“Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fall out of the sky to the earth; and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.” (Revelation 9:1) First, the text says a “star” fell to the earth. Angels are called stars (Revelation 1:20, 13:4, 9) and it’s obvious this star has intelligence and is given specific instructions to carry out. The “bottomless pit” is the “shaft of the Abyss” in some translations (from the Greek abussos, deep, and phrear, a well, pit, or shaft). The narrative of Luke 8:31 indicates that the bottomless pit is where demons are kept, something illustrated in this passage (verses 1-11). Also, the bottomless pit is where Satan is bound during the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3), but he is then cast into the lake of fire after his final deception at the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:10).
“When he opened the shaft of the Abyss, smoke like the smoke that would come from a huge furnace came out of the shaft. And the sun and sky were darkened by the smoke that came out of the shaft.” Though different, the bottomless pit seems to be similar to hades and the lake of fire in that all of them have smoke and, I assume, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And, these are all places associated with punishment or eternal torment. “Then out of the smoke there came locusts to the earth, and power was given to them like the power the earth’s scorpions have.” Now, these creatures are called locusts, but they don’t fit the description of any locusts we’ve seen before. The 8th plague on the Egyptians in Exodus 10:3-20 involved ordinary locusts that destroyed anything left of the vegetation not destroyed by the previous plague of hail. But, as we’ll soon see, these locusts are not after the vegetation.
In the next two verses (4 and 5) we see the instruction given to these locusts. “And they were told not to damage any vegetation on the earth, or anything that was green or any tree, but were to attack only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not permitted to kill them, but only to torment them for five months. And the pain caused by the locusts was like the painful sting of a scorpion.” So these locusts are not sent to destroy vegetation (food supply). Can you see what’s going on here? The combination of destructive wars and the judgments of God have destroyed much of the food supply and famine (the black horse of the 3rd seal) is a daily reality. Those who have survived God’s judgment up to this point still have to deal with the constant pressure of having to find food to eat in order to survive, and that in the midst of everything else that’s going on. God doesn’t want any more of the food supply to be destroyed, He’s left them just enough so they can survive. It’s difficult, but possible. It’s more stress added to all the other things going on. The other point here is that they are instructed not to attack those who have the seal of God in their forehead. These are the 144,000 set apart and divinely protected from these judgments (Revelation 7:2-4). We’ll see them again in chapter 12.
Then we see the result of this judgment in verse 6. “And during that time people will seek death, but will not find it. They will want to die, but will not be able to.” The torment brought about by the stings of these creatures, no doubt along with everything else that’s going on, drives many of these people to try to kill themselves; but they can’t, God won’t allow it. How bad do things have to be for people to want to die? And how much worse can the torture be, when they want to die and can’t?
The following three verses (7-9) give a description of these locusts. They have: bodies like horses, heads like men, gold crowns on their heads, hair like women (I hope this doesn’t remind you of any women you know), teeth like lions, breastplates of iron, tails like scorpions with sharp stingers on the end and permission to torment people for 5 months. Earlier I called these locusts creatures. I did that because they are obviously created beings. In this case, demons that have been kept in the bottomless pit, reserved for this time. These are spirit beings and, as such, cannot be killed by men like ordinary locusts could be. Instead, people want to die to escape their torture. They have intelligence as they have the ability to follow instructions and carry out their purpose. I only point this out to emphasize that they are literal beings capable of physical contact with the material realm (scorpion stings), can be felt and seen (John saw them, described them and people try to escape them) and they make noise when they fly (like the chariots of many horses running to battle in verse 9). So, these locusts are not symbolic of anything as some commentaries suggest. They are real, and what they do is real.
Next, in verse 11, we see this: “And they have a king over them, the angel out of the bottomless pit. In Hebrew his name is Abaddon, but in Greek he is called Apollyon.” Abaddon means destruction and Apollyon means destroyer. Now, I guess you could read a few things into this that are not substantiated in the text. These demon locusts have a leader. Why? Do they need someone to keep them in line? Are they maybe tempted in some way to not carry out their instructions properly? They are, after all, demons – enemies of God kept imprisoned in the bottomless pit for some undetermined time and reason. On the other hand, their leader is a fallen angel that has been in the bottomless pit with them. What’s his motivation to carry out the instructions given to him by the angel with the key? Add to this the fact that fallen angels and demons are always identified separately, as they are in this passage. Which means fallen angels and demons are two different things. We know where fallen angels came from, but the Scriptures are silent regarding the origin of demons (unless I’m missing something).
OK, the first “woe” announced in Revelation 8:13 is past. Five months of torture so bad that people try to kill themselves and can’t. Now in Revelation 9:12 we see, “The first woe is past; look, two more are yet to come!” This announcement can mean only one thing – the next two are worse than the first.