called Apollyon, the angel of destruction (Revelation 9:11).
b) This abyss is the domain of Satan the Dragon, yet in later visions it becomes his dungeon until he is loosed, and goes rampaging to his own doom (Revelation 1-3). This is the sense in which the Dragon is "the beast that comes up from the Abyss" (Revelation 11:7, Revelation 17:8) although originally he came down from the heavens (Revelation 12:7-9).
c) The abyss is seen in the visions as an evil deep, a great and bottomless hole. It represents the powers of darkness. The abyss portrays the the temporary restraining of the Devil while he is in this world, and resembles the spiritual dungeon where fallen angels await Judgment Day (2Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6).
7. The Abyss Is Not Hell
a) The abyss is not a sign of, and should not be confused with, eternal hell. In the visions, eternal hell or "the second death" is seen as a "lake of fire and brimstone", that is to say a lake of burning sulphur (Revelation 20:1-2,10). This portrays what Jesus called "the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). Hell was not prepared for us, but unless we have our robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb, and unless we have our names written in the book of life, we too will be thrown there (Revelation 20:15).
b) whilst the Abyss and the Lake of fire are different, they are not disconnected. They are both seen in the visions as instruments of God's wrath. They both illustrate God's intention to restrain, overpower, and destroy, everything evil and everyone who follows evil. This divine intention is strongly emphasized in the book of Revelation.
8. Tartarus, Hades, Gehenna
a) It might help you to know that, in the Greek, the temporary dungeon for fallen angels (until Judgment Day) is called Tartarus. The hiding place of the dead (until Judgment Day) is called Hades. The final and eternal abode of the wicked (after Judgment Day) is called Gehenna. To avoid confusion, some translators reserve the word "hell" for the latter, and leave the other two words untranslated.
9 Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.
3. The Star Falls from HeavenRevelation 9:1
a) Star
i) "I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to earth" (Revelation 9:1) Jesus sent seventy disciples out to preach the gospel, and when they returned he said, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven" (Luke 10:1,16-20) Since Jesus was not in sight of the seventy, he was “watching” in a vision. John's vision is similar to what Jesus saw. The preaching of the gospel together with the prayers of the saints will make Satan fall and bring him low. This is what the fallen star means.
4. The Abyss, Satan’s Prison
Revelation 9:1
a) Abyss
i) This vision introduces us to "the bottomless pit" (Revelation 9:1). This abyss will be mentioned in later visions.
b) Key
i) The "key of the bottomless pit" was given to the fallen star to open the shaft of the abyss (Revelation 9:1-2). He did not keep the key or have charge of it, for in a later vision an angel holds the key, and locks the abyss having chained Satan and cast him into it. Only Christ has a right to the keys of all spiritual realms, and nobody can open what he shuts or shut what he opens except they borrow the key from him (Revelation 3:7). Here is represented the fact that Christ allows Satan to be active within limits while the world lasts.
5. Smoke From The Abyss
Revelation 9:2
a) Smoke
i) "Smoke went up out of the pit" (Revelation 9:2) This was a big smoke, like that from a great furnace. It polluted the air and darkened the sun. This is a symbol of great evil, of antichrist and spiritual darkness. It represents the tribulations suffered by all the world, Christians and non-Christians alike.
6. Some Facts About The Abyss
a) The Abyss has an angel as its ruler. He is called Apollyon, the angel of destruction (Revelation 9:11).
b) This abyss is the domain of Satan the Dragon, yet in later visions it becomes his dungeon until he is loosed, and goes rampaging to his own doom (Revelation 1-3). This is the sense in which the Dragon is "the beast that comes up from the Abyss" (Revelation 11:7, Revelation 17:8) although originally he came down from the heavens (Revelation 12:7-9).
c) The abyss is seen in the visions as an evil deep, a great and bottomless hole. It represents the powers of darkness. The abyss portrays the the temporary restraining of the Devil while he is in this world, and resembles the spiritual dungeon where fallen angels await Judgment Day (2Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6).
7. The Abyss Is Not Hell
a) The abyss is not a sign of, and should not be confused with, eternal hell. In the visions, eternal hell or "the second death" is seen as a "lake of fire and brimstone", that is to say a lake of burning sulphur (Revelation 20:1-2,10). This portrays what Jesus called "the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). Hell was not prepared for us, but unless we have our robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb, and unless we have our names written in the book of life, we too will be thrown there (Revelation 20:15).
b) whilst the Abyss and the Lake of fire are different, they are not disconnected. They are both seen in the visions as instruments of God's wrath. They both illustrate God's intention to restrain, overpower, and destroy, everything evil and everyone who follows evil. This divine intention is strongly emphasized in the book of Revelation.
8. Tartarus, Hades, Gehenna
a) It might help you to know that, in the Greek, the temporary dungeon for fallen angels (until Judgment Day) is called Tartarus. The hiding place of the dead (until Judgment Day) is called Hades. The final and eternal abode of the wicked (after Judgment Day) is called Gehenna. To avoid confusion, some translators reserve the word "hell" for the latter, and leave the other two words untranslated.
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