The Abyss Unlocked

And the world will know fully the truth of their former spirit guides. These demons will have taken off their masks of love and concern. There will be no more.

We love you and we want your best. They hate humanity. The truth about the demonic world's hatred and blood lust and destructive intent is now unveiled and the truth will now be out in the open. The fallen demons especially hate humans. Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the surface of the spiritual realm? Revelation 9 takes us to a terrifying scene where God unlocks the abyss, releasing a demonic horde upon the earth. These supernatural forces, once restrained, will bring unprecedented torment to humanity. Today, Stephen explores the fifth and sixth trumpet judgments where God allows the darkest forces of the spiritual realm to carry out his purposes. You'll see the stark contrast between the chaos of demons and the sovereignty of God. Let's rejoin our study there in Revelation chapter 9. We'll cover this entire chapter, verse 1. 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.

He was given literally the key as this trumpet sounded, this fifth trumpet of the seven. A key to the opening of the bottomless pit is the word abussas. It could be transliterated abyss. It's a bottomless pit. In other words, it refers to the fact that mankind cannot fathom its depth. The apostle John will use words to describe it as a deep cavern connected to the earth's surface by a shaft with a lid on it that no one but God has the key to open. This has led some to speculate that hell is in the center of the earth, but this isn't talking about hell. This is talking about the abyss where millions of demons evidently are incarcerated, being held by God at the point of their incarceration. We can't be sure but millions are awaiting this hour of torment while evidently other demons are allowed to roam under his divine permission. Remember when the demons left the demonized man, they begged the Lord to send him into the swine nearby instead of sending them where? To the abyss.

Luke 8.31, same word. Now, there are a lot of questions that are going to come out of this study that I won't answer. Just to let you know, you're going to have to go home and study yourself. But I will try to answer some of them.

And one question that I want to answer is this one. Who is the star that was given a key to open the abyss? Notice the phrase in verse one again, I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth. The perfect tense of the verb translated had fallen informs us that John did not see the star fall. It had already fallen sometime in the past and was already on earth when John saw him. And I say him on purpose because this is not an asteroid, this is not a meteor, this is not a chunk of rock, we call a star, this is a him.

It's a person, a personality. In fact, look there, it says, I say him, note, a key was given to him, verse 2, he opened the bottomless pit. This one that had fallen in some time past, I believe, is Satan who is now given the key to open the abyss.

Apollyon, the destroyer, will come out of that abyss. It isn't Satan, it's a leader of these underworld demons waiting to be let loose and he will lead them to bring terror to the earth. But this star that has fallen finds agreement with other texts where, for instance, in Isaiah, we find the language fitting perfectly with what he said when he writes of the fall of Satan through his rebellion, how you have fallen from heaven, oh star of the morning.

Isaiah 14, 12. Jesus Christ said plainly in Luke 10, 18, I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Job referred to the angels prior to the fall of Satan as morning stars.

Evidently, the angelic hosts were created prior to much of the universe so they could watch it occurring and they rejoiced together, they sang for joy, they shouted for joy as they sang the other Job 38, verse 7. So the one who is known as Satan is now given the key to open the abyss. We know the giver of the key is our Lord who was introduced to us in Revelation chapter 1 as having the keys of the underworld.

He has the authority over the underworld and so now he gives this key with some semblance of ceremony to Satan who now goes over and at some point, not given on the planet, opens the gate literally of this abyss and these demons come forward. Notice verse 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. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth and power was given to them as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

The rest of the foliage or much of it now is going to be burned that wasn't already destroyed in the early trumpet judgment. These demons are only allowed to attack, you notice, humans who are not sealed by God as his own. This could either be a reference to the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who were sealed or perhaps at this point in the tribulation as many believe I would probably throw my head in as well. These are those who have come to place their faith in Christ, now sealed, probably no more are coming to trust him as Lord and Savior and these have still survived this far in the tribulation and the demons are not allowed to torment them. Actually, even those who do not believe in Christ are going to be spared death. Look at verse 5, and they were not permitted, these demons, to kill anyone but to torment for five months.

