Since time immemorial Satan has attempted to duplicate the works of God in every possible way in order to deceive God's Elect. Even before the existence of Mankind, when he was in his glorious state as Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, Satan had sought to be like God. Then he fell from grace and deceived one third of the angelic hosts and dragged them down to earth with him (Isa. 14:12-15; Rev. 12:4). Yes, he had made himself an Adversary of God, and as long as he lives he will not stop to thwart God's Plan.
The people of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are truly a blessed people. Now, if you are thinking that I am referring to natural Israel, please read Galatians 3:29:
“And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise”.
Amen. Yes, the Sacred Scriptures of God have been written for us, the true worshippers of the Living God, Whose Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was sent to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jhn. 4:10). They have not been written just for our salvation and admonition alone. A substantial part of the Holy Book contains prophecies which warn us of things to come. In days of old, holy men of God, moved by the Holy Spirit, prophesied of things that would come, events that would happen in the Grace Age, and events that are now happening in our days. All in all, the Holy Book shows us the predestinated plan of the Living God in Christ Jesus, and what Satan has been seeking to do to thwart that plan.
The text of this study is the Book of Revelation chapter 9:1-12. Our study of this Bottomless Pit will take us back both to the past and forward to the future as we compare “spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:13). In this study, we are looking at the Bottomless Pit as a whole and not specifically at the First Woe.
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were 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 them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
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 striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
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.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
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 battle.
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
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 hath his name Apollyon.
One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."
VISIONS
Sometime in the year 96 A.D., during his exile on the Isle of Patmos, the Apostle John was caught up in the Spirit of the Lord on the Lord's day and shown the vision of a chain of events that would take place in the Church and on the earth. Contrary to what many preachers have taught, John did not travel to the future. He did not travel to any particular future year or age, to see what was going on. No, John was not transported or “teleported” to the future. He was caught up in the Spirit into the Heaven. He was caught up into the Spirit of Christ to view certain prophetic events. He was shown the vision of events of the future and of the past. It is plain from his writing that he penned what he literally saw, such as, a man on a horse with a bow but no arrow, or locusts looking like “battle” horses with faces of men coming up from a bottomless pit. He did not change into symbol anything he saw in the vision. God simply showed him those things in that particular way. But what those symbols meant was not so simple, for the things of God are spiritually discerned and not naturally understood (1 Cor. 2:14). The Book of Revelation must be carefully and rightly divided between what is literally spoken of and what is spiritually represented by the symbols.
FIRST WOE
In Revelation 8:12-13, after the sounding and the passing of the 4th Trumpet, a flying angel announced the coming of Three Woes that would strike the earth. Revelation 9:1-12 describes the First Woe. The events described in this particular prophetic would take place right in the middle of the last week of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel's prophecy when the Antichrist breaks his covenant with the many political and religious heads of the world (Dan. 9:24-27). The Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, would have just killed the Two Witnesses who would have been troubling him by their preaching of the Word of God for some 1260 days or 42 months (Rev. 11:3-12; 8:6-12). He now sits in the Temple of Jerusalem and proclaims that he himself is God (2 Thess. 2:3-4). He is Satan incarnate, and the Abomination that makes desolate the sacred sacrificial place of the temple of the Living God of Israel.
In this vision, John was shown some particular demonic activities of one fallen star. Even now, all that were shown to him are taking place, but the height of total fulfillment of this vision would be reached during that first 5 months of the middle of the 70th Week of Daniel's prophecy (Rev. 9:5,10).
FALLEN STAR, KEY, BOTTOMLESS PIT
When this vision was shown to him, the Beloved Apostle was taken back to the past to see the source of the wrath that was to come upon the earth. Remember, what we read in the writing of John were exactly what he saw in his vision. And only by the Spirit of Revelation, can we understand what the vision is all about.
