In this chapter the 5th and 6th trumpets are sounded which are the first two woes.  The bottomless pit is opened and the great locust army of Antichrist is released upon the Earth.  We also have the four horsemen finally being released to go into full gallop whereas before this time they were being held back, meaning that their actions were restricted.  The angel of the bottomless pit is identified, and 200,000,000 horsemen are mentioned.

Antichrist with his children and his supporters are all depicted here as things that men fear and respect.  The symbolism is graphic and is meant to convey a stern warning.  If you repent and are sealed with God's Holy Spirit you will be okay.  If not, you will fall prey to the beast system that the tares have built and to the influence of the false prophet whom we shall call Antichrist.

Rev. 9:1  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.

Rev. 9:2  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.

With regards to this, there is something loathsome going on right now in 2004 especially within America, and I'm sure within the rest of the world also.  It is incessant fear mongering about the subject of terrorism.  After 9/11 we the people have been manipulated to the nth degree concerning terrorism.  Enough already!

Rev. 9:3  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.

Men fight swarming locusts anyway they can, from beating them to death to setting huge fires to consume them, but these usually have little effect if the swarm is large.  In addition, notice that these particular locusts are said to have power as scorpions have power, so getting amongst them and fighting them causes severe pain, and even death.  What is even worse is that they are as big as horses (verse 7 below) so they are really intimidating and move swiftly across the land.  What a horrible specter!

Now, let's discuss the scorpion thing mentioned here, specifically scorpions with power.  The arachnids that are called scorpions have no power as mentioned here.  The word power here is translated from the Greek word exousia (Strong's No. 1849) and means power in the sense of having authority.  Scorpions have no authority, so what can this mean?  Scorpions aren't looking to rule, they just want something to eat.  They usually stay hidden unless they are hunting at night.  The only ones with exousia, or power with authority in this physical world are men.

In John's time, and indeed throughout all time, those with exousia have ruled with authority, often with brutal authority, and that is what is meant here.  Brutal, cruel, unjust authority, symbolized by an instrument of punishment, a whipping device called a scorpion.  If you will go to 1 Kings 12 and 1 Chronicles 10 you can read about how Solomon's son Rehoboam threatened Israel with a whipping device commonly called a scorpion.  That little exercise in power (exousia) on his part caused the thirteen tribes that he ruled over to split into two factions, known from then on as Judah and Israel.  In other words, the reference to scorpions here is not talking about bugs but about men who rule with brutal authority on the Earth.

Likewise, the swarming, devouring locusts in verse 3 are not really insects either, they are the servants and henchmen of Lucifer, and as incredible as it may sound, many of them are his literal offspring.  They are depicted as tares in Matthew 13.

Rev. 9:4  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.

Speaking of these locusts, the prophet Joel mentions them.  Go now to the tiny prophetical book of Joel in the Old Testament     it is the third book of the so-called minor prophets.  Within his book the day of the Lord is mentioned, and there are allusions to the Day of Trumpets, and the Day of Atonement.  See if you can pick them out.  Hint:  On the Day of Atonement the people were to afflict their souls, and that has been generally interpreted to mean fasting.

Rev. 9:5  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.

Rev. 9:6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Rev. 9:7  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.

Remember well what I am going to tell you now.  No man, or organization of men, can control you unless you allow them to do so.  They may persecute you, punish you, or even murder you, but if they can't control your mind then they can't ultimately have power over you.  None of the great champions of God were controlled by other men after they learned the truth and were converted by it.  Think about it.

Rev. 9:8  And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

Rev. 9:9  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.

Rev. 9:10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

Rev. 9:11  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.

Rev. 9:12  One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

The Second Woe

Rev. 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

Rev. 9:14  Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Remember the four horsemen from chapter 6?  The white horse - the descendants of Jacob spreading war and deception; the red horse - the descendants of Esau spreading of communism and war;  the black horse - the offspring of Lucifer taking control of the western world's institutions and promoting the system that eventually becomes the first beast of Revelation 13; the pale horse - Antichrist and his associates.  All of these are the main components of the beast of Revelation 13.

The activities of these four will intensify in our time.  The conflict between Jacob and Esau is not over and could erupt again, possibly from things happening in the Middle East and around Jerusalem.  Other contributing factors could be the intervention of the U.S.A. in the "stans", and other places.  Even as I write this the people of Ukraine are taking to the streets in protest over their presidential election, and ill feelings are rapidly developing between the U.S.A. and Russia over it.  Why?  Because both have an intense interest in that area and both are interfering in the affairs of that nation.  The rule of the tares will become stronger and more evident.  Antichrist will eventually seduce the entire western world completely.

Rev. 9:15  And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

Rev. 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

Rev. 9:17  And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

Rev. 9:18  By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Rev. 9:19  For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

John 6:70  Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

Rev. 9:20  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Rev 9:21  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Murder surrounds us and we hear of it on a daily basis in the news, even in the smaller rural towns and communities.  Incredible as it may seem, some individual major cities in the United States have more homicides annually than any country of Europe, or Canada, or Australia, or Japan.  I recently watched a film by Michael Moore called Bowling For Columbine in which it was stated that 165 people were killed by guns annually in Canada, while in the U. S. the total exceeded 11,000.  Astounding!

Sorceries here is referring to drug addiction and drug dealing.  It is the Greek word pharmakeia (Strong's No. 5331) and is the root for our word pharmacy.  As you already know illegal drugs are everywhere and affect all strata of our society including the most highly respected professions, even doctors and airline pilots.  Just knowing this gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, doesn't it?

Fornication in this case means sexual immorality in general.  Enough said.

Theft permeates and pervades our entire culture and is so common that we don't even know that we are sinning.  It is considered a normal part of doing business, from "cooking the books" to cheating the workers out of their pay and benefits.

Why don't the guilty ones repent?  Again, in part it is ignorance because most simply don't know that they should repent, but only hardened criminals commit murder and deal drugs.  Hardened criminals don't dwell a lot on the various aspects of repentance, do they?

Will they finally repent?  We shall see at the end of the Millennium.

God bless with understanding of His word.