It's a specific time, that's how long it's going to last. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. In those days, men will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die and death flees from them.

This judgment will be so terrifying and painful that people will try to kill themselves. Now, you might be tempted to think, well, it's only going to last five months. When five months are up, these demons are evidently commanded back into the abyss where they will wait until cold once again. You might think it's only five months.

Listen, five months is a long time for you to wait for something exciting to happen. It's a long time. But five months is an eternity if you're waiting for something terrible to end. They're waiting for it to end.

To the human race, it's going to seem like this will never end. So they will try to end their lives. Seek death rather than continue in this. But it will flee from them. We're not told exactly how, but it eludes them. The pistol won't fire. The knife will break. The poison won't take. Invisible forces will keep them from jumping off tall buildings or at least landing to hurt themselves. They'll float when they land in the water and survive. Any method of suicide will be ineffective. They will long to die, but they will not be allowed to.

Little wonder they will try. John will describe these terrors from the abyss. In fact, get your pencil ready because 10 times, John will resort to using the word like and appeared to be. In other words, he's going to talk about things that are literal, and yet he's going to try to describe them because the human language can't do it. He's going to use simile. He's going to say, well, it's like this. These are like that.

Follow along and you'll see how he does it. Verse 7. The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. Those are big locusts, by the way. And on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. In other words, these demons have taken a form, and it isn't just a strange animal or some freak of nature, something the state fair would put in a booth and for a couple of dollars you could go look at. These were creatures who have human faces, which reveals the shocking truth to the humans they torment, that they have intelligence and emotion. Their eyes will track with human eyes. They'll know that their intent is to hurt and to torment, and all their organization and all their intention and all their rationale will be to inflict pain. The ability of demons, by the way, to assume material form is further illustrated in chapter 16 where demons will take on the appearance of frogs.

We have no doubt in believing they've taken these particular forms here. John writes further in verse 8, they had hair like the hair of women. In other words, long hair, for the most part. This probably looked to John much like the Parthian warriors of ancient times who grew their hair long, not out of an attempt to be feminine or some effeminacy, but intimidation.

It was startling, historians tell us, because it was unusual. The long hair made them appear even more fierce and intimidating as they galloped into battle. Notice verse 8 again, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had long canines. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots of many horses rushing to battle.

They have tails like scorpions that sting, and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. This is no science fiction movie. Now some have tried to lessen the strangeness of this judgment by interpreting these as helicopters with the sound of metal, the whirling of blades, spitting missiles, the stinging of bullets, although it would be kind of odd because nobody's dying.

I guess they get hit with bullets, but they aren't killed. Listen, there isn't any reason to interpret this any other way than plainly. At face value, understanding a literal interpretation of Scripture allows for simile and metaphor, which John clearly does here.

We have no reason to not believe he's talking about something he literally sees, yet difficulty in describing it, so he uses simile. These demons will assume the form of a terrifying, painfully destructive creature and will be given God-delegated time to chase, to literally corner, to terrorize the human race, and the world will know fully the truth of their former spirit guides. These demons will have taken off their masks of love and concern. There will be no more.

We love you, and we want your best. Now the truth about the demonic world's hatred and bloodlust and destructive intent is now unveiled in the truth will now be out in the open that they, the fallen demons, especially hate humans. They hate humanity. This is God's highest creation, the one that can commune with him spirit to spirit, the one so loved by him that he sent his son to die for how they hate human beings, and the deception will be over. But don't miss the fact that demons are only operating under divine permission and for divine purposes.

They are the puppet servants of God. Notice again back in verse one, the key was given to him. He didn't have the key. He couldn't get the key.

He couldn't wrestle it out of some angel's hand. It had to be given to him, and it was given to him. Verse three, power was given to them, delegated, temporary power that is sourced in God. Imagine coming to this judgment, recognizing that they are doing the bidding of God mixed with their own hatred of humanity.

