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Revelation Chapter 9: Verse 1
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ND 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 8 And they had
hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 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. 10 And
they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and
their power was to hurt men five months. 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. 12 One
woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. (Rev 9:1-12)
The
last three angels are about to sound. Here is how the last verse of the
previous chapter describes the sounding of the last three trumpets And I
beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a
loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other
voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! (Rev 8:13) We are about to witness the first trumpet of WOE.
There are THREE WOEs to come to pass. Our leading verse of Chapter 9 reads: 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.
There
has never been such an evil to befall the whole earth as that sanctioned by the
fifth angel’s trumpeted woe. Unlike the Roman persecutions which were local,
and the licentious church state rule of Constantine, a far greater evil would
come to pass with global implications, i.e., a star fall from heaven
unto the earth! Read the words of Dr. Alexander Keith in his historical
analysis of the meaning of this:
The Roman
Empire declined, as it arose, by conquest; but the Saracens and the Turks were
the instruments by which a false religion became the scourge of an apostate
church; and hence, instead of the fifth and sixth trumpets, like the former,
being designated by that name alone, they are called woes.
Constantinople
was besieged, for the first time after the extinction of the Western empire, by
Chosroes, the king of Persia.
A star
fell from heaven unto the earth; and to him was given the key of the bottomless
pit.
While the
Persian monarch contemplated the wonders of his art and power, he received an
epistle from an obscure citizen of Mecca, inviting him to acknowledge Mohammed
as the apostle of God. He rejected the invitation, and tore the epistle. 'It is
thus,' exclaimed the Arabian prophet, 'that God will tear the kingdom, and
reject the supplication of Chosroes.' Placed on the verge of these two empires
of the East, Mohammed observed with secret joy the progress of mutual
destruction; and in the midst of the Persian triumphs he ventured to foretell,
that, before many years should elapse, victory would again return to the
banners of the Romans. 'At the time when this prediction is said to have been
delivered, no prophecy could be more distant from its accomplishment (!) since
the first twelve years of Heraclius announced the approaching dissolution of
the empire.'
It was not, like that designative of Attila, on a
single spot that the star fell, but UPON THE EARTH.
This falling star may make reference, in the
historical sense, to the coming of the False Prophet (Mohammad). He was not a
star of a genuine nature since a true star does not fall – it obeys the orbit
designed by its Creator. But a falling star is a meteor of no fixed orbit that
is destined to burn itself out, or impact the earth calamitously. There has not
been a prolonged peace in the Middle East, or even in Central Europe, since the
falling of that ominous star of deceit.
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. 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. 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. Again, as before
discussed, the Seal of God in the foreheads of His people is a mark that only
God can know. It is hidden from others round about since it is ‘IN’ the
Forehead. It is the seat of judgment of the soul. If we belong to God, that
Seal represents the faith and holy will of the bearer. A Seal is a means of
assuring and safeguarding a benefit or legal inheritance. But a mark (which
belongs to those who follow the False Prophet‘s’) only designates the trees to
be cut down, or the souls to be rejected. It, too, exists in the forehead of
those whose judgments are reprobate and totally depraved.
There
is no better description of the Arabian hordes that descended upon heartlands
of Asia, Europe, and the Roman Empire than destroying locusts. Every place
their sword fell brought misery, ruin, death, and slavery. Look at the
testimony of rape, murder, and beheadings that follow in their path today. This
verse text describes perfectly the command given by Abu-Bakr, the successor of
Mohammad to his armies.
After the death of Mohammed, he was succeeded in
the command by Abu-Bakr, in 632 AD; who, as soon as he had fairly established
his authority and government, dispatched a circular letter to the Arabian
tribes, from which the following is an extract:
'When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit
yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be
stained with the blood of women and children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor burn
any fields of corn. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle,
only such as you kill to eat. When you make any covenant or article, stand to
it, and be as good as your word. And as you go, you will find some religious
persons who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God
that way; let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries.
And you will find another sort of people that belong to the synagogue of Satan,
who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no
quarter till they either turn Mohammedans or pay tribute.' Gibbon
The
remaining verses are descriptive of the ruin that follows after this first WOE.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. 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. 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. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth
were as the teeth of lions. 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. 10 And they had tails like unto
scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt
men five months. 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. Abaddon means, both in Hebrew and
Greek, the Destroyer. Please consider how the Islamic State of Iraq & Syria
(ISIS) have destroyed religious and historical statues and buildings in the
Middle East. And then, consider those called ANTIFA (AntiFascists who are
actually Fascist) are doing the same in America.
One
woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. This verse
suggests the veracity of the historcist argument that these events are
completed. Yes, I believe that the historical events of the rise of
Mohammadanism did occur in the Middle Ages, but I also believe we can witness
the ongoing process of that development in our world today.