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”
– Revelation 9:1Unlike the star that fell upon the waters of the earth, under the 3rd Trumpet (Rev. 8:10), which points to the cosmic disturbances to be brought about by the ministries of the Two Witnesses, this star is an angelic being, and he is none other than Lucifer “and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit”. Lucifer had sought to be like the Most High God. He was an original creation of God, yet he was deceived. Who deceived him? No one but he himself did it (cf. 1 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 6:3). He fell. He was cast down from his estate and became the Adversary of God. [Note: Many so-called Bible believers claim Matthew 24:24 that they are the elect and therefore could not be deceived. True, no one could deceive the elect. But like Lucifer, the anointed cherub who was full of wisdom (Ezek. 28:12), these so-called believers are deceiving themselves.]
Satan dragged a third of all angelic beings down with him in his fall. And since then there has been constant wars in heaven between the angels who stayed loyal to the Creator and those who followed the Adversary. Read Revelation 12:7-9 cf. 12:4a. Those who followed Satan were outcasts. They were stripped of their rightful estates and their direct access to God's Throne. They became earth bound. They could no longer exercise their authorities in the heavenly places as those who remained loyal to their Creator could. They were but trouble-makers who perverted the powers they possessed. They were the “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Sinking lower than any creature could sink, their very thoughts and actions were only evil continually. Hence, the word, “devils” — “do evils”.
This fallen star was given a key just as the Morning Star, Jesus Christ, was also given a key (Isa. 22:22; Rev. 3:7). Satan was given the key – the authority or badge of power – to do what he had to do, and would do, with the Bottomless Pit. He was the god of this evil world. [Note: Some preachers denied that Satan was given any “key”, hence they denied that he had any power of authority. They believed that the “star” of Revelation 9:1 was not Satan but rather a holy angel who, upon given the key to the bottomless pit, flew so swiftly to earth that gave the Apostle John the impression of a star “falling” to earth. (Compare Revelation 20:1.) Satan is a fallen angel.] Read Ephesians 2:2 and 6:12.
The Fall of Mankind was part of God's plan that a predestinated people might come to the perfect stature in Christ Jesus (Romans 8). So, then, God used Satan (so to speak) to try His predestinated seed. And Satan, being what he is, would always impersonate every move of God to try and deceive God's elect, if possible. Did not he even try to deceive Jesus Christ into worshipping him? Read Matthew 4:8-9.
We understand from the Scriptures that God has ordained a Kingdom – Holy City, New Jerusalem – to be built for His Only Begotten Son (Rev. 21:1-22:5). The builder of this very beautiful spiritual city is God Himself. This Kingdom of God has a sure foundation who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11; Heb. 11:8-10). The key was given to Christ (Isa. 22:22; Matt. 28:18; Rev. 3:7). He has absolute power and authority. And the Apostle Peter was the first among the disciples of Christ to receive the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 16:15-19). From the Day of Pentecost, Peter and the other apostles began to open the Kingdom of Heaven, bringing forth and displaying the precious Truth of God's Eternal Life, Divine Healings, Spiritual Gifts, et cetera. They had the authority and the power to do those works. When Satan set forth to impersonate the work of God, he began by impersonating this very Kingdom of Heaven, even from the time mankind was cast out of the Garden of Eden. His demons would even impersonate the true servants of the Lord Jesus. But notice, he was given the key to the Bottomless Pit.
Contrary to some teachings, the Bottomless Pit is not Eternal Hell or the Eternal Lake of Fire. The words “eternal” and “hell/lake of fire” should not be equated with the words “bottomless” and “pit” respectively. There is no such a thing as a Lake of Fire where souls are burned continuously without end. To the average Christians the meaning of the word “eternal” or “everlasting” in the Bible appears “as is” defined in the English Dictionary — “forever and ever, without an end”. This gives rise to the Doctrine of Eternal Hell Fire which teaches that all wicked souls are burned continuously without end in the Lake of Fire. However, the opposite is true. The Lake of Fire is not eternal and will end after a period or age. All wicked souls will be annihilated after they have their part in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 21:8; 20:11-15; cf. Ezek. 28:11-19). The only souls that will be kept alive are those that have the life of the Eternal God, Who alone has immortality (1 Tim. 6:16). Outside of God, there is no life whatsoever.