It will be terrifying. Verse four, they're told not to hurt foliage. Verse five, they're not permitted to kill anyone. Our sovereign Lord is firmly in total control of even the demons. Even in total chaos, Jesus Christ is in total control. And there is, by the way, I think, true theology expressed here, the sovereignty of God that we've sung about. And even as it relates to the demonic world, even as it relates to those in tribulation, certainly the temporary nature of this will be encouraging to those believers who study revelation in that day, probably more than any other book in the Bible.

But it's true for us even today. We can't call our tribulation their tribulation. We know nothing of this tribulation.

But we do have tribulation, don't we? The word is used of the believer in the trials and temptations that we face. Well, it's good to just kind of stop for a moment here and recognize that this is true for us as well, that God has determined the depth of your pain and the extent of its particular sting. He has told your suffering to go only so far and no further. Even though your world right now might be unsettled, God is not unseated.

Even though it might be chaotic, he is in control of the chaos. Even now, although the world with devils filled, Luther wrote, would threaten to undo us. We will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. Even the demons are in his hand, controlled by his will. Well, no sooner have these scorpion demons been recalled to the abyss than another even more terrifying army of demons prepared to gallop throughout the earth as the Euphrates demons are unchained.

Look at verse 13. Then the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. One sang to the sixth angel who had the trumpet released the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. And the four angels which had been prepared for the hour, the very day, the very month, the very year, were released so that they would kill a third of mankind.

No more stinging, now it's killing. It's happening here with these four that have been bound at the great river Euphrates. It's interesting for you to do a little study perhaps on your own one day of the Euphrates. It's prominent in scripture.

It's the dividing line between east and west, between near east and far east. It was one of the rivers that flowed out of the Garden of Eden. It was at the banks of the Euphrates where Adam and Eve were tempted and where they failed and sinned. It was near the Euphrates the first murder occurred and the first martyr for righteousness was slain, Abel killed by Cain. It was here on the banks of the Euphrates that Jews lived out their bitter exile.

It was here on the Euphrates that Babylon was built. It will be here where the antichrist will rebuild that kingdom. And it is here where four powerful demons are unchained and released. Now some would say these are good angels not fallen angels because they seem to be similar to the four angels at the corners of the earth back in chapter 7 you may remember. But however, notice these angels are bound. This verb indicates this has been their condition. They have been bound. We're not told when, could have been when they fell. Besides that you never find in scripture any reference to good angels ever being bound.

So we would know that these are fallen angels or as we call them demons appointed by God for just this day, week, month and year to serve as agents of God's wrath. Now if you thought that locusts with human heads and long hair look like horses and if that was strange put on your seat belt for these horsemen. Verse 16 the number of the armies of the horsemen was 200 million. Now you'd think okay that can't be true. John knew you'd think that. And so he added and I heard the number of them.

See that? He knew he'd have trouble grasping the fact that it's 200 million of them. So he says I actually heard the number in reference to this army of demons. And for John it would be particularly difficult to imagine himself because of the vast number of these warriors. By the way this is not some foreign army from the east.

This is in China that's mounted 200 million soldiers. Notice verse 17. I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them. The riders had breast plates the color of fire that is fiery red and of hyacinth that's deep blue and of brimstone which is from the word thiodes which happens to be yellow, sulfur yellow. And the heads of the horses are like the heads of the lions.

He says I've never seen an animal like this but it kind of reminds me of a lion. And out of their mouths proceed fire not like fire but fire. Literal fire, smoke and brimstone. And a third of mankind was killed by these three plagues by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. So here come these charging half stallion half lion heads that look like lions but they also have the ability to breathe fire out of their mouths like dragons now long extinct but described with clarity in the book of Job. But that's not all.

Notice verse 18. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents. They have living heads and with them they do much harm.

Somehow their tails having heads like a serpent have the ability to bite. You talk about a weapon of mass destruction. This is it. And remember as well that when John saw this vision there were not 200 million people living on the planet. This exceeded world population. Here is a demonic army of 200 million each one riding a strange creature and they gallop forward blazing fire out of their mouths killing one third of the rest of the people on the planet who are still alive. And remember already about 25 percent of the world's population has died during the first four seals. Added at the millions who have already been martyred for their newfound faith in Christ still more died from drinking embittered water in that previous trumpet judgment we studied already. And now one third of the remaining alive are killed by demons. Add up the numbers and you've got about 50 percent of the world's population who've died so far in just a matter of a few years.

