simplybible.com/f917.htm
Author: Ron Graham
The Bottomless Pit —Revelation 9:1­2
Times of Tribulation (Revelation 6­11) >Seven Trumpets >First four trumpets >The abyss
You have now reached Revelation chapter nine. This lesson covers the
first two verses.
John sees the fifth angel sound his trumpet. Then John sees a vision of a bottomless
pit out of which come a cloud of very strange locusts. This is "the first woe" of three
which the eagle lamented (Revelation 8:13). This lesson is about the pit or abyss.
1 The Star Falls from Heaven
Revelation 9:1
star "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 10:1,16­20).
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.
2 The Abyss, Satan’s Prison
Revelation 9:1
abyss This vision introduces us to "the bottomless pit" (Revelation 9:1). This
abyss will be mentioned in later visions. See below, “Facts About the Abyss”.
key The "key of the bottomless pit" was given to the fallen star to open the shaft of
the abyss (Revelation 9:1­2).
The star 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 in.
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.
3 Smoke From the Abyss
Revelation 9:2
smoke "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 smoke is a parody of the incense at the heavenly altar in a previous scene. This
horrible smoke is a symbol of great evil, of antichrist and spiritual darkness. It
represents the tribulations suffered by all the world, Christians and
non­Christians alike.
I once looked down into the abyss of an active volcano. On another occasion I
experienced smoke from bushfires so thick over my town and its countryside, that the
middle of the day became pitch dark like the middle of the night. I can imagine very
well the awesome vision John sees of the abyss and its smoke.
Some Facts About the Abyss
The Abyss has an angel as its ruler. He is called Apollyon, the angel of destruction
(Revelation 9:11).
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 1­3).
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 12:7­9).
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).
The Abyss is Not Hell
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 20:1­2,10).
That fiery lake is 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).
Mind you, 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 emphasised in the
book of Revelation.
Tartarus, Hades, Gehenna
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
(transliterated).
simplybible.com ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Copyright (C) 2016 Ron Graham All rights reserved. This document is subject to the same copyright conditions and permissions as
simplybible.com the associated website. You can print, copy, and share this document, but
do not put it on the internet. For full information go to simplybible.com/dcopyrt.htm