A pit is a hole, or an abyss. Every pit has a bottom. But here we see a Bottomless Pit, sometimes called the bottomless chasm or abyss. No, it is certainly not a hole that is dug straight down through the centre of the earth until it opens up on the other side. Also, no where on the earth is there such a pit that has a lid over it and padlocked. The pit, shown to John in this vision, speaks of a structure that is filthy, diabolical or fiendish. Having no bottom, it has no foundation. Any structure that has no foundation is utterly useless and worthless. Certainly, it would be futile for anyone, who is swept into this Bottomless Pit, to escape. In falling he would continue to fall and would find it impossible to get out of its trap.
Yes, Satan is building his unholy city, a religious impersonation of the real thing of God. As Lucifer, Satan was endowed with wisdom and knowledge (Ezek. 28:12-15). But in conceiving his own seed of deceit – that he could be like the Most High – he became perverted (Isa. 14:12-14). Satan now seeks to pervert the Truth of God. It is by his religious approach that he possesses the whole world. Having possession of the key of the Bottomless Pit, Satan has the power to counterfeit God's work by building himself an empire, a great religious structure that encompasses the whole world and deceiving all that look upon its so-called beauty. That unholy city is called “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Gen. 11:4; Rev. 17:4-5). And as John (who types the Beloved Bride of Christ) was shown the vision of the demonic forces of the Bottomless Pit, the Church of God is given the revelation on how Satan and his spirits are working to accomplish their plan. These demonic spirits are fallen angels that deceive the masses by religious flatteries. They chain the people and cause them to wear garments of God's Word mixed with men's. Their ultimate intention is to cause total destruction of the people.
SMOKE OR CLOUD
“And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”
– Revelation 9:2With the authority given to him, Satan began to exercise his power. When he unlocked the Bottomless Pit he was able to display his power and works. He began to build his empire – a great city, a great church – that had no foundation. As the key turned and the filthy system was opened, a great smoke came forth from the pit of hell like smoke which puffed out of a great furnace. It was so dense that the sun was obscured and the air was polluted.
What a great move! Satan counterfeited the very great cloud, or smoke, of the glory of God which God had often manifested to the children of Israel (Exod. 16:10; 19:18; Num. 9:15-16; 2 Chron. 5:13; Isa. 4:5). The Pillar of Cloud or Smoke shows the Presence of God. It is a covering for the children of God (Psm. 105:39). With God's Glory Cloud came the Pentecostal Fire as was seen on the Day of Pentecost in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:9-11; 2:1-4). (There is no smoke without fire, as the saying goes.) The fire is the light that lights every true believer of the Living God in this world of darkness even as it cleanses them. However, this great smoke of the Bottomless Pit was not accompanied by any fire. There was no light. Notice, God's glory cloud (or holy smoke) came from above, Satan's unholy smoke came from below. But from afar, it might be difficult to tell them apart. Something as big as this would certainly catch the attention of the onlookers just as God did with His Great Cloud.
Friends, the vision certainly does not speak of a literal smoke but a spiritual one. Yes, there are teachings which expound that this smoke and the locusts, with stings of scorpions in their tails (in verses 3 to 10), would literally come out of hell (a pit in the earth?) during the Great Tribulation and fill the whole earth, choking and inflicting sufferings upon the people. However, I beg to differ.
Throughout the ages, Satan has always tried to outdo God. He is always devising a bigger and more attractive system than God's. He builds more attractive religious places of worship, makes more colorful clothes for his religious prophets and teachers, and creates many more alluring religious things to please the masses. Hence, the towering smoke of the Bottomless Pit speaks of false glory, a pretension that God is there in the system. But do the religious people understand what they are looking at? Do they know what they are really worshipping? Unfortunately the majority of them do not. Like the Samaritan woman whom Jesus conversed with at the well, they too do not know what they are worshipping (Jhn. 4:20-24). Like the children of Israel in their exodus out of Egypt, they too are so easily deceived into worshipping a false god (Exod. 32:1-10). Sadly, because of the ignorance of the people, Satan is being worshipped in many churches today.