Incredible carnage everywhere. Notice the response which shocks me every time I've studied it and every time I see it. Verse 20 and the rest those who are alive now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands.

Can you imagine? Hearts like pharaohs hardened after the plagues they at this point hate God as much perhaps as the devil himself. John will point out five sins that they're going to cling to.

Let me go through them quickly. The first is idolatry in the text. Mankind will still cling to their idol antichrist. They're still going to worship the demon world, the natural world, their stump, the water, the whatever, the moon, the thing they fashioned with their hands out of rock or wood.

As unbelievable as it may seem men and women are going to remain committed to earth and nature rather than the creator. They're going to cling to their idolatry. And John interestingly enough, and I got to say it and rush forward, makes idolatry tantamount to worshiping demons.

You look back in the text there. They're worshiping the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and silver. In other words, they are effectively equating what you create with the demon world. Imagine, and I have been to places around the world and I have seen shrines, I've been to temples, I've stood outside courtyards where they've sacrificed goats. I've seen it and you can literally sense and feel the demonic presence.

Their worship is clearly equated by John as the worship of demons. The mask will come off idolatry. They're going to cling to it.

They're going to hold on to it though. They're going to cling to murdering, number two. Gone is all the value of human life. Here they are surrounded by decaying corpses. People have stopped burying anybody and yet they're going to think nothing of adding to the number, the value of human life is going to be absolutely worthless as mankind plays out what the demons really did believe about them anyway.

In their hatred, they viewed them as worthless. Sorceries, number three. This comes from the word pharmakeia. They're going to cling to their pharmakeia. That gives us our word pharmacy. If you're a pharmacist, don't sweat it.

You don't have to quit your job. This is a reference to drugs and the illicit use of drugs. The word in fact has an elastic use and can be used for incantations and spells and charms and can even be used for seances and witchcraft and contacting mediums, amulets, the little crystals that people have faith in.

These are all sorceries and people are going to cling to them. John also mentions people will cling to immorality. This word is porneia. Gives us our word pornography.

It's a general term for sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage. Imagine friends in the face of death having survived scorpion demons, having survived fire-breathing creatures. Even after that, trumpet judgment is over. Mankind will still cling to sexual things, pornography, addictions, adulteries, drug fixes and abuse as he abandons himself to do whatever he wants to do, as he self-destructs. Finally John mentions that people will be unwilling to give up their thieving. In other words, morality and odesty is a thing of the past. No one will trust anybody. Everybody will live and operate by lying and you can only imagine.

With the scarce supplies of food and clothing and shelter and water and medicine, it's going to be the law of the jungle and stealing will become a way of life. This is a grim picture, isn't it? What about the believer for today? I believe a chapter like this can accomplish several responses. The first, it can increase our appreciation for the sovereignty of God. He remains enthroned even in these incredibly dark and demonic days, his will is being accomplished. Secondly, it magnifies for us the mercy of God and you would think, Stephen, now where did you see that word?

Well, think about it. He could easily move to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. He didn't need seven trumpets. He didn't need four seals.

He could have just done it. But in all of this, there is the continuing mercy of God to give even unbelieving mankind one more breath before they enter eternal hell. By giving us glimpses of his wrath, by showing people the terrors of the demonic world, he effectively invites you and me and our world to be rescued. In a chapter like this, it says there is no hope but in Christ run to Christ. Find in him mercy in the life to come. Revelation 9 reminds us of the terrifying reality of rejecting God and the grace extended to those who turn to him.

That was Stephen Davey and this is Wisdom for the Heart. Today's message was called The Abyss Unlocked. We're on social media and we'd love to connect with you. If our teaching has blessed you, please share it with your friends and family. It's a simple way to help us reach more people with God's word. On our website, you'll find links to share our messages on all the major platforms.

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