Man are by nature religious because Adam was created in the image of God. Man has the innate urge to worship His Creator. However, because of sin man is corrupted in many ways. He is no longer spiritual. His approach to God is greatly affected by his sinful nature, such as are described in 2 Timothy 3:2-5 — “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”. With a personality taint of corruption, man tends to worship God only on his own selfish terms. And Satan, knowing this weakness in man since the Fall, has been using it to his advantage to build his religious kingdom. Taking advantage of that weakness, Satan has created a system of traditional religions with great physical beauty and great intellectual display. He sprinkles it with just a little of God's Word to make it look godly and holy so he could please the religious emotion of men and women. It was enough for Satan to deceive countless souls with false hopes of salvation thereby channeling them into his Bottomless Pit. Once a man falls into it, he is trapped. It is hard for him to get out; he will just keep falling, falling, and falling. And the deeper he falls, the harder it is for him to get out of that fiendish pit.
This so-called “presence of God”, the smoke of the Bottomless Pit created by Satan, has literally taken the religious world by storm in this 20th Century. As soon as God had poured out His Spirit to revive His Church, Satan began to counterfeit those gifts of the Holy Spirit. Through the intellect of Satan's servants, the gifts of God are blatantly impersonated. The impersonations are so real that in almost every church gathering those gifts are much sought after by the people. Today, we see a so-called “great revival” in many churches. Proclamations such as “the glory of God is here”, “we feel the presence of the Lord here”, and such likes are often heard among the worshippers just because they spoke in tongues, prophesied, or felt some sensations. They tend to believe that such manifestations are the result of the baptism, or the filling, or the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Unfortunately, what we see is hardly the real genuine Baptism of the Holy Spirit. One question we should always bear in mind is: “What is the Holy Spirit given for?” The answer could not be: “That we may speak in tongue, prophesy, have certain gifts, or just to feel good.” The obvious answer is found in John 14:26 — “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, HE SHALL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, AND BRING ALL THINGS TO YOUR REMEMBRANCE, WHATSOEVER I HAVE SAID UNTO YOU.” Amen! That's the purpose of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Truly, all true born-again Bible believers are sealed unto the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit. Yet, many who claim to have the Holy Spirit have never felt led to be taught by the Spirit at all. Isn't the Holy Spirit given to guide us into all things that are Christ's and to glorify Christ?
“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."
– John 16:12-15Isn't that wonderful? Yes, yet there are a great number of Christians who claim to have the Holy Spirit but whose faith is contrary to the simple teachings of the Word of God. Simple basic teachings such as Water Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ (not Water Baptism in the Name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost), Oneness of the Godhead (not a Three-in-One Godhead), Fornication – both spiritual and natural – brought the Fall of Mankind (that is, the Serpent Seed doctrine, not the partaking of a literal fruit), Predestination by the Foreknowledge of God (not some theory that “God does not know who would be saved”), and even the Annihilation of the Wicked Dead (not the wicked having eternal life and living in hell fire forever and ever). Truly, by their fruits – the heart confessions of their faith – ye shall know them. A confession against the Word of God would come to light in that day of judgement. Jesus said:
“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
– Matthew 12:35-37 (cf. Lk. 6:43-46)“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
– Matthew 7:21-23These words of our Lord should cause many Gospel ministers and miracle workers to seriously examine what they are doing. There are a great many “Gospel Ministers” who are doing God a service without it being the Will of God. Many may claim that “God has called me” but the fruits of their mouth bear witness to the fact that their faith are not anchored in the Will of God. And the Will of God is found in the Word of God. Any faith that is contrary to the Word is not in the Will of our Heavenly Father. It is one thing for us to know Jesus Christ, but it is another for Jesus Christ to know us. One may confess that he knows Jesus yet does not do His Will. Hence, any great work done for God would be done in vain. It is important that Jesus Christ knows us intimately just like Abraham and Isaac knew their wives who were completely submissive to their husbands.
SUN AND AIR
As the Apostle John viewed the vision, the great smoke got bigger and bigger until it blocked out the sun, and congested and polluted the air. Light as well as air are needed for all living things. If the sun is darkened and the air is polluted, natural life is threatened. Spiritually, this phenomenon speaks of Satan's move to darken the Glory of the Son of God and the Life of the Spirit in the realm of Christian Worship and Faith. As Satan fans his smoke and increases his counterfeit “presence of God” in many churches today, including the Endtime Message churches, he is actually keeping the worshippers from seeing and glorifying the True Son of the Living God. With their eyes irritated by the smoke, the worshippers are getting a different revelation of the Lord God. You may say: “O, aren't the people worshipping Jesus in the churches?” My question is: “Are they really worshipping the Christ of the Bible?” Like the Samaritan woman at the well, like the Pharisees, like the Sadducees, and like the Scribes, they may claim they are believing the Word and are worshipping the God of the Bible. However, nine out of ten of them just do not know what they are worshipping. Satan's counterfeit of the real “Holy Ghost” gospel and revival has darkened the Light of God's Truth in their gatherings. Its smoke has smudged and blurred the eyes of the worshippers so much so that it has blinded them from seeing the Glorified Son of God. What else could the worshippers do but to blindly follow their blind leaders in the thick dark smoke of false glory, only to fall into the ditch (Matt. 15:14). The air – atmosphere – of worship simply is thickened with shouts and cries of “amen”, “hallelujah” and “praise the Lord” to every strange teaching and manifestation. The Roman Catholics and all her “separated” brethren, the Lutherans, the Baptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Charismatics, and et cetera, have their respective shouts as they congregate together; the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons have their own strange declarations of faith; and not the least, the Branhamites have their quotes of “The Spoken Word” books and tapes, crying, “The prophet said this…” and “The prophet said that…” Not knowing that their lives, their souls, are being choked with pollutants of misleading doctrines and false teachings of men, and are in danger of death, the worshippers continue on like zombies in their worships. Truly, a strong delusion has come upon many assemblies of worshippers.
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
– 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12
LOCUSTS WITH POWER OF SCORPIONS
“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 them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
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 striketh a man."
– Revelation 9:3-5As Satan continues to smoke the churches with his bogus “presence of God”, his demonic spirits are working within that religious atmosphere. It is by these means that he is able to achieve such a great deception among Christians. As God sends forth His heavenly angels to minister to His earthly servants, Satan also sends forth his hellish demons to minister to his own.
Satan's ministers are wolves in sheep's clothing — in every way they look like real spiritual Christians, humble, meek, caring, and et cetera. When they open their mouths to confess their faith, only then could a Bible believer know who they are.
These demonic angels were depicted as locusts in John's vision to show the frenzy and destructive nature of their ministries. We know that pests, such as caterpillars, palmerworms, cankerworms and locusts eat the greens of the fields. But the locusts do not just eat the greens, they are “strippers of the life” of the greens. And they do it bit by bit. When they gather in large groups, they tend to swarm from place to place. Farmers are completely helpless if a swarm of locusts comes upon their field of growing crops. The growing crops would just die at the mouths of the locusts. Within minutes, the field would be in ruins. That is exactly what these locusts (demons) from the smoke of the bottomless pit are doing. Taking advantage of human weakness, they prey on the minds of the intellectual, theological, seminary- trained ministers, who hold a string of degrees, and also those foolish self-styled ministers of God, who go about parroting the words and sayings of true men of God without any revelation of what they meant. These demons would agitate the ego of the puffed-up ministers and exert their influence over them. These men, in turn, would gradually sap the strength and life of the worshippers who congregate with them to listen to their teachings. Read Matthew 15:7-9 and Luke 11:52 and see if this is not the same situation that our Lord Jesus had reproved the Scribes and the Pharisees.
“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."“Woe unto you, lawyers [experts in the law of Moses]! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”
Oh, my! It happened even in Jesus' time. And since the beginning of the Church Age many false apostles have appeared with their false teachings (Rev. 2:2). That same spirit of hypocrisy is also right here in our time. Believe this, my friend: if you do not come out of the organized religious system of Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of The Earth immediately, you would be destroyed soon (Eph. 5:5-17; Matt. 22:11-14). If you have enough “sheep sense” in your head, come out of her immediately and stop those nonsensical beliefs of saying what your denomination says, what your church says, what your pastor says, what your priest says, what your prophet says, or what your apostle says. They are not the Absolute Authority, the Word of God is! All their words sound good but the letter of their words kills. However, the Spirit of the Logos gives life. Come right into the Light (Sun) and Life (Air) of the Living Spirit of Christ, the Word of God, and breathe the Life of the Spirit and receive His eternal life. Pray “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1:17). God is alive! Amen.
Normally, locusts do not have power to torment any living creature. However, these hellish locusts were given the power like that of the scorpions whose poisonous stings could cause excruciating pain in the body of man and numbness, dullness, confusion and delusion in his mind.
“And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.”
– Revelation 9:10Demons love to play “follow the leader” game. When Satan fell from his heavenly estate, he made a third of the angelic beings to “follow his tail”. He is like “the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail” (Isa. 9:15). Now, these fallen angels are as perverted as Satan Himself. They, too, are causing “Christians” to hold to their tails as they work through so-called servants of God. These “Christians” are so numbed by the stings of the locust spirits that their spiritual sense, if there are any left at all, have become confused, dull and delirious to recognize the Truth of the Word of God. They would simply ignore their bondage to the locust spirits and their torment in the hellish smoky system even when God's Truth is made known to them. In their delusion they are made to believe a lie. Yes, they are like the religious Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes who, under the influence of the fallen spirits, were holding to, and teaching for doctrines, the traditions of men. How people can sometimes become so stupid and foolish! Without the Holy Spirit, they would just simply remain religious.
When hell is totally opened up in the middle of Daniel's 70th Week, all those locust spirits, which are manifesting themselves now, will really run wild on earth. That would be the First Woe. Like the Beast which carries the Great Whore, and later turns upon her (Rev. 17-18), the locust spirits will readily and eventually torment the souls of all who do not have the Seal of God in their foreheads. These people would be so tormented and hurt that they would want to die. Yet, no matter what they would do to seek death, death will flee from them. In other words, they could not even find the courage to commit suicide. It would not be there in their spirit. Hence, their souls would have to bear the torment of the scorpion stings of the hellish locust spirits for five months.
Friend, if you are in the religious system that is not God's, you'd better flee from it now before it is too late. If you are believing in something that is not fully backed up by the Revelation of the Word of God, but is merely based on the sayings or teachings of some great men, creeds, dogmas, religious books and tapes, et cetera, that make you jump and shout praises to God, you'd better reexamine your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You'd better put on the true garment of the Word of God, otherwise you would certainly be cast away into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:11-14).
THE GREEN OF THE EARTH
Notice that “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 which have not the seal of God in their foreheads”. This very statement verifies that the locusts in this vision are not natural locusts. Natural locusts eat and devour the green of the earth. Read Exodus 10:13-15. However, some may argue that these locusts with stings of scorpions are literal and that they are created by God to torment those who reject His Gospel. Friends, the Bible tells me that after God had finished all His creations He ceased from His works (Gen. 2:1-2; Heb. 4:10). These creatures which John saw were demons engaged in demonic activities upon the earth.
What then does the “green” here, such as grass and tree, refer to? The elect, of course! These are the green that the locust spirits cannot hurt nor touch. They are the green of the earth for they are planted by the rivers of the Living Waters of God's Word and Spirit (Psm. 1:3; 23:2; 52:8; Hos.14:8). They have the Holy Spirit of Life! Amen. Satan's angels cannot hurt those who have the Seal of God in their foreheads. And in that first five months of the beginning of the Great Tribulation, when the First Woe is brought upon the earth, the locust spirits would also not be able to hurt those who are sealed under the ministries of the Two Witnesses, and the Foolish Virgins. They would only be able to hurt those men and women who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads.
THE SHAPES OF THE LOCUSTS
“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.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
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 battle."
– Revelation 9:7-9There were no such locusts on earth and never will there be any. Knowing this to be so, some prophetic teachers, therefore, look upon them as descriptions of some sort of literal war machines such as tanks and aircraft, and interpreted them as such. This interpretation is supported by Revelation 9:17-19. Those are indeed military weapons of wars.
The shapes of the locusts from the Bottomless Pit as seen in the vision symbolize several things. Firstly, they were likened “unto horses prepared unto battle” which conveys the idea that the demons were sent forth to battle another principality – that of Christ Jesus – to destroy it (cf. Rev. 19:11-16). “And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle” depicts the swiftness of their attack in the battle. They are spiritual war machines, so to speak. Remember that these satanic spirits work in both realms. The Scriptures clearly tell us that there will always be spiritual warfares, in Heaven and on Earth (Rev. 12:7; Matt. 11:12) as long as God has not brought in the last elect into His Kingdom. So, “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph. 6:11-18).
Next, “on their heads were as it were crowns like gold and their faces were as the faces of men” depicts the false glory placed upon intellectual men whom the locust spirits used to build Satan's “Church of God”. Just look at “Christianity” today, and you will see the BIG beautiful buildings, BIG programmes, and BIG everything. Then look at its leaders, and you will never fail to see the “holier than thou” image they have created for them- selves. They are graduates of some prestigious seminaries, crowned with square hats and conferred strings of golden degrees which give them the rights to use various titles to their names. They are angels of light, aren't they? Look at their faces. Are they not faces of intellectual men, very much like the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes? They are nothing but hypocrites and wolves in sheep's clothing! Do they not have certain traditions in their religious stance that you just cannot fail to notice them as “Reverend”, “Right Reverend”, “Very Reverend”, “Cardinal”, “Monsignor”, “Archbishop”, Doctor, or many other suchlike fanciful titles, which are conferred upon them each time they completed some seminarial studies (Matt. 23:1-7)? Even Isaiah spoke of them in chapter 65 and verse 5: “Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.” But “these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day” saith the Lord. Now, was Christ known by such a stance? Not at all. He was just too ordinary to attract any notice (Isa. 53:2-3). He did not come from any recognized ecclesiastical order of the day. “He could only be Baalzebub”, so they thought of Him, and called Him so. The same is true of Christ's disciples and the prophets of old. If they were here in our days, without “Th.D”, “D.D.”, and such letters to their names, do you think that they will be accepted by the BIG mainstream religious Christian orders? Certainly not! O my, how time has changed people and religions!
In the first half of 1st Corinthians chapter 11, the Apostle Paul expounded the subject of headship and its glory. In verse 15, he said that “if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering”. The long hair on the woman's head indicates the headship over her. It shows her submission to the authority over her and which covers her. Now, we know that the woman is a type of the Church that has been espoused to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), and Christ, the Man, is the Head of the Church, the Woman. Her glory is, therefore, Christ, the Word of God. The Church is crowned with the glory of the Word. Hence, if shame is heaped upon a believing woman for dishonoring her headship by cutting off (or trimming) her hair which is her covering, what consequences will the Church face if she cuts off (or removes) the glorious covering of God's Holy Word, which has been given to her, and substitutes It with some manmade creeds and dogmas? Undoubtedly she will face dire consequences. Obviously Satan had put to use whatever knowledge he had acquired. He simply made his locust spirits to appear as if “they had hair as the hair of women” to impersonate the crowning glory of the Word of God. My, my! Made believers, false teachers, false Christianity – all very religious – looking just like the real things! Yes, they are very attractive and seductive! But “their teeth were as the teeth of lions”! Oh, what great teeth they had! The better to kill, of course. Like roaring lions, they walk about, seeking whom they may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8; Ezek. 22:25; Joel 1:6,7).
In order to withstand the attack of the enemy, the Bible believers are told by the Apostle Paul to put on the whole armour of God (Eph. 6: 10-18). The breastplate of righteousness, faith and love, (cf. 1 Thess. 5:8) is a part of the whole armour. It protects that part of the spiritual body which holds our faith, love and righteousness in the Lord's Promised Word. Satan's demons also “had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron”. But they were breastplates of might and standing in a BIG system. Look at Goliath of the Philistines who came to challenge the army of Israel to a duel. He was a BIG man and he had trust in the authority of the leaders of the BIG nation of the Philistines, and in the suit of iron armour that was specially designed and made for him. Big is Might. Iron is Strength. Together they symbolize Indestructibility. Especially with his breastplate of iron covering his chest to protect his heart, Goliath believed that no one could kill him. Ha! But all that faith was only inside his skull — the place of human intellect. (Wasn't the “skull” the place where they had crucified Jesus Christ (Jhn. 19:17-18)? Weren't there many seminary educated men who had crucified the Word of God in their intellectual skulls throughout the past history of the Church?) David had full knowledge of that when he confronted Goliath in the Name of the Lord. And with just one stone of faith properly placed, he put an end to that intellectual, egoistic and carnal adversary of God. Amen!
THE KING OF THE LOCUSTS
“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 hath his name Apollyon.”
– Revelation 9:11This verse needs no interpretation. It is obvious that every army has a leader or a king. The king of the locust spirits is none other than Satan, the Adversary of God. His name in the Hebrew tongue, Abaddon, tells us that he is a destroying angel, and in the Greek tongue, he is Apollyon, a destroyer who destroys utterly. Yes, Satan, a liar and a murderer from the beginning, seeks only to steal and to kill (Jhn. 10:10; 8:44; Rev. 11:7). However, his time is short, and he knows it for Christ must return and rule the earth as the King of all kings for a thousand years. When Satan's time is up, an angel from Heaven will be given the key to the Bottomless Pit. This angel is given the authority and power to get hold of Satan and to bind him with a great chain and seal him in his own realm that he could no longer have the power to operate. “And cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled” (Rev. 20:3). With a divine seal set upon him and his filthy hole Satan is prevented from deceiving the nations while Christ and His Saints reign over the earth. After the thousand-year Age of Regeneration is completed, Satan will be released for a little season – and for the last time – after which he will be cast into the Lake of Fire and be annihilated (Rev. 20:1-10).
CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER
My fellow Bible believers, seeing that this evil is spread before us and the people of the world, what manner of people ought we to be? All that God has planned and set forth to accomplish — the redemption of His people unto His Kingdom, Satan has tried to thwart God's plan by placing a counterfeit of it before the people. But God permitted it so that the genuine believers would be manifested and that the make-believers be exposed. Satan's ersatz of the real thing cannot deceive the elect. There is no way that he can ever do that. He can only confuse and cause chaos like he had done in the past among the people in the plain of Shinar and in the camps of Israel.
Even as Satan has but a short time left to carry out his devious plan, God is also doing a quick work to finish up the Mystery of God, that is, the grafting in of the Gentiles (Rev. 10:7; Rom. 11:13-33; 16:25-27; Eph. 3:1-12; Col. 1:25-27). The fullness of the Gentiles is about over. We are at the end of the closing up of that mystery for we are living in the Laodicean Church Age, a time of lukewarmness (Rev. 3:14-22). God knows what to do with believers who are cold or hot, but He will simply spew out of His mouth those who are lukewarm. Yes, in this closing time, God has reserved a people for His Name who will purchase the real Word of God that is tried in the fire and all things spiritual and eternal. These believers will dig deep into the Word of Truth and be anchored in the Rock of their Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts."
– Haggai 2:6-9“See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.“
– Hebrews 12:25-28
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and
keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
– Ecclesiastes 12:13
